peculiarly expofes that people, that he had no doubt of being equally fuccefsful in the future; and that he fhould be able, either by money to render them inert, or by civil commotion incapable, until he had grown beyond their grafp or reach.

Thefe mighty defigns, which had been long reftrained by the great power and military reputation of the English, were at length brought into act, by that diftracted ftate of affairs, and thofe numerous enemies, which the alternate weakness and temerity of their councils, with the rapacity of individuals, had, at length, brought upon them. These were the real motives, independent of all former causes, whether of private or public refentment, which led to Hyder's irruption into the Carnatic. The ftate of their affairs at that time, and the weaknefs and ill government of their ally, the Nabob of Arcot, feemed to lay that rich and extenfive country an easy prey at his feet; and his firft fucceffes were fuch, that it was no wonder he expected to have been mafter of Madras, and of the whole coaft of Coromandel, within a few weeks. With this vaft addition of power, and increaf: of renown, together with the means which they would afford to him of prefcribing laws for the conduct of all the leffer flates, and of directing the already excited refentments of the Mahrattas to the attainment of his own purposes, it seemed as if there would be nothing but a fufficient naval force wanting, to enable him to drive the English entirely out of India. This deciency France had promifed to

fupply, and he depended upon her engagement. Indeed fo little was he difpofed to depend upon the aid of others, in any thing, which came within his own poffible comprehenfion, that he had for feveral years paft ufed extraordinary, and for that part of the world, almoft wonderful efforts, to become himself a potent maritime power; not only by the acquifition of a great length of fea coaft, but by his fparing no expence in the purchase and building of fhips; not to mention his conqueft of the numberlefs Maldive islands, which would have afforded him an inexhauftible refource of fea

men.

The vigorous meafures purfued upon the arrival of Sir Eyre Coote at Madras, and the fubfequent repeated defeats which ha received from that commander, not only blafted Hyder's hopes of fpeedy conqueft, but broke in upon and difconcerted the whole fcheme of his defigns. He foon made the unexpected and unwelcome difcovery, that inftead of rapidly fubduing the Carnatic, and being then free to follow up the chain of his other projects to the end, it was become a matter of the greatest doubt, whether his own force fingly would ever be equal to the accomplishment of the first object. The confidence

in his own power thus overthrown, he had only to place his truft in, and withfully to look forward to the arrival of that French navai armament, which was to fweep the English out of the Indian feas; this great fervice once performed, Hyder well knew that he was himfelf fully competent to the completion of the butinefs by land,

at least so far as related to the coast of Coromandel. After long and tedious delay, when expectation and hope was nearly exhaufted, the French fleet arrived, and after exciting a tranfitory gleam of hope, failed in the attainment of all its objects, fo far at least as related to him; for defperate fights at fea, without any decisive confequences, or the taking two or three tranfports, or a number of provifion veffels on their way to and from Madras, were matters which afforded neither confolation nor profit to Fyder.

It could not then be without that anguish, which difappointed ambition, and a total overthrow of the moft fanguine hopes are capable of exciting, that he now beheld all his defigns fruftrated The lingering war in the Caraatic afforded neither advantage nor hope; and, if it was ruineus to his enemies, it was fcarcely lefs fo to himlelf. The country was already fo defolated, that it was of little farther value to either of the parties, than as it afforded them a multitude of ftrong pofts and garrifons, and a wide icene for every kind of action and manoeuvre in war. It had already been the grave of his bett generals, officers and troops, and not much lefs of his own military reputation; at the fame time, that he was fo deeply involved, that he could not quit fo unfortunate and hopelefs a scene of conteft, without a total dereli&ion of his paft name and renown.

