Page:History of the French in India.djvu/221

 ACTION OF THE NAWWAB OF THE KARNATIK. 199 push his advantage to its utmost limit, and to strike at chap. Fort St. David. With his accustomed promptitude, he , determined to carry out this plan without any loss of 1746. time, — a determination the more necessary, as he fully expected that a few months would deprive him of the advantage which he then possessed of the mastery at sea. The command of this expedition Dupleix intended to intrust to the officer whom of all under his orders he considered the most capable. This was Paradis. To him, therefore, he sent instructions to return to Pondi- chery with all the troops he could spare, as soon as he should have settled the affairs of Madras. It was not before the first week of December, however, that Paradis was able to move. Leaving then the bulk of the garrison behind him, he marched at the head of 300 men, escort- ing the plunder of Madras, in the direction of Pondichery. These proceedings on the part of the French did not escape the attention of the Nawwab. The month that had elapsed since the defeat at St. Thome had very much effaced the sharper stings of the lesson the Mughal had then received. Mafauz Khan, especially, burned with impatience to efface the galling recollection of that day's defeat. No better opportunity, he thought, would present itself than that which seemed now about to offer, when a body of three hundred men should be embarrassed by the numerous coolies laden with the plunder which they were escorting. Impressed with these ideas, he assembled a body of 3,000 foot and 2,000 horse, the flower of his army, and took up a position at the little village of Kuntur, thirty-two miles south of Madras, through which he knew that the French detachment must pass. Paradis was marching in a careless style, unsuspicious of the vicinity of an enemy. He had divided his force into two bodies, an advanced party and a rear guard, and between these were the coolies. Suddenly the cavalry of Mafauz Khan appeared upon the plain,