plies from the adjacent country destined for Trichinopoly to be intercepted; and ordered his soldiers, in conformity with a practice of ancient standing in Mysore, to cut off the noses of all who ventured to disregard his wishes.
The magazines in Trichinopoly had been intrusted to the care of a brother of Mahomed Ali, who had always represented the amount of stores to be abundant. Satisfied with his testimony, Captain Dalton abstained from any personal inspection, until, through the measures of Nunjeraj, both the inhabitants and garrison of Trichinopoly became entirely dependent on the stock of food accumulated within the place. The British commander now learnt with dismay that the careful and honest administrator of the stores had taken advantage of the growing scarcity in the city to sell at a high price a considerable quantity of the provisions on which reliance was placed for defeating the blockade, and that what remained was only equal to the consumption of a few days. In this emergency, his only hope rested on the assistance of Major Lawrence, to whom a messenger was forthwith despatched.
The difficulties of Major Lawrence at that time needed no accession. He had left Fort St. David early in January, 1753, for the purpose of co-operating with Mahomed Ali against Dupleix, who had set up Murteza Khan in opposition to him after the death of Chunda Sahib. At this time the Governor of Pondicherry was able to bring into the field five hundred European infantry and sixty horse, together with two thousand Sepoys – a force which was powerfully aided by a body of four thousand Mahratta cavalry, under Morari Rao, who dreadfully harassed the British troops under Major Lawrence, that officer being sometimes obliged to march his entire force to Fort St. David to escort his supplies.
The intelligence from Trichinopoly, however, determined Major Lawrence immediately to march with the larger part of his force to its relief; and this he did with such despatch that several of his soldiers died on the road from the oppressive heat of the weather, others were sent
