Final French struggles in India and on the Indian Seas; ... with an appendix containing an account of the expedition from India to Egypt in 1801

'Vr\-r*'T'"^'"^'".t

FINAL FRENCH STEUGGLES

INDIA.

FINAL FRENCH STRUGGLES IN INDIA
AND ON THE INDIAN SEAS:

Including an Account of the Captwe of the Isles of

France and Bourbon, and Sketches of the most

eminent Foreign Adventurers in India

up to the 'period of that Capture.

WITH AN APPENDIX

Containing an Account of the Expedition from India to
Egypt in 1801.

BY

COLONEL G. B. MALLESOK C.SL

AUTHOR OF THE

'^History of the French in India,''
"Historical Sketch of the Native States of India.'' . t^

" The sun, the soil, but not the slave, the same
Unchanged in all except its forei{];n lord."

Childe Harold

LONDON:

WM. H. ALLEN & CO. 13, WATERLOO PLACE,

PALL MALL, S.W.

1878.

'V"

DEDICATION.

Dear Mrs. Spencer,

You may perhaps remember our conversa-
tions on the subject of my historical writings when
you were staying with me on the Nilghiri Hills nearly
twenty months ago. You then expressed your surprise
that — considering the careers, full of strange and varied
incident, of the sailors and adventurers who followed
Dupleix and Lally in the struggle against the English —
I had not continued and completed my History of the
French in India. I was unable at the moment to take
up your idea ; but some months later I made it my own.
That idea has now developed into a book, and the book
is about to appear. Considering the circumstances of
its origin, you will not, I feel assured, think me too
presuming if I now ask you to accord to the young
aspirant the privilege of introduction to the public under
the auspices of your favour and of your protection.

Believe me.

Dear Mrs. Spencer,

Very sincerely yours,

G. B. MALLESON.

27, West Cromwell Road,
1st February, 1878.

To Mrs. Almeric Spencer.

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2010 with funding from

University of Toronto

http://www.archive.org/details/finalfrenchstrugOOmall

CONTENTS.

PAGE

Introduction, -------- v

Book I. — French Mariners on the Indian Seas, - 1

Book n. — The Isle of France and her Privateers, - 79

Book ni. — Foreign Adventurers in India, - - 158

Appendix — Expedition from India to Egypt, 1801,' - 253

Index, 277

INTRODUCTION.

The present work supplies a suppressed chapter of
Anglo-Indian history. It undertakes, that is to say, to
describe, in detail, the final struggle of the French,
terminating in September, 1783, for empire in Southern
India ; the successful efforts of the same nation during
the wars of the Kevolution and the Empire to destroy
British commerce in the Indian Seas ; the suppression
of those efforts accomplished by the capture of the Isles
of France and Bourbon. It concludes with a sketch of
the most famous adventurers who strove, often success-
fully, to train and discipline on the European model
the soldiers of those native princes who, towards the
close of the last century, seemed the most likely to
come into hostile contact with the British.

It is strange, indeed, that in the standard English
histories of India these later efforts of England's most
persistent rival should have been dismissed in a few

VI INTRODUCTION.

lines. It is stranger still when we consider how
formidable those efforts appeared to contemporary
writers, how nearly they approached success, how
injuriously they did affect Anglo-Indian interests.
The author of a book called Transactions in India,
published in 1786, describes in clear and vivid
language events in which he himself was an actor,
and he paints the effect produced on the minds of
the English by the daring exploits of Suffren. The
French version of the same story, differing only in
unimportant details, and styled Histoire de la derniere
guerre, was published in 1787. Colonel Wilks, who
wrote his admirable history of Southern India in the
early days of the present century ; who was in India,
when Suffren fought his five battles with his Enghsh
rival and when Stuart was reduced to extremities at
Kadalur, describes in eloquent and impartial language
the dangers incurred by the Presidency of Madras in
1783, and how it was saved from those dangers only
by the timely suspension of arms which preceded the
Treaty of Versailles.

These are, so to speak, the contemporary records
of the period. The case for the English is stated in
the Transactions, that for the French in the Histoire,

INTRODUCTION. Vii

and the events they record are summarised by an
English writer, likewise an eye-witness. Yet the
reader of the earlier editions of Mill's History of
India would rise from the perusal of his description
of the war terminated in 1783, and of its details,
without the smallest suspicion that the supremacy
of the English in Southern India had been greatly
endangered. The account is more than meagi-e. It
induces a belief that important events were unimpor-
tant. In a word, it suppresses the point of the
subject of which it professes to treat.

A writer so honest and so conscientious as the late
Professor H. H. Wilson could not pass over this
omission without notice. The foot-note in which he
gives to the subject its true point, although short, is
most suggestive. " It seems probable," he writes,
" that but for the opportune occurrence of peace with
*' France the South of India would have been lost
** to the English. The annihilation of the army at
** Cuddalore would have been followed by the siege
" of Madras, and there was little chance of defending
" it successfully against Tippoo and the French." The
conclusion arrived at by Professor "Wilson is so fully
borne out by the facts of the case that the omission

Vlll INTKODUCTION.

of details referring to those facts by the writers of the
standard histories of India is very difficult to account
for.

Some of my friends, indeed, who read a portion of
this book in the pages of the Calcutta Review, have
not hesitated to tell me that they regard as unpatriotic
the attempt of an Englishman to search out and record
events which may contrast favourably a rival nation
with his own. But history is either a record of events
which have happened or it is romance. If it assume
to be a record of events which have happened it must
record the evil as well as the good, misfortune as
well as gain, defeat as well as victory. No one will
dispute this broad axiom. But, to take a narrower
view, it may with confidence be affirmed that the
truly patriotic writer is he who does not attempt to
hide the shortcomings of his own countrymen or the
virtues of their enemies. It is the writer who attempts
to lessen the merits of the enemy who is really guilty
of want of patriotism. For, if the enemy were as
contemptible as he is often described to have been
by the purely insular writer, the merits of those who
conquered him need not have been very considerable.

In attempting then to restore a suppressed chapter

INTRODUCTION. IX

of Indian history, in which the French navy appears
to very considerable advantage, and a French admiral
contesting the seas not unequally with an English
admiral, finally out-manceuvi-es and beats him ; in which
events are recorded which all but upset English
domination in Southern India ; whilst I narrate facts
which bring into strong light the virtues of individual
Frenchmen, I relate the history of a struggle which
ended in the triumph of England. There must have
been some English virtues counterbalancing the French
virtues, or some French defects greater than the French
virtues, to enable the English to gain that triumph.
For, by the admission of contemporary writers, our
countrymen were reduced to extremities when, as
if by the stroke of a magician's wand, they
recovered all that they had lost. For the virtues
and the defects, so nearly balancing each other
on either side, I must refer the reader to the
story itself. If success be a criterion of merit it is
clear that the balance must, on a general consideration,
be in favour of England.

The second Book is devoted to the description of a
later attempt on the part of the French of a very
different character indeed, but equally directed against

X INTRODUCTION.

English interests. I allude to the efforts made by
their privateers to destroy British commerce in the
Indian seas ; the success of those efforts ; and,
finally, the capture of the islands which had nurtured
the daring corsairs, and whence they made their
spring on the merchantmen of their rivals. It
happened that whilst engaged in writing this portion
of my book (1877) a debate occurred in the House
of Commons on the subject of privateering. It would
appear that there are some who still believe that by
continuing to adhere to those stipulations of the Treaty
of Paris which abolished privateering, England is
placing herself at considerable disadvantage with other
nations. I cannot but think that the perusal of my
book will have the effect of changing the views
of those who entertain this opinion. The note
I have appended to page 81 shows that during
the five years from 1793 to 1797 inclusive, whilst
the French privateers captured 2266 English merchant-
men, the English captures from her rival amounted
only to 376 ! And this mainly happened, be it
remembered, after Lord Howe's victory had annihilated
the French navy, when England was the undisputed
mistress of the seas. Is it possible to question the

INTEODUCTION. xi

evidence offered by these figures that the nation
which carries the largest amount of the commerce of
the world must always be the chief sufferer from
privateers ?

If, indeed, further evidence to the same effect be
required it will be found in the pages which follow
the note I have quoted. The losses suffered by
English traders in the Indian seas during the first
sixteen years of the war were computed by millions.
That these losses were caused by French privateers
is not only shown in the text but is borne out by
the fact that when, by the capture of the nest
whence the corsairs sallied out to burn and to destroy,
privateering was suppressed, the English merchantship
was able to pursue her way in safety. The damage
effected on the commerce of England by the light
squadrons and single ships of her enemy was small.
The privateers did all the mischief, and, as I have
said, that mischief ceased when those daring cruisers
were deprived of a base of operations.

If the advice urged by Marquess Wellesley in 1800-1
had been followed the depredations upon British
commerce in the Indian seas would have ceased at
a much earlier period. It was the rejection of

Xll INTRODUCTION.

that advice which caused to the British mer-
cantile community those losses which, I have
alread}^ stated, were to be counted by millions.
When, ten years later, convinced against his will,
Lord Minto, following in the lines of the great
Marquess, carried out his views, the capture of the
islands was found to be an operation comparatively
easy, effected with but little bloodshed, and with a
force which, large in comparison with the number of
the defenders, was yet considerably smaller than the
authorities both in England and in India had deemed
necessary. The second Book, which professes to tell
the story of the most famous of the privateers, fitly
concludes then with the account of the successful
expedition against the islands which were their home.
From a national point of view the results are not
dissimilar to those arrived at in the first Book. We
see evidences of the same gallantry on the part of
individual Frenchmen, and yet a conclusion favourable
to England.

In the third Book I have endeavoured to give some
detail of the careers of those foreign adventurers who
disciplined and trained the armies which contested
India with England at Aligarh, at Dehli, at Laswdri,

INTRODUCTION. XUi

at Assaye, and at Argaum. There can be no question
that in the last quarter of the last century there was
^in India scarcely any limit to the ambitious aspirations
of an European adventurer who might possess even
ordinary abiHty. When we see how men like Thomas
and Perron, both originally common sailors, both devoid
of abilities of the first-class, rose to the front rank ;
how one became the independent ruler of a principality,
and the other governed, for Sindia, a portion of India
comprehending roughly the country now known as the
North-west Provinces ; we gather an idea of the relative
practical character of the European and the Asiatic
at that epoch. But the sketches of the lives of these
adventurers are not less interesting from another-
point of view. They give a remarkable insight into
the mode of administration peculiar to the natives
of Hindostan. Beading them, we can form some
idea of the condition to which the whole of India
would have been reduced, had Lake been beaten at
Laswari and Wellesley at Assaye. We can see how
intrigue ruled supreme ; how moral character went
for nothing ; how audacity, recklessness, corruption,
always triumphed; how combined in one man, they
were irresistible. The sense entertained by the

XIV INTRODUCTION.

natives themselves of the condition of life and
property at that period is clearly shown in the
proverb which has survived in some parts to the
present day ; " The buffalo is to the man who
" wields the bludgeon." In my humble opinion,
formed after a service in India of thirty-five years,
during which I have mixed freely and on the most
intimate terms with the natives, the seventy odd
years which have intervened between the battle of
Laswari and the present day have wrought no
considerable change in the general character of the
people. Not that amongst them there have not
been, and are not, men of the highest moral
character; whose friendship is an honour, who know
what is right and who act up to their knowledge.
But these men form an inconsiderable minority.
In a time of confusion they would be swept away.
The love of intrigue still survives, and I write my
own personal experience when I state that in the
present decade, as much as in any that preceded
it, intrigue uses falsehood and slander to move from
high places men who strive earnestly and with all
their power to eradicate those blots in the native
character which were the curse of past generations.

INTRODUCTION. X?

In the last pages of this third Book I have
endeavoured to show how in consequence of these
vices it was inevitable that India should fall under
the domination of a foreign master, and how the
course of events caused that foreign master to be
British. No one can deny that, however dimly
the ultimate consequences may at the time have been
foreseen by our countrymen, we fought for the
position which we now occupy. It was with design
that we crushed the hopes of the French; with
design that we conquered Bengal ; with design that
we subdued Tippu ; with design that in 1802-3
we contested Hindostan with Sindia and Holkar.
Then, apparently for the first time, alarmed at the
empire at our feet, we attempted to hold our hand.
We withdrew from the princes of Kajputana the
protection which Marquess Wellesley had promised
them. What was the consequence ? Thirteen years
of oppression, of tyranny, of misgovernment in its
worst form in central and in western India ; the
licensed atrocities of Amir Khan, the robberies of
the Pindaris, dire spoliation by Maratha chieftains
and their followers. In spite of ourselves we had
again to step in. With the defeat and deposition

Xvi INTKODUCTION.

of the Peshwa, the overthrow of the Marathas and
Pindaris, the Marquis of Hastings closed a campaign,
which restoring British protection to Rajputana,
placed us formally on the pinnacle we now occupy.
Thenceforward we were forced to go onwards. We
annexed the Panjab, annexed Sind, and sucked in
Sattara, the dominions of the Bhonsla, and Oudh.
Suddenly the overgrown army of mercenaries we had
created, feeling its power, rose in revolt. Again did
England designedly assert her supremacy. The mutiny
crushed, we found ourselves face to face with a new
order of things. Thenceforward there were to be no
more annexations. But the crushing of the mutiny
had been but a continuation of the policy of Clive, of
Hastings, of Wellesley, of Hardinge, of Dalhousie —
a continuation forced upon us, but still a continuation.
We thus possess India by our own act ; we took
the responsibility upon ourselves, and we are morally
bound by it. On whom else could we cast it, if
we would ? We would not make it over to any
European power; we could not, without assuming
the fearful responsibility of a terrible and inevitable
future, resign it to a native prince ! No — we have
gained it and we must keep it. For my part

INTRODUCTION. XVll

I regard India as tlie brightest jewel in the diadem
of the Queen of England. I believe that the
natives of India are not solitary in deriving benefit
from their connection with England ; that directly
and indirectly England greatly gains by it. But
upon this large question I shall not here enter.
We are in India and we must stay there ; and
that we are there for the benefit alike of the princes
and the people is a fact which the wise and
thoughtful Indian will be the first to admit. Many
of them may perhaps have forgotten the days when
their country was divided into armed camps, each
led by a Pindari marauder or a Maratha freebooter ;
when justice was openly bought, when no man could
say in the day that his house would belong to him
on the morrow, when human life was uncared for, and
when readiness to commit the vilest crimes was a sure
road to Court favour. But these are matters which
it is well not to forget. Recalling them to the
memory the thinldng reader will draw a contrast
between that Maratha period of Indian history,
peculiarly favourable to reckless and unprincipled
adventurers. Native as well as European, and that
which has succeeded it, when as a rule the buffalo is

b

Xviii INTKODUCTION.

to the honest and frugal peasant, and when the
higher appointments under Government fall to the
intelligent, the well instructed, and the conscientious
citizen.

One word as to the authorities upon which I have
drawn. The deeds of SufFren have been painted
by four eminent French wi-iters, Hennequin, Canat,
Trublet, and Eoux. I have carefully compared the
statements made by these biogi-aphers with Dr.
Campbell's naval history of the period, with the
accounts given by the authors of the Transactions
in India, and of the Histolre cle la derniere guerre,
by Wilks (History of Southern India), and with the
information procured for me from the naval archives
of France. For the second Book, I am indebted
mainly to Canat (Histoire de Surcouf), to Gallas
{Les Corsaires Frangais sous la Republique), to the
Asiatic Annual Register, and to the files of Indian
papers of the last century which are stored up in
the Public Library of Calcutta. The contents of the
third Book are based mainly on the memoirs of
de Boigne, on a very curious record of the services
of his brother officers under native princes during
the last century by Major Ferdinand Smith, on the

INTRODUCTION. xix

Asiatic Annual Register, and on the newspaper files
above alluded to.

To the work as it stands I have added an
Appendix, giving a plain didactic account of the
expedition from India to Egypt in 1801. It is true
that the events recorded in this Appendix have only
an indirect connection with the main subject of the
book. But the French occupation of Egypt may
fairly be considered an integral part of the efforts
made by France to disturb the supremacy of England
in India. When, moreover, it is remembered that
we live in a time when the Eastern question is the
burning question of the day, I shall be excused for
thinking that a plain statement of an expedition from
India to Egypt organised by a Wellesley, carried into
execution by a Baird, and approved of by a
Wellington, may not be altogether out of place
or out of season. My authorities for the account of
this expedition are the Life of Sir David Baird, the
memoirs of the Comte de Noe, the British despatches,
and the Asiatic Annual Register.

G. B. MALLESON.

27, West Cromwell Road,
1st February, 1878,

BOOK I.

FRENCH MARINERS on the INDIAN SEAS.

In the history of the French in India I have brought
the story of the struggle for empire in the East of that
gallant and high-spirited people to the year 1761, From
that date the land contest really ceased. For although,
in 1782, France did despatch a considerable force to aid
Haidar Ali, the decrepitude of its leaders and the death
of Haidar combined to render its efforts fruitless. From
1761, indeed, the French ceased to be principals in the
contest. Thenceforth the adventurous sons of her soil
were forced to content themselves with the position of
auxiliaries to native princes. The foremost amongst
them, levying contingents of their own countrymen,

1

2 FRENCH MARINERS

took service in the courts whicli showed the greatest
incKnation to resist the progress of the increasing
power of the English. Thus the younger Lally, Law,
Raymond, de Boigne, Perron, Dudrenec, and many
others became the main supports upon which Haidar
Ali, the Nizam, Sindia, and Holkar rested their hopes
for independence, if not for empire. But, after all,
although in many cases these adventurers accomplished
much in the way of organising resistance to the English,
they did not succeed in their own secret views. They
failed entirely to resuscitate the dream of successful
rivalry to England. One by one they disappeared before
the steady advance of the foe they had once hoped to
conquer. Sometimes, as at Haidarabad, dismissed on
the requisition of an English governor ; again, as in
1802, beaten by the English general, they gradually
renounced the cause as hopeless, and finally ceased to
pursue the struggle. The hopes which had glimmered
but very faintly after the death of Haidar, which had
again been somewhat rekindled by the prudent measures
of Madhaji Sindia, were dealt a fatal blow by Lord Lake
at Aligarh and at Dehli, and were finally crushed by
that stalwart soldier on the field of Laswari.

But there was another element upon which the fortunes
of France still flourished even after the blow dealt at
her in 1761. Strange, indeed, it was, that during the
contest which terminated in that year, she had never
sent simultaneously to the field of action a capable
general and a capable admiral. It is true that La

t

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 6

Bourdonnais combined both qualities in his own person,
and the gi-eat things he had then been able to effect
ought to have served as an example for the times that
were to follow. But they did not. La Bourdonnais'
stay in the Indian seas was short. He was succeeded
by the feeble Dordelin. And subsequently, when the
Government of Louis XV. made the greatest effort
France had till then made to establish an empire in
India ; when it sent out a general who had won distinc-
tion on the battle-fields of Flanders, and soldiers who
had helped to gain Fontenoy and Laffeldt, it selected as
the colleague of the general an admiral of whom it has
been written that "to an unproductive brain he added
infirmity of purpose."

Subsequently to the capture of Pondichery in 1761,
the position was reversed. When, eighteen years later,
Bussy, gouty, infirm, and whom self-indulgence had
made halting and undecided, was sent to command the
land forces, he had as his naval colleague a man whose
name, covered with an eternal ray of glory, still shines
as one of the most illustrious, if not the most illustrious,
in the naval annals of France. I allude to Pierre
Andre de Suffren.

The Treaty of Paris, signed on the 10th February
1763, had restored Pondichery to France, but it was a
Pondichery dismantled, beggared, bereft of all her
influence. During the fifteen years which followed this
humiliating treaty, Pondichery had been forced to
remain a powerless spectator of the aggrandisement of

1 A

^ FRENCH MARINERS

her rival on Indian soil. Even when, in 1778, the war was
renewed, the Government of France was but ill prepared
to assert a claim for independence, still less for dominion,
in Eastern and Southern India.

The natural results followed. Chandernagor fell
without a blow (10th July 1778). Pondichery, ably
defended for forty days against vastly superior forces by
its Governor, Bellecombe, surrendered in the month of
September following ; the fleet commanded by M. de
Tronjoly, — a feeble copy of Count d'Ache, — abandoned
the Indian waters without even attempting to save Mahe.
All seemed lost. The advantages gained by the English
appeared too great to be overcome ; when the marvellous
energy of Haidar Ah, the Mahomedan ruler of Mysore,
gave a turn to events which upset the most carefully laid
calculations, and communicated to his French allies the
most brilliant hopes.

On the 4th April 1769 Haidar Ali had dictated peace
to the English under the walls of Madras. By one of
the articles of this treaty the contracting parties bound
themselves to assist each other in defensive wars. But
when, during the following year, Haidar was attacked
and was hardly pressed by the Msirhatus, the English
refused their aid. Haidar never forgave this breach of
faith.

When, therefore, some nine years later, he saw the
English embroiled alike with the French and the
Marhatas, Haidar resolved to take his revenge. He first
sent to the English an intimation that he should regard

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 5

an attack on the French settlement of Mahe, contiguous
to his own possessions on the western coast, as equivalent
to an attack upon himself. The English notwithstanding
took Mahe and endeavoured apparently to pacify the
ruler of Mysore by sending to him ambassadors charged
with presents. These latter were however little calculated
to produce such an effect. They consisted of a pigskin
saddle and a rifle which it was found impossible to load,
Haidar returned them with contempt, and prepared for
war.

His first efforts in the autumn were eminently
successful. Outmanoeuvring the English general,
Munro, he defeated and took prisoners (9th and 10th
September, 1780) a detachment of 3720 men, of whom
upwards of 500 were Europeans, under the command of
Colonel Baillie, at Perambakam. He then captured
Arcot and some minor places.

But the ruler of Mysore had not been unmindful of
the French alliance. Early in the year he had intimated
to the representatives of that nation in India his
determination to strike a decisive blow at their rivals, —
a blow which must be fatal, if the French would only
sufficiently aid him. But the ministers of Louis XVI.
were not alive to the importance of the stake to be
played for. In that year, when England was engaged
in a life and death struggle with her own children in
America, a fleet under Suffreu and 3000 men under a
skilled leader such as De Boigne, would have sufficed to
clear of her rivals the whole country south of the

O FEENCH MARINERS

Vindbya range. But though roused by the exhortations
of Haidar, and catching, though dimly, a feeble idea of
the possibilites before her, France, instead of sending a
fleet and an army to India, contented herself with the
despatch of a squadron and a regiment to guard the
isles of France and of Bourbon, which the English had
not even threatened.

This squadron, commanded by M. Duchemin de
Chenneville, found on its arrival at its destination that
the French islands were perfectly well protected by the
small detachment of vessels commanded by the French
admiral on the Indian station, the Chevalier d'Orves.
This officer, who had succeeded de Tronjoly, at once
assumed the command of the new arrivals. He had
then at his disposal six serviceable men of war, one
frigate, and two corvettes. It was not a large fleet, but
it carried with it one of the finest regiments in the
French army, a regiment such as, if landed in India,
should have sufficed to render the campaign of 1781
decisive.

A glimmering of the chances thus possibly awaiting
him seems to have decided d'Orves to take this small
fleet and this regiment to the Coromandel coast. He
sailed then from the islands on the 14th October and
sighted the coast near Kadaliir on the 25tli January
following (1781.) Before referring to his subsequent
conduct, let us take a glance at the position of affairs on
the mainland on that date.

Haidar, having outmanoouvi-ed Munro, beaten Baillie,

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. <

and captured Arcot, had laid siege to Ambm-, Vellor,
Wandewash, Permacol, and Cliinglepat. The first
named of these places surrendered on the 13th January,
but on the 18th, Haidar, having received intelligence
that the new English general, Sir Eyre Coote, had left
Madras the previous day, with the intention of attacking
him, raised the siege of the other places, and massed
his forces. Haidar at first manoeuvred to cut off" Sir
Eyre Coote from Madras, but Coote, careless of this,
marched upon Pondichery — the inhabitants of which
had shaken off the English yoke, and had begun to arm
the natives — revictualling the fortified places on his
route. Haidar turned, and, following, overtook him on
the 8th February, cutting him off" from the country
inland. As they approached Kadaliir, marching in
almost parallel lines, Haidar caught a glimpse of the
French fleet under d'Orves, guarding the coast, and
preventing the possibility of any supplies reaching the
English by sea. At last, he thought, he had them.
Coote possessed only the ground on which his army
marched. He was between the sea guarded by d'Orves,
and the grain-producing country shut out from him by
Haidar. Sir Eyre Coote has recorded his opinion as to
the fatal nature of his position. There seemed but one
chance open to him, and that was that Haidar might be
tempted to fight him.. He tried then every expedient
to induce that warrior to quit his lair. But the Asiatic
was far too wary. He knew that, barring accidents, his
enemy must surrender without firing a shot.

8 FRENCH MARINERS

Haidar, meanwhile, had communicated with d'Orves
and had hegged him to land the regiment he had on
hoard. He had pointed out to him likewise all the
advantages of his position, the fact that the last army
of the English was at their joint mercy, and that Madras
was guarded by but 500 invalids.

Never had France such an opportunity. It was an
absolute certainty. There was neither risk nor chance
about it. The English fleet under Sir Edward Hughes
was off the western coast. D'Orves had but to remain
quietly where he was for a few days and the English must
be starved into surrender. Sir Eyre Coote saw it; Haidar
Ali saw it ; every man in the army saw it ; every man in the
fleet saw it, excepting one. That man was d'Orves himself.
Of all the positions in the world that one which most
requires the possession of a daring spirit is the com-
mand of a fleet. That Government is guilty of the
greatest crime which sends to such a post a man wanting
in nerve, deficient in self-reliance. Once before had
France committed the same fault by entrusting in 1757,
to the feeble d'Ache, the task of supporting Lally. But
at least d'Ache fought. His feebler successor, d'Orves,
was not required to fight. He was required to ride at
anchor in the finest season of the year, a time when
storms are unknown in the Indian seas, and see an
enemy starve, — and he would not.

D'Orves, described by his own countrymen as a man
" indolent and apoplectic," saved Sir Eyre Coote. In
spite of the protestations of Haidar, he sailed for the

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. V

islands on the 15th February, taking away every man
he brought with him, and having accomplished nothing.
The English force at once obtained supplies from
Madras.*

Haidar, thus left to himself, fought Coote on the
1st July at Chilambram, and, after a desperate contest,
was beaten. On the 27th August following he again
engaged Coote at Parambakam, and this time not
unequally. Haidar, however, left the field to the enemy.
On the 18th February following (1782) Colonel Braith-
waite's detachment, after combating for three days,
succumbed to the superior numbers of Tippu Sahib. It
was about the period of this last encounter that France
appeared once again upon the scene, better though not
perfectly represented ; for while she entrusted her fleet
to the greatest of all her admirals, she committed the

* The Viscomte de Souillac, at that time Governor of the Isle of
France, has thus recorded his opinion of d'Orves, in a memoir in the
Archives of the French Navy: "By this astonishing obstinacy of
M. d'Orves, which I reported to the ministry at the time, we lost an
opportunity such as will never recur, of becoming absolute masters of
the Coromandel coast. This army of Kadalur (Sir Eyre Coote's)
14,000 strong, of which 3000 to 4000 were English, comprised all the
troops the English had in this part of India. Madras could not have
held out, and the junction of our forces with those of Haidar Ali would
have enabled us to conquer Tanjore and Masulipatam with all their
dependencies."

An English writer, the author of Memoirs of the late War in Asia,
published in 1788, and who himself took part in the campaign, writes as
follows — " Had the French admiral left only two frigates to block up
the road of Cuddalore, consequences might have happened as fatal to the
interests of Great Britain in the East Indies, as flowed in North America
from the convention of Saratoga."

10 FRENCH MARINERS

charge of her army first to an incapable sailor, only to
replace him by a gouty sexagenarian. But to recount
the causes which led to this powerful intervention we
must for a moment retrace our steps.

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. H

II.

Still unconscious of the fact that the War of Indepen-
dence in America offered them the rarest opportunity for
striking a decisive hlow at the English power in India,
the French Government were nevertheless alive to the
necessity of preserving from attack the Cape of Good
Hope, then belonging to their allies, the Dutch, and of
maintaining a respectable force in the Indian Seas.
Early, then, in 1781, a squadron of five men of war*
was fitted out, and on the 22nd March sailed from
Brest, under the command of the Commandant de
Suffren.

This illustrious sailor was born at St. Cannat in Pro-
vence on the 13th July, 1726, the third son of the Marquis
de Sufi'ren de Saint Tropez. Destined for the navy he
entered that service in 1743, and in the Solkle, of 74 guns,
joined the French fleet in the Mediterranean. He took part
in an engagement with the English fleet under Admiral

* They were :

Le Heros, .. 74 Guus. Commaudaut de Suffren.

UAnnibal, ..74 ,, Capitaine de Tr6migon.

UArUlsien, ..64 ,, „ de Cardailhac.

Le Vengeur, . . 64 „ ,, de Forbin.

Le Sphinx, ..64 ,, „ du Chilleau.

12 FKENCH MARINERS

Matthews. Transferred to the frigate Pauline, he again
had several opportunities of displaying his courage. The
same year, serving on board Le Monarque, he was taken
prisoner. After the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle he was
released, and proceeding to Malta became one of the
Knights of the order of St. John of Jerusalem. During
the Seven Years' War he took part in the siege and
capture of Port Mahon (29th July, 1756), and was for
the second time made prisoner at the combat of Lagos
(1759). Returning to France after a captivity of two
years, he was promoted to the command of the Cameleon
of twenty guns, and sent to the Mediterranean to protect
the French commerce. Subsequently, in the Singe, he
so distinguished himself as to be promoted to the grade
of commander ( capitaine defregatej. The seven years
which followed offered little occupation to his warlike
nature. In 1772 he was promoted to the rank of pos
captain (^capitaine de vaisseauj, and in 1778, in com-
mand of Le Fantesque, he joined the squadron under
Count d'Estaing, sent to aid the colonists of America.
In the campaign which followed he so distinguished
himself that he was granted a pension and marked for
future command. A short cruise with two men of war
in 1780 added to his reputation alike as a daring and
skilful sailor and an unsurpassed manager of men.
When, therefore, it was decided to send a squadron to
the Indian seas, the choice of the minister fell naturally
upon one who had shewn himself the most promising
captain in the royal navy of France.

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 13

Such had been the services of the man who was now
starting with a squadron of five Hne of battle ships to
maintain the honour of his country in the Eastern seas.
Setting sail on the 22nd March, in company with the
fleet destined for the American waters under the Count
de Grasse, Suffren separated from that admiral at
Madeira, and continued his course towards the Cape of
Good Hope. He had under his charge seven transports
conveying detachments of the regiment of Pondichery,
and overlooking these was a corvette of 16 guns, La
Fortune. He had it very much at heart to reach the
Cape as quickly as possible, so as to anticipate the
arrival there of Commodore Johnstone, who, he had
been informed, had sailed for that place from St. Helena
with thirty-seven ships of sorts.*

Commodore Johnstone had sailed from Spithead on
the 13th March, 1781, with orders to attack the Dutch
possessions at the Cape. Ai-riving at St. lago, one of
the Cape de Verde islands, he deemed it necessary to
stop there in order to take in wood, water, and livestock
for his voyage. He accordingly put into Porto Pray a
early in April.

It so happened that one of Suflfren's men of war, the
Artesien, had been originally destined for the fleet
sailing to the American waters, and her supplies of

* The squadron consisted of one ship of 7-1 guns, one of 6J:, three of
50, and three frigates. The remainder were armed transports.

The names were the Hero, 74 ; the Monmouth, 64 ; the Isis, Jupiter,
and Romtiey of 50 each. The three frigates carried each 32 guns, and
tlie transports had 112 guns amongst them. — CamphelV s Naval UUtory

14 FRENCH MARINERS

water had been regulated accordingly. As the French
squadron approached the island of St. lago, the com-
mander of that vessel, M. de Cardailhac, suggested to
his chief the advisability of his putting into the bay of
La Praya, in order to complete his supplies, Suffren
assented, and ordered Cardailhac to stand in. At the
same time, to guard against any possible danger, he
followed in his track with the rest of the squadron.*

On the morning of the 16th April, favoured by a
breeze from the north-east, the Artesien had just passed
between the islands of Maio and St. lago, when her
captain discovered at anchor at the entrance of the
roadstead an English vessel, and almost immediately
afterwards there burst upon his view the thirty-seven
ships of war and transports which Commodore John-
stone had brought from England. Cardailhac at once
signalled to his commander that enemies were in
sight.

It was a gi-eat opportunity for Suflfren. He doubted
not that the English were quite unprepared to receive
him ; that they were dreaming of nothing less than of an
attack ; that the crews would probably be dispersed in
search of water and provisions. And this was actually
the fact. Of the crews of the English vessels nearly

* Campbell (Naval History) states that the French had received " by
some means or other" information that Johnstone had put into Porto
Praya ; but his statement is quite unsupported. The same reason which
had prompted Johnstone himaelf to put in, and that reason alone, guided
the movements of Suffren.

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 15

fifteen hundred were out foraging; and Commodore
Johnstone himself so little expected an attack that he
was at the moment engaged in giving directions for
altering the position of some of his ships which had
drifted too near to each other.*

Suflfren did not forego his chance. Despatching La
Fortune to collect and guard the transports, he, at half-
past ten in the morning, led the way in the Heros, and
standing in close to the shore, followed by the other
ships of his squadron, he made for the largest EngHsh
vessel, also called the Hero, and cast anchor between
her and the Monmouth.

The concentrated fire of the English squadron was for
a few moments directed on the daring invader ; but very
quickly the Annibal came to her aid, and diverted to
herself much of the enemy's attention.

The Artesien, which was following, was not fortunate.
The smoke of the combat caused her captain, Cardailhac,
to mistake one of the armed transports for a man-of-
war. He was about to board her, when he was shot
dead through the heart. La Boixiere who replaced him
was incompetent. He, too, mistook another transport
for a frigate. Whilst engaged in boarding her, the
freshening breeze took both his vessel and his prize
quite out of the line of fire.

The Vengeur, which had followed, went along the
line of the enemy, exchanging broadsides, but her cap-
tain's order to anchor not having been attended to, she
* Campbell.

16 FRENCH MARINERS

made the tour of the roadstead, and then quitting it,
found herself unable to return.

The Sphinx, owing to the mistake or disobedience of
her captain, did not anchor. She endeavoured to main-
tain her position by manoeuvring, keeping up at the
same time a heavy fire ; but she rendered little effectuf
aid.

Sufeen found himself then with two anchored vessels,
and one unanchored, and therefore comparatively use-
less, engaged with the whole English squadi'on. The
odds were tremendous, but he still possessed the advan-
tage always given by a surprise, and he continued, for
an hour and a half, to maintain the unequal combat.
At last, when the Annihal had lost her main and mizen
masts, and her captain had been disabled ; when the
Heros had received considerable damage in her rigging,
and had lost eighty-eight men killed and wounded ; and
when all hope of effectual aid from the other three vessels
of his squadron had disappeared, he deemed it advisable
to discontinue the contest. Signalling, therefore, to the
Annihal to follow him, he slowly sailed out of the road-
stead, still keeping up a tremendous fire.

The Annihal essayed to follow him ; but, as she passed
between the Hero and the Monmouth, her remaining
mast fell by the board. Fortunately the wind had
shifted and was now blowing strongly from the south-
west. She managed thus to rejoin, though slowly, her
consorts outside.

It was about half-past twelve o'clock in the day when

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 17

Suffren reunited his squadron outside the harbour and
began to repair damages. Three hours later Commodore
Johnstone followed him and appeared inclined to attack in
his turn. Suffren, however, placing the Ann'ibal in the
centre of his line, offered so bold a front, that the
ji^nglish commodore, whose ships, especially the Isis, had
suffered severely, di-ew off and returned to La Praya.*
Suffren then continued his voyage without molestation,
and on the 21st June cast anchor in Table Bay. The
convoy arrived nine days later.

Having landed his troops at the Cape ; having secured
the colony against attack; having completely repaired
his damages, and having been joined by two corvettes,
the Consolante and the Fine, Suffren sailed for the
islands of France and Bourbon on the 28th August. He
cast anchor in Port Louis on the 25th October following.

* Dr. Campbell states that Johnstone " pursued the French, but he
was not able to overtake them." The French authoriiies, on the other
hand, assert that theii- fleet put on so bold a front that Johnstone stayed
his advance, although he was within two cannonshot of their ships. " It
was only at night," says Eoux, " that the French continued their route,
lighting their fires to provoke the enemy to follow them. The English,
who had the advantage of the wind, dared not accept the challenge, but
returned precipitately to La Praya." It is clear, considering the disabled
state of the Annibal, and that the English commodore had the advantage of
the wind, that he could have forced an action had he desired to do so.

On his return to the roadstead. Commodore Johnstone recaptured the
transport taken by VArtesien.

Much has been said by English \vi-iters regarding the fact that the
Cape de Verde islands were neutral ground. It is perfectly true, but in
this respect the French only did as they had been done by. The harbour
of Lagos, in which the vessel on board of which Suflfren sei-ved in 1759
had taken refuge, was equally neutral ground, and yet the French had
been attacked in it by the English.

18 FRENCH MARINERS

He found there six men of war, three frigates, and some
corvettes. But at their head was the indolent and
incapable d'Orves, the same who, we have seen, had already
thrown away the most splendid chance of establishing a
French India ! It was under this man that Suffren was
to serve as second in command !

Meanwhile the French Groverument had tardily decided
to make in 1782 an attempt which could scarcely have
failed if hazarded in 1780. It had resolved to strike
another blow, this time in concert with Haidar Ali, for
domination in Southern India. With this object in view
it had roused from his retreat the Marquis de Bussy, the
man who in his youth and middle age had gained honour
and glory and wealth in that fairy land, but who now,
gouty, worn out, and querulous, was incapable alike of
decision and enterprise.*

The designs of the Court of Versailles had been com-
municated early in the year to M. de Souillac, Governor
of the islands, and it had been intimated that transports
containing troops would gradually arrive at his Governor-
ship, and that, concentrating there, they would proceed
to India, escorted by a powerful fleet under the command
of Count d'Orves. De Souillac, who was enterprising
and patriotic, had at once set to work to organise a force
with the resources at his command from among the
colonists ; and at the period of the arrival of Suffren, he
had drilled and armed a corps of 2868 men. Bussy had

* Bussy was then only sixty-four years okl ; but twenty years of sloth
and luxury had quite impaired his faculties.

I

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 19

not then arrived. De Souillac therefore conferred the
command of this force upon M. Duchemin.

It was an unfortunate choice. Duchemin was a sailor
rather than a soldier. But he was strong neither on the
sea nor on the land. He was as weak mentally as
physically. A terrible fear of responsibility acted upon a
constitution unable to bear the smallest fatigue. A man
of moderate abilities would have sufficed for the occasion.
The abilities of Duchemin were not even moderate.

These 2868 men, well commanded, and escorted to a
given point by Suffren, would have sufficed to give the
preponderance to Haidar Ali in his struggle with the
English. But moments were precious. The war with
the American colonists still indeed continued, but many
things presaged that its duration would not be long.
It was necessary, then, that the French should strike
at once, and should strike with vigour and precision.

Of this necessity no one was more convinced than the
Governor of the islands, de Souillac. He hastened his
preparations, so that on the 7th December, 1781, the
French fleet, consisting of eleven men of war, three
frigates, three corvettes, one fireship, and nine tran-
sports containing troops, was able to set out for its
destination.

What was its destination ? Suflfren, with a precision
natural to him, had advised that it should sail direct for
Madras, and attempt to take that town by a coup de
main. But the cautious and feeble d'Orves had over-
ruled him. He would only proceed by degrees. He

2 A

20 FEENCH MAKINERS

would feel his way. It was too much for him even to
take a straight look at India. He therefore directed the
fleet upon Trincomali.

But Providence had one good turn in store for the
French. Happily for the success of the expedition
d'Orves died on the way (9th February, 1782). He made
over the command to Suifren who had just received the
rank of commodore {chef d'escadre). Suffren at once
altered the course to Madras.

Before this event had happened, Suffren himself in
his ship, the Heros, had pursued and captured an
English man-of-war of 50 guns, called the Hannibal.
She was at once added to the French fleet under the
title of Le jietit Annibal. From the officers of this vessel
Suffren learned, for the first time, that large reinforce-
ments were on their way to the English squadron in the
East.

Passing Pondichery, Suffren despatched to that town,
in a corvette, Lieutenant-Colonel Canaple, with instruc-
tions to communicate at once toHaidar AH the intelligonce
of his arrival and his hopes. On the 15th February, just
three days before Colonel Braithwaite's detachment
succumbed to Tippu Sahib, his fleet came in sight of
Madras.* Anchored in front of Fort St. George, and
protected by its guns, he descried eleven t ships of war, —

* The currents and a southerly breeze had taken his squadron con-
8ideral)ly to the north of Madras. Coming again under the influence of
the N.-E. Monsoon ho approached Madras from the north.

+ Dr. Campbell mentions only nme. The other two were probably
frigates.

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 21

the squadron of Sir Edward Hughes. Suffren formed
his ships in line of battle till he arrived "within two
cannonshots of the English fleet. He then anchored and
summoned all his captains on board the Heros to a
council of war.

It must always be remembered that the fleet of M. de
Sufl"ren was escorting transports conveying a corps
(Tarmee, and that it was a main object with him to land
his troops and disembarrass himself of his transports
before attempting an equal combat with the enemy. The
proposal then of the captain of the Fine, M. Perrier de
Salvart, to attack Sir Edward Hughes, lying as he was
under the cover of the guns of Madras, appeared to him
too hazardous. He determined therefore to du-ect the
transports on towards Porto Novo, covering their course
with his fleet.

In pursuance of this decision the fleet commenced
its southward course that same evening. But as the
breeze freshened, Suffren observed the English vessels
hoist their sails and follow him. Rightlj' conceiving
that their object was to cut off his transports, Sufl"ren
gave the order that these should range themselves
between the shore and his fleet, covered by the corvette
the Poiirvoyeuse, and make all sail for Porto Novo,
whilst the Fine should watch the enemy's movements.

In spite of these precautions, however. Sir Edward
Hughes, favoured by the darkness of the night, glided
unperceived between the French squadron and the tran-
sports. These latter crowded sail to escape, and when

22 FRENCH MARINERS

day broke they and their pursuers had sailed almost out
of sight of Suffren's squadron. Suddenly, however, the
look-out man on board the Fine signalled the enemy to
the south. Immediately every sail was set, and the
Heros, followed by the rest of the squadron, soon
approached the pursuers and the pursued. Sir Edward,
thus baulked of this prey,* hove to, and ordered the
chase to be discontinued.

In the battle now about to engage, the French had
the advantage of two ships, having eleven against nine
of the English. Yet this advantage, great as it was,
was balanced, partly by the superior organization of the
English, partly also by the jealousy and dislike enter-
tained towards Suflren by the officers of the ships which
had joined him at the islands. The jealousy, so often
evinced in the time of Dupleix, which could not subor-
dinate personal feelings to duty, manifested itself in
the manner now to be described in the course of the
action.

The French fleet was formed into two divisions ; the
first was composed as follows : —

IjP Heros 74 guns, caiTying the commodore's broad pennant.

UOrient 74 ,, one of the ships brought from Port Louis.

Le Sphinx 64 ,, brought by Suffren from Brest.

Le Vengeur 64 ,, ditto ditto.

Le petit Amiibal 50 ,, captured from the English.

* Dr. Campbell says vaguely that he captured " several of them ; " but
tiie French accounts shew that all the troops were disembarked sub-
scjuontly at Porto Novo.

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 23

The second division, commanded by the captain of the
Annibal, de Tromelin, consisted of : —

UAnnibal 74 guns, brought by Suffren from Brest.

Le Severe 64 ,, ,, from Port Louis.

UArtesien 64 ,, ,, by Suflren from Brest.

UAjax 64 ,, ,, from Port Louis.

Le Brillant 64 ,, ,, ditto.

Le Flamand 54 ,, ,, ditto.

The armament amounted to 710 guns.
The EngHsh fleet was thus composed : —

The Superb 74 guns. Flagship.
The Hero 74 „
The Monarch 74 „
The Exeter 64 „
The Eagle 64 „

The Monmouth 64 guns.

The Worcester 64 ,,

The Barf or d 64 „

The Isis 54 „

or a total armament of 596 guns.

It was half-past three o'clock in the afternoon before
the wind, which was light and variable, allowed Suffren
to approach his enemy. Seeing even then that some of
his captains had not occupied the post assigned to them,
he signalled to them to take the place in the line which
each could reach the most quickly.

Eapidly advancing then, he exchanged a broadside
with the Exeter, but noticing the flag of the English
admiral, he directed the Herus towards the vessel that
bore it, at the same time signalling to the second
division to close within pistol-shot of the enemy.

The combat lasted from half-past three to seven
o'clock in the evening. But it was not till quite the
close of the action that all the French ships came into
the line of fire. The entire first division consisting of

24 FRENCH MAEINERS

five ships was engaged throughout ; but of the second
the Flamand and the Brillant alone came to close
quarters, the remaining four, disobeying the direct
orders of the commodore, keeping up only a distant fire.

On the part of the English tbe brunt of the attack
was borne by the Exeter and the Superb. The former,
fought splendidly by Captain King, was terribly riddled.
Her loss in killed and wounded was very great. The
Superb, too, sufiered severely.

At seven o'clock the combat ceased as if by mutual
consent. Darkness had come on, and Suffren was
too ill-satisfied with the conduct of five of his
captains to risk a continuance of the contest. Sir
Edward Hughes on his side was well content that it
should cease. He was expecting reinforcements from
England and by bearing down to the south he was likely
to meet them. An opportunity would then off'er to
renew the battle on more advantageous terms. Taking
advantage then of the quiescent attitude of the enemy
he made all sail to the south.

It is probable that on this occasion, for the first and only
time in his life, Sufi'ren missed a great opportunity. He had
on the whole had the advantage in the action. He had
reduced one of the enemy's ships to an almost sinking
condition * and their losses had been heavier than his own.

* " At the close of the action when she (the Exeter) had been most dread-
fully cut up, two fresh vessels of tiie enemy's squadron bore down upon her.
The Master asked Commodore King what he should do withhcr under the
circumstances. His reply was " there is notbingto be done butto fight till she
sinks." Just at this moment the two French ships were recalled. Vamj)hcll.

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 25

He knew that the Enghsh were expecting reinforcements.
Why then did he not promptly pursue them ? He did
not do so because he could not trust all his captains.

The following morning Suffren summoned his captains
on hoard the Hews. Those inculpated promised better
conduct for the future. The squadron then quietly
pursued its course to Porto Novo. Here Suffren dis-
embarked his troops, negotiated the terms of an alliance
with Haidar Ali, and on the 23rd, having re-\ictualled
his ships and been joined by one man-of-war and three
frigates, sailed for the south, protecting some trans-
ports he was despatching to the islands, and hopiug to
meet again his English rival.

On the 8th April his wishes in this respect were
fulfilled. With his twelve line of battle ships he sighted,
on the morning of that day, the eleven ships composing
the squadron of Sir Edward Hughes* standing for
Trincomali. For three days they continued in sight,
Suffren finding it impossible to force an action. But on
the morning of the 12th, Hughes, changing his course
to gain Trincomali, unavoidably gave the Frenchman the
advantage of the wind. Of this advantage Suffren
made prompt use.

The action began about half-past twelve o'clock.
Seven of the French ships were immediately engaged.
But two, the Vengeiir and the Artesien, notwithstanding
the repeated signals of the commodore, kept at a
distance, and their example was for some time followed

* The French ships carried 972 guns ; those of the English 737.

26 FRENCH MARINERS

by the Severe, the Ajax and the Annihal. At last these
three came up, and the action became general.

In the early part of the day fortune seemed to incline
to the French. The Monmouth was dismasted and
compelled to quit the line, having had 45 men killed
and 102 wounded. The -S'^yjerZ; was greatly damaged. The
English admiral then gave orders to the squadron to
wear. By this manoeu\Te, the position of the rival fleets
was reversed. Still, however, the battle continued; when
suddenly at six o'clock a tremendous storm burst upon
both fleets, enveloping them in darkness, and forcing
them, close to a lee shore, to pay attention to their own
safety. Sufli'en at once signalled to anchor.

In this battle the English lost 137 killed and 430
wounded ; the French 130 killed and 364 wounded.
The Heros, the Orient and the Brillant had suffered
severely. Nevertheless the next morning Suflfren offered
battle to Sir Edward, but the English admiral, having a
large convoy under his charge, declined it. Suffren
then sailed southward, whilst the English squadron
entered the harbour of Trincomali. As to the captains
of the Vengeur and the Artesien, Captains de Forbin
and de Maurville, Suffren reported their conduct to the
Minister of Marine. Subsequently, it will be seen, he
deprived them of their commands and sent them to
France, where, on arrival, they were imprisoned.