Whilft he was thus chained down in the Carnatic, he faw the clouds gathering on every fide, and every indication of an approaching and dreadful ftorm. He

knew that a treaty of peace, and perhaps of alliance, was far advanced, if not already concluded, between the English and the Mahrattas. He had too much reafon to apprehend, that an intended partition of his dominions would be the band of union between thofe late enemies; who were both exceedingly jealous of his power, and had both fuffered extremely by his arms. He had no confederacy to oppofe to fo for midable a junction; which, on the contrary, was likely to draw after it all the ftates in India; for there were few of them who had not been either jealous of his power, or afraid of his defigns; and the most inconfiderable would hope to pick up fome fhare of the fpoil, in fuch a general wreck of his fortunes. But if this apprehended confederacy did not even take place, he faw that the Englifh being now freed from their Mahratta enemy, would direct their whole force against him fingly; and that while his hands were fully occupied in the Carnatic, Bombay and Bengal would urge their utmoft efforts against him on the Malabar fide; where he was moft vulnerable, and from whence they might eafily carry the war into the very centre of his dominions. As to his French allies, they had already failed him in that point, in which only he confidered them as capable of doing him any effential fervice; for as to their land forces, he fet but little value upon them; and he befides knew, that they could never be able to fend fuch an army to that diftance, as would be in any degree capable, in thefe circumftauces, of turning the scale of

war

war in his favour. Indeed it had been one of his own long established maxims, that the Europeans could never become powerful or formidable in India, by any other means, than by that of native troops, railed and difciplined in the

country.

Such was the fituation, and fuch probably the feelings and reflections of Hyder.

Sir Eyre Coote's ill health rendering him incapable of continuing any longer in the field, and Sir Hector Monro returning to Europe, the command of the army devolved on Major.general Stuart. The country was now fo entirely ruined, that the contending armies were obliged to draw their fupplies from other quarters, which, befides the immenfe expence it occafioned, could not but greatly impede the operations of the war. Hyder, however, from the nearness on all fides of his own dominions, was, comparatively with the English, but little affected by this circumstance. As the enemy ftill cautiously abftained from rifquing an action, and that it was impoffible to force them to it, at the fame time, that they were too numerous and powerful in the field, and the French too ftrong at Cuddalore, to admit of any attempt for the recovery of that place, a toilfome campaign on the fide of General Stuart, was spent in long and laborious marches, either occafioned by the motions of the enemy, or intended to counteract their defigns, by the fupply and relief of garritons; fo that no event of any confiderable importance took place in the Carnatic during the remainder of the year.

VOL. XXVI.

But this ceffation was confined entirely to the land; for the Indian ocean was ftill deftined to be the scene of hard and bloody action. M. de Suffrein had returned from Battacalo to the coaft of Coromandel, pretty early in June, and having touched at the Danish fettlement of Tranquebar, where his fleet was revictualled by feveral Dutch fhips which had ar. rived for that purpofe from Batavia, he proceeded thence to Cuddalore, which the French had rendered their ftrong and great place of arms, both for the land and fea fervice. The French commander had it now in contemplation to fulfil Hyder's hopes, (with whom he had held feveral conferences) by totally cruthing the Englith fquadron, before the arrival of Sir Richard Bickerton, who with feveral fhips of war, had been long on his way from England, and moft impatiently expected at Madras. He till preferved his former fuperiority, of twelve fhips of the live to eleven, befides his heavy frigates, and he ufed all poffible means to prepare them in the beft manner for im. mediate action. In order to render this fuperiority fully decitive against a fquadron fo weakly manned as the English, be replenished his thips with 400 French, and as many fepoys, at Cuddalore; and receiving intelligence foon after that Sir Edward Hughes was ar rived on the coaft, he, under pretence of a defign on Negapatam, ftrengthened his fquadron with 300 artillery men; than which, no aid could be more thorougly effectively.

Sir Edward Hughes having new mafted the Monmouth, and re[E]

fitted

fitted his other fhips, as well as time and circumftances would admit at Trincomale, as foon as he received intelligence that the enemy were departed from Batacalo, loft no time in his preparation to follow them to the coaft; and having taken on board his recovered men, arrived at Negapatam towards the end of the month.

