we had only one midshipman killed, a mate, and approached their father as if quite overawed, and eight seamen wounded. On the 22nd of October, in the same year, the Centurion and Diomede, when cruising off the same coast, discovered and gave chase to three ships and a brig; and at half-past three in the afternoon, they were within musket-shot of them. The relative strength was thus-British: Centurion, fifty guns, 300 men; Diomede, forty-four guns, 200 men. French: La Sybille, forty guns, 400 men; La Prudente, thirty-six guns, 300 men; ship of twenty-six guns; brig of twelve. placed their heads at his feet. The stern Tippoo was, to all appearance, quite unmoved, and in silence touched their necks, on which they arose ; and then he pointed to their seats. He then engaged in an animated conversation with Captain Doveton, and talked with singular ease and fluency on the marvels of the French Revolution, of Lord Macartney's embassy to China, and other events of the time. Whatever the wily Tippoo was plotting or scheming in secret, at all subsequent interviews with Doveton, he declared often that Cornwallis had been his best friend-that he would ever be governed by his advice, forget the bitter past, and cultivate the friendship of the British nation, as the primary objects of his policy. The French commodore ran up the tricolour and opened fire, on which the battle began. At four o'clock he made sail, seeking to escape, and was followed by all his vessels except La Sybille, which fell away to leeward under a heavy fire, as a calm Though no dependence could be placed upon prevented her getting ahead. The whole of the the promises of Tippoo, and though Europe was enemy's fire was directed at the Centurion, whose rapidly becoming everywhere convulsed by sedition masts, rigging, and sails were reduced to useless and war, there was, as yet, a prospect of peace in wreckage, which rendered her unable to keep her India, where the sovereignty was exercised conplace in the action. At a quarter to six, the fore-jointly, by ourselves, the Mahrattas, the Nizam, topmast of the ship to leeward was shot away; but and Tippoo Sultan. she bore up before the wind, and the ships ahead took her in tow. The Centurion and Diomede wore after them, but the former had received so much damage aloft, that it was necessary to abandon the pursuit and put her head to the sea, to prevent what remained of her masts from going overboard. Thus, the enemy being close in on the coast of Mauritius, escaped into Port Louis, where the Sybille, being a complete wreck, was run on shore to prevent her from sinking. Tippoo of Mysore, having performed all his obligations under the treaty made at Seringapatam, had his two sons restored to him on the 28th of March, 1794, though some objections were made thereto by the Nizam, on the ground that Tippoo was making claims upon him inconsistent with that treaty in respect to the district of Kurnoul. Strong suspicions were already entertained that Tippoo was preparing for fresh mischief, as he was already in correspondence with the blood-stained revolutionary government of France; and by a rigid economy and a skilful attention to all the resources of his diminished kingdom, was supposed to be preparing for another trial of strength for the restoration of his prestige in Southern India, the moment the two royal hostages were surrendered to him. Notwithstanding all this, the two princes were sent from Madras, under the care of Captain Doveton to Deonhully, in a plain near which Tippoo had pitched his tent and awaited them. On entering it with Captain Doveton, the boys The Mahratta powers comprehended the Peishwa, Holkar, Scindia, and the Rajah of Berar, who had less interest than the others in their general politics, and carried on his administration independently of them, although he had received the confirmation of his succession, and the insignia of his investiture from the Peishwa as head elect of all the Mahratta powers. However, the Poonah government, with the two French brigades in their service, under a general named De Boigne, deemed itself sufficiently formidable now, without the adherence of the Rajah of Berar; and it was the nature of that government to be ambitious, grasping, and covetous, and never to omit, when occasion offered, an opportunity of increasing its wealth and power, without caring much whether the means were justifiable or not; and even at this time, after having completely humbled Tippoo, according to Auber, it was felt, that with regard to the different princes of Hindostan, our chief security was in our military strength.* By all who knew the general temper of the fiery Mahrattas, whose strength years long afterwards was repressed, but not extinguished, and whose boast it was that they were the Maha-rashtra or "great people;" by all who knew the Mahrattas, we say, a long term of peace with them could never be expected, as they were essentially a nation of warriors, chiefly lightly-armed horsemen, who could march fifty miles a day, and feed their hardy steeds on the growing grain or the thatch of houses, if 7795] THE DEATH OF SCINDIA. 315 nothing better came in their way. At the time of | to old Scindia's intention, and Dowlut entered Sir John Shore's arrival we were undoubtedly peaceably into possession of the vast power to strong in India. The din of our cannon at which he had fallen heir. Seringapatam was fresh in the memory of all, and our chief ally, the Nizam of the Deccan, seemed true to his promises. But jealousies which broke out between him and the Mahrattas, even before the departure of Cornwallis, now seemed to threaten strife. On finding that they seemed about to invade him, the Nizam, in virtue of alliance, applied for aid to Sir John Shore. Young and daring, and anxious to distinguish himself in war, Dowlut Rao Scindia now hastened to assemble his army even from the most remote parts of Hindostan, with the double intention of obtaining an ascendency in the alliance forming against the Nizam, and of giving additional strength to his own authority. The people inhabiting the Deccan, or "Country of the South," remembered how Cornwallis had behaved when an ally of the Company had been assailed, and they could not believe that now the latter would abandon the cause of a friend so faithful; while it was the general belief of all who took an interest in Indian affairs, that we could not leave him to his fate, "without weakening that force of opinion which, more than arms, had made us what we were in India," when our stern defence of the Rajah of Travancore had won us a reputation for faith and firmness. This the latter was obliged to refuse, in accordance with the neutrality or non-interference system he had been advised to adopt, while, at the same time, he was loth to give offence to the Mahrattas, who viewed our growing strength and our successes in war with jealousy and alarm; yet, on the other hand, the Nizam was—so far as appearances went a firm friend, who had rejoiced at the triumph of Cornwallis and the downfall of Tippoo. Now, the Poonah government began to perceive that the new Governor-General, in his desire for peace, would yield the Nizam no more aid than mediation and diplomacy, both of which they viewed with contempt, and thus they betook them to beat-pelled to decide that the British had no right to ing their war-drums, mustering their horsemen, and putting their lances and swords to the grindstone. It was at this crisis that Mahadajee Scindia died —a chief who, to a certain extent, was the actual sovereign of Hindostan from the Sutlej to Agra. "He was," says Sir John Malcolm, "the nominal slave but the rigid master of the unfortunate Shah Alum, Emperor of Delhi; the pretended friend, but the designing rival of Holkar; the professed inferior in all matters of form, but the real superior and oppressor of the Rajpoot princes of Central India; the proclaimed soldier, but the actual plunderer of the family of the Peishwa."* Scindia was the possessor of some of the finest provinces of the Deccan, and a great portion of Malwa, and had a regular army that mustered, at one time, sixteen regiments of sepoys, whom General de Boigne had disciplined for him, with 100,000 cavalry, and 500 brass and iron guns; but he who had given such an increase to the Mahratta power, died at this crisis, as we have said, without leaving any male issue. He had a brother, named Tookajee Scindia, who fell at the battle of Paniput, and left three sons. The elder of these had no sons, but the other two had; yet Scindia, without regard to the legal order of succession, had, prior to his death, repeatedly avowed his intention of adopting Dowlut Rao, the son of his youngest ephew, a youth of fifteen. Thus effect was given * Malcolm's "Central India." But Sir John Shore was trammelled by his pacific instructions from London. He felt himself com interfere, and supported this decision by a very ably-worded minute, to the effect "That, as the union of the three allies was the basis of the treaty, the continuance of that union or friendship is essential to the performance of the obligations imposed by it, and a war between two of the parties totally changes the relative situation of all." Thus, as a necessary conclusion, he held that we were not called upon to interfere; yet Sir John Malcolm seems to have been of opinion that without going to war, a more decided or higher tone might have had a better effect, for so fresh were the victories of Cornwallis in the minds of all, that our influence might have intimidated the Mahrattas from their intended attack on the Nizam. † In less than three weeks from the date of the minute we have just quoted, the Mahrattas had poured their army into the territories of the Nizam. In February, 1795, Dowlut Rao Scindia began his march with the advanced corps, and on the 11th of the following month a battle was fought at Beder, a frontier town of the Deccan, the walls and temples of which still retain some traces of ancient splendour. M. Raymond, who had begun his military career in India at an early age under the Count de Lally, and who, ever since the new "peace-at-any-price" policy of the British had been suspected, had lent all his energies to perfecting the discipline of Nizam "Political History of India." Ali's infantry, was so successful that he had not the slightest doubt or hesitation in leading them to encounter the brigades of Scindia, which had been in an equal manner perfected by De Boigne. The battle was stoutly contested, and had every appearance of terminating in favour of Nizam Ali, when Raymond was bewildered on receiving from him, amid the hottest fire, an order to retreat. He had, as was usual with him, brought all the ladies of his zenana into the field, and one, who was for the time his chief favourite, became so terrified by the carnage around her, that she infected her seldom very courageous lord, and on her threatening, if he did not quit the field, to disgrace him by exposing herself to his soldiers, he sent the fatal order to Raymond, and fled by night to the little fort of Kurdlah, where he was immediately blocked up, till starved into a shameful capitulation at