A little more than a fortnight after this battle, Suffren
l)rought his squadron into the anchorage of Batacola, a
Dutch port in the island of Ceylon, about twenty leagues

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 27

to the south of Trincomali, to which place the EngKsh
squadron had repaired. By taking up this position
Suflren gained all the advantage of the wind which was
just beginning to set in from the south. He had
previously despatched a brig, the Chasseur, to the
islands to demand of M. de Souillac men and munitions
of war, of which latter there did not remain to him a
sufl&cient quantity for a single action.

Here, at Batacola, Suftren received despatches from
France directing him to proceed to the islands to escort
Bussy to the Indian coast.* But there were grave
reasons which urged Suffren to defer obedience to these
instructions. In the first place he could not place
confidence in many of his captains. The senior next to
himself, Captain de Tromelin, was a man whom he had
reason specially to mistrust. To leave to such a man
the charge of a squadron wanting in men and ammuni-
tion, at a time when an English squadron of almost
equal force was ready to dispute with it the mastery of
the Indian Seas, and when nearly 3000 French troops,
but just landed, required the support of French ships,
was a course which prudence and patriotism alike
spurned. Suffren preferred then to take upon himself
the responsibility of not obeying the minister's order.
He justified this line of action in a letter to the
Governor of the Isles of France and Bourbon.

• These despatches were brought to Sufl'ren by VillaretJoyeuse,
subseqiu'iitly distinguished as the admiral who, with a revohitiouary fleet,
fouglit thf battle of the 1st June against Lord Howe.

28 FKENCH MARINEKS

Fortunately for France the Governor of the islands
was a man endowed with a cool judgment, a clear
understanding, and large and comprehensive views. He
in his turn justified the action of Suffren to the Minister
of Marine. After detailing the various reasons which
would render the absence of Suffren from the scene of
action not only inexpedient but dangerous to French
interests, he thus concluded : "It may truly beafi&rmed
that the course M. de Suffren has taken will save India
and pave the way for the success of the Marquis de
Bussy."

The French fleet remained in the anchorage of Batacola
till the 1st June. It was a trying time for Suffren.
His greatest enemies were the recalcitrant captains who
were sighing for the luxurious diet, the graceful forms,
and the smiling faces of the Isle of France. These
offered a covert resistance to all the plans of their
commodore. But Suffren saw through their motives,
and being a plain speaker, he told them bluntly that he
would rather sink the squadron before the forts of
Madi-as than retire before Admiral Hughes. " If there
are any," he added, " who have formed the conception
of such an infamy let them give me their reasons and I
shall know how to answer them." It was in putting
down the intrigues formed by these men, in repairing
and re-victualling his ships, in tending on the shore the
sick and wounded, and finally in welcoming re-iuforce-
ment of men and munitions, that the six weeks at
Batacola were spent.

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 29

Meanwhile the troops under the feeble Duchemin,
disembarked at Porto Novo the 20th April, had begun
their operations. It had been arranged between the
French commodore and Haidar Ali that 6000 infantry
and 4000 cavalry of the Mysore army should join the
French force, and that these united should, under the
command of the French general, act in concert with
Haidar Ali, the latter furnishing supplies both in money
and kind. These arrangements were quickly carried
out. Haidar had wished that the French corps d'armee
should at once attack Negapatam, a most important
town on the coast, and the capture of which could then
have been easily effected. Duchemin, however, pre-
ferred the easier conquest of Kadalur. This place
sm-rendered on the 6th May. A junction was then
effected with Haidar Ali, and the united armies besieged
and took Permacol, and a few days later invested
Wandewash.

Then occurred another instance of the crime of intrust-
ing important military operations to a man without brains
and without nerve. Probably in private life Duchemin
was amiable and inoffensive. He was certainly not tor-
mented by a constant desire to dare. These somewhat
negative qualities ought to have engendered a doubt as
to the possession of the sterner faculties which fit a man
for command. It has indeed been conjectured that he
might have owed his selection to there not being a better
man on the spot. Yet, judging by results, such a
surmise must be a libel on all and every one of the
2868 men he led to India.

30 FRENCH MARINERS

Just imagine his position. The Enghsh had but one
army in Southern India. That army consisted of about
12,000 men, of whom httle more than 2000 were
Europeans. It was commanded by Sir Eyre Coote, a
man who had been very good in his day, but who was
then utterly broken down in health. That army defeated,
and Southern India would become Mysorean and French.

On the the other side was the army of Haidar Ali,
60,000 strong, flushed with victory over Braith waits,
and but just joined by about 2000* Frenchmen under
Duchemiu. For this army a defeat was comparatively
unimportant ; for the Englislj had not the men to follow
up the victory, and Haidar had another army to fall back
upon. It was just the occasion when it was the policy
of the English to avoid a decisive action, of the allies to
force one on.

Yet, it is scarcely credible that, whilst the English
general so far played into his enemy's hands as to offer
battle to them, the French commander declined it. If
success justifies the neglect of all rule, then, and then
alone, was Coote warranted in offering battle. Defeat
would have ruined him. Yet his part, at least, was
a noble and a daring part. But what can justify
Duchemin ?

Look again at the position. Haidar Ali and Duchemin
with an army of over 60,000 men were besieging Wande-
wash ; Sir Eyre Coote thought that Wandewash must be
saved at any price. He therefore advanced with his

* Deducting the sick in hospital.

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 31

army, 12,000 strong, and offered battle to the allies. His
position was of no great strength. He had no advan-
tages. He was over-matched in cavalry, in infantry, and
in artillery. Haidar, old as he was, was eager to accept
the challenge. Duchemin refused.

Why did he refuse '? The fate of French India was in
his hands. He had but to tell his countrymen to fight,
as Frenchmen will fight, and, in all probability, Wande-
wash would have been the grave of the English. ^Tiy
then did he refuse? It was an opportunity at which
Suifren would have clutched, which the least of the
generals of Napoleon would have made decisive. Un-
happily for France, Duchemin was less than the least of
her warrior children.

In reply to the urgent requisition of Haidar, Duchemin
pleaded his health ; he pleaded his instructions not to
fight before the arrival of Bussy ; he pleaded, not in
words, but in a manner not to be misunderstood, his
own innate incapacity.

Haidar AH saw it — saw it with disdain . In compliance
Tvdth the urgent solicitations of the Frenchman, he ab-
stained from attacking Coote, and, raising the siege of
Wandewash, retreated towards Pondichery, and occupied
a strongly fortified position close to Kalinur. But the
loss of the opportunity chafed him. Such allies were
useless to him. He determined to show them he could
fight the English without them.

The occasion soon presented itself. Sir Eyre Coote,
foiled in his endeavours to force on a battle before

32 FRENCH MARINERS

Wandewash, determined to make an attempt on the
magazines of Haidar at Arni. There were all his stores ;
there his supplies of ammunition and weapons of war.
To surprise that place would in very deed give a deadly
wound to his enemy. Coote resolved to attempt it. His
chances seemed good, for he had gained over the com-
mandant of Arni.

Coote set his army in motion for that purpose on the
night of the 30th May. But Haidar had had good infor-
mation and had penetrated his plan. Whilst then he
sent hy forced marches Tippii and his own French
contingent under the younger Lally to protect Arni, he
broke up from his camping ground at Kalinur, and
marched on the track of Coote, hoping to take him in
rear. He did not even ask the opinion of Duchemin,
but left him and his coiys cVarmee behind.*

Haidar Ali overtook the English force on the 2nd June
just as they were in sight of Arni. The English leader
was surprised. He had Tippu and Lally in front of him,
and Haidar Ali in his rear. His troops were tired.
Haidar had never had such a chance. But the skill of
Coote and the valour of the English baffled him. By
dexterous manoeuvring Coote made it a day of skirmish-
ing, in the course of which he captured one of Lally's
guns stuck fast in the bed of the river. In his main
object, however, Coote was baffled. Haidar saved Arni.
Four days later Haidar took his revenge for the loss of

• To mark his sense of Duchemin's conduct Haidar suspended the
supply of provisions to the French army during his own absence.

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 33

his gun by tempting the English into an ambuscade.
They fell into the snare, and lost 166 men, 54 horses,
and two guns. Haidar's loss was about 60 men. After
this action Sir Eyre Coote returned to the vicinity of
Madras. Haidar, unable to conquer the repugnance to
action of Duchemin, proceeded to push on the siege
of Vellor.

34 FEENCH MARINERS

III.

It was whilst the events just recorded were progressing
on land that intelligence from time to time reached
Haidar Ali of the gallant contests which Suffren had
been delivering on the sea. The enthusiasm of the
tried and gallant old warrior knew no bounds. "At
" last," he said to his confidants, "at last the English
" have found a master. This is the man who will aid
" me to exterminate them : I am determined that two
*' years hence not one of them shall remain in India,
" and that they shall not possess a single inch of Indian
" soil." Then turning to the French agent in his camp,
M, Piveron de Morlat, he begged him to write at once to
his master, and to tell him of his own great desire to see
him, to embrace him, to tell him how much he esteemed
him for his heroic courage.

Before this message could reach the French commo-
modore, Suffren had sailed with his refitted and
augmented squadron in the direction of Kadalur. It
had been his original intention to do the work which
Duchemin had declined to attempt, viz., to tiike pos-
session of Negapatam, which would have formed an
important depot for the operations of the land and sea

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 35

forces. But the course of events induced him to change
his determination.

The French fleet, consisting of twelve ships of the
line and four large frigates, sailed first to Tranquebar,
and then, making several captures en route, arrived, on
the 20th June, at Kadalur. Here for the first time
Sufi'ren became acquainted with the misconduct of
Duchemin. Resolved, by some daring measure, to atone
for the shortcomings of this incapable soldier, Suffren
embarked on board his transports, besides siege materials,
1200 men of the line, 400 of the levies of the islands,
two companies of artillery, and 800 sepoys, intending to
make a dash at Negapatam. He was on the point of
sailing when intelligence reached him that the English
fleet, emerging from Trincomali, had passed Kadalur,
and was bearing up northward in the direction of the
place which he had hoped to surprise.

Disappointed, but still determined, Suffren at once
set sail in pursuit of the enemy. Coming in sight, on
the 5th July, of Ncgapatam, he beheld the English fleet
lying at anchor in the roadstead. Determined at all
hazards to force on an action, Sufi'ren signalled to clear
decks and to be ready to anchor. His own ship, the
Heros, was leading, when at three o'clock, a sudden
squall caused to the Jjax, which was following, the loss
of her main and laizen topmasts. These, and other
damages, almost as serious, forced her to drop out of the
line. The squall settling into a steady breeze gave the
English admiral the advantage of the wind. He accord-

3 A

36 FRENCH MARINERS

ingly weighed anchor and stood out to sea. That night
the two fleets anchored within two cannonshots of each
other.

When the morning of the 6th July broke, the first
care of the French commodore was to ascertain the con-
dition of the Ajax. His rage may be imagined when he
found that the necessary repairs remained uncompleted.
The rage was increased to fury when he received from
her captain a request that his vessel might be allowed to
stand in for the nearest roadstead, and this in the pre-
sence of an enemy and when an engagement was
impending ! He refused absolutely.

Meanwhile the English admiral, finding the enemy of
about equal strength with himself,* determined to use his
advantage of the wind and to force on an engagement. At
ten minutes past seven, then, he formed line ahead, and
signalled to his captains that each ship should bear down
as directly as possible upon her opponent and endeavour
to bring her to close action. Suffren on his side tacked,
putting the head to the wind, in order to form a new
line. As he did this, he had the mortification to see the
captain of the Jjax stand right away from him.

It was not till about half-past nine o'clock that the
English ships came within range of their enemy. Both
fleets opened fire simultaneously at long distances.

• The French fleet consisted, besides the Ajax which took no part in
the battle, of eleven ships of the line, carrying 70G guns, and of four
frigates. The English had eleven line of battle ships, carrying 746 guns,
and one frigate.

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 37

Soon, however, the fight closed. The Flamand, 50,
drew upon herself the fire, which she returned, of the
Hero, 74, and the Exeter, 64 ; Avhilst the Annihal, 74,
engaged in a murderous conflict with the Isis, 56.
Simultaneously the Severe, 64, and the Barford, 14: ;
the Brillant, 64, and the Sultan, 74 ; the French com-
modore's ship, the Heros, 74, and the English admiral's
ship, the Superb, 74 ; engaged in an almost hand to
hand encounter.

Of the other vessels it may be noted that the
Sphinx, 64, fought the Monarca, 74 ; but the position
of this latter, on the starboard quarter of the Superb,
rendered it impossible for her to deliver any but an
oblique fire. The Worcester, the Monmouth, the Eagle>
and the Magnamine, which followed in her wake, could
only form a line at an angle of forty-five with the French
line. It followed that the fire between these and the
Petit Annibal, the Artesien, and the Vengeur was at a
long distance, whilst the Bizarre and the Orient, not-
withstanding the efi'orts of their captains, remained in
forced inaction. The Flamand v^as the first French ship
to feel the weight of her two powerful antagonists. She
managed, however, to forge ahead and clear herself, and
they were in too crippled a condition to follow her. The
Brillant at the same time was sufi'ering much from the
well-directed fire of the Sultan, when Suff"ren, signalling
to the Sphinx to replace him alongside the Sujjerb, came
to her rsscue. The fight was then renewed with extra-
ordinary vigour ; when at one o'clock the wind suddenly

38 FRENCH MARINERS

changed, and threw both the comLating parties into
disorder.

This change of wind, according to the EngHsh writers,
saved the French fleet from certain defeat. The French
on their side, whilst admitting the shameful conduct of
some of their captains, contend that the battle was still
uncertain, and that they were combating with equal
chances when the wind came to part them. The
state of affairs after the change of wind had operated,
as stated by one of the English writers of the period, a
decided partisan, shows, I think, that there could have
been little to choose between the condition of the rivals.
" After much manoeuvi'ing," he writes, "and the con-
" tinuation of a partial engagement between such of the
** two fleets as came within reach of each other, the
*' English admiral made the signal for the line of battle
" ahead, and was preparing, at half-past one o'clock, to
" renew the attack; but seeing, at two, the enemy
" standing in shore, and collecting their ships in a close
** body, while his were much dispersed, and several of
" them ungovernable, he relinquished that design, and
" thought only of getting into such a condition as should
" prove decisive to the service next morning. Then,
" however, the French were observed under sail, on
" their way to Cuddalore, while our fleet was utterly
" incapable of preventing or pursuing them."* If this
does not imply that the English ships had been ut least

* Trnnsactions in India. London: 1786. Campbell says: "The
action was obstinate, well fought, but indecisive."

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 39

as much damaged as their enemies in the previous
encounter there is no meaning in language.

The French statement corroborates substantially the
account from which I have just quoted. " Sir Edward
Hughes," it relates, " abandoning to us the field of
" battle, endeavoured to concentrate his ships between
" Negapatam and Naour, whilst Suffren, lying to, and
" seeing the English squadron disappear, gave orders to
" anchor off Karikal, two leagues to windward of it."

Suffren himself attributed the indecisive nature of the
action to the conduct of his captains. He accordingly
placed under arrest and sent to France the following
three of their number, viz., M. de Maurville of the
Artesien, for having on the 6th July aggravated the
faults he had committed on the 17th February, the 12th
April, and the 5th June ; M. de Forbin, for having on
this occasion rivalled his misconduct on the 12th April;
and M. de Cillart for having unbecomingly hauled down
his flag. * M. Bouvet, who had not brought the Ajax
into action at all, was deprived of his command, whilst
three other inferior officers were sternly reprimanded.
Having rid himself of these worse than incapable
captains, Suffren anchored in the roadstead of Kadaliir

• This occurrence is thus summarised from the French authorities : " In
one of the isolated encounters le Sevire was sustaining a fierce combat
with the Sultan. All at once, in spite of the proximity of VAnnibal, le
Sphinx, and VHeros, dc Cillart ordered his men to haul down his flag.
Fortunately his cowardice, which betrayed itself by unmistakeable signs,
remained without result. Two officers rushed to him, and apostrophis-
ing him severely, rehoisted the flag and continued the combat."

40 FRENCH MARINERS

and devoted all his efforts to repair the damages his
ships had sustained in the action.

Yet, whilst actively engaged in this prosaic work, his
brain, never idle, had conceived one of the most daring
projects which ever entered into the head of a naval
commander. Long had he noticed with envy the
possession by the English of the only harbour on the
eastern coast of Ceylon, capable of containing a large
fleet, at the same time that it was strong enough to defy
any hostile attack. He lay before Kadalur in an open
roadstead, liable to the storms of the ocean and the
attacks of a superior force of the enemy. In this open
roadstead he had to carry out all his repairs. The
English admiral, he knew well, was about to be joined
by the Sceptre of 64 guns and the San Carlos of 44.
Were he to be attacked by the force thus increased to a
very decided superiority, how could he effectually resist?
Considerations of this nature pointed to the advisability
of securing a harbour at once large, commodious, and
safe. These advantages were possessed by Trincomali.
Suffren then resolved to capture Trincomali.

It was a bold, almost an audacious venture. After
the combat of the 6th July the English admiral had
kept the sea for nearly a fortnight to the windward of
Negapatam.* With his ships much battered and

* The only English writer who attempts to justify the English
admiral's delay before Negapatam, the author of Transactions in India,
says that the situation of the army may have rendered this inaction
necessary. But there are no grounds for this supposition. The English
army was then likewise in a state of complete inaction.

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 41

urgently needing repair it is not easy to imagine why
Sir Edward Hughes wasted that precious fortnight in
idle bravado. This at least is certain, that it gave
Suffren the opportunity he was longing for.

The state of his vessels and the necessity for procuring
ammunition rendered it impossible for Sir Edward
Hughes to keep the sea for more than a fortnight. He
steered then for Madras and reached that place on the
20th July. He at once took the necessary measures for
the repairs of his fleet. Here also he was joined by the
Sceptre and the San Carlos. Sir Edward Hughes
thought, and he seemed to have reason for his opinion,
that he had sufficient time before him. He knew to a
great, though not to the fullest extent, the diffi-
culties his rival had to encounter at Kadalur. Had
he known the whole truth, he would have felt still more
confident, for, on the 30th July, ten days subsequently
to his own arrival at Madras, the state of the French
ships of war was so miserable, and the resources at the
disposal of Suffren were so limited, that action for the
remainder of the year seemed for them impossible.

On that date Suffren thus wrote to the Governor of

the Isle of France, M. de Souillac : "I assure you it is

' no easy matter to keep the sea on a coast, without

' money, without magazines, with a squadron in many

* respects badly furnished, and after having sustained
' three combats. * * I am at the end of my re-
' sources. Nevertheless we must fight to gain Ceylon ;

* the enemy have the wind of us and we have so many

42 FRENCH MARINERS

" slow sailers tliat there is little hope we shall gain that
" advantage. * * The squadron has 2000 men in
" hospital of whom 600 are wounded."

Even before thus writing Suffren had broken up his
prizes and transports, and had demolished houses and
other buildings in Kadaliir to provide himself with the
means of repairing his damaged ships !

Whilst thus engaged in these important duties,
intelligence reached Suifren (25th July) that the great
sovereign of Mysore had arrived within a few miles of
Kadalur in the hope of seeing him and of concerting
plans for the future. The French commodore at once
despatched an officer of rank to congratulate Haidar Ali,
and the next day he landed himself in state, to pay him
a visit of ceremony.

His reception was magnificent. Met on landing by
the principal nobles of Mysore, escorted by Haidar All's
own bodyguard of European cavalry, he was greeted on
the threshold of the state-tent by that prince himself.
The appearance of Haidar Ali was the signal for a general
presentation of arms on the part of the troops drawn up
in battle array. The drums beat, the trumpets sounded,
the attendants sang hymns recording the prowess of the
French. Not a single mark of respect or of honour was
omitted.

The interview lasted three hours. Towards the close
of it Suffrcn suggested to Haidar that he should come
down to the sea shore to look at the French fleet dressed
out in his honour. But Haidar, who was suffering, and

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 43

who did not care to undergo the exertion that would be
necessary, replied that he " had left his camp for one
*' object only, that of seeing so great a man, and that
" now that he had seen him there was nothing remain-
" ing that he cared to see."

The two following days were spent in giving and
receiving presents, and in arranging as to the operations
which should take place on the arrival of Bussy. They
were actually engaged in discussing this question, when
intelligence was received of the arrival at Point de Galle of
the advanced guard of Bussy's fleet under M. d'Aymar.

Bussy, in fact, had set out from Cadiz in December
1781 with two men-of-war, three transports, and a large
convoy. His misfortunes set in early, The convoy was
attacked, dispersed, and in part destroyed by English
cruisers, so much so that only two ships laden with
artillery joined him at the Cape.* He still, however,
had the soldiers who had embarked on his three
transports. Terrified, however, at a report that the
English were about to attack the Cape with an army of
6000 men, he left there 650 of his small detachment.
Sailing then to the islands, the perusal of the despatches
just arrived from Sufi'ren seemed to give him new
courage. In concert, then, with the Governor, M. de
Souillac, he detached under M. d'Aymar, two men of
war, the St. Michael, 64, and the Illiistre, 74, one
frigate, the Consolante, and nine storeships, carrying
800 men and laden with supplies and ammunition, to

* Many subsequently made their way to the islands.

44 FEENCH MARINEKS

proceed at once to join Suffren, and to announce that he
himself would shortly follow with the bulk of his
troops.

It was of the arrival of this squadron at Galle that
Suffren received information at Kadalur on the 28th
July, whilst still discussing affairs with Haidar Ali.

He lost no time in delay. Some preparations were
still necessary. But these were soon completed, and on
the morning of the 1st August, the French fleet leaving
the roadstead in which it had patched up its repairs,
fired a parting salute to the great warrior her commodore
was never destined again to behold.

Suffren had two objects in view, the one avowed, the
other concealed : the first to effect a junction with
d'Aymar ; the second to capture Trincomali : the first
appeared certain ; the second could only be accomplished
by "great daring."

Passing Karikal, Naour, and Negapatam, the fleet
arrived at Batacola, twenty leagues south of Trincomali,
on the 9th August. Here it was joined by the Bellona,
a frigate of 36 guns, just returning from an indecisive
hand-to-hand encounter with the Coventry, 32. Her
captain, M. de Pierrevert, a nephew of Suffren, had been
killed in the action.

Suffren waited at Batacola till the 21st August, when
he was joined by the St. Michael and the Illustre,
escorting seven transports with troops and stores, and
accompanied by the corvette La Fortune. Whilst lying
at Batacola he received despatches from France and

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 45

the islands. Amongst those from the latter was one
from Bussy in which that general pointed out how much
to be regretted it was that the French possessed no
harbour on the eastern coast equal to Trincomali. It
cannot be said that this letter decided Suffren, for his
mind had been previously made up ; but it is probable
that this opinion of a man who had a great reputation
on matters connected with India greatly strengthened
his determination to strike for Trincomali.

The reinforcements brought by d'Ajonar did not
remain long in Batacola. One day was spent in
distributing to the several ships the munitions and stores
of which they were in need. The next day, 22nd August,
the entire fleet set sail, and the same evening cast anchor
in front of Trincomali. Early on the morning of the
25th Suffren, having well examined the fortifications,
moved his fleet to the east of the forts protecting the
town, with the intention to land there his troops, to the
number of 2400. This was effected without opposition
the same evening. On the 26th batteries were con-
structed to play on the eastern face of the fort. On
the 27th, 28th, and 29th, fire was opened and continued
until, on the evening of the last-named day, a breach
had been effected in the fortifications. Early on the
following morning Suffren summoned the com-
mandant to surrender. After a long debate, the
commanding officer, Captain Macdowel, seeing that
further resistance was useless, agreed to give up the
place on the condition that he and his troops should be

46 FEENCH MARINERS

transported to Madras and be free to serve in the war.
The French then entered into possession.

Trincomali capitulated on the 31st August. It was
occupied by the French on the 1st September. On the
2nd the fleet of Sir Edward Hughes appeared in sight of
the place.

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 47

IV.

We have seen that Sir Edward Hughes, after delajing
for nearly a fortnight before Negapatam, at last took his
fleet to Madras to refit. He arriA^ed there on the 20th
July, and there he was joined by the Scej^tre and San
Carlos.

The damages which many of his ships had sustained
were considerable, and he was forced to make extra-
ordinary exertions to repair them. It had occurred to
him that the French commander might take advantage
of the state of his vessels, and the gain of a fortnight's
time, to make an attempt upon Trincomali. To guard
as much as possible against such an attempt, he des-
patched the Monmouth and the Sceptre with supplies of
men and ammunition to that place.* Thinking this
sufficient, his anxiety on the subject ceased. It was soon
roused, however, to a greater extent than ever.

I have mentioned that the French frigate Bellona
fought an indecisive action with iheCoventry off Batacola;
but I did not then state that the combating vessels had
approached sufficiently near to that place to enable the

• These ships were descried by the French fleet on the 3rd of August
off Negapatam. It is probable that they did not go further.

48 FRENCH MARINERS

captain of the latter ship to see the whole French
fleet at anchor. He at once crowded on sail to carry the
news quickly to Madras. He reached Madras in the middle
of August, and gave the first intimation to Sir E. Hughes
of the dangerous proximity to Trincomali of his enemy.
Sir Edward used all the despatch possible to hasten his
departure for Ceylon. At length he set out, but, delayed
by contrary winds, he arrived before Trincomali only to see
the French flag flying on all the forts, and the French
fleet at anchor in the bay.

Suffren saw, not unmoved, the English fleet in the
offing. It was not necessary for him to go out and fight
it, for he had succeeded to the fullest extent of his expec-
tations. He had taken Trincomali. There were not
wanting officers in his fleet to urge upon him to run no
further risk. The party which, ever since his departure
from the islands, had constantly endeavoured to thwart
his measures, had been weakened but not annihilated,
by the deportation to France of de Cillart, de Maurvillo,
and de Forbin. The head of this party was his second
in command, M. de Tromelin, captain of the ship
Annibal. Supported by de St. Felix of the Ai'tesien, by
de la Landelle of the Bizarre, and others, de Tromelin
urged upon the commodore the advisability of resting
upon his laurels. " The issue of a combat," he said,
" was uncertain, and might deprive them of all that
" they had gained." Such was their ostensible reason;
but it cannot be doubted that it was used to cover alike
their jealousy of their chief, and their longing desire to

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 49

return to the soft beauties of the Isle of France. As for
de Tromelin, he had held back in every action, and it
was a matter of surprise that he had not been deported
"with the others after the last engagement.

It is necessary to give this summary of the debates
which preceded the action, because they exercised a
momentous influence on the action itself.

Before giving a decisive answer to his peace-pleading
captains, Sufli-en determined to ascertain the number of
the enemy's vessels. He accordingly signalled to the
frigate Bellona to reconnoitre. The Bellona in a very
short space of time signalled back that there were twelve
English ships. This decided Suflren. He had fourteen.*
Turning to his advisers, he said, "If the enemy had
" more ships than I have, I would abstain ; if he had
" an equal number, I could scarcely refrain ; but as he
" has fewer, there is no choice ; we must go out and
" fight him."

The fact is that Suffren saw, though his captains
would not or could not see, that a grand opportunity,
possibly the last, now ofi'ered to strike a decisive blow
for dominion in Southern India. Could he but destroy,

* The French fleet consisted of le Heros, 74 ; I'lllustre, 74 ; VOrient 74 ;
VAnnihal, 74; VJrtesien, 64; le Severe, 64: ; le St. Michel, 64; le
Brillant, 64 ; le Sphinx, 64 ; VAjax, 64 ; le Vengeur, 64 ; le Bizarre, 64 ;
le Petit Annibal, 50 ; and four frigates, carrying in all 1038 guns. The
English fleet comprised the Hero, 74 ; the Burford, 74 ; the Sultan, 74
the Superb, 74 ; the Monarca, 74 ; the Exeter, 64 ; the Sceptre, 64
the Eagle, 64 ; the Magnamine, 64; the Monmouth, 64 ; the Isis, 56
the Worcester, 54 ; and five frigates and one corvette, carrying'in all
976 guns.

4

50 FRENCH MAEINERS

or effectually disable, the fleet of Sir Edward Hughes,
everything was still possible. Bussy was on the point
of arriving; Haidar Ali still lived, threatening the
English possessions all round Madras ; the attenuated
English army, deprived of its fleet, would be unable to
keep the field ; and there was nothing to prevent the
victorious French fleet from sailing with the monsoon
wind to Madras, and crushing out the domination of the
English in the countries south of the river Krishna.
There was the one obstacle offered by the twelve ships
of Sir Edward Hughes ; and Sufi'ren had fourteen.

That Suifren entertained such hopes is beyond a doubt.
Writing to a friend on the 14th, after the battle I am
about to describe, and alluding to the excellent conduct
of the captain of the Illustre M. de Bruyeres de
Chalabre, he used this expression : "No one could have
" borne himself better than he did ; if all had done like
" him, we should have been masters of India for
" ever."*

But let us now turn to the events *of this memorable
day. Decided by the signal from the Bellona to fight,
Suflfren, after a short exhortation to his captains, weighed
anchor, and stood out towards the enemy who nppeared
inclined to entice him gently away from the harbour.
As he approached, he signalled to form line in the pre-
arranged order. This signal, though repeated again
and again, was so badly executed by some of the

* This letter was published in the Gazette de France of 31st March,
1783.

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 61

malcontent captains, that it appeared to the English
as if their enemy was about, after all, to decline an
engagement. At length, however, their intentions
became clear. Their line, though badly formed — the
ships being at unequal distances from each other, here
crowded, there separated by a long interval — approached
till within cannonsliot.

Suffren, dissatisfied with the unequal formation his
ships had taken up, signalled then to his captains to
reserve their fire till they should be at close quarters
with the enemy. He endeavoured to enforce this order
by firing a gun. The signal was misunderstood to signify
the immediate opening of fire. The fire accordingly
opened simultaneously along the whole line of the fleet.
The compliment was quickly returned, and in a few
minutes the action became general.

Leaving for a moment the van and rear guards of both
fleets, we will turn our attention to the centre, in which
the rival commanders were opposed to each other. The
French centre was composed of the Heros, the Illustre,
the Spliinx, the Flamand, and the Petit Annibal. Of
these five the f^pliiiix and the Petit Annihal had, by bad
seamanship or ill-will on the part of their captains,
mixed themselves with the vanguard, the Flamand had
tacked herself on the rearguard, whilst, on the other
hand, the Ajax, of the rearguard, had joined the centre.
It was then, with only three vessels, the Heros, the
Illustre, and the Ajax, that Suff"ren came to close
quarters with the English admiral.

4 A

52 FKENCH MARINEKS

Here he found ready to receive him, and arranged
with that care for discipline and obedience to orders
which is one of the glories of the English services, the
Burford, the Superb, the Sultan, the Eagle, the Hero,
and the Monarca. For one hour the unequal combat
lasted, fought with admirable courage on both sides ; at
the end of that period Suffren saw that the odds were
too great, and that, unless he received prompt assistance,
he must succumb. He signalled, therefore, to the -S"*.
Michel, commanded by d'iVymar, and to the Annibal,
commanded by de Tromelin, to come to his aid. Neither
obeyed. De Kersaison, however, brought up the Brillant,
though not in a position to offer the most effectual
assistance.

Whilst this murderous hand-to-hand conflict was
going on in the centre, the two extremities continued
pounding at each other at long distances. In this the
French had somewhat the advantage. The Exeter was
disabled, and forced to draw out of the line ; the Isis
suffered severely, and her captain, Lumley, was killed ;
the Worcester, who lost her captain, Wood, and the
Monmouth, were riddled. On the French side, the Con-
sola,nte, a 40-gun frigate, which had been brought into
action, lost her captain, Pean ; the Venrfeur, having
fired away all her ammunition, withdrew from the line,
and caught fire, with difficulty extinguished ; the re-
mainder of the squadron continued to fire without order,
and at long distances, notwithstanding that the signal
for close action was still flying on the commodore's ship.

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 53

At four o'clock in the afternoon, the fight having
lasted then one hour and a half, the situation of the
French commodore had become extremely critical. The
Ajax had been so riddled as to be able to retire only
with the greatest difficulty. The Heros, the Illustre, and
the Brillant had to bear unsupported the weight of the
concentrated fire of the centre division of the English
fleet. At four o'clock the Artesien came to the com-
modore's rescue ; but even then the odds were too great.
About five o'clock the mainmast, the fore topmast, and
the mizen topmast of the Hews came down with a
tremendous crash. The hurrahs of the English first
showed Sufi"ren that they thought he had struck his
flag. Not for long did they remain under this delusion.
Bushing on the poop, Sufi'ren cried with a voice that
sounded above the roar of the combat: "Bring flags;
" bring up all the white flags that are below and cover my
" ship with them." These words inspired his men with
renewed energy. The contest continued with greater
fury than ever. The Burford, the Sultan, and the
Superb had already felt, and now felt again its efl'ects.
Hope was beginning to rise, when at the moment it was
whispered to Suflfren that he had already expended
1800 rounds of shot, and that his ammunition Avas
exhausted !

Powder, however, remained, and with powder alone
he continued the fire, so as to delude the enemy. But
he had begun to despair; already he was thinking of
spiking the guns, and, enticing the enemy's ships close

54 FEENCH MARINERS

to him, of blowing up his ship and her neighbours with
her, when an event occurred which changed the fortunes
of the day.

Suddenly, at half-past five, the wind shifted from the
south-west to the east-south-east. This enabled the
vanguard of the French fleet to come to the aid of, and to
cover, its centre. At the same time the English fleet wore.
But on resuming its position it had no longer the hardly-
pressed ships of the French centre to encounter, but
those of the vanguard which till then had only engaged
at a distance and were comparatively fresh.

The battle then re-engaged. But now it was the
turn of the French. The Hero lost her mainmast at
twenty minutes past six and her mizenmast soon after.
The maintopmast of the Worcester was shot away about
the same time. The Superh, the Barford, the Eagle,
and the Monmouth had previously been disabled.

At length night fell, and the engagement ceased —
another drarwn battle. Both fleets remained all night
near the scene of action. The next morning that of the
French entered the harbour of Trincomali, the English
set sail for Madras.*

• It is very difficult to reconcile the accounts given by the rival actors
of the latter part of the action. The English writers assert that the
French entered the harbour that very night. Vice-Admiral Bouct-Wil-
laumez and the French authorities of the time assert that Suffren
signalled to chase the English, but that they got away ; and that the
French entered Trincomali the next morning. Truth would appear to
be that both sides were thoroughly exhausted, and were glad to discon-
tinue the battle ; that both anchored that night near to where they had
fought, and that the French entered the harhoui' early in the morning.

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 55

Such was the great sea fight oflf Trincomali. That the
majority of the French captains behaved disgracefully was
broadly asserted by Suffren, and was admitted by his
adversaries. In the English accounts published in India
at that period those captains were stigmatised as being
" unworthy to serve so great a man," whilst even in the
Calcutta Gazette it was admitted that Suffren had been
very badly seconded. There can scarcely be a doubt
that he was right in saying as he did in the letter I have
ah-eady referred to, that if all had fought like the captain
of the Illustre he would have mastered Southern India.
As it was, the battle was not without his effect on the
campaign.

The Madras Government was so sensible of the
damages sustained by the English fleet, and so cognizant
of the enterprising spirit of the French commodore,
that they ordered their army to fall back on Madras.
Had there been at the head of the French land forces a
man possessing but the atom of a brain, the dream of
Dupleix, of Lally, and of Suffren, might even then have
been realised !

The consequences to some of the French captains
were serious. On the 13th September de Tromelin of
the Annihal, de St. Felix of the Artesien, and de la
Landelle of the Bizarre, were shipped off the Isle of
France. They were accompanied by de Galles of the
Petit Annihal, whose health rendered necessary the
change.

The French fleet having repaired damages, and

56 FRENCH MARINERS

having lost one of its vessels {V Orient), which struck on
a rock the morning after the action, sailed from
Trincomali on the 30th September, and arrived oif
Kadalur on the 4th October. Here Suffren had the
misfortune to lose the Bizarre which, taken too near the
shore, ran aground. On the 15th, he set out with the
remainder of his ships to winter at Achin. He arrived
there on the 7th November.

It is time now to take a glance at the land operations.

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 67

t V.

We left the French auxiliary land force under Duchemin
iu the strongly fortified position of Kalinur, — a position
in which Haidar Ali had left them in disgust at the
conduct of their commander, to go in person with his
own troops alone to haffle the designs of Coote on Arni
(2nd June, 1782). "VYe have seen how he accomplished
that task. Shortly after the action which took place
before that fortress, and the more trifling skirmishes
that followed, the English army retired to the vicinity of
Madras.

On his side Haidar Ali cantoned his main army on
the high ground near the river Poni, sixteen miles north
of Arcot, conducting thence the siege of Vellor. Thence
also he despatched his son Tippu, with a considerable
force, to counteract the manoeuvi'es of the English on
the western coast. The French auxiliary force under
Duchemin remained intrenched near Kadaliir in a state
of complete inactivity. Here on the 13th September
Duchemin, who had been long ailing, died. He was
succeeded by Count d'Ofielize, the colonel of the regiment
of Austrasia, a man respected for his judgment and
good sense.

58 FRENCH MARINERS

But it was soon seen that active hostilities had by no
means ceased. Taking advantage of the absence of
Haidar at Kadulur, whither he had repaired for his
interview with the French commodore, Sir Eyre Coote
had succeeded by a sudden and rapid march, in intro-
ducing a six month's supply of stores and ammunition
into the threatened fortress of Vellor. Haidar, who had
too late received intelligence of his enemy's movement,
hastened to attempt to defeat it, but arrived only in
time to witness its successful execution. Haidar then
returned to his camp on the river Poni. Coote, waiting
until the excitement caused by his recent raid should have
subsided, thought it might just be possible to steal a
march upon the ruler of Mysore, and, pouncing upon
Kadalur, not only to seize that fortified depot, but to
destroy at a blow the French auxiliary force. He had
every hope that in this attempt he would be supported
by the frigate and transports containing stores and a
battering train, which had been expedited from Madras
for that purpose. He therefore attempted it.

Succeeding in eluding the vigilance of Haidar, Coote
found himself, on the Gth September, on the red hills
near Pondichery. He commanded thence a complete
view of the sea. But to his disappointment not a sail
was to be seen. There was but a march between him
and the French encampment. Without a battering
train, however, the chances of success were slight, and
repulse would be fatal, for Haidar would not long delay
to act on his communications. As it was, even, his

ON THE INDIAN SEAS.

59

position was full of peril. Still he maintained it for
some days, straining his eyes towards the sea. Nor did
he cease to hope, until an express from Madras informed
him that Trincomali had fallen into the hands of the
enemy, and that the fleet, badly treated in an encounter
before that place, was in full sail for Madras. He at
once resigned hope and fell back on the presidency town.
Seldom, it may be safely affirmed, have English
interests in Southern India been exposed to greater
danger than they were on this occasion. Haidar was
encamped in an impregnable position within easy
distance of Madras ; two thousand of the famed
horsemen of Mysore encircled the capital endeavouring
to cut off supplies ; a large addition to the French land
force was momentarily expected ; the fleet, by the
capture of Trincomali, had been deprived of the only
possible place of refuge on the Coromandel coast during
the N.E. monsoon, then about to break: and, added to
all, a famine, such as had not been known for years, was
devastating the country.* It seemed that it required

• A contemporary, the author of Transactions in India, writing tliree
years after the event, thus describes the famine and its consequences :
" At this moment a famine raged in Madras and every part of the Car-
natic, and by the tempest now described, all foreign resources that
depended on an intercourse by sea were at an end. * * * The
roads, the outlets and eveia the streets (of Madras) were everywhere
choked up with heaps of dead and crowds of the dying. Two hundred
at least of the natives perished every day in the streets and the
suburbs. * * * ^n ^as done which private charity could do ; but
it was a whole people in beggary ; a nation which stretched out its hand
for food. * * ♦ For eighteen months did this destruction rage from
the gates of Madras to the gates of Tanjor."

60

FRENCH MARINERS

but one energetic push on tlie part of the enemy to
make the whole edifice of British supremacy topple over.

The damages sustained by the English ships in the
action off Trincomali rendered it dangerous for them to
wait the first burst of the monsoon in the open roadstead
of Madras, Sir Edward Hughes, therefore, immediately
after his arrival, announced to the Governor, Lord
Macartney, his intention to take his fleet round to
Bombay as soon as he should be able to patch up the
injured ships. In vain did the Governor remonstrate.
Sir Edward Hughes was obdurate, and rightly obdurate.
He knew well the force of the monsoon and his inability
to brave it. He therefore adhered to his resolution.

His efforts to put his ships in order, to re-victual and
re-equip them, were stimulated not less by the close
proximity of the monsoon, than by a report which
reached Madras that Sufifren was about to make an
attempt on Negapatam.* With all his efforts, however,
Hughes could not sail before the 15th October ; but on
the 15th October he sailed.

The morning of the 15th had been threatening,
showing every indications of a storm. The result did
not belie the promise. The following morning the long
line of coast off Madras was strewed with wrecks ;
many vessels foundered, some were driven on shore.
Of the small craft containing the rice supplies which had
been sent from the more northern ports and roadsteads,
not a single one remained.

* He had been seen off Negapatam on tlie 1st October.

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 61

The ships of Sir Edward Hughes though they escaped
absolute destruction met with little short of it. For a
whole month no two ships of the fleet could speak with
each other. The Superb, which carried the admiral's
flag, had been at an early date reduced to such a
condition that Sir Edward took the first opportunity to
shift his flag to the Sultan. They were upwards of two
months in making the voyage to Bombay. And when
the admiral arrived there on the 20th December, he
arrived with a shattered fleet and with sickly crews.*

Four days after the departure of Sir Edward Hughes
from Madras, Sir Eobert Bickerton arrived there with
five ships of war and a large number of transports
having on board about 4000 infantry and 340 cavalry.
Having landed these he, too, sailed for Bombay.

Meanwhile Suflren had arrived at Achin (7th
November). He stayed there till the 15th January,
engaged in refitting his ships, in attending to his crews,
and in sending cruisers into the Bay of Bengal, where
they made some important captures.! Early in January
he heard of the death of Haidar Ali (7th December.)
He determined therefore to return at once to the

* It is a curious circumstance connected with the law of storms, first
that Suffreu, who left Kadaldr the same day as that on which Sir E,
Huglies left Madras, experienced only fine weather. He noticed the
coming storm and avoided it ; that Sir R. Bickerton reached Madras
with five sail of the line on the 19th October without experiencing bad
weather ; that he left it, the very day he had landed his troops, for
Bombay, and arrived there some weeks before Sir E. Hughes without
experiencing any bad weather in transit.

+ Amongst others the Coventry, a frigate carrying 32 guns.

62 FBENCH MARINEKS

Coromandel coast to concert fresh measures with Tippu
Sultan.

Suffren, sailing on the 15th January, arrived off
Kadalur early in February. He was surprised to find
there neither tidings of Bussy, nor any news regarding
two ships of his fleet, the Annihal and Bellona, which
he had sent to cruise in the Bay of Bengal. He stayed
there hut a few days ; then, having detached two of his
ships, the St. Michel and the Coventry, towards Madras
to intercept an English convoy, he sailed for Trincomali,
and arrived there on the 23rd February.

Here he was joined not only by his missing ships,
but, on the 10th March, by the squadron which was
escorting Bussy, consisting of three line of battle ships,
one frigate and thirty-two transports.

The troops under the command of the Marquis de
Bussy, consisting of about 2300 men,* were escorted to
the Coromandel coast and were landed safely at Porto
Novo on the 19th March. I propose now to show the
state in which the new commander found the affairs of
the French and their ally.

The English having concluded peace with the
Marhatds had, early in the year, made in communi-
cation with them so strong a demonstration on the
western coast, that Tippii had been forced to start with
the bulk of his army to defend his own dominions. But

* Thoy consisted of detachments from the rpp;iment de la Mark,
from the rcf;iment d'Aquitaine, from the Royal Eoussillon, aud of 300
artillery men.

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 63

before this bad happened General Stuart had succeeded
Sir Eyre Coote in command of the English forces at
Madras. Reinforced, as we have seen, Stuart moved in
February on to Karanguli and WandeAvash, the fortifi-
cations of which places he destroyed. The Mysorean
army under Tippu and the French auxiliaries under
d'Offelize were occupying a position at the time within
twelve miles of Wandewash, and an action between their
army and the English seemed at one time imminent ;
but Tippu's preparations had not been completed when
Stuart offered battle, and when Tippu's plans had
matured Stuart had retired. It was immediately after
this that Tippu started with the bulk of his army and
one French regiment for Mysore, leaving 3000 infantry
and 7000 cavalry at the disposal of d'Offelize.

The English authorities still clung to the plan of
wresting, by a combined attack by sea and land, the
fortified depot of Kadalur from the French. Arrange-
ments having been concerted with Sir Edward Hughes,
Stuart set out from the vicinity of Madras on the 21st
April, at the head of about 15,000 men.* As he
advanced to Wandewash, d'Offelize, Avhose European
force had been reduced to about 600 men, fell back in
the direction of Kadiihir.

Bussy, we have seen, arrived at Kadalur on the 19th
March, in plenty of time, by an active initiative, to pre-
vent the investiture of that place. But the Bussy who

* He set out with about 3000 Europeans and 11,500 natives, but was
joined almost immediately by 600 Europeans just landed.

64 FEENCH MAKINERS

returned to India in 1783 was no longer the hardy
warrior who had electrified Southern India in the years
between 1754 and 1760 ; who had made of the Subadar
of the Dekhan a French prefect, and whose capacity to
dare had supplied the want of soldiers. If the Bussy
of 1756, by his genius, his activity, his daring, his
success, foreshadowed in some respects the illustrious
warrior who, just forty years later, displayed the same
qualities to conquer Italy, the Bussy of 1783, corrupted
by wealth, enervated by luxury, and careful only of his
ease, more resembled that scion of the House of Bourbon,
once his sovereign, who consecrated all his hours to his
mistresses, who left the nomination of the generals of
the armies of France to a de Pompadour, and who
banished a Choiseul on the requisition of a Du Barry !

Bussy, then, instead of acting with vigour, did nothing.
He did not even show himself to his men. He kept him-
self— to borrow the language of one of his countrymen —
" invisible in his tent like a rich Nabob." Instructed
by Colonel d'Offelize of the advance of the English, and
informed by that officer that he pledged himself to main-
tain his force at Permacul, if he were but supported,
Bussy not only refused, but abandoned every outlying
fortification and fell back within Kadaliir.

The fort of Kadalur was a quadrangle of unequal
sides, extremely weak in many respects, and possessing
an indifferent flanking defence. From two to four miles
from its western face inland were the hills of Banda-
palam. A little estuary formed by the sea covered the

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 65

eastern and southern faces. It was defended by the
whole French force, reduced now, by sickness and de-
tachments lent to Tippu, to 2300 Europeans, and by a
Mysorean force of 3000 infantry and 7000 horse.

The English army arrived before Kadaliir on the 4th
June. On the 7th, secure of the support of the fleet,
which had arrived at Porto Novo, it made a circuit round
the hill and took up a position two miles southward
from the fort, its left resting on the hills, its right on
the estuary. In making this circuit, Stuart so exposed
his left to the enemy, that the major of the regiment of
Austrasia, de Boisseaux, ventured to disturb the "French
" Nabob" in his tent, to point out the capital crime the
English were committing. But Bussy, not with diffi-
culty, restrained himself. He had arrived at a time of
life when men no longer attack.

It was only when Stuart had definitely taken up his
position to the south that Bussy formed up his force
outside Kadalur, in a line nearly parallel to the enemy,
and began to cover it with intrenchments.

On the 13th General Stuart ordered an attack on the
right of the French line under the command of Colonel
Kelly. The attack, after gaining two positions, was,
thanks to the skill and energy of Colonel d'Olfelize,
repulsed with great loss at the third. The success of
the French seemed assured, but they pursued the
retiring enemy too far, and General Stuart, noticing his
opportunity came up between them and their intrench-
ments, and gained a position which would enable him,

5

66 FRENCH MAEINERS

as soon as his battering train, then on board the fleet,
should be landed, to command the entire French line of
defence. Upon this the fight ceased, and Bussy, who
for the day had exchanged his tent for a palanquin,
withdrew his troops during the night within Kadalur.

All this time the sea had been commanded by the
English fleet. But on the evening of the day on which
the French had been driven within Kadalur, a circum-
stance occurred which brings again upon the scene the
illustrious French admiral* at the hour of the direst
needs of his country.

