Early in 1759 the Shahzada at last invaded Bengal, and on the 5th of February Law marched to join him; but the invasion was badly managed, and was an absolute failure. On the 28th of May Law was back at Chatrapur. The only result of the invasion was that the lands of a number of Rajas in Bihar were plundered by Miran, son of Mir Jafar, and the English. These Rajas were all Hindus.
"They had an understanding with Ramnarain. All theseRajas, of whom there is a great number in the dependenciesof Bengal, united to each other by the same religion, mutuallysupport each other as much as they can. They detest theMuhammadan Government, and if it had not been for theSeths, the famous bankers, with whom they have closeconnections, it is probable that after the Revolution in whichSiraj-ud-daula was the victim, they would all have risentogether to establish a Hindu Government, from which theEnglish would not have obtained all the advantages theydid from the Muhammadan."
In 1759 the Dutch risked a quarrel with the English. They refused, however, any assistance from Law, who, far away as he was, heard all about it. They were defeated at Biderra on the 25th of November. The effect of this was to reduce Bengal to such tranquillity that Clive considered it safe to visit England. The Shahzada, however, thought the opportunity a favourable one for another invasion, and on the 28th of February, 1760, Law again started to join him. Patna was besieged, and, according to Broome, was very nearly captured, owing to Law's skill and the courage of his Frenchmen. In fact, the French were on the ramparts, when Dr. Fullerton and the English sepoys arrived just in time to drive them back.[113]
The siege was raised, and the Prince's general, Kamgar Khan, led the army about the country with apparently no object but that of plunder. This suited the Marathas, but did not suit Law. On one occasion he was ordered with his own troops and a body of Marathas to capture the little fort of Soupy. The French stormed it at three o'clock in the morning, but found that the Marathas, who had carefully avoided the breach, had swarmed the walls, where there was no one to oppose them, and were carrying off the plunder.
"My chief occupation and that of the officers, for morethan five hours during which we stayed in Soupy, was tokeep our soldiers and sepoys from bayoneting the Marathas,who, without having incurred the least danger, had, by theircleverness and lightness, carried off more than twenty timesas much as our own men, observing among themselves akind of order in their plundering, very like that of monkeyswhen they strip a field."
In fact, Law had a personal altercation with the Maratha commander about a young and beautiful Hindu woman, whom the Maratha wished to seize, but whom Law was determined to restore unhurt to her relations, who lived in a village close by.
For the capture of the fort, Law received from the Shahzada various high-sounding titles and the right to have the royal music played before him; but as he could not afford to entertain the native musicians, he allowed the privilege to sleep.
In 1760 Mr. Vansittart assumed the Governorship of Bengal, and his first act was to complete the project begun by his predecessor, Mr. Holwell, namely, the dethronement of Mir Jafar. This was effected on the 20th of October, 1760; the ex-Nawab went quietly to Calcutta, and Mir Kasim reigned in his stead. The Shahzada had now become Emperor by the death of his father, and had assumed the title of Shah Alam. He was still hanging with his army round Patna, and Mir Kasim and the English determined to bring him to book. Kamgar Khan continued to lead the Imperial army aimlessly about the country, and in January, 1761, found himself near the town of Bihar. He had 35 to 40 thousand cavalry, maintained chiefly by plunder, but his only musketeers and artillery were those commanded by Law, i.e. 125 Europeans and 200 sepoys, with 18 guns of small calibre. The British commander, Major Carnac, had 650 Europeans and 5 to 6 thousand sepoys, with 12 guns. Mir Kasim had some 20,000 cavalry, and the same number of musketeers, all good troops, for "everybody was paid in the army of Kasim Ali Khan."[114]
On the 14th of January, scouts brought word of the approach of the English. The Emperor consulted Law, who advised a retreat, but he was not deficient in courage, and determined to fight. The next day was fought the battle of Suan.[115]
"At the dawn of day we heard that the enemy were onthe march, and that they would quickly appear. No dispositionof our army had yet been made by Kamgar Khan,who, in fact, troubled himself very little about the matter.It was at first decided to re-enter the camp, so I put mymen as much as possible under shelter behind a bank, alongwhich I placed my guns in what I thought the most usefulpositions. About 6 or 7 o'clock the enemy were seenadvancing in good order, crossing a canal[116] full of mud andwater, the passage of which might have been easily contestedhad we been ready soon enough; but everything was neglected.For some time we thought the enemy were goingto encamp by the canal, but, seeing that they were stilladvancing, the order was given to go and meet them. Thewhole army was quickly out of the camp, divided intoseveral bodies of cavalry, at the head of which were, on theirelephants, the Emperor, the Generalissimo Kamgar Khan,and other principal chiefs. Scarcely were we out of the campwhen we were halted to await the enemy, everything