stores and magazines formed on the proposed line of march lay open to the enemy, and were therefore to be removed with all speed. General Meadows, notwithstanding, resumed offensive operations, and had nearly come in contact with the army of the Sultan; but by a series of manœuvres Tippoo eluded both him and Colonel Maxwell, then stationed in Baramahl, and by a rapid march descended into the Coromandel territory. After menacing Trichinopoly, he turned northwards, and swept the Carnatic with nearly as little opposition as was experienced by his father during his first triumphant campaign. At Thiagar, indeed, he was repulsed by his old friend Captain Flint, whom he had learned to know at Wandewash; but scarcely any other place made even a show of resistance. He began by burning and destroying everything in his way; but soon considered that it would be more profitable to levy contributions, and thereby to replenish his somewhat exhausted treasury. On approaching Pondicherry he endeavoured to open a negotiation with the French, which was rendered fruitless by the pacific disposition of Louis the Sixteenth.[1]
In the conduct of the war up to this period little of military skill had been displayed, and little advantage gained to the cause of the allies. Lord Cornwallis, therefore, determined to resume his original design of directing the war in person; and having arrived at Madras on the 29th of January, 1791, he took the command.[2] On the
- ↑ "Monsieur Leger, (Tippoo's envoy), on his arrival in Paris, necessarily addressed himself to Bertrand de Moleville, Minister of Marine, who informed the King of Tippoo's proposals (to destroy the English army and settlements in India with the aid of six thousand French troops); but notwithstanding their advantages the natural probity of the King's mind would not permit him to adopt the measure: 'This resembles,' said he, 'the affair of America, which I never think of without regret. My youth was taken advantage of at that time, and we suffer for it now; the lesson is too severe to be forgotten.'" – Colonel Wilks' "Sketches of South of India."
- ↑ "A strong prejudice against embarking on board ship had been created in the minds of the Sepoys, in consequence of two Grenadiers, belonging to detachments sent from Bengal to Madras in 1767, being lost returning by sea to Calcutta in 1769. This circumstance, coupled with their religious prejudices, made such an impression that it required much conciliatory management to overcome. The firm and temperate conduct of Lord Cornwallis, with the encouragement which he extended to the native soldiers, surmounted their scruples; and on the present occasion, when nine hundred volunteers were required to till up the bat-