We left Suffren on the 19th March landing the army
of Bussy at Porto Novo. Coasting then southwards, he
arrived on the 11th April, after a slow and difficult
journey, within sight of Trincomali. In spite of the
presence of the English off the coast he entered the
harbour, and at once set to work to refit his fleet. Of his
fifteen ships all but five were still under repair, when, on
the 24th May, the English fleet again passed Trinco-
mali in full sail to the south. Imagining that this
demonstration was but a feint to draw him towards
Kadalur so that Trincomali might be captured in his
absence, Suffren contented himself with sending some
transports escorted by frigates to Kadalur, and continued
his repairs. Again, on the 31st May, the English fleet
appeared, bearing northwards, and this time it even made
a demonstration to attack the harbour. But it was only

* Suffren liad been promoted inMarch, 178B, to the ytin\\oi lieutenant-
general, a title corresponding to that of vice-admiral.

I

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 67

a demonstration. At the end of two days Sir Edward
Hughes went on to take up at Porto Novo a position which
was to support the attack of the land avmj on Kadaliir.
Two days later the French frigates and transports which
had been sent to convey stores to Kadalur returned to
Trincomali. The senior captain of the expedition brought
with him a letter from Bussy, written early in June,
painting his needs and imploring assistance.

Suffren was not the man to turn a deaf ear to an
exhortation of that nature. It is true that he knew his
fleet to be inferior in number, in condition, and in weight
of metal to that of the enemy;* but he felt that the
interests of France would be better served by his pro-
voking an unequal contest, the issue of which might
however be favourable, than by allowing her last army
to succumb without a blow.t He therefore did not
hesitate for a moment. He did not even consult any
one ; but summoning on board the flagship the captains
of his fleet, he informed them in a few spirit-stirring
words that the army at Kadalur was lost unless the fleet
went to succour it ; and that the glory of saving it was
reserved for them ; and that, whatever might be the
result, they would at least attempt it.

These words were received by the assembled captains
with the greatest enthusiasm. Instantly ever}' hand

* The French fleet consisted of fifteen ships of war and one frigate
carrying 1008 guns; the English of eighteen ships of war, carrying,
1202 guns.

t The conduct of Suffren on this occasion may well be contrasted with
that of d'Ache in 1761. — Vide History of the French in India.

5 B

68 FRENCH MAEINERS

lent itself to the work. The crews of all but three of the
frigates were transferred to the line of battle ships to
bring up the complement of these to working capacity.
On the 11th June the fleet left Trincomali. On the
evening of the 13th it came within sight of Kadalur to
gladden by its appearance the hearts of the soldiers who
had been forced that day to retire within its fortifications.

Sir Edward Hughes was at Porto Novo. His light
ships having signalled the French fleet, he at once stood
in for Kadalur, and anchored in front of it. The 14th
and 15th, the state of the wind rendered it impossible
for SufiVen to force on an action, and the EngHsh
admiral, rightly regarding the capture of Kadalur as the
main object of the campaign, conceived that he best
contributed to the accompHshment of that object by
covering the besieged fort. On the 16th, however, the
wind changed, and the French fleet bore down on its
enemy. The English admiral at once weighed anchor
and stood to sea, hoping that by standing out and
catching the light breezes which he thought he detected
in the open, he might bear down in his turn and take
Sufi"ren at disadvantage. But this did not happen, and
Suffren, still bearing towards the coast, reaped the fruit
of his happy audacity by occupying, without firing a shot,
the place in front of Kadalur which had just been vacated
by his English rival !

It is impossible to speak in terms of too high com-
mendation of this display of combined genius and daring.
To beat on the open sea a fleet of equal or of gi-eater

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 69

numbers is no doubt a splendid achievement ; but it is an
achievement in which the lower nature of man, that
which is termed brute force, has a considerable share.
But to gain all the effect of a victory without fighting, to
dislodge an enemy superior in numbers from a position
of vital importance without firing a shot — that indeed is
an exercise of the highest faculties of man's higher
nature, a feat of intellectual power not often bestowed,
but generally combined, when given, with that strength
of nerve which knows when and how to dare.*

The clocks of Kadalur were striking half-past eight
when Sufl'ren anchored befoi-e the town. "With the
prescience of a true commander he had discovered that
of the two enemies before him it was necessary to drive
off the one before attacking the other. Were he to
lend his sailors to join in an attack on General Stuart,
he might at any moment be assailed at a disadvantage

* It is curious to note the manner in which this achievement is alluded
to by English writers. "Wilks, with his usual straightforwardness, writes
thus : " On the 16th, he (Hughes) weighed anchor, with the expectation
of bringing the enemy to close action, but such was the superior skill or
fortune of M. Sufifren that on the same night, at half-past eight, he
anchored abreast of the fort, and the dawn of day presented to the
English army before Cuddalore the mortifying spectacle of the French
fleet in the exact position abandoned by their own on the previous day,
the English fleet being invisible and its situation unknown." The
author oi Memoirs of the late War in Asia, himself a combatant, speaks
of the French fleet as " a crazy fleet, consisting of fifteen sail of ships,
half of them in very bad condition." He merely mentions that "it
occupied the place vacated by Sir E. Hughes' fleet, consisting of eighteen
coppered ships (tlieir crews greatly debilitated by sickness)." Campbell
and the writer of the Transactions pass over the event in silence. Even
Mill ignores it ; but it is a well-attested fact.

70 FEENCH MAEINERS

by Admiral Hughes. Instead therefore of disembarking
his own men he embarked 1000 soldiers to strengthen
his ships.

This embarkation took place on the 17th. On the
18th Suffren weighed anchor and stood out, but neither
on that day nor on the day following could he succeed
in bringing the enemy to action. On the 20th Sir
Edward Hughes, whose men were sufiering from scurvy,
and whose supplies of water were running short,*
found it absolutely necessary to accept a contest or to
bear up for Madras. He chose the former alternative.

In the contest which was about to commence Suffren
was in number of ships, in their condition, and in
weight of metal considerably inferior to the English, t
On the other hand his ships were better manned. But
that which gave him the greatest confidence was the

* He had lost, during little more than a month, nearly 3000 men
from the same cause. It is to this that the English wi'iters attribute his
unwillingness to accept an engagement.

+ The English fleet consisted of the Gibraltar, 80, the Defence, 74,
the Hero, 74, the Sultan, 74, the Superb, 74, the Cumberland, 74, the
Monarca, 70, the Burford, 70, the Inflexible, 64, the Exeter, 64, the
Worcester, 64, the Africa, 64, the Sceptre, 64, the Magnamine, 64, the
Eagle, 64, the Monmouth, 64, the Bristol, 50, the I&is, 50.

The French fleet, of the Pendant, 74, the Argonaute, 74, the HeroSy
74, the Jllustre, 74, the Annibul, 74, the Sphinx, 64, the Brillant, 64,
the Ajax, 64:, the Vengeur, 64, the Severe, 64, the Hardi, 64, the Artesie7i,
64, the St. Michel, 60, the Flamand, 50, the Petit Annibal, 50, and the
Consolante frigate, 40, brought into the line. The French had also
three frigates, the Fine, the Cleopdtre, and the Coventry. On board of
one of these, in consequence of an express order of the king, provoked
by the capture of Count de Grasse in his contest with Rodney, Sufl'ren
hoisted liis flag during the action. The Englisli had also two frigates,.
the Active and the Medea.

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 71

quality of his captains. For the first time the ships of
his fleet were commanded by men whom he could
trust. '

At quarter-past four in the afternoon, the two fleets,
having come within range, almost simultaneously opened
fire. Immediately afterwards the Flamand, 50,
attempting to pierce the enemy's line, was attacked on
both sides by the Exeter and the Inflexible. Her
captain, de Salvart, was killed, but the first lieutenant
succeeded in rescuing her from her perilous position.

Whilst this was being attempted the Heros and
Illustre engaged at once the Superb, the Munarca and
the Biirford ; the Argonaute the Sultan ; the Petit
Annibal the Africa ; the Vengeur the Magnamine ;
the Hardi at once the Bristol and the Monmouth. In
the rear division the Fendant encountered first the
Inflexible and then the Gibraltar, whilst the Sphinx
tackled the Defence. The other ships of both fleets
were not less actively engaged.

At about half-past five the mizen topmast of the
Fendant caught fire, and her commander was forced to
take her for a moment out of the line. The Gibraltar,
with whom she had been engaged, seized this opportunity
to attempt to break the French line, but the Flamand
covered her consort and kept the enemy at bay till the
fire was extinguished, and the Fendant returned to her
position.

The murderous contest was kept up on both sides
until past seven o'clock, when darkness supervened and

72 FRENCH MARINERS

the firing ceased. Neither fleet had lost a ship, both
had been severely handled ; but the practical victory
would be naturally to that which would be able to
compel the other to retire from the vicinity of Kadalur.
That question was soon decided.

During the night the French fleet beat about endea-
vouring to remain close to Kadalur, but the currents
took it down to Pondichery. There, in the course of
of the following day, it anchored but early on the
morning of the 22nd, his light ships signalling the
English fleet bearing N.N.E., Sufi'ren immediately
weighed anchor and stood out in pursuit. AVhen,
however, he reached Kadalur the enemy was no longer
in sight ; Sir E. Hughes had borne up for Madras.*

Thus then had Sufi'ren by combined skill and valour
attained one of his objects. He had driven one enemy
from the coast ; he would now aid in forcing the other to
retreat. That same evening, the 23rd June, he landed
not only the 1000 soldiers he had borrowed from the
fort, but added to them 2400 men from his sailors.

More he could not do. He could command and win

* The impartial historian, Lieutenant-Colonel Wilks, by no means a
lover of the French, states that " The English Admii-al, after receiving
the detailed reports of the state of each ship, found the whole of his
c'juipments so entirely crippled, his crews so lamentably reduced, and
the want to water so extreme, that he deemed if indispensable to inciu'
the mortification of bearing away for the roads of Madras whilst Sufifren,
wresting from his enemies the praise of superior address and even tlie
claim of victurij, if victory belong to him who attains his object, re-
sumed his position in the anchorage of Cuddalore." The italics are
my own. Campbell and the autlior of the Transactions are, aS usual,
vague when the matter refers to the success of the French.

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 73

battles on sea. He could send his men on shore, but on
land his own men, he himself even, came under the
orders of Bussy. And we have seen what the Bussy of
1783 was. Yet this man, once so distinguished,
had now an opportunity at the like of which he would
have clutched in his younger days. Covered by the fleet,
he could make an assault on the enem}" — the landing
of whose battering train had been prevented by the
success of Sufl"ren — with numbers superior to their own.
Suffren urged him to this course ; d'Offelize urged him;
the officers of his staff urged him. But he would not.
He let the golden moments slip. Then Suffren, dis-
gusted, returned on board his ship, asking Bussy as he
left him "if he expected that he could take his ships to
" beat the enemy on shore."

At last, after many hesitations, when General Stuart
had recovered from the moral depression which the
departure of the English fleet and, with it, his battering
train, had caused him, Bussy determined to risk a sortie.
But a sortie to succeed must be composed of picked
men, and those men must be well commanded. Bussy
neglected both these necessary precautions. The
men he ordered for the work were not only not
specially selected, but their number was insufficient
for the purpose ; their leader moreover, the Chevalier
de Dumas, was the least trusted officer in the
French force.* The result corresponded to the plan.

* C'etait un vil intrigant d'une incapacite reconnue. — Roux. Wilks
says he was inconsolable at not having been wounded.

74 FRENCH MARINERS

The sortie, made at three o'clock in the morning of
the 26th June, was repulsed with the loss of about forty
men killed, and 100 taken prisoners.*

Notwithstanding this repulse, the English general
was too well aware of his own comparative weakness to
attempt an assault. He restricted himself therefore to a
blockade, and that of merely a nominal nature. The
French troops drew in unopposed all their supplies from
the country, and Bussy — even the Bussy of 1783 — had
become so emboldened as to talk of an attack on the
besiegers' camp with his combined force, when suddenly
the intelligence that the preliminaries of peace had been
signed in Europe, induced both contending parties to
agree to a suspension of arms.

This suspension assumed on the 3rd September follow-
ing a permanent character, by the announcement of the
conclusion of the peace known in history as the treaty of
Versailles.

The suspension of arms was most unfortunate for
France. The army of Stuart before Kadalur represented
the last hope of the English in Southern India. It was
reduced then by the want of supplies to the greatest
extremities. An attack by the French in force could

* Amongst the prisoners taken was Bernadottc, afterwards Marshal of
France, Prince of Pontecorvo, and King of Sweden. He was then a
sergeant in the regiment of Aquitaine. After he had attained greatness
Bernadotte seized the earliest opportunity of expressing to Colonel
Langenheim, who commanded the German legion at Kadaldr, and whom
he met again in Ilauover, his sense of the kindness with which he had
been treated on this occasion.

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 75

have scarcely failed to annihilate it. With its destruction
Madras and all Southern India would have passed over
to the French.*

But it was not to be ; nor, even if it had been, can it
be imagined that the scion of the House of Bourbon
who then governed France, well-intentioned though he
may have been, would have refused to restore it without
conditions. His predecessor, after having lavished
French blood and spent French treasure in a war which
was costly, and in spite of himself successful, restored
at the peace which followed! all his conquests, and
agi'eed even to dismiss his guest from his hearth, saying
he " would not treat as a tradesman but as a king."
This kingly method of benefiting one's adversaries at
the expense of one's country would seem to be an
heirloom of the House of Bourbon. For, with respect
to India, the treaty of Versailles carried out precisely the
same principle. The war which that treaty terminated
had been a most disastrous war for England. She
had lost, and rightly lost, her American colonies ; she
seemed, for the moment, shorn of her prestige ; the
French could have insisted at least on the restoration of
her possessions in India to the status quo ante 1761.
This was a cardinal point which neither the Republic

* Professor H. H. Wilsou thus writes on this subject : " It seems
probable that but for the opportune occurrence of peace with France, the
South of India would have been lost to the English. The annihilation
of the army at Cuddalore would have been followed by the siege of
Madras, aud there was little chance of defending it successfully against
Tippoo and the French."

+ The Peace of Aix la Chapelle.

76 FRENCH MARINERS

nor the Empire would have foregone. But the Bourbons
" treated as kings and not as traders." Consequently,
though England had but one army in Southern India,
and that army was exposed to destruction, Louis XVI.
renounced every advantage, and allowed French India
to accept, after a victorious campaign, conditions almost
identical with those which had been forced upon her
after the capture of her capital in 1761.

Yet the indifference of the ruler of France, noxious as
it was to French interests, could not detract in the
smallest degree from the merits of the illustrious man
who did, for a time, restore French influence to Southern
India. That man was the Bailli* de Suffren. His five
contests with an English fleet, of always nearly equal,
once even of greater force, stamp him as being inferior
to none of the great seamen whom France and England
had till then produced. This has been virtually admitted
by the writers on naval subjects of both nations.
Mr. Clerk, whose work on naval tactics, originally
published in 1778, is said to have inspired Eodney with
the famous idea of breaking the line, republished, in
1790, an edition in which he cites the manoeuvi-es of
Suffren as constituting a lesson to all admirals to come,
and indicates him as having been the first commander to
introduce the principle of fighting at close quarters, sub-
sequently carried to so great a perfection by Nelson.
Vice-Admiral Bouet Willaumez, in his work entitled

* In 1782 he had been nominated Bailli of the order of the Knights
of St. John of Jerusalem.

ON THE INDIAN SEAS. 77

Batailles cle terre et cle iner, says of Suffren that he
was " the first to disdain the routine professed by the
" admirals of his epoch, consisting of ranging the
** squadron in one single line of battle. He cared not
" for the traditions which required one to fight at a
" moderate distance. He engaged within pistol-shot."
The naval historian, Dr. Campbell, whose anti-French
sympathies are so strongly marked, is forced to admit
that Sufi"ren was " worthy of being the rival and
'* opponent of Sir Edward Hughes." I have already
cited the opinion of Colonel Wilks. Amongst all the
works I have consulted on the subject I have not found
a divergent sentiment.

The character of Sufi"ren is thus justly summarised by
M. Hennequin,* " To an imperturbable coolness in
" action, Sufh-en united an extreme ardour and activity.
*' Courageous even to rashness, he showed an inflexible
" rigour towards officers whom he suspected of weakness
" or cowardice. In a word, he united in his person all
" the qualities which make a warrior illustrious, a sailor
" skilful, and a man esteemed. Those who knew him,
" and especially the officers who sailed under his orders,
** never pronounce his name even now but with respect
" and admiration."

Suffren returned to France in 1784, to receive high
honours from his Sovereign, but he did not long survive
to enjoy them. He was killed in a duel in 1788 at the
age of sixty-two.

* Essai Idstorique sur la vie et les campagnes du Bailli de Suffren.

78 FRENCH 3IARINERS

Had he but lived, would be bave been too old to com-
mand the fleet which fought Lord Howe on the 1st June,
1794 ? Could he have occupied with advantage the place of
Brueys and Villeneuve ? These are questions which the
French at least, who owned him and who glory in him,
do ask, and which they have a right to ask. Nor will
we — we English — who honour genius, and who recognise
that genius in the man who, though a foreigner, was
still the precursor of our own Nelson, grudge them the
answer which their pride and their patriotism alike
dictate.

Meanwhile peace between the European rivals reigned
again in Southern India. By the interval of nine years
which elapsed between the signature of the treaty of
Versailles and the outbreak of the war of the Revolution
the English profited to fix their domination on a basis
so substantial as to be proof against further direct
hostility on the part of their great rival. But the indirect
efforts which were then attempted were coloured by a
tinge of romance almost entirely wanting in the history
I have just recorded.

BOOK II.

♦

THE ISLE OF FRANCE AND HER
PRIVATEERS.

Between the peace of Versailles and the outbreak of
the Revolutionary war, the French Marine was but
thinly represented on the Indian seas. But when in
1793, war was declared between the two nations, the
flag of the French Republic, that flag which so soon
was * to make the tour of Europe,' appeared again to
animate those whom it represented to fight, not on this
occasion for victory, but for existence.

For, indeed, at the outset of the struggle the navy of
France was far from being in a condition to combat the
ships of her ancient rival with any "prospect of success.
The nobility, from which its officers had been drawn,

80 THE ISLE OF FBANCE

had emigrated in large numbers, and the democratic
principle, which had been introduced upon the ruins of
that which had crumbled away because its foundations
had rotted, had been denied the opportunity granted to
the land forces of developing, on the spur of the moment,
a perfect system of promotion and command. Never-
theless, even under these trying circumstances, the
navy of France proved not unworthy of the renown it
had inherited from Tourville, from Duguay-Trouin,
from Jean Bart, from de Forbin,* and from Suffren.
The battle of the 1st June, fought by an untried admiral,
with a fleet in no way superior to its enemy in numbers
and weight of metal, and newly officered from the
lowest to the highest grade, t was indeed a defeat, though
not a very decisive defeat ; yet who will say that under
all the circumstances of the case, that defeat even was
not glorious to the French arms ?

Another cause which tended at this period to the

* The memoirs of the Count de Forbin. Commodore of the French
Navy in the time of Louis XIV, were considered so remarkable that they
were translated into English and published in London in the year 1731.

+ Rear Admiral Kerguelen, writing at the time, gives an animated
description of the flagrant mode in which officers were appointed to the
ships of war " by charlatans and ignorant empirics." He gives details
to prove his statements. Captain Brenton, R.N., writing on the same
subject, says : "Tlie French fleet was no longer manned and officered as in
the splendid times of Louis XIV. * * Most of the seamen had been
marched to the Rhine and the Moselle to fill the ranks of the army, and
their places were supplied by wretched conscripts and fishermen. The
captains of the line were men totally unqualified from their habits for
such a station ; they had been, with few exceptions, masters of merchant-
men, and knew nothing of the signal book or of the mode of conducting
a ship of war."

AND HER PEIVATEERS. 81

demoralisation and injury of the French fleet was the
intense party-feeling which prevailed throughout the
country. It was this party-feeHng that induced Toulon,
one of the great harbours of France, to revolt against
the established form of government of the country.
This revolt caused the loss to the French of twenty
ships of the line and twenty-five frigates. Of these,
three ships of the line, one of 120 guns, and twelve
frigates, fell into the hands of the EngHsh — not
conquered in fair fight, but betrayed by the partisans of
the used-up race which France had expelled.

France, then, thus heavily weighted at starting, could
dream no more of conquests on the Indian seas. She
could not even defend her possessions on the mainland
of India. These fell without a struggle to her fortunate
rival. But she could still protect the islands, to the
chief of which she had lent her own fair name ; she
could still protect her commerce ; she could still infiict
damage on the commerce of her enemy.* But to carry
out this progi-amme on the Indian waters, she had now

* That she was successful is shown by the following tables taken from
the official documents : —

Merchant Ships Merchant Ships

taken by the taken by the

French from English from

the English. tlie Frrnch.

In 1793 ..261 .. 63

,. 1794 .. 527

„ 1795 .. 502

„ 1790 .. 414

» 1797 .. 562

2266 375

88 Being a pro -

47 portion in

63 [five years of

114 1 more than

six to one.

82 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

no fleet available. To light squadrons, to single ships,
to privateers, she had to leave these arduous duties.
The deeds which were under such circumstances ac-
complished possess an interest all their own. Some of
those performed by the privateers are worthy to be
classed with the achievements of Duquesne, of Duguay-
Trouin, and of Jean Bart.

Conspicuous amongst the commanders of these
privateers was Robert Surcouf. His exploits were so
intimately connected with the Indian seas ; he took so
leading a part in the devastation of English commerce
from the very outbreak of hostilities ; that I make no
apology for bringing him at once before my readers, as
one of the most considerable and the most successful of
the naval adventurers with whom our countrymen had
to deal on the Indian waters.

The advantages offered by the Isles of France and
Bourbon as a refuge for French cruisers, whence these
could sally to commit depredations upon British com-
merce, induced the British authorities to despatch in the
early part of 1794 a squadron to watch and blockade
the islands. This squadron, originally intended to
consist of four ships, was finally composed only of the
Centurion 50, Captain Osborne, and the Dioinede 44,
Captain Smith.

The islands, in the first throes of the revolution, had
been virtually abandoned to their own resources by the
mother country, nor did the latter fully resume her
protective control until after the events of 18 Biumaire.

I

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 83

In tlie meanwhile the chief men in the islands, military,
naval, and commercial, had formed a sort of provisional
administration. The first question to be solved was
that of " how to live?" This was answered in the
manner I have indicated above. A few stray frigates
and considerable and increasing number of privateers
were sent to prey on the English commerce. Their
gains, as may well be imagined, were enormous ; and
from a portion of these gains the treasury of the
colonies was replenished.

The alarm which spread in the islands when the news
reached them of the arrival in their waters of two
English ships of war to intercept their cruisers can
easily be imagined. There were not wanting, however,
bold men, who forbade then- fellow-colonists to despair
and who promised to sally forth and drive away the
daring strangers. Prominent amongst these adventurous
spirits was Jean-Marie Renaud, a captain in the navy
of France, and commodore of the small squadron which
found itself at the time at the islands. This squadron
consisted only of the frigates Cyhele, 40, and Prndente,
36, the brig Courier, 14, and the privateer Jean-Bart*
Renaud called a council of war of their captains, and as
they agreed with him that boldness was prudence, he
took out his little S(|uadron that same afternoon to
attack the strangers. He found them, and bore down

* The English historian, James, speaks of the Jean-Bart as a 20-gun
corvette. She may have carried 20 guns, though that would seem
doubtful, hut she was only a privateer.

6 A

84 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

upon them at half-past three o'clock on the third day
(22nd October.) The combat which followed was
obstinate, bloody, and, as it appeared at the moment,
indecisive. The French lost more men than the
English ; Eenaud was wounded ; his flag captain,
Flouet, was killed ; the same fate befell the first
lieutenant of the Cyhele. Yet, in spite of these losses,
the French succeeded in their main object. The two
English ships renounced the blockade and disappeared.

At this time Robert Surcouf was engaged in cruising
between the Isle of France and the coast of Africa. Born
at St. Malo on the 12th December 1773, descended
by his mother from the illustrious Duguay-Trouin,
he had been sent to sea at the age of thii-teen.
In 1790 he made a voyage to India in the Aurora,
On the breaking out of the war with England he was
transferred to the French navy and returned to France.
Aj-riving, he left the navy and set out as captain of a
slaver, le Creole^ for Africa. Having landed on the islands
the negroes he had obtained, he quitted for ever that
service, and accepted, in September 1765, the command
of a privateer of 180 tons burden, carrying four six-
pounders, and a crew of thirty men. The name of the
vessel was la Modeste, but Surcouf changed it to VEmilie.

For some reason the Governor of the islands, M. de
Malartic, declined on this occasion to give Surcouf a
letter of marque. He granted him permission only to
defend himself in the event of his being attacked.
Surcouf 's ostensible mission was to proceed to the

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 85

Seychelles islancls and procure thence a supply of turtle
for the colonists.

The Emil'ie was a very fine sailer, and Surcouf, glowing
with the ardour and enterprise of his twenty years, was
a bold and daring seaman. He was not quite the man
to be content with procuring turtle for his fellow-citizens.
However, he directed his course straight to the Seychelles,
and cast anchor oif one of the islands on the 13th
September. Here he stayed several days employing
himself in taking on board articles of native produce.
Already he had nearly loaded his vessel, when on the
afternoon of the 7th October, he discovered two large
English ships bearing down upon him from the south-
east-by-south.

To cut his cable, to thread the intricacies of the navi-
gation of the Archipelago, and to gain the high seas,
was an object to which he instantly bent his energies.
It was a daring exploit, for the navigation of the
Seychelles islands was but little known, and many ships
had been lost there. But, again, daring was prudence.
With every sail set he traversed the difficult passages,
then, finding himself in the open sea, he directed his
course eastward. Caught by the changing monsoon,
when approaching Achin, he again altered his course,
determined to fly before it. When the fury of the storm
had moderated, Surcouf turned the head of the Emilie
towards Pegu. Scarcely, however, had he doubled Cape
Negrais when he found himself almost face to face with
an English vessel.

86 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

This was a trading ship, the Penguin, laden with
wood. Surcouf captures her, places a few of his men on
board, and starts her off for the islands. He then turns
and follows as nearly as he can the coast towards the
Bay of Bengal. He meets, however, no craft upon which
he can seize ; till, suddenly, at daybreak on the 19th
January, he finds himself close to two English ships,
towed by a pilot brig, at one of the mouths of the
Ganges.

Surcouf attacked and took the three ships. Then,
finding that the pilot brig was more adapted to his pur-
poses than the Evulic, he removes to her his guns and
his crew, calling her the Cartier, and sends off the
Emilie in charge of his two prizes to the islands.

Still cruising off the mouths of the river, Surcouf
discovered, on the evening of the 28th January, a large
three-masted vessel going out to sea. He at once made
for her and captured her. She proved to be the Diana,
having on board a large cargo of rice. He then started
with his prize for the islands.

But fortune was not always to befriend him. The
very morning after the capture of the Diana he sighted
a large English ship bearing up for the coast of Orissa.
This was the Triton, an Indiaman carrying 26 guns and
a crew of 150 men. Surcouf let the Diana approach
him so as to increase his own crew, which, by the
addition thus obtained, reached the number of nineteen
men, himself and the surgeon included. He then set
Rail towards the Triton, of whose force he was naturally

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 87

ignorant. Finding that she sailed hetter than the
Cartier, he hoisted the Union Jack. The Triton, recog-
nising the Cartier as a pilot brig,, hove to. As Surcouf
approached her he became for the first time aware of her
formidable armament and of the number of her crew.
At first he hoped these latter might be lascars, and it
was not till he arrived within cannon-shot that he dis-
covered them to be all Europeans.

He was lost. What could his seventeen men and
four guns efi'ect against the 150 men and twenty- six
12-pounders of the enemy? And he was within cannon-
shot! Destruction seemed inevitable. He could not flee,
for the Triton had shown herself a better sailer. The
smallest hesitation would betray him. What was he to
do?

Once more boldness was prudence. Not for one
moment did Surcouf relax his onward movement. He
summoned his crew, pointed out to them the enemy's
guns, and told them that the Triton must be either their
their tomb or the cradle of their glory. The crew
declared with enthusiasm that they would conquer or die.
Surcouf at once sent, his men below ; then, keeping near
him only the master, the officer of the watch, a sailor,
and two or three lascars whom he had taken from his
prizes, ho came up rapidly to within half pistol-shot on
the windward quarter of the Triton. Then, suddenly
replacing the Union Jack by the Tricolor, he fired a
broadside on the group of sailors on the ludiaman's
deck. Terror and astonishment contended with each

88 THE ISLE OF FEANCE

other amongst the assaulted English. Surcouf at once
turned his ship's head to the wind, clambered on board
the Triton, and took advantage of the confusion which
prevailed there to send up six men into the shrouds of
the mizen-mast, thence, supported by the fire of their
comrades, to carry the poop. A desperate struggle then
ensued. The Cartier is ranged alongside the Triton;
every Frenchman gains the deck ; the English, surprised,
unarmed, are one by one driven below ; gradually the
hatches are closed up by their gratings ; the port-ropes
are cut, and Surcouf does everything in his power to
keep the enemy below.

Many of the English had been killed at the first
broadside. The remainder, recovering from their sur-
prise, made a manful resistance. Their indignation is
increased by the discovery made by some of them of the
small number of their assailants. They attempt to blow
up the quarter deck; but Surcouf, discovering their pro-
ject, opens so heav}' a fire upon them through the main
hatchway that they are forced to desist. At last, finding
their eff"orts useless, the crew surrender.

Such was the capture of the Triton — a very Triton
caught by a minnow — a capture so marvellous that even
the Indian journals of the day wrote of it as "an extra-
" ordinary capture."* Undoubtedly it was an act of
piracy, for Surcouf bore no commission to attack English
vessels, yet the captain of the Triton was necessarily
ignorant of this deficiency in the powers of his enemy.

* Madras Courier, IGtli February, 1796.

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 89

He knew that France and England were at war, and he
ought to have known that an enemy will always take
advantage of any ruse to gain his ends ; that stratagem
is fair in war.

Leaving out of consideration for a moment the defect
in Surcouf 's commission, it must he admitted that his
conduct in most dangerous circumstances showed won-
derful self-possession, daring, and nerve. He was not
then twenty -two. Had he known the force of the Triton
neither he, nor any man in his senses, would under the
circumstances have attempted to capture her. But
finding himself suddenly in a position from which it was
impossible to escape, except by the display of a surpass-
ing audacity and the happiest presence of mind, he, on
the moment, did display those qualities — and conquered.

After the capture had been efi"ected, Sm-couf, em-
barrassed by the number of his prisoners, who greatly
exceeded his own crew, ransomed the Diana to her
former captain for a bill for 30,000 sicca rupees,* and
after transferring to her his prisoners he let her go.
Then, removing the bulk of his crew to the Triton, he
sailed in her for the islands, instructing the Cartier\ to
follow as rapidly as she could. Sm-couf reached the
Isle of France in safety ; but scarcely had he landed
when he was informed that the Governor, M. de Malartic,

* The bill on presentation was not paid ; the drawee contending that
he had discovered that the transaction was illegal.

+ The Cartier was re-captiued in the Bay of Bengal by an English
man-of-war.

90 THE ISLE OF FKANCE

had confiscated his prizes on the plea that he was
unauthorised to make captures. Against such a ruling
Sm-couf appealed in person to the Directory. The case
came before the Council of the Five Hundred, who, on
the 4th September, 1797 (17 Fructidor, year V.) pro-
nounced a decision in Surcouf's favour. His prizes,
sold at the islands, had realised the sum of 1,700,000
francs ; but certain difficulties having arisen regarding
the question of exchange, Surcouf agreed to accept for
himself and his crew the diminished sum of 660,000
francs. This amount was paid him.

Surcouf remtdned about fourteen months in France.
Tired then of inaction, he obtained at Nantes the com-
mand of a privateer brig, called the Clarisse, mounting
14 guns and having a crew of 120 men. He set out with
her in September for the Indian seas, and reached the
line without sighting a vessel. Scarcely, however, had
he entered the southern hemisphere when a sail was
signalled. She proved to be an English three-masted
vessel carrying 26 guns. The wind was in her favour,
and she bore down with all sail on the Clarisse.

Here again destruction seemed inevitable. The
prospect did not, however, appal Surcouf. He first ex-
changed broadsides with his enemy, then wearing, came
down on the starboard tack and took up an advantageous
position on his quarter. For half an hour the victory
was ol)stinately contested, but at the end of that time,
the stranger, having been considerably maltreated and
having lost her captain, clapped on all sail and bore

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 91

away. The Clarisse was in no condition to follow
her.

The damages sustained on that occasion were quickly
repaired, and Surcouf pursued his journey without inter-
ruption to the Indian seas. Still sailing eastward he
captured, after a severe combat, two English merchant
ships with rich cargoes. He returned with these to the
island of Bourbon, the Isle of France being blockaded
by British cruisers. Having there repaired and refitted
the Clarisse, he sailed again (August, 1799) for the
Straits. In this voyage he touched at Java, and landed
there to replenish his water-tanks. Whilst on shore
here mth only a few of his crew, he was suddenly
attacked by a chieftain of the country who came upon
him with a large following. Unprepared and his crew
unarmed, Surcouf owed his escape to the presence of
mind which never failed him. Leaving his musket still
slung across his shoulders he advanced towards the
Javanese chieftain and placed in his hand a red hand-
kerchief he had untied from his neck. The chieftain,
whose actions up to that moment had denoted the
greatest hostility, seemed so fascinated by the colour of
the present he had received that he contented himself
with making signs to Surcouf and his men to re-embark
immediately. It need scarcely be added that the hint
was promptly taken.

In the cruise which followed, the Clarisse captured a
Danish ship carrying an English cargo, a Portuguese
ship, and an English merchantman, the Auspicious.

92 THE ISLE OF FBANCE

A few days later Surcouf was in pursuit of another
merchantman and was fast approaching her, when he
perceived bearing down upon him from an opposite
direction a vessel which was unmistakeably a ship of war.

This was no other than the English frigate La Syhille
of 48 guns, which had but recently captured off the
Sandheads the French frigate La Forte of 52 guns.
Surcouf was apparently lost, as the English frigate soon
showed herself a better sailer than the Clarisse. But
he did not despair. He cast overboard his spare masts
and spars ; then eight of his heavy guns ; and that not
being sufficient he half-emptied his water casks. Thus
lightened the Clarhse gained rapidly on the frigate and
at daybreak the following morning the latter was
completely out of sight. Two days later Surcouf
captured an English merchantman, the James, laden
with rice, and on the fourth day after that the American
ship Louisa. With these captures Surcouf closed his
career in the Clarisse. Returning with his prizes to the
islands, he was ofiered the command of a new privateer,
just arrived from Bordeaux, and reputed to be the fastest
sailer afloat. Surcouf accepted the offer.

The new privateer was named La Conjiance. She
was of between 400 and 500 tons burden, and carried
16 guns. Her crew consisted of 159 Frenchmen, twenty-
five volunteers from the island of Bourbon, and about
twenty natives. She left the islands for her cruise in
the Indian waters the middle of April 1800.

Surcouf went first to the Malabar coast on account of

AND HEE PRn^ATEERS. 93

the monsoon. But in July be directed thence his course
towards Triucomali. Chased, though in vain, off that
harbour by an English man-of-war, he pushed his way
towards the mouths of the Ganges, having captured up
to this time one American and two Englirsh merchant-
men. He was off the Sandheads on 7th October when
a sail was signalled to the eastward. Soon she was
discerned to be a large and heavily armed ship. She
was, in fact, the Kent, an Indiaman of 820 tons, carrying
26 guns, and having on board 437 Europeans, including
troops.*

The Kent carelessly approached La Confiance, taking
her to be a friend. Nor was it till she was within
cannon-shot that her captain perceived his mistake.
Still he made light of his enemy, and opening fire, in a
very short space of time he inflicted severe damage on
the hull, the rigging, and the masts of the Frenchman.
Still Surcouf did not reply. It was his object to board,
and he endeavoured to manoeuvi-e in such a manner as
to gain the port side of the Kent. When at length he
had succeeded in this, he opened a tremendous broadside
and musketry fire, then fastening the grappling-irons he
attached himself closely to his enemy. Thenceforward,

* The French accounts state that besides twenty-six broadside guns,
the Kent carried twelve on her quarter-deck and forecastle. James
implies that this was not so. On the other hand, James reduces the
number of the crew, including passengers, to about 140. But this is
manifestly incorrect, for besides her own crew of more than 120, she
had taken on board the entire crew of the Queen, an Indiaman burnt at
St. Salvador, and she had besides, the troops and passengers of both
vessels.

94 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

from her superior height out of the water, the fire of
the Kent could only pass over the deck of La Confiance.

To climb on the enemy's deck followed by the crew,
was a work of an instant. After a desperate conflict the
English were driven below, their flag was hauled down,
but still they did not give in. The fight continued
below in the batteries, nor was it until resistance had
become useless that it ceased, and the Kent sui-rendered.

In this battle the French had sixteen men wounded,
of whom three died of their wounds. The English lost
seventy men killed and wounded.* Surcouf at once
transported the greater part of his prisoners, amongst
whom w^as the daughter of the Margrave of Anspach
married to an English general, on board a three-masted
coasting vessel which opportunely came near enough to
be captured ; then placing sixty of his men under an
officer on board the Kent, he sailed in comjjany with her
to the Islands. He arrived there in November. There,
too, he received instructions to re-conduct the Confiance
to France with a view to her receiving a more powerful
armament. He sailed with this object on the 29th
January 1801, and arrived at La Kochelle on the 13th
April following, having captured a Portuguese vessel,
the Ebro, carrying 18 twelve-pounders, on the way.

That same year the brief treaty of Amiens put a stop

to hostilities. Surcouf then married. But the war

being resumed in 1803, the First Consul ofiered him the

commission of post captain {capltaine de vaisseaii) in

• James says about fifty-eiglit.

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 95

the French Navy, with the command of two frigates in the
Indian seas. In the interview which followed with the
First Consul, Surcouf would only accord a provisional
acceptance of the offer. "I am willing," he is reported
to have said, "to undertake the duty, provided I am
" made independent of all superior command, whether of
" the admiral in the Indian seas, or of any senior officer
" I may encounter." The First Consul declined to gi-ant
him a power so excessive ; but struck by his manner
and perfectly cognisant of his reputation he asked his
opinion as to the policy by which the French Navy could
be placedj,on such a footing as to cause the greatest injury
to the English. The reply of Surcouf was eminently
characteristic of the man : " If I were in your place,"
he replied, " I would burn all my line of battle ships ; I
" would never deliver battle to the English fleets and
" squadrons. But I would construct and send into every
" sea frigates and light ships in such extraordinary
" numbers that the commerce of the enemy must be
" speedily annihilated." Napoleon was then too much
engaged mth the project of the invasion of England,
rendered abortive by the misconduct of Yilleneuve, t >
depart so markedly from the established traditions of
naval warfare ; but he did not the less appreciate the
intelligent ideas of the bold sailor. He conferred upon
him the Cross of the Legion of Honour.

Until the year 1806 Surcouf remained in France,
living on his savings, and sending out privateers com-
manded by his friends and relations. But i^ 1806 he

96 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

became tired of inaction. He panted again for life on
the Indian seas. He accordingly in that year had built
under his own superintendence a vessel to carry 18
guns and a crew of 192 men. In this ship, which he
called the Revenant, he sailed from St. Malo for the
Indian waters on the 2nd March 1807.

The islands were reached, without any adventure
worthy of note, on the 10th June. So great was the
consternation in Calcutta on the news that this famous
cruiser was on his way once again to the mouths of the
Ganges, that the reward of a lakh of rupees was offered
by the English Government for his capture.* But
undeterred by this, Surcouf, on the 3rd September,
sailed for his destination. On the 26th of the same
month he arrived of Vizagapatam. The same day he
captured the Trafalgar, a merchant ship laden with
rice and carrying 12 guns, and the Mangles with a
similar cargo and carrying 14 guns.f In the next

* I have been unable to discover the actual order ; but the Indian
journals for 1807 and 1808 abound with complaints of the injuries
caused by Surcouf to the British trade. The Asiatic Annual Register
records in October 1807 that the losses in the value of captured ships in
the preceding six weeks, amounted to thirty lakhs of rupees.

+ The Asiatic Anmial Register (1808) states that these vessels were
insured for 150,000 rupees each ; that Sm-couf sent their crews on
shore detaining only the captains, and Mr. Nichol, who would appear to
have been a person of some consideration. Subsequently Mr. Nichol
managed to effect his escape in a manner, says the Annual liegister,
fair and honourable, yet such as was likely to cause great irritation to
Surcouf. Yet the French captain would not allow his feelings to
interfere with what he considered to be due to propriety. He took the
first opportunity of forwarding to the British Government the whole of
the personal property left by Mr. Nichol on board the ship.

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 07

few days the Admiral Aplin, the Susanna, the Hunter,
the Fortune (previously caijturecl from the French), and
the Success struck their flags to him. Such was the
terror he inspired that the Goveuor-General in Council
placed on all the vessels anchored in the Hughli an
embargo to be binding as long as Surcouf might remain
in the Bay of Bengal.

Hearing of this order Surcouf took an eastern course.
On the 16th November he sighted three Indiamen
conveying troops. These he avoided. But the next day
he captured the New Endeavour* laden with salt ; and
two days later the Colonel MacaubijA On the 12th
December, returning from the Burmese waters, to which
he had repaired without making a capture, he was
chased, ineffectually, by a man-of-war and a corvette.
Two days later he captured two brigs,: from whose
masters he learned that the embargo had been taken off
the English vessels in the Hughli. On the 17th he
captured the Sir William Burroughs of 700 tons, laden
with teak, and bound from Rangoon to Calcutta. He
sent her to the islands. Early on the morning of the
third subsequent day he found himself within cannon-
shot of an EngHsh man-of-war. The smallest indication

* Surcouf ascertained tliat this vessel belonged toihe captain who was
navipating her, and that slie was not insured. With a rare generosity
he restored her to her owner unconditionally.

t From the Colonel Macauhy Surcouf took 1440 bottles of claret,
some specie and some gunpowder. He then restored her to her owner
for the same reason which had prompted his restoration of the
New Endeavour.

J These brigs were restored to their owners.

98 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

of fear would have lost him. But Surcouf was quite
equal to the occasion. He steadily pursued his course,
unquestioned and unmolested, his true character un-
suspected, and he soon sailed out of sight. A few days
later he captured a Portuguese vessel, the Oriente, and
a fine ship under Arab colours, but whose papers attested
her to be English property. Both these vessels were
likewise despatched to the islands.* His crew being
reduced to seventy men, and he having received intelligence
that a new English frigate had arrived with the express
mission to capture him, Surcouf resolved to follow his
prizes thither. Chased, though ineffectually, by an
English man-of-war, he arrived at Port St. Louis on
the 31st January 1808, and found that all his prizes had
safel}' preceded him.

Surcouf shortly afterward set out for France in a
vessel called the Charles \ with a cargo valued at five
millions of francs. His vessel, the Revenant, | after a
short cruise under her first lieutenant, Potier, had been

* Thither also had been despatched all the captures not specially
referred to in the text, except the Admiral Aplin, shipwrecked on the
Coromandel coast, the Hunter, -which he abandoned, and the Succcnn,
which he burned.

+ The Charles was an old frigate called La Semillante, worn out in
• service, and sold for the purposes of commerce.

I The fate of the Revenant was curious. After a short cruise under
the command of Potier, in which she captured a Portuguese frigate, the
Conce(/io de San Antonio, pierced for Ct, and carrying 54 guns, she
was taken up by the Governor, added to the French Navy as a corvette
of 22 guns, and re-named the Jena. In this new form she sailed with
an envoy and despatches for the Persian Gulf, captured the schooner
Swallow with 2500 dollars on board her, and the Janet, a small country

AND HER PRR'ATEERS. 99

taken up by the Governor, General Decaen, for the
defence of the islands, and there appeared to be no
chance of a further cruise in the Indian waters.* He
reached St. Malo on the 5th February 1809. In a few
days he went to Paris where he recived a flattering
reception from the Minister of Marine.

His active life on the sea was now terminated. The
capture shortly afterwards by the British of the Isles of
France and Bourbon tended very much to shut out the
French cruisers from the Indian seas. Surcouf con-
tinued, nevertheless, during the war to arm and fit out
privateers.! When peace came he devoted himself to
maritime commerce, to agriculture, and to shooting.

Surcouf died in 1827. " France," writes M. Cunat,
in his admirable biography, "lost in him a distinguished
" warrior; the naval service one of her bravest captains;
" and St. Malo, his native town, an illustrious offspring.
" Whilst the tears of the unfortunate proclaimed his
" charity, his fellow citizens felt deeply the loss they

craft, but bad herself to succumb to the Modeste, a frigate of greatly
superior force, which she had approached in the belief that she was a
merchant ship. The Jena was added to the English Navy, under the
name of the Victor. — Asiatic Annual Regisier.

James states that the Modeste carried 36 guns ; and the Jena 18.
Seven of these, together with her boats, hencoops, and spars, she threw
overboard in her attempt to escape.

* As I am not writing a life of Surcouf, I do not propose to enter
upon the subject of his disputes with the Governor, especially as the
Emperor Napoleon gave a decision in his favour.

+ Amongst tlie most successful of his privateering ventures were the
Auguste, the Dorade, the Biscayenne, the Edoard, the Espadon, the
Ville de Caen, the Adoli)he, and the Renard.

7 A

100 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

" had sustained. Their regrets were a last homage to
" the man whose enterprise, as a sailor, had astonished
" the world, and who, as a trader, had benefited all the
" industries of the country which he idolised." It would
be difficult to add a word to this eloquent eulogy.

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 101

II.

A CONTEMPORARY, a fellow-townsman, and almost to the
same extent a destroyer of English commerce on the
Indian waters, was Francois Thomas Lememe, whose
adventures I am now about to record.

Born in 1763 at St. Malo, Lememe enrolled himself
as a volunteer on board the privateer the Prince de
Momhiiny, commanded by one Boynard. This was
during the war for the independence of the United
StateS; when opportunities offered to the sons of
Brittany and of Normandy to prey upon the commerce
of the great rival of France. The cruise of the Prince
de Momhauy was not altogether fortunate. She took,
indeed, some merchantmen, but she was forced herself
to succumb to an English frigate; "and it was in the
" prisons of Great Britain," says M. Gallois, " that
" Lememe learned, in his early youth, to hate with a
** hatred altogether national the islanders whom he was
" dosthied Liter often to encounter iind to overcome."

Released from his British prison by the treaty of
Versailles, Lememe continued his seafaring life. He
happened to be at the Isle of France in 1793 in com-
mand of a small transport brig, the llirondellc, when

102 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

the intelligence arrived that war had been declared
between France arid England. Instantly Lememe trans-
formed the Hiromhlle into a privateer. He armed her
with twelve 4-pounder carronades, and manned her with
eighty men. In addition to these, volunteers pressed
forward to serve under him ; of them, however, he could
take only thirty.

Thus armed and manned, Lememe sailed from the
islands in July, 1793, taking the direction of the Indian
Ocean. On the 16th August he encountered and
carried by boarding a Dutch corvette carrying eighteen
9-pounders, called The Good Werwagting. It is related
that before Lememe had been able to lay the Hlrondelle
alongside her powerful opponent the fire from the latter
had so damaged the French privateer, that one of her
officers remarked to the captain that the enemy's fire
would sink her. " That's just what I want," remarked
Lememe, "we shall be obliged then to put our feet on
" the decks of that one." Immediately afterwards he
brought the Hirondelle alongside and boarded.

Nine days later, in company with and aided by his
prize, Lememe attacked, and, after a contest of forty
minutes, captured the William Thesied, a large
Dutch Indiaman, pierced for 60 but carrying only 40
guns. With these two prizes Lcmene returned to the
islands.

He did not stay there long. Transferred from the
Hirondelle to the V'dle de Bordeaux, carrying 32 guns,
and having on board a crew of 200 men, Lememe started

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 103

again in the month of October for his old cruising
ground. Proceeding direct to Sumatra, he stormed the
fortifications of Padang, one of the Mantawi islands
close to the mainland, and seized all the shipping lying
off it. Obtaining most advantageous terms from the
Dutch Governor, he quitted Padang, his ship well laden
with the products of the expedition, and returned to the
Isle of France, capturing on his way a Portuguese mer-
chantman, the Santo Sacramento. The share of the
plunder accruing to Lemeue from this expedition
amounted to 1,100,000 francs, equal to £44,000
sterling.

In the Amphitnte, of which he next took command,
Lememe made several rich captures ; but of the
particulars I have been unable to obtain a record.
Transferred again to L'Unl, carrying 21 guns and a
crew of 200 men, he became the terror of the Indian
seas. She is reported to have captured in her short
cruise six merchantmen, two of which carried very
valuable cargoes, and four native grabs* all laden with
specie. Lememe, however, having placed insufficient
prize crews on board these, the Moplahs, who had
originally manned them, rose upon and killed their
captors. Amongst the letters found on the body of the
chief officer was one from Lememe to the owners of
UUni, in which he announced his intention " to sweep
" the Malabar and Coromandel coasts and to call at

* A grab is a three-mastecl vessel pcciUiar in those days to the
Malabar coast.

