Si} HINDOOSTAN. 



march without the least interruption, till, on the 30th, he crossed the 

 Caveri, with his whole army, and, on the 5th of April, encamped two 

 miles south-west of Seringapatam, the siege of winch he immediately 

 prepared to commence. 



In the afternoon of the 14th of April, the army of Bombay joined 

 the army before Seringapatam. A large body of the cavalry of the 

 enemy, under the command of Kummeer-ud-deen Khan, had attend- 

 ed them closely during their march from Periapatam, but without 

 having been able to make the slightest impression upon them. On 

 the night of the 20th, general Harris received a letter from Tippoo 

 Sultan, expressive of a desire to open a negociation for peace. To 

 this overture the general answered by transmitting a draft of pre- 

 liminaries, founded on instructions with which he had been furnished 

 by the governor-general ; and which were, in substance, that Tippoo 

 should deliver all Frenchmen, or natives of the island of Mauritius 

 or Bourbon, or of any other countries now subject to France, as also 

 all Europeans, natives or subjects of countries at war with Great 

 Britain, to be treated as prisoners of war ; that he should renounce all 

 connection with the French nation ; that he should cede one half of 

 the dominions of which he was in possession before the war, to the 

 allies ; that he should pay two crores of rupees (above two millions 

 sterling) and that he should send *as hostages four of his sons, and 

 four of the principal officers, together with half the required trea- 

 sure, within forty-eight hours, to the camp of the allies. To these 

 propositions the sultan replied, that they were weighty, and could not 

 be brousrht to a conclusion without the intervention of ambassadors. 

 General Harris, considering this as evidently intended to gain time, 

 refused to admit any vakeels, or ambassadors, unless accompanied by 

 the hostages and specie required. 



On the 30th of April, the batteries began to batter in breach, and, 

 on the evening of the 3d of May, had so much destroyed the walls, 

 that the arrangement was made for assaulting the place on the fol- 

 lowing day, when the breach was reported practicable. The troops, 

 intended to be employed were stationed in the trenches early in the 

 morning of the 4th, that no extraordinary movement might lead the 

 enemy to expect the assault, which it was determined to make in the 

 heat of the day, as the time best calculated to insure success, since 

 the troops of the sultan would then be least prepared to oppose the 

 attack. Agreeably to this disposition, at one o'clock the troops began 

 to move from the trenches, crossed the rocky bed of the Caveri, and 

 mounted to the assault, in despite of every obstacle which the diffi- 

 culty of the passage and the resistance of the enemy could oppose. 

 Their impetuous attack was completely successful. Resistance, how- 

 ever, continued to be made from the palace of Tippoo for some time 

 after all firing had ceased from the works. Two of his sons were 

 there, who, on assurance of safety, surrendered to the troops sur- 

 rounding them; and guards were placed for the protection of the 

 family, most of whom were in the palace. It was soon after reported^ 

 that Tippoo Sultan had fallen : Syed Saheb, Meer Saduc, Syed Gofar„ 

 and many other of his chiefs, were also slain. Measures were im- 

 mediately adopted to stop the confusion, at first unavoidable in a city 

 strongly garrisoned, crowded with inhabitants, with their property in 

 ruins from the fire of a numerous artillery, and taken by assault. The 

 princes were removed to the camp. 



