"I have nearly brought down the story to the present time," Mr.
Johnson said. "One event has taken place, however, which was of
importance. Muzaffar Jung set out for Hyderabad, accompanied by a
French contingent under Bussy. On the way, the chiefs who had
conspired against Nazir Jung mutinied against his successor. Muzaffar
charged them with his cavalry. Two of the three chief conspirators
were killed and, while pursuing the third, Muzaffar was himself
killed.
"Bussy at once released from confinement a son of Nazir Jung,
proclaimed him Subadar of the Deccan, escorted him to Hyderabad, and
received from him the cession of considerable fresh grants of
territory to the French. The latter were now everywhere triumphant,
and Trichinopoli and Tanjore were, with the three towns held by the
English, the sole places which resisted their authority. Muhammud Ali,
deeming further resistance hopeless, had already opened negotiations
with Dupleix for the surrender of Trichinopoli. Dupleix agreed to his
conditions; but when Muhammud Ali found that Count Bussy, with the
flower of the French force, had been despatched to Hyderabad, he
gained time by raising fresh demands, which would require the
ratification of the subadar.
"Luckily for us Mr. Floyer had been recalled, and his place taken by
Mr. Saunders; who is, everyone says, a man of common sense and
determination. Muhammud Ali urged upon him the necessity for the
English to make common cause with him against the enemy, for if
Trichinopoli fell, it would be absolutely impossible for the English
to resist the French and their allies. Early this year, then, Mr.
Saunders assured him that he should be assisted with all our strength,
and Muhammud Ali thereupon broke off the negotiations with the French.
"Most unfortunately for us, Major Lawrence had gone home to England on
sick leave. Captain Gingen, who now commands our troops, is a wretched
substitute for him. Captain Cope is no better.
"Early this year Mr. Saunders sent Cope, with two hundred and eighty
English and three hundred Sepoys, to Trichinopoli. Benefiting by the
delay which was caused before Dupleix, owing to the absence of his
best troops at Hyderabad, could collect an army, Cope laid siege to
Madura, but was defeated and had to abandon his guns. Three thousand
of Muhammud Ali's native troops thereupon deserted to the enemy.
"The cause of the English now appeared lost. Dupleix planted the white
flags, emblems of the authority of France, in the fields within sight
of Fort Saint David. With immense efforts, Mr. Saunders put into the
field five hundred English troops, a thousand Sepoys, a hundred
Africans, and eight guns; under the command of Captain Gingen, whose
orders were to follow the movements of the army with which D'Auteuil
and Chunda Sahib were marching against Trichinopoli.
"Luckily Chunda Sahib, instead of doing so at once, moved northwards
to confirm his authority in the towns of North and South Arcot, and to
raise additional levies. Great delay was caused by this. On arriving
before the important fortress of Valkonda, Chunda Sahib found before
it the troops of Captain Gingen, who had been reinforced by sixteen
hundred troops from Trichinopoli. The governor of the place, not
knowing which party was the stronger, refused to yield to either; and
for a fortnight the armies lay at a short distance from each other,
near the fortress, with whose governor both continued their
negotiations.
"Gingen then lost patience and attacked the place, but was repulsed,
and the governor at once admitted the French within the fortress. The
next day the main body of the French attacked us, the guns of the
fortress opening fire upon us at the same time. Our men, a great
portion of whom were recruits just joined from England, fell into a
panic and bolted, abandoning their allies and leaving their guns,
ammunition, and stores in the hands of the enemy.
"Luckily, D'Auteuil was laid up with gout. If he had pressed on, there
remained only the two or three hundred men under Cope to offer the
slightest resistance. Trichinopoli must have fallen at once; and we,
without a hundred soldiers here, should have had nothing to do but
pack up and go. As it was, Gingen's beaten men were allowed to retreat
quietly towards Trichinopoli.
"The next day D'Auteuil was better, and followed in pursuit, and
Gingen had the greatest difficulty in reaching Trichinopoli. There, at
the present moment, we lie shut up, a portion of our force only
remaining outside the walls.
"The place itself is strong. The town lies round a lofty rock, on
which stands the fortress, which commands the country for some
distance round. Still, there is no question that the French could take
it, if they attacked it. Our men are utterly dispirited with defeat.
Cope and Gingen have neither enterprise nor talent.
"At present the enemy, who are now under the command of Colonel Law,
who has succeeded D'Auteuil, are contenting themselves with
beleaguering the place. But as we have no troops whatever to send to
its rescue, and Muhammud Ali has no friends elsewhere to whom to look
for aid, it is a matter of absolute certainty that the place must
fall, and then Dupleix will only have to request us to leave, and we
shall have nothing else to do but to go at once. So I should advise
you not to trouble yourself to unpack your luggage, for in all
probability another fortnight will see us on board ship.