104 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

" Tranquebar for refreshments."* He would appear
to have kept his word.

After the return of L'Uni to the islands, Lememe
made two more cruises in the Indian seas, the first in
the Clarisse ; the second in the Grande Hirondelle.
The cruise in the Clarisse was at least as successful as
the cruises which had preceded hers. Hostile ships of
war were successfully avoided and merchantmen were
successfully encountered. But the same fortune did not
attend the Grande Hirondelle. After making three
captures, she herself was forced to succumb, on the
31st December, 1801, to the British frigate La Syhille,
48 guns, commanded by Captain Charles Adam.t

Released from confinement by the treaty of Amiens,
Lememe, who had realised an enormous fortune by his
cruises, renounced the sea, and started as a merchant.
But he managed his aiFairs so unsuccessfully, that when
the war broke out again in 1803, he had lost all he had
possessed. Again he resumed his earlier profession, and
hoisting his flag on board a three-masted vessel, the
Fortune, carrying 12 guns and a crew of 160 men, he

* Asiatic Annual Register.

t The fact of the capture of the Grande Hirondelle when under the
command of Lememe has been ignored by all the French authorities I
have been able to consult. In his biographical sketch of Lememe
M. Gallois merely mentions that before the peace of Amiens he had
cruised in the Clarisse and Grande Hirondelle. Yet I have before me
n(jt only Captain Adam's official report of the capture, dated 2nd
January, 1802, but also a letter from Lememe himself, dated the 7th
idem, written when a prisoner, and addressed to Captain Adam himself.
— Asiatic Annual Pegister, 1802, pages 42, 45, 46.

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 105

made bis way, towards the end of 1803, to the Bay of
Bengal.

This time his success was unexampled. In a very
brief period he captured at least fifteen vessels.* The
sums realised by the sale of these was enormous, the
official returns showing that the first six on the list sold
for nearly 1,200,000 francs. Yet, unfortunately for
Lememe, he did not live to enjoy his gains. On the
7th November 1804, in the waters of the Arabian sea,
he found himself early in the morning in close
proximity to the Concorde, a British frigate carrying 48
guns, which had been sent from Bombay in search of
him. In vain he attempted to escape. The Concorde
was a better sailer, and at half-past three o'clock she
came within range. Lememe did all that man could do
to cripple his adversary. But it was useless. At half-
past ten o'clock, his ship reduced to a wreck, he had to
strike his flag.

With this action ended his career. Shipped, the 15th
February 1805, on board the Walthamstow as a prisoner

* The official report of Admiral Linois, published in the Moniteur,
gives a list of ten, viz., the Barlow, the Eleonora, the Active, the Pomona,
the Vulcan, the Mahomed Bux, the Nancy, the Creole, the Fly, and the
Shreivsbiiry. M. Gallois adds to this list the Industry, a packet boat,
restored to its owner; the Dcinbow, the Daos, and the Lioiine. In the
Asiatic Anmtal Register for March, 1804, I find the following: " On the
1st ultimo the Taxbux, under Arab colours, was fired at, and at nine p.m.
taken possession of by the French privateer La Fortune, commanded by
Citizen Lememe. * « * Captain Mercer was informed on board the
privateer that she had taken three vessels, the Sarah, the Eliza, aud
the Active.'^ The Taxbux was restored to Captain Mercer.

I

106 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

bound for England, be died on tbe way (30tb Marcb).
In bim Franch lost one of tbe most daring of ber sailor
adventurers, and tbe Anglo-Indian community were
relieved of tbe obligation to give to tbe question, as to
tbe name of tbe privateersman by wbom tbeir last
mercbant vessel bad been captured, tbe stereotj'ped reply
of "toujours lemeine."

But little inferior to Lememe as a destroyer of Britisb
commerce in tbe Indian seas was Jean Dutertre. In tbe
cbronicle of tbe Asiatic Annual Register for November
1799,tbere appeared tbe following notice : — " On Monday
morning, tbe 28tb October last, an express arrived at
tbe General Post Office, Bombay, from Masulipatam,
conveying accounts of tbe capture of tbe under-
mentioned sbips by a French privateer, a little, to the
northward of the Madras Koads, viz., the Nawab of
Arcot's ship, Surprise galley, the Princess Royal,
formerly a Company's ship, tbe Thomas, ditto, an
extra ship, the Joijce, belonging to Masulipatam,
the Lord Hobart, belonging to Madras. * * *
The privateer by which these sbips were captured is
supposed to be tbe Malartic, mounting 12 guns,
and commanded by the same person who took the
Danish ship Haahat on the coast four months ago."
The supposition was correct. The privateer was the
Malartic, carrying 12 guns, having a crew of 110 men,
and commanded by Jean Dutertre. Dutertre was born
at Lorient and early took to the sea. He happened to
be at the Isle of France when the Emilic arrived there

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 107

in charge of the prizes which Surcouf had taken in her.
Surcouf, it may he recollected, had abandoned her for
his prize, the Cartier. Dutertre was then appointed to
her command, and in her he made one or two cruises,
the details regarding which are altogether wanting. He
was next heard of as commanding the Malartic, in
which he made the prizes to which I have alluded, and
subsequently, in addition, he captured the Governor
North and the Marquess Wellesley. Shortly afterwards,
however, the Malartic was forced to strike her colours
to an English vessel of superior force, the Phcenix, and
Dutertre was taken prisoner to England.

Released by the peace of Amiens Dutertre recom-
men his career in the Indian seas. He again became
the terror of those waters. In concert with another
adventurer named Courson, he, in one season, captured
the Rebecca, the Active, the Clarendon, the William,
the Betsey Jane, the Henry Addington, the Admiral
Rainier, the Lady WiUiam Bcntinch, the Xancy, the
Actceon, the Brothers, the Hebe, the Mongamah, and the
Warren Hastings. So great was the consternation
caused that we find the English journals of the period
complaining that "there is no part of the world, not-
" withstanding the superiority of the English marine,
" in which the enemy does not succeed in molesting
" our navigation, and in causing us infinite losses."

It was, after all, but the natural consequence of the
system of privateering thus afi'ccting the power which
carried the commerce of the world.

108 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

After this cruise, which began in 1804 and closed the
following year, Dutertre entered the French Navy and
became lost to the public view. He died in 1811.

Amongst the other adventurers who caused great
damage to English commerce, I find the Courson,
above referred to, and who, previous to the peace of
Amiens, had made several captures and had been taken
prisoner and sent to England ; Potier of St. Malo, who
succeeded Surcouf in the Revenant, and who, in
command of that privateer carrying 18 guns, captured
the Portuguese man-of-war, the Concegdo, pierced for
64, but carrying 54 guns ; and Mallerouse of St. Malo,
who commanding the Iphigenle of 18 guns, and having
captured the Pearl, Indiaman, carrying 10 guns and
having on board treasure amounting to more than three
lakhs of rupees, found himself suddenly face to face
with H. M.'s ship Trincomali, carrying 18 24-pounder
carronades. The combat which ensued was so remarkable
that I make no apology for recording it at length. I
am fortunately able to quote an authority which ever}'
Englishman will recognise as impartial, for the extract
which follows is taken from a private letter written to
his brother in England by Mr. Cramlington, who
was chief officer of the Pearl when she was captured,
and at the time a prisoner on board the Iplu'jcn'ic.

After recounting the story of the capture of the Pearl
Mr. Cramlington thus continues : " The treasure was
** shifted on board the privateer the next day ; and they
" were so elated with their success that they determined

AND HER PEIVATEERS. 109

" to return from their cruise immediately. But on the
" 10th, at night, we fell in with H. M.'s ship Trincomali,
" Captain Rowe, mounting 18 24-pouncler carronades,
" but badly manned.* She had been fitted out at
" Bombay, and had been cruising in the Gulf nine or
" ten months ; her crew very sickly, had lost a number
" of them by death, and had no fresh supply. I have
" been told she had only seventy active men on board.

" A partial action took place the next day as they
" passed each other, and on the 12th, at three p.m.,
" they came within gunshot again, and kept firing at
" each other till after sunset, but at too great a distance
" for much damage to be done. Owing to calm and
" light airs they could not get near each other. A
" schooner, named the Comet, was in company with the
" Trincomali, mounting 8 small guns. The captain of
" the privateer wanted very much to cut her off, but
" through the bravery and good conduct of her captain
" all his schemes failed, and she served to engage the
" Pearl for whom she was more than a match.

" At half-past six o'clock the same evening, a fine
" breeze springing up, the privateer bore down towards
" her prize. The Trincomali followed, and at ten p.m.
" (being moonlight) brought her to action, which con-

• James, in his Naval History, writes quite at random regarding
the armament of the combatants. He speaks of the Trincomali as
carrying 16 guns, probably G-pounders (the italics are mine) ; and of
the Iphiyenie as carrying 22 guns. The Frencli captain he calls
" Malroux." Compare his account with that given by the English
eye witness in the text.

110 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

tinued for two hours with gi-eat fury within musket-
shot ; when with one ship luffing up, and the other
edging down, they fell alongside each other and
grappled muzzle and muzzle. In this situation they
remained about half an hour, the slaughter very great
on both sides. The French, being more numerous,
were preparing to board, when by some fatal accident,
the Trincomali blew up, and every soul on board
perished, except one English seaman, named Thomas
Dawson, and a lascar. The explosion was so great,
and the ships so close, that the privateer's broadside
was stove in.

" I leave you to judge the dreadful situation I was in
at this crisis ; being below two decks, in the square
of the main-hatchway, in the place appointed for the
wounded; which was full of poor souls of that
description in circumstances too shocking to be
described. All at once the hatchway was filled in with
wood, the lights were driven out, the water rushing in,
and no visible passage to the deck. The ship appeared
to be shaken to pieces, as the hold beams had shrunk so
considerably, that where there was room before to
stand nearly upright, you could now only crawl on hands
and knees, which I did towards the hole on the side
where the water was coming in. Close to this, by the
light of the moon, I found a hole through both decks,
which had been newly made, I suppose, by the falling
of some of the Trlncomnlis guns, or other wreck.
Through this I got with difficulty upon deck, when I

AND HER PRIVATEERS. Ill

" found the ship just disappearing forward, and hastened
** aft as fast as I could over the bodies of the killed, with
" which the deck was covered, to the tafiferel, and jumped
" overboard.

" I swam a little way from her, dreadinp; the suction,
" and looked round for her, but she had totally dis-
** appeared. I afterwards caught hold of a piece of
" wood to which I clung for about an hour and a half,
" and at which time the boats of the Pearl came to
*' pick us up, there being about thirty Frenchmen in the
" same predicament. They, however, were all taken up
" first ; and when I solicited to be taken in, I had a
" blow made at my head with an oar, which luckily
" missed me. This treatment I met with from two
" different boats, and I began to think they were going
" to leave me to my fate. But the French officer in
" command of the Pearl, hearing there were some
" Englishmen on the wi-eck, ordered the boats im-
" mediately to return and take us up, viz., myself and
" Thomas Dawson, then the only survivor of the
" Trincomall.

" There were killed and dro^med on board the
" IpJiigenie 115 or 120 men. Among whom were the
** captain, seven officers, the surgeon, two young men,
" volunteers from the Isle of France, the first boatswain,
" gunner, and carpenter. All the treasure went down
" in the privateer. Captain Rowe of the Trincomali
" was killed before his ship blew up, as was also the
" first lieutenant whose name was Williams. The

112 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

" Comet, immediately on the accident happening, made
*' sail from the Pearl* I suppose she was afraid there
" might be too many French for her to manage. On
" the 15th we arrived here '' (Muscat) " for water, &c.,
*' and the French officer was so good as to give me my
" liberty."

The Pearl subsequently reached the Isle of France in
safety, but the career of Mallerouse was over.

In addition to the preceding I may mention Pinaud
of Nantes. One incident in the career of this brave
adventurer deserves to be recorded.

In my notice of Surcouf I have mentioned the feats he
was able to accomplish in the Clarisse, a brig carrying
14 guns. When Surcouf left the Clarisac for the (Jon-
fiance, the command of the former was entrusted to
Pinaud. Pinaud took her in 1800 to the Indian seas,
made many captures, but was forced himself to succumb
to an English man-of-war. Taken to Madras, he was
thrown into prison, and finally placed, with about 600
other prisoners, on board the Prince, Indiaman, to be
taken to England under the convoy of a squadron of six
ships of war returning thithi'r. The convoy sailed the

• James says that the Pearl esciipecl from the Comet. It would
appear from the impartial statement of the Eiiglislimaii in the text,
the Comet fled from the Pearl. But let the facts speak. The Pearl
remaining on the scene of action jiicked up by successive trips of
her boats about thirty Frenchmen and two Englishmen. The captain
of the Comet, in his official report, <!ateil 18th February 1800, admits
that he only picked four sepoys and a lascar, and those inuuediately
after the accident! It is clear from this that it was not the Pearl
which sailed first from the scene of the encounter.

AND HER PBIVATEERS. 113

middle of 1801, and reached in safety the latitude of
the Isle of France. The locality Pinaud considered
favourable, if other circumstances should combine, to
strike a blow for freedom. He communicated his plan
to his companions. They approved. It so happened
that on the 29th October the squadron was surprised,
when near the Isle of. France, by a heavy squall which
dispersed the vessels composing it. Pinaud considered
the moment opportune. The chief officer was in the
fore-topmast crosstrees ; the second officer in charge of
the deck ; the captain, the military officers, and two
French officers (prisoners) were in the cuddy taking tea,
when suddenly there rushed upon them Pinaud at the
head of a strong party of prisoners. Another division
at the same time took possession of the deck. The
surprise had been so well managed and the secret so
well kept that there was not even the semblance of a
struggle. Pinaud took command of the ship, followed
the course laid down for some time so as not to excite
suspicion, then, when night fell, he put out all the
lights, changed the ship's course, and reached the Isle
of France a few Aveeks later (20th November). Pinaud
next made a most successful cruise in the Subtile. He
subsequently transferred his cruising ground to the West
Indies.

It would be a tale of repetition to recount the deeds of
several other adventurers, such as Cautance of the
Eugene ; Peron of the Bellone ; and Henri of the
Henriette. It will suffice to state that the injury

8

114 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

inflicted on the British trade with the East was
enormous, and the gain to the French so immediate
that the privateers continued to increase and prosper
in spite of our overwhelming naval superiority.

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 115

III.

The secret of their impunity lay in the fact that in the
Isles of France and Bourbon the enemy's cruisers
possessed a strong base of operations. It was the
charmed refuge to which they could retire ; from which
they could issue with renewed strength. It may be
asked why the British, boasting as they did of the com-
mand of the seas, allowed those islands to remain
so long in the possession of their deadliest enemy. The
question is difficult, even at this distant period, to
answer. The sagacious intellect of Marquess Wellesley
had early detected the weak point in the British armour,
and with characteristic vigour he had at once applied
himself to repair it. Very soon after the fall of
Seringapatam he had organised from the armies of
the three presidencies a force which, massed at Trin-
comali, should proceed thence to the conquest of Java
and of the French islands. This expedition had been
on the very point of setting out when urgent orders
from England, despatched overland, diverted it to
Egypt to aid the expeditionary corps of Sir Ralph
Abercromby. Partly, probably, owing to the " timid
^' counsels " which supervened on the departure of the

8 A

116 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

gi-eat Marquess from India ; partly, likewise, on account
of the exaggerated opinion entertained in England of the
strength of the islands and of the great difficulties
which would attend an expedition, the idea was allowed
for some years to drop. The British Government con-
tented itself with spasmodic directions to blockade the
islands — a measure, the effective carrying out of which
was impossible, and which, even when attempted, did
not affect the successful egress and ingress of the
adventurous cruisers.

At length the damage done by those cruisers aroused
a cry of indignation and despair to which it was
impossible that the Government should remain longer
deaf. Under the pressure thus excited the Governor-
General, Lord Minto, urged upon the Home Government
the necessity of adopting measures more effectual than
that of a blockade by ships depending for their supplies
on the Cape or on Bombay. Lord Minto was in conse-
quence authorised to occupy Rodriguez, a small island
about 300 miles to the eastward of the Isle of France.
Still neither the English Government nor the Governor-
General entertained any idea beyond gaining a base
from which to supply blockading squadrons. In
accordance with these views a small force, consisting
of 200 Europeans and 200 natives, under the com-
mand of Lieutenant-Colonel Keating, was despatched in
May, 1809, from Bombay, in H.M.'s ship Belliqueux,
to occupy Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, used by the French as a garden to supply

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 117

the larger islands with vegetables, was garrisoned by
three Frenchmen, gardeners, and these were insufficient,
even if they had been inclined, to offer any serious
resistance. The English detachment, therefore, occupied
the island, without opposition, the 4th August. They
kept the French gardeners to grow vegetables on its
soil, whilst using the island also as a depot for ships'
stores. These were landed in great numbers.

It was soon found, however, that the French priva-
teers still sailed and returned with their prizes as they
had been accustomed to sail and to return. They
continued to elude, as successfully as they had before
eluded, the vigilance of the British cruisers. In a word,
it was found that even with a base so near to the scene
of operations as was Rodriguez effectual blockade of the
islands was impossible.

Under these circumstances the garrison of Rodriguez
was strengthened, and Colonel Keating was authorised
to make an attempt on the Isle of Bourbon.* That officer
accordingly embarked on the 16th September (1809) 368
officers and men, of whom one-half belonged to the
2nd Bombay Native Infantry, on board H.M.'s ships
Nereide and Otter and the Honourable Company's
cruiser Wasp. On the 18th these three vessels arrived
off Port Louis, and the following morning they joined

* This island was then called " Bonaparte," and was subsequently
named and has since been known as " Reunion ; " but for the sake of
unifonnitj' I adhere to the nomenclature it bore from the time of its
first occupation by the French.

118 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

H.M.'s ships Raisonnahle Sind Sirms ; the naval force
being commanded by Commodore Rowley of the former.
That same day the seamen and troops destined for the
attack, amounting to 604 men, were massed on board
the Nereide, and towards evening the squadron stood
for the Isle of Bourbon, off the eastern coast of which it
arrived on the morning of the 20th. Colonel Keating,
however, had resolved to attempt to carry St. Paul, the
chief town on the western side, to secure the batteries
there, and to force the surrender of the enemy's shipping
in the port.

At five o'clock on the^morning of the 21st the troops
were disembarked to the south of Point de Galotte,
seven miles from St. Paul. They were formed into
three columns : the reserve, composed of eighty men of
the Pompadours and eighty of the Royal Marines, under
the command of Captain Forbes ; the second column,
consisting of the detail of the 2nd Battalion 2nd Bom-
bay Native Infantry, under the command of Captain
Imlack ; the centre column formed of 100 sailors under
Captain Willoughby, and of the remainder of the Pom-
padours and Marines, about 140 in number, under
Captain Hanna.

Colonel Keating landed first with the reserve to cover
the disembarkation of the other two columns. This
having been effected, the reserve column was directed to
proceed under Captain Forbes by the road leading to
St. Paul, until it should pass the bridge over the lake,
when it was to make a turn to the left, and take

AND HER PEIVATEERS. 119

possession first of the barracks, then of the second
battery, La Pierre, and then to proceed on to the first
battery, La Centiere, where it would receive fresh orders
from the commanding officer ; the second column, under
Captain Imlack, was directed to pass the river Galotte
and to proceed along the seashore until it should reach
the rivulet running from the lake into the bay. It was
to advance thence up the bed of the rivulet, past the right
flank of the battery, Lamboucere, then move out and
form towards the sea, thus bringing it within pistol-shot
of the rear of the battery, of which Captain Imlack was
to take possession, spike the guns, and move on to La
Centiere.

The centre column under Colonel Keating was to
march straight on the battery La Centiere, and to
occupy it, detaching thence a force to take possession
of the battery La Neuve. La Centiere was to constitute
the post on which all attacks were to concentrate.

Whilst the British troops are marching in the order
above indicated, I propose to take a glance at the means
possessed by the French commandant of the island to
resist so formidable an invasion.

The commander of the French force in the island of
Bourbon was General des Bruslys. That force was very
small. There were concentrated at the capital, St. Denis,
under the personal command of General des Bruslys,
about 100 troops of the line and 300 Creoles. At St. Paul
there were onboard the frigate Caroline, anchored in the
harbour, 110 troops of the line and from 200 to 300

120 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

Creoles. The remainder of the force, entirely Creole,
was scattered over nine districts,* from which they
could not without difficulty be suddenly withdrawn and
concentrated on a given point. Des Brush's was expect
ing an attack not at St. Paul but at St. Denis, His
lieutenant at the former place, the Commandant
St. Michiel, had received no intimation that the
English were about to land. When they did land he
had not then even withdrawn from the Caroline the
European troops on board of her.

It can easily be conceived then that Colonel Keating's
first attack was successful. The second column took
possession of the battery Lamboucere, and the centre
column of the battery La Centiere without any strong
opposition, except that offered by the fire from the
enemy's ships in the river. The reserve column had
likewise moved on La Centiere and had turned its guns
on the enemy's shipping. The second column, under
Captain Tmlack, consisting only of 142 men of the
2nd Bombay Native Infantry and of twelve Europeans,
was then sent to take possession of the battery La
Neuve, deserted by the enemy.

But before Captain Imlack could reach La Neuve the
French appeared on the field. Very early that morning
the Commandant St. Michiel had ordered the dis-
embarkation of the 110 Europeans from the Caroline,
and had directed them to join him as soon as possible

• Tliese were St. Leu, St. Louis, St. Pierre, St. Joseph, St. Rose,
St. Benoit, St. Andr6, St. Suzanne, and St. Marie.

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 121

in a very strong position he had taken up in front of the
battery La Neuve. This position was covered by a stone
wall carefully loop-holed, and flanked on both sides by a
strong natural defence. Each of these flanks was again
covered by three 6-pounders.

This position had been occupied by St. Michiel whilst
the English were marching on the batteries Lamboucere
and La Centiere. He occupied it still with about 150
Creoles when the swarthy sons of India under their
English officers marched upon it. The attack was
conducted with great gallantry, but the defences were
too strong and the artillery tire too concentrated, and
the sepoys fell back. A second attack was not more
successful. The British centre column, consisting
entirely of Europeans, was then ordered up to reinforce
the native troops. Again the attacking party charged.
This time they succeeded, after a desperate conflict, in
taking two of the enemy's guns, but they made no
impression on his position. It was now the turn of
the French to be reinforced. They were joined by 110
Europeans from the Caroline, and by many Creoles
from the hills. The contest was now resumed with
greater fui*y than ever, and it became necessary for the
English commander to bring up the reserve under
Captain Forbes. This officer, advancing by a circuitous
route, occupied the battery La Neuve and thus took up
a position very nearly in rear of the enemy.

St. Michiel felt his post no longer tenable. He
evacuated it therefore, and fell back upon St. Paul ;

122 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

losing, after a most gallant resistance, his four remaining
guns. After that the course of the English was easy.
The fourth and fifth batteries, La Pierre and La Caserne,
fell into their hands. By half-past eight they had taken
possession of the town evacuated by St. Michiel, the
magazines, eight brass field pieces, 117 new and heavy
iron guns of different calibres, and all the stores. The
commodore, seeing the success of the troops, immediately
stood in, anchored close to the enemy's shipping, and
compelled it to surrender. The same evening Colonel
Keating destroyed all the public property in the town
not fit for transport, and re-embarked his troops.

General des Bruslys learned with surprise the same
night the lauding of the British troops on the west
coast of the island. He immediately collected all his
available men and marched towards St. Paul. He
arrived on the hills covering the town on the evening of
the 22nd and encamped there. Colonel Keating de-
termined to dislodge him the following morning. He
accordingly embarked his entire force in boats early on
the 23rd. But whether it was that des Bruslys thought
that further resistance would only lead to greater disaster,
or whether the moral tension was too strong for him,
this at least is certain, that he did not wait for a contest,
but retreated to St. Denis and shot himself.*

• He left a paper saying that he had destroyed himself to avoid
death on the scaffold, — a commentary on the dread caused in a weak
mind by the terrible knowledge that his master required, before all
things, success.

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 123

The Commandant St. Michiel succeeded to the post
thus vacated by des Bruslys. There was nothing left
for him but to negotiate with the conqueror. The
conditions insisted upon by the latter were not heavy.
It was arranged that he should retain possession of St.
Paul until he should be able to place on board his ships
the stores he had taken there, and to fit out the captured
vessels* for sea. This was soon accomplished, and on
the 2nd October Colonel Keating evacuated the island
and set sail for Eodri2uez.

* These were the Caroline frigate, 44 guns ; the Grappler brig, 11
gui.3 ; the Streatham a merchantman, 850 tons and pierced for 30
guns; VEurope, 820 tons, pierced for 26 guns ; the Fanny, 150 tons;
the Tres Amis and La Creole of 60 tons each.

124 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

IV.

The success of this expedition showed the Government
how far from formidable were the resources possessed by
the islands, and how easy it would be to strike a decisive
blow at these harbours of safety for the French
privateers. Impressed with this idea Lord Minto,
without waiting for orders from England, dispatched in
the spring of 1810, considerable reinforcements from
the three presidences to the island of Rodriguez. These
reinforcements raised the troops under Colonel Keating's
orders to 3650 men, of whom not quite one-half were
Europeans. So confident was Lord Minto of the
success of his plans that he nominated, in anticipation,
Mr. Farquhar of the Bengal Civil Service to be Governor
of the island.

The transports conveying the reinforcements to Colonel
Keating arrived off Rodriguez on the 25th June, but it
was not till the 3rd July that the expedition was able to
start for its destination. This time Colonel Keating
had determined to strike at once at the heart of Bourbon,
at its capital, St. Denis. With this view it was arranged
that the transports should meet at a given point about
fifty miles to the windward of the island ; that the

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 125 #

troops should then concentrate by brigades on board
H. M.'s ships of war* and that these should proceed
at once to the points marked out for each beforehand.

About four o'clock on the afternoon of the 7th July,
Lifutenant-Colonel Campbell and 150 troops of the
4th brigade, accompanied by Captain Willoughby, R.N.,
commanding a party of sailors, the whole constituting
the advanced guard of the force, were successfully
landed at a point between the battery St. Marie and the
batteries of the town. A few moments later, Lieutenant-
Colonel Macleod, commanding the 3rd brigade, effected
a landing with 150 men, somewhat to the right of
Colonel Campbell's party, expecting to be joined by the
remainder of his brigade. But just at this moment the
weather, which till then had been calm and moderate,
suddenly became stormy. So violent was the surf that
further disembarkation was impossible. Under these
circumstances Colonel Keating could not fail to be very
anxious for the safety of the handful of troops which had
but just landed. Impressed, however, with the truth of
the motto that in all doubtful circumstances boldness is
prudence, the colonel was desirous that his troops should
try to daunt the enemy by themselves taking the
initiative. But the violence of the surf had increased
and was increasing. No boat could take an order to
them. Yet the fate of the 300 or 400 men just landed
seemed to depend upon their receiving one. Every

* These were the Boadicea, 38; the Sinus; the Iphigenia ; the
Magicienne ; and the N6rHcle.

126 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

device was tried. A small vessel was beached, stem
foremost, in the hope that one at least of her crew
might make his way to the shore. But the fury of the
elements frustrated even this attempt. Further effort
appeared impossible. Colonel Keating was in despair.
At this crisis Lieutenant Foulstone of H.M.'s 69th
Regiment came forward unsolicited, and volunteered to
swim through the surf and carry orders to Colonel
Macleod. His offer was promptly accepted. Carried in
a boat to the edge of the surf Foulstone jumped in, and,
though a good deal knocked about, reached the shore.
He conveyed to Colonel Macleod the order to unite the
two parties which had landed and at once to attack and
storm St. Marie. Macleod carried out these instructions
with spirit and energy, occupied the post, and remained
there unmolested all night.

As the weather next day showed no signs of
moderating, Colonel Keating proceeded with the 3rd
and 4th brigades to the leeward, to Grand Chaloupe ;
where, on the 8th, about eleven a.m., he succeeded in
effecting a landing. Colonel Keating at this point was
separated from the town by heights. He lost no time
in crossing these, and before two p.m. he occupied a
position from which he could command the enemy's
intrenchments.

But affairs had gone somewhat too fast for him. The
Ist brigade, commanded by Colonel Fraser, had suc-
ceeded at two o'clock on the afternoon of the 7th in
effecting a lauding in a position to the south of the

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 127

capital within sight of the enemy. This daring achieve-
ment had the effect of concentrating upon Colonel
Fraser the entire attention of the French commandant,
and diverting it from Colonel Macleod's isolated party.
Colonel Fraser resolved to keep his attention fixed. He
at once pushed forward, dislodged the enemy from the
heights, and then took up a commanding position just
above the town.

He had with him only 350 bayonets, all Europeans,
but with these he kept the enemy anxious and occupied
until darkness fell. , He then retreated to a secure
position a little in the rear which cut the communications
between St. Denis and St. Paul.

Reinforced during the night by from 300 to 400
sepoys, and by his guns and pioneers. Colonel Fraser,
posting the sepoys so as to protect his rear, advanced at
four o'clock in the morning towards the town, re-
occupied the position of the previous evening, and
forming his troops there, waited for the day.

When day broke Fraser saw in the plain below him
the whole available French force. This force, consisting
of 190 Europeans and 350 Creoles, was drawn up in
two columns, each with a field piece at its head, covered
by the concentrated fire of the batteries, and commanded
by the successor of the unfortunate des Bruslys, Colonel
de Suzanne. Fraser did not hesitate. Under a mixed
shower of balls issuing all at once from the many and
deep-toned mouths of the ordnance and musketry* the

* Asiatic Annual Register.

128 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

British soldiers descended the heights in steady and
unbroken aHgnment. When they reached the plain
Colonel Eraser gave the order to charge. They at once
charged home.

The French stood firm, covered hj their guns, till the
rush of the British grenadiers warned them of the
earnestness of the play. They then retired in good
order, without waiting for actual contact, behind the
guns. But even there they were not safe from their
infuriated enemy, WTaere they could retire he could
follow. And he did follow. The dash of the onset
could not be withstood. The French commandant
escaped with difficulty ; the second in command was
taken prisoner ; the men were driven headlong from
position to position until all their redoubts were occupied
by their victorious rivals, and though rallying, they did
make an eifort to recover these, the attempt was not only
unsuccessful, but it cost them the life of their leader.
Shortly afterwards the French commandant sent a cartel
asking for terms. A little later Colonel Fraser was
joined by the second brigade under Colonel Drummond.

Such was the position when Colonel Keating, with the
3rd and 4th brigades, came within sight of St. Denis on
the afternoon of the 8th September. He was about to
march on the town when a messenger from Colonel
Fraser brought him the intelligence of its surrender.

The formal capitulation was not indeed signed till the
evening of the following day. By the terms of it the
entire island of Bourbon, containing a population of

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 129

upwards of 100,000 souls, became British territory.
This conquest had been eifected with a loss of only
eighteen men killed and seventy-nine wounded. There
was no further resistance. The French troops were
transported as prisoners of war to the Cape.

130 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

V.

The news of the capture of Bourbon reached Calcutta
on the 24th August. It had tKe effect of stimulating
the determination to conquer the larger island. It was
known that the French squadron charged with the
protection of the two islands, and consisting of the
Bellone and Minerve frigates, and the sloop Victor, was
absent on a cruise in the Indian seas. Mr. Farquhar, the
new Governor of Bourbon, considered then the moment
opportune, even before he should receive official authority,
to feel his way towards the accomplishment of this
greater work. Accordingly on the 13th August he
embarked 250 men on board the boats of the frigates
at his disposal, and sent them that night to attempt the
surprise of the Isle de la Passe. This small island,
distant only three miles from the mainland, lies at the
entrance of the harbour of Gi-and Port, then called
Port Imperial, on the south-eastern coast of the Isle of
France. The expedition was successful, and a garrison
of 130 men was left to guard de la Passe. From this
advanced post the English were able to communicate
with the mainland, and Mr. Farquhar thought he could
make an advantageous use of this communiciition by

AND HER PRIVATEEKS. 131

distributing to the people of the island copies of a
proclamation in which the ambition of the French was
contrasted disadvautageously with the good government
of the English. This somewhat childish demonstration
met with the fate that might have been anticipated. It
failed to seduce a single islander.

Before adverting to the measures next taken by the
English, I propose to remark for a few moments on the
state of affairs at this moment in the Isle of France.
The Governor of that island was General Count Decaen.
He was one of the most distinguished officers of the
French Army. He had made his earlier campaigns
under Kleber, Hoche, and Moreau. At Hohenlinden
he had contributed more than any other general, except-
ing perhaps General Richepanse, to the decisive victory.
Named in 1802 by the First Consul Captain-General of
the French possessions to the east of the Cape of Good
Hope, he had accompanied Admiral Linois to the Indian
waters, had with him visited Pondichery, and recognising
the impossibility of keeping that place in the event of
the breaking out of a war, then imminent, with England,
had sailed to the Isle of France, thence to concert the
measures which it might still be possible to direct against
the resolute enemy of his country. But he did not stop
there. He devoted himself with all the ardour of his
generous and enlightened nature to the amelioration of
the condition of the islanders. He modified and im-
proved the old commercial laws ; he established a number
of useful institutions ; codified the general, the civil,

9 A

132 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

and the criminal laws of the island, embodying them in
a code which, I believe, is still known as the CodeDecaen.*
So salutary were his reforms, so beneficientwas his admin-
istration, that many years later an illustrious t French-
man referring in a speech in the Chamber of Peers to
his achievements in the islands, used this remarkable
expression : " General Decaen made the people over
" whom he ruled almost forget even the names of La
" Bourdonnais and of Dupleix."

Such was the man. Let us now glance at the means
at his disposal in 1810. He had with him only 800
French troops of the line, + and scattered over the
island, from 2000 to 5000 Creole militia. In Port Louis
were three frigates, the Astree, the Venus, and La
Manclie : the others, constituting the squadron under
Commodore Duperre, had not then returned from their
cruise. With these small means to meet a powerful and
well-organised attack he must have felt that all the
resources, even of his own brave heart, would be
abundantly drawn upon.

Before, however, the English had been able to take
advantage of the possession of de la Passe Commodore

• So highly appreciated were the merits of tins code that when the Isle
of France was surrendered to the English, it was made an article of the
capitulation that it should be continued to be ruled by the Code Decaen.
The article ran : " Shall preserve their religion, laws, and customs."

t Gerard LacuSe Comte de Cessac, one of the ablest of Napoleon's
ministers. He died m 1841, leaving behind him, says M. Chanut, " one
" of the purest and most honourable reputations of our epoch."

X Ho had also enlisted 500 foreign prisoners, mostly Irish ; but these
could not be depended upon to fight against their own countrymen.

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 133

Duperre returned, bringing with him, besides his own
three vessels previously named, two Indiamen, the
Windham and the Ceylon, captured in the Indian waters.
As he approached the island on the 20th July, Duperre
noticed the Tricolor still flying on the stafif of the small
fort in the isle de la Passe. With it likewise was a
signal advising him that " the enemy was cruising at
*' the Coin de Mire." A three-masted vessel, also
flying the Tricolor, was likewise discerned lying
at anchor under the walls of the fort. Deceived
by these appearances, Duperre signalled to his squadron
to make the best of their way to Grand Port, directing
the sloop Victor to take the lead closely followed by the
Minerve, each in passing to communicate with the
three-masted vessel lying off de la Passe. The Victor
sailed on without the smallest suspicion, till, as she was
doubling the fort, she received at once broadsides from
the strange ship and from the battery on shore ; these
simultaneously hoisting English colours. The surprise
of every one on board the French ships may be conceived.
But Duperre was equal to the occasion. Signalling to
his ships to keep close to windward, he made his way
into the harbour and anchored in a very advantageous
position, admitting of constant communication with the
shore. In this operation he had, however, the bad
fortune to lose one of his prizes, the Windham, owing to
the indecision displayed by the officer in charge of her.
Notwithstanding the advantageous position taken up
by the French commodore, Captain Pym of the Siriiis,

134 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

in communication with Captain Willougbby of the
Nereide, determined to attack him. On the 22nd,
accordingly, both these frigates stood in ; but they had
scarcely arrived within a mile of the enemy's line when
the Sirius grounded. The Nereide did not care to go
on alone. The attempt therefore failed for the moment.

Meanwhile intelligence of the events occurring in the
vicinity of Grand Port reached General Decaen. That
able officer immediately despatched on board Duperre's
squadron all the available seamen in the island. He
ordered also the three frigates in Port Louis, the Astree,
La Manche, and the Venus to proceed under the senior
captain, Hamelin,* to the aid of their sisters threatened
in Grand Port.

But before Captain Hamelin could reach the scene of
action the two English frigates had been reinforced by
the Iphigenia and the Mag'icienne. As these approached
the shoal on which the Sirius had struck the previous
afternoon, but from which she had just then extricated
herself, that vessel and her consort prepared to weigh
anchor. But before deciding to renew his attack Captain
Pym assembled on board the Sirius the captains of the
three other ships and all the available pilots. The
conference resulted in a resolution to proceed at once to
the attack, the certain effect of which no one questioned
for a moment.

Duperre had expected this attack ; and he had pre-

* Uncle of Admiral Hamelin who commanded the French Black Sea
fleet during the Crimean War.

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 135

pared to meet it with the skill which marked his long and
glorious career. I have said that his ships had easy
communication with the shore. All along that shore,
below his vessels, he had erected formidable batteries,
had armed them with heavy guns, and manned them
with those of his sailors who were most skilled in the
art of gunnery. His own ships, covered by shoals and
by sunken rocks, the navigation amongst which was
difficult, had been so placed as to be able to meet with a
concentrated fire an advancing enemy. The Indiaman
he had taken, the Ceylon, had likewise been heavily
armed, and the command of her entrusted to one of the
best officers at his disposal. Duperre had himself seen
to every detail ; he had that morning inspected every
battery, said a cheery word to every officer, spoken to
his captains of his plans and his hopes. Having done
this, he waited, with a serene countenance and a bold
heart, the advance of the English.

They came on — they too, dauntlessly, even jubilantly'.
But no sooner had they, sailing close together, arrived
within range than the shore batteries opened upon
them. The fire was tremendous and efi"ective, but it
did not check the onward progress of the British ships.
The Iphigenia, in accordance with a previously-concerted
plan, directed her course towards the Minerve, and
opened on her so terrible a fire within half pistol-shot
that she drove her out of the line. The Magicienne, a
little ahead of the Iphigenia, was about to engage the
Ceylon when she struck on a hidden rock and lay

136 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

motionless in the water in such a position that but few
of her guns could bear on the enemy. The Nereide,
close astern of the Bellone, commanded by Duperre,
engaged that vessel on one side whilst Captain Pym in
the iSirius attacked her on the other. The French
sloop, the Victor, was meanwhile doing all in her power
to aid the Minerve by firing at, and engaging the
attention of, the Iphigenia.

The number of guns, the weight of metal, the inspira-
tion of attack, all were in favour of the English, and
Duperre saw that unless he used his brain to aid the
physical power of his men his squadron must be
destroyed. He put in force then a manoeuvre which he
had arranged beforehand in concert with his captains.
He signalled to them to cut their cables and let their
vessels glide towards the shore. The result fully answered
his anticipations. As his own vessel, the Bellone, glided
slowly towards the shore, Captain Pym, with all the
impetuosity of his nature, turned the Sirius in pursuit.
Not following, however, the exact line the French
commodore had taken, he dashed his vessel on to a
shoal ; and there she remained fixed, immoveable, and
powerless.

Having thus rid himself of one enemy, Duperre,
ordering his vessels to cast anchor, concentrated all
the fire of the Bellone on the other, the Nereide,
which, following the example of the ^ir'ms, had likewise
drifted on a shoal. Exposed to a most galling fire, the
Nereidc fought until most of her guns were disabled

AND HER PRWATEERS. 137

and the greater part of her crew had been killed and
wounded. Incapable of protracting the defence she
then struck. But in the excitement of the fire and in
the blindness of the smoke the hauling down of the
Union Jack was not perceived by the enemy, and the
French continued their fire for some time longer.*

In the other part of the line, likewise, fortune had
inclined to the French. The Iphigenia, warned by the
fate of her consorts, had warped out of close range. The
Magicienne, on her rock, had been so pounded by the
Ceylon and the shore batteries that, when morning
broke, she could scarcely keep afloat.

The firing continued all night. At eleven p.m. the
crew of the Magicienne abandoned her. She blew up
immediately afterwards. At the early dawn Duperre
sent off a boat's crew to take possession of tlie Nereide.
The Iphigenia then endeavoured for a short time to
extricate the Sirius from her position, but failing, that
vessel too was abandoned and blown up. Of all the
squadron that had sailed so proudly and so confidently
to the attack on the previous day the Iphigenia alone
remained !

But she was not destined to escape. Duperre indeed
was unable to get off his stranded ships in sufficient
time to follow her to the Isle de la Passe. But just at
the opportune moment, just as she had been warped to
her station off that islet, there arrived off Grand Port

* Every man ou board the Nereide was killed or wounded. — Asiatic
Annual Register.

138 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

the squadron of three frigates which General Decaen
had despatched from Port Louis. In the presence of
a force so overwhelming Captain Lambert of the
Iphigenia had no alternative but to yield his vessel and
the islet. He tried hard to save the former ; but
General Decaen had arrived at Grand Port, and he
dictated terms of absolute surrender. They were with
a pang accepted. The Iphigenia and her crew were
made over to the French, and the Tricolor once more
floated over the little fort of the Isle de la Passe.

Thus ended the first attempt of the English on the
Isle of France. If we are bound to admire the pluck, the
daring, the determination displayed by our countrymen,
we cannot, in candour, refuse an equally apprecia-
tive acknowledgement of the combined skill and courage
by which Duperre converted an apparently certain defeat
into a most decisive victory. Later in his career Duperre
accomplished great things. In 1814 he defended the
lagunes of Venice against an Austrian army ; in 1823,
at the head of a French squadron, he compelled the
surrender of Cadiz ; in 1830, commanding a French
fleet, he besieged and took Algiers. But it is probable
that whenever, during the time intervening between that
last great feat of arms and his death in 1846, he might
have been disposed to pass in review the events of his
distinguished life, he referred with the greatest satisfac-
tion to the repulse and destruction of an English
squadron of superior force at Grand Port on the 24th
and 25th August, 1810 !

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 139

Flushed with his success, Decaen resolved to resume
the offensive. Collecting all the ships at his disposal,
now constituting a formidable squadron, he blockaded
the island of Bourbon, intercepting with great success
the merchantmen which were bringing supplies to it
from India. He hoped to starve the English garrison
into submission before it could be strengthened by the
large reinforcements which, he well knew, were on their
way from India. The only English ship remaining in
those waters, the Boadicea, 38, had, after the re-capture
of the Isle de la Passe, taken refuge in the harbour of
St. Paul.

Whilst the blockade of Bourbon was still being
maintained the British 38 gun frigate U Africaine,
appeared off St. Denis (12th September). Captain
Rowley instantly brought round the Boadicea with the
Otter, sloop of war, and the Staunch, gun-brig, to join
the new arrival. The junction having been effected it
was resolved to attempt to drive away the blockading
force, consisting of the Ipltigenie* recently captured at
Grand Port — and the Astree.

The French frigates stood at once off to sea enticing
the enemy to follow them. It was soon found that the
Africaine was a far better sailer than the French frigates
and than her own consort, the Boadicea, and that in
the chase she was rapidly leaving the latter behind.
She therefore shortened sail. Before night fell, however,
the Africaine had come up close to the enemy, and she
* The French, at once changed the final a into e.

140 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

then endeavoured to maintain this position until day
should break, keeping up communication with the
Boadicea by means of night signals. At three o'clock
in the morning, however, — the Boadicea being then
from four to five miles astern of her consort, — a sudden
breeze caught the sails of the Africaine, and carried
her, not without her commander's consent, within less
than musket-shot distance on the weather quarter of the
Abtree. Captain Corbet, who commanded the English
frigate, could not resist the temptation, but at once fired
into the enemy. The Astree immediately replied. The
second broadside from the Astree severely wounded
Captain Corbet, but his place was taken by the first
lieutenant, and the action was continued for ten minutes
with great spirit. By that time the Iphigenie had time
to come to the aid of her consort. Whilst the Astree
continued within pistol-shot on the larboard beam of
the English frigate, the fyhigenie came close up on her
starboard bow and raked her several times.

A contest so unequal could not long continue. Yet
one hour elapsed before the gallant crew of the Africaine
would confess themselves conquered ; and even then it
was not till 1G3 of their number had been killed and
wounded.

But the interlude was not yet over. Commodore
Rowley of the Boadicea noticed at break of day that
the Africaine had been captured. He did not at once
attempt to disturb her conquerors, but made way towards
the Otter and >Staunch. Having joined these he set out

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 141

with them in pursuit of the enemy. The French
frigates were not inclined to risk another engagement
with three fresh vessels. The rigging of the Iphigenie
had heen so cut up as to render her difficult of
management. She had also fired away nearly all her
ammunition. Captain Bonnet of the Astree preferred
then the abandonment of Lis prize to an encounter
which could scarcely be successful. Taking then, the
Iphigenie in tow, he abandoned the Africainc, — which
was helpless, — to her former masters, and returned to
Port Louis, capturing on his way a 16-gun cruiser
belonging to the East India Company.

Commodore Rowley and his prize then reached the
anchorage at St. Paul. The blockade of Bourbon was
at the same time resumed by the French frigate Venus
44, and the sloop Victor. Whilst engaged in this
blockade, these vessels sighted the British 32-gun frigate
Ceylon, having on board General Abercromby, on his
way from Madi*as to Bourbon, to assume the command
of the troops destined to act against the Isle of France.
They at once set out in pursuit. The Venus, being a
better sailer, soon caught up and engaged the British
frigate. After a close contest of three-quarters of an
hour, in which the Venus lost her mizen-mast, and the
Ceylon was rendered almost unmanageable, the Venus
assumed a position to leeward, and continued firing only
at intervals until the Victor* should come up. This

• The Victor was no other than our old friend, the Revenant, so
famous under Surcouf. Taken into the French Navy as the Jena, she

142 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

occurred about two hours after the action had begun.
The Victor then took a raking position athwart the bows
of the Ceylon, and the latter, then quite helpless, struck
her flag.

But there was speedy vengeance in store for the British.
The Boadicea, accompanied by the Otter and Staunch,
having descried the French frigate with her prize abreast
of St. Denis, started off at once in pursuit. The Victor
vainly endeavoured to take in towthe damaged Ceylon, and
the latter, cpst off, was re-captured. Then came the turn
of the Venus. But she had been too much crippled in her
fight of the previous night to be able to offer effectual
resistance to a fresh and more powerful frigate, and too
much damaged in her rigging to escape. Captain
Hamelin, who commanded her, made, however, a hot
fight of it, and only struck when further resistance had
become impossible.*

had been captured by the English and re-named the Victor. She was
Bubsequently re-cajjtured by the French.

* It is gratifying to notice the manner in which Hamelin's gallant
service, notwithstanding the loss of his ship, was acknowledged by
Napoleon. In a despatch from the Minister of Marine, dated 27tli
December 1810, I find the following : — '' His Majesty has remarked with
pleasure that you rendered decisive the success which Captain Duperre
had obtained between the 23rd and 25th August, and that you subse-
quently captured the frigate Ceylon in a hand-to-hand encounter.
Whatever may have been the events which followed, H.M. has not
the less appreciated the splendid defence which you made, notwith-
standing that, when disabled by a preceding combat, you were
attacked by superior forces. He has deigned in appreciation of these
different actions, which testify to your courage and to your skill, to
promote you to the grade of Comi lander of the Legion of Honour."
The following year Hamelin was created a Baron and promoted to
the rank of Rear-Admiral.

AND HEK PRIVATEERS. 143

The capture of the Venus was the turning point in
the scale. Thenceforward the favours of fortune were
showered exclusively on the British. Shortly after that
event there arrived at St. Denis the frigate Nisus, bearing
the flag of Vice- Admiral Bertie, the precursor of a fleet
and army on their way from England via the Cape of
Good Hope, ordered to co-operate with the troops taken
from the three presidencies, and which had started from
India about the same time, to effect the reduction of the
Isle of France.

144 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

VI.

It was not, however, until the 14th October that Admiral
Bertie had been able to refit the ships which he found
at St. Paul and St. Denis. But on that date he sailed
from the former port at the head of the Boadicea, the
Africaine, the Ceylon, the Nisus, and the Nereide,*
to blockade Port Louis. Leaving three of these vessels
on that duty, he proceeded on the 19th in company with
General Abercromby to Rodriguez, there to meet the
troops and ships which, coming respectively from
England and India, had appointed that little island to be
their rendezvous.

