initial commit of ebook 10946HEADmain

1 files changed, 6355 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/old/10946.txt b/old/10946.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8ccf718
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/10946.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,6355 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Three Frenchmen in Bengal, by S.C. Hill
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Three Frenchmen in Bengal
+       The Commercial Ruin of the French Settlements in 1757
+
+Author: S.C. Hill
+
+Release Date: February 4, 2004 [EBook #10946]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THREE FRENCHMEN IN BENGAL ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Wilelmina Malliere and PG Distributed Proofreaders
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THREE FRENCHMEN IN BENGAL
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: THE GANGES VALLEY AND THE EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS IN
+BENGAL, 1756 (_After Rennell_.)]
+
+
+
+
+THREE FRENCHMEN IN BENGAL
+
+OR
+
+_THE COMMERCIAL RUIN OF THE FRENCH SETTLEMENTS IN 1757_
+
+BY
+
+S.C. HILL, B.A., B.Sc.
+
+OFFICER IN CHARGE OF THE RECORDS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA AUTHOR
+OF "MAJOR-GENERAL CLAUD MARTIN"
+
+_WITH MAPS AND PLANS_
+
+
+1903
+
+
+
+
+TO
+
+MY DEAR WIFE
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+This account of the commercial ruin of the French Settlements, taken
+almost entirely from hitherto unpublished documents, originated as
+follows. Whilst engaged in historical research connected with the
+Government Records in Calcutta, I found many references to the
+French in Bengal which interested me strongly in the personal side
+of their quarrel with the English, but the information obtainable
+from the Indian Records alone was still meagre and incomplete. A few
+months ago, however, I came across Law's Memoir in the British
+Museum; and, a little later, when visiting Paris to examine the
+French Archives, I found not only a copy of Law's Memoir, but also
+Renault's and Courtin's letters, of which there are, I believe, no
+copies in England. In these papers I thought that I had sufficient
+material to give something like an idea of Bengal as it appeared to
+the French when Clive arrived there. There is much bitterness in
+these old French accounts, and much misconception of the English,
+but they were written when misconception of national enemies was the
+rule and not the exception, and when the rights of non-belligerents
+were little respected in time of war. Some of the accusations I have
+checked by giving the English version, but I think that, whilst it
+is only justice to our Anglo-Indian heroes to let the world know
+what manner of men their opponents were, it is equally only justice
+to their opponents to allow them to give their own version of the
+story. This is my apology, if any one should think I allow them to
+say too much.
+
+The translations are my own, and were made in a state of some
+perplexity as to how far I was bound to follow my originals--the
+writings of men who, of course, were not literary, and often had not
+only no pretension to style but also no knowledge of grammar. I have
+tried, however, to preserve both form and spirit; but if any reader
+is dissatisfied, and would like to see the original papers for
+himself, the courtesy of the Record officials in both Paris and
+London will give him access to an immense quantity of documents as
+interesting as they are important.
+
+In the various accounts that I have used there are naturally
+slightly different versions of particular incidents, and often
+it is not easy to decide which is the correct one. Under the
+circumstances I may perhaps be excused for not always calling
+attention to discrepancies which the reader will detect for himself.
+He will also notice that the ground covered in one narrative is
+partly traversed in one or both of the others. This has been due to
+the necessity of treating the story from the point of view of each
+of the three chief actors.
+
+I may here mention that the correspondence between Clive and the
+princes of Bengal, from which I have given some illustrative
+passages, was first seen by me in a collection of papers printed in
+1893 in the Government of India Central Printing Office, Calcutta,
+under the direction of Mr. G.W. Forrest, C.I.E. These papers have
+not yet been published, but there exists a complete though slightly
+different copy of this correspondence in the India Office Library
+(Orme MSS. India XI.), and it is from the latter copy that I have,
+by permission, made the extracts here given. The remaining English
+quotations, when not from printed books, have been taken chiefly
+from other volumes of the Orme MSS., a smaller number from the
+Bengal and Madras Records in the India Office, and a few from MSS.
+in the British Museum or among the Clive papers at Walcot, to which
+last I was allowed access by the kindness of the Earl of Powis.
+
+Finally, I wish to express my thanks to M. Omont of the Bibliotheque
+Nationale, Paris, to Mr. W. Foster of the Record Department of the
+India Office, and to Mr. J.A. Herbert of the British Museum, for
+their kind and valuable assistance.
+
+S.C. HILL.
+
+_September_ 6, 1903.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+CHAPTER
+
+  I. THE QUARREL WITH THE ENGLISH
+
+  II. M. RENAULT, CHIEF OF CHANDERNAGORE
+
+  III. M. LAW, CHIEF OF COSSIMBAZAR
+
+  IV. M. COURTIN, CHIEF OF DACCA
+
+  INDEX
+
+
+MAPS AND PLANS
+
+THE GANGES VALLEY AND THE EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS IN BENGAL, 1756.
+(_After Rennell_) _Frontispiece_
+
+MAP OF THE RIVER HUGLI FROM BANDEL TO FULTA. (_After Rennell_) _To
+face page_
+
+FORT D'ORLEANS, CHANDERNAGORE, 1749. (_Mouchet_)
+
+MUXADABAD, OR MURSHIDABAD. (_After Rennell_)
+
+DACCA, OR JEHANGIR-NAGAR. (_After Rennell_)
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: MAP OF THE RIVER HUGLI FROM BANDEL TO FULTA. (_After
+Rennell_.)]
+
+
+
+
+THREE FRENCHMEN IN BENGAL
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE QUARREL WITH THE ENGLISH
+
+
+Writing in 1725, the French naval commander, the Chevalier d'Albert,
+tells us that the three most handsome towns on the Ganges were
+Calcutta, Chandernagore, and Chinsurah, the chief Factories of the
+English, French, and Dutch. These towns were all situated within
+thirty miles of each other. Calcutta, the latest founded, was the
+greatest and the richest, owing partly to its situation, which
+permitted the largest ships of the time to anchor at its quays, and
+partly to the privilege enjoyed by the English merchants of trading
+freely as individuals through the length and breadth of the land.
+Native merchants and native artisans crowded to Calcutta, and the
+French and Dutch, less advantageously situated and hampered by
+restrictions of trade, had no chance of competing with the English
+on equal terms. The same was of course true of their minor
+establishments in the interior. All three nations had important
+Factories at Cossimbazar (in the neighbourhood of Murshidabad, the
+Capital of Bengal) and at Dacca, and minor Factories at Jugdea or
+Luckipore, and at Balasore. The French and Dutch had also Factories
+at Patna. Besides Calcutta, Chandernagore, and Chinsurah, the only
+Factory which was fortified was the English Factory at Cossimbazar.
+
+During the long reign of the usurper, Aliverdi Khan,[1] that strong
+and politic ruler enforced peace among his European guests, and
+forbade any fortification of the Factories, except such as was
+necessary to protect them against possible incursions of the
+Marathas, who at that time made periodical attacks on Muhammadans
+and Hindus alike to enforce the payment of the _chauth_,[2] or
+blackmail, which they levied upon all the countries within their
+reach. In Southern India the English and French had been constantly
+at war whenever there was war in Europe, but in Bengal the strength
+of the Government, the terror of the Marathas, and the general
+weakness of the Europeans had contrived to enforce a neutrality.
+Still there was nothing to guarantee its continuance if the fear of
+the native Government and of the Marathas were once removed, and if
+any one of the three nations happened to find itself much stronger
+than the others. The fear of the Marathas had nearly disappeared,
+but that of the Government still remained. However, it was not till
+more than sixty years after the foundation of Calcutta that there
+appeared any possibility of a breach of peace amongst the Europeans
+in Bengal. During this time the three Factories, Calcutta always
+leading, increased rapidly in wealth and importance. To the
+Government they were already a cause of anxiety and an object of
+greed. Even during the life of Aliverdi Khan there were many of his
+counsellors who advised the reduction of the status of Europeans to
+that of the Armenians, i.e. mere traders at the mercy of local
+officials; but Aliverdi Khan, whether owing to the enfeeblement of
+his energies by age or to an intelligent recognition of the value of
+European commerce, would not allow any steps to be taken against the
+Europeans. Many stories are told of the debates in his _Durbar_[3]
+on this subject: according to one, he is reported to have compared
+the Europeans to bees who produce honey when left in peace, but
+furiously attack those who foolishly disturb them; according to
+another he compared them to a fire[4] which had come out of the sea
+and was playing harmlessly on the shore, but which would devastate
+the whole land if any one were so imprudent as to anger it. His
+wisdom died with him, and in April, 1756, his grandson,
+Siraj-ud-daula, a young man of nineteen,[5] already notorious for
+his debauchery and cruelty, came to the throne. The French--who, of
+all Europeans, knew him best, for he seems to have preferred them to
+all others--say his chief characteristics were cruelty, rapacity,
+and cowardice. In his public speeches he seemed to be ambitious of
+military fame. Calcutta was described to him as a strong fortress,
+full of wealth, which belonged largely to his native subjects, and
+inhabited by a race of foreigners who had grown insolent on their
+privileges. As a proof of this, it was pointed out that they had not
+presented him with the offerings which, according to Oriental
+custom, are the due of a sovereign on his accession. The only
+person who dared oppose the wishes of the young Nawab was his
+mother,[6] but her advice was of no avail, and her taunt that he, a
+soldier, was going to war upon mere traders, was equally
+inefficacious. The records of the time give no definite information
+as to the tortuous diplomacy which fanned the quarrel between him
+and the English, but it is sufficiently clear that the English
+refused to surrender the son of one of his uncle's _diwans_,[7] who,
+with his master's and his father's wealth, had betaken himself to
+Calcutta. Siraj-ud-daula, by the treacherous promises of his
+commanders, made himself master of the English Factory at
+Cossimbazar without firing a shot, and on the 20th of June, 1756,
+found himself in possession of Fort William, the fortified Factory
+of Calcutta.[8] The Governor, the commandant[9] of the troops, and
+some two hundred persons of lesser note, had deserted the Fort
+almost as soon as it was actually invested, and Holwell, one of the
+councillors, an ex-surgeon, and the gallant few who stood by him and
+continued the defence, were captured, and, to the number of 146,
+cast into a little dungeon,[10] intended for military offenders,
+from which, the next morning, only twenty-three came out alive. The
+English took refuge at Fulta, thirty miles down the river, where the
+Nawab, in his pride and ignorance, left them unmolested. There they
+were gradually reinforced from Madras, first by Major Kilpatrick,
+and later on by Colonel Clive and Admiral Watson. About the same
+time both French and English learned that war had been declared in
+Europe between England and France in the previous May, but, for
+different reasons, neither nation thought the time suitable for
+making the fact formally known.
+
+Towards the end of December the English, animated by the desire of
+revenge and of repairing their ruined fortunes, advanced on
+Calcutta, and on the 2nd of January, 1757, the British flag again
+floated over Fort William. The Governor, Manik Chand, was, like many
+of the Nawab's servants, a Hindu. Some say he was scared away by a
+bullet through his turban; others, that he was roused from the
+enjoyment of a _nautch_--a native dance--by the news of the arrival
+of the English.[11] Hastening to Murshidabad, he reported his
+defeat, and asserted that the British they had now to deal with were
+very different from those they had driven from or captured in
+Calcutta.
+
+The English were not satisfied with recovering Calcutta. They wished
+to impress the Nawab, and so they sent a small force to Hugli, which
+lies above Chandernagore and Chinsurah, stormed the Muhammadan fort,
+burnt the town, and destroyed the magazines, which would have
+supplied the Nawab's army in an attack on Calcutta. The inhabitants
+of the country had never known anything so terrible as the big guns
+of the ships, and the Nawab actually believed the men-of-war could
+ascend the river and bombard him in his palace at Murshidabad.
+Calling on the French and Dutch for aid, which they refused, he
+determined to try his fortune a second time at Calcutta. At first,
+everything seemed the same as on the former occasion: the native
+merchants and artisans disappeared from the town; but it was not as
+he thought, out of fear, but because the English wished to have them
+out of the way, and so expelled them. Except for the military camp
+to the north of the city, where Clive was stationed with his little
+army, the town lay open to his attack. Envoys from Calcutta soon
+appeared asking for terms, and the Nawab pretended to be willing to
+negotiate in order to gain time while he outflanked Clive and seized
+the town. Seeing through this pretence Watson and Clive thought it
+was time to give him a lesson, and, on the morning of the 5th of
+February, in the midst of a dense fog, Clive beat up his quarters.
+Though Clive had to retire when the whole army was roused, the
+slaughter amongst the enemy had been immense; and though he
+mockingly informed the Nawab that he had been careful to "injure
+none but those who got in his way," the Nawab himself narrowly
+escaped capture. The action, however, was in no sense decisive. Most
+of the Nawab's military leaders were eager to avenge their disgrace,
+but some of the chief nobles, notably his Hindu advisers,
+exaggerated the loss already incurred and the future danger, and
+advised him to make peace. In fact, the cruelty and folly of the
+Nawab had turned his Court into a nest of traitors. With one or two
+exceptions there was not a man of note upon whom he could rely, and
+he had not the wit to distinguish the faithful from the unfaithful.
+Accordingly he granted the English everything they asked for--the
+full restoration of all their privileges, and restitution of all
+they had lost in the sack of Calcutta. As the English valued their
+losses at several hundreds of thousands, and the Nawab had found
+only some L5000 in the treasury of Fort William, it is clear that
+the wealth of Calcutta was either sunk in the Ganges or had fallen
+as booty into the hands of the Moorish soldiers.
+
+Siraj-ud-daula, though he did not yet know it, was a ruined man when
+he returned to his capital. His only chance of safety lay in one of
+two courses--either a loyal acceptance of the conditions imposed by
+the English or a loyal alliance with the French against the English.
+From the Dutch he could hope for nothing. They were as friendly to
+the English as commercial rivals could be. They had always declared
+they were mere traders and would not fight, and they kept their
+word. After the capture of Calcutta the Nawab had exacted heavy
+contributions from both the French and Dutch; but France and England
+were now at war, and he thought it might be possible that in these
+circumstances the restoration of their money to the French and the
+promise of future privileges might win them to his side. He could
+not, however, decide finally on either course, and the French were
+not eager to meet him. They detested his character, and they
+preferred, if the English would agree, to preserve the old
+neutrality and to trade in peace. Further, they had received no
+supplies of men or money for a long time; the fortifications of
+Chandernagore, i.e. of Fort d'Orleans, were practically in ruins,
+and the lesser Factories in the interior were helpless. Their
+military force, for attack, was next to nothing: all they could
+offer was wise counsel and brave leaders. They were loth to offer
+these to a man like the Nawab against Europeans, and he and his
+Court were as loth to accept them. Unluckily for the French,
+deserters from Chandernagore had served the Nawab's artillery when
+he took Calcutta, and it was even asserted that the French had
+supplied the Nawab with gunpowder; and so when the English heard of
+these new negotiations, they considered the proposals for a
+neutrality to be a mere blind; they forgot the kindness shown by the
+French to English refugees at Dacca, Cossimbazar, and Chandernagore,
+and determined that, as a permanent peace with the Nawab was out of
+the question, they would, whilst he hesitated as to his course of
+action, anticipate him by destroying the one element of force which,
+if added to his power, might have made him irresistible. They
+continued the negotiations for a neutrality on the Ganges only until
+they were reinforced by a body of 500 Europeans from Bombay, when
+they sent back the French envoys and exacted permission from the
+Nawab to attack Chandernagore. Clive marched on that town with a
+land force of 4000 Europeans and Sepoys, and Admiral Watson
+proceeded up the river with a small but powerful squadron.
+
+Thus began the ruin of the French in Bengal. The chief French
+Factories were, as I have said, at Chandernagore, Cossimbazar, and
+Dacca. The Chiefs of these Factories were M. Renault, the Director
+of all the French in Bengal; M. Law, a nephew of the celebrated Law
+of Lauriston, the financier; and M. Courtin. It is the doings and
+sufferings of these three gallant men which are recorded in the
+following chapters. They had no hope of being able to resist the
+English by themselves, but they hoped, and actually believed, that
+France would send them assistance if they could only hold out till
+it arrived. Renault, whose case was the most desperate, perhaps
+thought that the Nawab would, in his own interest, support him if
+the English attacked Chandernagore; but knowing the Nawab as well as
+he did, and reflecting that he had himself refused the Nawab
+assistance when he asked for it, his hope must have been a feeble
+one. Still he could not, with honour, give up a fortified position
+without attempting a defence, and he determined to do his best. When
+he failed, all that Law and Courtin could expect to do was to
+maintain their personal liberty and create a diversion in the north
+of Bengal when French forces attacked it in the south. It was not
+their fault that the attack was never made.
+
+I shall make no mention of the fate of the Factories at Balasore and
+Jugdea. At these the number of Frenchmen was so very small that
+resistance and escape were equally hopeless. Patna lay on the line
+of Law's retreat, and, as we shall see, he was joined by the
+second and other subordinate officers of that Factory. The chief, M.
+de la Bretesche, was too ill to be moved, but he managed, by the
+assistance of his native friends, to secure a large portion of the
+property of the French East India Company, and so to finance Law
+during his wanderings.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote 1: Aliverdi Khan entered Muxadavad or Murshidabad as a
+conqueror on the 30th of March, 1742. He died on the 10th of April,
+1756. (_Scrafton_.)]
+
+[Footnote 2: Literally the fourth part of the Revenues. The Marathas
+extorted the right to levy this from the Emperor Aurengzebe, and
+under pretext of collecting it they ravaged a large portion of
+India.]
+
+[Footnote 3: Court, or Court officials and nobles.]
+
+[Footnote 4: Such fires are mentioned in many Indian legends. In the
+"Arabian Nights" we read of a demon changing himself into a flaming
+fire.]
+
+[Footnote 5: His age is stated by some as nineteen, by others as
+about twenty-five. See note, p. 66.]
+
+[Footnote 6: Amina Begum.]
+
+[Footnote 7: _Diwan_, i.e. Minister or Manager.]
+
+[Footnote 8: The English at Dacca surrendered to the Nawab of that
+place, and were afterwards released. Those at Jugdea and Balasore
+escaped direct to Fulta.]
+
+[Footnote 9: Captain George Minchin.]
+
+[Footnote 10: Known in history as the Black Hole of Calcutta.]
+
+[Footnote 11: Both stories may be true. Manik Chand was nearly
+killed at the battle of Budge Budge by a bullet passing through his
+turban, and the incident of the _nautch_ may have happened at
+Calcutta, where he certainly showed less courage.]
+
+[Illustration: FORT D'ORLEANS, CHANDERNAGORE, 1749. (_Mouchet._)]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+M. RENAULT, CHIEF OF CHANDERNAGORE
+
+
+The French East India Company was founded in 1664, during the
+ministry of M. Colbert. Chandernagore, on the Ganges, or rather that
+mouth of it now known as the River Hugli, was founded in 1676; and
+in 1688 the town and territory were ceded to France by the Emperor
+Aurengzebe. I know of no plan of Chandernagore in the 17th century,
+and those of the 18th are extremely rare. Two or three are to be
+found in Paris, but the destruction of the Fort and many of the
+buildings by the English after its capture in 1757, and the decay of
+the town after its restoration to the French, owing to diminished
+trade, make it extremely difficult to recognize old landmarks. The
+Settlement, however, consisted of a strip of land, about two leagues
+in length and one in depth, on the right or western bank of the
+Hugli. Fort d'Orleans lay in the middle of the river front. It was
+commenced in 1691, and finished in 1693.[12] Facing the north was
+the Porte Royale, and to the east, or river-side, was the Water
+Gate. The north-eastern bastion was known as that of the Standard,
+or Pavillon. The north-western bastion was overlooked by the Jesuit
+Church, and the south-eastern by the Dutch Octagon. This last
+building was situated on one of a number of pieces of land which,
+though within the French bounds, belonged to the Dutch before the
+grant of the imperial charter, and which the Dutch had always
+refused to sell. The Factory buildings were in the Fort itself. To
+the west lay the Company's Tank, the hospitals, and the cemetery.
+European houses, interspersed with native dwellings, lay all around.
+M. d'Albert says that these houses were large and convenient, but
+chiefly of one story only, built along avenues of fine trees, or
+along the handsome quay. D'Albert also mentions a chapel in the
+Fort,[13] the churches of the Jesuits and the Capucins, and some
+miserable _pagodas_ belonging to the Hindus, who, owing to the
+necessity of employing them as clerks and servants, were allowed the
+exercise of their religion. In his time the Europeans numbered about
+500. There were besides some 400 Armenians, Moors[14] and Topasses,
+1400 to 1500 Christians, including slaves, and 18,000 to 20,000
+Gentiles, divided, he says, into 52 different castes or occupations.
+It is to be supposed that the European houses had improved in the
+thirty years since d'Albert's visit; at any rate many of those which
+were close to the Fort now commanded its interior from their roofs
+or upper stories, exactly as the houses of the leading officials in
+Calcutta commanded the interior of Fort William. No other fact could
+be so significant of the security which the Europeans in Bengal
+believed they enjoyed from any attack by the forces of the native
+Government. The site of the Fort is now covered with native huts.
+The Cemetery still remains and the Company's Tank (now known as Lal
+Dighi), whilst Kooti Ghat is the old landing-place of Fort
+d'Orleans.
+
+As regards the European population at the time of the siege we have
+no definite information. The Returns drawn up by the French
+officials at the time of the capitulation do not include the women
+and children or the native and mixed population. The ladies,[15] and
+it is to be presumed the other women also, for there is no mention
+of women during the siege, retired to the Dutch and Danish
+settlements at Chinsurah and Serampore a few days before, and the
+native population disappeared as soon as the British army
+approached. The Returns therefore show only 538 Europeans and 66
+Topasses. The Governor or Director, as already mentioned, was Pierre
+Renault: his Council consisted of MM. Fournier, Caillot, Laporterie,
+Nicolas, and Picques. There were 36 Frenchmen of lesser rank in the
+Company's service, as well as 6 surgeons. The troops were commanded
+by M. de Tury and 10 officers. There were also 10 officers of the
+French East India Company's vessels, and 107 persons of sufficient
+importance for their _parole_ to be demanded when the Fort fell.
+Apparently these Returns do not include those who were killed in the
+defence, nor have we any definite information as to the number of
+French sepoys, but Eyre Coote[16] says there were 500.
+
+The story of the siege is to be gathered from many accounts. M.
+Renault and his Council submitted an official report; Renault wrote
+many letters to Dupleix and other patrons or friends; several of the
+Council and other private persons did the same.[17] M. Jean Law,
+whose personal experiences we shall deal with in the next chapter,
+was Chief of Cossimbazar, and watched the siege, as it were, from
+the outside. His straightforward narrative helps us now and then to
+correct a mis-statement made by the besieged in the bitterness of
+defeat. On the English side, besides the Bengal records, there are
+Clive's and Eyre Coote's military journals, the Logs of the British
+ships of war, and the journal of Surgeon Edward Ives of His
+Majesty's ship _Kent_. Thus this passage of arms, almost the only
+one in Bengal[18] in which the protagonists were Europeans, is no
+obscure event, but one in which almost every incident was seen and
+described from opposite points of view. This multiplicity of
+authorities makes it difficult to form a connected narrative, and,
+in respect to many incidents, I shall have to follow that account
+which seems to enter into the fullest or most interesting detail.
+
+It will now be necessary to go back a little. After the capture of
+Calcutta in June, 1756, the behaviour of the Nawab to all Europeans
+was so overbearing that Renault found it necessary to ask the
+Superior Council of Pondicherry for reinforcements, but all that he
+received was 67 Europeans and 167 Sepoys. No money was sent him, and
+every day he expected to hear that war had broken out between
+France and England.
+
+  "Full of these inquietudes, gentlemen, I was in the
+  most cruel embarrassment, knowing not even what to
+  desire. A strong detestation of the tyranny of the Nawab,
+  and of the excesses which he was committing against
+  Europeans, made me long for the arrival of the English in
+  the Ganges to take vengeance for them. At the same time
+  I feared the consequences of war being declared. In every
+  letter M. de Leyrit[19] impressed upon me the necessity of
+  fortifying Chandernagore as best I could, and of putting the
+  town in a state of security against a surprise, but you have
+  only to look at Chandernagore to see how difficult it was for
+  us, absolutely destitute as we were of men and money, to do
+  this with a town open on all sides, and with nothing even to
+  mark it off from the surrounding country."[20]
+
+He goes on to describe Fort d'Orleans--
+
+  "almost in the middle of the settlement, surrounded by
+  houses, which command it, a square of about 600 feet,[21]
+  built of brick, flanked with four bastions, with six guns
+  each, without ramparts or glacis. The southern curtain,
+  about 4 feet thick, not raised to its full height, was
+  provided only with a battery of 3 guns; there was a similar
+  battery to the west, but the rest of the west curtain was
+  only a wall of mud and brick, about a foot and a half thick,
+  and 8 or 10 feet high; there were warehouses ranged
+  against the east curtain which faced the Ganges, and which
+  was still in process of construction; the whole of this side
+  had no ditch, and that round the other sides was dry, only 4
+  feet in depth, and a mere ravine. The walls of the Fort up
+  to the ramparts were 15 feet high, and the houses, on the
+  edge of the counterscarp, which commanded it, were as much
+  as 30 feet."
+
+Perhaps the Fort was best defended on the west, where the Company's
+Tank[22] was situated. Its bank was only about twelve feet from the
+Fort Ditch. This use of tanks for defensive purposes was an
+excellent one, as they also provided the garrison with a good supply
+of drinking water. A little later Clive protected his great barracks
+at Berhampur with a line of large tanks along the landward side.
+However, this tank protected one side only, and the task of holding
+such a fort with an inadequate garrison was not a hopeful one even
+for a Frenchman. It was only his weakness which had made Renault
+submit to pay the contribution demanded by the Nawab on his
+triumphant return from Calcutta in July of the previous year, and he
+and his comrades felt very bitterly the neglect of the Company in
+not sending money and reinforcements. One of his younger
+subordinates wrote to a friend in Pondicherry:[23]--
+
+  "But the 3-1/2 lahks that the Company has to pay to the
+  Nawab, is that a trifle? Yes, my dear fellow, for I should
+  like it to have to pay still more, to teach it how to leave
+  this Factory, which is, beyond contradiction, the finest of its
+  settlements, denuded of soldiers and munitions of war, so
+  that it is not possible for us to show our teeth."
+
+The wish was prophetic.
+
+Like the English the French were forbidden by the Nawab to fortify
+themselves. Renault dared not pay attention to this order. He had
+seen what had happened to the English by the neglect of proper
+precautions, and when things were at their worst, the Nawab had to
+seek his alliance against the English, grant him leave to fortify
+Chandernagore, and, later on, even to provide him with money under
+the pretence that he was simply restoring the sum forcibly extorted
+from him the previous year.[24] Trade was at a standstill, and
+Renault was determined that if the enemies of his nation were
+destined to take the Company's property, they should have the utmost
+difficulty possible in doing so. He expended the money on provisions
+and ammunition. At the same time, that he might not lose any chance
+of settling affairs peaceably with the English, he refused to
+associate himself with the Nawab, and entered upon negotiations for
+a neutrality in the Ganges. To protect himself if these failed, he
+began raising fortifications and pulling down the houses which
+commanded the Fort or masked its fire.
+
+He could not pull down the houses on the south of the Fort, from
+which Clive subsequently made his attack, partly for want of time,
+partly because the native workmen ran away, and partly because of
+the bad feeling prevalent in the motley force which formed his
+garrison.[25] The most fatal defect of all was the want of a
+military engineer. The person who held that position had been sent
+from France. He was a master mason, and had no knowledge of
+engineering. It had been the same story in Calcutta. Drake's two
+engineers had been a subaltern in the military and a young
+covenanted servant. Renault had to supervise the fortifications
+himself.
+
+  "I commenced to pull down the church and the house
+  of the Jesuit fathers, situated on the edge of the Ditch, also
+  all the houses of private persons which masked the entire
+  north curtain. The wood taken from the ruins of these
+  served to construct a barrier extending from bastion to
+  bastion and supporting this same north curtain, which
+  seemed ready to fall to pieces from old age."
+
+This barrier was placed four feet outside the wall, the intervening
+space being filled in with earth.
+
+  "Also in front of Porte Royale" (i.e. outside the gate in
+  the avenue), "the weakest side of the Fort, I placed a battery
+  of 3 guns, and worked hard at clearing out and enlarging
+  the Ditch, but there was no time to make it of any use as a
+  defence. A warehouse on which I put bales of _gunny_[26] to
+  prevent cannon balls from breaking in the vaults of the roof,
+  served it as a casemate."
+
+The east or river curtain was left alone. The French were, in fact,
+so confident that the ships of war would not be able to force their
+way up the river, and that Clive would not therefore think of
+attacking on that side, that the only precaution they took at first
+was the erection of two batteries outside the Fort. It is a
+well-known maxim in war that one should attack at that point at
+which the enemy deems himself most secure, and it will be seen that
+all Clive's efforts were aimed at preparing for Admiral Watson to
+attack on the east.
+
+As regards artillery Renault was better off.
+
+  "The alarm which the Prince" (Siraj-ud-daula) "gave us
+  in June last having given me reason to examine into the
+  state of the artillery, I found that not one of the carriages
+  of the guns on the ramparts was in a serviceable condition,
+  not a field-piece mounted, not a platform ready for the
+  mortars. I gave all my attention to these matters, and
+  fortunately had time to put them right."
+
+To serve his guns Renault had the sailors of the Company's ship,
+_Saint Contest_, whose commander, M. de la Vigne Buisson, was the
+soul of the defence.
+
+About this time he received a somewhat doubtful increase to his
+garrison, a crowd of deserters from the English East India Company's
+forces. The latter at this time were composed of men of all
+nationalities, English, Germans, Swiss, Dutch, and even French. Many
+of them, and naturally the foreigners especially, were ready to
+desert upon little provocation. The hardships of service in a
+country where the climate and roads were execrable, where food and
+pay were equally uncertain, and where promises were made not to be
+kept, were provocations which the best soldiers might have found it
+difficult to resist. We read of whole regiments in the English and
+French services refusing to obey orders, and of mutinies of officers
+as well as of men. The one reward of service was the chance of
+plunder, and naturally, then, as soon as the fighting with the Nawab
+had stopped for a time, the desertions from the British forces were
+numerous. Colonel Clive had more than once written to Renault to
+remonstrate with him for taking British soldiers into his service.
+Probably Renault could have retorted the accusation with justice--at
+any rate, he went on enlisting deserters; and from those who had now
+come over he formed a company of grenadiers of 50 men, one of
+artillery of 30, and one of sailors of 60, wisely giving them a
+little higher pay than usual, "to excite their emulation." One of
+these was a man named Lee,--
+
+  "a corporal and a deserter from the _Tyger_, who pledged
+  himself to the enemy that he would throw two shells out of
+  three into the _Tyger_, but whilst he was bringing the mortars
+  to bear for that purpose, he was disabled by a musket bullet
+  from the _Kent's_ tops. He was afterwards sent home a
+  prisoner to England."[27]
+
+As might be expected the younger Frenchmen were wild with delight at
+the chance of seeing a good fight. Some of them had been much
+disappointed that the Nawab had not attacked Chandernagore in June,
+1756. One of them wrote[28]--
+
+  "I was charmed with the adventure and the chance
+  of carrying a musket, having always had" (what Frenchman
+  hasn't?) "a secret leaning towards a military life. I
+  intended to kill a dozen Moors myself in the first sortie we
+  made, for I was determined not to stand like a stock on a
+  bastion, where one only runs the risk of getting wounds
+  without having any of the pleasure of inflicting them."
+
+If not the highest form of military spirit, this was at any rate one
+of which a good commander might make much use. Renault took
+advantage of this feeling, and from the young men of the colony,
+such as Company's servants, ships' officers, supercargoes, and
+European inhabitants,[29] he made a company of volunteers, to whom,
+at their own request, he gave his son, an officer of the garrison,
+as commander.
+
+One of the volunteer officers writes:--
+
+  "I had the honour to be appointed lieutenant, and was
+  much pleased when I saw the spirit of emulation which
+  reigned in every heart. I cannot sufficiently praise the
+  spirit of exactitude with which every one was animated, and
+  the progress which all made in so short a time in the
+  management of their arms. I lay stress on the fact that it
+  was an occupation entirely novel to them, and one of which
+  the commencement always appears very hard, but they overcame
+  all difficulties, and found amusement in what to others
+  would appear merely laborious."
+
+All this time Renault was watching the war between the English and
+the Moors. In January the English sailed up the Hugli, passed
+Chandernagore contemptuously without a salute, burned the Moorish
+towns of Hugli and Bandel, ravaged the banks of the river, and
+retired to Calcutta. Up to this the Nawab had not condescended to
+notice the English; now, in a moment of timidity, he asked the
+intervention of the French as mediators.[30] Renault eagerly
+complied, for had his mediation been accepted, he would have
+inserted in the treaty a clause enforcing peace amongst the
+Europeans in Bengal; but the English refused to treat through the
+French. This could have only one meaning. Renault felt that his
+course was now clear, and was on the point of offering the alliance
+which the Nawab had so long sought for, when he received orders from
+M. de Leyrit forbidding him to attack the English by land. As M. Law
+writes, if Renault had been free to join the Nawab with 500
+Europeans, either Clive would not have ventured a night attack on
+the Nawab's camp, or, had he done so, the event would probably have
+been very different. Under the circumstances, all that Renault could
+do was to continue his fortifications. It was now that he first
+realized that Admiral Watson would take part in the attack.
