"I immediately drew up an Arzi, or Petition, and had one
brought from the Council in Chandernagore of the same
tenour as my own. These two papers were sent to Siraj-ud-daula,
who appeared satisfied with them. He even wrote
me in reply that he did not forbid our repairing old works,
but merely our making new ones. Besides, the spies who
had been sent to Chandernagore, being well received and
satisfied with the presents made them, submitted a report
favourable to us, so that our business was hushed up."
The English behaved very differently, and their answer, which was bold if not insolent in tone,[[73]] reached the Nawab at the very moment when he had received the submission of the Nawab of Purneah. Law adds:—
"I was assured that the Nawab of Purneah showed him
some letters which he had received from the English. This
is difficult to believe, but this is how the match took fire.
"Accordingly, no sooner had the Nawab heard the contents
of the answer from the English, than he jumped up in
anger, and, pulling out his sword, swore he would go and
exterminate all the Feringhees.[[74]] At the same time he gave
orders for the march of his army, and appointed several
Jemadars[[75]] to command the advance guard. As in his first
burst of rage he had used the general word Feringhees,
which is applied to all Europeans, some friends whom I had
in the army, and who did not know how our business had
ended, sent to warn me to be on my guard, as our Factory
would be besieged. The alarm was great with us, and with
the English, at Cossimbazar. I spent more than twenty-four
hours in much anxiety; carrying wood, provisions, etc., into
the Factory, but I soon knew what to expect. I saw horsemen
arrive and surround the English fort, and at the same
time I received an official letter from the Nawab, telling me
not to be anxious, and that he was as well pleased with us
as he was ill pleased with the English."
Cossimbazar surrendered without firing a shot, owing to the treacherous advice of the Nawab's generals, and Siraj-ud-daula advanced on Calcutta. It was with the greatest difficulty that Law escaped being forced to march in his train.
"The remains of the respect which he had formerly felt
for Europeans made him afraid of failure in his attack
on Calcutta, which had been represented to him as a very
strong place, defended by three or four thousand men. He
wrote to me in the strongest terms to engage the Director of
Chandernagore to give him what assistance he could in men
and ammunition. 'Calcutta is yours,' he said to our agent
in full Durbar; 'I give you that place and its dependencies
as the price of the services you will render me. I know,
besides, that the English are your enemies; you are always
at war with them either in Europe or on the Coromandel
Coast, so I can interpret your refusal only as a sign of the
little interest you take in what concerns me. I am resolved
to do you as much good as Salabat Jang[[76]] has done you in
the Deccan, but if you refuse my friendship and the offers I
make you, you will soon see me fall on you and cause you
to experience the same treatment that I am now preparing
for others in your favour.' He wished us to send down at
once to Calcutta all the ships and other vessels which were
at Chandernagore. After having thanked him for his
favourable disposition towards us, I represented to him
that we were not at war with the English, that what had
happened on the Coromandel Coast was a particular affair
which we had settled amicably, and that the English, in
Bengal having given us no cause of offence, it was impossible
for us, without orders either from Europe or Pondicherry, to
give him the assistance he asked for. Such reasons could
only excite irritation in the mind of a man of Siraj-ud-daula's
character. He swore he would have what he wanted
whether we wished it or not, and that, as we lived in his
country, his will ought to be law to us. I did my best to
appease him, but uselessly. At the moment of his departure
his sent us word by one of his uncles that he still counted
on our assistance, and he sent me a letter for the Governor of
Pondicherry, in which he begged him to give us the necessary
orders. I thought to myself this was so much time gained."
The Nawab captured Calcutta without any open assistance from the French, and, though he set free most of the prisoners who survived the Black Hole, he sent Holwell and three others before him to Murshidabad. Law, who had already sheltered Mrs. Watts and her family, and such of the English of Cossimbazar as had been able to escape to him, now showed similar kindness to Holwell and his companions. Of this he says modestly:—
"The gratitude Mr. Holwell expresses for a few little
services which I was able to render him makes me regret
my inability to do as much to deserve his gratitude as I
should have liked to do."[[77]]
He also, apparently with some difficulty, obtained consent to M. Courtin's request for the release of the English prisoners at Dacca; for—
"Siraj-ud-daula, being informed that there were two or
three very charming English ladies at Dacca, was strongly
tempted to adorn his harem with them."
Law's success in these matters is a striking instance of his personal influence, for Siraj-ud-daula was by no means any longer well disposed towards the French and Dutch.