s the native horse would not
venture within range of the enemy's field guns, Charlie, to his great
disappointment, was able to do nothing.

Upon neither side did the Sepoys take any part in the battle of
Vandivash. It was fought entirely between the two thousand two hundred
and fifty French, not including those in their battery, and sixteen
hundred English, excluding the grenadiers, who never fired a shot.
Twenty-four pieces of cannon were taken, and eleven waggons of
ammunition, and all the tents, stores, and baggage that were not
burned. The French left two hundred dead upon the field. A hundred and
sixty were taken prisoners, of whom thirty died of their wounds before
the next morning. Large numbers dropped upon the march, and were
afterwards captured. The English had sixty-three killed, and a hundred
and twenty-four wounded.

The news of this victory reached Madras on the following morning, and
excited as much enthusiastic joy as that of Plassey had done at
Calcutta; and the event was almost as important a one. There was no
longer the slightest fear of danger, and the Madras authorities began
to meditate an attack upon Pondicherry. So long as the great French
settlement remained intact, so long would Madras be exposed to fresh
invasions; and it was certain that France, driven now from Bengal,
would make a desperate effort to regain her shaken supremacy in
Madras.

The force, however, at the disposal of the Madras authorities, was
still far too weak to enable them to undertake an enterprise like the
siege of Pondicherry; for their army did not exceed, in numbers, that
which Lally possessed for its defence. Accordingly, urgent letters
were sent to Clive to ask him to send down, in the summer, as many
troops as he could spare, other reinforcements being expected from
England at that time. The intervening time was spent in the reduction
of Chittapett, Karical, and many other forts which held out for the
French.

After the battle of Vandivash, Charlie kept his promise to his men. He
represented to Mr. Pigot that they had already served some months over
the time for which they were enlisted, that they had gone through
great hardships, and performed great services, and that they were now
anxious to retire to enjoy the prize money they had earned. He added
that he had given his own promise that they should be allowed to
retire, if they would extend their service until after a decisive
battle with the French. Mr. Pigot