178 LA BOURDONNAIS AND DUPLEIX. chap. Marie " was dismasted, and had seven to eight feet of ' , water in her hold : the " Marie Gertrude " and the 1746. " Advice " had foundered. Of these eight vessels, then, four were lost ; two of the others were rendered utterly unseaworthy, and the remaining two were so damaged as to require almost superhuman exertion to fit them for sea. The French squadron had, in fact, suddenly ceased to exist. The loss in men alone had exceeded 1,200 * It was whilst in the midst of his troubles, before even he knew the full extent of his losses, that La Bourdon- nais received the letter, dated October 11, from the Superior Council to which we have alluded,")" and in which they declined to fix an absolute term to the time of the withdrawal of the French troops from Madras. He apparently had expected some such answer. " I have received from the Council," said he, in reply, "the answer which I expected regarding the affairs of Madras. I shall take that which I believe to be the simplest part, which is to leave you a copy of the capitulation, and to abandon to you the field, in order to devote my- self entirely to saving the debris of our losses." Four days later, writing when his losses were fully known to him, he still expressed himself hopefully about the future, proposing to winter and repair damages at Goa, whilst the undamaged portion of the fleet should remain at Achm for the protection of Pondichery. He then added — " My part is taken regarding Madras ; I aban- don it to you.J I have signed the capitulation, it is for you to keep my word. I am so disgusted with this
- Besides sixty men of the Eng- "Centaure," the "Mars," and the
lish garrison who were on board the "Brillant," just arrived from France. "Due d'Orleans." — Grose's East They pleaded, in reply, the orders Indies, they had received to place them- t Vide note to page 174. selves at the disposal of the Go- % It is necessary to notice that this vern or- General and Council of Pon- was not written until La Bourdon- dichery. — La Bourdonnais d Mes- nais had made a vain attempt to bring sieurs du Conseil Supreme de Ponai- under his orders the captains of the chert/, Octobre 18, 17-10.