+
+  "As the ships of war were what we had most to fear
+  from, we constructed on the river bank a battery of 6 guns,
+  four of which covered the approach to the Fort. From the foot
+  of the battery a bank twenty-two feet high stretching to
+  the Fort, was begun, so as to protect the curtain on this side
+  from the fire of the ships, _but it was not finished_. We had
+  also to attend to the inhabited portion of the town; it was
+  impossible to do more, but we determined to protect it from
+  a surprise, and so ditches were dug across the streets and
+  outposts established."[31]
+
+It was this waste of valuable time upon the defence of the town that
+a capable engineer would have saved Renault from the mistake of
+committing. Had he limited his efforts to strengthening the walls of
+the Fort and cleared away the surrounding houses, he would have been
+not only stronger against the attack of the land force, but also in
+a much better position to resist the ships.
+
+The issue of the Nawab's attack on Calcutta has already been told.
+He was so depressed by his failure that he now treated Renault with
+the greatest respect, and it was now that he gave him the sum of
+money--a lakh of rupees, then worth L12,500--which he spent on
+provisions and munitions of war. Renault says:--
+
+  "The Nawab's envoy further gave me to understand that
+  he was, in his heart, enraged with the English, and continued
+  to regard them as his enemies. In spite of this we saw
+  clearly from the treaty just made" (with the English)
+  "that we should be its victims, and knowing Siraj-ud-daula's
+  character, his promise to assist me strongly if the
+  English attacked us did not quiet my mind. I prepared for
+  whatever might happen by pressing on our preparations and
+  collecting all kinds of provisions in the Fort."
+
+The Nawab and the English concluded a treaty of peace and alliance
+on the 9th of February, 1757. Renault mentions no actual treaty
+between the Nawab and the French, but the French doctor referred to
+in a note above asserts that the Nawab demanded that the Council
+should bind itself in writing,
+
+  "to oppose the passage of the English past Chandernagore....
+  It was merely engaging to defend ourselves against
+  the maritime force of the English ... because Chandernagore
+  was the only place on this coast against which they
+  could undertake any enterprise by water. _This engagement
+  was signed_ and sent to the Nawab three days after he had
+  made peace with the English. The Council received in
+  reply two privileges, the one to coin money with the King's
+  stamp at Chandernagore, the other liberty of trade for
+  individual Frenchmen on the same footing as the Company,
+  and 100,000 rupees on account of the 300,000 which he had
+  extorted the previous year."
+
+It does not matter whether this engagement was signed or not.[32] As
+a Frenchman thus mentions it, the rumour of its signature must have
+been very strong. It is probable that the English heard of it, and
+believed it to be conclusive proof of the secret understanding
+between the Nawab and the French. The privilege of individual trade
+was particularly likely to excite their commercial jealousy, for it
+was to this very privilege in their own case that the wealth and
+strength of Calcutta were due. Such a rumour, therefore, was not
+likely to facilitate negotiations. Nevertheless, Renault sent MM.
+Fournier and Nicolas, the latter of whom had many friends amongst
+the English, to Calcutta, to re-open the negotiations for a
+neutrality. These negotiations seemed to be endless. The most
+striking feature was Admiral Watson's apparent vacillation. When the
+Council proposed war he wanted peace, when they urged neutrality he
+wanted war. Clive went so far as to present a memorial to the
+Council, saying it was unfair to continue the negotiations if the
+Admiral was determined not to agree to a treaty. It seems as if the
+Council wanted war, but wished to throw the responsibility upon the
+Admiral. On the other hand the Admiral was only too eager to fight,
+but hesitated to involve the Company in a war with the French and
+the Nawab combined, at a moment when the British land forces were so
+weakened by disease that success might be considered doubtful. He
+had also to remember the fact that the Council at Chandernagore was
+subordinate to the Council at Pondicherry, and the latter might,
+whenever convenient to the French, repudiate the treaty. However, in
+spite of all difficulties, the terms were agreed to, the draft was
+prepared, and only the signatures were wanting, when a large
+reinforcement of Europeans arrived from Bombay, and the Admiral
+received formal notification of the declaration of war, and orders
+from the Admiralty to attack the French.[33] This put an immediate
+end to negotiations, and the envoys were instructed to return to
+Chandernagore. At the same time the English determined to try and
+prevent the Nawab from joining the French.
+
+Whilst the Admiral was making up his mind fortune had favoured the
+English. The Nawab, in fear of an invasion of Bengal by the Pathans,
+had called upon the British for assistance, and on the 3rd of March
+Clive's army left Calcutta _en route_ for Murshidabad. The Admiral
+now pointed out to the Nawab that the British could not safely leave
+Chandernagore behind them in the hands of an enemy, and Clive wrote
+to the same effect, saying he would wait near Chandernagore for a
+reply. On the 10th of March the Nawab wrote a letter to the Admiral,
+which concluded with the following significant words:--
+
+  "You have understanding and generosity: if your enemy
+  with an upright heart claims your protection, you will give
+  him life, but then you must be _well_ satisfied of the innocence
+  of his intentions: if not, whatever you think right, that do."
+
+Law says this letter was a forgery,[34] but as the Nawab did not
+write any letters himself, the only test of authenticity was his
+seal, which was duly attached. The English believed it to be
+genuine, and the words quoted could have but one meaning. Admiral
+Watson read them as a permission to attack the French without fear
+of the Nawab's interference. He prepared to support Clive as soon as
+the water in the Hugli would allow his ships to pass up, and, it
+must be supposed, informed Clive of the letter he had received. At
+any rate, he so informed the Council.
+
+Clive reached Chandernagore on the 12th, and probably heard on that
+day or the next from Calcutta. On the 13th he sent the following
+summons--which Renault does not mention, and did not reply to--to
+Chandernagore:--
+
+  "SIR,
+
+  "The King of Great Britain having declared war
+  against France, I summons you in his name to surrender the
+  Fort of Chandernagore. In case of refusal you are to answer
+  the consequences, and expect to be treated according to the
+  usage of war in such cases.
+
+  "I have the honour to be, sir,
+
+  "Your most obedient and humble servant,
+
+  "ROBERT CLIVE."
+
+It is important, in the light of what happened
+later, to notice that Clive addresses Renault as a
+combatant and the head of the garrison.
+
+In England we have recently seen men eager to vilify their own
+nation. France has produced similar monsters. One of them wrote from
+Pondicherry:--
+
+  "The English having changed their minds on the arrival
+  of the reinforcement from Bombay, our gentlemen at Chandernagore
+  prepared to ransom themselves, and they would have
+  done so at whatever price the ransom had been fixed
+  provided anything had remained to them. That mode of
+  agreement could not possibly suit the taste of the English.
+  It was rejected, and the Council of Chandernagore had
+  no other resource except to surrender on the best conditions
+  they could obtain from the generosity of their enemy. This
+  course was so firmly resolved upon that they gave no
+  thought to defending themselves. The military insisted only
+  on firing a single discharge, which they desired the Council
+  would grant them. It was only the marine and the citizens
+  who, though they had no vote in the Council, cried out
+  tumultuously that the Fort must be defended. A plot was
+  formed to prevent the Director's son, who was ready to carry
+  the keys of the town to the English camp, from going out.
+  Suddenly some one fired a musket. The English thought
+  it was the reply to their summons. They commenced on
+  their side to fire their artillery, and that was how a defence
+  which lasted ten whole days was begun."
+
+How much truth is contained in the above paragraph may be judged by
+what has been already stated. It will be sufficient to add that
+Clive, receiving no answer to his summons, made a sudden attack on a
+small earthwork to the south-west of the fort at 3 A.M. on the 14th
+of March. For two whole days then, the English had been in sight of
+Chandernagore without attacking. The French ladies had been sent to
+Chinsurah and Serampore, so that the defenders had nothing to fear
+on their account. Besides the French soldiers and civilians, there
+were also about 2000 Moorish troops present, whom Law says he
+persuaded the Nawab to send down as soon as the English left
+Calcutta. Other accounts say that Renault hired them to assist him.
+The Nawab had a strong force at Murshidabad ready to march under one
+of his commanders, Rai Durlabh Ram; but the latter had experienced
+what even a small English force could do in the night attack on the
+Nawab's camp, and was by no means inclined to match himself a second
+time against Clive; accordingly, he never got further than five
+leagues from Murshidabad. Urgent messages were sent from
+Chandernagore as soon as the attack began. M. Law begged of the
+Nawab to send reinforcements. Mr. Watts, the English Chief, and all
+his party in the _Durbar_, did their utmost to prevent any orders
+being issued. The Nawab gave orders which he almost immediately
+countermanded. Renault ascribes this to a letter which he says
+Clive wrote on the 14th of March, the very day of the attack,
+promising the Nawab to leave the French alone, but it is not at all
+likely that he did so. It is true Clive had written to this effect
+on the 22nd of February; but since then much had happened, and he
+was now acting, as he thought and said, with the Nawab's permission.
+On the 16th of March he wrote to Nand Kumar, Faujdar[35] of Hugli,
+as follows:--
+
+  "The many deceitful wicked measures that the French
+  have taken to endeavour to deprive me of the Nawab's
+  favour (tho' I thank God they have proved in vain, since
+  his Excellency's friendship towards me is daily increasing)
+  has long made me look on them as enemies to the English,
+  but I could no longer stifle my resentment when I found
+  that ... they dared to oppose the freedom of the English
+  trade on the Ganges by seizing a boat with an English
+  _dustuck_,[36] and under English colours that was passing by their
+  town. I am therefore come to a resolution to attack them.
+  I am told that some of the Government's forces have been
+  perswaded under promise of great rewards from the French
+  to join them against us; I should be sorry, at a time when
+  I am so happy in his Excellency's favour and friendship, that
+  I should do any injury to his servants; I am therefore to
+  desire you will send these forces an order to withdraw, and
+  that no other may come to their assistance."[37]
+
+What Clive feared was that, though the
+Nawab might not interfere openly, some of his
+servants might receive secret orders to do so, and
+on the 22nd of March he wrote even more curtly
+to Rai Durlabh himself:--
+
+  "I hear you are arrived within 20 miles of Hughly.
+  Whether you come as a friend or an enemy, I know not. If
+  as the latter, say so at once, and I will send some people out
+  to fight you immediately.... Now you know my mind."[38]
+
+When diplomatic correspondence was conducted in letters of this
+kind, it is easy to understand that the Nawab was frightened out of
+his wits, and absolutely unable to decide what course he should
+take. There was little likelihood of the siege being influenced by
+anything he might do.
+
+The outpost mentioned as the object of the first attack was a small
+earthwork, erected at the meeting of three roads. It was covered by
+the Moorish troops, who held the roofs of the houses around. As the
+intention of the outposts was merely to prevent the town from being
+surprised, and to enable the inhabitants to take shelter in the
+Fort, the outpost ought to have been withdrawn as quickly as
+possible, but, probably because they thought it a point of honour
+to make a stout defence wherever they were first attacked,
+the defenders stood to it gallantly. Renault sent repeated
+reinforcements, first the company of grenadiers, then at 9 o'clock
+the company of artillery, and at 10 o'clock, when the surrounding
+houses were in flames, and many of the Moors had fled, a company of
+volunteers. With these, and a further reinforcement of sixty
+sailors, the little fort held out till 7 o'clock in the evening,
+when the English, after three fruitless assaults, ceased fire and
+withdrew. Street fighting is always confusing, and hence the
+following vague description of the day's events from Captain Eyre
+Coote's journal:--
+
+  "Colonel Clive ordered the picquets, with the company's
+  grenadiers, to march into the French bounds, which is encompassed
+  with an old ditch,[39] the entrance into it a gateway
+  with embrasures on the top but no cannons, which the
+  French evacuated on our people's advancing. As soon as
+  Captain Lynn, who commanded the party, had taken possession,
+  he acquainted the Colonel, who ordered Major Kilpatrick
+  and me, with my company of grenadiers, to join Captain
+  Lynn, and send him word after we had reconnoitred the
+  place. On our arrival there we found a party of French was
+  in possession of a road leading to a redoubt that they had
+  thrown up close under their fort, where they had a battery
+  of cannon, and upon our advancing down the road, they fired
+  some shots at us. We detached some parties through a wood,
+  and drove them from the road into their batteries with the
+  loss of some men; we then sent for the Colonel, who, as soon
+  as he joined us, sent to the camp for more troops. We
+  continued firing at each other in an irregular manner till
+  about noon, at which time the Colonel ordered me to continue
+  with my grenadier company and about 200 sepoys at the
+  advance post, and that he would go with the rest of our
+  troops to the entrance, which was about a mile back. About
+  2 o'clock word was brought me that the French were making
+  a sortie. Soon after, I perceived the sepoys retiring from
+  their post, upon which I sent to the Colonel to let him know
+  the French were coming out. I was then obliged to divide
+  my company, which consisted of about 50 men, into 2 or 3
+  parties (very much against my inclination) to take possession
+  of the ground the sepoys had quitted. We fired pretty
+  warmly for a quarter of an hour from the different parties
+  at each other, when the French retreated again into their
+  battery. On this occasion I had a gentleman (Mr. Tooke[40]),
+  who was a volunteer, killed, and 2 of my men wounded.
+  The enemy lost 5 or 6 Europeans and some blacks. I got
+  close under the battery, and was tolerably well sheltered by
+  an old house, where I continued firing till about 7 o'clock,
+  at which time I was relieved, and marched back to camp."
+
+The defenders were much exhausted, as well by the fighting as by the
+smoke and heat from the burning houses and the heat of the weather,
+for it was almost the hottest season of the year. It seemed probable
+that the English would make another attack during the night, and as
+the defenders already amounted to a very large portion of the
+garrison, it was almost impossible to reinforce them without
+leaving the Fort itself in great danger, if Clive managed to
+approach it from any other quarter. Renault called a council of war,
+and, after taking the opinion of his officers in writing to the
+effect that the outposts must be abandoned, he withdrew the
+defenders at 9 o'clock, under cover of the darkness: The French had
+suffered a loss of only 10 men killed and wounded. Clive mentions
+that, at the same time, all the other outposts and batteries, except
+those on the river side, were withdrawn.
+
+Mustering his forces in the Fort, Renault found them to be composed
+of 237 soldiers (of whom 117 were deserters from the British), 120
+sailors, 70 half-castes and private Europeans, 100 persons employed
+by the Company, 167 Sepoys and 100 _Topasses_. Another French
+account puts the total of the French garrison at 489, but this
+probably excludes many of the private people.[41]
+
+On the 15th the English established themselves in the town, and
+drove out the Moors who had been stationed on the roofs of the
+houses. This gave them to some extent the command of the interior of
+the Fort, but no immediate attack was made on the latter. A French
+account[42] says this was because--
+
+  "all their soldiers were drunk with the wine they had found
+  in the houses. Unfortunately we did not know of this. It
+  would have been the moment to make a sortie, of which the
+  results must have been favourable to us, the enemy being
+  incapable of defence."
+
+During the night of the 15th the Fort was bombarded, and on the
+morning of the 16th the British completed the occupation of the
+houses deserted by the Moors. The latter not being received into the
+Fort, either fled or were sent away. They betook themselves to Nand
+Kumar, the Faujdar of Hugli, announcing the capture of the town.
+Nand Kumar, who is said to have had an understanding with the
+British, sent on the message to Rai Durlabh and the Nawab, with the
+malicious addition that the Fort, if it had not already fallen,
+would fall before Rai Durlabh could reach it. This put an end to all
+chance of the Nawab interfering.
+
+The French spent the day in blocking a narrow passage formed by a
+sandbank in the river, a short distance below the town. They sank--
+
+  "four large ships and a hulk,... and had a chain and boom
+  across in order to prevent our going up with the squadron.
+  Captain Toby sent his 2nd lieutenant, Mr. Bloomer, that night,
+  who cut the chain and brought off a sloop that buoyed it up."[43]
+
+It was apparently this rapid attack on the position that accounts
+for the timidity of the pilots and boatmen, who, Renault tells us,
+hurried away without staying to sink two other ships which were half
+laden, and which, if sunk, would have completely blocked the
+passage. Even on the ships which were sunk the masts had been left
+standing, so as to point out their position to the enemy.
+
+Besides the ships sunk in the passage, there were at Chandernagore
+the French East Indiaman the _Saint Contest_ (Captain de la Vigne
+Buisson), four large ships, and several small ones. The French
+needed all the sailors for the Fort, so they sank all the vessels
+they could not send up the river except three, which it was supposed
+they intended to use as fire-ships.
+
+Clive, in the meantime, was advancing cautiously, his men erecting
+batteries, which seemed to be very easily silenced by the superior
+gunnery of the Fort. His object was partly to weary out the garrison
+by constant fighting, and partly to creep round to the river face,
+so as to be in a position to take the batteries which commanded the
+narrow river passage, as soon as Admiral Watson was ready to attack
+the Fort. Later on, the naval officers asserted he could not have
+taken the Fort without the assistance of the fleet. He said he
+could, and it is certain that if he had had no fleet to assist him
+his mode of attack would have been a very different one.
+
+Early in the siege the French were warned from Chinsurah to beware
+of treachery amongst the deserters in their pay, and on the 17th of
+March a number of arrows were found in the Fort with labels
+attached, bearing the words:--
+
+  "Pardon to deserters who will rejoin their colours, and
+  rewards to officers who will come over to us."
+
+These were seized by the officers before the men could see them, but
+one of the officers themselves, Charles Cossard de Terraneau, a
+sub-lieutenant of the garrison, took advantage of the offer to go
+over to the English. This officer had served with credit in the
+South of India, and had lost an arm in his country's service. The
+reason of his desertion is said to have been a quarrel with M.
+Renault. M. Raymond, the translator of a native history of the time
+by Gholam Husain Khan,[44] tells a story of De Terraneau which seems
+improbable. It is to the effect that he betrayed the secret of the
+river passage to Admiral Watson, and that a few years later he sent
+home part of the reward of his treachery to his father in France.
+The old man returned the money with indignant comments on his son's
+conduct, and De Terraneau committed suicide in despair. As a matter
+of fact, De Terraneau was a land officer,[45] and therefore not
+likely to be able to advise the Admiral, who, as we shall see,
+solved the riddle of the passage in a perfectly natural manner, and
+the Probate Records show that De Terraneau lived till 1765, and in
+his will left his property to his wife Ann, so the probability is
+that he lived and died quietly in the British service. His only
+trouble seems to have been to get himself received by his new
+brother officers. However, he was, so Clive tells us, the only
+artillery officer the French had, and his desertion was a very
+serious matter. Renault writes:--
+
+  "The same night, by the improved direction of the
+  besiegers' bombs, I had no doubt but that he had done us
+  a bad service."
+
+On the 18th the French destroyed a battery which the English had
+established near the river, and drove them out of a house opposite
+the south-east bastion. The same day the big ships of the
+squadron--the _Kent_ (Captain Speke), the _Tyger_ (Captain Latham),
+and the _Salisbury_ (Captain Martin), appeared below the town. The
+_Bridgewater_ and _Kingfisher_ had come up before. Admiral Watson
+was on board the _Kent_, and Admiral Pocock on the _Tyger_. The
+fleet anchored out of range of the Fort at the Prussian Gardens, a
+mile and a half below the town, and half a mile below the narrow
+passage in which the ships had been sunk.
+
+On the 19th Admiral Watson formally announced the declaration of
+war,[46] and summoned the Fort to surrender. The Governor called a
+council of war, in which there was much difference of opinion. Some
+thought the Admiral would not have come so far without his being
+certain of his ability to force the passage; indeed the presence of
+so many deserters in the garrison rendered it probable that he had
+secret sources of information. As a matter of fact, it was only when
+Lieutenant Hey, the officer who had brought the summons, and, in
+doing so, had rowed between the masts of the sunken vessels,
+returned to the _Kent_, that Admiral Watson knew the passage was
+clear. Renault and the Council were aware that the Fort could not
+resist the big guns of the ships, and accordingly the more
+thoughtful members of the council of war determined, if possible, to
+try and avoid fighting by offering a ransom. This apparently gave
+rise to the idea that they wished to surrender, and an English
+officer says:--
+
+  "Upon the Admiral's sending them a summons ... to
+  surrender, they were very stout; they gave us to understand
+  there were two parties in the Factory, the Renaultions and
+  the anti-Renaultions. The former, which they called the
+  great-wigg'd gentry, or councillors, were for giving up the
+  Fort, but the others vowed they would die in the breach. To
+  these high and lofty expressions the Admiral could give no
+  other answer than that in a very few days, or hours perhaps,
+  he would give them a very good opportunity of testifying
+  their zeal for the Company and the Grand Monarque."
+
+The offer of ransom was made, and was refused by the Admiral.
+Renault says, he--
+
+  "insisted on our surrendering and the troops taking possession
+  of the Fort, _promising, however, that every one should keep his
+  own property_. There was not a man amongst us who did not
+  prefer to run the risk of whatever might happen to surrendering
+  in this fashion, without the Fort having yet suffered any
+  material damage, and every one was willing to risk his own
+  interests in order to defend those of the Company. Every
+  one swore to do his best."
+
+The Admiral could not attack at once, owing to the state of the
+river, but to secure his own position against any counter-attack,
+such as was very likely with a man like Captain de la Vigne in the
+Fort, he sent up boats the same night, and sank the vessels which it
+was supposed the French intended to use as fire-ships; and the next
+day Mr. John Delamotte, master of the _Kent_, under a heavy fire,
+sounded and buoyed the passage for the ships.
+
+The army, meanwhile, continued its monotonous work ashore, the
+soldiers building batteries for the French to knock to pieces, but
+succeeding in Clive's object, which was "to keep the enemy
+constantly awake."[47] Sometimes this work was dangerous, as, for
+instance, on the 21st, when a ball from the Fort knocked down a
+verandah close to one of the English batteries, "the rubbish of
+which choked up one of our guns, very much bruised two artillery
+officers, and buried several men in the ruins."[48]
+
+By the 22nd Clive had worked his way round to the river, and was
+established to the north-east and south-east of the Fort so as to
+assist the Admiral, and on the river the Admiral had at last got the
+high tide he was waiting for. Surgeon Ives tells the story as
+follows:[49]--
+
+  "The Admiral the same evening ordered lights to be
+  placed on the masts of the vessels that had been sunk, with
+  blinds towards the Fort, that we might see how to pass
+  between them a little before daylight, and without being
+  discovered by the enemy.
+
+  "At length the glorious morning of the 23rd of March
+  arrived." Clive's men gallantly stormed the battery covering
+  the narrow pass,[50] "and upon the ships getting under sail the
+  Colonel's battery, which had been finished behind a dead
+  wall," to take off the fire of the Fort when the ships passed
+  up, began firing away, and had almost battered down the
+  corner of the south-east bastion before the ships arrived
+  within shot of the Fort. "The _Tyger_, with Admiral Pocock's
+  flag flying, took the lead, and about 6 o'clock in the morning
+  got very well into her station against the north-east bastion.
+  The _Kent_, with Admiral Watson's flag flying, quickly followed
+  her, but before she could reach her proper station, the tide of
+  ebb unfortunately made down the river, which occasioned her
+  anchor to drag, so that before she brought up she had fallen
+  abreast of the south-east bastion, the place where the _Salisbury_
+  should have been, and from her mainmast aft she was exposed
+  to the flank guns of the south-west bastion also. The accident
+  of the _Kent's_ anchor not holding fast, and her driving down
+  into the _Salisbury's_ station, threw this last ship out of action,
+  to the great mortification of the captain, officers, and crew,
+  for she never had it in her power to fire a gun, unless it was
+  now and then, when she could sheer on the tide. The French,
+  during the whole time of the _Kent_ and _Tyger's_ approach
+  towards the Fort, kept up a terrible cannonade upon them,
+  without any resistance on their part; but as soon as the
+  ships came properly to an anchor they returned it with such
+  fury as astonished their adversaries. Colonel Clive's troops
+  at the same time got into those houses which were nearest
+  the Fort, and from thence greatly annoyed the enemy with
+  their musketry. Our ships lay so near to the Fort that the
+  musket balls fired from their tops, by striking against the
+  _chunam_[51] walls of the Governor's palace, which was in
+  the very centre of the Fort, were beaten as flat as a half-crown.
+  The fire now became general on both sides, and was
+  kept up with extraordinary spirit. The flank guns of the
+  south-west bastion galled the _Kent_ very much, and the
+  Admiral's aide-de-camps being all wounded, Mr. Watson went
+  down himself to Lieutenant William Brereton, who commanded
+  the lower deck battery, and ordered him particularly
+  to direct his fire against those guns, and they were accordingly
+  soon afterwards silenced. At 8 in the morning
+  several of the enemy's shot struck the _Kent_ at the same
+  time; one entered near the foremast, and set fire to two or
+  three 32-pound cartridges of gunpowder, as the boys held
+  them in their hands ready to charge the guns. By the explosion,
+  the wad-nets and other loose things took fire between
+  decks, and the whole ship was so filled with smoke that the
+  men, in their confusion, cried out she was on fire in the
+  gunner's store-room, imagining from the shock they had
+  felt from the balls that a shell had actually fallen into her.
+  This notion struck a panic into the greater part of the crew,
+  and 70 or 80 jumped out of the port-holes into the boats
+  that were alongside the ship. The French presently saw
+  this confusion on board the _Kent_, and, resolving to take the
+  advantage, kept up as hot a fire as possible upon her during
+  the whole time. Lieutenant Brereton, however, with the
+  assistance of some other brave men, soon extinguished the
+  fire, and then running to the ports, he begged the seamen to
+  come in again, upbraiding them for deserting their quarters;
+  but finding this had no effect upon them, he thought the
+  more certain method of succeeding would be to strike them
+  with a sense of shame, and therefore loudly exclaimed, 'Are
+  you Britons? You Englishmen, and fly from danger? For
+  shame! For shame!' This reproach had the desired effect;
+  to a man they immediately returned into the ship, repaired
+  to their quarters, and renewed a spirited fire on the enemy.
+
+  "In about three hours from the commencement of the
+  attack the parapets of the north and south bastions were
+  almost beaten down; the guns were mostly dismounted, and
+  we could plainly see from the main-top of the _Kent_ that the
+  ruins from the parapet and merlons had entirely blocked up
+  those few guns which otherwise might have been fit for
+  service. We could easily discern, too, that there had been
+  a great slaughter among the enemy, who, finding that our
+  fire against them rather increased, hung out the white flag,
+  whereupon a cessation of hostilities took place, and the
+  Admiral sent Lieutenant Brereton (the only commissioned
+  officer on board the _Kent_ that was not killed or wounded)
+  and Captain Coote of the King's regiment with a flag of truce
+  to the Fort, who soon returned, accompanied by the French
+  Governor's son, with articles of capitulation, which being
+  settled by the Admiral and Colonel, we soon after took possession
+  of the place."
+
+So far then from the besiegers' side; Renault's description of the
+fight is as follows:--
+
+  "The three largest vessels, aided by the high-water of
+  the equinoctial tides, which, moreover, had moved the vessels
+  sunk in the narrow passage, passed over the sunken ships,
+  which did not delay them for a moment, to within half
+  pistol shot of the Fort, and opened fire at 6 a.m. Then the
+  troops in the battery on the bank of the Ganges, who had
+  so far fired only one discharge, suddenly found themselves
+  overwhelmed with the fire from the tops of the ships,
+  abandoned it, and had much difficulty in gaining the Fort....
+  I immediately sent the company of grenadiers, with a detachment
+  of the artillery company as reinforcements, to the
+  south-eastern bastion and the Bastion du Pavillon, which two
+  bastions face the Ganges; but those troops under the fire of
+  the ships, joined to that of the land batteries, _rebuilt the
+  same night_, and of more than 3000 men placed on the roofs
+  of houses which overlooked the Fort, almost all took flight,
+  leaving two of their officers behind, one dead and the other
+  wounded. I was obliged to send immediately all the marine
+  and the inhabitants from the other posts.
+
+  "The attack was maintained with vigour from 6 a.m. to
+  10.30, when all the batteries were covered with dead and
+  wounded, the guns dismounted, and the merlons destroyed,
+  in spite of their being strengthened with bales of cloth. No
+  one could show himself on the bastions, demolished by the
+  fire of more than 100 guns; the troops were terrified during
+  this attack by the loss of all the gunners and of nearly
+  200 men; the bastions were undermined, and threatened to
+  crumble away and make a breach, which the exhaustion of
+  our people, and the smallness of the number who remained,
+  made it impossible for us to hope to defend successfully.
+  Not a soldier would put his hand to a gun; it was only the
+  European marine who stood to their duty, and half of these
+  were already killed or disabled. A body of English troops,
+  lying flat on the ground behind the screen which we had commenced
+  to erect on the bank of the Ganges, was waiting the
+  signal to attack. Seeing the impossibility of holding out longer,
+  I thought that in the state in which the Fort was I could not
+  in prudence expose it to an assault. Consequently I hoisted
+  the white flag and ordered the drums to beat a parley."
+
+According to an account written later by a person who was not
+present at the siege, Renault lost his Fort by a quarter of an hour.
+This writer says the tide was rapidly falling, and, had the eastern
+defences of the Fort been able to resist a little longer, the ships
+would have found their lower tiers of guns useless, and might have
+been easily destroyed by the French. Suppositions of this kind
+always suppose a stupidity on the part of the enemy which Renault
+had no right to count upon. Admiral Watson must have known the
+strength of the fortress he was about to attack before he placed
+his ships in a position from which it would be impossible to
+withdraw them whenever he wished to do so.
+
+The flag of truce being displayed, Captain Eyre Coote was sent
+ashore, and returned in a quarter of an hour with the Governor's son
+bearing "a letter concerning the delivery of the place." Articles
+were agreed upon, and about 3 o'clock in the afternoon Captain
+Coote, with a company of artillery and two companies of grenadiers,
+took possession of the Fort. Before this took place there occurred
+an event the consequences of which were very unfortunate for the
+French. Everything was in a state of confusion, and the deserters,
+who formed the majority of the garrison, expecting no mercy from the
+Admiral and Clive, determined to escape. Rushing tumultuously to the
+Porte Royale, their arms in their hands, they forced it to be opened
+to them, and, finding the northern road to Chinsurah unguarded, made
+the best of their way in that direction. They were accompanied by a
+number of the military and marine, as well as by some of the
+Company's servants and private persons who were determined not to
+surrender. As all this took place after the hoisting of the white
+flag and pending the conclusion of the capitulation, the English
+considered it a breach of the laws of warfare, and when later on
+the meaning of the capitulation itself was contested they absolutely
+refused to listen to any of the representations of the French. In
+all about 150 persons left the Fort. They had agreed to reassemble
+at a place a little above Hugli. The English sent a small force
+after them, who shot some and captured others, but about 80 officers
+and men arrived at the rendezvous in safety. The pursuit, however,
+was carried further, and Law writes:--
+
+  "Constantly pursued, they had to make forced marches.
+  Some lost their way; others, wearied out, were caught as they
+  stopped to rest themselves. However, when I least expected
+  it, I was delighted to see the officers and many of the soldiers
+  arrive in little bands of 5 and 6, all naked, and so worn out
+  that they could hardly hold themselves upright. Most of
+  them had lost their arms."
+
+This reinforcement increased Law's garrison from 10 or 12 men to 60,
+and secured the safety of his person, but the condition of the
+fugitives must have been an object lesson to the Nawab and his
+_Durbar_ which it was not wise for the French to set before them. A
+naval officer writes:--
+
+  "From the letters that have lately passed between the
+  Nawab and us, we have great reason to hope he will not
+  screen the French at all at Cossimbazar or Dacca. I only
+  wish the Colonel does not alarm him too much, by moving
+  with the army to the northward, I do assure you he is so
+  sufficiently frightened that he had rather encounter the new
+  Mogul[52] himself than accept our assistance, though he strenuously
+  begged for it about three weeks ago. He writes word
+  he needs no fuller assurance of our friendship for him, when
+  a single letter brought us so far on the road to Murshidabad
+  as Chandernagore."[53]
+
+The escape of the French from Chandernagore is of interest, as it
+shows the extraordinary condition of the country. It is probable
+that the peasantry and gentry were indifferent as to whether the
+English or the French were victorious, whilst the local authorities
+were so paralyzed by the Nawab's hesitation that they did not know
+which side to assist. Later on we shall find that small parties, and
+even solitary Frenchmen, wandered through the country with little or
+no interference, though the English had been recognized as the
+friends and allies of the new Nawab, Mir Jafar.
+
+To return, however, to Renault and the garrison of Chandernagore.
+The capitulation proposed by Renault and the Admiral's answers were
+to the following effect:--
+
+1. The lives of the deserters to be spared. _Answer_. The deserters
+to surrender absolutely.
+
+2. Officers of the garrison to be prisoners on parole, and allowed
+to keep their effects. _Answer_. Agreed to.
+
+3. Soldiers of the garrison to be prisoners of war. _Answer_. Agreed
+to, on condition that foreigners may enter the English service.
+
+4. Sepoys of the garrison to be set free. _Answer_. Agreed to.
+
+5. Officers and crew of the French Company's ship to be sent to
+Pondicherry. _Answer_. These persons to be prisoners of war
+according to articles 2 and 3.
+
+6. The Jesuit fathers to be allowed to practise their religion and
+retain their property. _Answer_. No European to be allowed to remain
+at Chandernagore, but the fathers to be allowed to retain their
+property.
+
+7. All inhabitants to retain their property. _Answer_. This to be
+left to the Admiral's sense of equity.
+
+8. The French Factories up-country to be left in the hands of their
+present chiefs. _Answer_. This to be settled by the Nawab and the
+Admiral.
+
+9. The French Company's servants to go where they please, with their
+clothes and linen. _Answer_. Agreed to.
+
+It is evident that the capitulation was badly drawn up. Civilians
+who had taken part in the defence, as had all the Company's
+servants, might be justly included in the garrison, and accordingly
+Admiral Watson and Clive declared they were all prisoners of war,
+and that article 9 merely permitted them to reside where they
+pleased on _parole_. On the other hand, Renault and the French
+Council declared that, being civilians, nothing could make them part
+of the garrison, and therefore under article 9 they might do what
+they pleased. Accordingly, they expressed much surprise when they
+were stopped at the Fort gates by one of Clive's officers, and
+forced to sign, before they were allowed to pass, a paper promising
+not to act against Britain directly or indirectly during the course
+of the war.
+
+Another point of difficulty was in reference to article 7. The town
+had been in the hands of the British soldiers and sepoys for days.
+Much had been plundered, and both soldiers and sailors were wild for
+loot. They considered that the Admiral was acting unjustly to them
+in restoring their property to civilians who had been offered the
+chance of retaining it if they would avoid unnecessary bloodshed by
+a prompt surrender. Instead of this, the defence was so desperate
+that one officer writes:--
+
+  "Our losses have been very great, and we have never
+  yet obtained a victory at so dear a rate. Perhaps you will
+  hear of few instances where two ships have met with heavier
+  damage than the _Kent_ and _Tyger_ in this engagement."[54]
+
+Clive's total loss was only about 40 men killed and wounded, but
+the loss on the ships was so great, that before the Fort surrendered
+the besiegers had lost quite as many men as the besieged, and it was
+by no means clear to the common mind what claim the French had to
+leniency. Even English officers wrote:--
+
+  "The Messieurs themselves deserve but little mercy from
+  us for their mean behaviour in setting fire to so many bales
+  of cloth and raw silk in the Fort but a very few minutes
+  before we entered, and it grieves us much, to see such a
+  number of stout and good vessels sunk with their whole
+  cargoes far above the Fort, which is a great loss to us and
+  no profit to them. Those indeed below, to hinder our passage
+  were necessary, the others were _merely through mischief_.
+  But notwithstanding this they scarcely ask a favour from
+  the Admiral but it is granted."
+
+The result was that the soldiers on guard began to beat the coolies
+who were helping the French to secure their goods, until they were
+induced by gifts to leave them alone, and much plundering went on
+when the soldiers could manage to escape notice. On one day three
+black soldiers were executed, and on another Sergeant Nover[55] and
+a private soldier of the 39th Regiment were condemned to death, for
+breaking open the Treasury and stealing 3000 rupees. Another theft,
+which was not traced, was the holy vessels and treasure of the
+Church.
+
+Many individual Frenchmen were ruined. Of one of these Surgeon Ives
+narrates the following pleasing incident:--
+
+  "It happened unfortunately ... that Monsieur Nicolas,
+  a man of most amiable character, and the father of a large
+  family, had not been so provident as the rest of his countrymen
+  in securing his effects within the Fort, but had left them
+  in the town; consequently, upon Colonel Clive's first taking
+  possession of the place, they had all been plundered by our
+  common soldiers; and the poor gentleman and his family
+  were to all appearance ruined. The generous and humane
+  Captain Speke,[56] having heard of the hard fate of Monsieur
+  Nicolas, took care to represent it to the two admirals in all
+  its affecting circumstances, who immediately advanced the
+  sum of 1500 rupees each. Their example was followed by
+  the five captains of the squadron, who subscribed 5000
+  between them. Mr. Doidge added 800 more, and the same
+  sum was thrown in by another person who was a sincere well-wisher
+  to this unfortunate gentleman; so that a present of
+  9600 rupees, or L1200 sterling was in a few minutes collected
+  towards the relief of this valuable Frenchman and his
+  distressed family. One of the company was presently
+  despatched with this money, who had orders to acquaint
+  Monsieur Nicolas that a few of his English friends desired
+  his acceptance of it, as a small testimony of the very high
+  esteem they had for his moral character, and of their
+  unfeigned sympathy with him in his misfortunes. The poor
+  gentleman, quite transported by such an instance of generosity
+  in an enemy, cried out in a sort of ecstasy, 'Good God,
+  they axe friends indeed!' He accepted of the present with
+  great thankfulness, and desired that his most grateful
+  acknowledgements might be made to his unknown benefactors,
+  for whose happiness and the happiness of their
+  families, not only his, but the prayers of his children's
+  children, he hoped, would frequently be presented to heaven.
+  He could add no more; the tears, which ran plentifully down
+  his cheeks, bespoke the feelings of his heart: and, indeed,
+  implied much more than even Cicero with all his powers of
+  oratory could possibly have expressed."
+
+This, however, was but a solitary instance; the state of the French
+was, as a rule, wretched in the extreme, and Renault wrote:--
+
+  "The whole colony is dispersed, and the inhabitants are
+  seeking an asylum, some--the greatest part--have gone to
+  Chinsurah, others to the Danes and to Calcutta. This
+  dispersion being caused by the misery to which our countrymen
+  are reduced, their poverty, which I cannot relieve,
+  draws tears from my eyes, the more bitter that I have seen
+  them risk their lives so generously for the interests of the
+  Company, and of our nation."
+
+In such circumstances there was but one consolation possible to
+brave men--the knowledge that, in the eyes of friend and foe, they
+had done their duty. The officers of the British army and navy all
+spoke warmly of the gallant behaviour of the French, and the
+historian Broome, himself a soldier and the chronicler of many a
+brave deed, expresses himself as follows:--
+
+  "The conduct of the French on this occasion was most
+  creditable and well worthy the acknowledged gallantry of
+  that nation. Monsieur Renault, the Governor, displayed
+  great courage and determination: but the chief merit of the
+  defence was due to Monsieur Devignes" (Captain de la
+  Vigne Buisson), "commander of the French Company's ship,
+  _Saint Contest_. He took charge of the bastions, and directed
+  their fire with great skill and judgment, and by his own
+  example inspired energy and courage into all those around
+  him."
+
+Renault himself found some consolation in the gallant behaviour of
+his sons.
+
+  "In my misfortune I have had the satisfaction to see my
+  two sons distinguish themselves in the siege with all the
+  courage and intrepidity which I could desire. The elder
+  brother was in the Company's service, and served as a
+  volunteer; the younger, an officer in the army, was, as has
+  been said above, commandant of the volunteers."
+
+Others who are mentioned by Renault and his companions as having
+distinguished themselves on the French side, were the Councillors
+MM. Caillot, Nicolas, and Picques, Captain de la Vigne Buisson and
+his son and officers, M. Sinfray (secretary to the Council), the
+officers De Kalli[57] and Launay, the Company's servants Matel, Le
+Conte Dompierre, Boissemont and Renault de St. Germain, the private
+inhabitant Renault de la Fuye, and the two supercargoes of Indiamen
+Delabar and Chambon. Caillot (or Caillaud) was wounded. The
+official report of the loss of Chandernagore was drawn up on the
+29th of March, 1757. The original is in the French Archives, and
+Caillaud's signature shows that he was still suffering from his
+wound. Sinfray we shall come across again. He joined Law at
+Cossimbazar and accompanied him on his first retreat to Patna. Sent
+back by Law, he joined Siraj-ud-daula, and commanded the small
+French contingent at Plassey. When the battle was lost he took
+refuge in Birbhum, was arrested by the Raja, and handed over to the
+English.
+
+The immediate gain to the English by the capture of Chandernagore
+was immense. Clive wrote to the Select Committee at Madras:--
+
+  "I cannot at present give you an account to what value
+  has been taken;[58] the French Company had no great stock
+  of merchandize remaining, having sold off most of their
+  Imports and even their investment for Europe to pay in part
+  the large debts they had contracted. With respect to the
+  artillery and ammunition ... they were not indifferently
+  furnished: there is likewise a very fine marine arsenal well
+  stocked. In short nothing could have happened more
+  seasonable for the expeditious re-establishment of Calcutta
+  than the reduction of Charnagore" (i.e. Chandernagore). "It
+  was certainly a large, rich and thriving colony, and the loss
+  of it is an inexpressible blow to the French Company."[59]
+
+The French gentlemen, after having signed under protest the document
+presented to them by Clive, betook themselves to Chinsurah, where
+they repudiated their signatures as having been extorted by force,
+subsequent to, and contrary to, the capitulation. They proceeded to
+communicate with Pondicherry, their up-country Factories, and the
+native Government; they also gave assistance to French soldiers who
+had escaped from Chandernagore. Clive and the Calcutta Council were
+equally determined to interpret the capitulation in their own way,
+and sent Renault an order, through M. Bisdom, the Dutch Director, to
+repair to the British camp. Renault refused, and when Clive sent a
+party of sepoys for him and the other councillors, they appealed to
+M. Bisdom for the protection of the Dutch flag. M. Bisdom informed
+them somewhat curtly that they had come to him without his
+invitation, that he had no intention of taking any part in their
+quarrels, that he would not give them the protection of his flag to
+enable them to intrigue against the English, and, in short,
+requested them to leave Dutch territory. As it was evident that the
+British were prepared to use force, Renault and the Council gave in,
+and were taken to Calcutta, where, for some time, they were kept
+close prisoners. It was not till the Nawab had been overthrown at
+Plassey, that they were absolutely released, and even then it was
+only that they might prepare for their departure from Bengal.
+Renault surmises, quite correctly, that this severity was probably
+due to the fear that they would assist the Nawab.
+
+The following incident during Renault's captivity shows how little
+could be expected from the Nawab towards a friend who was no longer
+able to be of use to him. After the capture of Chandernagore the
+English Council called on the Nawab to surrender the French
+up-country Factories to them. Siraj-ud-daula had not even yet
+learned the folly of his double policy. On the 4th of April he wrote
+to Clive:--
+
+  "I received your letter and observe what you desire in
+  regard to the French factories and other goods. I address
+  you seeing you are a man of wisdom and knowledge, and
+  well acquainted with the customs and trade of the world;
+  and you must know that the French by the permission and
+  _phirmaund_[60] of the King[61] have built them several factories,
+  and carried on their trade in this kingdom. I cannot
+  therefore without hurting my character and exposing
+  myself to trouble hereafter, deliver up their factories and
+  goods, unless I have a written order from them for so doing,
+  and I am perswaded that from your friendship for me you
+  would never be glad at anything whereby my fame would
+  suffer; as I on my part am ever desirous of promoting" [yours].
+
+  "Mr. Renault, the French. Governor being in your power, if
+  you could get from him a paper under his own hand and
+  seal to this purpose; 'That of his own will and pleasure, he
+  thereby gave up to the English Company's servants, and
+  empowered them to receive all the factories, money and
+  goods belonging to the French Company without any hindrance
+  from the Nawab's people;' and would send this to
+  me, I should be secured by that from any trouble hereafter
+  on this account. But it is absolutely necessary you come
+  to some agreement about the King's duties arising from the
+  French trade.... I shall then be able to answer to his
+  servants 'that in order to make good the duties accruing
+  from the French trade I had delivered up their factories
+  into the hands of the English.'"[62]
+
+Clive replied on the 8th of April:--
+
+  "Now that I have granted terms to Mr. Renault, and
+  that he is under my protection, it is contrary to our custom,
+  after this, to use violence; and without it how would he ever
+  of his own will and pleasure, write to desire you to deliver
+  up his master's property. Weigh the justice of this in your
+  own mind. Notwithstanding we have reduced the French
+  so low you, contrary to your own interest and the treaty
+  you have made with us, that my enemies should be yours,
+  you still support and encourage them. But should you
+  think it would hurt your character to deliver up the French
+  factories and goods, your Excellency need only signify to me
+  your approbation and I will march up and take them."[63]
+
+The more we study the records of the time, the more clearly we
+realize the terrible determination of Clive's character, and we
+almost feel a kind of pity for the weak creatures who found
+themselves opposed to him, until we come across incidents like the
+above, which show the depths of meanness to which they were prepared
+to descend.
+
+As to Renault's further career little is known, and that little we
+should be glad to forget. Placed in charge of the French Settlement
+at Karical, he surrendered, on the 5th of April, 1760, to what was
+undoubtedly an overwhelming British force, but after so poor a
+defence that he was brought before a Court Martial and cashiered. It
+speaks highly for the respect in which he had been held by both
+nations that none of the various reports and accounts of the siege
+mention him by name. Even Lally, who hated the French Civilians,
+though he says he deserved death,[64] only refers to him indirectly
+as being the same officer of the Company who had surrendered
+Chandernagore to Clive.
+
+We shall now pass to what went on in Siraj-ud-daula's Court and
+capital.
+
+
+
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote 12: Journal of M. d'Albert.]
+
+[Footnote 13: Evidently the Parish Church of St. Louis. Eyre Coote
+tells us the French had four guns mounted on its roof.]
+
+[Footnote 14: In early accounts of India the Muhammadans are always
+called _Moors_; the Hindus, _Gentoos_ or _Gentiles_. The _Topasses_
+were Portuguese half-castes, generally employed, even by native
+princes, as gunners.]
+
+[Footnote 15: Captain Broome says there were fifty European ladies
+in the Fort. The French accounts say they all retired, previous to
+the siege, to Chinsurah and Serampore.]
+
+[Footnote 16: Captain, afterwards Sir, Eyre Coote.]
+
+[Footnote 17: The fullest account is one by Renault, dated October
+26, 1758.]
+
+[Footnote 18: The only one, excepting the battle of Biderra, between
+the English and Dutch.]
+
+[Footnote 19: Governor of Pondicherry and President of the Superior
+Council.]
+
+[Footnote 20: Eyre Coote, in his "Journal," mentions an old ditch,
+which surrounded the settlement.]
+
+[Footnote 21: One hundred toises, or 600 feet; but Eyre Coote says
+330 yards, the difference probably due to the measurement excluding
+or including the outworks.]
+
+[Footnote 22: Tanks, or artificial ponds, in Bengal are often of
+great size. I have seen some a quarter of a mile long.]
+
+[Footnote 23: Letter to M. de Montorcin, Chandernagore, August 1
+1756. Signature lost.]
+
+[Footnote 24: The Nawab, in July, 1756, extorted three lakhs from
+the French and even more from the Dutch.]
+
+[Footnote 25: British Museum. Additional MS. 20,914.]
+
+[Footnote 26: A kind of fibre used in making bags and other coarse
+materials.]
+
+[Footnote 27: Surgeon Ives's Journal.]
+
+[Footnote 28: Letter to De Montorcin.]
+
+[Footnote 29: Both English and French use this word "inhabitant" to
+signify any resident who was not official, military, or in the
+seafaring way.]
+
+[Footnote 30: This he did through the Armenian Coja Wajid, a wealthy
+merchant of Hugli, who advised the Nawab on European affairs.
+_Letter from Coja Wajid to Clive, January 17, 1757_.]
+
+[Footnote 31: A French doctor, who has left an account of the
+Revolutions in Bengal, says there were eight outposts, and that the
+loss of one would have involved the loss of all the others, as they
+could be immediately cut off from the Fort, from which they were too
+distant to be easily reinforced. The doctor does not sign his name,
+but he was probably one of the six I mentioned above. Their names
+were Haillet (doctor), La Haye (surgeon-major), Du Cap (second), Du
+Pre (third), Droguet (fourth), and St. Didier (assistant).]
+
+[Footnote 32: M. Vernet, the Dutch Chief at Cossimbazar, wrote to
+the Dutch Director at Chinsurah that he could obtain a copy of this
+treaty from the Nawab's secretaries, if he wished for it.]
+
+[Footnote 33: See page 79 (and note).]
+
+[Footnote 34: See note, p. 89.]
+
+[Footnote 35: Governor.]
+
+[Footnote 36: A document authorising the free transit of certain
+goods, and their exemption from custom dues, in favour of English
+traders.--_Wilson_.]
+
+[Footnote 37: Orme MSS. India XI., p. 2744, No. 71.]
+
+[Footnote 38: Orme MSS. India XI., p. 2750, No. 83.]
+
+[Footnote 39: Still visible, I believe, in parts. The gateway
+certainly exists.]
+
+[Footnote 40: Mr. Tooke was a Company's servant. He had
+distinguished himself in the defence of Calcutta in 1756, when he
+was wounded, and, being taken on board the ships, escaped the
+dreadful ordeal of the Black Hole.]
+
+[Footnote 41: Neither of these accounts agree with the Capitulation
+Returns.]
+
+[Footnote 42: British Museum. Addl. MS. 20,914.]
+
+[Footnote 43: Remarks on board His Majesty's ship _Tyger_, March
+15th.]
+
+[Footnote 44: His maternal grandfather was a cousin of Aliverdi
+Khan.]
+
+[Footnote 45: Malleson explains this by saying that De Terraneau was
+employed in the blocking up of the passage, but the story hardly
+needs contradiction.]
+
+[Footnote 46: This announcement seems superfluous after fighting had
+been going on for several days, but it simply shows the friction
+between the naval and military services.]
+
+[Footnote 47: Clive's journal for March 16th. Fort St. George, Sel.
+Com. Cons., 28th April, 1757.]
+
+[Footnote 48: Eyre Coote's journal.]
+
+[Footnote 49: The passages interpolated are on the authority of a
+MS. in the Orme Papers, entitled "News from Bengal."]
+
+[Footnote 50: Accounts of this detail differ. One says it was
+stormed on the 21st, but if so the French would have been more on
+their guard, and would surely have strengthened the second battery
+in front of the Fort.]
+
+[Footnote 51: Lime plaster made extremely hard.]
+
+[Footnote 52: The Emperor at Delhi, who was supposed to be about to
+invade Bengal.]
+
+[Footnote 53: Orme MSS. O.V. 32, p. 11.]
+
+[Footnote 54: Orme MSS. O.V. 32, p. 10.]
+
+[Footnote 55: Sergeant Nover was pardoned in consideration of
+previous good conduct. _Letter from Clive to Colonel Adlercron,
+March_ 29, 1757.]
+
+[Footnote 56: Captain Speke was seriously and his son mortally
+wounded in the attack on Chandernagore.]
+
+[Footnote 57: I cannot identify this name in the Capitulation
+Returns. Possibly he was killed.]
+
+[Footnote 58: Surgeon Ives says the booty taken was valued at
+L130,000.]
+
+[Footnote 59: Orme MSS. India X., p. 2390. Letter of 30th March,
+1757.]
+
+[Footnote 60: _Firman_, or Imperial Charter.]
+
+[Footnote 61: The Mogul, Emperor, or King of Delhi, to whom the
+Bengal Nawabs were nominally tributary.]
+
+[Footnote 62: Orme MSS. India XI. pp. 2766-7, No. 111.]
+
+[Footnote 63: Ibid., p. 2768, No. 112.]
+
+[Footnote 64: Memoirs of Lally. London, 1766.]
+
+
+[Illustration: MUXADABAD, OR MURSHIDABAD. (_After Rennell_.)]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+M. LAW, CHIEF OF COSSIMBAZAR
+
+
+A few miles out of Murshidabad, capital of the Nawabs of Bengal
+since 1704, when Murshid Kuli Khan transferred his residence from
+Dacca to the ancient town of Muxadabad and renamed it after himself,
+lay a group of European Factories in the village or suburb of
+Cossimbazar.[65] Of these, one only, the English, was fortified; the
+others, i.e. the French and Dutch, were merely large houses lying in
+enclosures, the walls of which might keep out cattle and wild
+animals and even thieves, but were useless as fortifications. In
+1756 the Chief of the English Factory, as we have already seen, was
+the Worshipful Mr. William Watts; the Dutch factory was under M.
+Vernet,[66] and the French under M. Jean Law. The last mentioned was
+the elder son of William Law, brother of John Law the financier,
+who settled in France, and placed his sons in the French service.
+French writers[67] on genealogy have hopelessly mixed up
+the two brothers, Jean and Jacques Francois. Both came to
+India, both distinguished themselves, both rose to the rank of
+colonel, one by his services to the French East India Company, and
+one by the usual promotion of an officer in the King's army. The
+only proof that the elder was the Chief of Cossimbazar is to be
+found in a few letters, mostly copies, in which his name is given as
+Jean or John. As a usual rule he signed himself in the French manner
+by his surname only, or as Law of Lauriston.
+
+His experiences during the four years following the accession of
+Siraj-ud-daula were painful and exciting, and he has recorded them
+in a journal or memoir[68] which has never yet been published, but
+which is of great interest to the student of Indian history. For us
+it has the added charm of containing a picture of ourselves painted
+by one who, though a foreigner by education, was enabled by his
+birth to understand our national peculiarities. In the present
+chapter I shall limit myself almost entirely to quotations from this
+memoir.
+
+Law was by no means an admirer of Aliverdi Khan's successor,--
+
+  "Siraj-ud-daula, a young man of twenty-four or twenty-five,[69]
+  very common in appearance. Before the death of Aliverdi
+  Khan the character of Siraj-ud-daula was reported to be one
+  of the worst ever known. In fact, he had distinguished himself
+  not only by all sorts of debauchery, but by a revolting
+  cruelty. The Hindu women are accustomed to bathe on the
+  banks of the Ganges. Siraj-ud-daula, who was informed by
+  his spies which of them were beautiful, sent his satellites in
+  disguise in little boats to carry them off. He was often
+  seen, in the season when the river overflows, causing the
+  ferry boats to be upset or sunk in order to have the cruel
+  pleasure of watching the terrified confusion of a hundred
+  people at a time, men, women, and children, of whom many,
+  not being able to swim, were sure to perish. When it
+  became necessary to get rid of some great lord or minister,
+  Siraj-ud-daula alone appeared in the business, Aliverdi Khan
+  retiring to one of his houses or gardens outside the town, so
+  that he might not hear the cries of the persons whom he was
+  causing to be killed."
+
+So bad was the reputation of this young prince, that many persons,
+among them Mr. Watts, imagined it impossible that the people would
+ever tolerate his accession. The European nations in Bengal had no
+regular representatives at the Court of the Nawab; and the Chiefs of
+the Factories at Cossimbazar, though now and then admitted to the
+_Durbar_, transacted their business mainly through _wakils_, or
+native agents, who, of course, had the advantage of knowing the
+language and, what was of much greater importance, understood all
+those indirect ways in which in Eastern countries one's own business
+is forwarded and that of one's rivals thwarted. Then, as now, the
+difficulty of dealing with native agents was to induce these agents
+to express their own opinions frankly and clearly.[70] So far from
+the English Chief being corrected by his _wakil_, we find the
+latter, whilst applying to other nobles for patronage and
+assistance, studiously refraining from making any application to
+Siraj-ud-daula when English business had to be transacted at Court.
+
+The English went even further:--
+
+  "On certain occasions they refused him admission into
+  their factory at Cossimbazar and their country houses,
+  because, in fact, this excessively blustering and impertinent
+  young man used to break the furniture, or, if it pleased his
+  fancy, take it away. But Siraj-ud-daula was not the man
+  to forget what he regarded as an insult. The day after the
+  capture of the English fort at Cossimbazar, he was heard to
+  say in full _Durbar_, 'Behold the English, formerly so proud
+  that they did not wish to receive me in their houses!' In
+  short, people knew, long before the death of Aliverdi Khan,
+  that Siraj-ud-daula was hostile to the English."
+
+With the French it was different:--
+
+  "On the other hand, he was very well disposed towards
+  us. It being our interest to humour him, we had received
+  him with a hundred times more politeness than he deserved.
+  By the advice of Rai Durlabh Ram and Mohan Lal, we had
+  recourse to him in important affairs. Consequently, we
+  gave him presents from time to time, and this confirmed his
+  friendship for us. The previous year (1755) had been a
+  very good one for him, owing to the business connected with
+  the settlement of the Danes in Bengal. In fact, it was by
+  his influence that I was enabled to conclude this affair, and
+  Aliverdi Khan allowed him to retain all the profit from it,
+  so I can say that I had no bad place in the heart of Siraj-ud-daula.
+  It is true he was a profligate, but a profligate who
+  was to be feared, who could be useful to us, _and who might
+  some day be a good man_. Nawajis Muhammad Khan[71] had
+  been at least as vicious as Siraj-ud-daula, and yet he had
+  become the idol of the people."
+
+Law, therefore, had cultivated the young Nawab. Mr. Watts, on the
+other hand, was not only foolish enough to neglect him, but carried
+his folly to extremes. He was not in a position to prevent his
+accession, and ought therefore to have been careful by the
+correctness of his behaviour to show no signs of being opposed to
+it. So far from this, he is strongly suspected of having entered
+into correspondence with the widow of Nawajis Khan, who had adopted
+Siraj-ud-daula's younger brother[72] and was supporting his
+candidature for the throne, and also with Saukat Jang, Nawab of
+Purneah and cousin of Siraj-ud-daula, who was trying to obtain the
+throne for himself. Still further, he advised Mr. Drake, Governor of
+Calcutta, to give shelter to Kissendas, son of Raj Balav (Nawajis
+Khan's _Diwan_), who had fled with the treasures in his charge when
+his father was called to account for his master's property.
+
+Contrary to Mr. Watts's expectations, Aliverdi Khan's last acts so
+smoothed the way for Siraj-ud-daula, and the latter acted with such
+decision and promptitude on his grandfather's death, that in an
+incredibly short time he had all his enemies at his feet, and was at
+leisure to attend to state business, and especially the affairs
+of the foreign Settlements. Aliverdi Khan had always been
+extremely jealous of allowing the European nations to erect any
+fortifications, but, during his last illness, all of them, expecting
+a contested succession, during which, owing to complications in
+Europe, they might find themselves at war with each other in India,
+began to repair their old walls or to erect new ones. This was
+exactly what Siraj-ud-daula wanted. His first care on his accession
+had been to make himself master of his grandfather's and uncle's
+treasures. To these he had added those of such of his grandfather's
+servants as he could readily lay hands on. Other wealthy nobles and
+officers had fled to the English, or were suspected of having
+secretly sent their treasures to Calcutta. It was also supposed that
+the European Settlements, and especially Calcutta, were filled with
+the riches accumulated by the foreigners. Whilst, therefore, the
+Nawab was determined to make all the European nations contribute
+largely in honour of his accession, and in atonement for their
+insolence in fortifying themselves without his permission, he had
+special reasons for beginning with the English. In the mean time,
+however, he had first to settle with his cousin, Saukat Jang, the
+Nawab of Purneah, so he contented himself with sending orders to the
+Chiefs of the Factories to pull down their new fortifications. Law
+acted wisely and promptly.
+
+  "I immediately drew up an _Arzi_, or Petition, and had one
+  brought from the Council in Chandernagore of the same
+  tenour as my own. These two papers were sent to Siraj-ud-daula,
+  who appeared satisfied with them. He even wrote
+  me in reply that he did not forbid our repairing old works,
+  but merely our making new ones. Besides, the spies who
+  had been sent to Chandernagore, being well received and
+  satisfied with the presents made them, submitted a report
+  favourable to us, so that our business was hushed up."
+
+The English behaved very differently, and their answer, which was
+bold if not insolent in tone,[73] reached the Nawab at the very
+moment when he had received the submission of the Nawab of Purneah.
+Law adds:--
+
+  "I was assured that the Nawab of Purneah showed him
+  some letters which he had received from the English. This
+  is difficult to believe, but this is how the match took fire.
+
+  "Accordingly, no sooner had the Nawab heard the contents
+  of the answer from the English, than he jumped up in
+  anger, and, pulling out his sword, swore he would go and
+  exterminate all the Feringhees.[74] At the same time he gave
+  orders for the march of his army, and appointed several
+  Jemadars[75] to command the advance guard. As in his first
+  burst of rage he had used the general word Feringhees,
+  which is applied to all Europeans, some friends whom I had
+  in the army, and who did not know how our business had
+  ended, sent to warn me to be on my guard, as our Factory
+  would be besieged. The alarm was great with us, and with
+  the English, at Cossimbazar. I spent more than twenty-four
+  hours in much anxiety; carrying wood, provisions, etc., into
+  the Factory, but I soon knew what to expect. I saw horsemen
+  arrive and surround the English fort, and at the same
+  time I received an official letter from the Nawab, telling me
+  not to be anxious, and that he was as well pleased with us
+  as he was ill pleased with the English."
+
+Cossimbazar surrendered without firing a shot, owing to the
+treacherous advice of the Nawab's generals, and Siraj-ud-daula
+advanced on Calcutta. It was with the greatest difficulty that Law
+escaped being forced to march in his train.
+
+  "The remains of the respect which he had formerly felt
+  for Europeans made him afraid of failure in his attack
+  on Calcutta, which had been represented to him as a very
+  strong place, defended by three or four thousand men. He
+  wrote to me in the strongest terms to engage the Director of
+  Chandernagore to give him what assistance he could in men
+  and ammunition. 'Calcutta is yours,' he said to our agent
+  in full _Durbar_; 'I give you that place and its dependencies
+  as the price of the services you will render me. I know,
+  besides, that the English are your enemies; you are always
+  at war with them either in Europe or on the Coromandel
+  Coast, so I can interpret your refusal only as a sign of the
+  little interest you take in what concerns me. I am resolved
+  to do you as much good as Salabat Jang[76] has done you in
+  the Deccan, but if you refuse my friendship and the offers I
+  make you, you will soon see me fall on you and cause you
+  to experience the same treatment that I am now preparing
+  for others in your favour.' He wished us to send down at
+  once to Calcutta all the ships and other vessels which were
+  at Chandernagore. After having thanked him for his
+  favourable disposition towards us, I represented to him
+  that we were not at war with the English, that what had
+  happened on the Coromandel Coast was a particular affair
+  which we had settled amicably, and that the English, in
+  Bengal having given us no cause of offence, it was impossible
+  for us, without orders either from Europe or Pondicherry, to
+  give him the assistance he asked for. Such reasons could
+  only excite irritation in the mind of a man of Siraj-ud-daula's
+  character. He swore he would have what he wanted
+  whether we wished it or not, and that, as we lived in his
+  country, his will ought to be law to us. I did my best to
+  appease him, but uselessly. At the moment of his departure
+  his sent us word by one of his uncles that he still counted
+  on our assistance, and he sent me a letter for the Governor of
+  Pondicherry, in which he begged him to give us the necessary
+  orders. I thought to myself this was so much time gained."
+
+The Nawab captured Calcutta without any open assistance from the
+French, and, though he set free most of the prisoners who survived
+the Black Hole, he sent Holwell and three others before him to
+Murshidabad. Law, who had already sheltered Mrs. Watts and her
+family, and such of the English of Cossimbazar as had been able to
+escape to him, now showed similar kindness to Holwell and his
+companions. Of this he says modestly:--
+
+  "The gratitude Mr. Holwell expresses for a few little
+  services which I was able to render him makes me regret
+  my inability to do as much to deserve his gratitude as I
+  should have liked to do."[77]
+
+He also, apparently with some difficulty, obtained consent to M.
+Courtin's request for the release of the English prisoners at Dacca;
+for--
+
+  "Siraj-ud-daula, being informed that there were two or
+  three very charming English ladies at Dacca, was strongly
+  tempted to adorn his harem with them."
+
+Law's success in these matters is a striking instance of his
+personal influence, for Siraj-ud-daula was by no means any longer
+well disposed towards the French and Dutch.
+
+  "The fear of drawing on his back all the European
+  nations at once had made him politic. At first he pretended
+  to be satisfied with the reply sent by the Governor
+  of Chandernagore, and assured him that he would always
+  treat us with the greatest kindness. He said the same to
+  the Dutch, but when Calcutta was taken the mask fell. He
+  had nothing more to fear. Scarcely had he arrived at Hugli
+  when he sent detachments to Chandernagore and Chinsurah
+  to summon the commandants to pay contributions, or to
+  resolve to see their flags taken away and their forts
+  demolished. In short, we were forced to yield what the
+  Nawab demanded; whilst he, as he said, was content with
+  having punished a nation which had offended him, and with
+  having put the others to ransom to pay for the expenses of
+  the expedition. We saw the tyrant reappear in triumph at
+  Murshidabad, little thinking of the punishment which Providence
+  was preparing for his crimes, and to make which still
+  more striking, he was yet to have some further successes."
+
+It may be here pointed out that, not only did the Nawab not insist
+on the destruction of the French and Dutch fortifications, but he
+did not destroy the fortifications of Calcutta. This proves that if
+the English had shown the humility and readiness to contribute which
+he desired, he would have left them in peace at the first, or, after
+the capture of Calcutta, have permitted them to resettle there
+without farther disturbance. In short, the real necessity of making
+the European nations respect his authority, instead of guiding him
+in a settled course, merely provided a pretext for satisfying his
+greed. This is the opinion, not only of the French and English who
+were at Murshidabad when the troubles began, but of the English
+officials who went there later on and made careful inquiries amongst
+all classes of people in order to ascertain the real reason of
+Siraj-ud-daula's attack upon the English.
