Page:History of the French in India.djvu/553

 FATALITY ATTENDING d'aCHE. 527 renounced his intended cruise, and returned to Pondi- chery. The two English vessels, which could not have escaped him had he proceeded in a southerly direction, 1758. arrived safely at Madras. On the following day Lally started for Tanjur, at the head of 1,600 European troops and a proportion of sipahis, leaving 600 Europeans and 200 sipahis under de Soupire in an intrenched camp between Alumparva and Pondichery. So powerful a force in point of num- bers had never before invaded the dominions of a native prince, but it was wanting in every particular which tends to make an army useful and efficient. It marched without organised carriage, without pro- visions, without money, without even a sufficiency of am- munition. All these supplies, even the ammunition, were to be obtained on the road, an arrangement which could not be carried into effect without relaxing to a dangerous extent the discipline of the army, and, what was of even more importance, alienating the people of the country. It is difficult to exaggerate the sufferings the soldiers endured.* At Devikota they had nothing to eat but rice in the husk, and it was not till they reached Karikal, 100 miles by the road from Pondichery, that they really had a meal. Even here Lally found only twenty-eight oxen and a small quantity of meal, the remainder of the supplies having been consumed by the squadron. But he received the next day from the Dutch at Tranquebar and Nagapatan both ammu- nition and food. The difficulties of his march, the suffering of his reached on the second day, without voila, a la letti e, l'horreiir de la sit- iinding wherewith to satisfy their uation dans laquelle vous nous avez hunger, Lally wrote thus to de Ley- mis, et le danger auquel vous ex- rit: " «T attends dans la nuit les posez une armee, <jue je ne serais bceufs qui traincnt l'artillerie afin de point surpris de voir passer a l'en- les faire tuer J'ai envoye a nemi pour chercher il manger."— Tranquebar pour y acheter tous les Lolly's Correspondence with Pondi- chiens-marrons (dog-fish) et bceufs ehery. que Foil pourra rencontrer, ainsi que
 * From Devikota, which they la raque a qiielque prix quecesoit: