ent of the expedition. When the nabob sent a French
officer in his service to compliment M. de Suffren and proffer alliance,
the commander interrupted the envoy: "We will begin," said he, "by
settling the conditions of this alliance;" and not a soldier set foot on
land before the independent position of the French force, the number of
its auxiliaries, and the payment for its services had been settled by a
treaty.

Hyder Ali consented to everything. M. de Suffren set sail to go in
search of the English.

[Illustration: Suffren----413]

He sought them for three months without any decisive result; it was only
on the 4th of July in the morning, at the moment when Hyder Ali was to
attack Negapatam, that a serious engagement began between the hostile
fleets. The two squadrons had already suffered severely; a change of
wind had caused disorder in the lines: the English had several vessels
dismantled; one single French vessel, the _Severe,_ had received serious
damage; her captain, with cowardly want of spirit, ordered the flag to be
hauled down. His lieutenants protested; the volunteers to whom he had
appealed refused to execute his orders. By this time the report was
spreading among the batteries that the captain, was giving the order to
cease firing; the sailors were as indignant as the officers: a cry arose,
"The flag is down!" A complaisant subaltern had at last obeyed the
captain's repeated orders. The officers jumped upon the quarter-deck.
"You are master of your flag," fiercely cried an officer of the blue,
Lieutenant Dien, "but we are masters as to fighting, and the ship shall
not surrender!" By this time a boat from the English ship, the _Sultan,_
had put off to board the Severe, which was supposed to have struck, when
a fearful broadside from all the ship's port-holes struck the _Sultan,_
which found herself obliged to sheer off. Night came; without waiting
for the admiral's orders, the English went and cast anchor under
Negapatam.

M. de Suffren supposed that hostilities would be resumed; but, when the
English did not appear, he at last prepared to set sail for Gondelour to
refit his vessels, when a small boat of the enemy's hove in sight: it
bore a flag of truce. Admiral Hughes claimed the _Severe,_ which had for
an instant hauled down her flag. M. de Suffren had not heard anything
about her captain's poltroonery; the flag had been immediately replaced;
he answered that none of the French vessels had