With Clive in India; Or, The Beginnings of an Empire

by G. A. Henty

  Chapter 6: The Arrival Of Clive.

  "I have nearly brought down the story to the present time," Mr.Johnson said. "One event has taken place, however, which was ofimportance. Muzaffar Jung set out for Hyderabad, accompanied by aFrench contingent under Bussy. On the way, the chiefs who hadconspired against Nazir Jung mutinied against his successor. Muzaffarcharged them with his cavalry. Two of the three chief conspiratorswere killed and, while pursuing the third, Muzaffar was himselfkilled.

  "Bussy at once released from confinement a son of Nazir Jung,proclaimed him Subadar of the Deccan, escorted him to Hyderabad, andreceived from him the cession of considerable fresh grants ofterritory to the French. The latter were now everywhere triumphant,and Trichinopoli and Tanjore were, with the three towns held by theEnglish, the sole places which resisted their authority. Muhammud Ali,deeming further resistance hopeless, had already opened negotiationswith Dupleix for the surrender of Trichinopoli. Dupleix agreed to hisconditions; but when Muhammud Ali found that Count Bussy, with theflower of the French force, had been despatched to Hyderabad, hegained time by raising fresh demands, which would require theratification of the subadar.

  "Luckily for us Mr. Floyer had been recalled, and his place taken byMr. Saunders; who is, everyone says, a man of common sense anddetermination. Muhammud Ali urged upon him the necessity for theEnglish to make common cause with him against the enemy, for ifTrichinopoli fell, it would be absolutely impossible for the Englishto 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 onsick leave. Captain Gingen, who now commands our troops, is a wretchedsubstitute for him. Captain Cope is no better.

  "Early this year Mr. Saunders sent Cope, with two hundred and eightyEnglish and three hundred Sepoys, to Trichinopoli. Benefiting by thedelay which was caused before Dupleix, owing to the absence of hisbest troops at Hyderabad, could collect an army, Cope laid siege toMadura, but was defeated and had to abandon his guns. Three thousandof Muhammud Ali's native troops thereupon deserted to the enemy.

  "The cause of the English now appeared lost. Dupleix planted the whiteflags, emblems of the authority of France, in the fields within sightof Fort Saint David. With immense efforts, Mr. Saunders put into thefield five hundred English troops, a thousand Sepoys, a hundredAfricans, and eight guns; under the command of Captain Gingen, whoseorders were to follow the movements of the army with which D'Auteuiland Chunda Sahib were marching against Trichinopoli.

  "Luckily Chunda Sahib, instead of doing so at once, moved northwardsto confirm his authority in the towns of North and South Arcot, and toraise additional levies. Great delay was caused by this. On arrivingbefore the important fortress of Valkonda, Chunda Sahib found beforeit the troops of Captain Gingen, who had been reinforced by sixteenhundred troops from Trichinopoli. The governor of the place, notknowing which party was the stronger, refused to yield to either; andfor a fortnight the armies lay at a short distance from each other,near the fortress, with whose governor both continued theirnegotiations.

  "Gingen then lost patience and attacked the place, but was repulsed,and the governor at once admitted the French within the fortress. Thenext day the main body of the French attacked us, the guns of thefortress opening fire upon us at the same time. Our men, a greatportion of whom were recruits just joined from England, fell into apanic 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, thereremained only the two or three hundred men under Cope to offer theslightest resistance. Trichinopoli must have fallen at once; and we,without a hundred soldiers here, should have had nothing to do butpack up and go. As it was, Gingen's beaten men were allowed to retreatquietly towards Trichinopoli.

  "The next day D'Auteuil was better, and followed in pursuit, andGingen had the greatest difficulty in reaching Trichinopoli. There, atthe present moment, we lie shut up, a portion of our force onlyremaining outside the walls.