in thegreatest confusion; one could see no distinction betweenright, left, and centre, nothing that had the appearance ofan army intending to attack or even to defend itself."An aide-de-camp brought me an order to march aheadwith all my troop, and to place myself in a position whichhe pointed out, a good cannon-shot away. Abandoned toourselves we should have been exposed to all the fire of theEnglish, artillery and even to be outflanked by the enemyand captured at the first attack. We advanced a few pacesin obedience to the order, but, seeing no one move to supportus, I suspected they wanted to get rid of us. I thereforebrought back my men to where I had first placed them, ona line about 200 paces in front of the army."The enemy advanced steadily. The English at theirhead with all their artillery were already within range ofour guns. They quickly placed their pieces in two batteriesto the right and left, and kept up a very lively cross fire.In a very short time, having killed many men, elephants,and horses—amongst others one of mine—they caused thewhole of the Prince's army to turn tail. Kamgar Khan, attheir head, fled as fast as he could, without leaving a singleperson to support us. The enemy's fire, opposed to whichours was but feeble, continued steadily. We were forced toretire, and did so in good order, having had some soldiersand sepoys killed and one gun dismounted, which we left onthe field of battle. We regained the village, which shelteredus for a time. The enemy started in pursuit. Unluckily,as we issued from the village, our guns traversing a hollowroad, we were stopped by ditches and channels full of mud,in which the guns stuck fast. As I was trying to disengagethem the English reached us, and surrounded us so as tocut off all retreat. Then I surrendered with 3 or 4 officersand about 40 soldiers who were with me, and the guns. Itwas about 4 o'clock in the afternoon of the 15th of January,1761, a moment whose malign influence it was as it wereimpossible to resist, since it was that of the surrender ofPondicherry,[117] a place 300 leagues away from us."
Gholam Husain Khan has left a graphic description of this incident.
"Monsieur Law, with the small force and the artillerywhich he could muster, bravely fought the English themselves,and for some time he made a shift to withstand theirsuperiority. Their auxiliaries consisted of large bodies ofnatives, commanded by Ramnarain and Raj Balav, but theengagement was decided by the English, who fell with somuch effect upon the enemy that their onset could not bewithstood by either the Emperor or Kamgar Khan. Thelatter, finding he could not resist, turned about and fled.The Emperor, obliged to follow him, quitted the field ofbattle, and the handful of troops that followed M. Law,discouraged by this flight and tired of the wandering lifewhich they had hitherto led in his service, turned aboutlikewise and followed the Emperor. M. Law, finding himselfabandoned and alone, resolved not to turn his back. Hebestrode one of his guns and remained firm in that posture,waiting the moment for his death. This being reported toMajor Carnac, he detached himself from his main body withCaptain Knox and some other officers, and he advanced tothe man on the gun, without taking with him either a guardor any Telingas[118] at all. Being arrived near, this troopalighted from their horses, and, pulling their caps from theirheads, they swept the air with them, as if to make him asalam; and this salute being returned by M. Law in thesame manner, some parley followed in their own language.The Major, after paying high encomiums to M. Law for hisperseverance, conduct, and bravery, added these words: 'Youhave done everything that could be expected from a braveman; and your name shall be undoubtedly transmitted toposterity by the pen of history; now loosen your sword fromyour loins, come amongst us, and abandon all thoughts ofcontending with the English.' The other answered that, ifthey would accept of his surrendering himself just as he washe had no objection, but that as to surrendering himself withthe disgrace of being without his sword, it was a shame hewould never submit to, and that they might take his life ifthey were not satisfied with that condition. The Englishcommanders, admiring his firmness, consented to his surrenderinghimself in the manner he wished; after whichthe Major, with his officers, shook hands with him in theirEuropean manner, and every sentiment of enmity was instantlydismissed on both sides. At the same time thatcommander sent for his ownpalky, made him sit in it, andhe was sent to the camp. M. Law, unwilling to see or to beseen, in that condition, shut up the curtains of thepalkyforfear of being recognized by any of his friends at camp, butyet some of his acquaintances, hearing of his having arrived,went to him; these were Mir Abdulla and Mustapha AliKhan. The Major, who had excused him from appearing inpublic, informed them that they could not see him for somedays, as he was too much vexed to receive any company.Ahmed Khan Koreishi, who was an impertinent talker,having come to look at him, thought to pay his court tothe English by joking on this man's defeat—a behaviour thathas nothing strange [in it] if we consider the times in whichwe live and the company he was accustomed to frequent; andit was in that notion of his, doubtless, that with much pertnessof voice and air he asked him this question: 'And BibiLass,[119]where is she?' The Major and the officers present,shocked at the impropriety of the question, reprimanded himwith a severe look and very severe expressions. 