turned and went off on the full gallop, leaving Mr. Lally, as he afferts, fingly alone. If fo, he could not have ftaid long where he was, for the European horfe, on feeing the enemy's check, were advancing; and many of the black, encouraged by the fecurity, were returning, and the whole foon after fet off after the enemy, whom they purfned in a long courfe quite to the rear of their camp.

The English army halted ten minutes in attention to this attack,' during which the French line cannonaded, but beyond the proper diftance even for ball, and nevertheless often fired grape, and neither with any effect. The English did not begin to anfwer until nearer, and then perceiving their own fire much better directed, halted in order to preferve this advantage, as long as the enemy permitted it to continue, by not advancing from the front of their camp. Mr. Lally retiring from the English cavalry, and deferted by his own, rejoined his line of infantry, which he found fuffering, and with much impatience, from the English cannonade: his own impetuofity concurred with their eagerness to be led to immediate.decifion, and he gave the order to advance. The English line was not directly oppofite to the front of the French, but flanting outwards from their left, which required the French troops on this fide to advance much lefs than thofe of their right, who had more ground to wheel, in order to bring the whole line parallel to that of the English.

'Colonel Coote feeing the enemy coming on gave the final orders to his own. None but the Europeans of the first and fecond lines were to advance any farther. The Sepoys on the wings of both, and the cavalry in the third line, were to continue where they were left, and to take no fhare in the battle, until they should hereafter receive orders how to act.

The enemy began the fire of musketry at one o'clock, but Co. Jonel Coote intended to refrain until nearer; neverthelefs the company of Coffrees, which was inferted in one of the Company's battalions, gave their fire without the order of their officers, and it was with difficulty that the irregularity was prevented from extending. Colonel Coote was at this time paffing from the right to the left to join his own regiment, and received two or three thot in his cloaths from the fire of the Coffrees. As foon as he arrived at his regiment they began, and the fire became general through the whole line.

'Coote's had only fired twice, when Lorrain formed in a column twelve in front: the operation is fimple and was expeditious. Colonel Coote made no change in the difpofition of his regiment, but ordered the whole to preferve their next fire: which Lorrain coming on almost at a run, received at the diftance of 50 yards in their' front and on both their flanks; it fell heavy, and brought down many, but did not ftop the column. In an inftant the two regiments were mingled at the pufh of bayonet; thofe of Coote's oppofite the front of the column were immediately born down, but the reft, far the greatest part, fell on the flanks, when every man fought only for himself, and in a minute the ground was fpread with dead and wounded, and Lorrain having juft before fuffered from the referved fire of Coote's, broke, and ran in diforder to regain the camp. Colonel Coote ordered his regiment to be restored to order

before

before they pursued, and rode himself to see the state of the rest of the line.

• As he was paffing on, a fhot from one of the guns with Draper's regiment, ftruck a tumbril in the retrenched tank on the left of Lally's, where the marines were pofted, and the explofion blew up So men, many of whom, with the chevalier Poete, were killed dead, and most of the others mortally hurt. All who were near, and had efcaped the danger, fled in the first impulse of terror out of the retrenchment, and ran to gain the camp by the rear of Lally's, and were joined in the way by the 400 Sepoys at the tank behind, who, although they had fuffered nothing, likewife abandoned their poft. Colonel Coote on the explosion, fent orders by his aid de camp Captain Izer, to Major Brereton, to advance with the whole of Draper's regiment, and take poffeffion of the retrenched tank before the enemy recovered the confufion which he judged the explosion must have caufed; as in this fituation, they would command, under cover, the flank of Lally's regiment. The ground on which Draper's was flanding oppofite to Lally's when the order came, obliged them, in order to prevent Lally's from enfilading, or flanking them as coming down, to file off by the right. Mr. Buffy, who commanded on this wing, had before endeavoured to rally the fugitives, of whom he had recovered 50 or 60, and adding to them two platoons of Lally's, led and pofted them in the tank, and then returned to support them with the regiment. But Brereton's files kept wheeling at a distance, and moving at the quickeft pace, fuffered little from their fire, and coming upon the left of the retrenchment, affaulted it impetuously, and car. ried it after receiving one fire of much execution from the troops within, under which Major Brereton fell mortally wounded, and when fallen refufed the affiftance of the men next him, but bid them follow their victory. The firft of Draper's who got into the retrenchment fired down from the parapet upon the guns of the left of Lally's, and drove the gunners from them; whilft the reft, being many more than required to maintain the poft, formed, and shouldered under it, extending on the plain to the left to prevent the regiment of Lally, if attempting to recover the poft, from embracing it on this fide. Mr. Buffy wheeled the regiment of Lally, and fent off platoons from its left, to regain the retrenchment, whilft the reft were opposed to the divifion of Draper's on the plain. But the platoons acted faintly, only fkirmishing with their fire inftead of coming to the clofe affault. The action likewife continued only with mufketry, but warmly, between the two divifions on the plain, until the two field pieces, attached to the right of Draper's, which they had left behind when marching to attack the retrenchment, were brought to bear on the flank of Lally's, who had none to oppose them; on which their line began to waver, and many were going off. Mr. Buffy, as the only chance of restoring this part of the battle, put himself at their head, intending to lead them to the push of bayonet, but had only advanced a little way when his horse was ftruck with a ball in the head, and floundering at every step afterwards, he difmounted; during which the fire from Draper's had continued, of which two or three balls paffed through his cloaths, and when he alighted only 20 of Lally's had kept near him, the rest had fhrank. Two platoons fet off on

