"And what of the Mogul Emperor?" asked Owen, as the Major stopped for a moment. "I don't pretend to know who is the ruler now, but I have heard that there is more than one."
"You shall hear. Even the mightiest emperor must die, and this man joined the great majority, and his son Azim was proclaimed emperor in his stead. It was a fine opportunity for the firebrands of the country to draw their swords, and Bahadur Shah seized the throne of Cabul, and followed by a horde of Afghans, Khyberees, and many other fanatical northern tribes, marched down to Agra. There they defeated Azim, slaying him and two of his sons, and capturing another son who was an infant at that time.
"But if these men sought to settle down in their possessions they were mistaken, for an example once set can be followed. A revolt broke out in the South, known as the Deccan, that part of India which lies south of the Nerbudda river. The leader was defeated and slain, and the men who followed him dispersed. But even this signal victory did not secure the throne of[Pg 137] the man who had won the title of Emperor. Others were anxious to throw off his yoke, and we find that he was forced to make terms with the Rajpoots and with the Mahrattas, then as now a plundering race of freebooters. Nor were his troubles ended when these treaties had been made, for the Sikhs came upon him in their thousands, and ravaged his country to Lahore on one side, and as far as Delhi on the other. In the end Bahadur drove them back to the mountains, and there was peace. But he did not enjoy it long. He died in 1712, and left his throne more tottering than ever. For he left us no fewer than four sons who each desired to fill the post of Emperor.
"Zehander triumphed over the other three, and held his post for a time, ruthlessly murdering or torturing all princes upon whom he could lay his hands. Then he was dethroned by his nephew, who had reigned but a few years when the Sikhs came down again and raided him, being helped by the Mahrattas.
"Was there ever such a condition of affairs? The country was for ever being upset, while the peoples of Hindustan could settle to nothing. But if their affairs were disturbed, the constant troubles helped the Company of whom I have been telling you. They took every advantage of the strife to increase their hold, and it may interest you to hear that the humble efforts of another doctor aided them considerably, he having won favour by his skilful treatment of the Mogul. I will not tell you how this strife continued. It will be sufficient if I say emperor followed emperor with some rapidity,[Pg 138] assassination and poison accounting for more than one, till Mohammed Shah occupied the throne, when the power of the Mogul declined very sensibly. Then came a split, the Deccan being seized by revolters, while the Northern Provinces fell to the arms of the Rohillas. Following this the great Nadir Shah invaded India from Persia, with a host amounting to 80,000, and overran the country, sacking Delhi and many another town, and reducing the land to poverty, for plunder was his sole aim. When he retired the Emperor was penniless and utterly cast down, while Mahrattas and Afghans for ever menaced him. Adventurers and rebels cropped up on every side, and by force of arms lopped off some portion of the Mogul's territories.
"If the Emperor had his troubles, so also had the Company, for certain pirates preyed upon them. Then the French East India Company was becoming more and more a thorn in the flesh, and indeed laid siege to and captured Madras. And amongst their captives was that young man Clive, whose name is now so well known in and out of India. There followed many attempts on Fort St. David, situated on the Coromandel coast about one hundred miles from Madras, and only fourteen from Pondicherry, and for a time the fortunes of the Company were desperate. But recruits were gathered and the fort made completely safe. Then the spirit of the English led them to retaliate, and Pondicherry was besieged, but with little success. Finally, the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle settled the enmity of the two nations for a time, and Madras was handed back to us.
"But was it possible for two opposing companies, each seeking for the mastery, to be on friendly terms?"
The Major appealed to his two listeners as he waved his hands deprecatingly. "Just so; national ambitions are apt to cause hostilities, and in a little while French and English were at war again, despite the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. But meanwhile the Company espoused the cause of Sivaji, Prince of Tanjore, an extensive district in the Carnatic, who had been deposed by his brother, Pretauab Sing. In return the Company was to have Devi-Cottah and the surrounding district. I need not go farther into that matter; but our interference was not too successful, though we obtained the post we wanted. But we were not to enjoy it tranquilly, for here the French appeared again, aiding various princes in the Carnatic, and stirring up rebellion. Indeed, for many years the Company had to struggle against them, with varying fortune, till Clive came prominently on the scene. Then our luck turned, while that of the French began to decline. Troubles with French and natives alternated; Calcutta was captured by the newly throned Nabob of Bengal, and was taken again and avenged by Clive, who, proceeding on his ever-victorious way, finally defeated the Nabob at Plassey, and set Meer Jaffier on the throne, at the same time signing a treaty with him which was eminently satisfactory to the Company. There followed a long series of conflicts with the French under Lally, in which Fort St. David and Devi-Cottah were taken. But our fortunes revived, and in the end Pondicherry was captured from our enemies. To tell all[Pg 140] that followed, in which Clive had any dealings, would be to ask you to listen to an endless succession of struggles, successes, and failures. I will merely say that this great man having returned to England, the affairs of the Company in Bengal fell into a bad way, and he was persuaded to return. He became Governor-General and Dictator, and under his able managership the affairs of the corporation rose to a secure footing.
"If you have followed me you will have gathered that the fortunes of the Company had fluctuated, but that on the whole they had vastly risen since those first years when the enterprise was commenced. Fighting and conflicts had become the order of the day, and were still to continue, for now, my lads, we meet with another character, Hyder Ali, a freebooter and adventurer, who, with wonderful success, gathered men to his banner, and finally became ruler of huge tracts in Mysore and elsewhere. With him we went to war, but with ill success. Then followed a treaty with him, and that had barely been signed when the Peishwa attacked him with his Mahrattas, and humbled the pride of this marvellous land-pirate.