"There, that's a tremendous long yarn I've been telling you, and not a
pleasant one. It's a history of defeat, loss of prestige and position.
We have been out fought and out diplomatized, and have made a mess of
everything we put our hand to. I should think you must be tired of it.
I am. I haven't done so much talking, for years."
Charlie and Peters thanked their new acquaintance, warmly, for the
pains he had taken in explaining the various circumstances and events
which had led to the present unfortunate position; and Charlie asked,
as they stood up to say goodnight to Mr. Johnson, "What has become of
Clive, all this time?"
"After the conquest of Devikota," Mr. Johnson said, "the civilians in
the service were called back to their posts; but to show that they
recognized his services, the authorities allowed Clive to attain the
rank of captain, which would have been bestowed upon him had he
remained in the military service, and they appointed him commissary to
the army, a post which would take him away from the office work he
hated. Almost directly afterwards, he got a bad attack of fever, and
was forced to take a cruise in the Bay of Bengal. He came back in time
to go with Gingen's force; but after the defeat of Valkonda he
resigned his office, I suppose in disgust, and returned to Fort Saint
David. In July, some of the Company's ships came in with some
reinforcements. There were no military officers left at Fort Saint
David, so Mr. Pigot, a member of the council, started with a large
convoy of stores, escorted by eighty English and three hundred Sepoys.
Clive volunteered to accompany them. They had to march thirty or forty
miles to Verdachelam, a town close to the frontier of Tanjore, through
which the convoy to Trichinopoli would be able to pass unopposed, but
the intervening country was hostile to the English.
"However, the convoy passed unmolested, and after seeing it safely to
that point, Pigot and Clive set out to return, with an escort of
twelve Sepoys. They were at once attacked, and for miles a heavy fire
was kept up on them. Seven of the escort were killed, the rest reached
Fort Saint David in safety. Pigot's report of Clive's conduct,
strengthened by that previously made by Major Lawrence, induced the
authorities to transfer him permanently to the army. He received a
commission as captain and was sent off, with a small detachment
remaining at Saint David's, to Devikota.
"There he placed himself under Captain Clarke, who commanded; and the
whole body, numbering altogether a hundred English, fifty Sepoys, with
a small field piece, marched up to Trichinopoli, and I hear managed to
make its way in safety. He got in about a month ago."
"And what force have we altogether, here and at Saint David's, in case
Trichinopoli falls?"
"What with the detachment that came with you, and two others which
arrived about ten days back, we have altogether about three hundred
and fifty men. What on earth could these do against all the force of
the nawab, the subadar, and three or four thousand French troops?"
The prospect certainly seemed gloomy in the extreme, and the young
writers retired to their beds, on this, the first night of their
arrival in India, with the conviction that circumstances were in a
desperate position.
The next day they set to work, and at its end agreed that they should
bear the loss of their situations, and their expulsion from the
country, with more than resignation. It was now August, the heat was
terrible, and as they sat in their shirtsleeves at their desks, bathed
in perspiration, at their work of copying invoices, they felt that any
possible change of circumstances would be for the better.
The next day, and the next, still further confirmed these ideas. The
nights were nearly as hot as the days. Tormented by mosquitoes, they
tossed restlessly in their beds for hours, dozing off towards morning
and awaking unrefreshed and worn out. When released from work at the
end of the third day, Charlie and Peters strolled down together to the
beach, and bewailed their hard fate.
"There are two ships coming from the south," Charlie said presently.
"I wonder whether they're from England, or Fort Saint David?"
"Which do you hope they will be?" Peters said.
"I hope they're from Saint David's," Charlie answered. "Even if they
made a quick voyage, they couldn't have left England many weeks after
us; and although I should be glad to get news from home, I am still
more anxious, just at present, for news from Saint David's. Between
ourselves, I long to hear of the fall of Trichinopoli. Everyone says
it is certain to take place before long, and the sooner it does, the
sooner we shall be out of this frightful place."
After dinner they again went down to the beach, and were joined by
Doctor Rae, who chatted with them as to the ships, which were now just
anchoring. These had already signalled that they were from Saint
David's, and that they had on board Mr. Saunders, the governor, and a
detachment of troops. Already the soldiers from the Lizzie Anderson,
aided by a number of natives, were at work pitching tents in the fort
for the reception of the newcomers, and conjecture was busy on shore,
among the civilians, as to the object of bringing troops from Saint
David's to Madras, that is, directly away from the scene of action.
"It is one of two things," Doctor Rae said: "Either Trichinopoli has
surrendered and they are evacuating Fort Saint David, or they have
news that the nawab is marching to attack us here. I should think it
to be the latter, for Fort Saint David is a great deal stronger than
this place, though the French did strengthen it during their stay
here. If, then, the authorities have determined to abandon one of the
two towns, and to concentrate all their force for the defence of the
other, I should have thought they would have held on to Saint David's.
