Page:History of the French in India.djvu/489

 THE ADVANTAGE VEERS TO THE FRENCH. 463 French should arrive, the French on that account desirous chap. to avoid it. Finding their efforts to force a battle unavail- ing, the English army broke up on July 26, retiring, the 1757. greater part towards Kanchipuram, the remainder to Chengalpat and Karangoli. Saubinet, thus left master of the campaign, remained at Wandiwash till the middle of September. Learning then that a considerable squadron, having on board the Chevalier de Soupire with the regi- ment of Lorraine, fifty artillerymen and twenty siege guns, — the advanced guard of the force destined for the conquest of India under the Count deLally — had reached Pondichery, Saubinet made a sudden attack upon Chitta- pett. Capturing this after a desperate resistance, he moved against Trinomali. Not this only, but several other forts in the Karnatik fell into the possession of the French, who were thus enabled to collect contribu- 17 53 # tions from all parts of the province. It was not, however, until the arrival of Count Lally, on April 28 in the following year, that the French ventured to carry out the scheme originally intended to be commenced by de Soupire — a scheme beginning with the intended capture of Fort St. David, as a preliminary to the entire rooting out of the English from the Karnatik. We shall see, when we come to that exciting portion of our history, how it was that de Soupire delayed this attack ; we shall notice likewise the prompt and energetic action inaugu- rated by Lally himself. We leave the Karnatik, on the eve of his arrival, overrun by French troops ; all its strong places, with the exception of Arkat, Vellur, Kanchi- puram, Chengalpat, and the two English seats of govern- ment on the coast, in their hands; the English shut up in Madras and Trichinapalli, sensible of the storm about to burst over their heads, and conscious of having no efficient means to protect themselves against its down- pouring. We leave them thus, whilst we proceed to trace, on the one side, the fate of the French settle-