'This man,'they said, 'has fought bravely, and deserves the attentionof all brave men; the impertinences which you have beenoffering him may be customary amongst your friends andyour nation, but cannot be suffered in ours, who has it fora standing rule never to offer an injury to a vanquished foe.'Ahmed Khan, checked by this reprimand, held his tongue,and did not answer a word. He tarried about one hourmore in his visit, and then went away much abashed; andalthough he was a commander of importance, and one towhom much honour had always been paid, no one did speakto him any more, or made a show of standing up at hisdeparture. This reprimand did much honour to the English;and it must be acknowledged, to the honour of thosestrangers, that as their conduct in war and battle is worthyof admiration, so, on the other hand, nothing is more modestand more becoming than their behaviour to an enemy,whether in the heat of action or in the pride of success andvictory. These people seem to act entirely according to therules observed by our ancient commanders and our men ofgenius."
Gholam Husain Khan says the victory was decided by the English; the following quotation from Major Carnac's Letter to the Select Committee at Calcutta, dated the 17th of January, 1761, shows how the courage of the British forces saved them from a great disaster.
"It gives me particular pleasure to inform you that wehave not lost a man in the action, but a few of the Nawab'stroops who had got up near our rear suffered considerablyfrom the explosion of one of the French tumbrils. It seemsthe enemy had lain a train to it in hopes of it's catchingwhile our Europeans were storming the battery, but fortunatelywe were advanced two or three hundred yards inthe pursuit before it had effect, and the whole shock wassustained by the foremost of the Nawab's troops who wereblown up to the number of near four hundred, whereofseventy or eighty died on the spot."[120]
Law continues:—
"The next morning, as the English army started inpursuit of the Emperor Shah Alam, Major Carnac, fromwhom, I must mention in passing, I received all possiblemarks of attention and politeness, sent me to Patna, wherein the English Chief, Mr. McGwire, I found an old friend,who treated me as I should certainly have treated him inlike circumstances. I was in need of everything, and he letme want for nothing."
Thus ended Law's attempt to maintain the French party in Bengal. All hopes of a French attack in force on Calcutta had long since disappeared, and, under the circumstances, his capture was fortunate for himself and his comrades. Most of the latter were gradually picked up by the English. Law was sent to Calcutta, and left Bengal in 1762. He was now only forty-two years of age. On his arrival in France he found his services much appreciated by his countrymen, and was made a Chevalier of the Royal and Military Order of St. Louis, and a Colonel of Infantry. Later on he was appointed Commissary for the King, Commandant of the French Nation in the East Indies, and Governor of Pondicherry. Law's account of his adventures was commenced at Paris in 1763.[121] There exist letters written by him to the historian Robert Orme, dated as late as 1785, which show the strong interest he always retained in the affairs of Bengal, where with adequate resources he might have played a much more distinguished part.
We have seen a town besieged by a foreign army; we have seen the Court of a great Prince distracted by internal dissensions and trembling at the approach of a too-powerful enemy, and now we shall pass to the quiet retreats of rural Bengal, which even their remoteness could not save from some share in the troubles of the time. In those days, even more than at present, the rivers were the great highways of the country, but it needs personal acquaintance with them to enable us to realize the effect they produce upon the mind of a European. As a rule comparatively shallow, in the dry weather they pursue a narrow winding course in the middle of a sandy waste, but in the Rains they fill their beds from side to side, overtop the banks, and make the country for miles around a series of great lakes, studded with heavily wooded islands. Amidst these one can wander for days hardly seeing a single human being, and hearing nothing but the rushing of the current and the weird cries of water-birds; at other times the prow of one's boat will suddenly push itself through overhanging branches into the very midst of a populous village. At first all is strange and beautiful, but after a short time the feeling grows that every scene is a repetition; the banks, the trees, the villages, seem as if we have been looking at them for a thousand years, and the monotony presses wearily on mind and heart. It was in a country of this kind that Courtin and his little band of Frenchmen and natives evaded capture for nearly nine months, and it adds to our admiration for his character to see how his French gaiety of heart unites with his tenderness for his absent wife, not only to conceal the deadly monotony of his life in the river districts during the Rains, and the depressing and disheartening effect of the noxious climate in which he and his companions had to dwell, but also to make light of the imminent danger in which he stood from the unscrupulous human enemies by whom he was surrounded.