"There is a boat being lowered from one of the ships, so we shall soon
have news."
A signal from the ship announced that the governor was about to land,
and the principal persons at the factory assembled on the beach to
receive him. Doctor Rae and the two young writers stood, a short
distance from the party. As the boat was beached, Mr. Saunders sprang
out and, surrounded by those assembled to meet him, walked at once
towards the factory. An officer got out from the boat and
superintended the debarkation of the baggage, which a number of
coolies at once placed on their heads and carried away.
The officer was following them, when his eye fell upon Doctor Rae.
"Ah! Doctor," he said, "how are you? When did you get out again from
England?"
"Only three or four days since, Captain Clive. I did not recognize
you, at first. I am glad to see you again."
"Yes, I have cast my slough," Captain Clive said, laughing, "and have,
thank God, exchanged my pen for a sword, for good."
"You were able to fight, though, as a civilian," Doctor Rae said,
laughing.
"Yes, we had some tough fighting behind the ramparts of Saint David's,
and in the trenches before Pondicherry; but we shall have sharper
work, still before us, or I am mistaken."
"What! Are they going to attack us here?" Doctor Rae exclaimed.
"Oh no, just the other way," Captain Clive said. "We are going to
carry the war into their quarters. It is a secret yet, and must not go
farther."
And he included the two writers in his look.
"These are two fresh comers, Captain Clive. They came out in the same
ship with me. This is Mr. Marryat, this Mr. Peters. They are both
brave young gentlemen, and had an opportunity of proving it on the way
out, for we were twice engaged; the first time with privateers; the
second, a very sharp affair, with pirates. That ship lying off there
is a pirate we captured."
"Aha!" Captain Clive said, looking keenly at the lads. "Well, young
gentlemen, and how do you like what you have seen of your life here?"
"We hate it, sir," Charlie said. "We would, both of us, a thousand
times rather enlist under you as private soldiers. Oh, sir, if there
is any expedition going to take place, do you think there is a chance
of our being allowed to go as volunteers?"
"I will see about it," Captain Clive said, smiling. "Trade must be
dull enough here, at present, and we want every hand that can hold a
sword or a musket in the field.
"You are sure you can recommend them?" he said, turning to Doctor Rae
with a smile.
"Most warmly," the doctor said. "They both showed great coolness and
courage, in the affairs I spoke of. Have you any surgeons with you,
Captain Clive? If not, I hope that I shall go with any expedition that
will take place. The doctor here is just recovering from an attack of
fever and will not be fit, for weeks, for the fatigues of active
service.
"May I ask who is to command the expedition?"
"I am," Clive said quietly. "You may well look surprised that an
officer who has but just joined should have been selected; but in
fact, there is no one else. Cope and Gingen are both at Trichinopoli,
and even if they were not--" he paused, and a shrug of the shoulders
expressed his meaning clearly. "Mr. Saunders is good enough to feel
some confidence in my capacity, and I trust that I shall not
disappoint him.
"We are going--but this, mind, is a profound secret till the day we
march--to attack Arcot. It is the only possible way of relieving
Trichinopoli."
"To attack Arcot?" Doctor Rae said, astonished. "That does indeed
appear a desperate enterprise, with such a small body as you have at
your command, and these, entirely new recruits. But I recognize the
importance of the enterprise. If you should succeed, it will draw off
Chunda Sahib from Trichinopoli. It's a grand idea, Captain Clive, a
grand idea, though I own it seems to me a desperate one."
"In desperate times we must take desperate measures, Doctor," Captain
Clive said. "Now I must be going on after the governor. I shall see
you tomorrow.
"I will not forget you, young gentlemen."
So saying, he proceeded to the factory.
It was afterwards known that the proposal, to effect a diversion by an
expedition against Arcot, was the proposal of Clive himself. Upon
arriving at Trichinopoli, he had at once seen that all was lost,
there. The soldiers were utterly dispirited and demoralized. They had
lost all confidence in themselves and their officers, who had also
lost confidence in themselves. At Trichinopoli nothing was to be done,
and it must be either starved out, or fall an easy prey should the
enemy advance to the assault. Clive had, then, after a few days' stay,
made his way out from the town, and proceeded to Fort Saint David,
where he had laid before the governor the proposal, which he believed
to be the only possible measure which could save the English in India.
The responsibility thus set before Mr. Saunders was a grave one. Upon
the one hand, he was asked to detach half of the already inadequate
garrisons of Fort Saint David and Madras upon an enterprise which, if
unsuccessful, must be followed by the loss of the British possessions,
of which he was governor. He would have to take this great risk, not
upon the advice of a tried veteran like Lawrence, but on that of a
young man, only a month or two back a civilian; and it was to this
young man, untried in command, that the leadership of this desperate
enterprise must be intrusted.