E 3

the

the full run from Draper's to furround them: the officer demanded and received Mr. Buffy's fword, and fent him with a guard into the rear; he was conducted to Major Monfon, who had wheeled three companies of the grenadiers of the fecond line, and was halting with them and their field-piece at fome distance, ready if neceffary to fupport the event of Draper's. Mr. Buffy afked who the troops he faw were; and was answered 200 grenadiers, the beft men in the army, who had not fired a fhot; he clafped his hands in furprize and admiration, and faid not a word.

During the conflict on this fide the two centers, which were compofed of the troops of the two East India Companies, had kept up a hot, but d fant fire; neither chufing to rifque clofer decifion until they faw the event between Draper's and Lally's; but as foon as Lally's broke, the enemy's center went off likewife, but in better order, although in hafte, to regain their camp. Many of Coote's, in the first fury of victory, had purfued their antagonists of Lorrain up to the retrenchment, by which the fugitives entered the camp: they might have fuffered by this rafhness, if the guard there, as well as the nearest Sepoys along the ridge, had not taken fright, and abandoned their pofts on feeing the rout of Lorrain. It took fome time to bring the purfuers back to their colours, when the officers, fending off the wounded, formed the reft into their ranks, and afterwards only made the appearance of advancing, whilft the rest of the battle remained in doubt, left Lorrain with the Sepoys fhould rally; to prevent which the four field pieces on the left kept up an inceffant fire plunging into the camp.

As foon as the other wing and the center of the enemy's army gave way, their opponents, the Company's battalion and Draper's regiment got into order, and with Coote's, who were ready, ad vanced to the purfuit, leaving their artillery behind. They entered the enemy's camp without meeting the leaft oppofition. India and Lally's had paffed through it haftily to the other fide, although not in route as Lorrain's before. Mr. Lally, after the rout of Lorrain, rode away to join his own regiment on the left, but on the way faw the explosion of the tumbril at the retrenched tank, the difperfion of the marines in this poft, and the flight of the Sepoys out of the tank behind. He was in this inftant near, and intended to speak to Mr. Buffy, but turned fuddenly, and ordered the Sepoys ftationed along the ridge in front of the camp to advanec. None obeyed; and most of them being thofe of Zulphacarjung who had ferved with Mr. Buffy in the Decan, he rafhly fufpected treachery, and, unable to controul the impulfe of diftraction, rode into the camp to ftop the fugitives of Lorrain.

The whole body of the French cavalry, near 300, who were all Europeans, appeared on the plain in the rear of the camp to which they had retreated, followed by the cavalry of the English army, whofe encounter they had hitherto avoided by abler evolutions; fo that neither of these two bodies had been within fight of the brunt between the two infantries. The French cavalry chanced to be near enough to fee the flight of Lorrain through the camp, and, animated by a fenfe of national honour, refolved to protect them, if, as might be expected, they fhould endeavour to escape ftill farther by gaining the