+
+His avarice was to prove the Nawab's ruin.
+
+  "Siraj-ud-daula was one of the richest Nawabs that had
+  ever reigned. Without mentioning his revenues, of which
+  he gave no account at the Court of Delhi, he possessed
+  immense wealth, both in gold and silver coin, and in jewels
+  and precious stones, which had been left by the preceding
+  three Nawabs. In spite of this he thought only of increasing
+  his wealth. If any extraordinary expense had to be met
+  he ordered contributions, and levied them with extreme
+  rigour. Having never known himself what it was to want
+  money, he supposed that, in due proportion, money was as
+  common with other people as with himself, and that the
+  Europeans especially were inexhaustible. His violence
+  towards them was partly due to this. In fact, from his
+  behaviour, one would have said his object was to ruin everybody.
+  He spared no one, not even his relatives, from whom
+  he took all the pensions and all the offices which they
+  had held in the time of Aliverdi Khan. Was it possible for
+  such a man to keep his throne? Those who did not know
+  him intimately, when they saw him victorious over his
+  enemies and confirmed as Nawab by a _firman_[78]from the
+  Great Mogul, were forced to suppose that there was in his
+  character some great virtue which balanced his vices and
+  counteracted their effects. However, this young giddy-pate
+  had no talent for government except that of making himself
+  feared, and, at the same time, passed for the most cowardly
+  of men. At first he had shown some regard for the officers of
+  the army, because, until he was recognized as Nawab, he felt
+  his need of them. He had even shown generosity, but this
+  quality, which was quite opposed to his real character, soon disappeared,
+  to make place for violence and greed, which decided
+  against him all those who had favoured his accession in the
+  hope that he would behave discreetly when he became Nawab."
+
+Owing to the general disgust felt at Murshidabad for the Nawab, his
+cousin, Saukat Jang, Nawab of Purneah, thought the opportunity
+favourable for reviving his claims, and, early in October,
+Siraj-ud-daula, hearing of his contemplated rebellion, invaded his
+country.
+
+  "Every one longed for a change, and many flattered
+  themselves it would take place. In fact, it was the most
+  favourable opportunity to procure it. The result would have
+  been happiness and tranquillity for Bengal. Whilst contributing
+  to the general good--which even the Dutch might
+  have interested themselves in--we could have prevented
+  the misfortunes which have since happened to us. Three or
+  four hundred Europeans and a few sepoys would have done
+  the business. If we could have joined this force to the
+  enemies of Siraj-ud-daula we should have placed on the
+  throne another Nawab--not, indeed, one wholly to our taste,
+  but, not to worry about trifles, one to the liking of the house
+  of Jagat Seth,[79] and the chief Moors and Rajas. I am sure
+  such a Nawab would have kept his throne. The English
+  would have been re-established peaceably, they would certainly
+  have received some compensation, and would have had
+  to be satisfied whether they liked it or not. The neutrality of
+  the Ganges assured, at least to the same extent as in the time
+  of Aliverdi Khan, the English would have been prevented
+  from invading Bengal, and from sending thither the reinforcements
+  which had contributed so much to their success
+  on the Madras Coast. All this depended on us, but how
+  could we foresee the succession of events which has been as
+  contrary to us as it has been favourable to the English? As
+  it was, we remained quiet, and the rash valour of the young
+  Nawab of Purneah, whilst it delivered Siraj-ud-daula from
+  the only enemy he had to fear in the country, made it clear
+  to the whole of Bengal that the change so much desired
+  could be effected only by the English."
+
+Mir Jafar and other leaders of the Nawab's army were about to
+declare in favour of Saukat Jang when Ramnarain,[80] Naib of Patna,
+arrived to support Siraj-ud-daula. Whilst the malcontents were
+hesitating what to do, Saukat Jang made a rash attack on the Nawab's
+army, and was shot dead in the fight.
+
+  "Behold him then, freed by this event from all his
+  inquietudes; detested, it is true, but feared even by those
+  who only knew him by name. In a country where predestination
+  has so much power over the mind, the star of
+  Siraj-ud-daula was, people said, predominant. Nothing could
+  resist him. He was himself persuaded of this. Sure of the
+  good fortune which protected him, he abandoned himself
+  more than ever to those passions which urged him to the
+  commission of every imaginable form of violence.
+
+  "It can be guessed what we had to suffer, we and the
+  Dutch, at Cossimbazar. Demand followed demand, and insult
+  followed insult, on the part of the native officers and soldiers;
+  for they, forming their behaviour on that of their master,
+  thought they could not sufficiently show their contempt for
+  everything European. We could not go outside of our Factories
+  without being exposed to annoyance of one kind or another."
+
+Every one in the land turned wistful eyes towards the English, but
+they lay inactive at Fulta, and it seemed as if help from Madras
+would never come. The English, therefore, tried to bring about a
+revolution favourable to themselves at Murshidabad, and began to
+look for persons who might be induced to undertake it; but this was
+not easy, as the Moor nobles had little acquaintance with the
+Europeans. Of the Hindus in Bengal--
+
+  "the best informed were the bankers and merchants, who
+  by their commercial correspondence had been in a position
+  to learn many things. The house of Jagat Seth, for instance,
+  was likely to help the English all the more because to its
+  knowledge of them it joined several causes of complaint
+  against Siraj-ud-daula. Up to the death of Aliverdi Khan
+  it had always enjoyed the greatest respect. It was this
+  family which had conducted almost all his financial business,
+  and it may be said that it had long been the chief cause of
+  all the revolutions in Bengal. But now things were much
+  changed. Siraj-ud-daula, the most inconsiderate of men,
+  never supposing that he would need the assistance of mere
+  bankers, or that he could ever have any reason to fear them,
+  never showed them the slightest politeness. He wanted
+  their wealth, and some day or other it was certain he would
+  seize it. These bankers, then, were the persons to serve the
+  English. They could by themselves have formed a party,
+  and, even without the assistance of any Europeans, have
+  put another Nawab upon the throne and re-established the
+  English, but this would have required much time. Business
+  moves very slowly amongst Indians, and this would not have
+  suited the English. The bankers also were Hindus, and of
+  a race which does not like to risk danger. To stimulate
+  them to action it was necessary for the English to commence
+  operations and achieve some initial successes, and as yet
+  there seemed no likelihood of their doing so. To negotiate
+  with Siraj-ud-daula for a peaceful re-establishment was quite
+  as difficult, unless they were inclined to accept the very
+  hardest conditions, for the Nawab had now the most extravagant
+  contempt for all Europeans; a pair of slippers, he
+  said, is all that is needed to govern them."
+
+Just as it seemed likely that the English would have to stoop to the
+Nawab's terms, they received news of the despatch of reinforcements
+from Madras. About the same time, it became known to both French and
+English that France and England had declared war against each other
+in the preceding May.[81] The English naturally said nothing about
+it, and the French were too eager to see the Nawab well beaten to
+put any unnecessary obstacles in their way. The negotiations with
+the friends of the Europeans at Murshidabad were quietly continued
+until Admiral Watson and Colonel Clive arrived. A rapid advance was
+then made on Calcutta, which was captured with hardly any
+resistance.
+
+Siraj-ud-daula was so little disturbed by the recapture of Calcutta
+that the French thought everything would terminate amicably, but,
+possibly owing to the reputation of Watson and Clive, who had so
+long fought against the French,[82] they thought it likely that, if
+the English demanded compensation for their losses, the Nawab would
+allow them to recoup themselves by seizing the French Settlements.
+M. Renault, therefore, wrote to Law to make sure that, in any treaty
+between the Nawab and the English, an article should be inserted
+providing for the neutrality of the Ganges; but the French, at
+present, were needlessly alarmed. The English had no intention of
+creeping quietly back into the country. Watson and Clive addressed
+haughty letters to the Nawab, demanding reparation for the wrongs
+inflicted on the English; and the Admiral and the Council declared
+war in the name of the King and the Company. This possibly amused
+the Nawab, who took no notice of their letters; but it was a
+different matter when a small English force sailed up the Hugli,
+passed Chandernagore unopposed by the French, captured the fort of
+Hugli, burnt Hugli[83] and Bandel towns, and ravaged both banks of
+the river down to Calcutta. The French were in an awkward position.
+The English had passed Chandernagore without a salute, which was an
+unfriendly, if not a hostile act; whilst the Nawab thought that, as
+the French had not fired on them, they must be in alliance with
+them. Law had to bear the brunt of this suspicion. His common sense
+told him that the English would never consent to a neutrality, and
+he wrote to Renault that it was absolutely necessary to join the
+Moors.
+
+  "The neutrality was by no means obligatory, as no treaty
+  existed. In fact, what confidence could we have in a forced
+  neutrality, which had been observed so long only out of
+  fear of the Nawab, who for the general good of the country
+  was unwilling to allow any act of hostility to be committed
+  by the Europeans? Much more so when the English were
+  at war with the Nawab himself. If they managed to get
+  the better of him, what would become of this fear, the sole
+  foundation of the neutrality?"
+
+So Law wrote to Renault, begging him, if he could not persuade the
+English to sign a treaty of neutrality at once, to make up his mind
+and join the Nawab. We have seen why Renault could do neither, and
+Law, writing after the event says, generously enough:--
+
+  "I am bound to respect the reasons which determined
+  M. Renault as well as the gentlemen of the Council, who
+  were all much too good citizens not to have kept constantly
+  in their minds the welfare of our nation and the Company.
+  People always do see things differently, and the event does
+  not always prove the correctness or incorrectness of the
+  reasons which have decided us to take one or the other course."
+
+As soon as the Nawab heard of the plundering of Hugli he set out for
+Calcutta, but to blind the English he requested M. Renault to
+mediate between them. The English refusal to treat through the
+French had the effect of clearing up matters between the latter and
+the Nawab; but he could not understand why the French would not
+actively assist him. Certain, at any rate, that he had only the
+English to deal with, he foolishly played into their hands by
+marching to fight them on their own ground, whereas, if he had
+remained idle at a little distance, merely forbidding supplies to be
+sent them, he could have starved them out of Calcutta in a few
+months. As I have said before, Clive attacked his camp on the 5th of
+February, and so terrified him that he consented to a shameful
+peace, in which he forgot all mention of the neutrality of the
+Ganges. Law tells a curious story to the effect that what frightened
+the Nawab most of all was a letter from Admiral Watson, threatening
+to make him a prisoner and carry him to England. Watson's letter is
+extant, and contains no such threat, but it is quite possible that
+it was so interpreted to the Nawab.
+
+Though the Nawab had assured the English that he would have the same
+friends and enemies as they, and had omitted to mention the French
+in the treaty, he now, of his own accord, gave the French all that
+the English had extorted from him. This act could not be kept
+secret.
+
+  "A great fault at present, and which has always existed,
+  in the management of affairs in India, especially in Bengal,
+  is that nothing is secret. Scarcely had the Nawab formed
+  any project when it was known to the lowest of his slaves.
+  The English, who were suspicious, and who had for friends
+  every one who was an enemy of Siraj-ud-daula, whom all
+  detested, were soon informed of his proposals to M. Renault
+  and of the letters written on both sides."
+
+Yet Law thinks it was only the European war and the fear that
+Renault intended an alliance with the Nawab that induced the English
+to proceed to extremities:--
+
+  "The dethronement of the Nawab had become an absolute
+  necessity. To drive us out of Bengal was only a preliminary
+  piece of work. A squadron of ours with considerable forces
+  might arrive. Siraj-ud-daula might join his forces to it.
+  What, then, would become of the English? They needed
+  for Nawab a man attached to their interests. Besides, this
+  revolution was not so difficult to carry out as one might
+  imagine. With Chandernagore destroyed, nothing could be
+  more easy; but even if we were left alone the revolution
+  could have been effected by the junction of the English with
+  the forces which would have been produced against Siraj-ud-daula
+  by the crowd of enemies whom he had, and amongst
+  whom were to be counted the most respectable persons in
+  the three provinces.[84] This statement demands an explanation.
+  I have already spoken of the house of Jagat Seth, or
+  rather of its chiefs, who are named Seth Mahtab Rai and Seth
+  Sarup Chand, bankers of the Mogul, the richest and most
+  powerful merchants who have ever lived. They are, I can
+  say, the _movers_ of the revolution. Without them the English
+  would never have carried out what they have. I have
+  already said they were not pleased with Siraj-ud-daula, who
+  did not show them the same respect as the old Nawab
+  Aliverdi Khan had done; but the arrival of the English
+  forces, the capture of the Moorish forts, and the fright of
+  the Nawab before Calcutta, had made a change which was
+  apparently in their favour. The Nawab began to perceive
+  that the bankers were necessary to him. The English
+  would have no one except them as mediators, and so they
+  had become, as it were, responsible for the behaviour of
+  both the Nawab and the English. Accordingly after the
+  Peace there was nothing but kindness and politeness from
+  the Nawab towards them, and he consulted them in everything.
+  At the bottom this behaviour of his was sheer
+  trickery. The Seths were persuaded that the Nawab who
+  hated the English must also dislike the persons whom the
+  English employed. Profiting by the hatred which the
+  Nawab had drawn on himself by his violence, and distributing
+  money judiciously, they had long since gained over
+  those who were nearest to the Nawab, whose imprudence
+  always enabled them to know what he had in his heart.
+  From what came to the knowledge of the Seths it was easy
+  to guess what he intended, and this made them tremble, for
+  it was nothing less than their destruction, which could be
+  averted only by his own. The cause of the English had
+  become that of the Seths; their interests were identical. Can
+  one be surprised to see them acting in concert? Further,
+  when one remembers that it was this same house of bankers
+  that overthrew Sarfaraz Khan[85] to enthrone Aliverdi Khan,
+  and who, during the reign of the latter, had the management
+  of all important business, one must confess that it ought not
+  to be difficult for persons of so much influence to execute a
+  project in which, the English were taking a share."[86]
+
+Law could not persuade Renault to act, and without his doing so the
+game was nearly hopeless. Still, he worked at forming a French party
+in the Court. By means of Coja Wajid, an Armenian merchant of
+Hugli, whose property had been plundered by the English, he obtained
+an interview with the Nawab, and persuaded him to send the 2000
+soldiers who were with Renault at the beginning of the siege. More
+would have been despatched but for the apparent certainty that the
+treaty of neutrality would be signed. In fact, Renault was so
+worried that, on the complaint of Watson and Clive that Law was
+exciting the Nawab against the English, he wrote Law a letter which
+caused the latter to ask to be recalled from Cossimbazar, and it was
+only at Renault's earnest request that he consented to remain at his
+post. Law continued forming his party.
+
+  "It would appear from the English memoirs that we
+  corrupted the whole _Durbar_ at Murshidabad to our side by
+  presents and lies. I might with justice retort this reproach.
+  As a matter of fact, except Siraj-ud-daula himself, one may
+  say the English had the whole _Durbar_ always in their
+  favour. Without insisting on this point, let us honestly
+  agree, since the English themselves confess it, that we were,
+  like them, much engaged in opposing corruption to corruption
+  in order to gain the friendship of scoundrels so as to
+  place ourselves on equal terms with our enemies. This has
+  always happened, and ought not to cause surprise in a Court
+  where right counts for nothing and, every other motive apart,
+  one can never be successful except by the weight of what
+  one puts in the balance of iniquity. For the rest, right
+  or wrong, it is certain that the English were always in a
+  position to put in more than we could.
+
+  "Fear and greed are the two chief motives of Indian
+  minds. Everything depends on one or the other. Often
+  they are combined towards the same object, but, when they
+  are opposed, fear always conquers. A proof of this is easily
+  to be seen in all the events connected with, the revolution
+  in Bengal. When, in 1756, Siraj-ud-daula determined to
+  expel the English, fear and greed combined to make him
+  act. As soon as he had himself proved the superiority of
+  the English troops, fear took the upper hand in his mind,
+  grew stronger day by day, and soon put him in a condition
+  in which he was unable to follow, and often even to see, his
+  true interests.
+
+  "I mention the Nawab first. His hatred for the English
+  certainly indicated friendship for us. I think so myself, but
+  we have seen what was his character and his state of mind
+  in general. I ask, in all good faith, whether we could expect
+  any advantage from his friendship? This person, cowed by
+  fear, irresolute and imprudent, could he alone be of any use
+  to us? It was necessary for him to be supported by some
+  one who had his confidence and was capable by his own
+  firmness of fixing the irresolution of the Prince.
+
+  "Mohan Lal, chief _Diwan_ of Siraj-ud-daula, was this
+  man, the greatest scoundrel the earth has ever borne, worthy
+  minister of such a master, and yet, in truth, the only person
+  who was really attached to him. He had firmness and also
+  sufficient judgment to understand that the ruin of Siraj-ud-daula
+  must necessarily bring on his own. He was as much,
+  detested as his master. The sworn enemy of the Seths, and
+  capable of holding his own against them, I think those
+  bankers would not have succeeded so easily in their project
+  if he had been free to act, but, unfortunately for us, he had
+  been for some time, and was at this most critical moment
+  dangerously ill. He could not leave his house. I went to
+  see him twice with Siraj-ud-daula, but it was not possible to
+  get a word from him. There is strong reason to believe he
+  had been poisoned. Owing to this, Siraj-ud-daula saw himself
+  deprived of his only support.
+
+  "Coja Wajid, who had introduced me to the Nawab, and
+  who, it would be natural to suppose, was our patron, was a
+  great merchant of Hugli. He was consulted by the Nawab
+  only because, as he had frequented the Europeans and especially
+  the English, the Nawab imagined he knew them perfectly.
+  He was one of the most timid of men, who wanted
+  to be polite to everybody, and who, had he seen the dagger
+  raised, would have thought he might offend Siraj-ud-daula
+  by warning him that some one intended to assassinate him.[87]
+  Possibly he did not love the Seths, but he feared them,
+  which was sufficient to make him useless to us.
+
+  "Rai Durlabh Ram, the other _Diwan_ of the Nawab, was
+  the man to whom I was bound to trust most. Before the
+  arrival of Clive he might have been thought the enemy of
+  the English. It was he who pretended to have beaten them
+  and to have taken Calcutta. He wished, he said, to maintain
+  his reputation; but after the affair of the 5th of February,
+  in which the only part he took was to share in the flight, he
+  was not the same man; he feared nothing so much as to
+  have to fight the English. This fear disposed him to gradually
+  come to terms with the Seths, of whose greatness he
+  was very jealous. He also hated the Nawab, by whom he
+  had been ill-used on many occasions. In short, I could never
+  get him to say a single word in our favour in the _Durbar_.
+  The fear of compromising himself made him decide to remain
+  neutral for the present, though firmly resolved to join finally
+  the side which appeared to him to be the strongest."
+
+This, then, was the French party, whose sole bond was dislike to the
+Seths, and the members of which, by timidity or ill-health, were
+unable to act. It was different with their enemies.
+
+  "The English had on their side in the _Durbar_ the terror
+  of their arms, the faults of Siraj-ud-daula, the ruling influence
+  and the refined policy of the Seths, who, to conceal their game
+  more completely, and knowing that it pleased the Nawab,
+  often spoke all the ill they could think of about the English,
+  so as to excite him against them and at the same time gain
+  his confidence. The Nawab fell readily into the snare, and
+  said everything that came into his mind, thus enabling his
+  enemies to guard against all the evil which otherwise he
+  might have managed to do them. The English had also on
+  their side all the chief officers in the Nawab's army--Jafar
+  All Khan, Khodadad Khan Latty, and a number of others
+  who were attached to them by their presents or the influence
+  of the Seths, all the ministers of the old Court whom
+  Siraj-ud-daula had disgraced, nearly all the secretaries,[88] the
+  writers[89] of the _Durbar_, and even the eunuchs of the harem.
+  What might they not expect to achieve by the union of all
+  these forces when guided by so skilful a man as Mr. Watts?"
+
+With such enemies to combat in the Court itself, Law heard that the
+English were marching on Chandernagore. By the most painful efforts
+he obtained orders for reinforcements to be sent to the French.
+They--
+
+  "were ready to start, the soldiers had been paid, the Commandant[90]
+  waited only for final orders. I went to see him
+  and promised him a large sum if he succeeded in raising the
+  siege of Chandernagore. I also visited several of the chief
+  officers, to whom I promised rewards proportionate to their
+  rank. I represented to the Nawab that Chandernagore must
+  be certainly captured if the reinforcements did not set out
+  at once, and I tried to persuade him to give his orders to
+  the Commandant in my presence. 'All is ready,' replied the
+  Nawab, 'but before resorting to arms it is proper to try all
+  possible means to avoid a rupture, and all the more so as the
+  English have just promised to obey the orders I shall send
+  them.'[91] I recognized the hand of the Seths in these details.
+
+  They encouraged the Nawab in a false impression about this
+  affair. On the one hand, they assured him that the march
+  of the English, was only to frighten us into subscribing to
+  a treaty of neutrality, and on the other hand they increased
+  his natural timidity by exaggerating the force of the English
+  and by representing the risk he ran in assisting us with
+  reinforcements which would probably not prevent the capture
+  of Chandernagore if the English were determined to take it,
+  but would serve as a reason for the English to attack the
+  Nawab himself. They managed so well that they destroyed
+  in the evening all the effect I had produced in the morning.
+
+  "I resolved to visit the bankers. They immediately
+  commenced talking about our debts, and called my attention
+  to the want of punctuality in our payments. I said that
+  this was not the question just now, and that I came to them
+  upon a much more interesting matter, which, however, concerned
+  them as well as us with respect to those very debts
+  for which they were asking payment and security. I asked
+  why they supported the English against us. They denied it,
+  and, after much explanation, they promised to make any
+  suggestions I wished to the Nawab. They added that they
+  were quite sure the English would not attack us, and that
+  I might remain tranquil. Knowing that they were well
+  acquainted with the designs of the English, I told them I
+  knew as well as they did what these were, and that I saw
+  no way of preventing them from attacking Chandernagore
+  except by hastening the despatch of the reinforcements which
+  the Nawab had promised, and that as they were disposed to
+  serve me, I begged them to make the Nawab understand the
+  same. They replied that the Nawab wished to avoid any
+  rupture with the English, and they said many other things
+  which only showed me that, in spite of their good will, they
+  would do nothing for us. Ranjit Rai, who was their man
+  of business as well as the agent of the English, said to me
+  in a mocking tone, 'You are a Frenchman; are you afraid of
+  the English? If they attack you, defend yourselves! No
+  one is ignorant of what your nation has done on the Madras
+  Coast, and we are curious to see how you will come off in
+  this business here.' I told him I did not expect to find such
+  a warlike person in a Bengali merchant, and that sometimes
+  people repented of their curiosity. That was enough for such
+  a fellow, but I saw clearly that the laugh would not be on
+  my side. However, every one was very polite, and I left
+  the house."
+
+Law thinks the Seths honestly believed that the English march on
+Chandernagore was merely intended to frighten the French, and, as a
+proof of their friendliness, narrates a further incident of this
+visit:--
+
+  "The conversation having turned on Siraj-ud-daula, on
+  the reasons he had given the Seths to fear him, and on his
+  violent character, I said I understood clearly enough what
+  they meant, and that they certainly wanted to set up another
+  Nawab. The Seths, instead of denying this, contented themselves
+  with saying in a low voice that this was a subject
+  which should not be talked about. Omichand, the English
+  agent[92] (who, by the way, cried 'Away with them!' wherever
+  he went), was present. If the fact had been false, the Seths
+  would certainly have denied it, and would have reproached
+  me for talking in such a way. If they had even thought
+  I intended to thwart them, they would also have denied
+  it, but considering all that had happened, the vexations
+  caused us by the Nawab and our obstinate refusals to help
+  him, they imagined that we should be just as content as they
+  were to see him deposed, provided only the English would
+  leave us in peace. In fact, they did not as yet regard us as
+  enemies."
+
+Law was, however, ignorant that Clive had already promised, or did
+so soon after, to give the property of the French Company to the
+Seths in payment of the money the French owed them; but he now for
+the first time fully realized the gravity of the situation. The
+indiscretion of the Seths showed him the whole extent of the plot,
+and the same evening he told the Nawab, but--
+
+  "the poor young man began to laugh, not being able to
+  imagine I could be so foolish as to indulge in such ideas."
+
+And yet, whilst he refused to believe in the treason of his
+officers, the Nawab indulged at times in the most violent outbreaks
+of temper against them.
+
+  "Siraj-ud-daula was not master of himself.[93] It would
+  have needed as much firmness in his character as there was
+  deceitfulness to make the latter quality of use to him. At
+  certain times his natural disposition overmastered him,
+  especially when in his harem surrounded by his wives and
+  servants, when he was accustomed to say openly all that
+  was in his heart. Sometimes this happened to him in full
+  _Durbar_."
+
+The same evening, also, Mr. Watts came to the _Durbar_, and the
+matter of the neutrality was talked over. The Nawab wished the two
+gentlemen to pledge their respective nations to keep the peace, but
+Mr. Watts skilfully avoided giving any promise, and suggested the
+Nawab should write to the Admiral. Law, seeing that further delay
+was aimed at, exclaimed that the Admiral would pay as little respect
+to this letter as to the Nawab's previous ones.
+
+  "'How?' said the Nawab, looking angrily at me instead
+  of at Mr. Watts: 'who am I then?' All the members of his
+  Court cried out together that his orders would certainly be
+  attended to."
+
+As Law expected, Chandernagore was attacked before the Admiral's
+reply was received. Law received the news on the 15th, and hurried
+to the Nawab. Reinforcements were ordered and counter-ordered. At
+midnight the Nawab's eunuch came to inform Law that the English had
+been repulsed with loss, and on the morning of the 16th the Nawab's
+troops were ordered to advance, but when the same day news came that
+the French had withdrawn into the Fort, every one cried out that the
+Fort must fall, and that it was mere folly to incense the English by
+sending down troops. They were immediately recalled. Then news
+arrived that the Fort was holding out, and Rai Durlabh Ram was
+ordered to advance. Again there came a false report that the Fort
+had fallen. Law knew Rai Durlabh was a coward, and his whole
+reliance was on the second in command, Mir Madan:--
+
+  "a capable officer, and one who would have attacked the
+  enemy with pleasure."
+
+This Mir Madan is said to have been a Hindu convert to
+Muhammadanism. Native poems still tell of the gallantry with which
+he commanded the Hindu soldiers of the Nawab. He was one of the
+first to fall at Plassey, and though it cannot be said that his
+death caused the loss of the battle, it is certain that it put an
+end to all chance of the victory being contested.
+
+Law was at his wits' end. It was no time to stick at trifles, and,
+that he might know the worst at once, he intercepted Mr. Watts's
+letters. From them he gathered that the English intended to march
+straight upon Murshidabad. He set about fortifying the enclosure
+round the French Factory, and, as he had only 10 or 12 men, he
+induced the Nawab to send him a native officer with 100 musketeers.
+He soon learned that the reported English advance was merely the
+pursuit of the fugitives from Chandernagore, who were mentioned in
+the last chapter. By the end of March he had 60 Europeans:--
+
+  "of whom the half, in truth, were not fit to serve; but what
+  did that matter? The number was worth 120 to me outside
+  the fort, since rumour always delights in exaggeration."
+
+Of the sepoys also, whom the English set free, some 30 found their
+way to Law, and so far was he now from being afraid of Mr. Watts,
+that it was the latter who had to ask the Nawab's protection.
+
+The vacillation which had marked the Nawab's conduct previous to the
+fall of Chandernagore still continued. He protected Law, but would
+not help him with money.
+
+  "Further, at the solicitation of my enemies, the Nawab
+  sent people to pull down the earthworks I had erected. He
+  even wished the native agent of the English to be present.
+  In my life I have never suffered what I did that day. To
+  the orders of the Nawab I replied that so long as I was in
+  the Factory no foreigner should touch my fortifications, but
+  that to keep my agreement with him I was ready to withdraw
+  and to make over the Factory to him, with which he
+  could afterwards do as he liked, and for which I should hold
+  him responsible. At the same time, I made my whole troop
+  arm themselves, and, having had my munitions loaded on
+  carts for several days previous, I prepared to depart with
+  the small amount of money which belonged to me and to
+  a few other individuals. The Nawab's officer, seeing my
+  resolution, and fearing to do anything which, might not be
+  approved, postponed the execution of his orders, and informed
+  the Nawab of what was happening. He replied that he
+  absolutely forbade my leaving the Factory, and ordered the
+  pioneers to be sent away; but at the same time he informed
+  me that it was absolutely necessary for me to pull down the
+  earthworks, that under the present circumstances he had
+  himself to do many things contrary to his own wishes, that
+  by refusing to obey I should draw the English upon him
+  and upon us, that we could not defend ourselves and must
+  therefore submit, that I should not be troubled any more,
+  and that, finally, he would give me money enough to build
+  in brick what I had wished to make in earth. I knew well
+  the value of his promises, but I was forced to humour him.
+  It did not suit me to abandon the Factory altogether, so I set
+  my workmen to pull down what I had built, and the same
+  night the work was finished."
+
+The English now tried to win over the French soldiers, and had some
+success, for many of them were deserters from the British forces,
+and they quickly saw how precarious was the shelter which Law could
+afford them; but the Nawab could not be persuaded to force Law to
+surrender, and, though he agreed to leave the country, Law declared
+he would not do even that unless he received passports and money. On
+the 8th of April he received passports, and was promised that if he
+would go to Phulbari, near Patna, he should there receive all he
+wanted. He was allowed four or five days to make his preparations.
+
+  "I profited by this interval to persuade the only man
+  who dared speak for us to got to action. This was the Nazir
+  Dalal, a man of no importance, but at the same time a man
+  in whom the Nawab appeared to have some confidence. As
+  he was constantly at the Factory, I had opportunities of telling
+  him many things of particular interest to the Nawab, and I
+  believed that by politeness and presents I had brought him
+  over to our interests. A little later, however, I learned that
+  he received quite as much from the English as from us. He
+  told the Nawab all that he learned from me, _viz._ the views
+  of the English and of the Seths, and the risk he himself was
+  running, and he brought to his notice that the English were
+  steadily increasing their garrison at Cossimbazar by bringing
+  up soldiers who pretended they were deserters and wished to
+  pass over to the Trench. By this trick, indeed, many soldiers
+  had passed through the Moorish camp without being stopped.
+  There was also talk of an English fleet preparing to come up
+  and waiting only for the Nawab's permission. The Nazir
+  Dalal represented to him that the trading boats might be
+  loaded with ammunition, and that they ought to be strictly
+  searched, and the casks and barrels opened, as guns and
+  mortars might be found in them. The Nawab opened his
+  eyes at information of this kind, and promptly sent the Nazir
+  Dalal to tell me not to leave. This order came on the 10th
+  of April. I accordingly passed my garrison in review before
+  the Nawab's agent, and a statement showing the monthly
+  pay of each officer and soldier was sent to the Nawab, who
+  promised to pay them accordingly."
+
+On the 12th of April Law received a sudden summons to attend the
+_Durbar_ the next day.
+
+  "After some reflection, I determined to obey. I thought
+  that by taking presents I could avoid the inconveniences I
+  feared, so I arranged to start early on the morning of the 13th
+  with five or six persons well armed. A slight rain detained
+  us till 10 o'clock. On leaving I told my people that M.
+  Sinfray was their commandant, and ordered him, if I did not
+  return by 2 o'clock, to send a detachment of forty men to
+  meet me. We arrived at the Nawab's palace about midday.
+  He had retired to his harem. We were taken into the
+  Audience Hall, where they brought us a very bad dinner.
+  The Nawab, they said, would soon come. However, 5 o'clock
+  had struck and he had not yet dressed. During this wearisome
+  interval I was visited by some of the _Diwans_, among
+  others by the _Arzbegi._[94] I asked him why the Nawab had
+  called me. He replied with an appearance of sincerity that
+  as the Nawab was constantly receiving complaints from the
+  English, about the numerous garrison we had in our Factory,
+  he had judged it proper to summon both Mr. Watts and
+  myself in order to reconcile us, and that he hoped to arrange
+  matters so that the English should have nothing to fear from
+  us nor we from them. He added that the Nawab was quite
+  satisfied with my behaviour, and wished me much good. At
+  last the _Durbar_ hour arrives. I am warned. I pass into a
+  hall, where I find Mr. Watts and a number of _Diwans_. The
+  agent of the Seths is present Compliments having passed,
+  one of the _Diwans_ asks me if I have anything particular to
+  say to Mr. Watts. I answer that I have not. Thereupon
+  Mr. Watts addresses me in English: 'The question is, sir,
+  whether you are prepared to surrender your Factory to me
+  and to go down to Calcutta with all your people. You will
+  be well treated, and will be granted the same conditions as
+  the gentlemen of Chandernagore. This is the Nawab's wish.'
+  I reply I will do nothing of the kind, that I and all those
+  with me are free, that if I am forced to leave Cossimbazar
+  I will surrender the Factory to the Nawab, and to no one else.
+  Mr. Watts, turning round to the _Diwans_, says excitedly, that
+  it is impossible to do anything with me, and repeats to them
+  word for word all that has passed between us.
