“Seeing the French squadron drawing off,—­for all the ships except the Brillant had fallen off on the other tack,—­Captain de Cillart thought it useless to prolong his defence, and had the flag hauled down.  The ships engaged with him immediately ceased their fire, and the one on the starboard side moved away.  At this moment the Severe fell off to starboard, and her sails filled.  Captain de Cillart then ordered the fire to be resumed by his lower-deck guns, the only ones which remained manned, and he rejoined his squadron.”

When the Severe’s flag came down, Suffren was approaching with his flagship.  The Sultan wore to rejoin her fleet, and was raked by the Severe in so doing.  The Brillant, whose mainmast had been shot away in conflict with either the Sultan or the Burford, both much heavier ships, had at this later phase of the fight fallen under the guns of the Worcester and the Eagle.  Her captain, de Saint-Felix, was one of the most resolute of Suffren’s officers.  She was rescued by the flagship, but she had lost 47 killed and 136 wounded,—­an almost incredible slaughter, being over a third of the usual complement of a sixty-four; and Suffren’s ships were undermanned.

These spirited episodes, and the fact that his four separated ships were approaching the enemy, and being approached by them, caused Hughes to give the orders to wear, and for a general chase; the flag for the line being hauled down.  These signals would bring all the main body to the support of the separated ships, without regard to their order in battle, and therefore with the utmost expedition that their remaining sail power would admit.  Two of the fleet, however, made signals of disability; so Hughes annulled the orders, and at 1.30 formed on the port tack, recalling the engaged vessels.  Both squadrons now stood in shore, and anchored at about 6 P.M.; the British near Negapatam, the French some ten miles north.  The loss in the action had been:  British, 77 killed, 233 wounded; French, 178 killed, 601 wounded.

On the following day Suffren sailed for Cuddalore.  There he received word that two ships of the line—­the Illustre, 74, and St. Michel, 60, with a convoy of supplies and 600 troops—­were to be expected shortly at Pointe de Galle, then a Dutch port, on the south-west side of Ceylon.  It was essential to cover these, and on the 18th he was ready for sea; but the necessity of an interview with Hyder Ali delayed him until the 1st of August, when he started for Batacalo.  On the 9th he arrived there, and on the 21st the reinforcement joined him.  Within forty-eight hours the supply-ships were cleared, and the squadron sailed again with the object of taking Trincomalee.  On the 25th he was off the port, and, the operation being pushed energetically, the place capitulated on the 31st of August.