plain. In this purpose they united their fquadrons and drew up in the rear of the camp, and in face of the English cavalry, of whom the black horse, awed by their refolution, dared not, and the European were too few, to charge them. This unexpected fuccour probably prevented the utter difperfion of the French army. There were in the rear of the camp three field pieces with their tumbrils of am munition; at which the fugitives of Lorrain, encouraged by the appearance of the cavalry, ftopped, and yoked them. These protections reftored confidence to Lally's and the India battalion as they arrived, likewife beaten from the field. They fet fire to the tents and undangerous flores near them, and the whole filed off into the plain in much better order than their officers expected. The three field-pieces kept in the rear of the line of infantry, and behind them moved the cavalry. They paffed to the weftward, and when oppofite to the pettahs of Vandivash were joined by the troops, who had continued at the batteries there which they abandoned, leaving all the stores and baggage, and received no interruption from the garrison as they were going off. The Morattoes, who were under the mountain when the cannonade began, intended not only to protect their own camp, but to fall upon the baggage of the English army; but when they faw the whole body of Sepoys remaining in the rear of the action, were deterred from advancing to the village, to which the baggage was fent; and having their own all ready loaded on their bullocks, fent off the whole train to the weftward foon after the cannonade commenced; and with the first notice from their scouts of the rout of Lorrain, began to go off themselves. Their route led them across the way, along which the French were retreating; whom 700 of them joined and accompanied. Colonel Coote fent repeated orders to his cavalry to harafs and impede the retreat of the French line. They followed them five miles until five in the afternoon, but the black horfe could not be brought up within reach of the carbines of the French cavalry, and much lefs of their field-pieces. The brunt of the day paffed intirely between the Europeans of both armies, the black troops of neither had any part in it, after the cannonade commenced. The commandants of the English Sepoys complimenting Colonel Coote on the victory, thanked him for the fight of fuch a battle as they had never seen.

Twenty-four pieces of cannon were taken, 19 in the field and camp, and 5 in the battery again ft Vandivafh, 11 tumbrils of ammunition, all the tents, tores, and baggage, that were not burnt. Two hundred of the Europeans were counted dead in the field, and' 160 were taken, of whom 30 died of their wounds before the next morning; 6 of the killed, and 20 of the prifoners, were officers: wounded continually dropt on the road; fo that the immediate diminution of the enemy's force was computed 600 men. Of the English army, 63 Europeans were killed, and 124 wounded, in all 195; of this number, 36 of the killed, and 16 of the wounded, be-longed to the Company's battalions, 17 and 65 to Draper's, 13 and 36 to Coote's regiment; four of the European horfe, and two of the artillery, were wounded, but none of either killed. Of the black troops, 17 of the horse were killed, and 32 wounded: in all, 22 and 47 of the Sepoys only 6 and 15. The killed, as well in the Eu- ́ ropean

4

Topean as the black troops, was, although not in the different bodies, one half of the number wounded, a proportion on the whole which rarely happens, excepting as in this action, by cannonade.

The first news of the victory was brought to Madrafs at fun-rife the next morning by one of the black fpies of the English camp. At noon came in another, with a note of two lines, written with a pencil, by Colonel Coote on the field of battle; other accounts followed, and foon after eye-witneffes. The joy which this fuccefs diffufed throughout the fettlement, was almost equal to that of Calcutta on the victory at Plaffey. Their congratulations to Colonel Coote and the army were abundant as their joy.'

The great length of this narrative prevents our making farther extracts from the prefent volume; we fhall therefore only add that, every step we have advanced in the perufal of this hiftory, we have feen fresh grounds for admiring the Author's fidelity and impartiality, as well as his ability in hiftorical writing. We fhall hope in due feafon to fee the whole plan completed, and a copious index annexed to this and the remaining volumes, fuch as Mr. Orme has given with the second edition of his first volume.

ART. XII. The Fathers; or, The Good natur'd Man. A Comedy. As it is acted at the Theatre Royal, in Drury-Lane. By the late Henry Fielding, Efq; Author of Tom Jones, &c. 8vo. Is. 6d. Cadell.

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1778.

O this Comedy is prefixed the following advertisement : The Comedy now published, was written by the late Henry Fielding fome years before his death. The author had hown it to his friend Mr. Garrick; and entertaining a high efteem for the tafte and critical difcernment of Sir Charles Williams, he afterwards delivered the manufcript to Sir Charles for his opinion. At that time appointed Envoy Extraordinary to the court of Ruffia, Sir Charles had not leifure to examine the play before he left England. Whether it has had the honour to travel with the Envoy into Ruffia, or was left behind, that it might not interfere with the intrigues of the embassy, we cannot determine. Sir Charles died in Ruffia, and the manufcript was loft.

As Mr. Fielding had often mentioned this affair, many enquiries were made, after his decease, of feveral branches of Sir Charles's family, but did not produce any tidings of the Comedy.

About two years ago Thomas Johnes, Efq; member for Cardigan, received from a young friend, as a prefent, a tatter'd manufcript play, bearing, indeed, fome tokens of antiquity, else the prefent had been of little worth, fince the young gentleman affured Mr. Johnes, that it was "a damn'd thing!"Notwithstanding this unpromifing character, Mr. Johnes took