The French commander, confiding in his ftrength, appeared boldly with 18 thips before Negapatam to challenge his enemy, who, without regard to his number or force, was by no means flack in anfwering the defiance. It was paft noon when the French fleet came in fight, and Sir Edward Hughes was in fuch admirable readinefs, and fo little difpofed to give them any delay, that by three o'clock he had weighed anchor, and inftantly putting out to fea, food to the fouthward during the evening and the night, in order to gain the wind of the enemy. This effential point being gained, and confirmed by feveral masterly evolutions in the morning, when the fquadron had nearly closed with the enemy, he threw out fignals for every fhip to bear down directly upon her oppofite in the French line, and to bring her to

clofe action. Thefe or

July 6th. ders were admirably

obeyed; and for fome confiderable time, the action was close, warm, and generally well maintained on both fides. The firing had commenced in the French line, about twenty minutes before eleven o'clock, but was not returned on the fide of the English until they had fufficiently neared

the enemy, which was fome minutes later.

At fomething more than half paft twelve, the French line appeared to be in great diforder, and feveral of their fhips were perceived to have fuffered extremely both in their mafs and hulls. The van fhip had already been obliged to bear away quite out of the line; the Brilliant, the French admiral's fecond a head, had loft her main-maft; and feveral others fhewed fufficient marks of lofs and diforder. At this critical moment, when even hope itfelf could fcarcely find any thing to cling to, fortune befriended the enemy, and a fudden shift of wind faved the French fquadron from abfolute ruin. The fea breeze fet in with fuch unusual power, that feveral of the English hips in the van and centre, particularly thofe which had received the greatest damage in their mafts and rigging, were taken a back, and paid round on the heel, with their heads the contrary way; while others, particularly thofe in the rear, whofe rigging had fuffered the leaft in the action, were abled to with ftand this fhift of the wind, and accordingly continued on their former tack.

The circumftance, fo fortunate to the one fide, and untoward with refpect to the other, neceffarily breaking the British line, and totally deforming their order of battle, rendered them incapable of profecuting their advantage with effect; while the disabled, broken, and flying enemy, were thereby enabled to recollect and recover

themselves. For during this ftate of diforder in the British

British line, the French fquadron had time to wear, and getting upon a new tack, to form with thofe fhips, which had suffered leaft a-line to windward, in order to cover those which were difabled. In the intermediate time, Sir Edward Hughes feeing part of his fhips on one tack, and the more numerous on the other, while the Eagle, Worcester, and Burford, which had been able to continue on their former, were nearing the enemy's main body very faft, he attempted to remedy this diforder, by hauling down the fignal for the line, and throwing out another to wear, which he intended to follow with that for a general chace. But at this inftant he was hailed by Captain Gell, of the Monarca, who informed him, that not only all his ftanding rigging had been shot away, but that his fhip had otherwife received fo much damage as to be utterly ungovernable; and the admiral perceiving at the fame time, that the enemy, who had now worn, and were coming on the larboard tack, were endeavouring to cut off the Eagle, while at the other extremity of the line, his van fhip, the Hero, was getting in fo clofe with the land as to make a fignal of diftrefs, he found it neceifary to throw out the fignal for wearing only. During this operation, a partial engagement was continued between fuch of the English hips and of the French as happened to come within the reach of each other, and the Eagle was for fome time hard preffed by two of the enemy.

At half paft one, the admiral made the fignal for the line of

battle a-head, and was preparing to renew the attack; but at two o'clock, feeing that the enemy were ftanding in thore, and collecting their hips in a clofe body, while his own were much difperfed, and feveral of them ungovernable, he gave up that defign, and thought only of collecting his hips, and preparing them for that fervice, which he hoped would be conclufive and final with respect to its obje&, on the enfuing morning. The Britifh fquadron caft anchor at the approach of the evening between Negapatam and Nagore, and were bufily employed during the night in fecuring their lower mafis, as moft of their ftanding rigging had been fhot away, and in ftretching ferviceable fails to their yards; but no exertions, in fo fhort a time, could render them capable of fresh evolutions and immediate fervice; they had been well able in the line, to continue the engagement, and to press upon their enemy to the laft; but when their already torn rigging had been ftrained and racked in the gale, and by the fubfequent movements, they could not but be crippled in fuch a manner, as mutt require time, as well as application, for its cure.

The French fquadron had anchored about three leagues to leeward; and it could not be without the moft unfpeakable mortification, that the English admiral beheld them getting under fail in the morning, and proceeding on their way to Cuddalore, while his fhips were utterly incapable of preventing or purfuing them, Their frigates upon this occafion,