Page:History of the French in India.djvu/349

 DALTON DRIVES D'AUTEUIL TO VOLKONDAH. 325 that place, had remained quietly at Utatur waiting his C y^ p ' opportunity. The opportunity came, but did not find >_ m ^ m him capable of taking advantage of it. In fact Captain 1752. Dalton's party after a skirmish in front of Utatur, which had no decisive results, had advanced at once upon that place. Late experience had shown the English that the surest way to victory was to move straight on, — to destroy by that advance the morale of the enemy, and thus to more than half beat him before the actual fight had begun. Acting on this plan, Dalton made such a display of his troops, maintaining only a few with his guns and sending the infantry to attack the enemy in flank, that d'Auteuil imagined that he had not simply a detach- ment, but the whole force of Clive before him. Having this impression, all his intellect fled, and he became the slave of his fears. Had he been as bold as Dalton, a resolute advance on the guns must have decided the action in his favour. But fear, not physical but moral, shutting his eyes and taking away his senses, he allowed himself to be deceived by this shallow device, and not- withstanding that he did actually repulse the English from Utatur, he abandoned that place in the night, and fled, unmolested, to Volkondah, thus leaving Law to his fate, to England a certain triumph. Whilst this was going on, Law, noticing from the watchtower of Srirangam the march of Dalton's troops, concluded that they must belong to Olive's force, and, this time acting with boldness, crossed the river with the bulk of his army, hoping to gain Samiaveram. But Clive was not the man to expose himself twice to the chance of being surprised. He at once marched to meet him, and came up with him just as he had crossed the Kolrun. It was not for Clive, under the circumstances, to seek an engagement. The enemy was already in the toils. A battle alone could extricate him. On the other hand, every circumstance should have induced Law to court an action. It was, his only chance, and here the