, and that
with such promptitude that in less than a month my fortress
commenced to take form, and visibly progressed owing to
the extraordinary efforts I made to complete it. It was
triangular, with a bastion at each angle. At two of the
angles I had found superb trees with very heavy foliage, and
on the third I erected the mast of my boat and hoisted our
flag. All three bastions had four embrasures, a fine entrance
gate opening on the marsh, and a little open turret above,
A small entrance gate led to the open country. The curtains
were carefully pierced for musketry, and strengthened outside
with a trellis work of bamboo, and finished off with banquettes
on the ramparts. An excellent powder magazine
was built in the same way, and, being situated in the interior
of the fort, was quite safe from any accident.

"As I had brought workmen of all kinds with me, the
work went on well, especially as the care of our health made
us all industrious. I was not without cannon, and I mounted
on our ramparts two Swedish guns, which afterwards proved
our safety and preservation.[139] Also being provided with the
requisites for making gunpowder, I very soon had nearly
3000 lbs. weight of very good quality.

"Hardly anything remained to complete my fortress,
which I had named 'Bourgogne,' except to provide it with
a glacis. It was already furnished with a market which was
sufficiently flourishing, when to my misfortune I received
the false information that our forces, which were said to be
considerable, were ready to enter the Ganges, and that there
was certain news of the arrival of a very strong squadron at
Pondicherry.[140] On the 8th September there broke out at
Purneah, and in the province of that name, a Evolution
headed by a person named Hazir Ali Khan,[141] who, having
seized the capital, at once wrote to me to join him, and assist
him against the English and Jafar Ali Khan.[142]

"These two events made me stop everything else and
devote myself entirely to getting my boats out of the little
river by which I had entered the marsh, and which was now
almost quite dried up. I succeeded in doing so after some
time, by means of ditches which I cut from the marsh, but
this took me more than a month and considerable labour, as
I was about two leagues from the great river. To complete
my misfortunes, my troop was attacked by sickness, which
rage