On the 24th Admiral Bertie fell in with the British
squadron on its way to the Indian seas, commanded by
Ptcar-Admiral Drury and consisting of seven ships.
Two of these, the Cornelia, 32, and the Hesper sloop,
were at once sent to increase the blockading force oif
Port Louis ; two others, the Clorinde, -8, and the Doris,
36, were detained at Rodriguez ; the remainder were
sent on to their destination. The admiral arrived at
Rodriguez on the 3rd November, and found there the

• Formerly the Vrnus. It will be noticed that three ships of the
Sf^uadron had been in the possession of the French.

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 145

troops which had been sent from Bombay. The division
from Madras convoyed by the Psyche and Cormvallis
arrived on the 6th, and that from Bourbon on the 12th
November.

The troops from Bengal and those from the Cape
were so long in coming, that the admiral, in concert
with the general, determined not to wait for them
beyond the 21st. All preparations accordingly were
made for the expedition to leave Rodriguez on the
morning of the 22nd, when, on the evening of the
previous day, the happy intelligence was received that
the Bengal division was in the offing. The transports
conveying it were at once ordered not to drop anchor,
but to join the main fleet and accompany it to the
selected point of debarkation, Grande Baye, about
fifteen miles to the windward of Port Louis.

The armament, independently of the division from
the Cape of Good Hope, which did not arrive in time
to take any part in the operations, consisted of forty-six
transports and a fleet of twenty-one sail.* They carried
11,300 fighting men, composed as follows : — Of regi-
ments of the line there were the 12th, 14th, 22nd,
33rd, 56th, 59th, 65th, 69th, 84th, and 89th regiments ;
the artillery consisted of four batteries from Bengal and
Madras ; the European cavalry of one troop of the

• These were the Illustrious, 47 ; the Cornwallis, 44 ; the Africaine,
the Boadicea, the Nisus, the Clorindc, the Menelaus, the Nereide, each
of 38 ; the Phmbe and Doris, of 36 ; the Cornelia, Psyche, and Ceylon,
of 32 ; the sloops Hesper, Eclipse, Hecate, and Actceon ; the gun-brig
Staunch, and four Bmallsr vessels.

10

146 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

26th Dragoons. The native troops from Bengal and
Madras consisted of four volunteer battalions and the
Madras j^ioneers ; 2000 sailors and marines were like-
wise contributed by the fleet. The Europeans were to
the natives of the force in the proportion of two to one.

General Decaen had not been unconscious of the
coming storm. Aware of his own inability to oppose
with success any Ip-rge hostile force led with ordinary
prudence, he had nevertheless exerted himself to the
utmost to rouse the energies of the colonists. We have
seen that he had at his disposal only 800 French troops
of the line, in addition to 500 enlisted prisoners, mostly
Irish, upon whom he could not depend. The Creole
element has been variously estimated. Extravagant
English writers have rated it as high as 10,000 ; but it
probably never exceeded 4000 ; and of these it is
recorded by the English annalist of the time,* that
" they refused on the approach of the British armament
" to co-operate in the defence of the island." A few of
the slaves were armed, but in a most cursory and
inefficient manner.

General Decaen might, indeed, well have despaired.
But he allowed no symptoms of any such feeling, even
if he entertained it, to appear. No sooner had he
received information that the hostile armament had left
Rodriguez than he issued a spirited proclamation!

* Asiatic Annual Register, 1101-11.

+ Tho following is a translation of the text of the proclamation : —

*' Inhabitants of the Isle of France, — Thirty-four of the enemy's ships

AND HEB PRIVATEERS. 147

calling upon the colonists to aid the army and navy
in the defence of the island, promising them victory,
should they respond to his call. He could do no more
in that way. Then, massing his troops, he took up a
position near Port Louis, whence he would be able to
move at once upon any threatened point.

Meanwhile the transports carrying the expeditionary
force arrived, on the morning of the 29th November,
before a narrow passage dividing from the mainland a
small island called Gunner's Quoin. It had previously
been ascertained by careful survey that this passage
offered openings through the reefs by which several
boats could enter abreast. Here, then, at ten o'clock in
the morning, the fleet came to anchor. The debarkation
on the mainland commenced at one p.m., and was con-
ducted to a successful result, without the loss of a single
man, in three hours — the small French party which
had held Fort Malartic, situated at the head of the bay,
retiring on the appearance of the British fleet.

The English army had, previously to its debarkation,

are before the island ! This number, which may be increased at any
moment, leads us to suppose that the English have not relinquislied their
intention to attack this colony — an intention in which they have been
already once baffled by the glorious success of the brave men of the
division of Duperre. I do not forget the proofs of zeal and intrepidity
displayed by you both before and after that glorious feat of arms.

"Inhabitants of the Isle of France! In the present conjuncture I
would remind you of the enthusiasm with which, on the last anniversary
of the fete of the great Napoleon, you renewed your vows of fidelity to
your country. You are Frenchmen ! Join, then, your valour to the
valour of the brave soldiers and marines whom I am about to lead
against the enemy, and we shall not fail to be victorious."

10 A

148 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

been divided into six brigades. Tbe first, under Colonel
Picton, was composed of the 12th and 22nd regiments,
and the right wing of the Madras volunteer battalion ;
the second, under Colonel Gibbs, comprised the 59th
regiment, 300 men of the 89th and 100 of the 87th
formed together as one l)attalion, and the left wing of
the Madras volunteer battalion ; the third, under Colonel
Kelso, consisted of the 14th regiment and the 2nd
Bengal volunteers ; the fourth, under Colonel Macleod,
was formed of the 69th regiment, 300 marines, and the
Madras native flank battalion ; the fifth, commanded by
Colonel Smith, comprised the 65th regiment, a troop of
the 25th Dragoons, and the 1st battalion of the Bengal
volunteers ; whilst the sixth or reserve brigade, com-
manded by Lieutenant-Colonel Keating, consisted of a
battalion formed of the four flank companies of the
12th and 33rd regiments, of two companies of the
56th, of one of the 14th, one of the 89th, of the
84th regiment, and of Captain Imlack's detachment of
Bombay troops which had done such good service in the
capture of Bourbon.

The debarkation had no sooner been efi'ected than,
leaving the fifth brigade to cover the landing place,
General Abercromby, at four o'clock, pushed on with
the rest of the force through a very thick wood, lying
between the coast and the high road leading to Port
Louis. The troops forced their way for fully four miles
through an all but impenetrable jungle, entangling their
feet at every step, and dragging the guns only by the

AND HER PEIVATEERS. 149

most untiring exertion. The}' had, however, the good
fortune to debouch into the more open country without
any opposition. Just, however, as they reached that
more open plain they came upon the advanced picquet
of the enemy. The men of the picquet had not evidently
anticipated an attack from that quarter, for they were
surprised, and, after a faint and irregular fire, they
retreated from their position.

Their fire, however, faint and irregular as it was,
efi'ected some damage. Two grenadiers were killed, and
two officers and several men wounded. Some officers and
men likewise succumbed to the intense heat and to the
fatigue of the march. The French picquet having retired,
General Abercromby encamped his force in the open
ground in'front of the wood. He resumed his march in the
morning with the intention of pushing on to Port Louis.
But the heat of the day and the extreme scarcity of
water rendered this impossible, and the little army, after
marching only five miles, was forced to take up a position
for the rest of the day and for the night at Moulin a
poudre on the banks of a small river called Pample-
mousses, which thus covered the camp.

To return to General Decaen. This officer had
anticipated that the English army would disembark
at a point nearer to Port Louis — whence the road to
the capital was shorter and easier — and he had taken
his measures accordingly. He had never imagined
that an invader would land his troops on a point
where the inland country was covered by an almost

150 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

impenetrable jungle, defensible by a few determined
men against an army. But the moment he received the
news brought by the retiring picquet he prepared to
meet the new danger — a danger the greater, as the
natural defence had been forced and there were but ten
miles between the enemy's camp and the capital. It
was not, however, until mid-day of the 30th that he was
able to collect a force at all respectable to make head
against the enemy. This force, consisting — including
the Irish prisoners forced into the service — of 1300
Europeans and a few slaves and Creoles, he posted in a
rather strong position, about two miles in front of the
capital. He drew up his men on a level ground over
which the high road passed, the guns in the centre on
either side of the road, concealed by brushwood, and
both flanks covered by a thick wood, impenetrable on
the right and capable of a strong defence on the left.
Having so disposed his small force, he galloped forward,
followed by his staff, by a few Creole cavalry, and some
riflemen, to reconnoitre the English position.

The English had been about two hours in their
encampment at Moulin a poudre when General Decaen
rode up. Approaching rather too closely, a smart
skirmish ensued, in the course of which the French
general received a contusion on his leg. What he saw,
there, however, was worse than any contusion. He
counted a force exceeding his own in the proportion of
ten to one, and ready the next morning to cover the five
miles which still intervened between it and the capital.

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 151

Decaen must have felt as he rode back to his men
that, according to the probabilities, further resistance
would but cause a useless expenditure of blood. He
determined nevertheless to make one effort for victory.
On his return to camp he despatched 300 men with two
guns to occupy a position commanding the bridge over
the Tambeau, about half a mile in front of his camp.
Gould he but keep the invaders there for a short time
he might yet raise a force te operate on their communi-
cations.

But it was not to be. Early the following morning,
before daylight. General Abercromby detached the fourth
brigade to seize the batteries at the Tambeau and Tortue
bays, whence it had been arranged that the army was to
receive its supplies. The main body of the force, under
the personal command of the general, commenced its
movement on Port Louis shortly afterwards. After
marching about two miles it came within sight of the
bridge over the Tambeau. As it was seen to be defended,
the advance column was halted, whilst the guns opened
with shrapnel on the enemy. The fire was so well
directed that the French retired precipitously, leaving
uncompleted the destruction — begun and partly executed
— of the bridge. They fell back on their main body.

The injury done to the bridge had been so fiir effectual
that the guns of the British were unable to cross it.
They had to seek a passage lower down, at a ford
commanded by the French artillery. The passage was
attended with difficulty and some loss, but was neverthe-

152 THE ISLE OF FKANCE

less accomplished. The British force then moved on the
position occupied by the French and flanked by thick
woods already described.

General Decaen had witnessed, not unmoved, the
passage of the Tambeau. He knew that he was now
left with but one card in his hand. He played it boldly.
Carefully reserving his fire till the heads of the hostile
columns should advance within range, he then opened
upon them a concentrated and continuous discharge.
This fire, coming from guns which had been masked,
checked the advance for a few moments. But it was
only that the British troops might deploy. For them
there was nothing for it but the bayonet. The advance
guard, led by Colonel Campbell of the 33rd, under the
general direction of General Ward, having quickly formed,
dashed straight on. Nothing could stop their splendid
charge. The enemy's troops, after a gallant struggle,
in which many of them were killed, were forced back
from their position, leaving their guns in the hands of
the conquerors. These, however, did not gain a
bloodless triumph. Besides several privates. Colonel
Campbell, 33rd, and Major O'Keefe, 12th, were killed.
Whilst this was going on in the centre an attempt
which had been made on the left flank of the French
had proved not less successful. After a gallant resist-
ance the enemy's position was forced, and all his guns
were taken.*

• In this action the Frencli lost about 100 men, killed and wounded.
The return of the English for this engagement, and for the slight

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 153

The French force retired across the river Lataniers
within the outworks of Port Louis. The Enghsh took
up a position for the night just beyond cannon-shot of
the enemy's lines.

But it was all over. The EngKsh fleet commanded
the harbour, and the fortifications could not be defended
by the small force at the disposal of the Captain -General.
Reconnoitring the following morning, General Decaen
observed preparations in the enemy's camp, betokening
an intention to make a general attack upon the town.
Such an attack would, he knew, not only be irresistible,
but it would entail upon the inhabitants great calamities.
In their interests, then, and in the interests of humanity,
having done all that was possible for France, and
exhausted every available resource. General Decaen
resolved to capitulate. He sent an officer, bearing a flag
of truce, with a proposal to this efl"ect to the British
camp.

He was just in time. General Abercromby was on the
point of despatching a force to the southern side of the
town, so that the assault might be combined and
general. The proposal for a capitulation alone stopped
the movement. The General agi-eed to it, though
demurring to the terms proposed But these were soon
arranged. The Isle of France, with all the ships in her
harbours, all the arms in her arsenals, all the stores in

encounter in front of the wood on the 29th November, is as follows : —
Killed, 28 ; wounded, 89 ; missing, 45. Total 162. Besides these one
sailor was killed and five were wounded.

154 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

her magazines, was transferred bodily to England. One
point was insisted on by General Decaen, and, from
motives of policy, accorded by the English commander.
This was that the French troops should not be considered
as prisoners of war, but should be permitted to return to
France at the cost of the British Government with their
arms and baggage.*

Thus did the French lose, after an occupation of nearly
a hundred years, the beautiful island upon which had
been bestowed the name of their own bright land, and
which in climate, in refinement of luxury, in the love of
adventure of its children, had been, in very deed, the
France of the East. In the long struggle with England
which had followed the Revolution, the Isle of France
had inflicted upon the English trade a "damage which
** might be computated by millions," whilst she herself
had remained uninjured, — for eighteen years indeed —
unthreatened. She had proved herself to be that which

* I think it right and fair to give General Abercromby's own reasons
for af:^eeing to the demand of General Decaen in this particular. In
his report to Loi'd Minto he says : — " I was prevailed upon to acquiesce
in this indulgence being granted to the enemy, from the desire of
sparing the lives of many brave officers and soldiers, and out of regard
to the interests of the inhabitants of the island, who have long
laboured under the most degrading misery and oppression, added to the
late period of the season when every hour became valuable. I considered
tliese to be motives of much more national importance than any injury
which would arise from a small body of troops, at so remote a distance
from Europe, being permitted to return to their own country free from
any engagement." It will be seen that General Abercromby avows that
he was influenced solely by considerations of general policy. His
statement regarding the misery and oppression of the islanders, of
which ho had no personal knowledge, may be dismissed as gratuitous.

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 155

the Emperor had declared that Cherbourg should
become, — " an eye to see and an arm to strike."
Protected for long, partly by the storms of the ocean,
partly by the daring spirit of her children, partly by the
timid counsels of the British Government, she had been,
for the privateers who preyed upon the commercial marine
of the East India Company, at once a harbom- of refuge
and a secure base of operation. She had been the terror
of British merchants, the spectre which haunted the
counting house, the one black spot in the clear blue of
the Indian Ocean. The relief which was felt by the
merchants of Calcutta was expressed in an address
presented by them to Lord Minto, in which they offered
their " sincere congi-atulations on the capture of the
" only remaining French colony in the East, which has
" for so many years past been the source of devastation
" to the commerce of India, to a magnitude almost
** exceeding belief."*

The ease with which the Isle of France was captured
in 1810 suggests the question why she was so long
allowed to pursue her aggressive career ? An investiga-
tion of the cause of this apathy on the part of the
British, when so many interests were at stake, can only

• It may interest many of those now residing in Calcvitta to read the
names of the merchants who signed this address. They were—
Alexander Colvin, John Palmer, J. D. Alexander, J. H. Fergusson,
Robert Downie, James Mactaggart, Joseph Ban-etto, John Robertson,
James Scott, Johannes Sarkies and William Hollings. The object of
the address was lo ask Lord Minto to sit for his portrait in commemora-
tion of the capture of the isle.

156 THE ISLE OF FRANCE

tend to confirm the conviction of the prescience and
wisdom of Marquess Wellesley, to show very clearly
the unsoundness of the timid policy by which he was so
often overruled. The great Marquess not only urged
an exepdition in 1800 ; he fitted one out in 1801. This
was diverted to Egypt. Shortly afterwards the Court of
Directors, dreading the genius which would, if unfettered,
have advanced the civilisation of India by twenty years,
replaced him by a Governor- General who began by
undoing the large work of unification which his
predecessor had initiated. When Lord Cornwallis died,
the Court of Directors, after vainly endeavouring to
confer the Governor-Generalship on a narrow-minded
reactionist — who, in the short term of his acting
incumbency, confirmed and extended a system which
left the states of Rajputana a prey to Maratha free-
booters,— imposed a policy upon Lord Minto which
restricted his power for that kind of aggressive warfare
which is so often the best and surest defence. It is a
high testimony to Lord Minto's intellect that in the end
he burst those trammels, and forced one portion, at
least, of the policy of Marquess Wellesley on a peace-
loving Court of Directors and a distrusting ministry.

It was Lord Minto then who, taking up the dropped
thread of the policy of Marquess Wellesley, wrested the
Isle of France from her parent country. For France
indeed, even her name, the name she had borne for
about a hundred years, perished on the 3rd December
1810. Called by her discoverers, the Portuguese, Cerne;

AND HER PRIVATEERS. 157

re-named in 1598 by the Dutch after their Maurice of
Nassau, Mauritius ; falling, after her abandonment by
the Dutch between 1703 and 1710, into the possession
of the French, the island had been subsequently known
to the world by the name she bore when the English
captured her. But the name did not suit the new
conqueror. It was erased, and that bestowed in honour
of the great Stadtholder was substituted. The Isle of
France vanished from history with the last month of the
year 1810 !

With her conquest, too, ended the careers of the
privateers on the Indian seas. They, too, vanished with
the island which had nurtured them. Thenceforward
the huge Indiamen of the Company could sail in
comparative safety. In the course of a few years not
only did the dread of the French cruisers vanish, but
their exploits came to be listened to with a smile. Not
the less, however, are the deedswhich they did accomplish
worthy of being recorded. They show that if, in a
future war, privateering should again be legitimatized,
it may be possible for a nation whose navy shall have
been annihilated and whose ports shall be blockaded, to
inflict, by means of it, on a nation which may even bear
the title of the mistress of the seas, losses the full
extent of which it would be almost impossible to
estimate.

BOOK III.

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

After the failures of the direct attempts made by
Dupleix, by Lally, and by Suffreu to estabhsh French
domination in Southern India, there remained to the
Latin race but one mode of counteracting the progress of
the English. That mode may be described in a few words.
To enable the princes of India to meet the English success-
fully in the field it was necessary above all things to
impart to^their troops a thorough knowledge of European
discipline and a complete acquaintance with the system of
European strategy. To this somewhat venturesome task
the sons of France bent themselves with untiring energy.
They gave to it often their lives, almost always their every
faculty. They had much to aid them. The native
princes who employed them knew at least that their

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 169

hatred of England was not feigned ; that they had
nothing so much at heart as the humiliation of the rival
of their own country. They therefore gave them, almost
always, a confidence without stint. Their behests were
but rarely refused. They worked under the avowed
sanction and with the authority of the prince whom
they served. And if they did not succeed, their want of
success is to be attributed rather to the jealousies which
prevented combination amongst the native princes, than
to any shortcomings on the part of the ablest and most
influential amongst them.

Of all these adventurers de Boigne was, with one
exception, the ablest and the most successful. Born at
Chambery, the 8th March, 1751, the son of a furrier,
Benoit de Boigne was at an early age sent to study law
at the College of his native town. But he had scarcely
attained the age of seventeen when his adventurous
nature impelled him to renounce his studies, and to
seek excitement in a career of arms. In 1768, then, he
entered the regiment of Clare, a regiment in the Irish
Brigade in the service of France, and then commanded,
in the absence of Lord Clare, by Colonel Leigh. De
Boigne joined the regiment with the rank of ensign at
Landrecies, and applied all the ardour of his youth to
master the science of his profession. In this task he
received great encouragement and assistance from
Colonel Leigh, and, under his tuition, de Boigne
attained a complete knowledge of the art of war as
it was understood in those days.

160 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

After serving in garrison for three years and a half
at Landrecies, the regiment of Clare was ordered to
Dunkerqne to embark for the Isle of France. The
regiment, having taken its tour of duty in the island for
eighteen months, retm-ned to France, and, disembarking
at L'Orient, was ordered to Bethune.

This happened in 1773. France was then at peace
with all the world, and no prospect of war seemed to
loom in the future. The promotion of de Boigne had
been slow, and, beginning to feel disgusted with a life
so monotonous and so devoid of enterprise, he asked
himself if it would not be advisable to seek another
scene for the occupation of the abilities he felt that he
possessed. It chanced that Ptussia was then at war with
Turkey. The Russian Government was in the habit in
those days of welcoming eagerly instructed officers into
the ranks of its army. De Boigne resolved, then, to
resign his commission in the French service and to offer
himself to her northern ally.

His resignation was accepted, and de Boigne went to
Turin. Obtaining there letters of introduction to Count
Orloff, who commanded the Russian land and sea forces
in the Grecian Archipelago, he returned to Marseilles
and embarked on board the first ship sailing thence for
Greece. Almost immediately on his arrival there he
was appointed captain in a Greek regiment in the
service of the Empress Catherine. This regiment
formed a part of the army employed in besieging
the island of Tenedos. A detachment of it, to which

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 161

de Boigne belonged, having been sent to effect a descent
on that island, the Turks made a sortie, attacked the
invaders in gi-eat force, and cut them off nearly to a
man. De Boigne escaped with his life, but was taken
prisoner and sent first to Chio and thence to Constanti-
nople.

Seven months later the war came to an end, and
de Boigne, with the other prisoners of war, was released.
He had then attained the rank of major in the Russian
army. Peace, however, had closed for him the avenues
of further advancement. De Boigne then quitted the
Russian semce and embarked for Smyrna. Meeting in
that town some Englishmen who had retm-ned from
India, he was so struck by their description of the
adventm-ous Hfe of that country, that he resolved to
seek his fortune there. Returning to Constantinople,
he made his way to Aleppo, and joined there a caravan
just setting out for Basra. The caravan reached Bagdad
in safety, but, as a furious war was then raging between
the Turks and the Persians, the road thence to Basra
was deemed too dangerous to be traversed, and the
caravan returned to Aleppo.

From that place de Boigne made his way as quickly
as he could back to Smyrna and sailed thence to
Alexandria. In his journey from Alexandi-ia to Rosetta
he was shipwrecked and fell into the hands of the Arabs.
These, with characteristic hospitaUty towards a stranger,
befriended him, and by their aid he was able to
reach Cairo. Here innumerable delays occurred, and it

11

162 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

was owing to the kindness of the English consul,
Mr. Baldwin, that means were at last provided for him
to reach India, He embarked at Suez and sailed thence
at the end of the year 1777 for Madras.

Amongst those whom de Boigne had met in his
European wanderings was an English nobleman, Earl
Percy. With him he had formed a friendship, and
Lord Percy had in consequence furnished him with
letters to Lord Macartney and to Warren Hastings. On
his arrivfd at Madras, de Boigne wished at first to act
independently of the British Government. But the
circumstances of the time were against him. The
British were on the eve of their last war with Haidar
Ali, and it is natural to suppose that they should be
unwilling to afford opportunities for foreign adventurers
to find their way to the camp of that formidable leader.
Having no other resource, then, de Boigne, who had
been a major in the Russian service, accepted the rank
of ensign in the 6th regiment Madras Native Infantry.

The war broke out immediately afterwards. It hap-
pened that the 6th regiment N. I. was one of those
under the command of Colonel Baillie when that officer
was attacked by the combined forces of Haidar and
Tippu at Perambakam in September, 1780. A few days
before that fatal conflict, however, two companies of the
6th regiment had been sent to escort supplies of grain
to the main army. With these two companies was de
Boigne, and in this manner he escaped the almost entire
destruction which befell the main body of his regiment.

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 163

Shortly after this de Boigne quitted the English
service. Various reasons have heen assigned for this
step.* But he himself undoubtedly stated the truth
when he affirmed that in a service of progressive pro-
motion there was, at his age, no chance of his ever
attaining to high command. He resolved, therefore, to
return to Europe by way of Kashmir, Afghanistan, and
Persia.

With this object in view he came round to Calcutta
and presented to Warren Hastings Lord Percy's letter
and one with which he had been provided by Lord
Macartney. That illustrious statesman gave him a
warm and cordial reception ; entirely approved of his
design to return to Europe by the route he had
indicated ; and furnished him with letters to the British
residents at the various native courts he would be likely
to visit en route, as well as to the independent native
princes in alliance with the British Government.

At Lakhnao, the first city which he visited on his
travels, de Boigne was extremely well received by the
Nawab, to whom he had been presented by the resident.
Not only was a khilat of the value of 4000 rupees
bestowed upon him, but the Nawab presented him
likewise with a bill on the bankers of Kabal for
6000 rupees, and another for an equal amount on
those of Kandahar. At Lakhnao de Boigne remained

• Vide Ferdinand Smith's Sketch, pages 67-68 ; the Article de Boigne
in the Nouvelle Biographic Generale ; and the Memoire sur la carriire
du General Comte de Boigne.

11 A

164 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

five months, making many friends amongst the English
ofiicers and studying their system. He then went on
to Delhi where he arrived at the end of the month
of August.

The Emperor of Delhi at that time was Shah Alam ;
his minister, Mirza Shaffi. Without the aid of the
latter it was impossible for de Boigne to obtain an
interview with the Emperor, and Mirza Shaffi was in
the camp before Agra. Thither, accordingly, de Boigne
repaired.

It was during his sojourn in this camp that de
Boigne's ideas took a direction which influenced his
whole life. Rebuffed by the minister, who refused to
allow him to be presented to Shah Alam, he turned his
attention to the political events passing before his eyes.
Noting the rivalry of the various native princes, the
indiscipline of their armies, the ignorance and want
of knowledge of their generals, it occurred to him that
a great career was open to an instructed European
soldier. The unleavened masses were fermenting all
about him. Let the instructed European soldier but
procure for himself the authority to leaven but one of
those masses, and his master would become the chief of
all his rivals, if not indeed the ruler of India. The idea
grew daily ; it ripened quicldy into feasibility ; thence-
forth the career of de Boigne was determined.

At that time the Rana of Gohad was closely besieged
in his fort by Madhaji Sindia. To offer himself to the
latter, immensely superior in power to the Rana, would

FOEEIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 165

have been a folly. In sncb a case, even had Madhaji
accepted his services, no credit to himself could possibly
have resulted. But to enter the service of the besieged
Bana, and by skill and dexterity to paralyse the move-
ments of his enemy, would be to gain a reputation and
to acquire a moral power such as would open out the
brightest prospects for the future. Thus reasoning,
de Boigne made secretly the following proposition to
the Kana. He offered, in consideration of a certain
stipulated sum of money, to raise 2000 men at Agra,
1000 at Jaipur, 4000 at Delhi, and 1000 near Gohad ;
to concentrate these troops with all imaginable secrecy
at a point on the frontier of the Rana's territory ; and
with them to attack the besieging force in the rear, and
drive it from his dominions.

The Rana of G6had, without declining this offer, did
not at once accept it. He hoped rather to be rescued
from bis perilous condition by the intervention of the
En-lish Meanwhile, however, he was not sufficiently
careful to keep the secret. With the pubUcity he allowed
to be imparted to the offer, the possibility of carrying it
into execution vanished. De Boigne then broke off the
negotiation, and offered his services to the Raja of

Jaipur. T • ' A

But before an answer could come from Jaipur, de
Boigne had accepted an invitation from Mr. Anderson,
the British resident at the com-t of Madhaji, to visit him
in the camp. Madhaji Sindia was then besieging
GwaUar. Thither accordingly de Boigne repaired, and

166 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

there he agreed to remain, the guest of Mr. Anderson,
until he should receive the reply of the Raja.

De Boigne received that reply at the end of October
(1783). His offer was accepted. Before taking up the
appointment, however, he thought it becoming to inform
Warren Hastings officially of his intention to renounce
his journey to Europe and to take service with the Raja
of Jaipur. Warren Hastings, in reply, requested de
Boigne to return in the first instance to Calcutta that he
might inform him personally of the sentiments
entertained by the government of India regarding the
course he proposed to pursue. De Boigne, though
sensible of the arbitrary nature of this request, felt that
his gratitude and his interest alike counselled him to
comply with it. He returned accordingly to Calcutta, —
no easy journey in those days. On his arrival there
Warren Hastings informed him that his requisition had
been necessary because he, de Boigne, had given an
official form to his letter, and that as such it had been laid
before the council ; that as Governor-General in Council
he could not give him authority to enter the service of a
native prince, although, in his private capacity, he had
no objection to his following such a course, and that
if he chose to follow it, he would shut his eyes to
his proceedings. The Governor-General added that he
was about to set out for Lakhnao, and that he hoped de
Boigne would accompany him so far.

Armed with this power to act as he might think
best, de Boigne accompanied the Governor- General to

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 167

Lakhnao, hastened thence to Agra, and obtaining there
a small escort, pushed on towards Jaipur. The dif-
ficulties, and they were not slight, which he encountered
in his journey were surmounted, and in the spring of
1784 he reached Jaipur.

But here disappointment awaited him. In the long
interval which had elapsed between the acceptance of
his ofi'er and his arrival, the Jaipur policy had changed.
Peaceful councils now prevailed, and the Raja had no
need of a general. To compensate de Boigne, however,
for the trouble and expense which had been caused him
the Raja presented him with 10,000 rupees.

Disappointed though not daunted, de Boigne repaired
to Dehli. At this time the murder of Mirza Shaifi and
the anarchy which had followed, had reawakened in the
mind of Madhaji Sindia the hope of becoming master of
the capital of the Moghols. He was fully sensible of the
new difficulties which the power he might thus acquire
would cause him : but, being able, farsighted, and
ambitious, he was nursing his resources and seeking for
means to meet the crisis which might arrive at any
moment. At the time of de Boigne's arrival Sindia was
in the vicinity of Agra, organising an expedition against
Bandalkhand.

For this expedition de Boigne oflered his services.
He proposed to raise two regiments, each 850 strong ;
and to equip and organise them in the European fashion.

Madhaji knew de Boigne by reputation, and by
something more. The offer he had made to the Rana

168 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

of Gohad had struck him at the time as betokening a
daring and resolute nature ; and, subsequently, when de
Boigne had passed a night in his camp on his way
to join Mr. Anderson, Madhaji caused his tent to be
pillaged. The property then taken was restored but
the papers were retained. It is probable that a perusal
of these confirmed the impression which the Gohad
scheme had given birth to. Such a man, he thought,
could scarcely fail to be an acquisition. He accepteil,
then, after a short delay, de Boigne's offer

The terms agreed to by de Boigne were that he
should receive 1000 rupees a month for himself, and
eight rupees a month for each man, officers and
privates indiscriminately. To enable himself to give a
proper salary to the officers, de Boigne fixed the pay
of the privates at rupees 5-8-0 each. This arrange-
ment provided him with 4250 rupees monthly for the
officers.

The men were speedily raised ; but the drilling was a
matter of more difficulty. De Boigne had resolved to
teach them European drill, to arm them with European
weapons, and to impart to them European discipline.
" The labour which this imposed on an individual,"
writes Mr. Grant Duff, " can easily be conceived by any
'* person acquainted with military affairs." It was,
indeed, at the outset a task which required no ordinary
patience, perseverance, and self-control. But at length
he had the satisfaction of seeing the end attained. Five
months after he had enlisted his men, he marched

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 169

with two perfectly disciplined regiments to join in
Bandalkhand the army commanded by Appa Khande
Rao.

In the short campaign which followed, the two
battalions under de Boigne constituted the entire
infantry of the Maratha army, the remainder being
mainly cavalry and a few guns. As it was a campaign
of sieges the brunt of the work fell, naturally, on his
newly raised troops ; and this work they performed with
valour and with success. In the midst of his triumphs,
however, de Boigne was called away to join the main
army of Madhaji at Dehli.

On the 22nd October 1784 the prime minister of the
Emperor Shah Alam, Afrasiab Khan, was murdered by
the brother of the minister whose assassination he had
instigated. In the terror that followed this murder all
parties turned to Madhaji. The Emperor invested him
with a power virtually supreme. By his advice the
Peshwa was nominated Wakil-ul-Mutluk or Supreme
Deputy of the Empire, Madhaji was appointed Deputy
of the Peshwa, Commander-in-chief of the Moghol
armies, and the provinces of Agra and Dehli were
confided to his management.

But Madhaji was not too elated by his success. He
was well aware that the power which had been conferred
by acclamation in a time of terror, of difficulty, and of
danger, would be disputed as soon as men's minds should
begin to calm. He therefore took instant measures to
strengthen his position, and amongst other precautions

170 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

he summoned de Boigne and his battalions from
Bandalkhand.

To describe fully the events which followed could only
be effected by trenching upon ground already occupied.*
I must be satisfied with referring, as briefly as may be,
to the deeds of de Boigne himself. Thus, in May 1787,
he fought at Lalsot for three days under the eyes of
Madhaji against the Patans and Eajpiits, and when, on
the third, the other infantry of Sindia's army, 14,000 in
number, deserted to the enemy, de Boigne kept his men
true to their colours. For eight consecutive days they
continued, as they retreated, to repulse the enemy's
attacks. At the battle of Chaksana, fought on the 24th
April 1788 against the same enemies, Sindia confided
the command of his right wing to a Frenchman, M.
Lesteneau, and of his left to de Boigne, whilst the
centre was commanded by a native, Sindia being in
reserve with the cavalry. On this occasion de Boigne
and Lesteneau not only repulsed the attacks made on
their wings, but were prepared to render the victory
decisive had they been supported by the centre and the
cavalry. But no prayers could induce either to advance,
and the action, undecided, terminated by a retreat from
the field. A few weeks later, however, an ample revenge
was taken for these checks. On the 18th June, in the
battle fought before Agra, the battalions of de Boigne

* Keene'a Fall of the Moghol Eiiqnrc, a vivid and ancurato account of
the event in Hiudostan from the death of Aurangzib to the beginning
of the present century.

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 171

and their leader contributed greatly to the victory
obtained over the Patan chief. Less than four months
later, de Boigne's battalions and the bulk of the
Maratha army re-occupied Dehli. Madhaji himself
followed shortly after.

The splendid service rendered by the two battalions
of de Boigne at Lalsot, at Agra, and at Chaksana, their
fidelity when their irregular comrades had deserted, and
their unvarying steadiness under fire, had particularly
attracted the notice of Madhaji Sindia. But the
prejudices of the Maratha were still strong within him.
When, therefore, de Boigne pointed out to him that
these two battahons, though perfectly efficient, and
capable even of retarding a defeat, were yet insufficient
to decide the fortunes of a campaign ; that it would be
advisable to increase them to the strength of a corps
d'armee, with artillery attached, Madhaji hesitated.
Influenced partly, probably, by a dread to place in the
hands of a European a small army obedient only to the
orders of its immediate general ; partly by the Maratha
leaning towards cavalry, partly also by the annihilation
of his enemies and by the expense which the proposed
scheme would entail, Madhaji resolved to defer his
sanction. As, however, he indicated no fixed time for
the announcement of a final decision, de Boigne regarded
his reply as a veiled refusal. He therefore offered his
resignation. Madhaji accepted it.

De Boigne left Dehli a comparatively rich man. It is
stated that he owed the greater part of his wealth to the

172 FOREIGN ADVENTUKEES IN INDIA.

munificence of Madhaji, who thus showed his gratitude
for the unequalled services rendered to him during the late
campaigns. Certain it is that, renouncing his military
career, he proceeded to Lakhnao, and there on the advice
of his old friend, Claude Martin, engaged in mercantile
speculations which speedily augmented his capital. He
was still engaged in these when he received from
Madhaji pressing solicitations to re-enter his service,
accompanied by an assurance that he would be at liberty
to carry out the measures he had formerly proposed.

The fact was that Madhaji Sindia had not found his
position by any means so assured as, in the first moment
of his triumph, it had appeared to him. The Patan
army had been beaten and dispersed, but its soldiers still
existed. He was menaced from the north by the
Afghans, from the west by the Rajputs, whilst he had
perhaps even more to dread from the jealousy of Nana
Farnawis, the minister of the Peshwa, and from the
scarcely veiled hostility of the other chiefs of the
Marathas.

He felt the want, then, of just such a body of troops
as de Boigne had proposed to raise, — troops who would
surpass all his other troops in skill and discipline ; who
would obey one man, and that man impervious to
intrigue, devoted to himself alone. In this extremity
he bethought him of de Boigne : and upon that thought
there speedily followed the missive of which I have
spoken.

De Boigne was not deaf to the demand. Arranging,

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 173

as speedily as was possible, his commercial affairs,
which, however, he left in full action in the hands of
agents, he hastened to Mathura, where Madhaji then
had his head quarters. His proposals were at once
agi-eed to. He was authorised to raise a corps d'armee
consisting of thirteen battalions of infantry, of 500
cavalry, and of sixty guns.

De Boigne went to his task with his accustomed
energy. He reclaimed the two battalions he had drilled
and commanded before. A third battaHon was formed
of the soldiers who had been raised and drilled by the
Frenchman, Lesteneau, but who, mutinying for arrears
of pay, had, on the advice of de Boigne, been disbanded.
He had to enlist men from Rohilkhand and Oudh for
seven more battalions. All these were dressed and drilled
on the European principle. But, in addition to these
ten battalions, de Boigne raised three more of Afghans,
dressed in their national costume, and armed with
matchlocks and bayonets. For the service of the camp
he raised 500 Mewatis, dressed and armed as irregular
troops.

The corps cVarmee thus consisted of 8500 regular
infantry, 2400 Afghans, 500 Mewatis, 500 cavalry, and
100 artillerymen. Each regiment was commanded by a
European officer. These officers were men of all nations,
many of them British, and in many instances respectable
by birth, education, and character.* There were always

• Grant Doff, vol. iii., chapter ii. Subsequently the number of men
in each regiment was fixed at 700.

174 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

two European officers to each regiment, sometimes more.
The non-commissioned officers were in the first instance
taken from the three disciplined battalions. The colours
of the corps were the national flag, the white cross, of
Savoy.

For its command de Boigne was granted a salary of
4000 rupees a month. To provide for this, as well as
for the regular payment of the troops, Madhaji made
over assignments of land to the charge and management
of de Boigue, allowing him two per cent, upon the net
revenue, in ;iddition to his regular pay.*

By dint of great exertions the new cor'ps d'armee was
brought into a condition fitting it for active service
early in the year 1790. An opportunity soon offered
for the display of its efficiency. On the 20th June the
Maratha army engaged, near Patau, the Patans under
Ishmael Beg, aided by the Rajput troops of Jaipur and
Jodhpur. The battle was obstinate and bloody. Holkar,
who had promised to aid Madhaji, held aloof. The
Patans three times charged through the infantry of
de Boigne, cutting down the artillerymen at their guns.
But the coolness of de Boigne and the discipline of his
troops soon repaired this disaster. With re-serried
ranks they attacked the too daring enemy and drove
him back. Then there opened on both sides a heavy
artillery fire. This ceasing on the part of the Marathas
at six o'clock in the evening, de Boigne placed himself
at the head of his infantry and led them to the charge.
* Grant Duff, vol. iii., chapter ii.

FOBEIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 175

The attack was irresistible. One by one the hostile
positions were carried. At nine o'clock the enemy were
in complete flight, utterly disorganised, having lost all
their guns — ten battalions of their infantry having
previously surrendered.

De Boigne then received orders to invade Jodhpur.
He proceeded at once to the siege of Ajmir, but learning
that the Rajputs had assembled a considerable army at
Mirta, he left about 2700 men to blockade x\.jmir and
started to attack the enemy.

At daybreak on the 12th September, de Boigne
assailed the enemy's position. By nine o'clock he had
obtained a complete victory. He gained this victory
notwithstanding a false movement made by one of his
lieutenants, and which for a time left his right wing
exposed to the incessant charges of the Rahtor cavalry.
The Savoyard, however, showed himself quite equal to
the occasion. At nine o'clock, as I have said, the
Rajputs were beaten ; at ten o'clock their camp and all
their guns and baggage were captured; at three p.m., the
town of Mirta was taken by assault. Peace followed this
decisive victory.

Sindia had now satisfied himself as to the immense
advantage he had derived from possessing a corps
d'armee armed and disciplined on the European prin-
ciple— and commanded by a de Boigne. The troops
thus disciplined and thus organised had disposed of his
Mahomedan and Rajput enemies, but he still looked for
more at their hands. It must never be lost sight of

176 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

that the gi-eat dream of Madhaji Sindia's life was to
unite all the native powers of India in one great con-
federacy against the English. In this respect he was
the most farsighted statesman that India has ever
produced. But to bring about this great end it was
necessary that, in addition to the power which he wielded
at Dehli and in a part of central India, he should be
master of all the resources of the Maratha empire.
This he felt would be impossible until he could rid the
Peshwa of the minister, Nana Farnawis, who was
jealous of his reputation. Nor, he felt, could this end
be obtained unless he could dispose of Holkar, the
agent and last hope of the Nana. His plan, then, was
to crush Holkar, to proceed to Puna, and, obtaining
then from the Peshwa the requisite authority, to unite
all India in a crusade against the English. It was a
grand idea, one capable of realisation by Madhaji, but
by him alone, and which, but for his death, would have
been realised.

Full of these views, and preparing carefully for the
conflict he saw looming in the future, Madhaji deter-
mined at this time to increase still further the force
which had been so useful to him. De Boigne was
authorised to increase it to 18,000 regular infantry,
6000 irregulars, 2000 irregular horse, 600 Afghan
cavalry, and 2000 guns. The force thus raised was to
be divided into three brigades, or, as it would be more
proper to call them, divisions. For their payment a
tract of country between Mathura and Dehli and some

FOEEIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 177

lands east of the Jamna, comprising in all fifty-two
districts, yielding ultimately twenty-two lakhs of rupees,
were assigned to de Boigne. That general was authorised
to reserve to himself two per cent, of that revenue, in
addition to his pay, now increased to 6000 rupees a
month, — a sum which was doubled by other duly
authorised emoluments. The fortress at Agra was
assigned to him as a depot of small arms and cannon.
Over these fifty-two districts de Boigne was assigned,
by Sindia, a power in civil and military matters entirely
absolute. He fixed his headquarters at Aligarh.

It was while de Boigne was raising and drilling his
brigades, casting guns, and bringing the districts under
his sway into order ; whilst Madhaji Sindia was
endeavouring to arrange the scheme which was the
dream of his later years, that war broke out between
the British and Tippu Sultan. This war was a blow to
Madhaji. He disapproved this isolated attack upon a
power to which united India might only possibly be
a match. Still more was he annoyed and enraged at
finding that the Peshwa, guided by Nana Farnawis, had
entered into an alliance with the common enemy.
Nothing, Madhaji had always felt, could be more
noxious to the general cause of the native princes of
India, than the union of one chief with their most
formidable rival to put down another chief. Still, for
the moment, he was powerless to prevent this fatal
action. He was forced to content himself with husband-
ing his resources, with guarding against an attack from

12

178 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

the north, and with preparing his army for the great
event to which he looked forward. Having done all that
was possible in this respect, he set out for Puna, deter-
mined, after repressing Holkar, and unseating Nana
Farnawis, to obtain the chief power himself, and,
wielding it, to make one supreme effort to drive the
British from Hindostan.

Madhaji left de Boigne and the greater part of his
corps cVarmee behind. He took with him as escort
only two battalions, commanded by Hessing and Filoze.
He arrived at Puna the 11th June, 1793.

Scarcely, however, had Madhaji crossed the borders of
his own territories than his enemies began to raise their
heads. First, the widow of Najif Khan, a former prime
minister at the Imperial Com-t of Dehli, refused to
surrender the fort of Kanund to Sindia's officers. De
Boigne sent one of his brigades, under the orders of
M. Perron, to compel her. The often-defeated Ishmail
Beg raised troops to support her. He encountered Perron
under the walls of Kanund, and though beaten, yet
succeeded in penetrating into the fort with a consider-
able body of men. The defence was prolonged in
consequence, but, the widow having been killed, Ishmail
Beg, distrusting the garrison, surrendered himself and
the fort to the French leader.

But this was not all. Taking advantage of the
absence of Madhaji, Tukaji Holkar, the minister of
the famous Ahalya Bae, suddenly crossed the river
Chambal in great force, and marched towards Rujputana,

FOKEIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 179

pretending that the aggressions of Madhaji's agent,
Gopal Rao Bhao, forced him to this act of open
hostihty.

Gopal Rao Bhao had but a small force under him in
Rajputana. Aware that Tukaji was supported by a body
of native troops, armed and drilled in the European
fashion, and commanded by the Chevalier Dudrenec,
Gopal Rao sent pressing messages to de Boigne, and to
Lakhwa Dada, commanding the main body of Sindia's
cavaby, to join him without delay. De Boigne set out
at once from Aligarh at the head of 9000 infantry, and
joined Gopal Rao before the latter had been molested by
Holkar. Lakhwa Dada brought in his cavalry at the
same time. De Boigne immediately assumed command
of the combined force, consisting of 9000 infantry,
20,000 cavalry, and about forty guns, and forthwith
marched upon the enemy. Tukaji became now aware of
the double mistake he had committed; in the first place,
in becoming the aggressor; in the second, in not at once
crushing the small force opposed to him. He did his
utmost, then, to avoid a general engagement. But
de Boigne was not to be denied. He followed him up
vigorously, and at last, on the 20th September, had the
satisfaction of finding himself in front of his enemy
posted at the pass of Lakhairi on the road leading
from Kanund to Ajmir.

Tukaji and Dudrenec had under them four battalions
of sepoys, trained by Dudrenec, about 30,000 irregulars,
mostly cavalry, and thirty-eight guns. The position

12

180 FOEEIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

they occupied was very formidable. The pass of Lakhairi
was extremely narrow ; covered in front by wet ground,
and impossible to be turned, both flanks being guarded
by thick woods and rising ground.

De Boigne felt as he reconnoitred this strong position
that he would have to deploy all his resources. Yet his
own position was not without some considerable counter-
vailing advantages. His men were covered by tangled
forests, ii"!ipervious to cavalry. His attack might fail,
yet his position could not be forced. All other things
being equal, victory must incline, he saw, to the side
which possessed the greatest number of steady infantry.
That side was his own.

There was nothing for it but to move straight on. He
placed himself accordingly at the head of his tried
battalions and batteries, and ordered them to advance.
No sooner, however, did they emerge from the forest
than the enemy's artillery opened a tremendous and
effective fire upon them. De Boigne continued, however,
to advance, and his own guns were soon sufficiently clear
of the jungle to take up a position and reply. But they
had scarcely fired half a dozen rounds before an event
happened which might have been fatal in its conse-
quences. The fire from the enemy's guns caused the
explosion first of one tumbril and then immediately
afterwards of twelve others continguous to it. The
effect might have been made decisive. Tukaji at once
launched forth his cavalry to make it so. But De
Boigne was equal to the occasion. He caused his men

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 181

to fall back rapidly into the jungle. They reached it,
before Tiikaji's cavalry, feebly handled, could attack
them. A concentrated fire of musketry sent back the
horsemen more rapidly than they had advanced. A
charge from Sindia's cavalry completed their overthrow-
Thenceforward they took no part in the contest.

The cavalry having disappeared, de Boigne once more
advanced his infantiy and his guns. This time there
was no mistake. The pass was so narrow that not more
than three columns could act abreast. Covering these
with 500 Eohilla skirimishers he crossed the wet ground
and charged. But the battalions of Dudrenec did not
give ground. They stood, and fought, and died at their
post. But they were as one to three. The greatest
number must inevitably prevail. And it happened so.
After the most desperate conflict he had ever been
engaged in, the troops of de Boigne stood the victors on
the summit of that fatal pass ! There was not a man
to be pursued. The enemy's cavalry had disappeared,
his infantry had died fighting ; the guns had been
captured !

This victory broke for a time the power of Holkar
and left Madhajl undisputed master of the situation.
De Boigne followed it up by marching against the Kaja
of Jaipiir who had shown a disposition to take advantage
of Holkar's outburst. De Boigne's movements were so
rapid and his plans so well laid that the Kaja was glad
to compromise by submission, based on the payment of
his arrears of tribute, and an immediate sum of seventv

182 FOEEIGN ADVENTUREE8 IN INDIA.

lakhs of rupees. De Boigne then returned to Aligarh,
marching by Alwar, the Raja of which place had some
years before displayed great loyalty to Sindia in very
critical circumstances. Here he had an audience of the
Eaja. An incident which occurred at this audience is
thus related in de Boigne's memoirs. " One day when
*' the Raja gave audience to the general, whom he had
" made to sit near him, M. de Boigne observed the
" minister of the Raja, who was standing behind his
" master, bend down and whisper into his ear some
" words in the Persian language — a language which the
" general did not understand. The Prince replied only
" by a sign of disapproval and by a look in which anger
" and indignation were painted. The general's vakil
" turned pale. The conversation nevertheless continued
" as before, and the audience terminated without the
" general having conceived the least suspicion. But in
" going out of the palace he was informed by his vakil —
'* who knew Persian, and who had overheard the words
*' whispered by the minister — that the latter had proposed
" to the Raja to assassinate de Boigne in the hall of
" audience." De Boigne took no notice of the incident.
The power of Madhaji Sindia was now consolidated
in Hindostan. While his armies had been triumphing
in Rajputana his policy had been gaining ground at
Puna, whither, on his request, de Boigne had expedited
10,000 of his trained infantry under the command of
Perron. Madhaji, in fact, was on the point of crossing
the threshold to attain which had been the dream of his

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 183

later years. His plans had been successful everywhere ;
and he was on the eve of gaining the pinnacle which
would have enabled him to form one vast combination
against the English, when he was attacked by fever and
died (12th February, 1794).