  "The place itself is strong. The town lies round a lofty rock, onwhich stands the fortress, which commands the country for somedistance round. Still, there is no question that the French could takeit, 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 withbeleaguering the place. But as we have no troops whatever to send toits rescue, and Muhammud Ali has no friends elsewhere to whom to lookfor aid, it is a matter of absolute certainty that the place mustfall, and then Dupleix will only have to request us to leave, and weshall have nothing else to do but to go at once. So I should adviseyou not to trouble yourself to unpack your luggage, for in allprobability another fortnight will see us on board ship.

  "There, that's a tremendous long yarn I've been telling you, and not apleasant 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 ofeverything 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 thepains he had taken in explaining the various circumstances and eventswhich had led to the present unfortunate position; and Charlie asked,as they stood up to say goodnight to Mr. Johnson, "What has become ofClive, all this time?"

  "After the conquest of Devikota," Mr. Johnson said, "the civilians inthe service were called back to their posts; but to show that theyrecognized his services, the authorities allowed Clive to attain therank of captain, which would have been bestowed upon him had heremained in the military service, and they appointed him commissary tothe army, a post which would take him away from the office work hehated. Almost directly afterwards, he got a bad attack of fever, andwas forced to take a cruise in the Bay of Bengal. He came back in timeto go with Gingen's force; but after the defeat of Valkonda heresigned his office, I suppose in disgust, and returned to Fort SaintDavid. In July, some of the Company's ships came in with somereinforcements. There were no military officers left at Fort SaintDavid, so Mr. Pigot, a member of the council, started with a largeconvoy of stores, escorted by eighty English and three hundred Sepoys.Clive volunteered to accompany them. They had to march thirty or fortymiles to Verdachelam, a town close to the frontier of Tanjore, throughwhich the convoy to Trichinopoli would be able to pass unopposed, butthe intervening country was hostile to the English.

  "However, the convoy passed unmolested, and after seeing it safely tothat point, Pigot and Clive set out to return, with an escort oftwelve Sepoys. They were at once attacked, and for miles a heavy firewas kept up on them. Seven of the escort were killed, the rest reachedFort Saint David in safety. Pigot's report of Clive's conduct,strengthened by that previously made by Major Lawrence, induced theauthorities to transfer him permanently to the army. He received acommission as captain and was sent off, with a small detachmentremaining at Saint David's, to Devikota.

  "There he placed himself under Captain Clarke, who commanded; and thewhole body, numbering altogether a hundred English, fifty Sepoys, witha small field piece, marched up to Trichinopoli, and I hear managed tomake its way in safety. He got in about a month ago."

  "And what force have we altogether, here and at Saint David's, in caseTrichinopoli falls?"

  "What with the detachment that came with you, and two others whicharrived about ten days back, we have altogether about three hundredand fifty men. What on earth could these do against all the force ofthe nawab, the subadar, and three or four thousand French troops?"

  The prospect certainly seemed gloomy in the extreme, and the youngwriters retired to their beds, on this, the first night of theirarrival in India, with the conviction that circumstances were in adesperate po
sition.

  The next day they set to work, and at its end agreed that they shouldbear the loss of their situations, and their expulsion from thecountry, with more than resignation. It was now August, the heat wasterrible, and as they sat in their shirtsleeves at their desks, bathedin perspiration, at their work of copying invoices, they felt that anypossible change of circumstances would be for the better.

  The next day, and the next, still further confirmed these ideas. Thenights were nearly as hot as the days. Tormented by mosquitoes, theytossed restlessly in their beds for hours, dozing off towards morningand awaking unrefreshed and worn out. When released from work at theend of the third day, Charlie and Peters strolled down together to thebeach, 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 theymade a quick voyage, they couldn't have left England many weeks afterus; and although I should be glad to get news from home, I am stillmore anxious, just at present, for news from Saint David's. Betweenourselves, I long to hear of the fall of Trichinopoli. Everyone saysit is certain to take place before long, and the sooner it does, thesooner we shall be out of this frightful place."

  After dinner they again went down to the beach, and were joined byDoctor Rae, who chatted with them as to the ships, which were now justanchoring. These had already signalled that they were from SaintDavid's, and that they had on board Mr. Saunders, the governor, and adetachment of troops. Already the soldiers from the Lizzie Anderson,aided by a number of natives, were at work pitching tents in the fortfor the reception of the newcomers, and conjecture was busy on shore,among the civilians, as to the object of bringing troops from SaintDavid's to Madras, that is, directly away from the scene of action.

