myself, most of the
traders of the town, and the landowners, who had gathered here in fear
and trembling.

"It was a painful scene, as you may imagine, and I shall never forget
the terrified crowds in the streets, and the wailing of the women.
Many families who then left reached Madras in safety, but of those who
remained in the town, all are dead, or prisoners beyond the hills.
Hyder descended through the pass of Changama on the 20th of July, and
his horsemen spread out like a cloud over the country, burning,
devastating, and slaughtering. Hyder moved with the main army slowly,
occupying town after town, and placing garrisons in them.

"You must not suppose that he devastated the whole country. He was too
wise for that. He anticipated reigning over it as its sovereign, and
had no wish to injure its prosperity. It was only over tracts where he
considered that devastation would hamper the movements of an English
army, that everything was laid waste.

"On the 21st of August he invested Arcot, and a week later, hearing
that the British army had moved out from Madras, he broke up the siege
and advanced to meet them. Sir Hector Munro, the British general, was
no doubt brave, but he committed a terrible blunder. Instead of
marching to combine his force with that of Colonel Baillie, who was
coming down from Guntoor, he marched in the opposite direction to
Conjeveram, sending word to Colonel Baillie to follow him. Baillie's
force amounted to over two thousand eight hundred men, Munro's to five
thousand two hundred. Had they united, the force would have exceeded
eight thousand, and could have given battle to Hyder's immense army
with fair hope of success. The English have won, before now, with
greater odds against them.

"My father had marched out with his cavalry, one hundred and fifty
strong, with Munro. Of course, I was with him, and it was to him that
the English general gave the despatch to carry to Colonel Baillie. We
rode hard, for at any moment Hyder's cavalry might swoop down and bar
the road; but we got through safely, and the next morning, the 24th,
Baillie started.

"The encampment was within twenty-five miles of Madras, and with one
long forced march, we could have effected a junction with Munro. The
heat was tremendous, and Baillie halted that night on the bank of the
River Cortelour. The bed was dry, and my father urged him to cross
before halting. The colonel replied that the men were too exhausted to
move