With him the fabric raised with so much patience, so
much skill, and so much foresight, fell to the ground.
His successor, Daolat Eao, was a boy of fifteen, with a
character which, if unformed, still showed the germs of
waywardness and of a want of self-control.

At the time of Madhaji's death de Boigne was virtually
governor of Hindostan. Daolat Rao confirmed him in
this appointment, and he held it, resisting the advances
made him by the partisans of the blind Emperor, Shah
Alim, till the end of 1795. In the interval, feeling his
health weakened, he had more than once asked permission
to resign ; but Daolat Rao had as often begged him to
remain. At last, at the end of 1794, he yielded to his
urgent solicitations, and granted him permission to
leave for Europe, still retaining him in his service.

De Boigne bade farewell to the officers of his army in
February 1796, and set out for Calcutta. He took with
him the regiment of cavalry which was his own peculiar
property. He had off'ered this regiment to Sindia, but
Daolat Rao proposed to pay for it only on the return of
de Boigne to India. On his way through Lakhnao he
offered it to the Nawab, but they could not agree as to
the terms. Finally he off'ered it to the English govern-
ment ; Lord Cornwallis took it on the general's own

184 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

conditions. These were 500 rupees for each horse, or
for the entire corps, consisting of 600 horses, 100
camels, four pieces of light artillery, and some draught
cattle, 360,000 rupees. The men at the same time
entered the British service.

De Boigne embarked for Europe in September 1796,
and arrived in London in January, 1797. There he
married Mademoiselle d'Osmond, daughter of the Marquis
d'Osmond. The marriage, however, was not happy.
He remained principally in England during the Empire,
but shortly after its fall he settled at the Villa Buisson
near Chambery. He spent the last years of his life in
making a philanthropic use of the enormous fortune he
had acquired. In Chambery itself he built a theatre,
and a college for the Jesuits, and embellished the town
by new and handsome streets. When he died on the
21st June 1830, he left 1,200,000 francs to build a
hospital for old men ; 500,000 for a hospital for the
insane ; 300,000 for the permanent relief of beggars ;
200,000 francs for new beds in other hospitals, and
100,000 francs for the education of young girls. To
his wife he left a life income of 600,000 francs.

It is impossible to part with de Boigne without adding
some details regarding his person, his character, and his
mode of administration. The following somewhat prolix
description was written by a contemporary, one who
knew him personally, in the year 1797 :* ** De Boigne

• Letter of LONGINUS, tu the Telegraph nowspapor, dated 2nd
January, 1797.

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 185

" is formed by nature and education to guide and
" command: his school acquirements are much above
" mediocrity : he is a tolerable Latin scholar, and reads,
" writes, and speaks French, Italian, and English,
" with ease and fluency. He is not deficient in a
** general acquaintance with books, and possesses great
" knowledge of the world. He is extremely polite,
" affable, pleasant, humorous, and vivacious ; elegant in
" his manners, resolute in his determinations, and firm
'• in his measures ; remarkably well versed in the
" mechanism of the human mind, and has perfect
** command over himself. To the political subtlety of
" the Italian school he has added consummate Oriental
'* intrigue ; made his approaches to power in disguise,
" and only showed himself when too strong to be
** resisted. On the grand stage where he has acted a
" brilliant and important part for these ten years, he is
" dreaded and idolised, feared and admired, respected
" and beloved. Latterly the very name of de Boigne
" conveyed more terror than the thunder of his
" cannons. A singular instance of which I shall relate
** en passant. Najaf Kuli Khan in his last moments
" advised his Begam to resist in the fort of Kauund
** the efforts of his enemies, who would assuredly grasp,
" on his demise, at the small remnants of his patrimony;
** * resist,' said he, ' but if de Boigne appears, yield.'
** He will be long regretted, long recollected in India.
" His justice was uncommon, and singularly well-
" proportioned between severity and relaxation. He

186 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

possessed the happy art of gaming the confidence
of surrounding princes and subjects. He was active
and persevering to a degree which can only be
conceived or believed by those who were spectators of
his indefatigable labours from the time he raised eight
battalions till his departure from his station. I have
seen him daily rise with the sun, survey his Karkhana
(arsenal), inspect his troops, enlist recruits, direct the
vast movements of three brigades, raise resources and
encourage manufacturers for their arms, ammunitions,
and stores, harangue in his durbar, give audience to
ambassadors, administer justice, regulate the civil and
revenual affairs of a Jaidad (province) of twenty
lakhs of rupees, listen to a multitude of letters from
various parts on various important matters, dictate
replies, carry on an intricate system of intrigue in
different courts, superintend a private trade of a
lakh of rupees, keep his accounts, his private and
public correspondence, and direct and move forward a
most complex political machine. All this he did
without any European assistance. He used to say
that any ambitious person who reposes confidence in
another risks the destruction of his views. * * * *
In person he is above six feet high, giant-boned, large
limbs, strong featured, and with piercing eyes. There
is something in his countenance which depicts the
hero, and compels us to yield implicit obedience.
***** It has often been a subject of sur-
prise to many how de Boigne could so long and so

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 187

" invariably aggrandise his power whilst many ad-
** venturers in the same line have repeatedly failed.
" Setting his talents, perseverance, and policy aside,
" there is another cause which is not generally known
" or considered. Other Europeans who have attempted
'* the project which de Boigne realised failed from the
" want of a fixed and sufficient fund to pay their troops.
" De Boigne's penetrating genius foresaw and obviated
" this fatal error. Soon after the establishment of his
** two brigades, he persuaded Madhaji Sindia to consign
" some certain pergunnahs for their payments. This
" was done in 1793. A Jaiclad producing sixteen lakhs
" per annum was granted for the expense of his
" army, which still continues appropriated to that
" purpose. * * * This Jaiclad has been augmented
** by the attention and equity of de Boigne to twenty
" lakhs a year, and is in as high a state of cultivation
" as the most fertile parts of Banaras ; and the ryots
" are as happy as sensual beings can be, abstracted from
** intellectual enjoyments."

This contemporary account is in many points confirmed
by the remarks given in the memoir of his life published
at Chambery in 1829. " M. de Boigne," it is there
stated, " did not limit his cares to the concerns of his
" army; he directed at the same time his attention to
** the provinces which Sindia had confided to him. He
" introduced into them the greatest order. The
*' collection of the public revenue was indeed made by
" the military authorities according to the custom of

188 FOREIGN ADVENTUEERS IN INDIA.

the country. But the amounts to be received had
been settled with justice, and they were fixed. It was
this that caused the collections to be realised with
greater regularity and with less difficulty than is the
case generally in India. He had two offices of
account, the one serving to control the other. In
one, the accounts were kept in French ; in the other
all the entries were written in Persian. At the end
of each month the statement of receipts and expendi-
tures was transmitted to the Government.
" It was inevitable that so many details, so multiplied
and so varied, should occupy all the time of the
general ; but the importance of his mission, and the
desire by which he was actuated to carry it to a
successful end, inspired him with an activity which
sufficed for everything. He used personally to inspect
the works going on in the arsenal ; to visit the parade
ground daily, for some hours, there to make the
troops manoeuvre and to pass them in review. From
the parade ground he used to return to his office,
there to attend to administrative matters.
" As the army never ceased to be the particular object
of his attention, his troops became formidable alike
for their numbers and for their perfect discipline. On
this subject we quote the honourable testimony of an
English writer. * It was not the least of the advan-

* tages arising from General de Boigne's merit,' writes
the Bengal Journal of the 18th September, 1790,

* that, in his military capacity, he should have

(( I

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 189

softened, by means of an admirable perseverance,
the ferocious and almost savage character of the
Marathas. He submitted to the discipline and to
the civiHsation of European armies, soldiers who
** * till then had been regarded as barbarians ; and to
" ' such an extent did he succeed, that the rapacious
" ' licence which had formerly been common amongst
** * them came at last to be looked upon as infamous
" * even by the meanest soldier.'"

Such was the opinion formed of de Boigne by those
who lived in his times and who knew him personally.
To us, who can look back on all that he accomplished,
and who can form a tolerably accurate idea of the difiB-
culties he must have had to encounter, he stands out as
pre-eminently the foremost European figure between
the departure of Warren Hastings and the arrival of
Marquess Wellesley. It was de Boigne who made it
possible for Sindia to rule in Hindostan, at the same
time that he controlled the councils of Puna.
It was through de Boigne alone that Madhaji's gi-eat
dream, dissolved by his death, became possible of reali-
sation. But for de Boigne the power of the Marathas
would never have become so formidable, would never
have been able to offer a resistance to the British so
determined and so prolonged. It was de Boigne who
introduced into the North-West Provinces the germs
of that civil administration which the English have
since successfully developed. I cannot do better, in
concluding this sketch of his career, than quote the

190 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

apposite language of the historian of the fall of the
Moghol Empire. " Though moving in an obscure
" scene," writes Mr. Keene,* " de Boigne was one of
" the great personages of the World's Drama ; and
" much of the small amount of civil and military
'* organisation upon which the British Empire of
" Hindostan was ultimately founded is due to his
" industry, skill, and valour."

* The Fall of the Moghul Empire, by Henry George Keene.

rOEEION ADVENTUEERS IN INDIA. 191

n.

The commandants of the several brigades raised by
de Boigne and his successors will now come under
review. The first brigade, raised in 1792-3, was
originally commanded by Colonel Fremont. He was
succeeded in 1794 by Colonel Perron ; the latter, in
1797, by Colonel Drugeon ; he, the following year, by
Colonel Duprat; Colonel Duprat, in 1799, by Colonel
Sutherland ; and Colonel Sutherland, in 1802, by
Colonel Pohlmann.

The second brigade was originally commanded by
Colonel Perron. On his transfer to the first brigade, in
1794, Major Gardner succeeded him. Major Sutherland
replaced Gardner in 1795, and Major Pohlmann Suther-
land in 1799. In 1802 Sutherland and Pohlmann
changed places, and the following year Sutherland was
replaced by Colonel Hessing.

The third brigade was raised in 1795. Its first
commandant was Captain Pedrons. He was replaced in
1801 by Major Bourquin.

A fourth brigade was raised in 1803. Of this Colonel
Dudrenec was the commandant. A fifth, raised the
same year, was allotted to Major Browning.

192 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

Besides these there were, in 1803, attached to Sindia's
army the following additional brigades : that of Filoze,
consisting of eight battalions of infantry, 500 cavalry,
and forty-five guns ; that of Sombre, composed of six
battalions of infantry, 500 cavalry, and thirty-five
guns ; that of Shepherd, attached to Ambaji Inglia,
numbering five battalions, 500 cavalry, and twenty-five
guns.

Before proceeding to deal with the men whose names
I have mentioned, and some of whom filled a great part
in the history of the period, I propose to give a detailed
account of the internal economy of the brigades as finally
settled by de Boigne.

A brigade was composed of eight battalions. Each
battalion comprised within itself infantry and artillery.
Each was commanded by a captain, having under him a
lieutenant, either European or European by descent. A
battalion had eight companies of infantry, each com-
manded by a subadar, aided by two jemadars, one hot
havildar, three havildars, four naicks, and fifty-two
sepoys. The artillery of the same battalion consisted
of one sergeant-major (European), and five European
gunners, one jemadar, one havildar, five naicks, thirty-
five golandaz, five tindals, thirty-five klassis, twenty
bildars, thirty gariwans, four ironsmiths, and four
carpenters. A battalion had also a native surgeon, and
a complement of matsadis, water carriers, and the like.
Every battalion had 408 stand of arms, four field-pieces,
one howitzer, five trumbrils, 120 bullocks, and two native

FOKEIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 198

carts. Every gun had constantly ready with it 300
rounds of shot and 100 rounds of grape. A howitzer
had fifty stone shells and fifty rounds of grape. The
monthly pay of the native officers and men of a battalion
was about 4500 rupees. The pay of the officers was as
follows : — A colonel received 3000 rupees ; a lieutenant-
colonel 2000 ; a major 1200 ; a captain 400 ; a
captain-lieutenant 300 ; a lieutenant 200 ; an ensign
150. These rates were increased fifty per cent, when
the officers concerned were serving in the Dekhan.
The men received, under the same circumstances, a
proportional increase. Besides their pay, officers com-
manding brigades, whether colonels lieutenant-colonels
or majors, received 100 rupees a month as table
allowance.

A brigade of eight battalions consisted of 6000 men.
Besides the battalion complement of guns above detailed
the brigade had attached to it three battering guns and
two mortars with men to serve them. Each had like-
wise 200 irregular cavalry and 500 irregular infantry
(Rohillas).

The battalions were named after famous cities or
forts, such as Dehli, Agra, Burhanpur. The men were
disciplined according to the English regulations of 1780,
then in force in the British army. The regular infantry
were armed with muskets and bayonets manufactured at
Agra. The irregulars with match-locks and bayonets.
The cavalry were well mounted. Seven hundred of them
were armed with match-locks and swords; 500 with

13

194 FOEEIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

carbines, pistols, and swords ; they were drilled in the
European fashion.*

I propose now to consider the personnel of these
battalions and brigades. Of the first on the list, Colonel
Fremont, I have been unable to collect any interesting
details. He would seem to have been amongst the first
Frenchmen who joined de Boigne, for I find him com-
manding a brigade of six battalions in 1792, and
storming at their head the hill fort of Balahara, sixty
miles to the east of Jaipur. Again, in 1794, he
commanded a brigade of eight battalions at an action
which took place at Datia in Bandalkhand. It is
probable that he died shortly after that action, for in the
year following it, the command of his brigade devolved
on Perron, and his name ceases to be mentioned.

Perron was a very remarkable adventurer. He came
out to India in the year 1774 as a common sailor on
board the French frigate the Sardaigne. Being a man
of energy, ambition, and strength of will, he quitted the
naval service and strove by various means to make a
fortune in the country. It was not, however, till he
made the acquaintance of de Boigne, in 1789, that he
very decidedly ameliorated his condition. De Boigne
had just then acceded to the urgent solicitations of

I have taken all these details from a curious old book, entitled A
Sketch of the rise, progress, and termination of the regular corps formed
and commanded by Europeans in the Service of the NatiiH- Princes of
India, by Lewis Ferdinand Smith, late Major in DaolJit R:'io Sindia's
service. The book was published at the beginning of tlie century
and is very scarce.

FOKEIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 195

Madliaji Sindia by agreeing to re-enter his service. He
was in want of officers. Struck by the energetic temper
displayed by Perron, he offered him the post of captain-
lieutenant in his second brigade. Perron jumped at the
offer, and at once distinguished himself and won the
heart gf his chief by his attention to duty, his courage,
and his activity. The camp became his world, and he
devoted himself with all the ardour of his nature to take
a leading part in it. He distinguished himself so much
at the battles of Mirta and Patau that de Boigne soon
after entrusted him with an independent command. He
was sent in 1792 with his brigade to reduce the fort of
Kanund. How he succeeded on this occasion I have
related in the preceding section. For this service he
was promoted to the rank of major. He then rejoined
de Boigne, and was present at the well-contested battle
of Lakhairi. The following year he was detached by
his chief at the head of his brigade to Puna, to take
there also the command of the troops which had accom-
panied Madhaji Sindia to that court under the command
of Hessing and Filoze. His whole regular force amounted
then to 18,000 men. He was at Puna when Madhaji
died (12th February, 1794).

Into the intrigues which immediately followed the
succession of Daolat Kao Sindia it is not necessary here
to enter. It will be sufficient to state that the unsettled
condition of affairs at the court of the Peshwa roused
the ambition of the Nizam Ali Khan, the Nizam of
Haidarabad. This intriguing prince was induced to

13 A

196 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

believe that the power of the Mahommedan rule might be
revived in the ruins of Piina. He accordingly assembled
an army at Bidr, and advanced thence towards the
Maratha frontier.

Nizam Ali had some reason for his confidence.
Besides some 70,000 irregular infantry he had serving in
his army 15,000 regulars, commanded by a very famous
Frenchman, M. Eaymond, a man who had served under
Bussy, and whose name still lives revered in the Dekhan.
To support these Nizam Ali led into the field 20,000
horsemen and a due proportion of artillery.

To meet this formidable invasion the Peshwa
summoned all his vassal chieftains. Daolat Piao Sindia
brought 25,000 men ; Ptaghiiji Bhonsla 15,000 ; Holkar
10,000; Pareshram Bhao 7000. Other contingents
increased the total number to 130,000; and besides these
there were 10,000 Pindai'is.

But the great strength of the Peshwa's army consisted
in the brigades commanded by the quondam French.
sailor. Perron had ten of de Boigne's trained battalions,
amounting with cavalry and artillery to about 10,000
men. There were also serving under his orders six
battalions commanded by Filoze, amounting with guns
and cavalry, to about 5000 men ; and four by Hessing,
amounting to 3000.

Holkar, too, brought similarly trained troops unto the
field, viz., four battalions of about 3000 men, commanded
by the Chevalier Dudrenec ; and two of 1500 led by
Major Boyd.

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 197

The two armies met midway between the forts of
Kardla and Parinda. The battle which ensued was the
first great departure since the death of Madhaji Sindia
from the policy of that great statesman ; the first marked
deviation from his principle of one general alliance
against an enemy who would otherwise destroy them
piecemeal. It was fought the 12th March, 1795. The
Marathas occupied a defensive position, of which Perron's
troops formed the left. On the high ground near him
Perron had placed his artillery, and he supported this
arm by the infantry and cavalry in the plain below. The
troops of Dudrenec and Boyd were with Holkar in the
centre.

The battle began by an advance of the Mahommedans
on the right wing and centre of the Marathas. The
attack completely succeeded. The Maratha right wing
was driven on to its centre, at the same time that the
centre itself was completely broken by the steady advance
of Eaymond's drilled troops. These divisions fled in
confusion, carrying Dudrenec's and Boyd's men with
them, and endeavouring to seek a refuge behind the
still unbroken left. Towards this left covered and
supported by a cavalry flushed with victory Raymond
now advanced. Perron allowed him to approach almost
within musket-shot, and then suddenly opened a con-
centrated and continuous fire from the thirty-five guns
loaded with grape which he had placed on the eminence.
At the same moment Raghiiji Bhonsla assailed the
Mahommedan cavalry with a shower of rockets, the

198 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

materials for firing which he had maintained on the
ground during the general fight of the right wing. This^^
simultaneous discharge sent the Moghol cavalry to the
right-about. Raymond's infantry, however, not only
stood firm, but succeeded for a time in making a
successful opposition to all the efforts of Perron. It is
difiicult to say how the battle would have ended had
Nizam Ali been endowed with the most ordinary qualities
of a leader. But like most Asiatic commanders he
trusted only to his horsemen. When, then, these fled, he
fled with them, sending order after order to Raymond to
follow him. Meanwhile the Maratha horse, rallying,
were hastening to support Perron. Raymond, then,
most unwillingly was forced to follow his master. He
did so, however, in the most perfect order, prepared ta
renew the fight the next day. An accident, however,
converted the retreat during the night into a complete
rout.* Three days later a humiliating accommodation
was forced upon the pusillanimous Nizam.

The battle of Kardla, if it crushed the Nizam, gave
by its results, fuller impetus to the intrigues going on

• This accident is tbas related by Grant Duff (Vol. III. chapter VI.).
" In tlie stillness of night a small patrol of Marhatas, in search of
water for their horses, come by chance to a rivulet where lay a party of
Moghols, who, discovering what they were, instantly fired upon them.
Raymond's sentries who were in the neighbourhood, also fired, when
their whole line, who lay on their arms, with their muskets loaded as
they had retreated, started from their sleep and instantly fired a sort of
irregular volley. The alarm which such a discharge of musketry
occasioned, in the state of the Moghol army at that moment, may be
conceived. • • * Nizam Ali in perfect consternation sought refuge
within the walls of Kurdld.

FOEEIGN ADVENTUKERS IN INDIA. 199

at Puna, and these received a further accession of
force by the untimely death of the youthful Peshwa,
Madhii Eao (October 25th, 1795). An account of these
intrigues would be foreign to my present subject. A few
months after the Peshwa's death de Boigne resigned
to Perron the command of the armies of Sindia in
Hindostan.

The fortunate man who had left France as a common
sailor now ruled and administered in the name of Sindia
the country from Lahore to Kota and between Aligarh
and Jodhpur. He possessed greater power than any
European had till that time possessed in Hindostan.
This power he used, according to contemporary authority,
in such a manner "as to aggrandise his authority and
" his riches."* In his admirable work on the Fall of
Moghol Empire, Mr. Keene has extracted from a record
published by order of the local Government, a passage
bearing upon the mode in which Perron's administration
was conducted. " Perron," says this record,t which I
extract from Mr. Keene's book, " succeeded in erecting"
(a principality) " for the maintenance of the army, and
" reigned over it in the plenitude of sovereignty. He
" maintained all the state and dignity of an oriental
" despot, contracting alliances with the more potent
*' Rajas, and overawing by his military superiority the
" petty chiefs. At Dehli, and within the circle of the
" imperial dominions, his authority was paramount to

* Major Ferdinand Smith, before referred to,

t AUegurh Statistics. By J. R. Hutchinson and J. W. Sherer.

200 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

" that of the emperor. His attention was chiefly directed
" to the prompt reahzation of revenue. Pargannahs
" were generally formed ; a few were allotted as jaidad
" to chiefs on condition of military service ; the revenue
" (of the lands in the neighbourhood of Aligarh) was
** collected by large bodies of troops always concentrated at
" head-quarters. A brigade was stationed at Sikandrabad
" for the express purpose of realizing collections. In the
" event of any resistance on the part of a landholder, who
" might be in balance, a severe and immediate example
" was made by the plunder and destruction of his
" village ; and blood was not unfrequently shed in the
" harsh and hasty measures which were resorted to.
" The arrangements for the administration of justice
'* were very defective ; there was no fixed form of
'* procedure, and neither Hindu nor Mahommedan law
** was regularly administered. The suppression of crime
** was regarded as a matter of secondary importance.
*' There was an of&cer styled the Bakhshi Adalat whose
" business was to receive reports from the Amils (officials)
" in the interior, and communicate General Perron's
** orders respecting the disposal of any offenders
** apprehended by them. No trial was held ; the proof
** rested on the Amil's report, and the punishment was
'* left to General Perron's judgment."

The vacillating character of Daolat Rao Sindia
imposed upon Perron difficulties of a character diiferent
from those over which de Boigne had triumphed.
Daolat Rao possessed none of the foresight, none of the

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 201

power of comprehensive view, for which his adoptive
father was so famous. The influence wielded by the
latter, and inherited for the moment by Daolat Rao,
was frittered away in contests for secondary objects at
Puna. Gradually the tried adherents of Madhaji fell
away from his successor, and Perron was then called
upon to meet as enemies in the field the men who had
been the allies and followers of de Boigne.

Foremost amongst these men was Lakhwa Dada.
Lakhwa Dada was a Maratha Brahman. He had
distinguished himself in the service of Madhaji in 1788
by his brilliant and successful defence of Agra against
the Patau leaders. He had fought side by side with de
Boigne on many a well-contested field, and especially in
the bloody battle of Lakhairi. To none of his adherents
had Madhaji shown greater confidence. Such was the
man, clever influential, and far-sighted, whom Daolat
Rao, actuated by the suspicion that he had connived in
the escape of the widows of his predecessor from the
prison to which he had consigned them, deprived of his
power and dismissed from all his employments.

In those days arbitrary power could not always be
exercised with impunity towards a clever and influential
servant of the State. Lakhwa Dada knew that a great
many powerful vassals were impatient of the yoke of
Doalat Rao ; that they wanted only a leader. He threw
himself into their ranks, was recognised as their chief,
raised a powerful army, repeatedly defeated the troops
sent against him, and reduced all the country from

202 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

Ujain to Sironj.* Agra, too, the place in which in his
younger days he had won his spurs, fell into the hands
of his adherents.

Perron had not been blind to the events occurring in
his government. In Agra were his arsenals, his
magazines, his manufactories. To Agra, then, he
marched, at the head of his whole available force. He
was joined before the place by Ambaji Inglia, one of
Daolat Rao's principal officers, at the head of a large
body of cavalry.

Agra resisted long, but Lakhwa Dada was not there
to defend it in person, and in the end it surrendered.
Perron then marched against Lakhwa Dada, who had by
this time mastered nearly two-thirds of Bajputana.
The hostile forces met at Sondia, in the Datia territory,
on the 3rd May 1800. The disciplined battalions
prevailed. Lakhwa Dada was beaten and so severely
wounded that he died shortly after.

Rid of this formidable adversary Perron had time to
turn his attention to George Thomas, an adventurer
who had almost succeeded, single handed, in firmly
establishing an independent principality in northern
India. Thomas was a very remarkable man. An
Irishman by birth, Thomas had come out to India as a
common sailor on board of an English man-of-war about
the year 1782. Deserting from his ship as she lay
anchored in the Madras roads, he had wandered about
the Carnatic, and had finally taken service under the
• Grant Duflf.

FOREIGN ADVEXTUEERS IN INDIA. 203

Bigam Sombre. A bold, indefatigable, active man,
endowed ^vith great natural abilities and a large share of
common-sense, possessing, too, a handsome person and
a winning manner, Thomas was just the man to rise to
distinction under such a mistress. Opportunities did
not fail him. In April, 1788, when the contingent of
the Bigam was serving under the orders of the Emperor
Shah Alim at the siege of Gokalgarh, Thomas was
fortunate enough to save the Emperor from death or a
worse captivity. For five years Thomas continued in the
service of the Bigam, and it is probable that, as time
went on, he began to aspire to a position of a more
intimate character. But, if he did entertain such a
hope, he was disappointed. A Frenchman named Le
Vaisseau supplanted him. Thomas upon this left the
Bigam's service and set up for himself. He went first
to the village of Aniipshahr where was stationed the
frontier brigade of the Enghsh force. From this place
he corresponded with Appu Khandi Rao, an influential
officer in the service of Sindia. The correspondence
ended by Thomas obtaining from his friend the investi-
ture of a few villages at Maratha territory. Subsequently
Thomas obtained permission to conquer and administer
the district of Hariana, a part of the country so neglected
and desolate that up to that time no one had considered
it worth taking. He first succeeded in taking a large
village in Hariana. His subsequent proceedings are
thus described by a personal friend and contemporary : *
* Major Ferdinand Smith.

204 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

** Thomas commenced his ambitious career in 1794,
" after he left the Bigam Somibre's service, by collecting
" a few men near Dehli, vrith whom he stormed a large
*' village. The little money he acquired from this
** village laid the foundation for his future hopes and
** prospects ; he made a few guns, enlisted more men,
" raised two battalions, and besieged parts of the
** desolated country of Hariana. * * * jje increased
" his forces by plunder ; the brass and copper vessels
" he found in the towns and villages were melted into
** cannon, and cannon procured him money. Thus he
** proceeded some time, gradually raising his forces as
** he augmented his means to pay them, until 1797,
** when they amounted to four battalions. He then
** cleared away the jungle from the abandoned fort of
** Hansi, and put it in a state of defence. His range
" of depredations now became more extensive and his .
" resources greater. At last, in 1801, he raised his
** party to ten battalions with sixty pieces of cannon,
** and secured a country to himself of three lakhs a
** year."

Such, in brief, is the outline of the history of the
rise of George Thomas. But there are other details,
not uninteresting, which served to help him on. Such
was his adoption by Appii Kbandi Rao immediately
subsequent to their joint visit to Dehli in 1794 to
receive investiture of their fiefs from the local repre-
sentative of Daolat Rao Sindia. It was on this occasion
that Appu Khandi conferred upon Thomas the right to

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 205

occupy Hariana, and extended the powers he had
previously granted to him. Another characteristic
incident of this part of his career was the restoration
by his means of his old mistress, the Bigam Sombre,
now once more a widow, to the principality of which she
bad been deprived by the intrigues of her officers. A
third, the invariable fidelity and forbearance he displayed
towards his adoptive father, notwithstanding the
repeated intrigues, amounting often to treachery,
indulged in by the latter. Latterly he recognised
Ambaji Inglia, the favourite general of Sindia, as his
most trusted ally.

Before proceeding to the event which brought Thomas
into collision with Perron, I propose to devote a few
lines to the manner of his administration of Hansi and
its surrounding district. The story is best told in his
own words.* " Here," writes he in his memoirs, "I
" established my capital, re-built the walls of the city,
" which had long since fallen to decay, and repaired the
*' fortifications. As it had been long deserted, at first
" I found difficulty in procuring inhabitants, but by
*' degrees, and gentle treatment, I selected between
** 5000 and 6000 persons, to whom I allowed every
" lawful indulgence. I established a mint, and coined
" my own rupees, which I made current in my army
" and country ; cast my own artillery, commenced
" making muskets, match-locks, and powder; * * ♦
** till at length," he goes on to say, " having gained
* Francklin's Life of George Thomas.

206 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

" a capital and country bordering on the Sikh territories,
" I wished to put myself in a capacity, when a
" favourable opportunity should offer, of attempting
" the conquest of the Panjab, and aspired to the honour
" of placing the British standard on the banks of the
** Attock." No ignoble aspiration, indeed, for a deserter
from a British man-of-war !

It was no idle dream however. Thomas had, in fact,
already left his own territory to make the attempt, and
he was actually within four marches of Labor, when he
received an express to the effect that his principality of
Hariana was menaced by Perron.

The fact is that Perron, wielding the power of Sindia
in Hindostan, having crushed Lakhwa Dada, was not
disposed to brook the establishment so near to Dehli of
an independent power, and that power wielded by a
native of Great Britain. He accordingly sent to Thomas
a summons to repair to Dehli, there to do homage as a
vassal of Sindia. Anticipating his refusal he massed
ten battalions and 2000 horses at Dehli. Thomas,
foreseeing what was in store for him, sent an
indignant reply, at the same time that he made every
effort to return and cover his capital. Marching thirty
or forty miles a day he succeeded in reaching Hansi
before Perron had moved out of Dehli.

But Perron had committed himself too far to retreat.
He had allied himself with the Sikhs and obtained from
them assistance alike in men and money. Thomas
likewise had formed alliances with his old friend the

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 207

Bigam Sombre, with the Rajas of Jaipur and Alwar,
and with Lafontaine, who commanded six battalions
of Filoze's brigade in the service of Sindia. Reinforced
by the troops received from these quarters he met
Perron's army at Bahadurgarh, eighteen miles to the
west of Dehli. Neither party was very confident of
success. Perron thought, moreover, that it might be
possible to arrange matters satisfactorily without having
recourse to the doubtful arbitrament of a battle. He
therefore commissioned one of his officers, Major Lewis
Ferdinand Smith,* to repair to the camp of Thomas,
and to offer him 60,000 rupees a month for his troops,
the rank of colonel for himself, and the fort of
Hansi in perpetuity, provided he would take service
under Sindia, and acknowledge Perron as his chief.
Thomas, though unwillingly, consented to discuss these
terms at a personal interview.

There were many reasons which combined to dissuade
Thomas from the offered accommodation. Intelligence
had but just reached him of the defeat of Daolat Rao's
troops at Ujjen, and of his precipitate retreat on
Burhanpur. Letters too had come in from Jeswant Rao
Holkar urging him to attack Perron, and promising him
aid in men and money. Recruits, too, were on their
way to join him, whilst he knew that Sindia was
demanding reinforcements from Perron. His policy
was plainly to temporise until he should possess a

* It is from the memoirs of this oflBcer, an actor on the scene, that
I have "leaned the details which follow.

208 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

manifest superiority. This indeed, was the course that
recommended itself to his clearer vision. But the
demand made by Perron at the interview, that he should
divide his force and send one -half to the assistance of
Sindia maddened him to such an extent that he broke
off the conference and hastily retreated to Hansi.

On the breaking up of the conference Perron returned
immediately to Aligarh, called thither by the necessity
of attending to the urgent requisitions of Sindia, leaving
his force before Bahadurgarh under the command of
Major Bourquin, then acting as commandant of the
third brigade. This officer at once despatched Major
Smith to besiege Georgegarh, a fort which had been
built by Thomas, about seventy miles from Hansi,
whilst he himself should cover the siege. Thomas,
however, noticing the distance of the covering from the
besieging force, broke up suddenly from Hansi^ fell upon
Smith and completely defeated him. What he might
have accomplished may be gathered from Major Smith's
own words : "I was attacked," he writes,* " by Thomas
** with eight battalions, compelled to raise the siege and
" retreat to Jajar, four coss (eight miles) to the east of
** Georgegarh ; favoured by the obscurity of the night,
" I was not completely cut off, and made good my
" retreat, with the loss of one gun and one-third of my
" force killed and wounded. How I escaped total
" destruction I do not yet know. Why Thomas did not

• Sketch of the rise and progress of regular corps under Siiidia, by
Major L. F. Smith.

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 209

" follow my retreat I cannot say, for if he had continued
" the pursuit I must have lost all my guns, and my
" party would have been completely destroyed."

After raising the siege Thomas threw himself into
Georgegarh, the defences of which he strengthened.
Here he was attacked on the 20th September by
Bourquin's troops, who had marched seventy miles in
the thirty-six hours almost immediately preceding the
assault. " Bourquin," writes Major Smith, "did not
" lead the attack himself, but prudently remained with
" the cavalry, 2000 yards in rear of George Thomas's
" line. The seven battalions of de Boigne, with calm
" intrepidity advanced with their guns through heavy
" sand, exposed to a dreadful and well-directed fire of
" fifty-four pieces of cannon, and attacked Thomas's
" ten battalions in their intrenchments ; but they were
" repulsed with the severe loss of 1100 men killed and
" wounded, which was nearly one-third of their number.
" * * Thomas's loss was not so great, as the guns
" of de Boigne's battalions were mostly dismounted by
" their recoil on the sand, when fired, which snapt their
" axle-trees."

" Had Thomas," adds Major Smith, " taken advantage
" of Bourquin's ignorance and folly, and sallied out on
" the beaten troops of Perron, he would have overturned
" his power, but Thomas at this critical moment was
" confused and confounded." Thomas indeed, took no
advantage of their repulse. He remained shut up
in Georgegarh waiting for the reinforcements promised

14

210 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

by Holkar, and which never came ; for before the period
then passing, the power of Holkar, though he knew it
not, had been temporarily annihilated at Indur.

Meanwhile reinforcements poured into the besieger's
camp. The incapable Bourquin was superseded by
Colonel Pedrons, and he turned the siege into a
blockade. This lasted for seven weeks. Reduced then
by famine and desertion, having spent his ammunition
and finding his remaining troops utterly disorganised,
Thomas saw that the end was at hand. Rather, however,
than surrender he mounted — the night of the 10th
November 1801 — his Persian horse, and accompanied
by his only two European officers, Captain Hearsey and
Lieutenant Birch, and some troops, rode away, hoping
to reach Hansi by a circuitous route. The party, though
attacked and pursued, arrived safely at Hansi on the
third day.

Colonel Pedrons consigned to Bourquin the task of
finishing the war. The latter followed up Thomas to
Hansi, laid siege to the place, and though Thomas
defended himself stoutly, there could be no doubt of the
ultimate issue. An offer made by a portion of the
garrison to betray their leader brought matters to a
crisis. Major Smith was again detached to communicate
with. Thomas, to inform him of the treachery of his
troops, and to oflfer him honourable terms. These terms
assured him freedom of action for himself within British
territory with the safe conduct of the propei-ty still
remaining to him. Thomas accepted the conditions

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 211

(1st January 1802), and proceeded towards Calcutta
with the intention of returning to his native land with
the wreck of his fortune amounting then, according to
Major Smith, to a lakh of rupees. He died, however,
on his way down, near Barhampur, in the burpng-
ground of which place he was interred. His career,
records the friend already quoted " was more worthy of
*' astonishment than imitation."

Perron was now complete master of the situation. He
had beaten all his master's enemies in Hindostan ; his
master's troops had triumphed in Ujjen. But his
double triumph had similarly affected both master and
servant. They showed, in this crisis of their fortunes,
that prosperity was fatal to them. It exhalted their
pride and weakened their judgment.

Perron had had no education, no mental training ; he
was not gifted with a large mind. A self-made man,
he had raised himself from the position of a common
sailor to a post which was, in fact, second only to one
other in India, and, so long as he had enemies to fight,
the animal vigour of his nature had a fit field for its
display. But with the dispersion of his enemies the
scene of action for that animal vigour disappeared, and
his mental power was more largely called upon. In this
respect Perron was weak. He began to show undue
contempt for the native chieftains ; an unjust partiality for
his own countrymen ; to further his own private interest
only ; to look upon the interests of Sindia as secondary,
not to be placed in the balance against his own.

14 A

212 FOEEIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

It was not long before the action based upon such
views raised a storm against him. One after another the
native chiefs and leaders complained to Sindia of the
arrogance and grasping character of his French lieutenant.
To meet the storm raised by these denunciations, Perron
proceeded at the end of 1802 to the court of Daolat Rao
then held at Ujjen. He proposed to himself three
objects in this visit. The first, to ascertain the views of
Colonel Collins, the British resident, then at Sindia's
court ; the second, to ascertain by personal examination
how far Colonel Sutherland, who commanded the second
brigade, and whose character he dreaded, was likely to
supplant him ; the third, to destroy the effect of the
intrigues of Sakharam Ghatgay, Sindia's father-in-law,
and of the other chiefs who were hostile to him. Should
he find the position too strong for him he had resolved
to resign his olfice.

Perron did not resign. He presented to Daolat Rao
a nazzar of five lakhs of rupees, and seemed to triumph.
After a stay of a few weeks only at Ujjen he returned to
AHgarh with his former power confirmed. An incident
occurred shortly afterwards, however, which roused all
his fears and suspicions.

The student of Indian history of that period will
recollect that the defeat of Sindia's army by Jeswant
Rao Holkar near Puna on the 25th October, 1802, had
caused the Peshwa to fly in trepidation from his capital.
From Severndrtig, where he had taken refuge, the
Peshwa addressed pressing solicitations to Sindia, still

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 213

in camp at Ujjen, to come to his aid. It may freely be
asserted that the fate of India was in the hands of
Daolat Rao. Had he marched to the aid of his suzerain,
not only would no treaty of Bassein have been signed,
but he would have attained, with one bound, the influence
and power of his predecessor.

Daolat Rao cast away the opportunity — never to recur.
Why did he do so ? Was it, as he gave out, that he
was not strong enough, or did he doubt the intention of
the Peshwa to throw himself, unless relieved, in the
hands of the British ?

A glance at the relations between Daolat Rao and
M. Perron at this period will tend to elucidate the
question. Perron had hardly returned to Aligarh before
he received from Daolat Rao a pressing requisition to
send him another brigade, as with his then force he was
not strong enough to march to the assistance of the
Peshwa. Daolat Rao had then three brigades with
him; one, belonging to Perron's force, commanded by
Sutherland ; one, an independent brigade, commanded
by Filoze; and a third belonging to the Bigam Sombre.
Perron had with himself three brigades. When, there-
fore, he received the requisition to send one of these to
Ujjen, he thought he read in the order a resolution to
despoil him of his power. Although, then, he saw that
the moment was critical, that by delaying to comply he
risked the independence and even the existence of the
Maratha empire, yet regard for his own interests and the
dread of throwing too much power into the hands of

214 FOEEIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

Daolat Eao, caused him to hesitate for three months.
When at last he did comply, the favourable moment had
passed, and the P6shwa had thrown himself into the
arms of the British Government for protection. In
February, 1803, Perron despatched to Ujjt'n the fourth
brigade • under Dudrenec, and half of the newly-raised
fifth brigade under Brownrigg. But it was too late.
The treaty of Bassein had been signed.

The treaty of Bassein precipitated the conflict between
Sindia and the British. It roused Daolat Rao to a sense
of his errors. In that treaty he saw not only the sub-
version of the vast plans of his predecessor but a threat
against himself. Though invited to become a party to
the defensive portion of the treaty he distinctly refused.
Then probably for the first time in his life he understood
the conception of Madhaji, finding himself as he did
face to face with the dangers which Madhaji's scheme
would have rendered impossible. Then he bestirred
himself; then, at last, he sought to unite the
Marathas against the common foe. But he was
too late. Holkar refused to join him. His prepara-
tions, though he sought to conceal and did deny
them, were too patent. The Governor-General of

India, Marquess Wellesley, resolved then to anticipate
him, and to bring the matter to the arbitrament of the
sword. War was declared, and on the 8th August,
1803, an English force under General Lake crossed the
frontier of Sindia's territory and marched straight on
Aligarh.

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 215

Perrou was at Aligarh, but he was as a general
without an army. The main body of the troops were
with Daolat Eao ; others were not at the moment
amenable to his orders. He had with him at the time
but 2000 infantry and 8000 cavalry.

But there were other evils threatening him which
Perron dreaded far more than a deficiency of troops.
His conduct in the early part of the year, which I
have detailed at length, had roused all the suspicions
of Daolat Rao. His disgrace, again imminent, was
hastened by the present of fifteen lakhs of rupees made
by Ambaji Inglia to Daolat Rao as the price of the
Subadarship of Hindostan. Ambaji was one of the
great chiefs whom Perron had insulted, and from whom
he could expect no mercy. His rival would have drained
his purse if not his Hfe's blood.

Perron could not even trust the commanders of his
brigades. Dudrenec, on his way back from Ujjen to
Aligarh, was far more attached to Ambaji than to him ;
Bourquin, who at the moment had the second and third
brigades under his orders, threw off his allegiance. But
one chance remained, and that was to make the best
possible terms with the British.

To this course Perron resigned himself. When, on
the 29th August, 1803, General Lake marched on the
the village of Aligarh, a splendid opportunity ofi'ered to
Perron to charge it with the 8000 horse he had under
his command. He did not seize it. He gave no orders.
His men were paralysed by his indecision, and a few

216 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

rounds from the galloper guns sent them flying in all
directions. Perron fled with them, directing his course
first to Hatras, thence to Mathura. From this latter
place he sent, on the 5th September, a proposal to the
English general to surrender on receiving an assurance
of protection for his person and his property.

Lord Lake acceded to the proposal. Whereupon,
Perron, having first sent his family to Agra, slipped
quietly across the river, and, making his way to Sasni,
threw himself under the protection of the British
detachment stationed there. Thence he was allowed
to proceed with his family and his property to Chandar-
nagar. From that time he and his afi'airs ceased to
interest the Indian world.

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 217

in.

Amongst the French officers mentioned in the section is
Colonel Pedrons. He must have joined de Boigne
early, as he raised and commanded the third brigade
in 1795. The next mention I find of him is of so late
a date as 1800. In that year, when Perron was engaged
in besieging the fort of Agra, Pedrons, then a major,
was despatched with eight battalions to attack and
annihilate Lakhwa Dada in Bandalkhand. In this
enterprise he was assisted by Ambaji Inglia with some
irregular infantry and 5000 horse. He found, however,
Lakhwa Dada so strongly posted, that though the latter
had only 6000 horse, 3000 Rohillas, and 200 drilled
sepoys* under his command, Pedrons was afraid to
attack him. He spent two months in fruitless recon-
noitering. At the end of that time Perron himself came
down and crushed Lakhwa Dada with one blow (3rd
May, 1800). We next hear of Pedrons as relieving

* The 200 sepoys were drilled and commanded by Major Tone, " an
unfortunate gentleman." says Major Smith, "whose abilities and
integrity were as great as his misfortunes were severe." Major Tone
was subsequently shot through the head, whilst serving under Holkar,
at an action near Choli Mahasfir, in 1802. He wrote a valuable work
called "Letters on the Mardthd People." (Ferdinand Smith.)

218 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

Bourquin in the campaign against Thomas. The part
he then took has been ah-eady related. His final act
was the defence of the fort of Aligarh against an English
army under Lord Lake.

I have already stated that when the English army
marched on Aligarh Perron had with him only 2000
infantry and 8000 cavalry. The infantry he threw into
the fort, the command of which was confided to
Pedi'ons.

Lord Lake's first act was to summon Pedrons to
surrender. Pedrons in becoming terms refused. Lord
Lake, then, finding that to attack it in the regular form
would give the enemy time to concentrate their forces to
oppose him, resolved to attempt a coiip de main.

It was a daring experiment, for Aligarh was strong,
well garrisoned, and the country round it had been
levelled. It had but one weak point, and that was a
narrow passage across the ditch into the fort. This
passage was, however, guarded by a strong gateway, and
three other gateways had to be forced before the body of
the place could be entered. To resolve to attempt such
a place by a coup de main required no ordinary nerve.
The whole future of the campaign depended on the
success of the storm. Should it fail, all India would
rise up against the English ; should it succeed, the
Maratha Empire would receive its death-blow.

But throughout his career Lord Lake always acted on
the principle, so often referred to in this work, that
" boldness is prudence." He stormed and carried

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

219

Aligarli. By that success he paralysed the Maratha
confederacy. To use the words of a contemporary
writer then in the service of Sindia, " it was a mortal
" blow to the Maratha war : it struck a panic into the
" minds of the natives and astonished all the princes of
" Hindostan : it gave them dreadful ideas of European
** soldiers and European courage."

Pedrons was taken prisoner at Aligarh. From that
time he disappeared from the scene.

The next in order is the Bourquin referred to in the
preceding section. This man's real name was Louis
Bernard. His previous history and his reason for
changing his name are alike unknown to me. It is
only known that Perron had raised him from obscurity
to the command of a brigade. His campaign against
Thomas has been already related. He is next heard of
as evincing his gratitude to Perron by revolting against
him on the eve of the war with the English. By
Perron's flight to British territory and by Pedrons's
captivity, Bourquin became the senior officer in com-
mand of the old brigades of de Boigne.

Bourquin was close to Dehli, at the head of the
second and third brigades, when the English were
marching on Aligarh. Another French officer, Colonel
Drugcon, was commanding the fort of Dehli. Bourquin,
strongly sensible of the political advantage which might
arise from having in his camp the blind old Emperor,
called upon Drugeon to send him out under an escort.
Drugeon refused. Upon this Bourquin prepared to

220 FOKEIGN ADVENTUKEBS IN INDIA.

besiege Dehli, and he only desisted when the fatal
intelligence of the storming of Aligarh recalled him to a
sense of his position.

On receiving this news Bourquin began to cross the
Jamna with his two brigades. He had already (11th
September) passed over twelve battalions, with seventy
pieces of cannon, and 5000 cavalry, when, at eleven
o'clock, the English army appeared in sight. Bourquin
drew up his troops in a remarkably strong position, his
front covered by a line of intrenchments prepared on the
two preceding days ; each flank covered by a swamp,
and his guns hidden by long grass. Wishing to entice
the English to attack this formidable position, he
directed the outposts to fire on the English camp. At
the time that this firing commenced the British troops
had grounded their arms, many were undressed, others
had gone in search of fuel. Lord Lake, however, hastily
collected his men and led them to the attack. The fire
from the long grass was, however, so heavy, and the
intrenchments were so formidable, that Lord Lake, after
losing many men and being wounded himself, stopped
the advance to attempt a ruse de guerre. He then
ordered his cavalry, which was leading, to retire slowly
behind the infantry. The movement of the cavalry to
the rear induced, in the mind of the French leader, the
supposition that the British force was beaten. He
ordered the men to leave the intrenchments and com-
plete the victory. This they did with loud shouts.
Their error continued till the sudden disappearance of

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 221

the cavalry showed them the British infantry advancing
to meet them. The disciplined battalions fought well,
but they were overmatched. Bourquin was the first to
leave the field. The rout was then complete. Bourquin
surrendered, with five officers, three days later, to the
English, and disappeared not only from the field of
battle, but from the field of history.

A character superior in every way to Bourquin was
the Chevalier Dudrenec. A native of Brest, the son of
a commodore in the French navy, Dudrenec had come
out to India as a midshipman in a French man-of-war
about the year 1774. Why he left the French navy, or
the occupation to which he betook himself after leaving
it, I have never been able to ascertain. He first appears
upon the Indian scene in command of Bigam S ombre's
brigade. He left this command in 1791 to join Tukaji
Holkar, by whom he was commissioned to raise, drill,
and equip four battalions on the principle previously
employed for Sindia by de Boigne. Dudrenec acquitted
himself of this commission with great success. The
following year, however, his battalions were destroyed —
the men dying at their posts — at the fatal battle of
Lakhairi, an account of which I have given in the
sketch of de Boigne's career. Not disheartened, Holkar
commissioned Dudrenec to raise four more battalions.
This task he successfully accomplished, and with them,
on the 12th March, 1795, he contributed to the victory
of Kardla, gained by the combined Maratha forces
against the Nizam.