Notes:
[65: From certain letters it appears that, strictly speaking, the English Factory alone was at Cossimbazar, the French being at Saidabad, and the Dutch at Calcapur. Both Saidabad and Calcapur were evidently close to Cossimbazar, if not parts of it.]
[66: George Lodewijk Vernet, Senior Merchant.]
[67: The historian Malleson also confuses the two brothers.]
[68: The best copy I have seen is that in the Manuscript Department of the British Museum.]
[69: Gholam Husain Khan says that Siraj-ud-daula was born in the year in which Aliverdi Khan obtained from the Emperor thefirmanfor Bihar. This, according to Scrafton, was 1736, and the connection of his birth with this auspicious event was the prime cause of his grandfather's great reference for him.]
[70: Seenote, p. 88.]
[71: Uncle of Siraj-ud-daula, who died so shortly before the death of Aliverdi Khan, that it was supposed he was poisoned to ensure Siraj-ud-daula's accession.]
[72: Fazl-Kuli-Khan.Scrafton.]
[73: Law says; "The rumour ran that M. Drake replied to the messengers that, since the Nawab wished to fill up the Ditch, he agreed to it provided it was done with the heads of Moors. I do not believe he said so, but possibly some thoughtless young Englishman let slip those words, which, being heard by the messengers, were reported to the Nawab."]
[74: Europeans. Properly, Franks or Frenchmen. This term was generally applied by Europeans to the half-caste descendants of the Portuguese.]
[75: Captains or generals: a term of somewhat indefinite meaning.]
[76: In alliance with Salabat Jang, Bussy temporarily acquired a large territory for the French.]
[77: "After Mr. Law had given us a supply of clothes, linen, provisions, liquors, and cash, we left his Factory with grateful hearts and compliments."Holwell. Letter to Mr. Davis, February 28, 1757.]
[78: Imperial Charter.]
[79: For an explanation of the influence of the Seths, see pp. 84, 85, and note.]
[80: Ramnarain is an interesting character. He appears to have been one of the most faithful of the adherents of the house of Aliverdi Khan and on its extinction of the English connection. His gallantry in battle is referred to by Colonel Ironside.Asiatic Annual Register, 1800.]
[81: The official intimation reached Admiral Watson in January, 1757, but apparently not the formal orders from the Admiralty. See page 30.]
[82: In a letter to the Secret Committee, London, dated October 11, 1756, Clive writes: "I hope we shall be able to dispossess the French of Chandernagore." So it is evident that he came with this intention to Bengal.]
[83: Clive describes Hugli as "the second city in the kingdom."Letter to Lord Hardwicke, Feb. 23, 1757.]
[84: Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa.]
[85: Hearing that Seth Mahtab Rai was to marry a wonderfully beautiful woman, he forced the Seths to let him see the young lady.Scrafton.]
[86: "If one is to believe certain English writers, the Seths were an apparently insurmountable obstacle to the project because of the money we owed them, as if in their perilous position these bankers would not be inclined to sacrifice something to save the greater part. Besides, we shall see by what follows that they sacrificed nothing."Law. The extraordinary influence of these people was due not so much to their dealings with the head of the State as to the fact that native princes generally make payments, not in cash, but in bonds. It therefore depends on the bankers what any man shall get for his bonds. In this way an official, even when paid by the State, may be ruined by the bankers, who are merely private persons.]
[87: "In India it is thought disrespectful to tell a great man distinctly the evil which is said of him. If an inferior knows that designs are formed against the life of his superior, he must use circumlocutions, and suggest the subject in vague terms and speak in enigmas. It is for the great man to divine what is meant. If he has not the wit, so much the worse for him. As a foreigner, I was naturally more bold and said what I thought to Siraj-ud-daula. Coja Wajid did not hesitate to blame me, so that for a long time I did not know what to think of him. This man finally fell a victim to his diplomacies, perhaps also to his imprudences. One gets tired of continual diplomacy, and what is good in the beginning of a business becomes in the end imprudence."Law.]
