"I have a thousand things to say to you, and but a moment's time. I find the bearer of this is a painter; hope the Colonel and you will let him take your pictures. I should be glad of them in miniature. I begin to fear the Colonel will not bring me the Eastern Prince till it is too late: the bushel of diamonds runs strangely in my head. Fanny is going to enter into the happy state of matrimony. I have seen the lover: upon my word, a pretty, cherry-cheeked, agreeable young counsellor. I hear he is called to the bar, and will have 500l. a year. I wish I had been the Colonel's sister; not to detract from them; certainly he is a great advantage to his family; and I believe, after my aunts and myself, that horrid name of old maid will be extirpated out of the house of Clive.
"I have still a thousand things to say. Apelles is arrived, and must have this letter: I don't know, but it may be of service to him, his occasioning me to release you. Well, a little more. All diversions go on as usual; a gloomy town—general mourning for the Princess of Orange; the linen that is worn is crape, as yellow as saffron, and what they call Turkey gauze, that looks like sarcenet: a sketch that the world is as ridiculous as ever. A most elegant ball at Lord Sandwich's! I must not say any more, only beg my respects and most sincere love to the Colonel. I wish for your speedy return to England. Pray my love to cousin George, who I would write to had I a moment, but will in the next ship."
Clive had appointed several of his relations and friends joint agents in England; and he was very fortunate in having his near connexion, Sir Edward Clive, Bart. (a Judge of circuit), as one of them. It appears to have required all that gentleman's strictness to prevent his relation suffering from the bad choice he had made of one of his men of business.
"One of your attorneys," Sir Edward remarks[[135]], "is a man I never can, and never shall, accord with. I have several things to reveal to you when you come home. I believe, in order to take care of your interest, and (as I think) to protect your property, I must file a bill in Chancery. When you arrive, you shall have an account of it: I don't think any labour troublesome to serve you, but assure you (and Mr. King knows it) I have had a great deal.
"It is a great pleasure," adds this respectable Judge, "to know that, considering your father and his large family, God Almighty has put it into your mind, as well as your power, to make him and them happy. Assisting a parent must be the most agreeable sensation to good hearts. I happened, in a small way, to have that happy opportunity. I call it happy, and it affords me many agreeable reflections."
A few months after Clive sailed for India, his eldest sister[[136]] married Sir James Markham, Bart.; and when he returned, he found that three more had entered the matrimonial state, being much indebted (if we are to believe their sprightly cousin already noticed) for their happy settlement to the good fortune of having an Indian Colonel for their brother.
Clive never forgot those to whom he was in any degree indebted for his advancement. Several of his letters are addressed to Mr. Chauncey, a gentleman who, though then retired, had, at one period, taken a very active part in Indian affairs. In one of these letters[[137]], after communicating to him the peace with Suraj-u-Dowlah, Clive observes, "If I have been in any way instrumental in the late revolution, the merit is entirely owing to you, who countenanced, favoured, and protected me, and was the chief cause of my coming to India in a station which rendered me capable of serving the Company. Accept, Sir, of my gratitude, and sincerest wishes for your welfare. May you enjoy the blessings of peace and retirement, and may success and every other happiness in this life forsake me, when I forget how much I am obliged to you!"
However, a sense of gratitude had more value from being expressed in the moment of victory, and from being addressed to an individual who had no longer any power of promoting his views. I notice such facts, not only because they are the truest indications of character, but as they account for the zeal and attachment which Clive's numerous and respectable friends displayed on many trying occasions. Neither his wealth nor his fame could have inspired such feelings. Sincerity and warmth of heart alone can kindle corresponding sentiments in honourable minds.
Of Clive's friends in India I have already spoken. His ties with them had been formed in the course of public service, and remained unbroken, except in the rare cases, where he thought individuals parted from those principles of action upon which his esteem was founded. His deep and affectionate gratitude towards Colonel Lawrence has been mentioned. His friendship for Mr. Pigot remained unchanged: not so that for Mr. Orme. We find in one of his father's letters an observation upon his being reconciled to that gentleman on his return to India in 1755. Mr. Clive expresses his hope, in this letter, that Mr. Orme's History would be speedily published, as the objections[[138]] on account of Mr. Chauncey were at an end.
Clive, though his experience had rendered him singularly well acquainted with the character of all classes of the natives of India, was very little, if at all, versed in the languages of that country; but he appears not only to have been most solicitous to avail himself of the aid of those who had this advantage, but, when he found the acquirement accompanied by integrity and talent, to recommend them, and place them in the highest stations in the service. His notice and patronage of Mr. Watts, Mr. Vansittart, and Mr. Hastings, afford ample proof of this fact; and, on almost all occasions, public and private, when he brings forward the names of those individuals, he adds some observations on the great advantages they enjoy over others, from their knowledge of the languages, the manners, and the habits of the people of India.