a corps perdu

However by the failing of the Forces which I had expected, I did not quit the Design which I had resolved on, I cast my self into it A Corps perdu, without making capitulations, or taking counsel of Fortune.

A Corps perdu, misprinted A Corps perdi, edd.

The walls surrounding the pool and a cluster of picturesque pavilions in its centre were brilliantly lighted up with hundreds of cheraugs, or small oil-lamps, casting a flickering lustre upon the heads and shoulders of about five hundred men, women, and children, who were ducking and praying, à corps perdu, in the water.

However, by the failing of the forces which I had expected, I did not quit the design which I had resolved on; I cast myself into it A corps perdu, without making capitulations or taking counsel of fortune.