Upon the other hand, if he refused to take this responsibility the
fall of Trichinopoli, followed by the loss of the three English ports,
was certain. But for this no blame or responsibility could rest upon
him. Many men would have chosen the second alternative; but Mr.
Saunders had, since Clive's return, seen a good deal of him, and had
been impressed with a strong sense of his capacity, energy, and good
sense. Mr. Pigot, who had seen Clive under the most trying
circumstances, was also his warm supporter; and Mr. Saunders at last
determined to adopt Clive's plan, and to stake the fortunes of the
English in India on this desperate venture.
Accordingly, leaving a hundred men only at Fort Saint David, he
decided to carry the remainder to Madras; and that Clive, leaving only
fifty behind as a garrison there, should, with the whole available
force, march upon Arcot.
The next morning as Charlie and Peters were at breakfast, a native
entered with a letter from the chief factor, to the effect that their
services in the office would be dispensed with, and that they were, in
accordance with their request, to report themselves to Captain Clive
as volunteers. No words can express the joy of the two lads, at
receiving the intelligence, and they created so much noise, in the
exuberance of their delight, that Mr. Johnson came in from the next
room to see what was the matter.
"Ah!" he said, when he heard the cause of the uproar; "when I first
came out here, I should have done the same, and should have regarded
the certainty of being knocked on the head as cheerfully as you do.
Eight years out here takes the enthusiasm out of a man, and I shall
wait quietly to see whether we are to be transferred to Calcutta, or
shipped back to England."
A quarter of an hour later, Charlie and Peters joined Captain Clive in
the camp.
"Ah!" he said, "My young friends, I'm glad to see you. There is plenty
for you to do, at once. We shall march tomorrow, and all preparations
have to be made. You will both have the rank of ensign, while you
serve with me. I have only six other officers, two of whom are
civilians who, like yourselves, volunteered at Saint David's. They are
of four or five year's standing and, as they speak the language, they
will serve with the Sepoys under one of my military officers. Another
officer, who is also an ensign, will take the command of the three
guns. The Europeans are divided into two companies. One of you will be
attached to each. The remaining officer commands both."
During the day the lads had not a moment to themselves, and were
occupied until late at night in superintending the packing of stores
and tents; and the following morning, the 26th of August, 1751, the
force marched from Madras. It consisted of two hundred of the
Company's English troops, three hundred Sepoys, and three small guns.
They were led, as has been said, by eight European officers, of whom
only Clive and another had ever heard a shot fired in action, four of
the eight being young men in the civil service, who had volunteered.
Charlie was glad to find that among the company to which he was
appointed was the detachment which had come out with him on board
ship; and the moment these heard that he was to accompany them, as
their officer, Tim Kelly pressed forward and begged that he might be
allowed to act as Charlie's servant, a request which the lad readily
complied with.
The march the first day was eighteen miles, a distance which, in such
a climate, was sufficient to try to the utmost the powers of the young
recruits. The tents were soon erected, each officer having two or
three native servants, that number being indispensable in India.
Charlie and Peters had one tent between them, which was shared by two
other officers, as the column had moved in the lightest order possible
in India.
"Sure, Mr. Marryat," Tim Kelly said to him confidentially, "that black
hathen of a cook is going to pison ye. I have been watching him, and
there he is putting all sorts of outlandish things into the mate. He's
been pounding them up on stones, for all the world like an apothecary,
and even if he manes no mischief, the food isn't fit to set before a
dog, let alone a Christian and a gintleman like yourself. If you give
the word, sir, I knock him over with the butt end of my musket, and do
the cooking for you, meself."
"I'm afraid the other officers wouldn't agree to that, Tim," Charlie
said, laughing. "The food isn't so bad as it looks, and I don't think
an apprenticeship among the Irish bogs is likely to have turned you
out a first rate cook, Tim; except, of course, for potatoes."
"Sure, now, yer honor, I can fry a rasher of bacon with any man."
"Perhaps you might do that, Tim, but as we've no bacon here, that
won't help us. No, we must put up with the cook, and I don't think any
of us will be the worse for the dinner."
On the morning of the 29th Clive reached Conjeveram, a town of some
size, forty-two miles from Madras. Here Clive gained the first
trustworthy intelligence as to Arcot. He found the garrison
outnumbered his own force by two to one; and that, although the
defences were not in a position to resist an attack by heavy guns,
they were capable of being defended against any force not so provided.
Clive at once despatched a messenger to Madras, begging that two
eighteen-pounders might be sent after him; and then, without awaiting
their coming he marched forward against Arcot.