  "It is one of two things," Doctor Rae said: "Either Trichinopoli hassurrendered and they are evacuating Fort Saint David, or they havenews that the nawab is marching to attack us here. I should think itto be the latter, for Fort Saint David is a great deal stronger thanthis place, though the French did strengthen it during their stayhere. If, then, the authorities have determined to abandon one of thetwo towns, and to concentrate all their force for the defence of theother, 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 soonhave 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 toreceive him. Doctor Rae and the two young writers stood, a shortdistance from the party. As the boat was beached, Mr. Saunders sprangout and, surrounded by those assembled to meet him, walked at oncetowards the factory. An officer got out from the boat andsuperintended the debarkation of the baggage, which a number ofcoolies 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 fromEngland?"

  "Only three or four days since, Captain Clive. I did not recognizeyou, 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 sharperwork, 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 tocarry the war into their quarters. It is a secret yet, and must not gofarther."

  And he included the two writers in his look.

  "These are two fresh comers, Captain Clive. They came out in the sameship with me. This is Mr. Marryat, this Mr. Peters. They are bothbrave young gentlemen, and had an opportunity of proving it on the wayout, for we were twice engaged; the first time with privateers; thesecond, a very sharp affair, with pirates. That ship lying off thereis a pirate we captured."

  "Aha!" Captain Clive said, looking keenly at the lads. "Well, younggentlemen, 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 thousandtimes rather enlist under you as private soldiers. Oh, sir, if thereis any expedition going to take place, do you think there is a chanceof our being allowed to go as volunteers?"

  "I will see about it," Captain Clive said, smiling. "Trade must bedull enough here, at present, and we want every hand that can hold asword or a musket in the field.

  "You are sure you can recommend them?" he said, turning to Doctor Raewith a smile.

  "Most warmly," the doctor said. "They both showed great coolness andcourage, 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 thatwill take place. The doctor here is just recovering from an attack offever and will not be fit, for weeks, for the fatigues of activeservice.

  "May I ask who is to command the expedition?"

  "I am," Clive said quietly. "You may well look surprised that anofficer who has but just joined should have been selected; but infact, 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 shouldersexpressed his meaning clearly. "Mr. Saunders is good enough to feelsome confidence in my capacity, and I trust that I shall notdisappoint him.

  "We are going--but this, mind, is a profound secret till the day wemarch--to attack Arcot. It is the only possible way of relievingTrichinopoli."

  "To attack Arcot?" Doctor Rae said, astonished. "That does indeedappear a desperate enterprise, with such a small body as you have atyour command, and these, entirely new recruits. But I recognize theimportance of the enterprise. If you should succeed, it will draw offChunda Sahib from Trichinopoli. It's a grand idea, Captain Clive, agrand idea, though I own it seems to me a desperate one."

  "In desperate times we must take desperate measures, Doctor," CaptainClive said. "Now I must be going on after the governor. I shall seeyou 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 anexpedition against Arcot, was the proposal of Clive himself. Uponarriving at Trichinopoli, he had at once seen that all was lost,there. The soldiers were utterly dispirited and demoralized. They hadlost all confidence in themselves and their officers, who had alsolost confidence in themselves. At Trichinopoli nothing was to be done,and it must be either starved out, or fall an easy prey should theenemy 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 believedto be the only possible measure which could save the English in India.

  The responsibility thus set before Mr. Saunders was a grave one. Uponthe one hand, he was asked to detach half of the already inadequategarrisons of Fort Saint David and Madras upon an enterprise which, ifunsuccessful, must be followed by the loss of the British possessions,of which he was governor. He would have to take this great risk, notupon the advice of a tried veteran like Lawrence, but on that of ayoung man, only a month or two back a civilian; and it was to thisyoung man, untried in command, that the leadership of this desperateenterprise must be intrusted.