[88: "Witness the letter written to the English Admiral Watson, by which it is pretended the Nawab authorized him to undertake the siege of Chandernagore. The English memoir" (byLuke Scrafton) "confesses it was a surprise, and that the Secretary must have been bribed to write it in a way suitable to the views of Mr. Watts. The Nawab never read the letters which he ordered to be written; besides, the Moors never sign their names; the envelope being closed and well fastened, the Secretary asks the Nawab for his seal, and seals it in his presence. Often there is a counterfeit seal."Law. From this it may be seen that the Nawab could always assert that his Secretary had exceeded his instructions, whilst it was open to his correspondent to assert the contrary.]
[89: The clerks.]
[90: "This was the boaster Rai Durlabh Ram, who had already received much from me, but all the treasures of the Universe could not have freed him from the fear he felt at having to fight the English. He had with him as his second in command a good officer, Mir Madan, the only man I counted upon."Law.]
[91: Referring to Clive's letter of the 7th of March, saying he wished to attack Chandernagore, but would await the Nawab's orders at that place.]
[92: By "agent" Law must mean simply an agent in the plot.]
[93: Scrafton, in his "Reflections" (pp. 40 and 50), says, Siraj-ud-daula indulged in all sorts of debauchery; but his grandfather, in his last illness, made him swear on the Koran to give up drinking. He kept his oath, but probably his mind was affected by his previous excesses.]
[94: Arzbegi, i.e. the officer who receives petitions.]
[95: A preparation of betel-nut (areca-nut) is used by the natives of Hindustan as a digestive. When offered to a guest, it is a sign of welcome or dismissal. When sent by a messenger, it is an assurance of friendship and safe conduct.]
[96: The Governor of Patna was Raja Ramnarain, a Hindu, with the rank of Naib only. It was considered unsafe to entrust so important a post to a Muhammadan, or an officer with the rank of Nawab.]
[97: Orme MSS. India XI., p. 2779, No. 120.]
[98: Ibid., India IX., p. 2294.]
[99: Letter from Renault to Dupleix. Dated Chandernagore, Sept. 4, 1757.]
[100: Broome (p. 154) gives his name as Mir Daood.]
[101: The Council signed the Treaty with Mir Jafar on the 19th of May, but Mr. Watts's first intimation of his readiness to join the English is, I believe, in a letter dated the 26th of April. Mir Jafar signed the Treaty early in June.]
[102: So Suja-ud-daula, Nawab of Oudh, plundered the Nawab Mir Kasim, when the English drove him from Bengal in 1763.]
[103: Broome (p. 154) says "a fakier, named Dana Shah, whose nose and ears he had ordered to be cut off thirteen months before, when on his march against the Nawaub of Purneah."]
[104: Orme MSS., India Office, and Clive correspondence at Walcot, vol. iv.]
[105: The celebrated traveller. He quickly quarrelled with and left them.]
[106: Province.]
[107: Nawab of Oudh and father of Suja-ud-daula.]
[108: I.e. the receiver of the rent or revenue.]
[109: The regular winds of the various seasons are called monsoons, and are named after the point of the compass from which they blow.]
[110: Alamgir II.]
[111: Imad-ul-mulk, Ghazi-ud-din Khan.]
[112: Ali Gauhar, born 1728. On the death of his father, November 29, 1759, he assumed the name or title of Shah Alam.]
[113: The old English Factory at Patna was re-opened by Mr. Pearkes, in July, 1757. See his letters to Council, dated 12th and 14th July, 1757.]
[114: Kasim Ali had a much better army than any of his predecessors. Though it was not trained in the European manner, several of the chief officers were Armenians, who effected great reforms in discipline. Three years later it made a really good fight against the English.]
[115: The battle is generally known as that of Gaya, but was fought at Suan. The site is marked in Rennell's map of South Bihar. It lies about six miles west of the town of Bihar, on the river Banowra.]
[116: The Banowra River.]
[117: The French capital on the Madras coast. Surrendered to Eyre Coote.]
[118: Sepoys, so called from the Telingana district in Madras, where they were first recruited.]
[119: Mrs. Law.Bibiis the equivalent of mistress or lady.Lasswas the native version of Law. Mrs. Law's maiden name was Jeanne Carvalho.]
[120: Bengal Select Com. Consultations, 28th January, 1761.]
[121: "A part of these Memoirs was written at Paris in 1703, and part at sea in 1764, during my second voyage to India, but several of the notes were added later."Law.]