Page:History of the French in India.djvu/290

 268 FRENCH INDIA AT ITS ZENITH. chap, offering to agree to his terms. With this letter he sent _, three of his officers, provided with full powers to nego- 1750. tiate, for the purpose of signing the treaty. Dupleix, caring little with whom the treaty was made, provided only that his own propositions were agreed to, deter- mined to accede to the offers of Nasir Jang, and wrote at once to the commander of the French forces to sus- pend all hostilities until he should receive further in- structions. But his orders arrived too late. M. de la Touche, upon whom the command had devolved, in the absence of d'Auteuil, laid up with the gout, had, before this letter reached him, received from the conspirators the signal he had preconcerted with them to advance. They were, in fact, acquainted with the contents of the letter sent to Dupleix, and justly feared that, if time were allowed, it would interfere with their long-medi- tated plans. Hence the sudden resolution to bring matters to a crisis and their call upon the French general to perform his part. Ignorant of the negotia- tions going on at the time with Pondichery, de la Touche had no option. In compliance, therefore, with instructions which had been given him as to his action in the event of his receiving such a summons from the conspirators, he set out on the night of December 15 from Jinji, at the head of 800 Europeans, 3,000 sipahis, and ten guns, in the direction of the Subadar's camp, under the guidance of a native who had been sent for that purpose by the conspirators. After a march of sixteen miles, de la Touche, at four o'clock in the morning, came in sight of the enemy. Their advanced posts, which gave the alarm, were soon dispersed, and de la Touche found himself with his 3,800 men in front of an army of more than 25,000. By the skilful management of his guns, however, he succeeded in keeping at bay, and eventually throwing into confu- sion, the vast masses of cavalry which were constantly threatening to charge him. No sooner were these