+
+  "From that moment I saw clearly that the air of the
+  Court was not healthy for us. It was, however, necessary to
+  put a good face on matters. The _Arzbegi_ and some others,
+  taking me aside, begged me to consider what I was doing in
+  refusing Mr. Watts's propositions, and said that as the Nawab
+  was determined to have a good understanding with the
+  English, he would force me to accept them. They then
+  asked what I intended to do. I said I intended to stay at
+  Cossimbazar and to oppose, to the utmost of my power, the
+  ambitious designs of the English. 'Well, well, what can
+  you do?' they replied. 'You are about a hundred Europeans;
+  the Nawab has no need of you; you will certainly be forced
+  to leave this place. It would be much better to accept the
+  terms offered you by Mr. Watts.' The same persons who had
+  begged me to do this then took Mr. Watts aside. I do not
+  know what they said to each other, but a quarter of an hour
+  after they went into the hall where the Nawab was.
+
+  "I was in the utmost impatience to know the result of
+  all these parleyings, so much the more as from some words
+  that had escaped them I had reason to think they intended
+  to arrest me.
+
+  "Fire or six minutes after Mr. Watts had gone to the
+  Nawab, the _Arzbegi_, accompanied by some officers and the
+  agents of the Seths and the English, came and told me aloud,
+  in the presence of some fifty persons of rank, that the Nawab
+  ordered me to submit myself entirely to what Mr. Watts
+  demanded. I told him I would not, and that it was
+  impossible for the Nawab to have given such an order.
+  I demanded to be presented to him. 'The Nawab,' they
+  said, 'does not wish to see you.' I replied, 'It was he who
+  summoned me; I will not go away till I have seen him.'
+  The _Arzbegi_ saw I had no intention of giving way, and that
+  I was well supported, for at this very moment word was
+  brought of the arrival of our grenadiers, who had been
+  ordered to come and meet me. Disappointed at not seeing
+  me appear, they had advanced to the very gates of the palace.
+  The _Arzbegi_, not knowing what would be the result of this
+  affair, and wishing to get out of the scrape and to throw the
+  burden of it on to the Seths' agent, said to him, 'Do you
+  speak, then; this affair concerns you more than us.' The
+  Seths' agent wished to speak, but I did not give him time.
+  I said I would not listen to him, that I did not recognize
+  him as having any authority, and that I had no business
+  at all with him. Thereupon the _Arzbegi_ went back to the
+  Nawab and told him I would not listen to reason, and that
+  I demanded to speak to him. 'Well, let him come,' said
+  the Nawab, 'but he must come alone.' At the same time
+  he asked Mr. Watts to withdraw and wait for him in a
+  cabinet. The order to appear being given me, I wish to
+  go--another difficulty! The officers with me do not wish to
+  let me go alone! A great debate between them and the
+  Nawab's officers! At last, giving way to my entreaties,
+  and on my assuring them that I have no fears, I persuade
+  them to be quiet and to let me go.
+
+  "I presented myself before the Nawab, who returned my
+  salute in a kindly manner. As soon as I was seated, he told
+  me, in a shamefaced way, that I must either accept Mr.
+  Watts's proposals, or must certainly leave his territories.
+  _Your nation is the cause_, he said, _of all the importunities I
+  now suffer from the English. I do not wish to put the whole country
+  in trouble for your sake. You are not strong enough to defend
+  yourselves; you must give way. You ought to remember that when I had
+  need of your assistance you always refused it. You ought not to
+  expect assistance from me now_.
+
+  "It must be confessed that, after all our behaviour to
+  him, I had not much to reply. I noticed, however, that the
+  Nawab kept his eyes cast down, and that it was, as it were,
+  against his will that he paid me this compliment. I told
+  him I should be dishonoured if I accepted Mr. Watts's proposals,
+  but that as he was absolutely determined to expel us
+  from his country, I was ready to withdraw, and that as soon
+  as I had the necessary passports I would go towards Patna.
+  At this every one in concert, except the Nawab and Coja
+  Wajid, cried out that I could not take that road, that the
+  Nawab would not consent to it. I asked what road they
+  wished me to take. They said I must go towards Midnapur
+  or Cuttack. I answered that the English might at any
+  moment march in that direction and fall upon me. They
+  replied I must get out of the difficulty as best I could. The
+  Nawab, meanwhile, kept his face bent down, listening
+  attentively, but saying nothing. Wishing to force him to
+  speak, I asked if it was his intention to cause me to fall into
+  the hands of my enemies? 'No, no,' replied the Nawab,
+  'take what road you please, and may God conduct you.' I
+  stood up and thanked him, received the betel,[95] and went out."
+
+Gholam Husain Khan says that the Nawab was much affected at parting
+with Law, as he now believed in the truth of his warnings against
+the English and the English party,--
+
+  "but as he did not dare to keep him in his service for fear
+  of offending the English, he told him that at present it was
+  fit that he should depart; but that if anything new should
+  happen he would send for him again. '_Send for me again?_'
+  answered Law. '_Rest assured, my Lord Nawab, that this is
+  the last time we shall see each other. Remember my words: we
+  shall never meet again. It is nearly impossible_."
+
+Law hurried back to his Factory, and by the evening of the 15th of
+April he was ready to depart. The same day the Nawab wrote to
+Clive:--
+
+  "Mr. Law I have put out of the city, and have wrote
+  expressly to my Naib[96] at Patna to turn him and his attendants
+  out of the bounds of his Subaship, and that he shall not
+  suffer them to stay in any place within it."[97]
+
+At the end of April the Nawab wrote to Abdulla Khan, the Afghan
+general at Delhi, that he had supplied Law with Rs.10,000. Clive was
+quickly informed of this.
+
+On the morning of the 16th the French marched through Murshidabad
+with colours flying and drums beating, prepared against any surprise
+in the narrow streets of the city. Mr. Watts wrote to Clive:--
+
+  "They had 100 Europeans, 60 Tellingees, 30 _hackerys_"
+  (i.e. bullock-waggons) "and 4 elephants with them."[98]
+
+Close on their track followed two spies, sent by Mr. Watts to try
+and seduce the French soldiers and sepoys. Law left a M. Bugros
+behind in charge of the French Factory.
+
+Shortly after leaving Cossimbazar, Law was reinforced by a party of
+45 men, mostly sailors of the _Saint Contest_, who had managed to
+escape from the English. On the 2nd of May the French arrived at
+Bhagulpur, the Nawab writing to them to move on whenever he heard
+they were halting, and not to go so fast when he heard they were on
+the march.
+
+  "To satisfy him we should have been always in motion
+  and yet not advancing; this did not suit us. It was of the
+  utmost importance to arrive at some place where I could
+  find means for the equipment of my troop. We were
+  destitute of everything."
+
+These contradictory orders, and even letters of recall, reached Law
+on his march, but though he sent back M. Sinfray with letters to M.
+Bugros and Coja Wajid--which the latter afterwards made over to
+Clive--he continued his march to Patna, where he arrived on the 3rd
+of June, and was well received by Raja Ramnarain, and where he was
+within four or five days' march or sail from Sooty, the mouth of the
+Murshidabad or Cossimbazar river, and therefore in a position to
+join the Nawab whenever it might be necessary.
+
+In the mean time fate had avenged Law on one of his lesser enemies.
+This was that Ranjit Rai, who had insulted him during his interview
+with the Seths. The latter had pursued their old policy of inciting
+the English to make extravagant demands which they at the same time
+urged the Nawab to refuse. To justify one such demand, the English
+produced a letter in the handwriting of Ranjit Rai, purporting to be
+written at the dictation of the Seths under instructions from the
+Nawab. The latter denied the instructions, and the Seths promptly
+asserted that the whole letter was a forgery of their agent's.
+
+  "The notorious Ranjit Rai was driven in disgrace from
+  the _Durbar_, banished, and assassinated on the road. It was
+  said he had received 2 lakhs from the English to apply his
+  masters' seal unknown to them. I can hardly believe this.
+  This agent was attached to the English only because he knew
+  the Seths were devoted to them."
+
+This incident warned the Seths to be more cautious, but still the
+plot against the Nawab was well known in the country. Renault, who
+had been at this time a prisoner in Calcutta, says:--
+
+  "Never was a conspiracy conducted as publicly and with
+  such indiscretion as this was, both by the Moors and the
+  English. Nothing else was talked about in all the English
+  settlements, and whilst every place echoed with the noise of
+  it, the Nawab, who had a number of spies, was ignorant of
+  everything. Nothing can prove more clearly the general
+  hatred which was felt towards him."[99]
+
+M. Sinfray had returned to Murshidabad, but could not obtain an
+interview with the Nawab till the 8th of June, when he found him
+still absolutely tranquil; and even on the 10th the Nawab wrote to
+Law to have no fears on his account; but this letter did not reach
+Law till the 19th.
+
+  "I complained of the delay in the strongest terms to
+  Ramnarain, who received the packets from the Nawab, but it
+  was quite useless. The Nawab was betrayed by those whom
+  he thought most attached to him. The Faujdar of Rajmehal
+  used to stop all his messengers and detain them as long as
+  he thought fit."
+
+This officer was a brother of Mir Jafar.[100] The Seths and the
+English had long found the chief difficulty in their way to be the
+choice of a man of sufficient distinction to replace Siraj-ud-daula
+on the throne. At this moment the Nawab himself gave them as a
+leader Mir Jafar Ali Khan, who had married the sister of Aliverdi
+Khan, and was therefore a relative of his. Mir Jafar was _Bukshi_,
+or Paymaster and Generalissimo of the Army, and his influence had
+greatly contributed to Siraj-ud-daula's peaceful accession. He was a
+man of good reputation, and a brave and skilful soldier. It was such
+a person as this that the Nawab, after a long course of petty
+insults, saw fit to abuse in the vilest terms in full _Durbar_ and
+to dismiss summarily from his post. He now listened to the
+proposals of the Seths, and towards the end of April terms were
+settled between him and the English.[101] The actual conclusion of
+the Treaty took place early in June, and on the 13th of that month
+Mr. Watts and the other English gentlemen at Cossimbazar escaped
+under the pretence of a hunting expedition and joined Clive in
+safety. As soon as he heard of this, the Nawab knew that war was
+inevitable, and it had come at a moment when he had disbanded half
+his army unpaid, and the other half was grumbling for arrears. Not
+only had he insulted Mir Jafar, but he had also managed to quarrel
+with Rai Durlabh. Instead of trying to postpone the conflict until
+he had crushed these two dangerous enemies, he begged them to be
+reconciled to him, and put himself in their hands. Letter after
+letter was sent to recall Law, but even the first, despatched on the
+13th, did not reach Law till the 22nd, owing to the treachery of the
+Faujdar of Rajmehal. Law's letter entreating the Nawab to await his
+arrival certainly never reached him, and though Law had started at
+the first rumour of danger, before getting the Nawab's letter, he
+did not reach Rajmehal till the 1st of July. The Nawab had been
+captured in the neighbourhood a few hours before the arrival of his
+advance-guard. Gholam Husain Khan says that Law would have been in
+time had the Nawab's last remittance been a bill of exchange and not
+an order on the Treasury, for--
+
+  "as slowness of motion seems to be of etiquette with the
+  people of Hindustan, the disbursing of the money took up
+  so much time that when M. Law was come down as far
+  Rajmehal, he found that all was over."
+
+Law, who was nothing if not philosophical, remarked on this
+disappointment:--
+
+  "In saving Siraj-ud-daula we should have scored a great
+  success, but possibly he would have been saved for a short
+  time only. He would have found enemies and traitors
+  wherever he might have presented himself in the countries
+  supposed to be subject to him. No one would have acknowledged
+  him. Forced by Mir Jafar and the English to flee to
+  a foreign country, he would have been a burden to us rather
+  than an assistance.
+
+  "In India no one knows what it is to stand by an
+  unfortunate man. The first idea which suggests itself is to
+  plunder him of the little[102] which remains to him. Besides,
+  a character like that of Siraj-ud-daula could nowhere find a
+  real friend."
+
+Siraj-ud-daula, defeated by Clive at Plassey on the 23rd of June,
+was, says Scrafton,--
+
+  "himself one of the first that carried the news of his defeat
+  to the capital, which he reached that night."
+
+His wisest councillors urged him to surrender to Clive, but he
+thought this advice treacherous, and determined to flee towards
+Rajmehal. When nearly there he was recognized by a Fakir,[103] whose
+ears he had, some time before, ordered to be cut off. The Fakir
+informed the Faujdar, who seized him and sent him to Murshidabad,
+where Miran, Mir Jafar's son, put him to death on the 4th of July.
+
+It was necessary for Law to withdraw as quickly as possible if he
+was to preserve his liberty. Clive and Mir Jafar wrote urgent
+letters to Ramnarain at Patna to stop him, but Ramnarain was no
+lover of Mir Jafar, and he was not yet acquainted with Clive, so he
+allowed him to pass. Law says:--
+
+  "On the 16th of July we arrived at Dinapur, eight miles
+  above Patna, where I soon saw we had no time to lose.
+  The Raja of Patna himself would not have troubled us much.
+  By means of our boats we could have avoided him as we
+  pleased, for though our fleet was in a very bad condition,
+  still it could have held its own against the naval forces
+  of Bengal, i.e. the Indian forces, but the English were advancing,
+  commanded by Major Coote. As the English call
+  themselves the masters of the aquatic element, it became us
+  the less to wait for them, when we knew they had stronger
+  and more numerous boats than we had. Possibly we could
+  have outsailed them, but we did not wish to give them the
+  pleasure of seeing us flee. On the 18th instant an order
+  from the Raja instructed me in the name of Mir Jafar to
+  halt--no doubt to wait for the English--whilst another on his
+  own part advised me to hurry off. Some small detachments
+  of horsemen appeared along the bank, apparently to hinder
+  us from getting provisions or to lay violent hands on the
+  boatmen. On this we set sail, resolved to quit all the
+  dependencies of Bengal. In spite of ourselves we had to
+  halt at Chupra, twenty-two miles higher up, because our
+  rowers refused to go further: prayers and threats all seemed
+  useless. I thought the English had found some means to
+  gain them over. The boats did not belong to us, but we
+  should have had little scruple in seizing them had our
+  Europeans known how to manage them. Unfortunately,
+  they knew nothing about it. The boats in Bengal have no
+  keel, and consequently do not carry sail well. So we lost
+  two days in discussion with the boatmen, but at last, by
+  doubling their pay, terms were made, and five days after, on
+  the 25th of July, we arrived at Ghazipur, the first place of
+  importance in the provinces of Suja-ud-daula, Viceroy of the
+  Subahs of Oudh, Lucknow, and Allahabad."
+
+Before Law left Rajmehal on his return to Patna, the Faujdar tried
+to stop him on pretence that Mir Jafar wished to reconcile him to
+the English. Law thought this unlikely, yet knowing the native
+proclivity for underhand intrigue, he wrote him a letter, but the
+answer which he received at Chupra was merely an order to
+surrender. Law says:--
+
+  "I had an idea that he might write to me in a quite
+  different style, _unknown to the English_. I knew the new
+  Nawab, whom I met at the time I was soliciting reinforcements
+  to raise the siege of Chandernagore. He had not then
+  taken up the idea of making himself Nawab. He appeared
+  to me a very intelligent man, and much inclined to do us
+  service, pitying us greatly for having to work with a man so
+  cowardly and undecided as Siraj-ud-daula."
+
+Law thought his communication--
+
+  "was well calculated to excite in his mind sentiments
+  favourable to us, but if it did, Mir Jafar let none of them
+  appear. The Revolution was too recent and the influence of
+  the English too great for him to risk the least correspondence
+  with us."
+
+From Clive, on the other hand, he received a letter,--
+
+  "such as became a general who, though an enemy, interested
+  himself in our fate out of humanity, knowing by his own
+  experience into what perils and fatigues we were going to
+  throw ourselves when we left the European Settlements."
+
+This letter, dated Murshidabad, July 9th, was as follows:--
+
+  "As the country people are now all become your enemies,
+  and orders are gone everywhere to intercept your passage,
+  and I myself have sent parties in quest of you, and orders
+  are gone to Ramnarain, the Naib of Patna, to seize you if
+  you pursue that road, you must be sensible if you fall into
+  their hands you cannot expect to find them a generous
+  enemy. If, therefore, you have any regard for the men
+  under your command, I would recommend you to treat with
+  us, from whom you may expect the most favourable terms in
+  my power to grant."[104]
+
+Law does not say much about the hardships of his flight; but Eyre
+Coote, who commanded the detachment which followed him, had the
+utmost difficulty in persuading his men to advance, and wrote to
+Clive that he had never known soldiers exposed to greater hardships.
+At Patna Eyre Coote seized the French Factory, where the Chief, M.
+de la Bretesche, was lying ill. The military and other Company's
+servants had gone on with Law, leaving in charge a person variously
+called M. Innocent and Innocent Jesus. He was not a Frenchman, but
+nevertheless he was sent down to Calcutta. From Patna Eyre Coote got
+as far as Chupra, only to find Law safe beyond the frontier at
+Ghazipur, and nothing left for him to do but to return.
+
+From now on to January, 1761, Law was out of the reach of the
+English, living precariously on supplies sent from Bussy in the
+south, from his wife at Chinsurah, and from a secret store which M.
+de la Bretesche had established at Patna unknown to the English, and
+upon loans raised from wealthy natives, such as the Raja of
+Bettiah. He believed all along that the French would soon make an
+effort to invade Bengal, where there was a large native party in
+their favour, and where he could assist them by creating a diversion
+in the north. I shall touch on his adventures very briefly.
+
+His first halt was at Benares, which he reached on the 2nd of
+August, and where the Raja Bulwant Singh tried to wheedle and
+frighten him into surrendering his guns. He escaped out of his hands
+by sheer bluff, and went on to Chunargarh, where he received letters
+from Suja-ud-daula, Nawab of Oudh, a friend of Siraj-ud-daula's,
+whom he hoped to persuade into invading Bengal. On the 3rd of
+September he reached Allahabad, and here left his troop under the
+command of M. le Comte de Carryon, whilst he went on to Lucknow, the
+capital of Oudh.
+
+It is only at this moment that Law bethinks him of describing his
+troop. It consisted of 175 Europeans and 100 sepoys drilled in
+European fashion. The officers were D'Hurvilliers, le Comte de
+Carryon (who had brought a detachment from Dacca before Law left
+Cossimbazar), Ensign Brayer (who had commanded the military at
+Patna), Ensign Jobard (who had escaped from Chandernagore), and
+Ensign Martin de la Case. He also entertained as officers MM.
+Debelleme (Captain of a French East Indiaman), Boissemont, and La
+Ville Martere, Company's servants (these three had all escaped from
+Chandernagore), Dangereux and Dubois (Company's servants stationed
+at Cossimbazar), Beinges (a Company's servant stationed at Patna),
+and two private gentlemen, Kerdizien and Gourbin. Besides these, MM.
+Anquetil du Perron,[105] La Rue, Desjoux, Villequain, Desbrosses,
+and Calve, served as volunteers. His chaplain was the Reverend
+Father Onofre, and he had two surgeons, Dubois and Le Page. The last
+two were probably the surgeons of Cossimbazar and Patna. He had also
+with him M. Lenoir, second of Patna, whose acquaintance with the
+language and the people was invaluable. Law seems to have been
+always able to recruit his sepoys, but he had no great opinion of
+them.
+
+  "In fact it may be said that the sepoy is a singular
+  animal, especially until he has had time to acquire a
+  proper sense of discipline. As soon as he has received his
+  red jacket and his gun he thinks he is a different man. He
+  looks upon himself as a European, and having a very high
+  estimation of this qualification, he thinks he has the right to
+  despise all the country people, whom he treats as Kaffirs
+  and wretched negroes, though he is often just as black as they
+  are. In every place I have been I have remarked that the
+  inhabitants have less fear of the European soldier, who in
+  his disorderly behaviour sometimes shows an amount of
+  generosity which they would expect in vain from a sepoy."
+
+Law has left the following description of Lucknow:--
+
+  "Lucknow, capital of the Subah[106] so called, is 160 miles
+  north of Allahabad, on the other side of the Ganges, and
+  about 44 miles from that river. The country is beautiful
+  and of great fertility, but what can one expect from the best
+  land without cultivation? It was particularly the fate of
+  this province and of a large portion of Oudh to have been
+  exhausted by the wars of Mansur Ali Khan.[107] That prince
+  at his death left the Treasury empty and a quantity of
+  debts. Suja-ud-daula, his successor, thought he could
+  satisfy his creditors, all of them officers of the army, by
+  giving them orders upon several of the large estates. This
+  method was too slow for these military gentlemen. In a
+  short time every officer had become the Farmer,[108] or rather the
+  Tyrant, of the villages abandoned to him. Forcible executions
+  quickly reimbursed him to an extent greater than his claim,
+  but the country suffered. The ill-used inhabitants left it,
+  and the land remained uncultivated. This might have
+  been repaired. The good order established by Suja-ud-daula
+  commenced to bring the inhabitants back when an
+  evil, against which human prudence was powerless, achieved
+  their total destruction. For two whole years clouds of
+  locusts traversed the country regularly with the Monsoon,[109]
+  and reduced the hopes of the cultivator to nothing. When
+  two days from Lucknow, we ourselves saw the ravages committed
+  by this insect. It was perfect weather; suddenly we
+  saw the sky overcast; a darkness like that of a total eclipse
+  spread itself abroad and lasted a good hour. In less than no
+  time we saw the trees under which we were camped stripped
+  of their leaves. The next day as we journeyed we saw that
+  the same devastation had been produced for a distance of ten
+  miles. The grass on the roads and every green thing in the
+  fields were eaten away down to the roots. This recurrent
+  plague had driven away the inhabitants, even those who had
+  survived the exactions of the military. Towns and villages
+  were abandoned; the small number of people who remained--I
+  am speaking without exaggeration--only served to
+  augment the horror of this solitude. We saw nothing but
+  spectres.
+
+  "The state of the people of Lucknow city, the residence
+  of the Nawab, was hardly better. The evil was perhaps less
+  evident owing to the variety of objects, but from what one
+  could see from time to time nature did not suffer less. The
+  environs of the palace were covered with poor sick people
+  lying in the middle of the roads, so that it was impossible
+  for the Nawab to go out without causing his elephant to
+  tread on the bodies of several of them, except when he had
+  the patience to wait and have them cleared out of the way--an
+  act which would not accord with Oriental ideas of
+  grandeur. In spite of this there were few accidents. The
+  animal used to guide its footsteps so as to show it was
+  more friendly to human beings than men themselves
+  were."
+
+At Lucknow Suja-ud-daula greeted him with a sympathetic interest,
+which Law quaintly likens to that shown by Dido for Aeneas, but
+money was not forthcoming, and Law soon found that Suja-ud-daula was
+not on sufficiently good terms with the Mogul's[110] Vizir[111] at
+Delhi to risk an attack on Bengal. On the 18th of October he
+returned to Allahabad, with the intention of going to Delhi to see
+what he could do with the Vizir, but as it might have been dangerous
+to disclose his object, he pretended he was going to march south to
+Bussy in the Deccan, and obtained a passport from the Maratha
+general, Holkar. This took some time, and it was not till March,
+1758, that he started for Delhi. He reached Farukhabad without
+difficulty, and on the 21st entered the country of the Jats. On the
+evening of the 23rd a barber, who came into their camp, warned the
+French they would be attacked. The next day the Jats, to the number
+of 20,000, attacked them on the march. The fight lasted the whole
+day, and the French fired 6000 musket shots and 800 cannon. The
+cannon-balls were made of clay moulded round a pebble, and were
+found sufficiently effective in the level country.
+
+Soon after they arrived at Delhi, only to find the Marathas masters
+of the situation and in actual possession of the person of the
+Shahzada, or Crown Prince.[112] The Prince was friendly, gave Law
+money, and eagerly welcomed the idea of attacking Bengal, but he was
+himself practically a prisoner. The Vizir, too, could do nothing,
+and would give no money. The Marathas amused him with promises, and
+tried to trap him into fighting their battles. No one seemed to know
+anything about what had happened in Bengal. He spoke to several of
+the chief men about the English.
+
+  "I felt sure that, after the Revolution in Bengal, they
+  would be the only subject of conversation in the capital. The
+  Revolution had made much noise, but it was ascribed entirely
+  to the Seths and to Rai Durlabh Ram. Clive's name was
+  well known. He was, they said, a great captain whom the
+  Seths had brought from very far at a great expense, to
+  deliver Bengal from the tyranny of Siraj-ud-daula, as Salabat
+  Jang had engaged M. Bussy to keep the Marathas in
+  order. Many of the principal persons even asked me what
+  country he came from. Others, mixing up all Europeans
+  together, thought that I was a deputy from Clive. It was
+  useless for me to say we were enemies, that it was the
+  English who had done everything in Bengal, that it was
+  they who governed and not Jafar Ali Khan, who was only
+  Nawab in name. No one would believe me. In fact, how
+  could one persuade people who had never seen a race of
+  men different from their own, that a body of two or three
+  thousand Europeans at the most was able to dictate the law
+  in a country as large as Bengal?"
+
+Law could do nothing at Delhi, and it was only by bribing the
+Maratha general that he obtained an escort through the Jat country
+to Agra. Most of his soldiers were glad to be off, but about 60
+Europeans deserted with their arms to Delhi, where the Vizir offered
+them pay as high as 50 rupees a month. M. Jobard was nearly killed
+by some of them when he tried to persuade them to return to duty,
+but, a few months after, more than half rejoined Law.
+
+From Agra, Law went to Chatrapur in Bundelkand, where apparently,
+though he does not say so, he was in the service of the Raja
+Indrapat. His stay lasted from the 10th of June, 1758, to February,
+1759. In order to keep on good terms with the inhabitants, who were
+almost all Hindus, Law forbade his men to kill cattle or any of the
+sacred birds, or to borrow anything without his permission, and at
+the same time severely punished all disorderly behaviour. The people
+having never heard of Christians, thought the French must be a kind
+of Muhammadans, but they could not make out from what country they
+came. Seeing them drink a red wine of which they had a few bottles,
+they thought they were drinking blood, and were horrified, but the
+good behaviour of the men soon put them on friendly terms.
+
+Early in 1759 the Shahzada at last invaded Bengal, and on the 5th
+of February Law marched to join him; but the invasion was badly
+managed, and was an absolute failure. On the 28th of May Law was
+back at Chatrapur. The only result of the invasion was that the
+lands of a number of Rajas in Bihar were plundered by Miran, son of
+Mir Jafar, and the English. These Rajas were all Hindus.
+
+  "They had an understanding with Ramnarain. All these
+  Rajas, of whom there is a great number in the dependencies
+  of Bengal, united to each other by the same religion, mutually
+  support each other as much as they can. They detest the
+  Muhammadan Government, and if it had not been for the
+  Seths, the famous bankers, with whom they have close
+  connections, it is probable that after the Revolution in which
+  Siraj-ud-daula was the victim, they would all have risen
+  together to establish a Hindu Government, from which the
+  English would not have obtained all the advantages they
+  did from the Muhammadan."
+
+In 1759 the Dutch risked a quarrel with the English. They refused,
+however, any assistance from Law, who, far away as he was, heard all
+about it. They were defeated at Biderra on the 25th of November. The
+effect of this was to reduce Bengal to such tranquillity that Clive
+considered it safe to visit England. The Shahzada, however, thought
+the opportunity a favourable one for another invasion, and on the
+28th of February, 1760, Law again started to join him. Patna was
+besieged, and, according to Broome, was very nearly captured, owing
+to Law's skill and the courage of his Frenchmen. In fact, the French
+were on the ramparts, when Dr. Fullerton and the English sepoys
+arrived just in time to drive them back.[113]
+
+The siege was raised, and the Prince's general, Kamgar Khan, led the
+army about the country with apparently no object but that of
+plunder. This suited the Marathas, but did not suit Law. On one
+occasion he was ordered with his own troops and a body of Marathas
+to capture the little fort of Soupy. The French stormed it at three
+o'clock in the morning, but found that the Marathas, who had
+carefully avoided the breach, had swarmed the walls, where there was
+no one to oppose them, and were carrying off the plunder.
+
+  "My chief occupation and that of the officers, for more
+  than five hours during which we stayed in Soupy, was to
+  keep our soldiers and sepoys from bayoneting the Marathas,
+  who, without having incurred the least danger, had, by their
+  cleverness and lightness, carried off more than twenty times
+  as much as our own men, observing among themselves a
+  kind of order in their plundering, very like that of monkeys
+  when they strip a field."
+
+In fact, Law had a personal altercation with the Maratha commander
+about a young and beautiful Hindu woman, whom the Maratha wished to
+seize, but whom Law was determined to restore unhurt to her
+relations, who lived in a village close by.
+
+For the capture of the fort, Law received from the Shahzada various
+high-sounding titles and the right to have the royal music played
+before him; but as he could not afford to entertain the native
+musicians, he allowed the privilege to sleep.
+
+In 1760 Mr. Vansittart assumed the Governorship of Bengal, and his
+first act was to complete the project begun by his predecessor, Mr.
+Holwell, namely, the dethronement of Mir Jafar. This was effected on
+the 20th of October, 1760; the ex-Nawab went quietly to Calcutta,
+and Mir Kasim reigned in his stead. The Shahzada had now become
+Emperor by the death of his father, and had assumed the title of
+Shah Alam. He was still hanging with his army round Patna, and Mir
+Kasim and the English determined to bring him to book. Kamgar Khan
+continued to lead the Imperial army aimlessly about the country, and
+in January, 1761, found himself near the town of Bihar. He had 35 to
+40 thousand cavalry, maintained chiefly by plunder, but his only
+musketeers and artillery were those commanded by Law, i.e. 125
+Europeans and 200 sepoys, with 18 guns of small calibre. The
+British commander, Major Carnac, had 650 Europeans and 5 to 6
+thousand sepoys, with 12 guns. Mir Kasim had some 20,000 cavalry,
+and the same number of musketeers, all good troops, for "everybody
+was paid in the army of Kasim Ali Khan."[114]
+
+On the 14th of January, scouts brought word of the approach of the
+English. The Emperor consulted Law, who advised a retreat, but he
+was not deficient in courage, and determined to fight. The next day
+was fought the battle of Suan.[115]
+
+  "At the dawn of day we heard that the enemy were on
+  the march, and that they would quickly appear. No disposition
+  of our army had yet been made by Kamgar Khan,
+  who, in fact, troubled himself very little about the matter.
+  It was at first decided to re-enter the camp, so I put my
+  men as much as possible under shelter behind a bank, along
+  which I placed my guns in what I thought the most useful
+  positions. About 6 or 7 o'clock the enemy were seen
+  advancing in good order, crossing a canal[116] full of mud and
+  water, the passage of which might have been easily contested
+  had we been ready soon enough; but everything was neglected.
+  For some time we thought the enemy were going
+  to encamp by the canal, but, seeing that they were still
+  advancing, the order was given to go and meet them. The
+  whole army was quickly out of the camp, divided into
+  several bodies of cavalry, at the head of which were, on their
+  elephants, the Emperor, the Generalissimo Kamgar Khan,
+  and other principal chiefs. Scarcely were we out of the camp
+  when we were halted to await the enemy, everything in the
+  greatest confusion; one could see no distinction between
+  right, left, and centre, nothing that had the appearance of
+  an army intending to attack or even to defend itself.
+
+  "An aide-de-camp brought me an order to march ahead
+  with all my troop, and to place myself in a position which
+  he pointed out, a good cannon-shot away. Abandoned to
+  ourselves we should have been exposed to all the fire of the
+  English, artillery and even to be outflanked by the enemy
+  and captured at the first attack. We advanced a few paces
+  in obedience to the order, but, seeing no one move to support
+  us, I suspected they wanted to get rid of us. I therefore
+  brought back my men to where I had first placed them, on
+  a line about 200 paces in front of the army.
+
+  "The enemy advanced steadily. The English at their
+  head with all their artillery were already within range of
+  our guns. They quickly placed their pieces in two batteries
+  to the right and left, and kept up a very lively cross fire.
+  In a very short time, having killed many men, elephants,
+  and horses--amongst others one of mine--they caused the
+  whole of the Prince's army to turn tail. Kamgar Khan, at
+  their head, fled as fast as he could, without leaving a single
+  person to support us. The enemy's fire, opposed to which
+  ours was but feeble, continued steadily. We were forced to
+  retire, and did so in good order, having had some soldiers
+  and sepoys killed and one gun dismounted, which we left on
+  the field of battle. We regained the village, which sheltered
+  us for a time. The enemy started in pursuit. Unluckily,
+  as we issued from the village, our guns traversing a hollow
+  road, we were stopped by ditches and channels full of mud,
+  in which the guns stuck fast. As I was trying to disengage
+  them the English reached us, and surrounded us so as to
+  cut off all retreat. Then I surrendered with 3 or 4 officers
+  and about 40 soldiers who were with me, and the guns. It
+  was about 4 o'clock in the afternoon of the 15th of January,
+  1761, a moment whose malign influence it was as it were
+  impossible to resist, since it was that of the surrender of
+  Pondicherry,[117] a place 300 leagues away from us."
+
+Gholam Husain Khan has left a graphic description of this incident.