the end of some weeks, and agreed to cede to the enemy territory worth thirty-five lacs yearly, including Dowlutabad, or the "abode of prosperity," the key of the whole Deccan, supposed by Major Wilford to be the ancient Tagara, and also to deliver, as a hostage, Azeem-ul-Omrah, otherwise Meer Alum. At this time two battalions of our troops were in the Deccan, and had they fought at Beder the rout of the Mahrattas had been sure. They might even have raised the investment of Kurdlah; but the officer commanding them had the express orders of the Governor-General not to stir a step. Thus, naturally, the Nizam on his return to Hyderabad, intimated pretty plainly that the Company had better recall their two useless battalions, as to pay and maintain troops who did not serve him was a profitless task; and accordingly they were soon after withdrawn. "The Nizam has dismissed our battalions," says Sir John Shore, in a letter to Henry Dundas, May 12, 1795; "they were employed in a disgraceful and delicate service; and I should have seen their removal with satisfaction if I had not been obliged to attribute it to the Mahrattas."* The destruction of the power of Nizam Ali now seemed inevitable; yet there came to pass two events by which he was saved. One of these was the rebellion of Ali Jah, his son, in June, 1795, and the other was the death of the Peishwa Madhoo Rao, in October of the same year. General Raymond's troops at the battle of Beder amounted to twenty-three battalions of considerable strength; their value under fire had been fully proved, hence the Nizam resolved to add to their number, and for this purpose the revenues of Kurpa, an extensive "Lord Teignmouth's Life and Letters." district around the town and fortress of Cuddapah, in the Balaghaut territory, were assigned for their subsistence. By its vicinity to the sea-coast, this locality afforded the Nizam many facilities for recruiting, for getting additional officers, and for forming a junction with certain European forces, which the French republicans were alleged to be preparing for the recovery of some of their old conquests in India. But now Sir John Shore, who by his home instructions had left the Nizam no resource but to form this French alliance-complained of it, and threatened, if the corps of General Raymond were not withdrawn from Kurpa, to send a body of British troops to that quarter, though, since the days of the Marquis de Bussy, the Deccan had never been without some French officers and soldiers. The discussion respecting Raymond's post was ended by the rebellion of Ali Jah, against whom he was immediately dispatched, and whom he made prisoner, just as two battalions of our troops, under Captain James Dalrymple-the very troops that had been previously withdrawn-arrived for the same purpose. As these had been earnestly requested by the Nizam, the ready compliance of Sir John Shore served to make our relations with Nizam Ali of a more friendly nature in future, as our troops remained in the Deccan to assist in the restoration of order. The death of Madhoo Rao led to fierce discontent among the Mahratta chiefs, who had hitherto been leagued. The Nana Furnavese was resolved to place upon the throne of the dead Peishwa an infant prince, in whose name he might rule as regent; but Dowlut Rao Scindia, animated by a spirit of opposition, asserted the claims of Bajee Rao, the son of Ragobah, who, according to that which was not recognised in the East-the law of primogeniture-would have been the proper heir to the musnud. The Nana being then at Poonah, the capital of the confederated Mahrattas, took the initiative in this affair. He liberated Azeem-ul-Omrah, the captive minister of Nizam Ali, rescinded the Treaty of Kurdlah, and surrendered all claim to territory and treasure which the Nizam, under that treaty, had been bound to give up. He concluded a new treaty with the latter; but ere it could take effect, young Scindia advanced upon Poonah with an army that Nana Furnavese was unable to oppose, and the son of the wanderer Ragobah was placed upon the throne. This occasioned fresh negotiations with the chiefs, and Scindia, in order to prevent the Nizam from furthering the schemes of Nana Furnavese, agreed to be satisfied with a fourth of 1795-1 GENERAL RAYMOND'S PLANS. the demands made upon the former under the Treaty of Kurdlah. Soon after his capture by Raymond, Ali Jah died, or was murdered, on which a new rebellion broke out, led by Durah Jah, a nephew of the Nizam. He collected some scattered forces, who were attacked with great spirit and utterly routed by Dalrymple's two battalions. The strong fortress of Rochore, which the insurgents had garrisoned, was next carried by storm. Nizam Ali expressed great gratitude to Sir John Shore for the aid thus rendered him by these troops; but he still dreaded, that if he were attacked again by Mahrattas, Sir John might not send him a sufficient force, and thus he still relied most on the battalions of General Raymond. Aware how greatly he was respected and honoured by the Nizam, the Frenchman left nothing undone to bring the army to a state of perfection in order and discipline, and during this task was at no pains to conceal his animosity to Britain, and his plans of a future that even De Bussy had never imagined. The least of these, was our total expulsion from Hindostan, and its transference to the incompetent government of republican France. All his battalions now carriednot the flag of Nizam Ali, but the new tricolour of France; and the cap of liberty was borne on all their buttons and appointments; and, in