^22 FOEEIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

For some time after this engagement Dudrenec
remained in comparative inaction, at Indiir. In 1797 he
added two battalions to his force. In the struggle for
power which followed the death of Tiikaji the same year
(1797), Dudi-enec sided at first with the legitimate, but
imbecile, heir, Khasi Kao. Acting in his name, he
alternately defeated, and was defeated by, the pretender,
Jeswant Eao. When at length the triumph of the latter
seemed assured, Dudrenec went over with all his troops
and guns to his side. But Jeswant Rao did not trust
him, and Dudrenec soon saw that his disgrace was
determined upon. Under these circumstances he thought
he would try and steal a march upon his master. Taking
advantage of the hostilities then engaged between Sindia
and Jeswant Rao (1801) he endeavoured to take his six
battalions bodily over to the former. But the men
were more faithful than their commander. They drove
Dudrenec from the camp and marched to Jeswant Rao,
who at once placed at their head an Englishman named
Yickers.

Dudrenec was, however, well received by Sindia, and
entrusted with the command of a brigade — the fourth —
and placed under the orders of Perron, at Aligarh. In
February, 1803, he was detached with this brigade to
join Sindia at Ujjen ; again, towards the autumn of the
same year, when hostilities with the English were
imminent, he was sent back to rejoin Perron. This
force reached the vicinity of Agra in October, having
been joined in its way by the three battalions of

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 223

Bourquin's force which had not crossed the Jamna, nor
been engaged in the battle of Dehli against the EngHsh,
and by some other fugitives. The whole force amounted
to about 12,000 men, well supplied with excellent
artillery.

It was this army, indeed, which fought the famous
battle of Laswari. But when it fought that battle
Dudrenec was not with it. Influenced, it seems probable,
by the example of his fellow adventurers, and by the
favourable conditions offered,* he had surrendered
(30th October) to the English. His Indian career then
closed.

One of the oldest officers in the service of de Boigne
was John Hessing, a man who, if not a Dutchman,! was
at least of Dutch extraction. He joined de Boigne
shortly after the latter entered the service of Sindia, and
was present at the hardly-contested battles of Lalsot, of
Agra, and of Chaksana. At Patan too, he fought
bravely and well. After that battle, however, he
quarrelled with de Boigne and tendered his resignation.
This was accepted. Sindia then advanced him money
to raise a battalion which should be peculiarly his own,
and should act as his special body-guard. As com-

* These conditions generally were security of life and property, and
permission to return to Europe.

+ Grant Duff says he was an Englishman ; but his acquaintance and
contemporai'y, Lewis Ferdinand Smith, invariably speaks of him as a
foreigner. His name does not appear in the list of British subjects
serving Marathn States, who were pensioned by the British Government,
and the inscription on his tomb at Agra declares him a Dutchman,

224 FOEEIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

mandant of this body-guard Hessing accompanied
Madhaji to Puna in 1792, augmenting it gradually, as
he proceeded, to four battalions. It was at this strength
when failing health forced Hessing to leave Puna. He
was sent thence to command at Agra where he died in
1803.

His son, George Hessing, succeeded him at Puna.
Shortly after that Madhaji Sindia died. Daolat Eao,
however, not only continued his favour to Hessing, but
authorised him to increase the number of his battalions
to eight. They were at this strength when hostilities
broke out between Holkar and Sindia in 1801, although
half the number only were then with Daolat Kao in his
camp at Burhanpur, George Hessing having sent four to
reinforce his father at Agra.

Holkar having shown a disposition at this period to
attack and plunder Ujjen, Sindia detached George
Hessing, with three of his battalions and one belonging
to Filoze, to defend that place. Shortly after he had
left, Sindia, not thinking his force strong enough, sent
his fourth battalion, and another of Filoze's, under
Captain Mclntyre, to reinforce him. These were
followed by Sindia's grand park of fifty-two guns, the
advanced guard of which was formed by two of Perron's
battalions under Captain Gautier, and the rear guard by
two more under Captain Brownrigg.

Never, in his brilliant career, did Jeswant Rao Holkar
display to a greater extent the qualities of a general than
on this occasion. Noticing the distance that separated

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 225

these parties the one from the other ; that the state of
the soil, knee-deep with the mud created by the heavy
rainfall, precluded the possibility of quick communication
between them, at the same time that it rendered the
progress of the guns extremely slow, he passed the
leading column (George Hessing's) close to Ujjen, and
dashed down upon Mclntyre's two battalions at Nuri,
thirty-five miles from that place. His force was so
overwhelming that, notwithstanding their obstinate
resistance, he, in the end, forced them to surrender.
Having thus placed an impassable distance between
Hessing's detachment and the troops under Gautier and
Brownrigg, he turned back and fell upon the former.
The battle was long, obstinate, and bloody. The
immensely superior fire of Holkar's artillery alone
decided the day, nor was it until seven* out of his
enemy's eleven European officers had been killed, and
three taken prisoners ; until three-fifths likewise of their
men had been killed and one-fifth wounded, that victory
decided in favour of Holkar.

George Hessing is next heard of at Agra, commanding
at that place when it was threatened by Lord Lake in

* Lewis Ferdinand Smith writes : — " Of the eleven European officers
who were in this severe action eight were British subjects, seven of whom
were killed at their posts, and only one survived, but survived with
wounds. Colonel Hessing;, the commander, escaped." The names of
the eight British subjects were Graham, Urquhart, Montague, Macpher-
son, Lang, Doolun, Haden, and Humpherstone. The seven first-named
were killed, the last-named was severely wounded and taken prisoner.
The names of the foreign officers were Hessing, Dupont, and Derridon.
The first escaped, the two last were taken prisoners.

15

226 FOEEIGN ADVENTUEEBS IN INDIA.

October, 1803. The troops, however, noticing the
faciHty with which their foreign officers had surrendered
to the EngHsh, placed Hessing and the six officers with
him under restraint. This action on their part did not
prevent Lord Lake from taking Agra. All the European
officers, foreign and English, then within its walls
renounced the service of Sindia, and accepted the liberal
conditions offered by Marquess Wellesley. Among these
was George Hessing.

Michel Filoze, a Neapolitan of low birth and of no
education, had at first served under de Boigne. By
means of intrigue, however, he contrived to obtain
authority to raise a battalion under his own sole
command, and at the head of this he accompanied
Madhaji to Puna in 1792.

This battalion became the nucleus of the brigade of
fourteen battalions raised by Michel Filoze and his son
and successor, Fidele, between that year and 1800. At
the head of six of these he rendered good service at the
battle of Kardla, 1795. Michel Filoze was an adventurer
of the lowest type. To other bad qualities he added
the practise of treachery and dishonour. During the
intrigues at Puna which followed the death of Madhaji
Filoze ingratiated himself with Nana Farnawis, the
minister of the Peshwa. When the latter was pressed
by Sindia to visit him, and only hesitated because he
mistrusted the intentions of Daolat Rao, Michel Filoze
assured him in the most solemn manner, and on his
word of honour, that he would guarantee his safe and

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 227

immediate retm-n to his house. Yet, notwithstanding
his oaths, and the pledge of his honour, Filoze himself
arrested the Nana on his return fi-om the interview (31st
December, 1797) and made him over to his master.
This act of his was resented in the most marked manner
by the other adventurers at the court and in the camp
of Daolat Rao. They considered this baseness on the
part of one of their number as a stain upon themselves
as a body. When shortly afterwards, the N^na was
released and restored to power, Michel Filoze, dreading
his vengeance, fled to Bombay.

He was succeeded by his son Fidele. Fidele Filoze
accompanied Daolat Rao in his campaign against Holkar
in 1801 at the head of six battalions. One of these, under
Captain Mclntyre, was cut off by Jeswant Rao Holkar
at Nuri ; a second under George Hessing was destroyed
at Ujjen (June 1801) ; the remaining fom- took part in
the battle of Indur (14th October, 1801). On this
occasion Sindia's army, really commanded by an
Englishman, Major Sutherland, gained a decisive
victory. Strange to say, after that battle, to the gain of
which he and his troops contributed, Fidele Filoze cut
his throat. " The reasons for this suicide," writes Major
L. F. Smith, so often referred to, " are various. Some
*' say that he had carried on a traitorous correspondence
" with Jeswant Rao Holkar previous to the battle of
*' Indur, and that he cut his throat to prevent the
*' disgrace of condign punishment ; others that he
" committed the act in a delirium." Major Smith

15 A

228 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

describes Fidele Filoze as having been "a good, ignorant
" man, a much better character than his faithless and
** treacherous father, who had all the bad qualities of a
" low Italian, and none of the good points which
" Italians possess." The Filoze family ultimately
settled at Gwaliar.

A great deal might be written regarding the careers
of adventurers who were not foreigners but Englishmen^
and some of whom displayed the highest qualities^
Prominent amongst these stand the names of Sutherland,
Smith, Shepherd, Gardner, Skinner, Bellasis, Dodd,
Brownrigg, Vickers and Kyan. The first five of these
accepted the terms offered by Marquess Wellesley in
1803, and with upwards of thirty other officers renounced
the service of native chiefs ; the last five were murdered
or killed in action.

Of other Frenchmen who did good service to Sindia
and Holkar, may be mentioned Captain Plumet, of
whom Major Smith records that he was a " Frenchman
" and a gentleman, two qualities which were seldom
" united in the Maratha army. He was a man of
" respectable character and sound principles." Plumet
commanded four battalions for Holkar in the attack on
George Hessing at Ujjen (June 1801), and he shared in
the defeat inflicted upon Holkar by Major Brownrigg at
Barkesar in the July following. Finding Jeswant Kao
Holkar a master difficult to serve, cunning, capricious,
and ungrateful, Plumet left him, and returned to the
Isle of France.

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 229

With these names I have exhausted the list of the
principal foreign adventurers who built up the armies
of Holkar and Sindia between 1787 and 1803. It is
true that many more names remain on the list, but not
one that calls for sympathy or interest. This is my own
conviction formed upon a minute examination of every
paper of that period upon which I have been able to lay
my hand. How far that conviction is borne out by
contemporary opinion may be gathered from the
following sentence culled from Major Smith's work
already quoted. "Perron's army," wrote that gentleman
in 1805, " was a minute miniature of the French
** revolution. Wretches were raised from cooks, bakers,
*' and barbers, to majors and colonels, absurdly en-
*' trusted with the command of brigades, and shoved
** into paths to acquire lakhs. This was the quintessence
" of egalite, and the acme of the French revolution."
Even if Major Smith's description be exaggerated, this
at least is certain, that of all the men to whom I have
referred, but one only, de Boigne, was worthy of
representing France. He was worthy ; and there was
another, Raymond, whose deeds have yet to be recorded,
who at least rivals him in the esteem which living, he
earned ; which, dead, is still not denied him.

230 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

IV.

Before proceeding to Raymond it seems fit that I
should briefly notice the career of two adventurers, very
famous in their day, who flourished at a period
immediately antecedent to that of de Boigne. I allude
to Madoc and Sombre.

The real name of Sombre, as he was styled on account
of his dark complexion, was Walter Reinbard. By birth
he was a German, by trade a butcher. He originally
came out to India in the Swiss company of infantry
under the command of Captain Zeigler, attached to the
Bombay European regiment. With that company he
most probably came round to the coast, where he
deserted and made his way round to Bengal, apparently
in the French service.*

After the capture of Chandarnagar in 1757 Sombre
wandered from the court of one petty chieftain to that
of another in quest of service. After several unim-
portant adventures he was in 1762 appointed to the
command of a brigade of troops in the service of Mir
Kasim, Nawab Nazim of Bengal.

Shortly after that event the greed and avidity of the

* Broome's Ilistoi-y of the lUnijal Army.

FOREIGN ADVENTtJKERS IN INDIA. 231

English rulers of Bengal* forced Mir Kasim to war.
The contest was on the one side for dominion, on the
other for independence. On the 1st July, 1763, Mr.
Ellis and the English garrison of Patna, who had taken
and then abandoned that city, surrendered to Mir
Kasim's generals, Markar and Sombre, and were sent
back thither as prisoners. On the 17th July following,
Mu- Kasim's main army was repulsed on the banks of
the river Adji by a strong artillery force under Lieutenant
Glenn ; and two days later it was defeated by Major
Adams in the most obstinately contested battle of
Katwa.

The brigade of Sombre was not engaged on these
occasions, but it joined the main army in time to take
party in the bloody battle of Gheria (2nd August).
In this battle Sombre occupied a very prominent position,
and had he displayed the smallest pluck, the British
power might have been temporarily extinguished on
that well-contested field. The left wing of the English
had been broken ; their centre had been attacked in the
rear. The brigades of Sombre and Markar f had only
to advance and the day was gained. But it was against
Sombre's principle to advance. His plan of action was
invariably to draw his men in a line, fire a few shots,
form a square, and retreat. He followed out this plan
to the letter at Gheria. He allowed the victory to slip
from his grasp, but he covered the retreat of the army.

* Broome's History of the Bengal Army.
t Markar was an Armenian in Mir Kdslm's service.

232 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

The victory of Gheria was followed up by another
(5th September) on the U'dwa nullah ; and on the 1st
October by the capture of Manghir. In the first defeat
Sombre and his brigade were sharers.

The fall of Manghir irritated Mir Kasim to such a
degree that he determined to take the terrible revenge
of slaughtering the English prisoners held by him at
Patna. The story is thus told in his admirable history
by the late Colonel Broome.* " Mir Kasim now issued
the fatal order for the massacre of his unfortunate
prisoners, but so strong was the feeling on the subject,
that none amongst his officers could be found to
undertake the office, until Sombre offered his services
to execute it.

" The majority of the prisoners were confined in a
house belonging to one Hadji Ahmad, on the site of
the present English cemetery in that city. Hither
Sombre repaired on the 5th October, with two
companies of his sipahis, having on the previous day,
under pretence of giving the party an entertainment
procured all their knives and forks, so that they were
deprived of every means of resistance. Having
surrounded the house, he sent for Messrs. Ellis, Hay,
and Lushington, who went out with six other
gentlemen, and were immediately cut to pieces in the
most barbarous manner and their remains thrown
into a well. The sipahis now mounted the roof of

• Broome's History of the Bengal Army, a standard work based
entirely on authentic records.

FOBEIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 233

** the house, which was built in the form of a square,
*' and fired down upon the remainder of the party, who
" were congregated in the centre court. Those who
" escaped this volley sought shelter in the building, but
*' were quickly followed by Sombre's sipahis, and a
" fearful scene of slaughter ensued. The English,
** driven to desperation, defended themselves with
*' bottles, bricks, and articles of furniture ; and their
*' very executioners struck with their gallantry,
** requested that arms might be furnished to them,
" when they would set upon them and fight them till
" destroyed, but that this butchery of unarmed men
" was not the work for sipahis but the hidlalkhores
** (executioners). Sombre, enraged, struck down those
** that objected, and compelled his men to proceed in
** their diabolical work until the whole were slain.
*' The following morning their remains were thrown
** into a well in the courtyard. The men employed in
** this office found one person, Mr. Gulston of the civil
" service, yet alive, and they seemed inclined to save
** him ; but this gentleman, who was an admirable
** linguist, smarting with his wounds, and ignorant of
** their kindly intentions towards him, gave them abuse
" and threatened them with the vengeance of his
** countrymen, upon which they threw him still
" breathing into the well with his more fortunate
" comrades. A few of the party, probably the sick
** and wounded, were in the Chehel Sitiin, and were
*' butchered in a similar manner on the 11th. Neither

234 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

" age nor sex was spared, and Sombre consummated
" his diabolical villainy by the murder of Mr. Ellis's
" infant child, from which it may be inferred that Mrs.
** Ellis was amongst the female sufferers in this dreadful
" catastrophe." Upwards of fifty civil and military
officers and a hundred European soldiers, perished on
this occasion. One of&cer, Dr. Fullarton, whose medical
abilities had gained even the regard of Mir Kasim, had
been allowed to reside on the Dutch factory, and escaped
some days later. Four Serjeants also who had been
sent for from Purnia by Mir Kasim overpowered the crew
of the boat in which they were being conveyed, and
escaped.

From this date the fate of Sombre was allied to that
of the deadliest enemies of the English. Thenceforward
his life was a purgatory. He could expect but one fate
should he fall into the hands of the countrymen of his
murdered victims. He therefore always carried about
with him poison to avoid a catastrophe which he never
ceased to dread. Sombre took part in the battle of
Patna (May 2nd, 1764), fought by Mir Kasim ; and in
that of Baksar, fought by the Vizier of Oudh against the
EngHsh (23rd October, 1764). In both these he dis-
played his usual shiftiness, retreating on the very
suspicion of danger. After the ruin of Mir Kasim (1764)
he had transferred himself and his brigade to the Vizier
of Oudh, but he left him for the Jats in August, 1765.

Whilst serving with the Jats Sombre purchased at
Dehli a dancing girl, named Zcb-iil-Nissa, afterwards

FOREIGN ADVENTUREES IN INDIA. 285

SO notorious as the Bigam Sombre. She has been
described as small ami plump, with a fair complexion,
and large animated eyes. She possessed great talents,
the power of influencing others, and was utterly
unscrupulous.

After his marriage with Zeb-ul-Nissa Sombre acted
on the principle of offering his brigade to the highest
bidder. Somehow he always commanded a good price.
In 1776 he accepted service under Mirza Najaf Khan,
the commander-in-chief of the Moghol army, after
having shared in the defeat inflicted by that leader upon
his patrons, the Jats, at Barsana the previous year.
The following year the Court of Dehli conferred upon
him the principality known as Sirdhana, yielding an
annual rental of six lakhs of rupees. This territory v^as
nominally granted to Sombre for the payment of the
troops under his command, but upon his death, 4th
May, 1778, it passed to Zeb-ul-Nissa, thenceforth known
in history as the Bigam Sombre or Samru.

After Sombre's death the brigade was commanded
under the Bigam first by one Pauly, a German who was
taken prisoner by Mahomed Beg Hamdani, and executed,
in breach of a solemn promise, in 1783. After the murder
of Pauly, " three Frenchmen," writes Major L. F. Smith,
" Messieurs Baours, Evens, and Dudrenec, successively
" commanded and gladly retired." In 1793, the Bigam
married her then chief officer, M. Le Vaisseau, " a man
** of birth, talents and pride of character,"* who shot
• Major L. F. Smith.

236 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDU.

himself two years later. An old and respectable French-
man, Colonel Saleur, then obtained the command.
Under him the brigade increased to six battalions and
fought at Assaye, losing thore its four guns and many
men. The Bigam herself lived till 1836. •

Madoc had been a common soldier in the French
army. The capture of Chandarnagar in 1767 threw
him loose on the country. After some adventures
totally unworthy of being recorded, he joined Sombre's
brigade, and served under his orders at the several
battles in which he was engaged under Mir Kasim.
With him he transferred his services in 1764 to the
Vizier of Oudh, and obtained at once the command of a
separate brigade. At the battle of Baksar he rendered
good service. His character was the very opposite of
that of Sombre. He was rash, enterprising, and even
imprudent. In 1765 he transferred his brigade, which
consisted of five battalions, twenty guns, and 500 horse,
to the Jats. Subsequentlj^ and as it suited his purpose,
he took service alternately with them, with Mirza Najaf
Khan, and with the Rana of Gohad. In 1776, whilst
in alliance with the first-named, he was attacked and
his party almost destroyed at Biana by 1500 Rohillas,
who surprised him during a storm of rain. On this
occasion he lost twelve European officers killed and
wounded, all his guns and baggage, and fled, but scantily
attended, to Futtehpur. Thence, however, he made his
way to Agra, and succeeded in raising, in an incredibly
short space of time, a force as strong in numbers, and

FOREIGN ADVENTUREBS IN INDIA. 237

as well appointed in men and material as the party he
had lost. Receiving shortly afterwards (1782) an offer
of a large sum from the Rana of Gohad for the brigade
as it stood, he sold it to him and returned to France.
He did not long survive, being killed in a duel. The
subsequent Hfe of his brigade was even shorter, Madhaji
Sindia, who was then warring with the Rana, cutting it
off to a man in an ambuscade (1784).

238 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

V.

It is now time to turn to Raymond.

Michel Joachim Marie Raymond was born at Serignac,
the 20th September, 1755. His father was a merchant,
and the son followed the same profession. Pushed on
by his enterprising nature, however, young Raymond
determined to found a corresponding house in India,
and with that object he set out in January, 1775, from
Lorient for Pondicheiy, taking with him a large quantity
of manufactured goods. He disposed of these to great
advantage at Pondichery; then, still drawn on by his
ardent nature and his love of adventure, he entered as
sub-lieutenant in a corps commanded by the Chevalier
de Lasse in the service of Tippu Sahib. With this corps
he fought throughout the campaigns of the war which
began in 1780 against the English for the possession of
Southern India.

When, in March, 1783, the Marquis de Bussy landed
in India at the head of 2300 men, one of his first acts
was to offer to Raymond, as one who knew the country,
the people, and the language, the post of aide-de-camp.
Raymond accepted it, and took a share in all the actions

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 239

under Bussy related in the first book in this volume.
Subsequently to the treaty of Versailles, and till the
death of Bussy at Pondichery in January, 1785,
Raymond occupied the same post with the rank of
captain. But on Bussy's death, he, with the consent
of the governor, took service with Nizam Ali Khan, the
Subadar of the Dekhan.

The Siibadars of the Dekhan had always been partial
to the French. It had been under the brother of the
Nizam Ali that Bussy with his corps of Frenchmen had
gained so great a renown. In July, 1758, Bussy had
been compelled, by the policy of Lally, to leave
Haidarabad. He then made over charge to M. de
Conflans. The following year, however, Conflans sur-
rendered to the English, and the ruler of the Dekhan
had been forced not only to renounce the French
alliance, but to agree never to permit a French con-
tingent to be quartered within his territories.

This treaty was regarded as binding by Nizam Ali
Khan when, in 1761, he imprisoned and succeeded his
brother. But there was another brother, Basalat Jang,
who held in jaghir from Nizam Ali the district of
Gantur. Basalat considering himself as bound by no
treaty, and anxious to have in his service a body of
foreigners upon whom he could depend, took into his
pay a body of French troops. These were commanded
by the younger Lally,* a nephew of the more famous
general. Nizam Ali, moved by the English, required
* Transactions in India. London, 1786.

240 FOKEIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

his brother to disband this contingent. For five years
he refused, and only at last complied when, quarrelling
with Haidar Ali, he found it necessary to conciliate the
English. Nizam Ali at once took the corps into his
own service.

The fate of the younger Lally I have never been able
to ascertain, but it is certain that he and the men he
commanded were lent in 1779 by the Nizam to Haidar
Ali to aid in the prosecution of his war against the
English ; that they served throughout that war, and on
the conclusion of peace returned to Haidarabad.* It
seems probable that- Lally died or resigned in 1785 ;
certain it is that in that year Kaymond succeeded him.

Up to the time of Raymond's arrival at Haidarabad
the foreign adventurers who had served his predecessor
had constituted one single corps of European cavalry.
Simultaneously almost with de Boigne Raymond con-
ceived the idea of improving this system by raising and
drilling in the European fashion a considerable body of
native troops, who should be commanded, and in part
ofi&cered, by the adventurers who had survived the then
recent campaign.

To this task Raymond bent all his energies. The
work was gradual in its accomplishment. It may be
asked, perhaps, how the Nizam was able to evade his
obligation to the British Government? But this was
not difficult. His predecessor had been forbidden to
entertain a corps of Frenchmen. This, the Nizam
* TransactioTiB in India. London, 1786.

FOKEIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 241

agi-eed, was not intended to apply, and could, not apply,
to native battalions officered by foreigners. Notwith-
standing, then, the displeasure frequently expressed by
the Madras Government, Raymond, under the Nizam's
orders, continued to augment the disciphned native
troops.

His plan of procedure was different to de Boigne's,
and had some advantages over it. These, however, were
owing to the larger European material available in his
hands. Thus he was able to fix the complement of the
European officers to each regiment at eight, of the men
at 750.

By the beginning of the year 1795 Raymond had
under his command 15,000 disciphned troops, formed
into twenty battaHons, and officered, including the
staff, by 124 Europeans. It was the most formidable
body of native troops in the service of a native prince in
India. For their support the Nizam assigned to Raymond
several districts.

Nevertheless, the first essay of these troops on the
the field of battle was destined to be unfortunate. In
the beginning of 1795 the Nizam, incited by the anarchy
prevailing at the Court of Puna, declared war against the
Peshwa, and marched to overthrow the Maratha Empire.
The Peshwa summoned his vassals and raised an army
to meet him. The two armies met between Kardla and
Parinda, the 12th March, 1795. Raymond had all his
men in the field ; whilst the Marathas were aided by
twenty-six battalions composed of the men of the

16

242 FOKEIGN ADVENTUREES IN INDIA.

brigades of Perron, Filoze, Hessing, Dudrenec, and
Boyd. In the sketch of Perron's career I have given
an account of the action. It will be seen that not only
did Raymond obtain at first an advantage over the
Marathas, but that when the tide turned he covered the
retreat, prepared at any moment to convert it into a
victory. But for the pusillanimity of the Nizam he
might have done so. But with such a leader even
a Raymond could not force victory.

During this war with the Marathas, the Governor
General, Lord Teignmouth, had lent the Nizam two
battalions of British sepoys to maintain the internal
peace of his dominions, while he should concentrate all
his forces against the enemy. In doing this Lord
Teignmouth had displayed a consideration for the Nizam
which might easily have been construed as exceeding'
the bounds of permissible courtesy, the British being
still in alliance with the Peshwa. But even this did
not satisfy the Nizam. He wanted active aid ; and
because he had been refused, he, on the termination of the
war, resolved to dispense altogether with British support,
and to sui^ply its place by additions to the corps of
Raymond. In pursuance of this resolution he, in June,
1795, dismissed the two British battalions. Coiucidently
with this dismissal he ordered a large increase to
Raymond's troops and assigned fresh districts for their
maintenance.

But the British troops had scarcely quitted Haidarabad
when an event occurred, the effects of which rendered

FOEEIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 243

the timorous Nizam more dependent than ever on the
allies he was insulting. His eldest son, Ali Jah,
following the family traditions, broke out into rebellion.
Quitting the capital under a false pretext the young
prince made his way to Bidr, obtained possession of
that fortress and of others of less importance, summoned
disafiected chiefs and disbanded sepoys to his standard,
and was soon able to present a very formidable front to
his outraged father.

The first act of Nizam Ali on learning of this revolt
was to recall the two British battalions ; his second to
despatch Raymond against the rebels. RajTnond
experienced no difficulty. The slightest skirmish
sufficed to dissipate the followers of Ali Jah. The
prince fled to Aurangabad, but was pursued and
captured. Raymond made over his prisoner to the
minister sent by his father to take charge of him. The
minister when setting out on his return journey to
Haidarabad, directed that the hoicdah in which the
prince was seated should be covered with a veil. But
Ali Jah, ashamed of this indignity and afraid to meet
his father, took poison and died.

Notwithstanding the suppression of the rebellion, the
Nizam still retained the two British regiments at
Haidarabad, and he himself fell gradually into a state
of dependence on the British Government. This was
further evidenced by the difficulties thrown in the way
of carrying out the order for the increase of Raymond's
corps. The prudent conduct of Raymond at this crisis

16 A

244 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

was not, liOTvever, without influence on the mind of his
capricious master, and it seems not improbable that, had
he lived, all opposition to his schemes would have
vanished. He died, however, very suddenly on the
25th March, 1798, just six months prior to the arrival
of the crisis which would have tried to the utmost his
ability and his influence.

Raymond was a gi-eat loss to the enemies of England.
No adventurer in India ever stood higher than he did.
He was brave, magnificent, generous, afl'able, and
vigilant. To great abilities he united the most con-
summate prudence. The one dream of his life was to
carry out, by the means still open to him, the schemes
of Dupleix, of Lally, and of Suff'ren. He deserves to
be ranked with those illustrious warriors in the
hierarchy of patriotic Frenchmen. With far fewer
means he laid the foundation of a system which
excited the greatest apprehension in the minds of the
enemies of his country. His death at the early age of
forty-four, just as the crisis to which he might have
been equal was approaching, was the last drop in the
cup of ill -fortune which attended French enterprises in
India. It is indeed just possible that his reiratation
has not sufi"ered from his early demise. Even Raymond
might have proved unequal to cope with the great
Marquess Wellesley, wielding all the power of British
India. But there is this yet to be said of him. No
Europenn of mark who preceded him, no European of
mark who followed him, in India, ever succeeded in

FOKEIGN ADVENTURERS IX INDIA. 245

gaining to such an extent, the love, the esteem, the
admiration of the natives of the country. The grandsons
of the men who loved him then love and revere him now.
The hero of the grandfathers is the model warrior of the
grandchildi-en. Round his tomb in the present day
there flock still young men and maidens listening to the
tales told by the wild dervishes of the great deeds and
lofty aspirations of the paladin to whom their sires
devoted their fortunes and their lives.

Raymond was succeeded in the command of the
French division by M. Piron, a Fleming. Piron was
honest, but sadly deficient in prudence. He could not
conceal the hatred which he felt towards the English.
It happened that Marquess Wellesley had just landed as
Governor-General strongly impressed with the designs
of General Bonaparte on ludia, and almost his first act
was to require the Nizam to dismiss his French con-
tingent. It is possible that the prudent RajTnond might
have conjured away or have met the storm. Piron did
not possess sufficient character to do either. The Nizam
was very unwilling to comply. But he yielded to the
pressure put upon him by the great Marquess, and on
the 1st September, 1798, he signed a treaty by which
he agreed to take no Frenchman in his service, to
disband the whole of the infantry lately commanded by
Raymond, and to receive in their stead a contingent of
British sepoys.

No sooner had the treaty been concluded than four
battalions of British sepoys with their guns marched to

246 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

Haidarabad, and joined the two battalions formerW
stationed there. Some hesitation was even then dis-
played by the Nizam to break up Piron's corps ; but the
threatening attitude assumed by the British forced him
to issue a proclamation to his disciplined sepoys inform-
ing them that their French officers were dismissed. The
scene that followed was remarkable. These sepoys had
adored Eaymond ; they had looked to their European
officers with affection and pride ; they would have
followed them to the end of the earth ; they knew that
their dismissal was due, not to the wish of the Nizam, but
to British influence. On hearing, then, the proclamation
of the Nizam, they first murmured, then broke out into
rebellion. But their Em-opean officers had been secured ;
their cantonments had been surrounded ; from every
point they saw their position commanded by cannon.
Resistance being then hopeless, they surrendered, asking
each other with a sigh : " Would this have been, had
" Raymond only lived?" The French officers were
sent to France.

I have now brought to a close this sketch of tlio
careers of the principal foreign adventurers who
flourished in India between the signature of the treaty
of Versailles and the fatal blow dealt to the Maratha
Empire by Marquess Wellesley in 1803-4. From that
moment the British Empire in India was secure.
Thenceforth neither native prince nor foreign adventurer
could stay its onward progi-ess. Any war which might
break out, from the Satlaj down to the sea, could cause

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 247

no serious disquiet to the Governor- General of British
India. Even the acute sovereign of the warlike clan
which had established a powerful monarch}^ beyond the
Satlaj — even Kanjit Singh foresaw the doom which
awaited even the kingdom he had created. " It will all,"
he said, as he noted on the map the red border which
encircled the various provinces already under British
sway, "it will all become red." His words were a
prophecy. The impetus given to the vast machine
could not be stopped until the final goal had been
attained. The various, so to speak, indigenous races
which had tried to found an empire in India had failed.
The Hindus, brave as they were, became to a great
extent demoralised by an over-refinement of civilisation ;
an over-refinement which, amongst other strange forms,
made of food a religion. This one law, this article of
faith, which prevents combination, restricts men to a
certain diet, to be partaken of only under certain fixed
conditions, is sufficient in the present day to prevent the
race which practises it from holding the chief sway over
such a country as Hindostan. The northern warriors
who ruled on their ruin had defects of an opposite
character not less fatal to permanent predominance.
With some brilliant exceptions they were intolerant, and
the security — the very existence even — of their rule
always depended on the character of the ruler. The
Marathas, who succeeded them, were in every sense of
the word adventurers — fortune hunters who rose from
nothing, men of neither birth, position, nor descent —

248 FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA.

the marauders which a country in the last throes of
its agony sends out Irom its lurking places to plunder
and destroy. Such was Sivaji ; such were the earlier
representatives of the Gaikwar, of Sindia, of Holkar,
and of the Bhonsla. Yet these men founded an empire.
The Marathas succeeded the Moghols. When Lord
Lake entered Dehli, in 1803, the men he had beaten
beneath its walls were the soldiers of the greatest of
the Maratha chieftains. Virtually he restored the
Moghol.

Could the Maratha Empire have lasted if there had
been no foreign power on the spot to supplant it ? To
those who would pause for a reply I would point to
the condition of the Court of Puna after the death of
the Peshwa, Madhu Rao Naniin, in 1795. It was the
Court of Dehli after the demise of a sovereign in its
worst days. It was the Court of Dehli as it always was
after the death of Aurangzib. The Maratha system of
rule was cursed with the same inherent vice which was
the bane of the Moghol sway. The succession was
never secure to any one member of the family. The
people were never safe against the exactions of their
rulers. The rulers were never safe against treachery
and insurrection. The inevitable consequences were
intrigue, rapine, slaughter, constant wars, incessant
oppression of the people. Had there been no foreigners
on the spot to supplant the Maratha rule, it is probable
that the various members of its clan would have fought
to a standstill, only in the end to make way for some

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 249

new invader from the north — possihly, for the moment,
for Ranjit Singh — to relapse, ou his death, into renewed
nnarchy.

It would seem, then, to have been necessary for the
safety of India that the successor to the Maratha should
be a foreigner. Who was that foreigner to be ? It was
inevitable that he should come from Europe, for the
children of northern Asia had been tried and found
wanting. Portugal made the first venture, ignorant of
the possible stake she might be called to play for.
Holland, with a keener, though still very dim appre-
ciation of the future, followed and, in part, supplanted
Portugal. Then came England with a vision more
clouded than that of Holland, caring nothing for
dominion, looking only for gain. Last of all stepped
in France. To the brilliant intellect of her gifted sons
the nature of the mission which lay before one Em'opean
power was not for long a sealed book. The greatest of
the children whom she sent to India, recognising the
jiriceless value of the stake, risked his all tu win it.
Had the Bourbon who ruled France properly supported
him he would have won it. As it was the intensity of
the passion he displayed in playing the great game
communicated some vague idea of its importance to his
English rivals. The genius of Clive clutched it : the
statesmanlike brain of Warren Hastings nurtured it ;
the commanding intellect of Marquess Wellesley
established it as an ineradicable fact. Yet, throughout
this period, France, which had been the first to conceive

250 FOREIGN ADVENTUREES IN INDIA.

the idea uever resigned it. She had much to contend
against. The narrow visions of her monarch and her
statesmen could not grasp the vital importance of the
mighty stake. It was these men who prevented India
from becoming French. I have but to point to a few
instances of their incapacity. The restoration of
Madras by the peace of Aix la Chapelle ; the recall of
Dupleix, when if they had sent him but one regiment
more, he would have gained southern India ; the
diminution of the forces ordered to be sent with Lally ;
the appointment as his colleague of such a man as
d'Ache ; the acknowledgment by the treaty of Versailles
of the status quo ante helium, when the English were
reduced to their last grasp in southern India ; all these
were fatal errors due to that want of comprehensive
grasp which marked the statesmen of the later Bourbons.
Frenchmen on the spot, indeed, atoned nobly for the
errors of their rulers. They fought for the idea, as
long as it could be fought for ; and when tljey beheld
it slipping from their grasp they yet struggled with skill,
with courage, and with pertinacity to prevent its
appropriation by their rivals. In my history of the
French in India, not less than in this volume,
I have endeavoured to draw a vivid and a true
picture of their aims and of their struggles. Those
aims were worthy of being recorded, for they were
lofty ; those struggles deserved a historian, for they were
gallant. The record reveals to us, moreover, this great
people displaying qualities for which the world has not

FOREIGN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA. 251

given them credit. We all knew that the French were
clever, brave, and venturesome. Not every one, however,
is prepared to find in a Frenchman the long pertinacity
displayed by Dupleix ; the quality of not knowing when
he was beaten evinced by Suffren ; the daring hardihood
of her privateersmen ; or lastly, the patience, the
energy, the perseverance shown under trying circum-
stances by some of the adventurers whose deeds have
been recorded in this book. England, who, grasping
gradually the idea of France, now occupies the position
to which a Frenchman first aspired, only does honour to
herself when she recognises the splendid qualities
displayed by her most formidable rival ; allows that on
the sea as well as on land she met a worthy antagonist ;
and admits, that if for the favourable result of the
contest she owes much to the genius and the compre-
hensive views of the great statesmen who guided the
councils of her country during a large portion of the
eighteenth century, she is indebted even to a greater
extent to the errors committed by the statesmen of the
enemy she was combating.

APPENDIX.

THE BRITISH EXPEDITION FROM
INDIA TO EGYPT IN 1801.

On the 5th February, 1801, Major-General David Baird,
at the time commanding the Dinapore division, received
orders to repair at once to Trincomali, there to assume
the command of a force assembled with the object of
capturing the island of Java, and, on the completion of
that task, of attempting the reduction of the isles of
France and Bourbon.

The force to be employed on this service consisted
of the 10th, 19th, and 80th regiments of the line, of
detachments from the 86th and 88th, of a Corps of
Bengal Native Volunteers, and of two companies of
European and Native Artillery with lascars attached.

The most minute instructions regarding the move-
ments of the force had been detailed by Marquess
Wellesley. After Java should have been captured

254 EXPEDITION FROM INDIA

General Baird, was to remain there as Lieutenant-
Governor, whilst his second in command, Colonel the
Honourable Arthur Wellesley, should proceed towards
the islands.

The same day, the 5th February, General Baird
embarked on board the Honourable Company's ship
Phoenix, but before that vessel had left the Saugor roads.
Marquess Wellesley received a despatch from the
President of the Board of Control, the effect of which
was to entirely alter the destination of the expedition.

In that despatch Mr. Dundas informed the Governor-
General, that Sir Ralph Abercromby had received orders
to proceed up the Mediterranean and, by an attack on
Alexandria and the coast, to co-operate with the Turkish
aimy assembling in Syria, in whatever plan might be
concerted with them for expelling the French army from
Egypt ; and that it had been thought expedient " that a
*' force should be sent also fi-om India to act in such a
" manner as might appear conducive to that essential
" object," from the side of the Red Sea.

Mr. Dundas added that, with that object in view
Sir Home Popham, with a proper squadron, would be
immediately sent into that sea, taking with him a
regiment from the Cape of Grood Hope ; that his first
rendezvous would be the Port of Mocha ; and he directed
that a force of about 1000 Europeans and 2000 Native
Infantry should be sent at once from India to the
proposed place of rendezvous, with as little delay as
possible, to co-operate with Sir Home Popham.

Copies of this despatch were sent to the presidencies
of Madras and Bombay, the Governors of which were
instructed to make the necessary preparations without

TO EGYPT, 1801. 255

delay, and even to carry the orders into execution
without waiting for the Governor- General's directions,
if they were ready in other respects.

The despatch concluded by expressing a belief that
unless anything unforeseen should occur the armament
under Sir Ralph Abercromby would reach the coast of
Egypt in December, and that of Sir H. Popham would
an'ive at its destination in the February following. The
Governor-General was therefore earnestly recommended
to despatch the Indian Contingent as quickly as possible ;
not even to wait till the troops should all be collected if
it would save time to forward them in two or three
distinct detachments.

Lord Wellesley received this despatch, — dated the 6th
October, 1800, and forwarded overland — on the 'ith
February. The same day he intimated to General
Baird that a despatch from England would probably
render it necessary for him to make some essential
variations in the object of the armament he had
equipped ; that meanwhile General Baird had better
remain on board the Pluxnix, urging the captain, however,
to make every necessary pi-oparation for sailing, as he
hoped to send the further instructions within forty-eight
hours.

But it was not till the 10th that the Military Secretary
to the Governor-General intimated to General Baird, in
a short note, that the despatch from England had
rendered it necessary that he should " assist Sir Ealph
** Abercrombyin driving the French from Egypt instead
** of seizing on Batavia." The same evening Marquess
Wellesley forwarded his instructions, accompanied by
a very friendly letter, to General Bau'd.

25<i EXPEDITION FROM INDIA

These instructions and letters were received by General
Baird on the afternoon of the 13th The Phoenix sailed
the same day for Trincomali ; but before she reached
her destination events had occurred to which it is now
necessary to refer.

Colonel Wellesley, appointed second in command of
the expedition against Java and the islands, was already
at Trincomali when a copy of Mr. Dundas's despatch of
the 6th October reached the Madras Government. This
copy was at once forwarded to Colonel Wellesley who
determined, in consequence, to proceed at once with the
troops under his command (excepting the 19th regiment
for which he could not procure tonnage) to Bombay,
and thence to the place of rendezvous pointed out in the
despatches from Mr. Dundas. He accordingly embarked
with the troops from Ceylon on the 14th February.

Colonel Wellesley reached Bombay about the middle
of March. He at once communicated with the Governor,
and sent off to Mocha a detachment of Bombay troops
under the command of Colonel Eamsay of the 80th
Regiment. He then set to w^ork to prepare transports
for a second detachment, and the progress in this
respect had been considerable when General Baird, who,
on missing him at Trincomali, had pushed on in the
Wasp gun-vessel, joined him on the 31st March.

So indefatigable, indeed, had been the exertions of
Colonel Wellesley that on the 3rd April the second
detachment of the force, under the command of Colonel
Beresford of the 88th Regiment, was able to sail in six
transports from Bombay. On that very day Colonel
Wellesley was attacked by intermittent fever, and on
the 5th the medical officers declared that it would be

TO EGYPT, 1801. 257

utterly impossible for him to sail then with the
expedition, though he might possibly be able to follow
in time to catch up the second division.

This second division consisted of the troops which
General Baird had found at Trincomali and which had
started from that port for Mocha.

General Baird himself left Bombay on the 6th April
and reached Mocha on the 24th. On his arrival there
he found that Colonel Murray, who had been despatched
to that place several months before, had sailed for Jedda
on the 17th, having on the 12th sent on Colonel
Ramsay's detachment. He found likewise that Colonel
Beresford's detachment had arrived on the 21st and
sailed again on the 24th.

General Baird, fearing lest these two detachments
uniting at Jedda might make a premature attempt
upon Kosseir, which place, in default of Suez,
unapproachable at that season by saihng ships, he
had designed as his base of operations, sent o£f
directions to Colonels Murray and Beresford to remain
at Jedda until he should join them with another de-
tachment under Lieutenant- Colonel Montresor of the
80th Regiment. That detachment reached Mocha on
the 28th April. Leaving at that place despatches
detailing the arrangement he had decided upon for
Colonel Champagne, commanding the detachment still
due, for Colonel Wellesley, and for Sir Home Popham
(expected from England), General Baird set out for
Jedda with Colonel Montresor's division on the
30th.

He reached Jedda on the 18th May. There he found
that his despatches had arrived too late to be communi-

17

258

EXPEDITION FROM INDIA

cated to Colonel Murray ; that that officer, taking with
him the Bombay detachment under Colonel Ramsay and
the division under Colonel Beresford, had sailed up the
Gulf towards Suez. Baird's first impulse was to follow
them ; but he was restrained by the necessity which
existed to take in a supply of fresh water — the tanks
having run very low. He availed himself of the delay
thus caused to endeavour to secure by every means in
his power the friendship and co-operation of the chief
authorities at Mecca.

On the evening of his arrival, Baird received intelli-
gence of the victory gained on the 21st March by Sir
Ralph Abercromby over the French troops under
General Menou. .

On the 24th General Baird was on the point of
sailing from Jedda when Sir Home Popham arrived
in H.M.S. Romney, 50 guns, with the sloop Victor
in company, closely followed by the division he was
escorting from the Cape. This consisted of H.M.'s 61st
Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Car-
ruthers ; several troops of the 8th Light Dragoons,
Captain Hawkers ; and a detachment. Royal Artillery,
Captain Beaver. Sir Home Popham brought, however,
no intelligence regarding Colonels Wellesley and
Champagne. Nothing had been heard at Mocha
either of them or of the provision ships that were to
precede or accompany them when Sir Home Popham
touched at that place.

On the 26th May Baird sailed from Jedda with Sir
Home Popham in the Romney, and reached Kosseir on
the 6th June. He found there Colonel Murray, and
the troops that had accompanied them.

TO EGYPT, 1801.

259

The force then under his orders was composed as
follows : —

Eoyal

Bengal Horse
Bengal Foot

Artillery
Do.
Do.
Madras Do. Do.
Bombay Do. Do.
Royal Engineers.
Bengal Do.

Madras Do.
Bombay Do.
Madras Pioneers.
H.M.'s 8th Light Dragoons

10th Foot

61st Foot

80th Foot

86th Foot

88th Foot
Bengal Volunteer N. I.
1st Bombay Regt. N. I.
7th Do. Do.

Captain Beaver.
Captain Browne.
Captain Fleming.
Major Bell.
Captain Powell.

Captain Hawkers.
Lt.-Col. Quarril.
Lt.-Col. Carrutheri
Colonel Ramsay.
Lt.-Col. Lloyd.
Colonel Beresford.
Captain Michie.
Major Holmes.
Major Laureston.

The respective quota furnished by the different
establishments to which these corps belonged is thus
to be divided : —

East India Company's Artillery

Do. Do. Native Troops

H.M's. Troops

Men.

448

1940

2438

Total

4826
17 A

260

EXPEDITION FROM INDIA

To these must be added —

European officers

218

Native ditto

53

Drummers

125

Lascars

440

Servants not soldiers

276

Public followers

572

Private ditto

305

Grand Total

... 6815

This force was commanded in chief by Major-General
David Baird, 54th Foot, who had as his Adjutant-
General, Colonel Achmuty, 10th Foot, and as Quarter-
Master-General, Colonel Murray, 84th Foot. It was
divided into two brigades the Eight and the Left, the
former commanded by Colonel Beresford, the latter by
Lieutenant-Colonel Montresor.

General Baird's first act, after arriving at Kosseir,
was to place himself in the communication with General
Hely Hutchinson, commanding the British Army of
Egypt after the death of Sir Ralph Abercromby. But
his letter had been sent oif only five days, when he
received a despatch from General Hutchinson himself
dated the 13th May, from Rahamenie on the Nile.

In this letter General Hutchinson stated that it was
his intention to push on towards Cairo so as to prevent
the French from attacking the Indian force before it
should have effected its junction with the Grand Vizier ;
that he had written to that high officer to give General
Baird all the assistance he might require for the passage
of the desert.

TO EGYPT, 1801. 261

After alluding generally to the difficulties to be
encountered from the climate and the people General
Hutchinson added that he intended to continue in his
position near Cairo until he should hear that the Indian
force was in a state of security ; that he would then
descend the Nile and besiege Alexandria ; that he rather
opined that General Baird should join the army of the
Grand Vizier and besiege Cairo with him, for which
purpose he would endeavour to j)rocure for him some
heavy artillery as none could be brought across the
desert.

To this letter General Baird replied that the Admiral
on the station (Admiral Blankett) had pronounced the
journey by sea to Suez at that season of the year to be
impossible ; and that he was about to send off his
Quarter-Master -General, Colonel Murray, to Keneh,
where he would either remain, or proceed down the Nile
to open a communication with General Hutchinson.

General Baird, in anticipation of a forward movement
had already established military posts for nearly half the
distance between Kosseir and Keneh, and had directed
the men forming them to dig for water. At all these
posts water had been found. The General determined
therefore to push on a corps at once in advance, to be
followed by others. The first of these corps commanded
by Colonel Beresford left Kosseir, therefore, on the
19th June.

The route they had to take may thus be concisely
shewn : *

* This itinerary is taken from the official orders signed by Colonel
Montresor and compiled after General Baird had himself made the
journey between the two places. The list given in the Memoirs of Sir

262 EXPEDITION FROM INDIA

Miles.
Kosseir to the New Wells... 11 Water.

Half way to Moilah

. 17

No water.

To Moilali

. 17

Water & provisions

Advanced Wells . .

. 9

Water.

Half way to Legeta

. 19

No water.

To Legeta

. 19

Water & provisions

To Baromba

. 18

Water.

To Keneh, on the Nile .

. 10

The Nile.

Total 120

The march was encumbered with difficulties. The
very first day many of the water hags leaked so much
that all the water had escaped before the troops reached
their destination ; the wells which had been dug there
yielded indeed water, but it was procurable only in very
small quantities. The dreariness of the country ; the
depressing nature of the climate ; the burning sand and
the burning sun ; all these added to the difficulties of
the General, and called for the exercise of all his
firmness, his presence of mind, and his fortitude.

