After the action in July, Hughes went to Madras. He was expecting reinforcements, and so was Suffren. But the Frenchman showed greater alertness. On the 21st August he was off Batticaloa, where he met his reinforcements, and on the 25th he attacked Trincomalee, which surrendered on the 31st. Hughes, who had not left Madras till the 20th, did not appear off Trincomalee till the 3rd September. Another engagement followed, Suffren attacking from windward and Hughes edging away. Again he was ill supported, and his irritation provoked him into an explosion of hot Southern rage. Impatience with the pottering of his captains led him to plunge into action in a disorderly way, which gave Hughes an advantage. In spite of that, and though a shift of the wind transferred the weather-gage from the French to the English officer, and though our naval historians speak currently of the defeat of Suffren, it is certain that Hughes did not feel sufficiently victorious to pursue when his opponent drew off. The two fleets withdrew to their respective bases—Hughes to Madras, and Suffren to Trincomalee. He lost one of his 74’s when entering the harbour—the _Orient_—by the bad seamanship of her captain, and another when he returned to Cuddalore. The change of the monsoon suspended operations for a time. Hughes having lost the excellent harbour of Trincomalee, could not remain on the east coast, and therefore had to go round to Bombay through storms which damaged his ships severely. He missed Sir Richard Bickerton, who was coming out with stores, and who had a stormy passage in and out of the Bay of Bengal, as he sought, and followed, his superior to Bombay. If Suffren’s captains had had their wish, and if the Minister in Paris had been obeyed, the French squadron would have returned to its Cythera. But “the Bailli” knew that if he returned to the islands, Hughes would be able to forestall him in the Bay, when the monsoon changed again. He took the responsibility of remaining where he was, and wintered at Achin, in Sumatra, which was under the supremacy, if not actually in the possession, of the Dutch his allies. Therefore he was on the scene of operations two months before Hughes could come round from Bombay.