+
+  "Monsieur Law, with the small force and the artillery
+  which he could muster, bravely fought the English themselves,
+  and for some time he made a shift to withstand their
+  superiority. Their auxiliaries consisted of large bodies of
+  natives, commanded by Ramnarain and Raj Balav, but the
+  engagement was decided by the English, who fell with so
+  much effect upon the enemy that their onset could not be
+  withstood by either the Emperor or Kamgar Khan. The
+  latter, finding he could not resist, turned about and fled.
+  The Emperor, obliged to follow him, quitted the field of
+  battle, and the handful of troops that followed M. Law,
+  discouraged by this flight and tired of the wandering life
+  which they had hitherto led in his service, turned about
+  likewise and followed the Emperor. M. Law, finding himself
+  abandoned and alone, resolved not to turn his back. He
+  bestrode one of his guns and remained firm in that posture,
+  waiting the moment for his death. This being reported to
+  Major Carnac, he detached himself from his main body with
+  Captain Knox and some other officers, and he advanced to
+  the man on the gun, without taking with him either a guard
+  or any Telingas[118] at all. Being arrived near, this troop
+  alighted from their horses, and, pulling their caps from their
+  heads, they swept the air with them, as if to make him a
+  _salam_; and this salute being returned by M. Law in the
+  same manner, some parley followed in their own language.
+  The Major, after paying high encomiums to M. Law for his
+  perseverance, conduct, and bravery, added these words: 'You
+  have done everything that could be expected from a brave
+  man; and your name shall be undoubtedly transmitted to
+  posterity by the pen of history; now loosen your sword from
+  your loins, come amongst us, and abandon all thoughts of
+  contending with the English.' The other answered that, if
+  they would accept of his surrendering himself just as he was
+  he had no objection, but that as to surrendering himself with
+  the disgrace of being without his sword, it was a shame he
+  would never submit to, and that they might take his life if
+  they were not satisfied with that condition. The English
+  commanders, admiring his firmness, consented to his surrendering
+  himself in the manner he wished; after which
+  the Major, with his officers, shook hands with him in their
+  European manner, and every sentiment of enmity was instantly
+  dismissed on both sides. At the same time that
+  commander sent for his own _palky_, made him sit in it, and
+  he was sent to the camp. M. Law, unwilling to see or to be
+  seen, in that condition, shut up the curtains of the _palky_ for
+  fear of being recognized by any of his friends at camp, but
+  yet some of his acquaintances, hearing of his having arrived,
+  went to him; these were Mir Abdulla and Mustapha Ali
+  Khan. The Major, who had excused him from appearing in
+  public, informed them that they could not see him for some
+  days, as he was too much vexed to receive any company.
+  Ahmed Khan Koreishi, who was an impertinent talker,
+  having come to look at him, thought to pay his court to
+  the English by joking on this man's defeat--a behaviour that
+  has nothing strange [in it] if we consider the times in which
+  we live and the company he was accustomed to frequent; and
+  it was in that notion of his, doubtless, that with much pertness
+  of voice and air he asked him this question: '_And Bibi
+  Lass,[119] where is she_?' The Major and the officers present,
+  shocked at the impropriety of the question, reprimanded him
+  with a severe look and very severe expressions. 'This man,'
+  they said, 'has fought bravely, and deserves the attention
+  of all brave men; the impertinences which you have been
+  offering him may be customary amongst your friends and
+  your nation, but cannot be suffered in ours, who has it for
+  a standing rule never to offer an injury to a vanquished foe.'
+  Ahmed Khan, checked by this reprimand, held his tongue,
+  and did not answer a word. He tarried about one hour
+  more in his visit, and then went away much abashed; and
+  although he was a commander of importance, and one to
+  whom much honour had always been paid, no one did speak
+  to him any more, or made a show of standing up at his
+  departure. This reprimand did much honour to the English;
+  and it must be acknowledged, to the honour of those
+  strangers, that as their conduct in war and battle is worthy
+  of admiration, so, on the other hand, nothing is more modest
+  and more becoming than their behaviour to an enemy,
+  whether in the heat of action or in the pride of success and
+  victory. These people seem to act entirely according to the
+  rules observed by our ancient commanders and our men of
+  genius."
+
+Gholam Husain Khan says the victory was decided by the English; the
+following quotation from Major Carnac's Letter to the Select
+Committee at Calcutta, dated the 17th of January, 1761, shows how
+the courage of the British forces saved them from a great disaster.
+
+  "It gives me particular pleasure to inform you that we
+  have not lost a man in the action, but a few of the Nawab's
+  troops who had got up near our rear suffered considerably
+  from the explosion of one of the French tumbrils. It seems
+  the enemy had lain a train to it in hopes of it's catching
+  while our Europeans were storming the battery, but fortunately
+  we were advanced two or three hundred yards in
+  the pursuit before it had effect, and the whole shock was
+  sustained by the foremost of the Nawab's troops who were
+  blown up to the number of near four hundred, whereof
+  seventy or eighty died on the spot."[120]
+
+Law continues:--
+
+  "The next morning, as the English army started in
+  pursuit of the Emperor Shah Alam, Major Carnac, from
+  whom, I must mention in passing, I received all possible
+  marks of attention and politeness, sent me to Patna, where
+  in the English Chief, Mr. McGwire, I found an old friend,
+  who treated me as I should certainly have treated him in
+  like circumstances. I was in need of everything, and he let
+  me want for nothing."
+
+Thus ended Law's attempt to maintain the French party in Bengal. All
+hopes of a French attack in force on Calcutta had long since
+disappeared, and, under the circumstances, his capture was fortunate
+for himself and his comrades. Most of the latter were gradually
+picked up by the English. Law was sent to Calcutta, and left Bengal
+in 1762. He was now only forty-two years of age. On his arrival in
+France he found his services much appreciated by his countrymen, and
+was made a Chevalier of the Royal and Military Order of St. Louis,
+and a Colonel of Infantry. Later on he was appointed Commissary for
+the King, Commandant of the French Nation in the East Indies, and
+Governor of Pondicherry. Law's account of his adventures was
+commenced at Paris in 1763.[121] There exist letters written by him
+to the historian Robert Orme, dated as late as 1785, which show the
+strong interest he always retained in the affairs of Bengal, where
+with adequate resources he might have played a much more
+distinguished part.
+
+We have seen a town besieged by a foreign army; we have seen the
+Court of a great Prince distracted by internal dissensions and
+trembling at the approach of a too-powerful enemy, and now we shall
+pass to the quiet retreats of rural Bengal, which even their
+remoteness could not save from some share in the troubles of the
+time. In those days, even more than at present, the rivers were the
+great highways of the country, but it needs personal acquaintance
+with them to enable us to realize the effect they produce upon the
+mind of a European. As a rule comparatively shallow, in the dry
+weather they pursue a narrow winding course in the middle of a sandy
+waste, but in the Rains they fill their beds from side to side,
+overtop the banks, and make the country for miles around a series of
+great lakes, studded with heavily wooded islands. Amidst these one
+can wander for days hardly seeing a single human being, and hearing
+nothing but the rushing of the current and the weird cries of
+water-birds; at other times the prow of one's boat will suddenly
+push itself through overhanging branches into the very midst of a
+populous village. At first all is strange and beautiful, but after a
+short time the feeling grows that every scene is a repetition; the
+banks, the trees, the villages, seem as if we have been looking at
+them for a thousand years, and the monotony presses wearily on mind
+and heart. It was in a country of this kind that Courtin and his
+little band of Frenchmen and natives evaded capture for nearly nine
+months, and it adds to our admiration for his character to see how
+his French gaiety of heart unites with his tenderness for his absent
+wife, not only to conceal the deadly monotony of his life in the
+river districts during the Rains, and the depressing and
+disheartening effect of the noxious climate in which he and his
+companions had to dwell, but also to make light of the imminent
+danger in which he stood from the unscrupulous human enemies by whom
+he was surrounded.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote 65: From certain letters it appears that, strictly
+speaking, the English Factory alone was at Cossimbazar, the French
+being at Saidabad, and the Dutch at Calcapur. Both Saidabad and
+Calcapur were evidently close to Cossimbazar, if not parts of it.]
+
+[Footnote 66: George Lodewijk Vernet, Senior Merchant.]
+
+[Footnote 67: The historian Malleson also confuses the two
+brothers.]
+
+[Footnote 68: The best copy I have seen is that in the Manuscript
+Department of the British Museum.]
+
+[Footnote 69: Gholam Husain Khan says that Siraj-ud-daula was born
+in the year in which Aliverdi Khan obtained from the Emperor the
+_firman_ for Bihar. This, according to Scrafton, was 1736, and the
+connection of his birth with this auspicious event was the prime
+cause of his grandfather's great reference for him.]
+
+[Footnote 70: See note, p. 88.]
+
+[Footnote 71: Uncle of Siraj-ud-daula, who died so shortly before
+the death of Aliverdi Khan, that it was supposed he was poisoned to
+ensure Siraj-ud-daula's accession.]
+
+[Footnote 72: Fazl-Kuli-Khan. _Scrafton_.]
+
+[Footnote 73: Law says; "The rumour ran that M. Drake replied to the
+messengers that, since the Nawab wished to fill up the Ditch, he
+agreed to it provided it was done with the heads of Moors. I do not
+believe he said so, but possibly some thoughtless young Englishman
+let slip those words, which, being heard by the messengers, were
+reported to the Nawab."]
+
+[Footnote 74: Europeans. Properly, Franks or Frenchmen. This term
+was generally applied by Europeans to the half-caste descendants of
+the Portuguese.]
+
+[Footnote 75: Captains or generals: a term of somewhat indefinite
+meaning.]
+
+[Footnote 76: In alliance with Salabat Jang, Bussy temporarily
+acquired a large territory for the French.]
+
+[Footnote 77: "After Mr. Law had given us a supply of clothes,
+linen, provisions, liquors, and cash, we left his Factory with
+grateful hearts and compliments." _Holwell_. Letter to Mr. Davis,
+February 28, 1757.]
+
+[Footnote 78: Imperial Charter.]
+
+[Footnote 79: For an explanation of the influence of the Seths, see
+pp. 84, 85, and note.]
+
+[Footnote 80: Ramnarain is an interesting character. He appears to
+have been one of the most faithful of the adherents of the house of
+Aliverdi Khan and on its extinction of the English connection. His
+gallantry in battle is referred to by Colonel Ironside. _Asiatic
+Annual Register_, 1800.]
+
+[Footnote 81: The official intimation reached Admiral Watson in
+January, 1757, but apparently not the formal orders from the
+Admiralty. See page 30.]
+
+[Footnote 82: In a letter to the Secret Committee, London, dated
+October 11, 1756, Clive writes: "I hope we shall be able to
+dispossess the French of Chandernagore." So it is evident that he
+came with this intention to Bengal.]
+
+[Footnote 83: Clive describes Hugli as "the second city in the
+kingdom." _Letter to Lord Hardwicke, Feb_. 23, 1757.]
+
+[Footnote 84: Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa.]
+
+[Footnote 85: Hearing that Seth Mahtab Rai was to marry a
+wonderfully beautiful woman, he forced the Seths to let him see the
+young lady. _Scrafton_.]
+
+[Footnote 86: "If one is to believe certain English writers, the
+Seths were an apparently insurmountable obstacle to the project
+because of the money we owed them, as if in their perilous position
+these bankers would not be inclined to sacrifice something to save
+the greater part. Besides, we shall see by what follows that they
+sacrificed nothing." _Law_. The extraordinary influence of these
+people was due not so much to their dealings with the head of the
+State as to the fact that native princes generally make payments,
+not in cash, but in bonds. It therefore depends on the bankers what
+any man shall get for his bonds. In this way an official, even when
+paid by the State, may be ruined by the bankers, who are merely
+private persons.]
+
+[Footnote 87: "In India it is thought disrespectful to tell a great
+man distinctly the evil which is said of him. If an inferior knows
+that designs are formed against the life of his superior, he must
+use circumlocutions, and suggest the subject in vague terms and
+speak in enigmas. It is for the great man to divine what is meant.
+If he has not the wit, so much the worse for him. As a foreigner, I
+was naturally more bold and said what I thought to Siraj-ud-daula.
+Coja Wajid did not hesitate to blame me, so that for a long time I
+did not know what to think of him. This man finally fell a victim to
+his diplomacies, perhaps also to his imprudences. One gets tired of
+continual diplomacy, and what is good in the beginning of a business
+becomes in the end imprudence." _Law_.]
+
+[Footnote 88: "Witness the letter written to the English Admiral
+Watson, by which it is pretended the Nawab authorized him to
+undertake the siege of Chandernagore. The English memoir" (by _Luke
+Scrafton_) "confesses it was a surprise, and that the Secretary must
+have been bribed to write it in a way suitable to the views of Mr.
+Watts. The Nawab never read the letters which he ordered to be
+written; besides, the Moors never sign their names; the envelope
+being closed and well fastened, the Secretary asks the Nawab for his
+seal, and seals it in his presence. Often there is a counterfeit
+seal." _Law_. From this it may be seen that the Nawab could always
+assert that his Secretary had exceeded his instructions, whilst it
+was open to his correspondent to assert the contrary.]
+
+[Footnote 89: The clerks.]
+
+[Footnote 90: "This was the boaster Rai Durlabh Ram, who had already
+received much from me, but all the treasures of the Universe could
+not have freed him from the fear he felt at having to fight the
+English. He had with him as his second in command a good officer,
+Mir Madan, the only man I counted upon." _Law_.]
+
+[Footnote 91: Referring to Clive's letter of the 7th of March,
+saying he wished to attack Chandernagore, but would await the
+Nawab's orders at that place.]
+
+[Footnote 92: By "agent" Law must mean simply an agent in the plot.]
+
+[Footnote 93: Scrafton, in his "Reflections" (_pp. 40 and 50_),
+says, Siraj-ud-daula indulged in all sorts of debauchery; but his
+grandfather, in his last illness, made him swear on the Koran to
+give up drinking. He kept his oath, but probably his mind was
+affected by his previous excesses.]
+
+[Footnote 94: Arzbegi, i.e. the officer who receives petitions.]
+
+[Footnote 95: A preparation of betel-nut (areca-nut) is used by the
+natives of Hindustan as a digestive. When offered to a guest, it is
+a sign of welcome or dismissal. When sent by a messenger, it is an
+assurance of friendship and safe conduct.]
+
+[Footnote 96: The Governor of Patna was Raja Ramnarain, a Hindu,
+with the rank of Naib only. It was considered unsafe to entrust so
+important a post to a Muhammadan, or an officer with the rank of
+Nawab.]
+
+[Footnote 97: Orme MSS. India XI., p. 2779, No. 120.]
+
+[Footnote 98: Ibid., India IX., p. 2294.]
+
+[Footnote 99: Letter from Renault to Dupleix. Dated Chandernagore,
+Sept. 4, 1757.]
+
+[Footnote 100: Broome (p. 154) gives his name as Mir Daood.]
+
+[Footnote 101: The Council signed the Treaty with Mir Jafar on the
+19th of May, but Mr. Watts's first intimation of his readiness to
+join the English is, I believe, in a letter dated the 26th of April.
+Mir Jafar signed the Treaty early in June.]
+
+[Footnote 102: So Suja-ud-daula, Nawab of Oudh, plundered the Nawab
+Mir Kasim, when the English drove him from Bengal in 1763.]
+
+[Footnote 103: Broome (p. 154) says "a fakier, named Dana Shah,
+whose nose and ears he had ordered to be cut off thirteen months
+before, when on his march against the Nawaub of Purneah."]
+
+[Footnote 104: Orme MSS., India Office, and Clive correspondence at
+Walcot, vol. iv.]
+
+[Footnote 105: The celebrated traveller. He quickly quarrelled with
+and left them.]
+
+[Footnote 106: Province.]
+
+[Footnote 107: Nawab of Oudh and father of Suja-ud-daula.]
+
+[Footnote 108: I.e. the receiver of the rent or revenue.]
+
+[Footnote 109: The regular winds of the various seasons are called
+monsoons, and are named after the point of the compass from which
+they blow.]
+
+[Footnote 110: Alamgir II.]
+
+[Footnote 111: Imad-ul-mulk, Ghazi-ud-din Khan.]
+
+[Footnote 112: Ali Gauhar, born 1728. On the death of his father,
+November 29, 1759, he assumed the name or title of Shah Alam.]
+
+[Footnote 113: The old English Factory at Patna was re-opened by Mr.
+Pearkes, in July, 1757. See his letters to Council, dated 12th and
+14th July, 1757.]
+
+[Footnote 114: Kasim Ali had a much better army than any of his
+predecessors. Though it was not trained in the European manner,
+several of the chief officers were Armenians, who effected great
+reforms in discipline. Three years later it made a really good fight
+against the English.]
+
+[Footnote 115: The battle is generally known as that of Gaya, but
+was fought at Suan. The site is marked in Rennell's map of South
+Bihar. It lies about six miles west of the town of Bihar, on the
+river Banowra.]
+
+[Footnote 116: The Banowra River.]
+
+[Footnote 117: The French capital on the Madras coast. Surrendered
+to Eyre Coote.]
+
+[Footnote 118: Sepoys, so called from the Telingana district in
+Madras, where they were first recruited.]
+
+[Footnote 119: Mrs. Law. _Bibi_ is the equivalent of mistress or
+lady. _Lass_ was the native version of Law. Mrs. Law's maiden name
+was Jeanne Carvalho.]
+
+[Footnote 120: Bengal Select Com. Consultations, 28th January,
+1761.]
+
+[Footnote 121: "A part of these Memoirs was written at Paris in
+1703, and part at sea in 1764, during my second voyage to India, but
+several of the notes were added later." _Law_.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+M. COURTIN, CHIEF OF DACCA
+
+
+Jacques Ignace, son of Francois Courtin, Chevalier, Seigneur de
+Nanteuil, and of Catherine Colin, is, I believe, the correct
+designation of the gentleman who appears in all the records of the
+French and English East India Companies as M. Courtin, Chief of the
+French Factory at Dacca.
+
+In June 1756, when Siraj-ud-daula marched on Calcutta, he sent word
+to his representative, the Nawab Jusserat Khan at Dacca, to seize
+the English Factory, and make prisoners of the Company's servants
+and soldiers. The English Factory on the site of the present
+Government College, was--
+
+  "little better than a common house, surrounded with a thin
+  brick wall, one half of it not above nine foot high." The
+  garrison consisted "of a lieutenant" (Lieutenant John Cudmore),
+  "4 serjeants, 3 corporals, and 19 European soldiers,
+  besides 34 black Christians[122] and 60 _Buxerries_."[123]
+
+[Illustration: DACCA, OR JEHANGIR NAGAR. (_After Rennell_.)]
+
+On the 27th of June Jusserat Khan sent on the Nawab's order by the
+English _wakil_, or agent, to Mr. Becher, the English Chief, and
+informed him of the capture of Fort William and the flight of Mr.
+Drake. Thinking this was merely a trick to frighten them into
+surrender, the Dacca Council requested Mr. Scrafton, third in
+Council, to write to M. Courtin, chief of the French Factory, for
+information. In reply M. Courtin sent them a number of letters which
+he had received from Chandernagore, confirming the bad news from
+Calcutta. Taking into consideration the unfortified condition of the
+Factory, and that Dacca was only four days by river from Murshidabad
+whilst it was fourteen from Calcutta, it seemed idle to hope to
+defend it even when assistance could be expected from the latter
+place, and, now that it was certain that Calcutta itself had fallen,
+any attempt at defence appeared rather "an act of rashness than of
+bravery." It was therefore resolved to obtain the best terms they
+could through the French.
+
+The next day M. Fleurin, second of the French Factory--M.
+Courtin[124] was not well acquainted with the English language--came
+to inform them that the Nawab of Dacca agreed that the ladies and
+gentlemen should be allowed to retire to the French Factory on M.
+Courtin giving his word that they would there await the orders of
+Siraj-ud-daula as to their future fate. The soldiers were to lay
+down their arms, and be prisoners to the Nawab. This amicable
+arrangement was entirely due to M. Courtin's good offices, and he
+was much congratulated on the tact he had shown in preventing the
+Nawab from using violent measures, as he seemed inclined to do at
+first. As the Nawab would not allow the English to take away any of
+their property, except the clothes they were wearing, they were
+entirely dependent upon the French for everything, and were treated
+with the greatest kindness. The Council wrote:--
+
+  "The French have behaved with the greatest humanity
+  to such as have taken refuge at their Factory, and the tenour
+  of their conduct everywhere to us on this melancholy occasion
+  has been such as to merit the grateful acknowledgment of
+  our nation."
+
+For some two months the English remained in the French Factory, M.
+Law, at Cossimbazar, warmly soliciting their release from
+Siraj-ud-daula. This he obtained with difficulty, and at last Mr.
+Becher and his companions sailed in a sloop provided by M. Courtin
+for Fulta, where they arrived safely on the 26th of August. When
+Calcutta had been recaptured by the English, M. Courtin, like a good
+business man, sent in a bill for the costs of the sloop to the
+Council at Calcutta, and the Consultations of the 16th of May, 1757,
+duly notify its payment.
+
+The English did not regain possession of the Factory at Dacca till
+the 8th of March, by which time the declaration of War between
+France and England was known, and the likelihood of troubles in
+Bengal was very apparent. As we have seen, the English were
+successful in their attack on Chandernagore, but the whole country
+was aware that the Nawab was only the more enraged with them, and
+his local officers might at any moment be instructed to take
+vengeance on Englishmen found defenceless up country. On the 23rd of
+March, Messrs. Sumner and Waller wrote from Dacca that Jusserat Khan
+had refused to restore the Factory cannon, and to pass their goods
+without a new _parwana_[125] from Murshidabad. It was therefore
+still very doubtful whether he would assist the English or the
+French at Dacca, and though the English obtained the _parwana_ they
+wanted early in May, on the 9th the Council at Calcutta sent them
+orders to do the best they could for their own security, and
+informed them they had sent an armed sloop to Luckipore to cover
+their retreat. They immediately sent down all the goods they could,
+but as matters became quieter again they soon resumed business, and
+appear to have had no further trouble.
+
+It may be imagined that M. Courtin and his friends, knowing that the
+English had demanded the surrender of the French Factories, had a
+very uncomfortable experience all this time.[126] Unfortunately no
+Records of the French Factories in Bengal are now to be found, and I
+had despaired of obtaining any information about the expulsion from
+Dacca, when, in the Bibliotheque Nationale at Paris, I came on a MS.
+entitled, "_Copy of a letter from M. Courtin from India, written to
+his wife, in which are given in detail the different affairs which
+he had with the Moors from the 22nd of June, 1757, the day of his
+evacuation of Dacca, to the 9th of March, 1758_."[127]
+
+M. Courtin had married a Madame Direy, widow of a French Company's
+servant, and the letter shows she was fortunately in France at the
+time of her husband's troubles. As was natural, but inconveniently
+enough for us, Courtin does not think it necessary to trouble her
+with unintelligible and unpronounceable Indian names. Where
+possible, I shall fill them in from the English Records, otherwise I
+shall interrupt the course of the letter as little as possible. It
+runs as follows:--
+
+  "Calcapur,[128] April 20, 1758.
+
+  "Word must have reached thee in France of the loss of
+  Chandernagore, which was taken from us by the English on
+  the 23rd of March, 1757, after eleven days' siege. I was
+  then at Dacca, and expecting every day to see M.
+  Chevalier return from his journey to the King of Assam.
+  Judge, my dear wife, of the chagrin and embarrassment into
+  which I was thrown by this deplorable event. The English
+  had had no idea of attacking Chandernagore until they had
+  recovered Calcutta from the Moors, taken the Moorish village
+  at Hugli, and forced the Moors to agree to a most shameful
+  peace. This was not, as thou wilt see, sufficient for them,
+  for Siraj-ud-daula had offended them too deeply for them to
+  stop when once they found themselves on a good road; but
+  unfortunately we were an obstacle in the way of their
+  vengeance, otherwise I believe they would have observed
+  the neutrality which had been always so carefully maintained
+  by the European nations in the country of the Ganges, in
+  spite of all the wars which took place in Europe. Many of
+  the French from Chandernagore--officers, Company's servants,
+  and others--had taken refuge at Cossimbazar with M. Law,
+  who formed there a party which opposed the English in
+  various ways. The English, however, forced Siraj-ud-daula,
+  against his true interest and in spite of his promise to
+  protect us, to abandon us, and to make M. Law leave his
+  Factory and go to Patna. This imprudent act was the ruin
+  of the Prince and put the final touch to our misfortunes,
+  whilst it has made the English masters of Bengal, and has
+  filled their coffers with wealth.
+
+  "I held on at Dacca till the 22nd of June. I was troubled
+  as little as was possible in such circumstances, owing, I
+  think, to the gratitude which the English felt for the services
+  I had rendered them in Dacca the year before. I had all
+  the more reason to think this was so because, after the
+  misfortune which befell Chandernagore, they had often
+  offered to secure to me all my effects and merchandise in
+  Murshidabad [?]--they were worth a million--provided I
+  made over to them the French Factory and all that belonged
+  to the Company, and would myself leave for Pondicherry
+  in the following October. They said I should not be considered
+  a prisoner of war, and should not require to be
+  exchanged.
+
+  "These were, no doubt, very good terms, and most
+  advantageous to me; but should I not have been dishonoured
+  for ever if I had had a soul so servile and base as to accept
+  them? I would have been covered with ignominy in my
+  own eyes, and without doubt in those of all the world. I
+  therefore thought it my duty to reject them.
+
+  "Things were on this footing when, at the beginning
+  of June, I learned that the English, having got rid of M.
+  Law, were marching upon Murshidabad with all their forces
+  to achieve the destruction of a Prince who was already half
+  ruined by his own timidity and cowardice, and still further
+  weakened by the factions formed against him by the chief
+  members of his own family--a Prince detested by every one
+  for his pride and tyranny, and for a thousand dreadful crimes
+  with which he had already soiled his reputation though he
+  was barely twenty-five years old.
+
+  "I knew only too well what was preparing against him,
+  and I was also most eager to find some honourable means of
+  escape for myself. M. Chevalier's absence troubled me
+  greatly, and I did not like to leave him behind me. At last
+  he arrived on the 16th or 17th. I had taken the precaution
+  to provide myself with a _parwana_, or passport, signed by
+  Siraj-ud-daula, allowing me to go where I pleased. That
+  Prince had recalled M. Law to him, but too late, for I felt
+  certain he could not rejoin him in time to save him or to
+  check the progress of his enemies. I was in a hurry therefore
+  to go and help to save him if that were possible, taking
+  care, however, to choose a route by which I could escape if,
+  as I thought probable, he should have succumbed beforehand
+  to the efforts of the English, and the treason of his subjects.
+
+  "It was then the 22nd of June when I started with
+  about 35 boats,[129] MM. Chevalier, Brayer [possibly a relation
+  of the M. Brayer who commanded at Patna], Gourlade, the
+  surgeon, and an Augustine Father, Chaplain of the Factory,
+  8 European soldiers, of whom several were old and past
+  service, 17 topass gunners, 4 or 5 of the Company's servants,
+  and about 25 or 30 peons.[130] There, my dear wife, is the
+  troop with which thou seest me start upon my adventures.[131]
+  To these, however, should be added my Christian clerks, my
+  domestics, and even my cook, all of whom I dressed and
+  armed as soldiers to assist me in what I expected to be a
+  losing game, and which, in fact, had results the most disastrous
+  in the world for my personal interests.
+
+  "It was not till seven or eight days after I had set out
+  with this fine troop that I learned there had been a battle at
+  Plassey between the English and the Nawab, in which the
+  latter had been defeated and forced to flee, and that Jafar
+  Ali Khan, his maternal uncle,[132] had been enthroned in his
+  place. This report, though likely enough as far as I could
+  judge, did not come from a source so trustworthy that I could
+  rely on it with entire faith. Accordingly I did not yet
+  abandon the route which I had proposed to myself; in fact,
+  I followed it for some days more, and almost as far as the
+  mouth of the Patna River.[133] There I learned, beyond possibility
+  of doubt, that Siraj-ud-daula had been captured, conducted
+  to Murshidabad, and there massacred; that he had
+  just missed being rejoined by M. Law, who was coming to
+  meet him, and could easily have done so if he had followed
+  the instructions given him and had been willing to march
+  only three hours longer; and that the English had sent a
+  body of troops towards Patna to capture or destroy M. Law
+  if possible."
+
+We have seen in a previous chapter the real reasons why Law was
+unable to rejoin Siraj-ud-daula in time for the battle.
+
+  "I now saw that a junction with him had become impossible,
+  unless I determined to run the most evident risk of
+  losing my liberty and all I had."
+
+It appears that Courtin had the Company's effects, as well as his
+own private property and that of his companions, on board his little
+fleet.
+
+  "This made me change my route immediately. The
+  mountains of Tibet[134] appeared to me a safe and eminently
+  suitable asylum until the arrival in the Ganges of the forces
+  which we flattered ourselves were coming. I therefore directed
+  my route in this direction, but found myself suddenly and
+  unexpectedly so close to Murshidabad that for two days
+  together we heard the sound of the guns fired in honour of
+  the revolution which had taken place. It is easy to judge
+  into what alarm this unexpected and disagreeable proximity
+  threw me. However, we arrived safely, on the 10th of July,
+  at the capital of the Raja of Dinajpur, who wished to oppose
+  our passage."
+
+This was the Raja Ram Nath, whom Orme describes as "a Raja, who with
+much timidity, was a good man."
+
+  "We made it in spite of him, threatening to attack him
+  if he showed any further intention of opposing us. I do not
+  know what would have happened if he had had a little firmness,
+  for we learned afterwards that he had always in his
+  service a body of 5000 infantry and cavalry. The persons
+  whom he sent to us had at first suggested that I should pretend
+  I was English, assuring me that by that means all difficulties
+  would be removed; but I thought this trick too much
+  beneath a man of honour for me to make use of it, and, in
+  fact, I objected to pass for anything but what I really was.
+
+  "I found here a French soldier, who had been at the
+  battle of Plassey, where the brave Sinfray,[135] at the head of
+  38 Frenchmen, had fought like a hero for a long time, and
+  had retreated only at the order of Siraj-ud-daula, who, seeing
+  himself betrayed and the battle lost, sent him word to cease
+  fighting. This worthy gentleman afterwards took refuge in
+  Birbhum, the Raja of which country betrayed him, and disgracefully
+  handed him over to the English in October last."
+
+Courtin is somewhat unfair to the Raja (apparently a Muhammadan, as
+he was called Assaduzama Muhammad),[136] for this Prince was an ally
+of the English, and had offered Clive the assistance of his forces
+before the battle of Plassey. It could be no treachery on his part
+to pick up fugitives from the battle, like Sinfray, and hand them
+over to his allies. I may as well quote one of the Raja's letters to
+Clive, received 28th October, 1757:--
+
+  "Before your letter arrived the French were going
+  through, some woods in my country. I knew they were your
+  enemies, therefore I ordered my people to surround them. The
+  French being afraid, some said they were English, and some
+  Dutch. In the meantime I received your letter that if I
+  could apprehend them I should send them to you, therefore
+  I have sent them. Surajah Dowlat has plundered my
+  country so much, that there is hardly anything left in it."[137]
+
+Courtin continues:--
+
+  "To return to my journey and my adventures. I now
+  found myself outside of Bengal and in sight of the mountains
+  of Tibet, a month having elapsed since my departure from
+  Dacca. I was only two or three days distant from these
+  mountains, and my intention, as thou hast seen above, was to
+  go there; but I was prevented by the murmurs of my people,
+  especially the boatmen, who already began to desert in small
+  parties. Accordingly I accepted an offer made me on the
+  part of the Raja of Sahibgunj, to give me a site for a fort,
+  and to aid me with everything I might want. I descended
+  the river again for a little, and near this site, which was on
+  the river bank, I commenced a fort, but the thickness of the
+  forest forced me to abandon it, and I entered a little river
+  close by, which conducted me to a marsh, on the borders of
+  which I found an elevated site admirably situated and in a
+  very agreeable neighbourhood.[138] This belonged to the same
+  Raja, and with his consent I again set to work, and that
+  with such promptitude that in less than a month my fortress
+  commenced to take form, and visibly progressed owing to
+  the extraordinary efforts I made to complete it. It was
+  triangular, with a bastion at each angle. At two of the
+  angles I had found superb trees with very heavy foliage, and
+  on the third I erected the mast of my boat and hoisted our
+  flag. All three bastions had four embrasures, a fine entrance
+  gate opening on the marsh, and a little open turret above,
+  A small entrance gate led to the open country. The curtains
+  were carefully pierced for musketry, and strengthened outside
+  with a trellis work of bamboo, and finished off with banquettes
+  on the ramparts. An excellent powder magazine
+  was built in the same way, and, being situated in the interior
+  of the fort, was quite safe from any accident.
+
+  "As I had brought workmen of all kinds with me, the
+  work went on well, especially as the care of our health made
+  us all industrious. I was not without cannon, and I mounted
+  on our ramparts two Swedish guns, which afterwards proved
+  our safety and preservation.[139] Also being provided with the
+  requisites for making gunpowder, I very soon had nearly
+  3000 lbs. weight of very good quality.