General Baird had accompanied the two first detach-
ments a part of the way. He then returned to Kosseir
to arrange measures for providing a water supply for the
troops forming them. He had previously succeeded in
obtaining about 5000 camels, and these he loaded with
leathern bags or mashaks. In an order which he issued
on the occasion will be found the means he had asser-
tained to be most efficacious for supplying the troops on
the line of march with this necessary article.

David Baird was written before the journey had been attempted, and is
incomplete and imperfect. Vide Asiatic Amitial Register for 1802.

TO EGYPT, 1801. 263

After examining the various modes which had been
suggested for ensuring a regular water-supply he an-
nounced the conclusion at which he had arrived that the
army " must either trust to the puckallies, or find water
" in the desert, or re-embark."

The order then proceeded as follows : " To-day's
'" march of the 88th will decide the first point, and if
" it is possible to carry water it should be done in this
" way.

" The 88th should take their bags on to Legeta, and
" after the next day's march thence, send them back to
" Legeta for the next corps.

" The 10th should take their bags to Moilah, and
" after the next day's march send their bags back to
" Moilah for the next division. The artillery, increased
" to 100 puckallie camels, should take their bags one
" day's march to the wells, and send them back. By
" these three divisions of bags the whole army could, in
" succession, be supplied. Careful, steady men should
" be appointed to each division, and the principle should
" be well explained to everybody. A European officer
" should also go with each division of puckallies.

" If the puckallies will not answer and the 88th get
" on to Moilah, a company should be sent to clear the
" wells, seven miles from Moilah, and two companies
" should be sent halfway from that towards Legeta to
" dig wells, and, as fast as they find water, more com-
" panics should follow.

" In the same manner the 10th should send two
" companies halfway to Moilah and endeavour to dig
" wells.

" If water is found at these stations, the 88th must

264 EXPEDITION FROM INDIA

" halt at Legeta, and send on two companies to dig
" wells between that and Keneh.

** The Sepoys at the stations may go and assist, and
" the two companies at Legeta should immediately
" begin between that and Keneh."

General Baird had decided to leave Kosseir for Keneh
on the 27th June. On that day, however, he received
despatches from Bombay informing him that Colonel
Champagne's detachment would sail in six transports
** in a few days," and that Colonel Wellesley was pre-
vented by ill health from joining him.

A feeling of soreness had existed between General
Baird and Colonel Wellesley since the date (5th May,
1799) on which the former had considered himself
superseded by the latter in the command of Seringa-
patam. It is interesting, therefore, to read the manner
in which an ill-feeling on the part of Colonel Wellesley
had been effaced by personal contact with General Baird
in Bombay.

" As I am writing on the subject," wrote Colonel
Wellesley in a private letter dated Bombay, 9th April,
I will freely acknowledge that my regret at being
prevented from accompanying you has been greatly
increased by the kind, candid, and handsome manner
in which you have behaved towards me ; and I will
confess as freely, not only that I did not expect such
treatment, but that my wishes, before you arrived,
regarding going upon such an expedition, were
directly the reverse of what they are at this moment.
I need not enter farther into this subject than to
entreat that you will not attribute my stay to any
other motive than that to which I have above

TO EGYPT, 1801. 265

" assigned it " — (the state of his health) — " and to
" inform you that, as I know what has been said and
" expected by the world in general, I propose, as
" well as for my own credit as for yours, to make
" known to my friends and to yours, not only the
*' distinguished manner in which you have behaved
*' towards me, but the causes which have prevented my
" demonstrating my gratitude by giving you every
" assistance in the arduous service which you have to
" conduct."

Colonel Wellesley accompanied his letter by a
memorandum in which he detailed the course he would
recommend the general in command of the force
invading Egypt from India to adopt.

Dismissing as impracticable any attempt to gain Suez
in sailing ships at that season of the year, Colonel
Wellesley indicated Kosseir as the place of which the
army should first gain possession.

After referring to the probable movements of the
French troops, and the' disposition of the Mamelukes
and the Beys, the memorandum thus proceeded : —

" The first question which I shall consider, and which
** will lay the grounds for a consideration of, and
" decision upon others, is whether it would be prac-
" ticable or even desirable to cross the desert from
" Kosseir at all, if that operation is not performed in
" concert and co-operation with a body of natives posted
" upon the Nile.

" It is needless to enter into a statement of the
** difficulties to be apprehended in crossing the desert ;
" they are certainly great, but I imagine not insur-
" mountable. But, if it is not certain that the army or

266 EXPEDITION FROM INDIA

" detachment which will cross the desert, will partake
" of the plenty of the hanks of the Nile when they
" reach them ; if they should be certain of having water
" only, and such forage as their cattle should he able to
** pick up, I apprehend that the difSculty will become
" so great that the operation ought not to be attempted.
" It is impossible that the Mamelukes in Upper Egypt
*' can be neutral in the contest in contemplation — they
" must take part with the French or with us. If they
" take part with the French, the army will be in the
" situation in which I have above described it, enjoying
" no advantage from having reached the banks of the
" Nile, excepting water, and probably some forage ;
** and it is needless to point out that if the desert is to
" be crossed under those circumstances care must be
" taken not only to send, with the body of troops which
" will cross, a very large proportion of provisions, but
" means must be adopted to add to them until the
" operations of this body shall have given them such a
" hold of the country as to leave no doubt of their
" steady supply of provisions. It is obvious that this
" will require a great number of cattle, a number much
" larger than the Government of India, with all the
" zealous exercise of their power and means, can supply ;
" but there is another consideration connected with this
" subject besides the supply of cattle, and that is
" the means of feeding them when landed from the
ships.

" Upon this point I need only call to the General's
'* recollection the difficulties to which he has been a
*' witness in moving large supplies of stores and pro-
" visions even in fertile, cultivated, and inhabited

TO EGYPT, 1801. 267

countries, well supplied with water, and under every
disadvantage of arrangement in the supply, in the
distribution, and the food of the cattle, and draw a
comparison between such difficulties and those to be
expected in a march through a desert. But that is
not the worst that is to be apprehended ; the cattle
mil of course land in a weak condition, in a desert,
and it must be expected that even those which survive
the voyage will starve or at least be in such a state
before they commence their march as to render it
very probable that they will not carry their loads to
the end of it. Upon the whole, then, I am decidedly
of opinion that if the Mamelukes are not on our side,
no attempt ought to be made to cross the desert.
" This opinion, the General will observe, is by no
means founded on the impracticability of crossing
with troops, because I am convinced that it can be
done ; but it is founded upon the danger that the
troops will starve if they do not return immediately,
and upon the inutility of the measure if they do.
" It may be imagined that (supposing the Mamelukes
to be wavering) if an attempt is not made to cross the
desert, the advantage of their co-operation will be
lost. Upon this point I observe, that a knowledge
of our strength (not of our weakness) will induce them
to come forward, and it might be expected that the
sight of our weakness, occasioned by our march over
the desert without concert with them, might induce
them to take advantage of it and to join the French.
" But those who will urge this consideration must
suppose it possible that the Mamelukes can be
neutral for a moment ; and this, their history from

268 EXPEDITION FKOM INDIA

the beginning of time, particularly since the French
invasion, will show to be impossible.
" I come now to consider the propriety and mode of
crossing the desert, supposing that the Mamelukes
should be inclined to shake off the French yoke and to
co-operate with us. The first point for the General
to ascertain is their sincerity in the cause, of which,
as I have above stated, there is every probability. As
soon as he will have ascertained this, it will be
necessary that he should make arrangements with
them for posting a supply of water on that part of
the desert where it is most wanted, and for having a
supply of provisions ready on the Nile ; and he might
cross over a part of his army immediately. The first
object on his arrival on the Nile should be to estab-
lish a post at Keneh, and, if possible, another in the
desert between that place and Kosseir, in order to
insure his communications between the sea and the
Nile. At Keneh he should make the depot of his
stores, &c., which might be brought across the desert
by degrees, and then he might commence his
operations against the enemy.

" In the consideration of the question regarding the
crossing of the desert I have omitted to mention the
interruption which may be given to that operation by
the enemy, because it is entirely distinct from the
difficulties which are peculiar to the operation itself.
It is obvious, however, that if the Mamelukes are not
on our side, and if they should not have driven out
of Upper Egypt the small French force supposed to
be in that country before the operation is attempted,
that force, however small, will greatly increase the

TO EGYPT, 1801. 269

** distress of tlie British troops who will cross the desert.
" I have not adverted to the supply of arms and
" ammunition to be given to the natives. As long
" as their co-operation is doubtful these supplies ought
" to be withheld but promised ; when they will have
*' shown their sincerity in our cause, the arms may be
" given to almost any extent."

On the third day after the receipt of this memorandum,
viz., the 30th June, General Baird quitted Kosseir. He
had calculated that it would take him ten days to
concentrate all his force at Keneh. Thence, should
he be able to collect a sufficient number of boats, it
might be possible for him to reach Cairo in twenty days.
On the other hand, the land march from Keneh to Cairo
would take, he believed, thirty-five days.

The difficulties of the march, owing to the want of
water, the heat, and the trying character of the soil, and
the obstacles in the way of communication, were so great
that General Baird, lion-hearted as he was, despaired,
whilst waiting at Keneh for orders, of being able to
effect anything useful to the public service. For many
days he was without intelligence of, and received no
orders from. General Hutchinson, Under these circum-
stances, and dreading lest the breaking out of the
monsoon might interfere with his return to India, he,
on the 9th July, addressed from Keneh to H.R.H. the
Duke of York, a letter expressive of his anxiety to know
whether his continuance in Egypt was likely to be
productive of any beneficial results to the sei-vice.

Just at this moment intelligence reached General
Baird, by a circuitous route, that General Belliard, the
French Governor of Cairo, had entered into a treaty

270 EXPEDITION FROM INDIA

with General Hutchinson. This information convinced
General Baird that there could be no longer any
necessity for his further advance, still less for bringing
up more troops. Penetrated by this idea, he directed
preparations to be made for the return of the force then
at Keneh to Kosseir, and for its embarkation at the
latter place.

But a few days latter these views were destined to be
altered. About the 22nd July General Baird received
from General Hutchinson a letter, dated the 10th idem,
in which that officer, after alluding to the want of
information under which he had been labouring as to
the strength and destination of the Indian force, stated
that the French Commander-in-Chief, General Menou,
had refused to receive the officer sent by General
Belliard to lay before him the capitulation of Cairo, and
that it was probable that he would defend himself with
great obstinacy and give a great deal of trouble ; that he
should be extremely glad, therefore, to have General
Baird's assistance and co-operation.

As to the mode of his advance and the means he
should employ to effect it, General Hutchinson thus
expressed himself: "I am thoroughly aware that from
*' the season, and from the inundation, the march by land
** will be impracticable. You must do all you can to
" collect boats, but whether you should use force or not
*' is entirely out of the question, because, for the last
" thousand years force has been the only law in this
" country, and the inhabitants are so little used to think
" for themselves that they are at a great loss how to act
** when it is not adopted against them."

He added, " I wish you to advance as soon as you

TO EGYPT, 1801. 271

" conveniently can without jsressing or fatiguing your
'• troops; you may march by detachments, and let
" them be ever so small there can be no difficulty in
" making your rendezvous at Gizeh which I have
" occupied entirely for your convenience. You have
" only to intimate your wishes to Colonel Stewart "
(Commandant of Gizeh) " and everything will be
" procured for you that the country aflPords."

With respect to his own movements General
Hutchinson stated that his army had marched on the
9th and would arrive at Kosetta about the 29th. Thence
he intended to proceed without loss of time to besiege
Alexandria.

On receiving this letter General Baird lost no time
in ordering all the troops up from Kosseir. Amongst
those who responded to his call were four companies of
the 61st Regiment, two of the 80th, the Horse Artillery
from Bengal, and the Artillery and Pioneers from
Madras, — recently arrived at Kosseir. I may mention
that Colonel Champagne and the provision ships had
not even then arrived ; and that the Susamiah, the ship
in which Colonel Arthur Wellesley was to have sailed,
was lost on her passage ! Never certainly was an
attack of fever more opportune than that which pre-
vented the future conqueror of Napoleon from taking
part in this expedition.

On the 24th July General Baird despatched Colonel
Quarrill with the 10th Regiment to Girgeh with instruc-
tions to enquire, on his arrival there, into the state of
the roads and of the inundations ; he was further
directed, that if he should find he could with safety
proceed to Siout or to any town capable of furnishing

272 EXPEDITION FROM INDIA

adequate supplies for his troops, to march thither, and
thence proceed in a similar manner as rapidly as he
could towards Cairo, taking care never to expose himself
to the chance of being overtaken Ly the flooding of the
Nile at any considerable distance from a large town.

Colonel Quarrill was farther instructed, if he should
find the roads impassable, to select some high ground,
and wait the arrival of the river fleet with the General.

Having sent off Colonel Quarrill, General Baird
proceeded to impress or otherwise procure boats. This
was an easy task, and it was soon ascertained that the
supply would exceed the demand. These boats were of
three sizes. One of the largest size was capable of
carrying 150 men, three field officers, a proportion of
officers junior to that rank, and their servants ; a
medium-sized boat would contain 120 men ; and a
small boat thirty-five. It is stated that the 88th
Regiment, consisting of 590 men and officers, with
eight horses, took up seven boats of the difterent sizes
above enumerated.

Having made all his preparations General Baird,
appointing Colonel Murray to the command of the
troops in Upper Eg}'pt, and instructing him to remain
at Keneh until the rear of the army should have come
up and been sent on to Gizeh, embarked for that place
on the 31st July.

Gizeh was reached on the 8th August. After having
arranged for the comfort of his troops the General, on
the 16th, shifted his quarters to Rhoda, a little island,
a mile and three-quarters long and one third of a mile
broad situated between Gizeh and Cairo, and two miles
from the latter. On the 27th having left a force under

TO EGYPT, 1801. 273

Colonel Ramsay to garrison Gizeh, he concentrated all
his troops in the island.

It may not be out of place here to notice the effect
which the sight of the Anglo Indian army produced
upon the Egyptians and Turks. The following passage
extracted from the Asiatic Annual Register for 1802
may be accepted as giving an impartial view on the
subject. " Whilst at Rhoda," writes the chronicler
the Indian Army had attracted much surprise and
admiration. The Turks were astonished at the novel
spectacle of men of colour being so well disciplined
and trained. Indeed the general magnificence of the
establishment of the Indian army was so different
from what they had been accustomed to see in
General Hutchinson's that the contrast could not
fail of being striking. But General Baird proved
to them also that his troops were not enfeebled or
himself rendered inactive, by these superior comforts.
Every morning at day-light he manoeuvred his army
for several hours, and in the evening again formed
his parade. Never were finer men seen than those
which composed this force, and no soldiers could
possibly be in higher order."
On the night of the 27th August the right wing of
the army began to move in the direction of Alexandria
and, with General Baird at its head, reached Rosetta on
the 30th. A detachment under Colonel Lloyd was
about the same time sent to garrison Damietta, but in
consequence of a difference of opinion with the Grand
Vizier, commanding the Turkish army, it was with-
drawn, the European portion of it being sent to Rosetta,
and the native (four companies Bombay N. I.) to Gizeh.

18

274

EXPEDITION FKOM INDIA

On arriving at Eosetta General Baird and his
force hoped to be able to take part in the siege of
Alexandria, but their ardour was damped by the receipt
of a letter from General Hutchinson, announcing that
the French had sent a flag of truce to him to treat for
a surrender. General Baird was ordered to halt where
he was.

On the 1st September General Baird called upon
General Hutchinson in his tent. He learned from him
that the capitulation had been actually signed and that
the British troops were to take possession of the
outworks of Alexandria the following morning.

The Anglo-Indian army then disembarked and en-
camped at Aboumandur, not far from Rosetta.

For some months the Indian army remained
encamped near Rosetta without orders either from
England or from India. Meanwhile a difficulty
arose. General Hutchinson had resolved to proceed
to England, and the British Government had replaced
him by Lord Cavan. This officer declined to look upon
General Baird as commanding a separate force distinct
from the British armj^ but desired to place him and his
troops in the same alignment, as it were, as the troops
who had come direct from England. To this General
Baird objected, assigning as one great obstacle to the
success of such an arrangement the fact that the troops
under his orders received Indian rates of pay, and that
the money he had to dispose of as commanding the
Indian expedition was the property, not of the Crown,
but of the East India Company. General Hutchinson
appeared to sec great force in these objections ; but he
did not the less, on his departure, the 6th November,

TO EGYPT, 1801. 275

make over command of the whole army, includmg the
Anglo-Indian force, to Lord Cavan.

Shortly after this intelligence arrived of the signing
of the preKminaries of peace between France and
England, and, at nearly the same time. General Baird
received from Marquess Wellesley a despatch, in
which, whilst expressing full approval of his conduct,
he intimated a wish that when the services of the
army should be no longer required in Egypt, General
Baird should return with his troops, or at least with
such portion of them as it might not be necessary to
leave in Egj'pt, to the nearest port in India.

On the both April, 1802, despatches were received
from England directing that the native troops, and a
portion of the European troops on the Indian estab-
lishment serving in Egypt, should return at once to
India by sea from Suez.

General Baird at once made the necessary preparations
for evacuating the country. He ordered parties to be sent
from Gizeh, to be stationed along the desert, in order to
dig for water. He himself left Alexandria for Gizeh on
the 7th May, and arrived at that place on the 11th. He
set out thence, after an interview with the Pasha, at the
head of his troops, for Suez, which place he reached on
the 25th. The troops crossed the desert in successive
divisions, in five easy marches each, without experiencing
much inconvenience, and with the loss of only three
Europeans.

On the 5th June, General Baird and his army left
Suez. The ship on which he himself was on board,
H.M.S. Victor, reached Madras the 6th July, and
Calcutta the 31st idem. On that day the Governor-

18 A

276 EXPEDITION FROM INDIA TO EGYPT, 1801.

General published a congratulatory General Order, in
which he made special allusion to the terms in which
Lord Cavan had written regarding the Anglo-Indian
force. As the language used was the result of personal
experience during a considerable time, of a force serving
under his own orders, I propose here to reproduce it.

Lord Cavan, alluding to the Anglo-Indian force,
wrote : — " Their excellent discipline and obedience and
their patience under great fatigue and hardship, have
been equalled by their exemplary conduct in the
correct and regular discharge of every duty of soldiers ;
and, though they may lament that circumstances
rendered it impossible for them to have taken part in
the brilliant actions of this country during the last
campaign, it must be a satisfaction for them to know
that their services in Egypt have been as important,
and as essential to their country, as those of their
brother soldiers that gained such distinguished vic-
tories in it."

I do not think I can better conclude than by this
testimony of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army of
Egypt to the character and conduct of his two Indian
Brigades this short narrative of the Anglo-Indian
expedition to Egypt of 1801.

INDEX

ABERCROMBY, General, is
made prisoner in the Ceylon,
141 ; which is recaptured, 142 ;
proceeds to Rodri(:;uez, 144 ;
sails to attack the Isle of France,
145 ; disembarks his troops,
147 ; easy success of, 149 ;
manceuvi'es to dislodge Decaen,
151 ; succeeds, 152 ; receives
offers to treat, 153 ; captures
the island, 154 ; reasons of, for
letting free the French soldiers,
154, note

Africaine, The, is captured by the
French, 140 ; recaptured, 141

Ali Jab, rebels against his father,
243 ; commits suicide, 243

Alwar, Riija of, interview of, with
de Boigne, 182

Amiens, treaty of, puts an end to
hostilities in ths Indian seas, 94

Ajrmar, Monsieur d', arrives at
Point de Galle with the advanced
squadron of the fleet escorting
de Bussy, 43

BAIRD, Major-Gencral David, is
ordered to assume command
of a force to capture Batavia,
253 ; receives fresh instructions

diverting the force to Egypt,
255 ; reaches Jedda, 257 ; sails
for Kosseir, 258 ; opens commu-
nications with General Hutch-
inson, 260 ; prepares for a for-
ward movement, 261 ; careful
preparations made by, 262-4 ;
correspondence of, with Colonel
Wellesley, 264, 265 ; moves up his
entire force, 271 ; occupies the
island of Rhoda on the Nile, 272 ;
advances to Rosetta, 273 ; learns
that peace is concluded, 274 ;
marches across the desert and
embarks at Suez, 275

Basalat Jung, disagreement of,
with his brother the Nizam,
239, 240

Battalions of Siudia, organization
of the, 193 ; personnel of the,
194

Belleconibe, Monsieur, surrenders
Pondichery, 4

Benoit de Boigne, early history of,
159 ; enters the service of Russia,
160 ; is taken prisoner, released,
and proceeds to Egypt, 161 ;
enters the military service of
the East India Company, 162 ;
quits it and proceeds to Lakli-
nao, 163 ; resolves to enter the
service of a native prince, 164 ;

278

INDEX.

negotiates with various princes,
165 ; applies to Warren Hastings
to sanction his proceedings, 166 ;
offers his services to Sindia, 167 ;
they are accepted, 168 ; early
successes of, 169 ; splendid ser-
vice rendered by, 170 ; resigns
Sindia's service, 171 ; re-enters
it, 172 ; reorganizes the force,
173 ; gains a great victory at
Patau, 174 ; another at Mlrta,
175 ; is authorised largely to
increase his force, 176 ; emolu-
ments of, 177 ; marches against
Tiikajf Holkar, 179 ; gains the
battle of Lakhairl, 180, 181;
adventures of, at Alwar, 182 ;
resigns Sindia's service, 183 ;
summary of life of, in Europe,
184 ; remarks on the character
of, 184-190

Bernadotte, is taken prisoner at
KadalOr, 74 vote

Bertie, Admiral, commands a
squadron in the Indian seas,
143, 144

Bickerton, Sir Robert, lands troops
at Madras and sails for Bombay,
61

Boadicea, The, captures the Afri-
caine, 141, the Ceylon and the
Venus, 142

Boisseaux, Major de, urges Bussy
to attack the English, 65

" Boldness is Prudence," 83, 85,
87, 125, 218

Bourbon, House of, remarks on
the policy of the, 75, 76

Bourbon, Isle of, state of, after the
revolution, 81, 82 ; result of
attack on, by the English, 118-
123 ; is again attacked, 125 ;
surrenders, 129

Bour(|uin, Major, commands one
of Sindia's brigades, 191 ; is sent
against George Thomas, 208 ;
is repulsed, 209 ; is superseded
but re-employed, 210; sketch of
previous career of, 219 ; fights

against Lord Lake at Delhi,
220, 221

Bouvet, Monsieur, is deprived of
his command by Suffren, 39

Braithwaite, Colonel, is beaten by
Tippti Snhib, 9

Brigades of Sindia, organization
of, 191-193 ; personnel of, 194

Bruslys, General des, commands at
Bourbon, 119; faulty manoeuvre
of, 122 ; commits suicide, 122
and note

Bussy, Marquis de, is ordered to
India, 18 ; his failing energies,
18 and note ; disastrous voyage
of, from Cadiz, 43 ; his opinion
regarding occupation of Trinco-
mali, 45 ; arrives with his army
at Porto Novo, 62 ; deterioration
of the character of, 64 ; falls back
within Kadaltir, 64 ; neglects his
favourable chances, 65 ; is drive
into Kadaliir, 66 ; applies to
Suffren for aid, 67 ; loses golde
moments, 73 ; orders a sortie
but is repulsed, 73, 74 ; agrees
to a suspension of arms, 74

pAMPBELL, Dr. gives h

vJ reasons for the conduct of
the French at Porto Praya, 14,
note ; refutation of opinion of,
on Commodore Johnstone's
action, 17, note; vagueness of
assertions of, 22, note

Campbell, Lieut. -Colonel, com-
mands the advance in the attack
Bourbon, 125

Cardaillac, Monsieur de, com-
mands the Artesien, 11 ; sug-
gests to Suffren to put into
Porto Praya, 13 ; signals
" enemies in sight," 13 ; is shot
dead, 14

Captains, French, bad conduct of
certain, 24, 26, 38, 55

Cavan, General Lord, assumes
command of the British troops

INDEX.

279

in Egypt, 274; difficulties of,
with respect to the union of the
British and Indian brigades,
27-4 ; testimony of, to the merits
of the Indian armj, 276

Chandernagor, taken by the Eng-
lish, 4

Cillart, Monsieur de, is placed
under arrest by Suffren, 39

Commerce, British, enormous
damage caused to, by priva-
teering, 81, note ; 96, notes; 107

Consul, First, proposition made
to the, to effect the destruction
of British commerce, 95

Coote, Sir Eyre, brings his army
into a fatal position, 7 ; is saved
by the weakness of the French
Admiral, 8 ; bfeats Haidar Ali,
9 ; offers battle to Haidar at
Wandewash, 30, 31 ; attempts
Arni, 32 ; is foiled but yet
baffles Haidar, 32 ; relieves Vel-
lor and attempts Kadaliir, 58 ;
is baffled and falls back on
Madras, 59

Coursou, commands a privateer,
107, 108

Cramlingtou, Mr. account of cap-
ture of, by the French, and
subsequent adventures of, 108-
112

DAOLAT RAO SINDIA, suc-
ceeds MAdhaji Sindia, 183 ;
joins the Mar;itha league against
the Nizam, 196 ; vacillating
conduct of, 200 ; insults the
tried adherents of his prede-
cessor, 201 ; casts awaj' the
chance of realismg the dream of
Miidhaji, 213 ; his eyes opened
too late, 214
Decaen, General Comte, previous
career of. 131 ; merits of, as
governor of French India, 132 ;
sends reinforcements to Duperre,

134 ; blockades Bourbon, 189 !
forces at disposal of, to meet
English attack, 146 ; issues a
proclamation, 146, 147, note ;
measares of, to check the Eng-
lish, 149 ; is wounded, 150 ;
continues to resist, 151 ; posi-
tion of, forced, 152 ; offers to
treat, 153; surrenders the Isle
of France, 154 ; stipulations of
surrender, 154

Drugeon, Colonel, refuses to obey
Bourquin, 219

Duchemin de Chenneville, ap-
pointed to command a French
squadron, 6 ; nominated to the
command of the laud forces, 19 ;
character of, 19 : takes Kadaliir,
29 ; refuses to support Haidar
Ali, 30 ; remarks upon the con-
duct of, 30, 31 ; is treated with
contempt by Haidar, 32, 33 ;
dies, 57

Dudrenec, Chevalier, commands a
poi'tion of Holkar's forces, 179 ;
fights at Kardla, 197 ; sketch of
the career of, 221-223

Dupenv, Commodore*, returns fi-om
a cruise in the Indian waters,
132, 133 ; is enticed into an
ambush but succeeds in taking
up a strong position, 133 ; skil-
ful disposition of, to meet the
English attack, 135 ; successful
manceuvre of, 136 ; completely
defeats the English, 139; the
proudest achievement in the life
of, 138

Dutertre, notice of the prowess of,
106 : his success, reverses, and
renewed success, 107

EXPEDITION, against the Isle
of France, how composed,
145 ; reaches its destination,
147; succeeds, 148-154; against
Egypt, how composed, 258-260

280

INDEX.

FARQUHAR, Mr. appointed
governor of Bourbon, 124 ;
distributes a proclamation to
the inhabitants of the Isle of
France, 131

Filoze, Michel, career of, 226 ;
baseness of, 227

Filoze, Fidele, career of, 227 ;
suicide of, 227, 228

Five Hundred, Council of the,
pronounces a decision in favor
of Surcouf, 90

Fleet, The French, detail of the,
entrusted to Suffren, 11 ; com-
position of, in the Indian seas,
22, 23 ; engages the English
fleet, 23-26, 36-38, 51-54; detail
of, as it fought the English
fleet, 70, note ; engages English
fleet, 71, 72 ; causes of its
demoralization, 81, 82

Fleet, The English, composition of,
under Sir Edward Hughes, 23 ;
engages the French fleet, 23-26,
36-38, 51-54; detail of, as it
fought the French fleet, 70,
notes ; engages French fleet,
71, 72

Forbin, Monsieur de, is placed
under arrest by Suffren, 39

Forbin, Conite de, remarkable
memoirs of, 80, note

Foulstone, Lieutenant, gallantry
of, 126

France, throws away the certainty
of gaining Southern India, 74-76

France, Isle of, State of the, after
the revolution, 82, 83 ; impor-
tance of the situation of, to the
French, 115 ; is attacked by the
English, 148 ; is surrendered,
164 ; remarks on the services
rendered by, to the mother
country, 154 156

Fraser, Colonel, effects a landing
in Bourbon, 126 ; bold and
masterly advance of, 127 ; beats
the enemy and forces surrender
of the capital, 128

Fremont, Colonel, career of, under
Sindia, 194

French Contingent of Haidarabad,
is dismissed on the requisition
of Marquess Wellesley, 245-246

GOHAD, Raja of, negotiates with
de Boigne, 165
Gopal Rao Bhtio, is attacked by
Tfikaji Holkar, 179

HAIDAR ALI, reasons of hatred
of, to the English, 4-8 ;
defeats Munro, 5 ; seeks an
alliance with the French, 5 ;
outmanoeuvres Sir Eyre Coote,
7 ; is thwarted by the French
Admiral, 8 ; fights two battles
with Coote, 9 ; incites Duchemin
to join him in attacking, 29 ;
disgust of, at Duehemin's be-
haviour, 31 ; saves Arni, 32 ;
marks his sense of Duehemin's
conduct, 32, note; entices the
English into an ambuscade, 33;
enthusiasm of, regarding Suffren,
34 ; receives a state visit from
Suffren, 42 ; remark of, on that
occasion, 43 ; threatens Madras,
59 ; dies, 61

Hamelin, Captain, takes three
frigates to reinforce Dupern',
134 ; lineage of, 134, note ;
arrives opportunely off Grand
Port and completes Duperre's
victory, 138 ; succumbs to the
English, 142 ; treatment of, by
Napoleon, 142, note

Hastings, Warren, receives de
Boigne kindly, 163 ; reply of, to
de Boigue's application to enter
the service of a native prince,
166

Hessing, John, sketch of the career
of, 223

Hessing, George, sketch of tlie
career of, 224 ; is beaten by

INDEX.

281

Holkar, 225 ; accepts Marquess
Wellesley's conditions, 226

Hutchinson, General Hely, opens
a communication with General
Baird, 260-261; orders up
Baird's forces, 270 ; receives
the surrender of the French
force, 271

Hughes, Sir Edward, commands
the English fleet in the Madras
Eoads, 21 ; makes for the
French transports, 21 ; hoves
too and prepares for battle, 22 ;
engages Suflfren, 23, 21 ; but
without results, 21 ; again
engages Sufh-en, 25 ; with a
similar result, 26 ; engages the
French fleet off Negapatam, 36 ;
again without results, 36 ;
keeps the sea off Negapatam,
40 ; bears up for Madras, 41 ;
consequences of prolonged
stay off Negapatam, 47 ;
awakens from his dream and
finds Trincomali lost, 48 ; en-
gages the French fleet, 51-54 ;
with indecisive result, 54, 55 ;
takes his fleet round to Bombay,
60 ; perils of the voyage, 61 :
takes up a strong positon off
Porto Novo, 67 ; is out
mnnceuvred by Suffren, 68 ;
determines to accept the battle
offered by Suffren, 70; fights
and bears up for Madras, 71,

TXDIA, Argument why, fell

i necessarily under British Rule,
246-251

Iphifjenia, The, captured by the
French, 137

Iphigenie, U Extraordinary en-
counter of, with the Trincomali,
108

TESWANT EAO HOLKAR, de-
(j feats Sindia's Army, 212 ; dis-
misses Dudrenec, 222 ; great
military talents of, 224 ; brilliant
manoeuvres of, 225
Johnstone, Commodore, takes an
English squadron to the Cape,
13 ; puts into Porto Praya, 13 ;
is surjjrised by Suffren, 14 ;
offers a gallant and successful
resistance, 15, 16 ; declines to
follow up the repulse of the
enemy, 17 and note

KADAL^R, taken by the French,
29; description of the defences
of, 64 ; engagements before,
64-74

Kanund, Battle of, 178.

Keating, Colonel, is sent with an
expedition against Rodriguez,
116 ; again against Bourbon,
117 ; disembarks and defeats
the French, 118-122; sails
away with his prizes, 123 ;
receives reinforcements, and
proceeds again against Bourbon,
12 Ji; anxiety caused to, by the
tJ^i4U» off" the island, 125 ;
manoeuvres of, 126 ; receives the
sun'ender of the island, 129

LAKE, Lord, attacks and cap-
tures Aligarh, 218 ; beats
Bourquin at Delhi, 220, 221

Lakhairi, Battle of, 180, 181

Lakhwa D;ida, reinforces Gopal
Rao Bhclo with Sindia's cavalry,
179 ; revolts against Doaliit Rao,
201 ; is beaten by Perron, and
dies, 202

Lally, the younger, loses a gun at
Arni, 32 ; serves under the
Nizam, 240

Lambert, Captain, is forced to sur-
render to the French, 138

Landelle, Mousieurde la, is shipped

282

INDEX.

to the islands for misconduct,
55

Lememe, Monsieur, early career
of, 101 ; successful cruise of, in
the Indian seas, 102-104 ; is taken
prisoner, 104 ; is released and
becomes a merchant, 104 ; again
commands a ship and is taken
prisoner, 105 ; dies, 106 ; relief
of British merchants at his
death, 106

Lesteneau, Monsieur, achievements
of, 170-3

Louis XVI., blindness of the
Ministers of, 5

MACLEOD, Lieutenant-Colonel,
commands one of the attack-
ing parties on Bourbon, 125

Madhaji Sindia attacks the Rana
of Gohad, 164; besieges Gwaliar
165 ; enlists de Boigue, 168 ;
is nominated Commander-in-
Chief of the Moghol armies, 169 ;
battles of, with the Patans and
Rajputs, 170 ; probable reasons
of, for accepting the resignation
of de Boigne, 171 ; reasons of,
for re-eiigagiug him, 172 ;
arrangements made by, for the
payment of de Boigne's troops,
174 ; " the dream of his life,"
176; Tippu's war with the
English, a blow to the hopes of,
177 , arrives at Puna, 178 ,
power of, consolidated in
Hindostan, 182 ; death of, 183.

Madras, is in great danger fi-om
various causes, 59

Madoc, Sketch of the career of,
186, 187

Magicienne, The, destroyed by
tiie French, 137

Malartic, Monsieur de, declines to
give Surcouf a letter of marque,
84 ; confiscates prizes taken by
Surcouf, 90

Mallerouse, career of, in command
of a privateer, 108

Maurville, Monsieur de, is placed
under arrest by Suffren, 39

Memoirs of the late war in India,
the author of the, records his
opinion of the action of
Chevalier d'Orves, 9 and note

Minto, Lord, reasons which im-
pelled, gradually to adopt Lord
Wellesley's policy, 116 ; furthc r
steps of, in the same direction,
124-156

Mir Kasim, employs Sombre, 23(1 ;
ill treatment of, by the English,
231 ; subsequent career, and
ruin of, 231-234

VTAPOLEON, treatment accorded

IN by, to Captain Hamelin, after
the loss of a French ship by
the latter, 142, note

Navy, remarks on the state of the
French, after the revolution, 79,
80, and note

Nereide, The, is captured by the
French, 137

Nizam Ali Khan, The Nizam, deter-
mines to drive the Maratha's
horn Puna, 195 ; marches
against them, 196 ; fights the
battle of Kardla, 197 ; dastardly
conduct of, 198 ; concludes
peace, 198; engagements of,
regarding the enlistment of
foreigners, 239 ; takes a French
cori:)s into his service, 240 ; dis-
content of, with the English,
242 ; action of, on his son's
rebellion, 245 ; is forced by
Marquess Wellesley to dismiss
the French contingent, 244-246

OFFELIZE, Colonel d', succeeds
Duchcmin in command of the
French force, acting with Haidar,
57 ; falls back towards Kadalur,

INDEX.

283

63 ; is prevented by Bussy from
defending Permacol, 64 ; dis-
plays skill and energy, but is
rash, 65 ; urges Bussy to at-
tack, 73
Orves, The Chevalier d', commands
the French fleet off the islands,
6 ; sails for India, 6 ; gains a
decisive position off the Cora-
mandel coast 7 ; renounces it
and sails for the islands, 8 ;
oveiTules Suffren, 19 ; dies, 20

PASSE, ISLE DE LA, is cap-
tured by the English, 130;
re-captured by the French, 138.

Pedrons, Colonel, beats George
Thomas, 210; sketch of the
career of, 217 ; defends Aligarh
against Lord Lake, 218 ; fails
and is taken prisoner, 219

Percy, Earl, meets and befriends de
Boigne, 162

Perron, Monsieur, is sent to attack
Kauiind, 178 ; early career of,
1 96 ; enters Sindia's service,
190; receives an independent
command, 195 ; joins the
Peslnva with ten battalions, 196 ;
gains the battle of Kardla, 197,
198, governs North West
Hindostan for Sindia, 199 ;
account of the mode of admin-
istration of, 200 ; crushes the
revolt of Lakhwa Dada,
202 ; turns bis attention to
George Thomas, 202 ; sends
him a summons, 206 ; negotiates
with him, 209 ; detaches a force
against him, 208 ; head of,
turned by prosperity, 211;
makes his peace with Daolat
Rao, 212; is deterred by self-
interest from aiding Daolat Rao
at a critical period of Maratha
fortunes, 213; acts too late, 214;
fall in the fortunes of, 215 ;
leaves Sindia's service, 216

Peshwa, The, is appointed Su-
preme Deputy of the Moghol
Emperor, 169 ; summons his
vassal chieftains to repel the
attack of the Nizam, 196 ;
presses Sindia to come to bis
aid, 212

Pinaud, Monsieur, succeeds Sur-
couf in command of the Ckiri.tse,
112 ; captures the English India-
man on board of which he was
at the time a prisoner, 113

Piron, Monsieur, succeeds Raymond
at Haidarabad. 245

Plumet, Captain, short account of,
228

Potier, Monsieur, sketch of the
career of, 108

Privateering, practical results of,
81, 770te : 107-157

Pym, Captain, commands H.M.S.
Sirius, 133 ; runs her aground,
134 ; gets her off, and being
reinforced attacks Duperre, 134 ;
total defeat of, 135-137

RAY]MOND,Monsieur, commands
a portion of the Nizam's
army, 196 ; gallant conduct of,
at Kardla, 197 ; is not supported
by the Nizam, 198 ; early career
of, 238 ; engages under the
Nizam, 240; mode adopted by,
to officer native corps, 241 ;
suppresses the rebellion of Ali
Jail, 243 ; dies at a critical
period, 244; veneration in which
the memory of, is still held, 245

Renaud, .Jean Marie, commands a
small French squadron off the
islands, 83 ; fights the English
squadron, 84

Revenant, The, history of, 98,
note; continued career of, as
Victor, 142, and notes

Rodriguez, Island of, situation of,
116 ; captured by the English,
117

284

INDEX.

Kowley, Captain, re-captures
V Africaine , 141 ; and the Ceylon,
142 ; captures the Venus, 142

OT. MICHAEL, commandant,

kj commands at St. Paul, in
Bourbon, I'^O ; makes a gallant
defence against the English, 121 ;
is forced to succumb, 123

St Felix, Monsieur de, is shipped
to the islands by SufFren, 55

Salvart, Monsieur Perrier de,
advises Suffren to attack the
English fleet, 21

Seychelles, The, difSculties of the
navigation of, 85

Sirius, The, destroyed by the
French, 137

Smith, Lewis Ferdinand, note
regarding, 194 ; is sent to
negotiate with George Thomas,
207 ; is ordered to besiege
Georgegarh, 208 ; his own ac-
count of the expedition, 208,
209 ; again negotiates with
Thomas, 310 : list given by, of
gallant English officers, 225 ;
note ; reasons given bv, for the
suicide of Filoze, 227, 228;
description given by, of Perron's
army, 229

Sombre, sketch of, 230 ; principle
of military action of, 231 ;
massacre at Patnu by, 232-234 ;
subsequent career of, and death,
234, 235

Souillac, Yiscomte de, opinion of,
of D'Orves, 9 note ; organises a
force to goto India, 18 ; appoints
Duchemin to command it 19 ;
supports Suffren in his refusal
to return to the islands, 28

Storms, curious circumstance con-
nected with the law of, Gl, note

Stuart, General, succeeds Sir Eyre
Coote, G3; follows up the French
towards Kadalur, 03 ; attacks
Kadalur, ti5 ; gains an ad-

vantageous position, 66 ; is
hampered by the want of a bat
tering train, 73 ; repulses a
sortie, 74 ; is saved from almost
certain desctruction by a sus-
pension of arms, 74, 75 ; and
75, note

Squadron, English, off the Islands,
82 ; fights a French squadron
and retires, 84

Suffren, Bailli de, is appointed to
command a French squadron 11 ;
earlier career of, 11, 12 ; sails
for the islands. 13 ; attacks tlie
English fleet in Porto Praya, 15 ;
changes of the position of, 16 ;
draws off and pursues his
voyage, 17 ; is second in com-
mand to D'Orves, 18 ; is over-
ruled by D'Orves, 19 ; succeeds
to the command, 20 ; takes his
fleet to the Madras coast, 20 ;
descries the English fleet, 20 ;
reasons of, for declining to attack
it, 21; sails for Porto Novo, 21;
flies to the rescue of his trans-
ports, 22 ; engages the English
fleet, 23, 24 ; indecisively, 24
possibly misses a chance, 24
again engages the English fleet,
25 ; and again indecisively, 26
takes his fleet to Batacola, 26
refuses to return to the islands,
27 ; represses the desires of his
captains, 28 ; sails for the Ne-
gapatam, 34 ; finds the English
fleet at anchor there, 35 ; engages
it, 36 ; again indecisively, 38 ;
places three of his captains
under arrest, 39 ; conceives de
signs against Trincomali, 40 ;
describes his difficulties, 41 ;
pays a state visit to Haidar AH,
42 ; learns the arrival at Galle
of d'Aymar's squadron, 44 ;
sails for ]>atacola, 44 ; receives
reinforcements, and sails for
Trincomali, 45 ; captures Trin-
comali, 40 ; descries the

INDEX.

285

VfiN

English fleet off the harbour,
48 ; is urged to rest upon his
laurels, 48 ; decides to attack,
49 ; reasons and hopes of, 50 ;
attacks, 51 ; danger of, 51 ;
ship of, is dismasted, 52 ; expends
all his ammunition, 53 ; resolves
to blow up his ship, 54 ; is saved
by a change of wind, 54 ; sends
to the islands his recalcitrant
captains, 55 ; loses two of his
vessels, 56 ; goes to winter at
Achin, 56 ; sends cruisers into
the Bay of Bengal, 61 ; returns
to TriiicomaU, and is joined by
the squadron escorting Bussy,
62; escorts Bussy to the coast
and returns to refit, 66 ; deter-
mines to attempt the relief of
Kadalur, 67 ; outmanceuvres Sk
Edward Hughes, 68; goes to i
attack the English, 70 ; fights
them and gains the victory, 70,
71 and note ; advice of, to, and
sarcastic remarks of, on Bussy,
73 ; merits of, as a naval com-
mander, 76, 77; is killed in a
duel, 77 ; conjectures regardmg,

78
Surcouf, Robert, introduction ot,
to reader, 82 ; birth, parentage,
and previous career of, 84 ; sails
to the Seychelles, and flees be-
fore two English ships, 84, 85 ;
captures the Penguin, the
dirtier, and the Diana, 86;
daring adventure of, with the
Triton, 87, 88 ; differences of,
with the Governor of the
islands, 90 ; commands the
Clarisse in the Indian seas, 90,
91 ; cruises and adventures of,
91, 92 ; changes to La Cov.fiance
92 ; encounters the Kent, 93 ;
captures her, 94 ; marries, 94 ;
extraordinary interview of, with
the First Consul, !J5 ; plan of,
for destroying British commerce,
95 ; takes command of the

Eevenant,9Q; successful cruise
of, 97-98 ; subsequent career of,
and death, 99

TEIGNMOUTH, Lord, action of,
regarding the Nizam, 242.
Thomas, George, early career of,
202 205 ; mode of administration
of, 205, 2ii6; refuses the con-
ditions offered by Perron, 206 ;
negotiates with him, 207 ; but
breaks off, 208 ; is attacked by,
and repulses Bourquin, 208,209 ;
fails to follow up the blow, 209 ;
is forced to evacuate Georgegarh,
210 ; renounces his government,
retires and dies, 211
Tippii Sahib, beats Colonel Braith-
waite, 9 ; foils Coote at Arni, 32 ;
proceeds to the Western coast,
63
1 Tone, Major, account of, 217, note.
TrincomaU, taken by the French,

46
TrincomaU, The, extraordmary
contest of, with the Iphigmie,
108
Triton, The, extraordinary capture

of, 87, 88
Tromelin, Captain de. is mistrusted
by Suffren, 27; urges Suffren
not to hght off TrincomaU, 48;
probable reasons of, 48-49 ; is
packed off to the Isle of France,

55
Tukaji Holkar, attacks Sindia, 178;
tries to avoid an engagement
with de Boigne. 179 ; fights a
desperate battle, 180 ; is badly
beaten, 181

FEN US, The, captures the
Ceylon, 141 ; is captured
by Captain Rowley, 142; the
capture of, the turning point in
the scale, 143; name of changed
to La Nereide, 144, note

286

INDEX.

VIC

Victor, The, former career of,
142, note

XyELLESLEY, Marquess,
\> sagacious views of, 115;
policy of, at last carried out, 156;
resolves to bring matters to an
irisue with S'udia, 214 ; forces
the Nizam to dismiss his
French contingent, 245, 246 ;
receives instructions to send a
force from India to Egyjjt, 253
255 ; orders the despatch of the
expedition, 255; and its return,
275
Welleslej, Colonel, appointed
second in command of the force
ordered first against Java, after-

wards against Egj'pt, 256 ; in-
defatigable exertions of, 256 ;
sickness of, 256-264; letter of,
to General Baird, 264 ; memo-
randum of, regarding an invasion
of Egypt from India, 2(jo-269 ;
loss of the vessel in which he
was to have sailed, 271

Wilks, Colonel, testimony of, re-
garding Suffren, 69, 7iote; 72,
note

Willoughby, Captain, commands
the Nereide, 134

ZEB-UL-NISSA, Bigam, marries
Sombre, 234 ; description of,
235 ; marries Le Vaisseau, 235

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HISTORY

OF

THE FRENCH IN INDIA.

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CAPTURE OF THAT PLACE IN 1761.

BY

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and Taming Wild Elephants. 21 full-page Illustrations, and
3 Maps, Fifth Edition. Fcap 4to (pub 12s), 6s 6d

SMITH (J., A. J. S.)— Ferns: British and Foreign. Fourth
Edition, revised and greatly enlarged, with New Figures,
&c. Cr 8vo (pub 7s 6d), 3s

TALBOT (Dr, and others)— Keble College Sermons. Second-
Series, 187T-1888, cr 8vo (pub 6s), Is 6d

' To those Tvho desire earnest, practical, and orthodox doctrine in the form of
short addresses, these sermons vnW be most acceptable ; and their lofty tone,
their (eloquent wording, and the thorough manliness of their character, will
commend them to a wide circle of readers.' — Morning Post.

' Dr Talbot has a second time thoughtfully placed on public record some of the
lessons which were taught during his Wardenship in Ser7nons preached in the
Chapel of KcUe College, Oxford, 1877-1888. The sermons are fresh and vigorous
in tone, and evidently come from preachers who were thoroughly in touch with
their youthful audience, and who generally with much acuteness and skiU,
grappled with the spiritual and intellectual diificulties besetting nowadays the
University career.' — Church Time^.

WILLIAMS (Harry, R.N.)— The Steam Navy of England.
Past, Present, and Future. Contents : Part I. — Our
Seamen ; Part II — Ships and Machinery ; Part III. — Naval
Engineering ; Part IV. — Miscellaneous, Summary, with an
Appendix on the Personnel of the Steam Branch of the
Navy. Third and enlarged Edition. Medium 8vo (pub
12s 6d), 3s

WILSON (Professor H. H.)— Glossary of Judicial Terms,
including words from the Arabic, Persian, Hindustani,
Sanskrit, Hindi, Bengali, Uriya, Marathi, Guzarathi, Telugu,
Karnata, Tamil, Malayalam, and other languages. 4to,
cloth (pub .'?()s), 8s 6d

WYNTERS Subtle Brains and Lissom Fingers. Cr 8vo
(pub 3s (id), Is 6d

' Altogether " Subtle Brains and Lissom Fingers "is about (he pleasantest
book of short collected papers of chit-chat blending information with amuse-
ment, and not overtasking the attention or the intelligence, that wo have seen
for a good while' — London Reader.

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