the exuberance of their political fervour, his officers almost nightly sang the Ça Ira, and danced the Carmagnole in the marble palaces of Hyderabad. All this was harmless enough; but General Raymond went further. He, by secret agents, encouraged our sepoys to desert, and excited a partial mutiny in a battalion of the Madras army. 317 To counteract this French influence, Sir John Shore encouraged some British subjects to enter the service of the Nizam; but none of them had either the military or political address of their rivals, whose growing battalions at length became so formidable, that Nizam Ali was alarmed lest they might deprive him altogether of the Deccan, and he solicited Sir John Shore to make such military arrangements with him as would preclude the necessity for having such perilous friends to aid him against the Mahrattas, offering even to dismiss them all, the moment that British troops in sufficient strength were sent into his territories. Though fully alive to the danger of French influence, Sir John Shore seems to have thought there was more danger incurred by giving offence to the great Mahratta confederacy, and chiefly the powerful Scindia-conceiving naturally, that if he marched an army into the Deccan, the act would be certain to provoke a Mahratta war, and would also be a departure from the system of strict neutrality which his orders from home desired him to maintain-and hence he took no decided steps in the matter. Amid these turmoils, Sir John, who felt a deep interest in all matters connected with religion, took measures for supplying the military stations with churches and chaplains, of which they had been destitute before, and had a place set apart for the celebration of Divine service in the fort at Calcutta, where none would seem to have existed hitherto. In his letters home, he complained much of the irreligion and infidelity prevalent among our people in Bengal, and seemed to have taken a lively interest in the apparently hopeless task of converting the vast population to Christianity.* CHAPTER LXIII. DEFEAT OF GHOLAUM MOHAMMED KHAN-MARRIAGE OF VIZIER ALI-THE DUTCH SETTLEMENTS REDUCED DISCONTENT IN THE ARMY, ETC.-END OF LORD TEIGNMOUTH'S ADMINISTRATION. SIR JOHN SHORE, towards the end of the year 1794, was engaged," as his son records, “in a brief but bloody sequel to that memorable Rohilla war, in the conduct of which Hastings had borne a principal and much censured part." The circumstances were these :-The famous Rohilla (to whom we have more than once re ferred) Fyzoola Khan, who held the jaghire of Rampoor, under the Nabob of Oude, in virtue of a treaty which the Company guaranteed, died in 1794, and then one of those tragedies so common in India occurred. He was barely succeeded by his eldest son, when the latter was basely "Life and Letters of Lord Teignmouth," by his son. assassinated by his brother, Gholaum Mohammed Khan, who took possession of the jaghire. With out delay, the murderer coolly applied to the nabob-vizier of Oude, who, when influenced by a handsome present, would no doubt have sanctioned the usurpation; but Sir Robert Abercromby, ere Sir John Shore could communicate with him on the subject, marched towards Rampoor, and defeated the usurper in a battle in which the Rohillas-inspired, no doubt, by a longing for vengeance upon us-fought so well, that our line nearly gave way. Immediately after obtaining this victory, Si Robert, on his own responsibility, to join with you in regretting the loss of so many valuable and respectable lives. I shall be happy to learn that the submission of the Rohillas renders unnecessary any further exertion of that bravery which has ever distinguished the officers and troops of our armies in India. By some accident, a sheet of your letter was omitted. You will receive a public answer without delay. The valour of the Rohillas seems to have exceeded everything but that of our own troops;this is, indeed, beyond all commendation. "I have the honour to be, &c., "General Sir Robert Abercromby, K.B." with the consent of the nabob-vizier, restored the jaghire to Ahmed Ali Khan, the infant son of the murdered Mohammed. Though for some reason the Governor-General, Sir John Shore, was not quite satisfied with Sir Robert Abercromby's rapid measures in this matter, he complimented him in the following reply to his official report : "Calcutta, Nov. 6th, 1794. "My dear Sir, I have this moment received your express, announcing your victory over the infatuated Rohillas, and their desperate chief, Gholaum Mohammed Khan; I lose not a moment in offering you my sincere congratulation on your brilliant success. The moderation and humanity of your conduct preceding the action, add greatly to the honour which you have acquired by it, and I have only Though Asoff-ud-Dowlah, the nabob-vizier, was complaining about this time that his finances and administration were both going to wreck, he was then proprietor of 20 palaces, 100 gardens, 1,200 elephants, 3,000 fine saddle-horses, 1,500 doublebarreled guns, hundreds of costly mirrors, lustres, girandoles, and clocks set with jewels; and the account of the splendour displayed on the marriage of his son, Vizier Ali, at Lucknow, in 1795, surpasses anything of which we read in the "Arabian Nights." He had his tents pitched, says Forbes, on a plain near the city. Among these were two of great size, made of strong cotton, lined with different coloured stripes of the finest English broadcloth, with silken cords. Each of these pavilions cost about £60,000 sterling. Their walls were ten feet high, and latticed in part |