  Upon the other hand, if he refused to take this responsibility thefall of Trichinopoli, followed by the loss of the three English ports,was certain. But for this no blame or responsibility could rest uponhim. Many men would have chosen the second alternative; but Mr.Saunders had, since Clive's return, seen a good deal of him, and hadbeen impressed with a strong sense of his capacity, energy, and goodsense. Mr. Pig
ot, who had seen Clive under the most tryingcircumstances, was also his warm supporter; and Mr. Saunders at lastdetermined to adopt Clive's plan, and to stake the fortunes of theEnglish in India on this desperate venture.

  Accordingly, leaving a hundred men only at Fort Saint David, hedecided to carry the remainder to Madras; and that Clive, leaving onlyfifty behind as a garrison there, should, with the whole availableforce, march upon Arcot.

  The next morning as Charlie and Peters were at breakfast, a nativeentered with a letter from the chief factor, to the effect that theirservices in the office would be dispensed with, and that they were, inaccordance with their request, to report themselves to Captain Cliveas volunteers. No words can express the joy of the two lads, atreceiving the intelligence, and they created so much noise, in theexuberance of their delight, that Mr. Johnson came in from the nextroom to see what was the matter.

  "Ah!" he said, when he heard the cause of the uproar; "when I firstcame out here, I should have done the same, and should have regardedthe 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 shallwait quietly to see whether we are to be transferred to Calcutta, orshipped back to England."

  A quarter of an hour later, Charlie and Peters joined Captain Clive inthe camp.

  "Ah!" he said, "My young friends, I'm glad to see you. There is plentyfor you to do, at once. We shall march tomorrow, and all preparationshave to be made. You will both have the rank of ensign, while youserve with me. I have only six other officers, two of whom arecivilians who, like yourselves, volunteered at Saint David's. They areof four or five year's standing and, as they speak the language, theywill serve with the Sepoys under one of my military officers. Anotherofficer, who is also an ensign, will take the command of the threeguns. The Europeans are divided into two companies. One of you will beattached to each. The remaining officer commands both."

  During the day the lads had not a moment to themselves, and wereoccupied until late at night in superintending the packing of storesand tents; and the following morning, the 26th of August, 1751, theforce marched from Madras. It consisted of two hundred of theCompany's English troops, three hundred Sepoys, and three small guns.They were led, as has been said, by eight European officers, of whomonly Clive and another had ever heard a shot fired in action, four ofthe eight being young men in the civil service, who had volunteered.

  Charlie was glad to find that among the company to which he wasappointed was the detachment which had come out with him on boardship; and the moment these heard that he was to accompany them, astheir officer, Tim Kelly pressed forward and begged that he might beallowed to act as Charlie's servant, a request which the lad readilycomplied with.

  The march the first day was eighteen miles, a distance which, in sucha climate, was sufficient to try to the utmost the powers of the youngrecruits. The tents were soon erected, each officer having two orthree native servants, that number being indispensable in India.Charlie and Peters had one tent between them, which was shared by twoother officers, as the column had moved in the lightest order possiblein India.

  "Sure, Mr. Marryat," Tim Kelly said to him confidentially, "that blackhathen of a cook is going to pison ye. I have been watching him, andthere he is putting all sorts of outlandish things into the mate. He'sbeen 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 adog, let alone a Christian and a gintleman like yourself. If you givethe word, sir, I knock him over with the butt end of my musket, and dothe cooking for you, meself."

  "I'm afraid the other officers wouldn't agree to that, Tim," Charliesaid, laughing. "The food isn't so bad as it looks, and I don't thinkan apprenticeship among the Irish bogs is likely to have turned youout 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, thatwon't help us. No, we must put up with the cook, and I don't think anyof us will be the worse for the dinner."

  On the morning of the 29th Clive reached Conjeveram, a town of somesize, forty-two miles from Madras. Here Clive gained the firsttrustworthy intelligence as to Arcot. He found the garrisonoutnumbered his own force by two to one; and that, although thedefences 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 twoeighteen-pounders might be sent after him; and then, without awaitingtheir coming he marched forward against Arcot.