Travels in India (Tavernier) 39.2.3

39.2.3

Between the town and the fort a large open space is left, so that the fort is not inconvenienced by the town. The bastions are furnished with good guns, and the sea washes at the foot, but there is no port, it being only a roadstead. We remained in the town till the evening of the following day, and the Governor would not allow us to eat elsewhere but at his table. He was the Sieur Pite, a German of the town of Bremen. We received all kinds of attention from him, and he took us three times round the fort on the walls, where one could easily walk. The manner in which the inhabitants procure the water which they drink is somewhat remarkable. When the tide is out they go on the sand as near to the sea as possible, and they make holes there, where they find sweet water, which is excellent. On the 12th [August] at sunset we left Pulicat, and on the following day, at 10 o’clock a.m., we arrived at Madras, otherwise called Fort St. George, which belongs to the English, and of which I have elsewhere spoken — having travelled only 7 or 8 leagues this day. We went to stay at the Convent of the Capuchins, where the Rev. Father Ephraim of Nevers and the Rev. Father Zenon of Bangé were, of whom I have also spoken in preceding chapters. On the 14th [August] we went to the fort to visit the English President, and we dined with him.