(JO-t lllSTOUY (jr INL>1A. [Book III.
A.D. 1758 circles, he was denounced as inconiijcttiit, and, wliat he must have felt to l^e still more insulting, stigmatized as a coward. Tiie true way to answer his accusers was to wipe off the disgrace of Tanjore by some Ijrilliant achievement, and his thoughts turned at once to Madras, the capture of which would at once recover all the fame which he ha<l lost, and he the most important service which he could render to his country. He was perfectly aware, however, that the enter- ]>rise was by no means hopeful. During the time which he had lost in Tanjore the British presidency had been busily employed in improving their meaiLs of defence ; and the departure of Count d'Achd leaving Admiral Pococke in complete possession of the sea, not only made it easy for liim to pour in all necessary supplies, but would expose the besiegers to tlie danger of attacks and suq^rises, by the sudden landing of troops at their most vulnerable points. Then, as before, the treasury was exhausted ; and it was again necessary, at the expense of considerable delay, to engage in subordinate operations merely for the pur- pose of endeavouring to replenish it. So discouraging were all these consi- derations that Lally speaks in his own Afemoire as if he never contemplated the possibility of a successful siege, and expected to do nothing more than bombard the place, pillage the Black Town, and devastate the surrounding countiy. Subordinate Bcforc Setting out for Madras Lally had judged it expedient, for reasons
operations. . . ,.,. .^..
already mentioned, to engage in several military operations of minor importance. Saubinet, an officer whom he had despatched with a detachment to the west, captured Trinomalee on the 10th of September, and Carangoly a few days after. The Chevalier de Crillon, with another detachment, had recovered Trivatore. Lally himself, in the meantime, made a tour of inspection, visiting Alumparva, Gingee, and Chittapet, on the way to Wandiwash, which he had appointed as the place of rendezvous for all the separate detachments. Here he was joined by Bussy, who, in obedience to the peremptory orders which he had received, but with a full conviction of the pernicious consequences, had quitted the Deccan. He had brought his troops with him as far as Nellore, and then hastened for- ward with a few attendants, in the hopes that from his representations he might be permitted to return before the evils which he foresaw were actually realized. Lally, however, received his statements with indifference and incre- dulity, and attached Bussy permanently to his own ai-my. It will shoiily be seen that the French thus lost all the ascendency which they had established at the court of the Deccan, and exposed themselves to an attack which ultimately deprived them of the large and valuable temtory which had been pennanently ceded to them in the Northern Ci rears. While at Wandiwash, Lally sent Count d'Estaing with a detachment against Arcot. It proved unnecessary ; for Rajah Sahib, the late Chunda Sahib's eldest son, whom the French had recentl}' invested with the title of nabob, had already succeeded by bribeiy in corrupting the governor of his so-called capital. Lally, whom even the semblance of success now elated, considered the surrender of Ai'cot so important an event that he set