+
+  "Hardly anything remained to complete my fortress,
+  which I had named 'Bourgogne,' except to provide it with
+  a glacis. It was already furnished with a market which was
+  sufficiently flourishing, when to my misfortune I received
+  the false information that our forces, which were said to be
+  considerable, were ready to enter the Ganges, and that there
+  was certain news of the arrival of a very strong squadron at
+  Pondicherry.[140] On the 8th September there broke out at
+  Purneah, and in the province of that name, a Evolution
+  headed by a person named Hazir Ali Khan,[141] who, having
+  seized the capital, at once wrote to me to join him, and assist
+  him against the English and Jafar Ali Khan.[142]
+
+  "These two events made me stop everything else and
+  devote myself entirely to getting my boats out of the little
+  river by which I had entered the marsh, and which was now
+  almost quite dried up. I succeeded in doing so after some
+  time, by means of ditches which I cut from the marsh, but
+  this took me more than a month and considerable labour, as
+  I was about two leagues from the great river. To complete
+  my misfortunes, my troop was attacked by sickness, which
+  raged with a violence such as I had scarcely ever seen. It
+  cost me nine soldiers, of whom three were Europeans. The
+  latter were luckily replaced some days after by the same
+  number who joined me.[143] Poor M. Brayer and M. Gourlade
+  had been during almost the whole campaign in the most
+  pitiable condition, especially the former, who I thought a
+  thousand times must have died. As for me, the powders
+  _d'Aillot_ preserved me from the pestilential air, and cured
+  me from the effects of a fall in my _bajarow_,[144] caused by the
+  clumsiness of my boatmen. I narrowly escaped breaking
+  my ribs and back.
+
+  "Before quitting Fort Bourgogne I must tell thee, my
+  dear wife, that I often played there a very grand role. I
+  was called the 'Fringuey Raja,' or 'King of the Christians.'
+  I was often chosen as arbiter amongst the little princes in
+  my neighbourhood, who sent me ambassadors. My reputation
+  spread so wide, and the respect that I gained was so
+  great, that the King of Tibet did not disdain to honour me
+  with an embassy of nearly eight hundred persons, whom I
+  entertained for nine whole days, and whose chiefs I dismissed
+  with presents suitable to their rank, their king, our
+  nation, and the idea which I wished to leave behind me in
+  this country of the European name. The presents which
+  were made me consisted of five horses, some bags of scent,
+  three or four pieces of china, pieces of gilt paper, and a sabre
+  like those used by the Bhutiyas, or people of Tibet, who are
+  men as strong and robust as those of Bengal are feeble.
+  Though pagans like the latter, they eat all kinds of things,
+  and live almost like the Tartars, from whom they are descended.
+  They have no beards, and are clothed in a fashion
+  which is good enough, but which looks singular. They are
+  very dirty. The complexion of those whom I saw was very
+  dark, but I know it is not the same in the interior of the
+  country and in the mountains, where all are as fair as the
+  Chinese, who are said to be their neighbours. I took some
+  trouble to form an alliance and to make a party amongst
+  them. They appeared very willing, but I soon had occasion
+  to convince myself that not only were they not fitting persons
+  for my designs, but also that they were playing with me.
+  It is not that they do not make raids upon the lower country,
+  but they make these only in the cold weather, always withdrawing
+  at the commencement of the hot, without trying to
+  make any permanent conquests.
+
+  "There, then, my reign is finished, or nearly so, for the
+  good news that I continued to receive (though always without
+  foundation, as I learned afterwards), joined to the entreaties
+  of Hazir All Khan and to the unhealthy air which continued
+  to decimate my poor little troop, induced me at last to
+  abandon my fort, to embark again upon my boats, and to
+  reapproach Bengal, from which I had hitherto been travelling
+  away. The second day after my departure was marked by
+  a very annoying accident, namely the loss of one of my
+  largest boats, on which was my library and a quantity of my
+  effects. These were quickly drawn out of the water, but
+  were none the less ruined for the Company and for me.
+  From that moment commence my misfortunes. The sixth
+  day--I had passed three in the salvage of the effects on my
+  boat--I received a _pattamar_ (messenger), who informed me
+  that the English and the troops of Jafar Ali Khan were at
+  Purneah, from which they had chased Hazir Ali Khan and
+  wholly destroyed his faction."
+
+From Broome we see that this was in the middle of December, 1757. It
+was now that Clive first heard what Courtin was attempting. He
+immediately sent orders direct, and also through the Nawab, to Kasim
+Ali Khan, Faujdar of Rungpore, and to Raja Ram Nath of Dinajpur, to
+seize the French.
+
+  "It was almost impossible for me to reascend the river
+  because of the dry banks and the strong currents which
+  would have put my boats in danger. However, I found
+  myself in the country of Rungpore, which was a dependency
+  of Bengal. I determined nevertheless to remain where I
+  was, flattering myself the English would not come to look
+  for me, nor the Nawab or the ruler of the province think of
+  disturbing themselves about me, as I was doing no harm in
+  the country, and as I was very strict in observing proper
+  order and discipline. I was so confident on this latter head
+  that I did not think of throwing up now entrenchments, and
+  occupied myself only with hunting and walking whilst I
+  awaited the arrival of the French forces. However, one day,
+  towards the middle of January, a secret rumour came to me
+  that Kasim Ali Khan, Faujdar of Rungpore, was coming to
+  attack me. I sent out scouts, who reported that all was
+  tranquil in his town, and that, far from wishing to come and
+  look for a quarrel, he was in fear lest I should march against
+  his town, which was three days' journey from where I was.
+  Doubtless my men deceived me or did not take the trouble
+  to go to Rungpore, for on the 15th of the same month, at
+  3 p.m., on the opposite side of the river to that on which
+  we were, there appeared a body of soldiers, cavalry and
+  infantry, about 600 in number, who approached so near my
+  fleet that I no longer doubted the correctness of the first
+  advice which had been given me. I ordered a discharge
+  of three guns on this troop, which was so well directed that
+  the enemy were forced to take themselves off and to encamp
+  a little further from me. Next day the commander sent me
+  a present of some fruit, and an intimation that he only
+  wished to see me quit his country. He knew I could not
+  do this without risk, and, according to the custom of the
+  infidels, he gave me the strongest possible assurances of my
+  safety and tranquillity. I took care not to trust to them;
+  I was then, as I said above, without entrenchments and
+  without defence, so in the evening I set to work at surrounding
+  myself with a ditch, the mud taken out of which would
+  serve me for embrasures. I was short of provisions, which
+  made me very anxious, and I was still more so when
+  I learned that the enemy were trying to cut me off from
+  provisions on all sides, and that their intention was to
+  capture me by famine or treachery. Their number quickly
+  increased to 3000 men, of whom a part came over to my
+  side of the river, and harassed my people whenever they
+  went out for provisions. This forced me to detach. MM.
+  Chevalier and Gourlade, with about 10 men, some peons
+  and boatmen, against one of their little camps, where there
+  were about 150 men, foot and horse. Our men received
+  their fire, stormed the camp, and destroyed it after having
+  put every one to flight. There was not a single person
+  wounded on our side. This little advantage gave me time to
+  make a good provision of rice and other things in the villages
+  near my entrenchments. I cleared out these villages and
+  drove out the inhabitants, but I was still in need of a
+  quantity of things necessary to life. To procure these, I
+  tried to frighten the enemy by cannonading their chief camp
+  on the other side of the river. This only resulted in making
+  them withdraw altogether beyond the reach of my guns, not
+  with the idea of going away, but of starving me out, and, as
+  I learned later, to give time for a reinforcement of artillery
+  which they were expecting to arrive. They had already 4
+  or 5 guns, but their calibre was small compared with mine,
+  as I was able to see from the balls which fell in my camp
+  when it was entrenched only on the land side.
+
+  "The 19th of January, early in the morning, I sent across
+  the river a number of workmen, supported by a little detachment
+  under M. Gourlade, to cut down a grove of bamboos
+  which masked my guns, and to burn down some houses which
+  were also in their way. I forbade them to engage the enemy,
+  and all went well until some topasses and peons advanced
+  too far towards the enemy's camp, and I heard discharges
+  so loud and frequent on both sides, that I ordered a retreat
+  to be beaten in my entrenchments, to make my people recross
+  the river. I fired my guns continually to facilitate this and to
+  cover the movement. In this skirmish I had only one soldier
+  wounded, and I do not know whether the enemy had any
+  losses. This day more than 1500 shots were fired on both
+  sides. Some of the guns which the enemy brought up
+  troubled us greatly, as we were not entrenched on the water
+  side. Several balls fell at my side or passed over my head.
+  This determined me to set all my people at work the next
+  night with torches, to put us under cover on this side
+  also."
+
+[It was apparently this fight which Kasim Ali reported to Clive on
+the 24th of January:--
+
+  "I wrote expressly to my people to go and take them"
+  (the French) "and they went immediately and found them
+  ready to fight. On both sides there were cannon and
+  _jenjalls_.[145] A _nulla_[146] was between them, which the French
+  crost, and advancing upon my people, fought with great
+  intrepidity: but luckily, three or four of them being killed,
+  they retired into their fort."[147]]
+
+  "The Moors saw, from my manoeuvre, how important it
+  was for them to seize the ground which I had intended to
+  clear, and, contrary to my expectation, established themselves
+  on it the same evening without my being able to hinder
+  them, keeping themselves always well hidden behind the
+  bamboos, where they had nothing to fear from my artillery,
+  and still less from my musketry. Like me they worked at
+  night, and, having as many prisoners or other workmen at
+  their command as they wanted, I saw, with regret, next
+  morning the progress which they had made opposite me. I
+  could not dislodge them without risking everything. Weak
+  as I was, I thought it wiser not to hazard anything more in
+  sorties, but to hold myself always on the defensive.
+
+  "Sheikh Faiz Ulla (that was the name of the Moorish
+  general) sent me one of his men next day with a present and
+  proposals of peace, the first condition of which was, of course,
+  that I should quit his country, and as, since the dry weather
+  had set in, a very large and dangerous bank had formed in
+  the river seven or eight leagues below me, he offered me one
+  or two thousand workmen to assist in making a passage for
+  my boats. The shocking treachery used by the Moors being
+  well known to me, I refused to accept his offers except on
+  his furnishing me with hostages for his good faith. He first
+  proposed himself, but with such a strong escort that it was
+  not difficult to see that it was a trap which he was setting
+  for me, so as to seize and massacre us. After many debates
+  between our emissaries, he consented to come to my _bajarow_,
+  he and his servants, and that all of them should serve as
+  hostages until I was quite out of the domains of his master.
+
+  "I loyally agreed to this arrangement and made preparations
+  in consequence, but at 7 in the morning on the
+  23rd of January, the day I expected the hostages, I was
+  awakened by a cannon-shot quickly followed by a second, the
+  ball of which pierced the _rezai_[148] at the foot of my bed from
+  side to side, and made a great noise. For a long time I had
+  been accustomed to sleep fully dressed, so I was able to go out
+  quickly and give orders in the entrenchments. The treachery
+  and perfidy of the enemy were too manifest; nevertheless, I
+  forbade a single shot to be fired with musket or cannon, and
+  simply recommended my people to be on their guard on
+  the land side. The enemy kept up a continuous and very
+  lively fire until 4 o'clock in the evening. I considered that
+  it would be useless for me to reply, and wished to see how far
+  they would push their insolence. That day we picked up 40
+  cannon-balls, and our whole loss was one boatman slightly
+  wounded in the leg. From 4 o'clock till night the enemy's
+  fire was continued, but at long intervals. It began again
+  the next morning. I suffered this as on the previous day
+  for a couple of hours, at the end of which. I fired several
+  shots and silenced it. My firing seemed to trouble the
+  enemy more than I expected it would. One of my boats was
+  sunk by a cannon-ball, several were pierced through, and
+  my _rezai_, which used to serve me as a coat, was much
+  damaged.
+
+  "The succeeding days passed much in the same manner
+  until the 3rd of February, when, on the same bank and to
+  the north above my fleet, I saw a new entrenchment, which
+  had been thrown up during the preceding night. Its batteries
+  enfiladed mine along their whole length. It was necessary
+  either to risk everything by making a sortie in order to
+  destroy it, or to arrange terms. I determined on the latter,
+  which appeared to me all the more necessary, as I was
+  beginning to be in want of everything, and as I had just
+  received letters which deprived me of all hope of the arrival
+  of our forces in Bengal until April or May. I therefore
+  informed Sheikh Faiz Ulla that I was ready to enter upon
+  negotiations, and the same day he sent me some of his people,
+  with whom I agreed to leave my entrenchments and go
+  down the river. I consented to do this without hostages,
+  but, that it might be done in security, I promised them a
+  sum of money for themselves as well as for their general.
+  This arrangement being agreed to by Sheikh Faiz Ulla, he
+  sent me word that, in order that he might not appear to
+  betray his master, it would be necessary for me next morning
+  to open the fiercest fire possible on his camp; that he would
+  reply; that on both sides it should be with the intention of
+  doing as little hurt as possible; that I should pretend it was
+  to force him to give me a passport, which he would send me
+  in the evening; and that I should then send him the
+  money I had promised. All these precautions were only
+  to assist his rascality, and they appeared to me all the more
+  surprising, as he had already repeatedly informed me that
+  he had his master's permission to give me a passport, and to
+  let me go where I pleased. But of what are these Moors not
+  capable? Without being blind to the continuance of his perfidy,
+  I flattered myself that it might happen that he would not
+  trouble me on my march when he had received my money.
+
+  "However this might be, my cannon fired from 10 in
+  the morning till 3 in the evening. Our people, perceiving
+  that the enemy were firing in earnest, did not spare them
+  any more than they spared us, and that which was at first,
+  on our side, only a pretence, finally became serious. At 4
+  o'clock I received an envoy, who brought me the passport,
+  and to whom I paid the money. He assured me that I
+  might embark my artillery the next morning, and set out the
+  day after without the slightest apprehension of being interfered
+  with, I took my precautions, and, in fear of treachery, kept
+  on shore my two Swedish guns. At last, at seven in the
+  morning, my boats started, having on board only the sick
+  and helpless, and I set out by land with my two guns and
+  the rest of my troop, at the head of which I put myself."
+
+This triumph of time and treachery was reported by Sheikh Faiz
+Ulla's master, Kasim Ali, to Clive, on the 14th of February:[149]--
+
+  "I before wrote you that I had sent forces to fight the
+  French, that they had a fort and strong intrenchments, and
+  that we had a battle with them.... ever since I wrote
+  you last we have been fighting, my people have behaved well,
+  and I make no doubt but you have heard it from other people.
+  God knows what pains and trouble I have taken in this
+  affair. The French being shut up in their fort and undergoing
+  much fatigue by always fighting, and likewise being
+  in want of provisions were obliged to run away in their
+  boats by night, and went towards the Dinajpur country.
+
+  My people being always ready to fight followed them....
+  They can go no other way but through the Dinajpur country.
+  I have therefore wrote expressly to the Rajah to stop the
+  passage."
+
+About this time, though Courtin does not mention it till later, he
+began to see what the inevitable end must be. He could not cut his
+way through to join Law, and with the whole country in arms against
+him he was too weak to hold out for any length of time. Accordingly
+he sent messengers secretly to Mr. Luke Scrafton, at Murshidabad. It
+was Scrafton, as I have said above, who wrote to Courtin for
+assistance when the Nawab of Dacca wanted to take their Factory and
+imprison the English. Courtin now wrote to him to save him from
+falling into the hands of the natives, and, on the 18th of February,
+Scrafton wrote to the Select Committee at Calcutta for the necessary
+permission.[150]
+
+We now rejoin Courtin:--
+
+  "What was my surprise, at the end of an hour and a
+  half, to see that we were followed by a body of four or five
+  hundred men, with two guns drawn by oxen. I pretended
+  not to notice, and continued my march, but at 3 o'clock
+  in the afternoon, seeing this troop approach, within range of
+  my pieces, I pointed them at the Moors, and put my force
+  in a position of defence. Their rascality followed its usual
+  course, and they sent me word that I had nothing to fear,
+  that they would not march so close to me any more, and
+  that they followed me only to preserve the peace and to
+  hinder my people, especially the stragglers, from committing
+  any disorder. I received this excuse for what it was worth,
+  and pretended to be content with, it, seeing clearly that they
+  were looking for an opportunity to surprise and destroy us.
+
+  "Several accidents happening to the boats of the rearguard
+  prevented my troop and myself from rejoining the
+  main body of the fleet till far on in the night. I found it
+  anchored in the most disadvantageous position possible, and
+  in the morning I saw at a distance of one-eighth of a league
+  the same body of troops, that had followed me the day before,
+  establishing and settling itself. A moment later I learned
+  that Sheikh Faiz Ulla was on the opposite bank with his
+  army and his artillery, that he intended to wait for me in a
+  narrow place called Choquova,[151] at the foot of which my boats
+  must pass, and that he was diligently making entrenchments
+  there. My embarrassment was then extreme. I found
+  myself surrounded on all sides; I was without any provisions,
+  destitute of the most necessary articles of life. In
+  this perplexity I saw only the most cruel alternatives, either
+  to surrender or to fight to the death so as to perish with our
+  arms in our hands. The latter appeared to be less dreadful
+  than the former.
+
+  "After repeated consultations, we determined it would
+  be best to risk the passage of the fleet by Choquova. We
+  thought that possibly we should find provisions there, and
+  that certainly the position could not be worse (for defence)
+  than that in which we then found ourselves. The passage
+  was carried out in three hours' time without confusion or
+  disorder, by means of my Swedish guns on the boat which
+  led the van. What was our delight to find, not only a better
+  position than that which we had quitted, but one that was
+  almost completely entrenched by nature, and had villages
+  full of rice to the right and left of it.
+
+  "Next day I collected provisions in abundance, cleared
+  the country round for a quarter of a league, and did my best
+  to ameliorate my condition. The enemy were disconcerted by
+  my boldness. They pretended as usual, in order to deceive
+  me the more easily, that they were not surprised at my march.
+  They feared rightly that if I commenced new entrenchments
+  all their trouble would begin again. Besides, I had completely
+  protected myself from the possibility of surprise. _Pourparlers_
+  for an accommodation were renewed and lasted three
+  days, at the end of which it was agreed that I should
+  continue my march, that two hostages should be given me
+  for my safety, and that the army with its guns should retire
+  from Choquova, and should be sent a long way ahead across
+  country, and as, at half a league from this place, the river
+  was no longer navigable because of the bank which had
+  formed in it, I should be supplied with people to facilitate
+  my passage. Thou wilt notice, my dear wife, that in all the
+  negotiations I had for various reasons and on several occasions
+  proposed to suspend all hostilities until an answer
+  could be received from Jafar All Khan and the English, to
+  whom I said I would write to come to some accommodation
+  with them, offering to send my letter open. This was repeatedly
+  refused, but the refusal did not prevent my asking
+  for the honours of war. My letters were despatched secretly
+  by my own messengers.
+
+  "At last, on the 23rd, I quitted, though with regret
+  (always expecting treachery), my new position, and approached
+  the shallow or bank mentioned. It was night when I
+  arrived. In spite of this I could understand, from the
+  dreadful noise made by the waters, that I should have
+  difficulty in traversing this dangerous passage even with the
+  assistance promised me. I was only too well convinced of
+  the truth of this when day broke, and I saw that I had
+  again been betrayed. There was nothing to be seen of the
+  work which the Moors had engaged to do to lessen the
+  difficulty of the passage. However, I did not hesitate to
+  put out with my lighter boats, firmly resolved, if they arrived
+  safely, to sacrifice the larger, with all that was upon them,
+  to my safety, and thus to effect my retreat during the night.
+  With the exception of two, which were lost, they all arrived
+  safely. During this piece of work, which took up the whole
+  day, I dissimulated my intentions in the presence of my hostages,
+  merely letting them see I was somewhat surprised to
+  find that, contrary to the promise given, there were no workmen,
+  but that the army, which ought to have been withdrawn,
+  was still close to us. Their excuses were vague and unsatisfactory.
+  One of them, who, no doubt, knew the enemy's plans,
+  asked permission to go to their camp, promising to come
+  back the next day. Though his demand accorded with my
+  designs, I agreed to it only after much persuasion, warning
+  him not to break his _parole_ to return the next morning very
+  early. This he swore to do. As a rule these people think
+  nothing of an oath. I did not intend to wait for him, which
+  his comrade clearly perceived, for, seeing that he himself
+  had been sacrificed by his master's perfidy, he approved of
+  the resolution I had taken to set out by night, and swore
+  that he had acted in good faith, and was ignorant of the
+  treachery that had been concocted. 'You can,' he said to me,
+  'have my throat cut. You would be justified in doing so;
+  but I will not quit you, even if you give me permission.
+  If I went to my own people, they would say that I had
+  disclosed to you the trick which you have yourself discovered,
+  and would certainly show me less mercy than I
+  have experienced from you.' After this I contented myself
+  with having him closely watched.
+
+  "Orders being given to the remaining boats to start by
+  night, I mounted on horseback to carry certain necessaries
+  to my detachment on land, which was already a little in
+  advance and had crossed a small river with the guns. I
+  had only three blacks with me, and none of us knew the
+  way. The night was dark, and we wandered from it. I
+  narrowly escaped being drowned with my horse, and at last
+  we lost ourselves entirely. If we had been met by any
+  horsemen, nothing would have been easier than for them to
+  capture me, our arms and cartridges being all soaked with
+  water. Luckily I heard our drums beating, and this told us
+  in what direction we could safely go.
+
+  "My intention was to march by land with my troops and
+  guns. They objected to this, as I was wet to the skin and
+  had a cold on the chest, which hardly allowed me to speak;
+  so I went back to the boats, though with much regret, and
+  resolved to manage so as not to lose sight of my detachment.
+  I was in constant anxiety about the latter till 8 o'clock the
+  next day, when we all came together, except one soldier
+  topass, who, by his own fault, had remained on a big boat
+  which we had abandoned, and a _manjhi_,[152] who was drowned
+  in one of the two little ones which had sunk.
+
+  "Finding myself in the territory of the Raja of Dinajpur,
+  I imagined I had nothing to do with any one except him, and
+  that Sheikh Faiz Ulla and his army would not think of
+  following me through a country which, though tributary to
+  the Nawab of Bengal, still in no way belonged to Faiz Ulla's
+  master. The hostage who remained with me, and to whom
+  I spoke about the matter,[153] did not altogether dissuade me
+  from this idea, but counselled me to continue my march
+  and to get farther away, which I did till 6 o'clock in the
+  evening. What was my surprise when, at 9 o'clock, my
+  scouts reported that the enemy were pursuing me, and were
+  not more than a league away at the most. I could not
+  advance during the night for fear of running on the banks
+  or shallows with which the river was filled, and which might
+  cause the loss of my boats and of my people. Accordingly,
+  I did not set out till the morning, and always remained
+  myself in the rear (of the fleet). I had stopped to wait for
+  my land detachment and the guns, and was at some distance
+  from the rest of my little fleet, when, about half-past nine,
+  I heard several musket shots fired. In an instant I was
+  surrounded by the enemy. M. Chevalier, who conducted the
+  land detachment, fortunately perceived my situation, and,
+  seeing my danger, brought up the two guns and fired about
+  20 shots, which disengaged me, and gave me time to regain
+  my boats by swift rowing. I had with me only Pedro and
+  the Moorish hostage mentioned before. Then I landed with
+  MM. Brayer, Gourlade, and in general every one who was
+  strong enough to defend himself. At the same time I ordered
+  the boats to go on. In this skirmish our loss was only one
+  man slightly wounded in the ear by a musket-ball.
+
+  "My little fleet _en route_, we marched by land on the
+  bank opposite to that on which was, the main body of the
+  enemy, who had only cavalry, which we did not trouble
+  ourselves about It was not the same, however, with the
+  boats. At the end of an hour the boatmen abandoned them
+  in a sudden panic, and hurried tumultuously to join me.
+  When my people were collected, I would have tried to go
+  and recapture my boats, which the enemy had not delayed
+  to seize; but not only would this have been a rash undertaking
+  with so small a force against 3000 men, but also
+  there was a little river which formed an island between my
+  boats and me, and so prevented the passage of my guns
+  This determined me to abandon the boats, and to retreat to
+  Dinajpur, where I hoped to find an asylum with the Raja
+  whilst I waited for a reply to my letters to Jafar All Khan
+  and the English. We marched till 1 o'clock in the afternoon
+  without being harassed or disquieted--no doubt because
+  during this time Sheikh Faiz Ulla and his people were
+  occupied in plundering the boats. We were now not very
+  far from Dinajpur, when we met a body of the Raja's cavalry,
+  the commander of which begged me to take another road so
+  as not to pass through his town. Accordingly he gave me
+  a guide, with whom we marched till half-past five, when we
+  arrived at a great _gunge_ (market place) at the extremity of
+  Dinajpur. There they lodged us in a great thatched building.
+  The want of provisions had caused us to suffer very much in
+  this retreat."
+
+This was the battle of Cantanagar. Kasim Ali described it as follows
+to Clive:--
+
+  "My people and the French had a battle, and the latter
+  finding themselves much, beat, they run away, and left their
+  boats. They went to Oppoor" "and begged protection of
+  the Kajah's people.... Bahadur Sing came and told my
+  people to go a little further off, and they would deliver
+  them up, but they put us off from day to day."[154]
+
+About the time he was writing this, Clive was writing to say that he
+had received Courtin's offer of surrender, and that Kasim Ali was to
+cease hostilities and allow the French to come to him with their
+boats and necessaries. Kasim Ali had received orders to the same
+effect from Mr. Scrafton, who informed him he was sending an officer
+to accept their surrender. This did not however prevent Kasim Ali
+from trying to get hold of them, which accounts for the following
+letter from Raja Ram Nath to Clive:[155]--
+
+  "The French are now coming from another country by
+  boats to go towards Muxadavad, and Kasim Ali Khan's
+  people have followed them, out of his own country into
+  mine. They have left their boats among Kasim Ali Khan's
+  people and are now travelling to Jangepors" (? Tangepur).
+
+  "When I heard this I sent people with all expedition to look
+  after them, and I now hear that they have surrounded them.
+  The French want the Nawab's and your orders and _call for justice_[156]
+  from you. They have hoisted the Nawab's[157] and
+  your colours, have put on your cloaths (?) and want to go
+  to Muxadavad. Kasim Ali Khan's people want to carry
+  them to Rungpore but they refuse to go, and say that if one
+  of us is taken they will destroy themselves.[158] I am a poor
+  Zemindar who pays revenues[159] and ready to obey your
+  orders. If the Rungpore people should take them by force,
+  and they should kill themselves, it would be a troublesome
+  affair."
+
+To return to Courtin's letter.
+
+  "The Raja of Dinajpur did not fail to be embarrassed by
+  the favour which he had shown to us. Fear was the only
+  motive which influenced him. He sent word to me to
+  depart by night under an escort of 200 of his people, who
+  would conduct me to Murshidabad. I was very nearly
+  accepting his suggestion, but the hunger and thirst, from
+  which we suffered greatly, prevented me. So I postponed
+  giving him a final answer till the next morning, and
+  then, after full reflection, decided not to move from the
+  place to which. I had been conducted until I received an
+  answer to the letters sent to Murshidabad. I thought this
+  all the wiser, as I was informed that nothing would induce
+  my enemies to approach or attack me in my asylum.[160] The
+  place was so retired and so well provided with storehouses,
+  that I found there a greater appearance of security than in
+  the open country or the escort offered by the Raja, as his
+  men were subordinate to the same Prince as the people who
+  composed the army of Sheikh Faiz Ulla, and were likely
+  enough to abandon me or to join my enemies in overwhelming
+  me. My conjectures were well founded, as, several days
+  after, this same Raja, prompted by Sheikh Faiz Ulla, sent
+  me word that he could not answer for what might happen to
+  me if I were attacked; that his troops, being subject to
+  Murshidabad like those of Kasim All Khan, could not
+  support me, nor fire on the latter. Finally he sent a certain
+  priest of his faith, a grave man, who came to suggest to us
+  that our best course was to leave Dinajpur and gain the
+  open country, otherwise we were lost. He said that he
+  knew for certain that if I were so obstinate as to persist in
+  wishing to remain there, orders had been given to attack us,
+  cut our throats, and send our heads to Murshidabad. This
+  person wished to terrify us so as to rid the Raja of us, as he
+  was dying with fright lest war should be made in the very
+  heart of his town. I replied that I was resolved to defend
+  myself against any one who attacked me, to set fire to
+  everything I found within my reach, to kill as many people
+  as I could, and to die on my guns when I had used up all
+  my ammunition; that this was also the intention of my companions,
+  who preferred to die thus, like brave men, rather than
+  to be exposed to the ignominies and indignities that we should
+  undergo if we allowed ourselves to be made prisoners by the
+  people of Kasim All Khan. The timid Raja, threatened by
+  both parties, found himself in the utmost embarrassment, for
+  Sheikh Faiz Ulla, at the gates of his town, put, as it were,
+  his country under contribution, and demanded from him,
+  with all imaginable insolence, that he should deliver us up
+  to him, a thing which the Raja found difficult to do.
+
+    "Some days passed in this way, during which we had
+    frequent alarms, but the letters I received from Murshidabad
+    filled every one with perplexity. The English sent me
+    people on their own account. One of my private friends,[161]
+    whom I had been so fortunate as to oblige on a similar
+    occasion, wrote me not to trouble myself about my boats or
+    my effects, but to come at once to him, and he would see
+    that they restored or paid for my property, and that they
+    gave me all that I might need. The orders received by
+    Sheikh Faiz Ulla and the Raja at the same time, ordered the
+    one to leave me in peace and the other to furnish me with
+    everything I wanted. This put my mind in a condition of
+    serenity to which it had long been a stranger, and threw my
+    enemies into much confusion. They proposed that I should
+    resume possession of my boats. I knew, with absolute
+    certainty, that they had been half looted, still I accepted
+    them on condition they were brought to Dinajpur. They
+    did not wish, to do this; but next morning after reflection
+    they consented, when, in my turn, I declined, and asked only
+    for provisions and other things necessary for my journey.
+    This they had the harshness to refuse, doubtless because they
+    thought that I, being destitute of everything, would have to
+    go down by whatever route they pleased. I would not
+    trust them in anything, fearing treachery.
+
+    "At last, without linen, without clothes, except what we
+    had on our bodies, on the 1st of March, the seventeenth day
+    after our retreat[162] we set out with our arms and our two
+    Swedish guns to go to Murshidabad to the English, from
+    whom I had demanded the honours of war."
+
+    We learn from the correspondence between
+    Mr. Scrafton and Clive, that Drake, the cowardly
+    Governor of Calcutta, very naturally could not
+    understand what was meant by this claim to the
+    honours of war.[163]
+
+"My guns were conducted by land by a small detachment, the command
+of which I gave to M. Chevalier, and we embarked on some small
+boats belonging to the Raja, in which we had hardly room to move.
+
+"I was not yet at the end of my troubles, for on the 3rd of March,
+after dinner, as I was getting back into my boat, one of the
+boatmen, wishing to put down a gun, managed to let it off, and sent
+a bullet through my left shoulder. It passed through the clavicle
+between the sinew and the bone. Luckily the blow was broken by a
+button which the bullet first struck; still it passed almost
+completely through the shoulder and lodged under the skin, which had
+to be opened behind the shoulder to extract it and also the wad.
+However unfortunate this wound was, I ought to be very thankful to
+God that it was so safely directed, and for the further good fortune
+of finding with one of my people sufficient ointment for the
+surgeon, who was quite destitute of all necessaries, to dress
+my shoulder until the ninth day after, when we arrived at
+Murshidabad.[164] This wound caused me much suffering for the first
+few days, but, thanks to the Lord, in thirty-two or thirty-three
+days it was quite healed and without any bad effects.
+
+"We rested ourselves from our fatigue till the 20th at my friend's
+house, when, with his concurrence and in response to their offers, I
+went to the Dutch gentlemen at Cossimbazar, where M. Vernet, their
+chief and an old friend of mine, received us with the greatest
+kindness. It is from their Settlement that I write to thee, my dear
+wife. Until the ships sail for England I shall continue to write
+daily, and tell thee everything that is of interest.[165]
+
+"August 10, 1758.
+
+"My dear wife, I resume my narrative to tell thee that my boats have
+been restored by the English, as well as all the goods that had not
+been plundered by Sheikh Faiz Ulla and his people, except the
+munitions of war. Still, so much of the merchandise, goods and
+silver, has disappeared that I am ruined for ever, unless the
+English, who have promised to cause everything to be restored, are
+able to make the Moors give them up. The English have at length
+decided on our fate in a way altogether honourable to us. We are not
+prisoners of war, and so we are not subject to exchange; but we are
+bound by certain conditions, which they think necessary to their
+security, and which only do me honour. What has flattered me even
+more is that the two Swedish guns which I had with me on my campaign
+have actually been given to me as a present by the commander of the
+English troops, who is also Governor of Calcutta, with the most
+complimentary expressions."
+
+Courtin had written to Clive, asking permission to go down to
+Pondicherry. Clive replied on the 15th of July, 1758, granting
+permission. His letter concludes:--
+
+  "I am at this moment sending an order to the Captain
+  Commandant of our troops to restore to you your two guns.
