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534
The War of Coromandel.
Book XI

way. On the 16th, the Revenge, which had been left cruizing to the southward, came in with intelligence that she had on the 8th fallen in with Mr. Cornish's division, and three Indiamen, having on board Colonel Coote, with 600 men, the remainder of his regiment, and that they were beating up to Madrass. Mr. Pococke sailed, with his squadron, at break of day on the 18th, and the same night met Mr. Cornish's off Pondicherry: he immediately put such of the troops as were on board the men of war into the Queensborough frigate, and sent her away, with the three Indiamen, to Madrass; were they did not arrive until the 27th, taking ten days against the monsoon to gain what with it might have been run in as many hours. As soon as the troops were landed, 200 from the camp were embarked, in five Indiamen, for Bengal, with Major Calliaud, whom Colonel Clive had requested might be sent to take the command of the army in that province, if Colonel Coote should be detained to serve on the coast. Sixty Europeans had been sent a few days before to Masulipatam; but these detachments were partly compensated by another exchange of prisoners with Pondicherry, from whence 170, all that remained there, were delivered, and arrived on the 17th at Madrass.

The last exchange before this in August had cleared Tritchinopoly of the remainder of the French prisoners in confinement there. The numbers which, on different successes, had been brought into the city, were 670, all taken during the campaigns of Colonel Lawrence, under the walls of the city; but only 400 were remaining to be released, in the late exchanges: of the rest most had died; 30 had been sent on their offer of enlisting to serve with Mahomed Issoof in the countries of Madura and Tinivelly; and the others, who, although foreigners were not Frenchmen, had been admitted to serve in the garrison of Tritchinopoly, which, the final clearance of its dungeons released from the severest and most anxious part of their duty. The detachment of 90 men sent from Madrass, arrived at the city on the 26th of August. The Dutch at Negapatam would not let them land in their bounds, which obliged them to come on shore in the open town of Nagore, where they would have been exposed to risque, if