A subsequent communication[167] called forth more severe animadversions. "I have received" (he indignantly states) "your letter of the 23d instant[168], the contents of which are so indefinite and contradictory, that I can put no other construction upon it than an intent to clear yourself at my expense, had the expedition miscarried. It puts me in mind of the famous answer of the Delphic oracle to Pyrrhus, 'Aio te, Æacide, Romanos vincere posse.'"

But all angry feelings were soon lost in those of joy and triumph. Within a few months the European and native inhabitants of Calcutta had experienced a transition from the most abject state of poverty and misery to one of exaltation and abundance. The cruel author of their wrongs had lost his fortune and his life. The French were, with the exception of a small party, expelled from Bengal; and the Prince, who was raised to the sovereignty of that country, owed his crown to the British arms, and must trust to them for his support. For a period, all eyes and all hearts turned with admiration and gratitude to him by whom this great change had been chiefly effected.

But such sentiments are not enduring; and a few years only elapsed before acts, which were approved and applauded at the moment of their occurrence, were brought forward as accusations against the man, to whom his country owed the establishment of her empire in India. It is not, however, intended to anticipate an account of those events which gave rise to this change of feeling in individuals, or public bodies: but I have dwelt thus minutely upon the transactions of this remarkable epoch of Clive's life, and of Indian history, for the purpose of affording materials to determine how far those writers are correct, or justified by facts, who, referring chiefly to documents furnished by his accusers, have censured and condemned many parts of his conduct, both military and political, during this short but memorable expedition.

It has already been shown, that throughout this eventful period the military operations of Clive were subordinate to his political negotiations. But independent of this fact, which placed his conduct as a military officer beyond the common rules of judgment, I confess that I have little faith in the correctness of that general criticism which refers exclusively to the numbers and quality of the troops engaged, and to the ground upon which the conflict was decided. Even in Europe, where the character of the troops is known, and their fidelity to their banners undoubted, it is much oftener the genius of the commander, exercised during the changing moments of a battle, than the best preconcerted plan, which decides the combat. The mere tactician rests entirely on his plans; if they fail, he is lost: but the eye of an able leader penetrates the mind of his own army and that of the enemy, and by exciting valour to extraordinary efforts, or pressing upon faltering opponents, he snatches a victory which is the more glorious from having been gained contrary to all calculations of art. In India, success in war depends far less upon plans and evolutions than on a correct knowledge of the nature of the enemy's force. The character and composition of the incongruous materials of which eastern armies are formed have already been explained. From some part of this body the most resolute resistance may be expected, from their attachment to their chief. Others, probably from being lukewarm in the cause, and discontented with their leader, require only a pretext to fly. No corps places confidence in, or expects support from, that which is next to it. The consequence is, that the mere suspicion of treachery, or any misfortune or misconduct in the Prince under whom these bands are for the moment united, dissolves the whole. These facts will account for the frequent defeat of large armies in India by a few disciplined and united men. Yet the armies thus discomfited contain thousands of the same tribes and nations of whom a few hundreds (when attached to their chiefs and loyal to the cause for which they fought) have been found to resist, with the aid of very slight defences, all the efforts of a large and highly disciplined European force.

I have already stated, in the course of this narrative, the successive causes which combined to prevent Clive's return to Madras, after the fall of Chandernagore, and have afforded the reader ample materials to judge this question from the most authentic documents.

To deny to Clive the right of exercising his judgment amid the exigencies of the public service in which he was placed would be to deny him the means of consulting and promoting the interests and honour of his country. When he acted, as he did upon this occasion, against the positive and reiterated orders of the government of Madras, he did so under a deep and alarming responsibility: but in such extreme cases, the greater the hazard which an individual incurs the greater his merit, if he can establish that the public interests have been promoted by his conduct. The dangers which threatened the English settlements on the coast of Coromandel were great, but they were prospective, and the issue uncertain. The dangers at Bengal, had Clive abandoned the scene, were immediate; and even if we suppose that Calcutta had not been retaken by the resentful Suraj-u-Dowlah, aided by the party of French[169] who still remained, it was certain that all those impressions and advantages which had been gained by the combined efforts of Admiral Watson and Clive would have been lost, and future armaments required to restore the English in Bengal to that power from which they had fallen, and which was henceforth indispensable to their existence; for from the moment they had been compelled to undertake offensive operations against the native sovereign of the country their reverting to their former condition of merchants was impossible.

Such was the actual situation of affairs. The penetrating eye of Clive saw, at this moment, the future importance of Bengal; and though fully aware of the dangers that threatened Madras, rested, with a confidence that was not disappointed, upon the able civil and military officers[170] to whom its affairs were entrusted. He had no such consolatory feelings when he looked to those[171] on whom the chief authority must devolve at Calcutta; and the details which have been given fully prove the correctness of that judgment which he early formed upon a point so important in the decision of the question.