+  I am charmed at this opportunity of showing you my
+  appreciation of the way in which you have always behaved
+  to the English, and my own regard for your merit."[166]
+
+Courtin continues:--
+
+  "Saved from so many perils and sufficiently fortunate
+  to have won such sensible marks of distinction from our
+  enemies, ought not this, my dear wife, to make me hope that
+  the gentlemen of the French Company will do their utmost
+  to procure me some military honour, in order to prove to the
+  English that my nation is as ready as theirs to recognize my
+  services?[167]
+
+  "Now, my dear wife, I must end this letter so that it
+  may be ready for despatch. For fear of its being lost I will
+  send in the packet another letter for thee.
+
+  "Do not disquiet thyself regarding my health. Thanks
+  to God I am now actually pretty well. I dare not talk to
+  thee of the possibility of our meeting. Circumstances are
+  not favourable for thee to make another voyage to the Indies.
+  That must depend upon events, thy health, peace, and
+  wishes, which, in spite of my tender longing for thee, will
+  always be my guide.
+
+  "If the event of war has not been doubly disastrous to
+  me, thou shouldst have received some small remittances,
+  which I have sent, and of which I have advised thee in
+  duplicate and triplicate. If the decrees of the Lord, after
+  my having endured so many misfortunes and sufferings, have
+  also ordained my death before I am in a position to provide
+  what concerns thee, have I not a right to hope that all my
+  friends will use their influence to induce the Company not
+  to abandon one who will be the widow of two men who have
+  served it well, and with all imaginable disinterestedness?
+
+  "For the rest I repeat that, thanks to God, I am fairly well.
+
+  "I kiss thee, etc., etc."
+
+One would be glad to be assured that Courtin re-established his
+fortune. If he is, as I suppose, the Jacques Ignace Courtin, who was
+afterwards _Conseiller au Conseil des Indes_, we may be satisfied he
+did so; but French East India Company Records are a hopeless chaos
+at the present moment, and all that one can extract from the English
+Records is evidence of still further suffering.
+
+From Murshidabad or Cossimbazar, Courtin went down to Chandernagore,
+whence the majority of the French inhabitants had already been sent
+to the Madras Coast. The Fort had been blown up, and the private
+houses were under sentence of destruction, for the English had
+determined to destroy the town, partly in revenge for the behaviour
+of Lally, who, acting under instructions from the French East India
+Company, had shown great severity to the English in Southern India,
+partly because they did not think themselves strong enough to
+garrison Chandernagore as well as Calcutta, and feared the Moors
+would occupy it if they did not place troops there, and partly
+because they dreaded its restoration to France--which actually
+happened--when peace was made. At any rate Courtin found the
+remnants of his countrymen in despair, and in 1759 he wrote a
+letter[168] to Clive and the Council of Calcutta, from which I
+quote one or two paragraphs:--
+
+  "With the most bitter grief I have received advice of
+  the sentence you have passed on the French Settlement
+  at Chandernagore, by which all the buildings, as well of
+  the Company as of private persons, are to be utterly
+  demolished.
+
+  "Humane and compassionate as you are, Sirs, you would
+  be sensibly affected--were your eyes witnesses to it as mine
+  have been--by the distress to which this order has reduced
+  the hearts of those unhappy inhabitants who remain in that
+  unfortunate place, particularly if you knew that there is
+  nothing left to the majority of them beyond these houses, on
+  whose destruction you have resolved. If I may believe
+  what I hear, the motive which incites you is that of reprisal
+  for what has happened at Cuddalore and Madras: it does
+  not become me to criticize either the conduct of M. Lally,
+  our general, who, by all accounts, is a man very much to be
+  respected by me, or your reasons, which you suppose sufficient.
+  Granting the latter to be so, permit me, Sirs, to
+  address myself to your generosity and humanity, and those
+  admirable qualities, so universally esteemed by mankind,
+  will encourage me to take the liberty to make certain representations.
+
+  "All upbraidings are odious, and nothing is more just
+  than the French proverb which says, to remind a person of
+  favours done him cancels the obligation. God forbid, Sirs,
+  I should be guilty of this to you or your nation by reminding
+  you for a moment, that these houses, now condemned by
+  you, served you as an asylum in 1756, and that the owners,
+  whom you are now reducing to the greatest distress and are
+  plunging into despair, assisted you to the utmost of their
+  power, and alleviated your misfortunes as much as they were
+  able. But what am I saying? Your nation is too polished to
+  need reminding of what is just. Therefore excuse my saying
+  that this reason alone is sufficient to cancel the law of
+  retaliation which you have resolved to execute, and to make
+  you revoke an order which, I am sure, you could not have
+  given without much uneasiness of mind. I cast myself at
+  your feet, imploring, with the most ardent prayers, that
+  compassion, which I flatter myself I perceive in your hearts,
+  for these poor creatures, whom you cannot without remorse
+  render miserable. If you really, Sirs, think I too have had
+  the happiness to be of some use to you and your nation,
+  whilst Chief at Dacca, and that I have rendered you some
+  services, I only beg that you would recollect them for one
+  moment, and let them induce you to grant the favour I
+  request for my poor countrymen. I shall then regard it as
+  the most happy incident in my life, and shall think myself
+  ten thousand times more indebted to you.
+
+  "If, Sirs, you have absolutely imperative reasons for
+  reprisal, change, if you please, the object of them. I offer
+  myself a willing victim, if there must be one, and, if blood
+  were necessary, I should think myself too happy to offer
+  mine a sacrifice. But as these barbarous methods are not
+  made use of in nations so civilized as ours, I have one last
+  offer to make, which is to ransom and buy all the private
+  houses at Chandernagore, for which I will enter into whatever
+  engagements you please, and will give you the best
+  security in my power."
+
+The last words seem to imply that Courtin had recovered his
+property, at least to a great extent; but his pathetic appeal was
+useless in face of national necessities, and so far was
+Chandernagore desolated that, in November of the same year, we read
+that the English army, under Colonel Forde, was ambushed by the
+Dutch garrison of Chinsurah "amongst the buildings and ruins of
+Chandernagore."
+
+From Chandernagore Courtin went to Pondicherry, where he became a
+member of the Superior Council. He was one of the chiefs of the
+faction opposed to Lally, who contemptuously mentions a printed
+"Memorial" of his adventures which Courtin prepared, probably for
+presentation to the Directors of the French East India Company.[169]
+When, in January, 1761, Lally determined to capitulate, Courtin was
+sent to the English commander on the part of the Council. Still
+later we find his name attached to a petition, dated August 3, 1762,
+presented to the King against Lally.[170] This shows that Courtin
+had arrived in France, so that his elevation to the Council of the
+Company is by no means improbable.
+
+To any one who has lived long in India it seems unnatural that in
+old days the small colonies of Europeans settled there should have
+been incited to mutual conflict and mutual ruin, owing to quarrels
+which originated in far-off Europe, and _which were decided without
+any reference to the wishes or interests of Europeans living in the
+colonies_. The British Settlements alone have successfully survived
+the struggle. The least we can do is to acknowledge the merits,
+whilst we commiserate the sufferings, of those other gallant men who
+strove their best to win the great prize for their own countrymen.
+Of the French especially it would appear that their writers have
+noticed only those like Dupleix, Bussy, and Lally, who commanded
+armies in glorious campaigns that somehow always ended to the
+advantage of the British, and have utterly forgotten the civilians
+who really kept the game going, and who would have been twice as
+formidable to their enemies if the military had been subordinate to
+them. The curse of the French East India Company was Militarism,
+whilst fortunately for the English our greatest military hero in
+India, Lord Clive, was so clear-minded that he could write:--
+
+  "I have the liberty of an Englishman so strongly implanted
+  in my nature, that I would have the Civil all in all,
+  in all times and in all places, cases of immediate danger
+  excepted."
+
+How much might have been achieved by men like Renault, Law, and
+Courtin, if they had had an adequate military force at their
+disposal! They saw, as clearly as did the English, that Bengal was
+the heart of India, and they saw the English denude Madras of troops
+to defend Bengal, whilst they themselves were left by the French
+commanders in a state of hopeless impotence. On the other hand,
+owing to the English Company's insistence that military domination
+should be the exception and not the rule, British civilians and
+British soldiers have, almost always, worked together harmoniously.
+It was this union of force which gave us Bengal in the time of which
+I have been writing, and to the same source of power we owe the
+gradual building up of the great Empire which now dominates the
+whole of India.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote 122: Probably Portuguese half-castes.]
+
+[Footnote 123: Matchlock men. Consultations of the Dacca Council,
+27th June, 1756. Madras Select Committee Proceedings, 9th November,
+1756.]
+
+[Footnote 124: When Courtin was sent by Count Lally with the
+proposals for the surrender of Pondicherry he had to take an
+interpreter with him. _Memoirs of Lally_, p. 105.]
+
+[Footnote 125: I.e. official order.]
+
+[Footnote 126: I cannot ascertain where M. Fleurin was at this
+moment. If at Dacca, then Courtin must have left him behind.]
+
+[Footnote 127: MSS. Francais, Nouvelles Acquisitions, No. 9361. This
+is unfortunately only a copy, and the dates are somewhat confused.
+Where possible I have corrected them.]
+
+[Footnote 128: Calcapur, the site of the Dutch Factory. See note, p.
+64.]
+
+[Footnote 129: From a map by Rennell of the neighbourhood of Dacca
+it appears that the French Factory was on the River Bourigunga.
+There are still several plots of ground in Dacca town belonging to
+the French. One of them, popularly known as Frashdanga, is situated
+at the mouth of the old bed of the river which forms an island of
+the southern portion of the town; but I do not think this is the
+site of the French Factory, as the latter appears to have been
+situated to the west of the present Nawab's palace.]
+
+[Footnote 130: Now used in the sense of messengers or office
+attendants.]
+
+[Footnote 131: Orme says (bk. viii. p. 285) that Courtin started
+with 30 Europeans and 100 sepoys. From Law's "Memoir" we see that M.
+de Carryon took 20 men to Cossimbazar before Law himself left. This
+accounts for the smallness of Courtin's force.]
+
+[Footnote 132: Jafar Ali Khan married the sister of Aliverdi Khan,
+Siraj-ud-daula's grandfather.]
+
+[Footnote 133: I think he must mean the mouth of the Murshidabad
+River.]
+
+[Footnote 134: Courtin means the lower ranges of the Himalayas,
+inhabited by the Nepaulese, Bhutiyas, etc. His wanderings therefore
+were in the districts of Rungpore and Dinajpur.]
+
+[Footnote 135: Sinfray, Secretary to the Council at Chandernagore,
+was one of the fugitives who, as mentioned above, joined Law at
+Cossimbazar.]
+
+[Footnote 136: Assaduzama Muhammad was nephew to Kamgar Khan, the
+general of Shah Alam. _Holwell. Memorial to the Select Committee_,
+1760.]
+
+[Footnote 137: Orme MSS. India XI., p. 2859, No. 246.]
+
+[Footnote 138: Orme says the Fort was on the River Teesta, but
+Rennell marks it more correctly a little away from the river and
+about fifteen miles south of Jalpaiguri.]
+
+[Footnote 139: These guns Courtin calls "pieces a la minute." The
+proper name should be "canon a la suedoise" or "canon a la minute."
+They were invented by the Swedes, who used 3-pounders with improved
+methods for loading and firing, so as to be able to fire as many as
+ten shots in a minute. The French adopted a 4-pounder gun of this
+kind in 1743. The above information was given me by Lieut.-Colonel
+Ottley Perry, on the authority of Colonel Colin, an artillery
+officer on the French Headquarters Staff.]
+
+[Footnote 140: This squadron, under the command of Mons. Bouvet,
+actually did arrive.]
+
+[Footnote 141: This rebellion was really conducted by Ukil Singh,
+the Hindoo _Diwan_ of Hazir Ali.]
+
+[Footnote 142: Mir Jafar, Jafar Ali, Mir Jafar Ali Khan, are all
+variations of the name of the Nawab whom the English placed on the
+throne after the death of Siraj-ud-daula.]
+
+[Footnote 143: Law says that the French soldiers who wandered the
+country in this way were accustomed to disguise themselves as
+natives and even as Brahmins, when they wished to avoid notice.]
+
+[Footnote 144: A kind of native house-boat.]
+
+[Footnote 145: A heavy gun fired from a rest or stand.]
+
+[Footnote 146: A ditch or ravine.]
+
+[Footnote 147: Orme MSS. India XI., p. 2901, No. 374.]
+
+[Footnote 148: A thick quilt used as a covering when in bed, or
+sometimes like a blanket to wrap oneself in.]
+
+[Footnote 149: Orme MSS. India XL, p. 2915, No. 417.]
+
+[Footnote 150: Bengal Select Com. Consultations, 22nd February,
+1758.]
+
+[Footnote 151: I have not been able to identify this place.]
+
+[Footnote 152: A boatman.]
+
+[Footnote 153: See note, p. 88.]
+
+[Footnote 154: Orme MSS. India XI., p. 2923, No. 432.]
+
+[Footnote 155: Orme MSS. India XL, p. 2926, No. 438.]
+
+[Footnote 156: This expression is characteristically Indian, and is
+used when any one, finding himself oppressed, appeals to some great
+personage for protection.]
+
+[Footnote 157: The Nawab's flag was the usual Turkish crescent.]
+
+[Footnote 158: Another Indian expression. The last resource against
+oppression or injustice in India is to commit suicide by starvation
+or some violent means, and to lay the blame on the oppressor. This
+is supposed to bring the curse of murder upon him.]
+
+[Footnote 159: This means simply that the Raja was not an
+independent ruler. The sovereign owning all land, _land revenue_ and
+_rent_ meant the same thing.]
+
+[Footnote 160: This seems to want explanation. Probably Courtin had
+got into some sort of house used for religious ceremonies, such as
+are often found in or close to the market-places of great
+landowners.]
+
+[Footnote 161: He probably refers to Mr. Luke Scrafton.]
+
+[Footnote 162: I.e. from his entrenchments.]
+
+[Footnote 163: "Courtin and his party arrived here the 10th. They
+are 6 soldiers, Dutch, German and Swede, such as took service with
+the French when our Factory at Dacca fell into the hands of Surajeh
+Dowleit, 4 gentlemen, some Chitagon (_sic_) fellows and about 20
+peons. Courtin, on his way hither, has, by mischance, received a
+ball through his shoulder. They demanded _honneurs de la guerre_,
+which Drake has not understood" (_Scrafton to Clive, March_ 12,
+1758).]
+
+[Footnote 164: According to Orme, Courtin's force was reduct from 30
+to 11 Europeans, and from 100 to 30 sepoys.]
+
+[Footnote 165: The manuscript I translate from contains only the
+postscript of the 10th of August.]
+
+[Footnote 166: A translation. Clive generally wrote to French
+officers in their own language.]
+
+[Footnote 167: Such honours were not uncommonly granted. Law was
+made a Colonel, so was another French partisan named Madec. On the
+other hand, when a French gentleman had the choice, he often put his
+elder son in the Company's service and the younger in the army.
+Law's younger brother was in the army. Renault's elder son was in
+the Company and the younger in the army.]
+
+[Footnote 168: Appended to "Bengal Public Proceedings," May 31,
+1759.]
+
+[Footnote 169: I do not know whether this "Memorial" still exists,
+but see "Memoirs of Count Lally," p. 53.]
+
+[Footnote 170: "Memoirs of Count Lally," p. 367.]
+
+
+
+
+  INDEX
+
+  Abdulla Khan
+  Admiralty, the English
+  Aeneas
+  Afghan General, the
+    _See_ Abdulla Khan
+  Agra
+  Ahmed Khan Koreishi
+  Alamgir II., Emperor, assassinated November 29, 1759
+  Ali Gauhar
+    _See_ Shah Alam
+  Aliverdi Khan
+    his opinion of Europeans
+    sister of
+  Allahabad
+  Amina Begum, mother of Siraj-ud-daula
+  Anquetil du Perron, M.
+  Anti-Renaultions
+  "Arabian Nights"
+  Archives, French
+  _Areca-nut_
+  Armenian officers
+  Armenians
+  _Arz-begi_ (Gholam Ali Khan)
+  _Arzi_
+  _Asiatic Annual Register_
+  Assaduzama Muhammad, Raja of Birbhum
+  Assam, King of
+  Audience Hall, the
+  Augustine Father
+  Aurengzebe
+
+  Bahadur Singh
+  Bahar
+    _See_ Bihar
+  _Bajarow_
+  Balasore
+  Bandel
+  Bankers, influence of Indian
+  Banowra River
+  Barber, a native
+  Battle of the 5th of February
+  Becher, Mr. Richard
+  Beinges, M.
+  Benares
+  Bengal
+    Nawabs of
+    records
+    revolution in
+    rivers of
+  Bengali merchant
+  Berhampur
+  _Betel_
+  Bettiah, Raja of
+  Bhagulpur
+  Bhutiyas
+  Bibi Lass
+    _See_ Mrs. Law
+  Bibliotheque Nationale
+  Biderra, battle of
+  Bihar, Hindu Rajas of
+    map of south
+    province of
+    town of
+  Birbhum
+    Raja of _See_ Assaduzama Muhammad
+  Bisdom, Adrian, Director of the Dutch in Bengal
+  Black Hole, the
+  Bloomer, Lieut.
+  Boissemont, M.
+  Bombay
+  Bourigunga River
+  Bouvet, M.
+  Brahmins
+  Brayer, Ensign
+    M., one of Courtin's companions
+  Brereton, Lieut. William
+  _Bridgewater_, H.M.S. (Captain Smith)
+  British. _See_ English
+    civilians
+    Museum, MS. Department
+  Broome, Captain A., Author of the "Rise and Progress of the
+    Bengal Army" (Calcutta, 1850)
+  Budge Budge, battle of
+  Bugros, M.
+  _Bukshi_
+  Bulwant Singh, Raja of Benares
+  Bundelkand or Bundelcund
+  Bussy, M.
+  _Buxerries_
+
+  Caillot, or Caillaud
+  Calcapur
+  Calcutta
+    English Council at
+  Calve, M.
+  Cannon balls of clay
+  Cantanagar, battle of
+  Capitulation of Chandernagore, dispute as to terms of
+  Capucins, church of
+  Carnac, Major John
+  Carryon, M. le Comte de
+  Carvalho, Jeanne. _See_ Mrs. Law
+  Cause of Siraj-ud-daula's attack on the English
+  Chambon, M
+  Chandernagore
+    booty taken at
+    cemetery at
+    council at
+    deserters from
+    garrison of
+    possibility of its capture by English land forces alone
+    terms of capitulation of
+  Chatrapur
+  _Chauth_
+  Chevalier, M.
+  Chinese
+  Chinsurah
+  Chittagong
+  Choquova
+  Christian clerks
+  Christians
+  Chunargarh
+  _Chunam_
+  Chupra or Chapra.
+  Cicero
+  Civil Power, the
+  Clive, Lieut.-Colonel Robert (Lord Clive)
+  Coja Wajid
+  Colbert, M.
+  Colin, Catherine
+    Colonel
+  Coote, Captain (Sir) Eyre
+  Coromandel, Coast of, _See_ Madras Coast
+  Cossimbazar
+  Cossimbazar River
+  Courtin, Francois,
+    Jacques Ignace
+  Courtin, Mrs.
+    _See_ Madame Direy
+  Courtin's Memorial
+  Cuddalore
+  Cudmore, Lieut. John
+  Cuttack
+
+  Dacca;
+    Council at;
+    Government College at;
+    Nawab of;
+    Palace of present Nawab
+  _D'Aillot_, powders
+  D'Albert, M. le Chevalier
+  Dana Shah
+  Danes
+  Dangereux, M.
+  Davis, Mr.
+  Debelleme, M. le Capitaine
+  De Carryon, M. le Comte
+  Deccan
+  De Kalli, M.
+  Delabar, M.
+  De la Bretesche, M.
+  Delamotte, Mr. John
+  De la Vigne Buisson;
+    M. le Capitaine;
+    jun.
+  De Leyrit, M.
+  Delhi
+  De Montorcin, M.
+  Desbrosses, M.
+  Deserters, English;
+    French
+  Desjoux, M.
+  De Terraneau, Ann.;
+    Lieut. Charles Cossard;
+    senior
+  De Tury;
+    M., Commandant of Chandernagore
+  D'Hurvilliers, M.
+  Dido
+  Dinajpur;
+    Raja of
+  Dinapur
+  Direy, Madame, _See_ Mrs. Courtin
+  _Diwan_
+  Doctor, French
+  Doidge, Mr.
+  Drake, Roger, jun.;
+    President of the Council at Calcutta
+  Droguet, M.
+  Dubois;
+    M., French Company's servant;
+    M., Sturgeon Major
+  Du Cap, M.
+  Dupleix, Marquis
+  Du Pre, M.
+  Durbar, The
+  _Dustuck_
+  Dutch;
+    Director. _See_ M. Bisdom;
+    Octagon, the
+
+  East India Company, English;
+    Forces
+  East India Company, French
+  Elephants, gentleness of
+  Engineers, want of
+  England
+  English;
+    _See_ British;
+    agent of;
+    ladies at Dacca;
+    Records;
+    trade privileges of
+  Eunuchs
+  Europe
+  Europeans
+  Europeans, generosity and courage of,
+
+  Fakir, _See_ Dana Shah
+  Farmers of estates,
+  Farukhabad,
+  _Faujdar_,
+  Fazl-kuli-khan,
+  Feringhees,
+  _Firman_,
+  Fleurin, M.,
+  Forde, Colonel,
+  Fort Bourgogne,
+    d'Orleans,
+    William,
+  Fournier, M.,
+  France,
+    King of,
+  Frashdanga,
+  French,
+    civilians,
+    ladies,
+    mistaken for Muhammadans,
+    proverb,
+    soldiers,
+    up-country factories,
+  Fringuey Raja,
+  Fullerton, Dr. William,
+  Fulta,
+
+  Ganges river, _See_ Hugli River
+  Gaya,
+  Gentiles, or Gentoos,
+  Germans,
+  Ghazipur,
+  Gholam Husain Khan,
+  Gourbin, M.
+  Gourlade, M.,
+  Grand Monarque, the,
+  Great Britain,
+    King of,
+  _Gunge_,
+  _Gunny_,
+
+  _Hackerys_,
+  Haillet, M.,
+  Hardwicke, Lord,
+  Hazir Ali Khan,
+  Hey, Lieut.,
+  Himalayas,
+  Hindu advisers of the Nawab,
+  Hindu Rajas,
+    women, ill-treatment of--by Siraj-ud-daula,
+  Hindus, the,
+  Hindustan,
+  Holkar,
+  Holwell, John Zephaniah, Governor,
+  Honours of war,
+  Hugli, Faujdar of, _See_ Nand Kumar
+    fort,
+    River,
+    town,
+
+  Imad-al-Muluk, Ghazi-ud-din Khan,
+  India,
+    Southern,
+  Indian expressions, characteristic,
+    minds, motives of,
+    ways of business,
+  Indies, The,
+  Indrapat, Raja of Bundelkand,
+  _Inhabitants_,
+  Innocent, or Innocent Jesus,
+  Ironside, Colonel Gilbert,
+  Ives, Surgeon Edward, author of "A
+    Voyage from England to India in
+    1754, with, a narrative of the operations
+    of the squadron and army in
+    India, under Watson and Clive,
+    1755-1757; Also a Journey from Persia to England," (London, 1799)
+
+  Jafar Ali Khan.
+    _See_ Mir Jafar Ali Khan
+  Jagat Seth, family of
+    _See_ Seths
+  Jalpaiguri
+  Jats, the
+  _Jemadars_
+  Jesuit Church, the
+    Fathers, the
+  Jobard, M.
+  Jugdea
+    _See_ Luckipore
+  Jusserat Khan, Nawab of Dacca
+
+  Kaffirs
+  Kamgar Khan
+  Karical
+  Kasim Ali Khan, Nawab of Bengal
+    _See_ Mir Kasim
+  Kasim Ali Khan, Faujdar of Rungpore
+  _Kent_, H.M.S.
+  Kerdizien, M.
+  Khodadad Khan Latty
+  Kilpatrick, Major James
+  King
+    _See_ Mogul
+  _Kingfisher_, H.M.S.
+  Kissendas, son of Raj Balav
+  Knox, Captain Ranfurlie
+  Kooti Ghat
+  Koran, the
+
+  La Haye, M.
+  Lal Dighi
+  Lally, Count
+    Memoirs of
+  Laporterie, M.
+  La Rue, M.
+  Latham, Captain
+  Launay, M.
+  La Ville Martere, M.
+  Law, Jacques Francois
+    Jean, of Lauriston
+    Madame Jeanne
+    John, of Lauriston, the Financier
+    William
+  Law's Memoir
+  Le Conte Dompierre
+  Lee, Corporal
+  Le Noir, M.
+  Le Page, M., Second Surgeon
+  Locusts
+  Luckipore
+    _See_ Jugdea
+  Lucknow
+  Lynn, Captain
+
+  McGwire, Mr. William
+  Madec, Colonel
+  Madras
+    Coast
+    _See_ Coromandel
+  Malleson, Colonel G.B., Author of "History of the French in India
+    from the Founding of Pondicherry in 1674 to the Capture of that
+    Place in 1761" (London, 1868)
+  Manik Chand, Raja
+  _Manjhi_
+  Maratha Commander
+    Law's altercation with
+    General, the
+  Marathas
+  Martin, Captain
+  Martin de la Case, Ensign
+  Matel, M.
+  Midnapur
+  Militarism
+  Minchin, Captain George, Captain-Commandant of Calcutta
+  Mir Abdulla
+  Miran, son of Mir Jafar
+  Mir Daood, brother of Mir Jafar, and Faujdar of Rajmehal
+  Mir Jafar Ali Khan, made Nawab by the English after Plassey
+  Mir Kasim, or Kasim Ali Khan, son-in-law and successor of Mir Jafar
+    army of
+  Mir Madan
+  Mogul
+    _See_ King
+  Mohan Lal, favourite of the Nawab
+  Monsoon
+  Moor hostages
+    nobles
+  Moorish colours
+    forts
+    soldiers
+    treachery
+  Moors
+  Muhammadhans
+  Murshidabad
+    _See_ Muxadabad
+    or Cossimbazar River
+  Murshid Kuli Khan
+  Mustapha Ali Khan
+  Mutinies
+  Muxadabad
+    _See_ Murshidabad
+
+  _Naib_
+  Nand Kumar, Faujdar of Hugli
+  Native indifference to the quarrels of the Europeans
+  _Nautch_
+  Naval officer, an English
+  Nawab, the
+    _See_ Siraj-ud-daula
+    Hindu advisers and servants of
+  Nawajis Muhammad Khan, uncle of Siraj-ud-daula
+  Nawajis Muhammad Khan's widow
+  Nazir Dalal, the
+  Negroes
+  Nepaulese
+  Neutrality in the Ganges
+  News from Bengal
+  Nicolas, M.F.
+  Nover, Sergeant
+  Nullah
+
+  Omichand
+  Onofre, Reverend Father
+  Oppoor
+  Orissa
+  Orme Papers or MSS.
+  Orme, Robert, historian
+  Oudh
+    Nawab of. _See_ Suja-ud-daula
+
+  Pagodas or Hindu Temples
+  Paris
+  _Parwana_
+  Pathans
+  Patna
+    Naib of
+    River
+  _Pattamar_
+  Pavilion, Bastion du
+  Pearkes, Mr. Paul Richard
+  Pedro
+  _Peons_
+  Perry, Lieut.-Colonel Ottley
+  Phulbari
+  Picques, M.
+  Pilots, French
+  Plassey, battle of
+  Pocock, Admiral (Sir) George
+  Pondicherry
+    Superior Council of
+  Porte Royale, the
+  Portuguese half-castes
+  Predestination
+  Priest, Hindu
+  Probate Records (Mayor's Court, Calcutta)
+  Prussian Gardens
+  Purneah
+    Nawab of. _See_ Saukat Jang
+
+  Raj Durlabh Ram, Raja
+  Rains, the
+  Raj Balav, Raja
+  Rajas, Hindu
+  Rajmehal
+    Faujdar of.
+    _See_ Mir Daood
+  Ramnarain, Raja, Naib or Deputy Governor of Patua
+  Ram Nath, Raja of Dinajpur
+  Ranjit Rai, agent of the Seths
+  Raymond, M.
+  Renault, Pierre, Director of Chandernagore (Malleson calls him
+    Renault de St. Germain, but he never signs himself as such)
+  Renault, de St. Germain, eldest son of Pierre Renault
+  Renault, Lieut., second son of Pierre Renault
+  Renault, de la Fuye, M.
+  Renaultions, the
+  Rennell, Major James, geographer
+  _Rezai_,
+  Royal Music, the
+  Rungpore
+    Raja of. _See_ Kasizn All Khan
+
+  Sahibgunj, Raja of
+  Saidabad.
+  _Saint Contest_, the
+  St. Didier, M.
+  St. Louis, Order of
+    Parish Church of
+  Salabat Jang
+  _Salisbury_, H.M.S.
+  Sarfaraz Khan, Nawab of Bengal, defeated and killed in battle
+    by Aliverdi Khan in 1742
+  Saukat Jang, Nawab of Purneah and cousin of Siraj-ud-daula
+  Scrafton, Mr. Luke, Author of "Reflections on the Government
+    of Indostan" (London, 1770)
+  Scrafton's "Reflections"
+  Select Committee at Calcutta
+    at Madras
+  Sepoys, 10. _See_ Telingas
+    French
+    Law's opinion of
+  Serampore, Danish Settlement
+  Seth Mahtab Rai, grandson of Jagat Seth
+  Seth Sarup Chand, grandson of Jagat Seth
+  Seths, agent of
+    _See_ Ranjit Rai
+  Seths: the family of Jagat Seth
+  Shah, Alam
+    _See_ Ali Gauhar
+  Shahzada or Crown Prince
+    _See_ Shah Alam
+  Sheikh Faiz Ulla
+  Sinfray, M.
+  Siraj-ud-daula
+    _See_ Nawab
+    cause of his attack on the English
+    his aunt, widow of Nawajia Khan
+    his mother
+      _See_ Amina Begum
+    his younger brother
+      _See_ Fazl-kuli-khan
+  Slippers, a pair of
+  Sooty
+  Soupy, fort of
+  Speke, Captain
+  Spies employed by the English,
+    by the Nawab
+  Suan, battle of
+  Subah
+  Suja-ud-daula, Nawabof Oudh
+  Summer, Mr. William Brightwell
+  Surgeons, French
+  Swedes
+  Swedish guns
+  Swiss
+
+  Tangepur, or Tanjipur,
+  Tanks used for military purposes
+  Tartars
+  Teesta River
+  Telingas or Tellingees
+  Tibet
+    king of,
+  Toby, Captain--of the _Kingfisher_
+  Tooke, Mr. William
+  Topasses
+  Treaty between the English and Mir Jafar
+    between the English and Siraj-ud-daula
+    between the French and Siraj-ud-daula
+  Turkish Crescent, the
+  _Tyger_, H.M.S.
+
+  Ukil Singh
+
+  Vansittart, Governor Henry
+  Vernet, M. George, Lodewjk
+  Villequain, M.
+  Vizir, The
+  Volunteers, English
+    French
+
+  _Wakils_
+  Walcot, Clive Correspondence at
+  Waller, Mr. Samuel
+  War, Declaration of, between England and France
+  Water Gate, the
+  Watson, Admiral Charles
+  Watts, Mrs. Amelia
+    the Worshipful Mr. William
+
+  Zemindar, collector of revenue
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Three Frenchmen in Bengal, by S.C. Hill
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THREE FRENCHMEN IN BENGAL ***
+
+***** This file should be named 10946.txt or 10946.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/9/4/10946/
+
+Produced by Wilelmina Malliere and PG Distributed Proofreaders
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+https://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+https://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at https://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit https://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
+donations.  To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+Each eBook is in a subdirectory of the same number as the eBook's
+eBook number, often in several formats including plain vanilla ASCII,
+compressed (zipped), HTML and others.
+
+Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks replace the old file and take over
+the old filename and etext number.  The replaced older file is renamed.
+VERSIONS based on separate sources are treated as new eBooks receiving
+new filenames and etext numbers.
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     https://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+
+EBooks posted prior to November 2003, with eBook numbers BELOW #10000,
+are filed in directories based on their release date.  If you want to
+download any of these eBooks directly, rather than using the regular
+search system you may utilize the following addresses and just
+download by the etext year.
+
+     https://www.gutenberg.org/etext06
+
+    (Or /etext 05, 04, 03, 02, 01, 00, 99,
+     98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 92, 91 or 90)
+
+EBooks posted since November 2003, with etext numbers OVER #10000, are
+filed in a different way.  The year of a release date is no longer part
+of the directory path.  The path is based on the etext number (which is
+identical to the filename).  The path to the file is made up of single
+digits corresponding to all but the last digit in the filename.  For
+example an eBook of filename 10234 would be found at:
+
+     https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/2/3/10234
+
+or filename 24689 would be found at:
+     https://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/6/8/24689
+
+An alternative method of locating eBooks:
+     https://www.gutenberg.org/GUTINDEX.ALL
+
+