Page:History of the French in India.djvu/563

 THE BLACK TOWN CAPTURED. 537 the day in reconnoitring the Fort and the Black Town. c ^ p Having done this to his satisfaction, he detached the - Chevalier de Crillon with the regiment of Lally to take 1758. possession of the Black Town, an enterprise which suc- ceeded with but little loss on the side of the French, the posts being evacuated as they advanced. The conquest, however, gave rise to great relaxation of discipline, for the town was rich, and the camp-followers, of whom there were 10,000, would not be restrained, nor had Lally a sufficient number of troops to enforce obedience, in this respect, to his orders. An indiscriminate pillage was consequently the result ; the value of the pro- perty seized being computed at 15,000,000 of francs (£600,000).* To the military chest, however, there resulted from the capture of the town a gain of but 92,000 francs or less than £3,700, being the contribu- tions of an Armenian whom Lally had saved from plunder, and of the Hindu chief of Arm. The town having been occupied, the Lorraine brigade and the brigade of Company's troops were posted on its right near the sea, the brigade of Lally and the sailor brigade establishing themselves in some buildings be- longing to the Capuchins on the rising ground on the left of the town. About ten o'clock on the follow- ing morning, whilst Lally, accompanied by Bussy and d'Estaing, was engaged in reconnoitring on the left of the Black Town, intimation was brought him that the English were making a strong demonstration against his right — an intimation quickly confirmed by the firing of small arms. Though separated from the brigades which formed the right by a marshy plain about 200 yards in width and by a little stream, d'Estaing at once started in full haste to join in the combat. He had ap- proached the scene of action, when, noticing some troops dressed in scarlet, he rode up to put himself at their head, believing them to be the volunteers of
 * Me moire pour Lally.