were not caused by hostilities between the English and French nations. In Europe the two countries were for the time at peace. In India the English and French trading companies became involved in wars which arose between native Indian rivals for power in the Dekhan and in the Carnatic. The conflict between the English and French was immediately brought about by the ambition of Dupleix; but apart from this, the position of the two companies in relation to the native states was such that sooner or later the political ascendancy of one or the other must have become essential to their prosperity, if not to their continued existence. Dupleix was the first to recognise this important fact, as he had been the first to discern the expediency of training the natives of India as soldiers, and employing them under European direction. He was not a soldier by profession, and he had not, like Clive, the military instinct, which in Clive's case made up for the want of a military training. But he was a man of insatiable ambition and of considerable intellectual capacity, and in his dealings with the natives of India he received valuable assistance from his wife, a French Creole, who knew the native languages and the native character. Indeed, if it had not been for Clive, it is more than probable that Dupleix would have succeeded in obtaining for the French the position in India to which the English eventually attained. The struggle arose in connection with

rival claims to the posts of Subahdár, or Viceroy, of the Dekhan, and of Nawab of the Carnatic. The holders of the first of these posts, though nominally subordinate to the Emperor of Delhi, had long been practically independent. The Subahdárs of the Dekhan were the real overlords of a great part of the South of India, receiving tribute from the Nawábs of the Carnatic. On the death in 1748 of Nizám ul Mulk, the last really powerful Subahdár of the Dekhan, at the great age of 104, the succession of his son, Nazir Jung, was disputed by Mirzapha Jung, one of his grandsons. Shortly afterwards a similar dispute arose regarding the Nawabship of the Carnatic, at that time held by Anwárud dín Khán, whose claim was contested by Chandá Sahib, son-inlaw of the former Nawáb. Mirzapha Jung, having determined to enlist the aid of the Mahrattas in his cause, repaired to Sattára for the purpose of obtaining the support of Balaji Ráo, the Mahratta chief. There he met Chanda Sahib, who was an extremely intelligent man, and greatly doubted the wisdom of calling in the Mahrattas. He persuaded Mirzapha Jung to enter into an alliance with the French, as being far safer than an alliance with the Mahrattas. The result was that Chandá Sahib, who at the time. was a prisoner in the hands of the Mahrattas, was ransomed by Dupleix, and he and Mirzapha Jung joining forces, attacked the Nawáb, Anwárud dín Khán, at Ambúr on the 3d August 1749, and won

a decisive victory. In this battle Dupleix furnished a contingent of 400 Frenchmen under the command of M. d'Auteuil. The latter had also 36,000 native troops under his command. Anwárud dín Khán was killed in the fight. One of his sons, Máphuz Khán, was taken prisoner, and the other, Muhammad Ali, better known afterwards as the Nawab Wallajah, had to fly for his life. D'Auteuil having been wounded early in the battle, the command on the French side devolved upon M. de Bussy, who was serving as second in command, and was the ablest of the French generals. The army of Anwarud dín Khán speedily dispersed, and Mirzapha Jung, repairing immediately to Arcot, proclaimed himself Subahdár of the Dekhan and Chanda Sahib Nawab of the Carnatic.

These two personages next proceeded to Pondicherry, where Mirzapha Jung conferred upon Dupleix the sovereignty of eighty-one villages adjoining the French territory. It had been arranged that Mirzapha Jung and Chanda Sahib should then move upon Trichinopoly, where Muhammad Ali had taken refuge, and had collected troops for its defence, but this movement was delayed owing to various causes, of which the principal was the presence of Admiral Boscawen's fleet off the coast. Another was the attraction of the wealth of Tanjore, which induced Chandá Sahib to delay his advance until reinforcements sent from Madras Madras enabled

Trichinopoly to hold out. Shortly after this Názir Jung was murdered by one of his tributaries, and Mirzapha Jung met his death in a revolt of some of his Pathán soldiers when on his way to Hyderabad with an escort of French troops under De Bussy.

CHAPTER III

CLIVE'S MARCH TO ARCOT-OCCUPIES THE FORT

ANOTHER NARROW ESCAPE-GALLANT DEFENCE

-EFFECT OF HIS DEFENCE UPON THE NATIVE

MIND-BATTLE OF KAVERIPÁK.

THE events briefly referred to in the preceding chapter occupied a period of two years; for it was not until the 26th August 1751, the battle of Ambur having been fought on the 3d August 1749, that Clive found himself in a position to march upon Arcot. The force placed at his disposal numbered only 500 men, of whom only 200 were English. He had with him three field pieces of artillery. Of the English officers, eight in number, six had never been in action, and four were young men of the mercantile service, who, fired by the example of Clive, had volunteered to join the expedition. The miniature army started from Madras, from which place Arcot is seventy miles distant. The distance was traversed in less than six days, including a short halt at Conjeveram. Clive, hearing at that place that the garrison in the fort of Arcot was 1100 strong,