In Clive's Command, A Story of the Fight for India by Herbert Strang (1906) Reproduced by Sani H. Panhwar IN CLIVE'S COMMAND A Story of the Fight for India by Herbert Strang (1906) Reproduced by Sani H. Panhwar CONTENTS Preface .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 CHAPTER 1: In which the Court Leet of Market Drayton entertains Colonel Robert Clive; and our hero makes an acquaintance. .. .. .. 2 CHAPTER 2: In which our hero overhears a conversation; and, meeting with the unexpected, is none the less surprised and offended. .. .. .. 9 CHAPTER 3: In which Mr. Marmaduke Diggle talks of the Golden East; and our hero interrupts an interview, and dreams dreams. .. .. 17 CHAPTER 4: In which blows are exchanged; and our hero, setting forth upon his travels, scents an adventure. .. .. .. .. .. 24 CHAPTER 5: In which Job Grinsell explains; and three visitors come by night to the Four Alls. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 32 CHAPTER 6: In which the reader becomes acquainted with William Bulger and other sailor men; and our hero as a squire of dames acquits himself with credit. .. 42 CHAPTER 7: In which Colonel Clive suffers an unrecorded defeat; and our hero finds food for reflection. .. .. .. .. .. .. 53 CHAPTER 8: In which several weeks are supposed to elapse; and our hero is discovered in the Doldrums. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 59 CHAPTER 9: In which the Good Intent makes a running fight: Mr. Toley makes a suggestion. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 71 CHAPTER 10: In which our hero arrives in the Golden East, and Mr. Diggle presents him to a native prince. .. .. .. .. .. .. 84 CHAPTER 11: In which the Babu tells the story of King Vikramaditya; and the discerning reader may find more than appears on the surface. .. .. 96 CHAPTER 12: In which our hero is offered freedom at the price of honor; and Mr. Diggle finds that others can quote Latin on occasion. .. .. .. 109 CHAPTER 13: In which Mr. Diggle illustrates his argument; and there are strange doings in Gheria harbor. .. .. .. .. .. .. 120 CHAPTER 14: In which seven bold men light a big bonfire; and the Pirate finds our hero a bad bargain. .. .. .. .. .. .. 132 CHAPTER 15: In which our hero weathers a storm; and prepares for squalls. .. .. 142 CHAPTER 16: In which a mutiny is quelled in a minute; and our Babu proves himself a man of war. .. .. .. .. .. .. 150 CHAPTER 17: In which our hero finds himself among friends; and Colonel Clive prepares to astonish Angria. .. .. .. .. 160 CHAPTER 18: In which Angria is astonished; and our hero begins to pay off old scores. .. 175 CHAPTER 19: In which the scene changes; the dramatis personae remaining the same. .. 189 CHAPTER 20: In which there are recognitions and explanations; and our hero meets one Coja Solomon, of Cossimbazar. .. .. .. .. 204 CHAPTER 21: In which Coja Solomon finds dishonesty the worse policy; and a journey down the Hugli little to his liking. .. .. .. 214 CHAPTER 22: In which is given a full, true, and particular account of the Battle of the Carts. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 222 CHAPTER 23: In which there are many moving events; and our hero finds himself a cadet of John Company. .. .. .. .. .. 235 CHAPTER 24: In which the danger of judging by appearance is notably exemplified. .. 246 CHAPTER 25: In which our hero embarks on a hazardous mission; and Monsieur Sinfray's khansaman makes a confession. .. .. .. .. 251 CHAPTER 26: In which presence of mind is shown to be next best to absence of body. .. 262 CHAPTER 27: In which an officer of the Nawab disappears; and Bulger reappears. .. 268 CHAPTER 28: In which Captain Barker has cause to rue the day when he met Mr. Diggle; and our hero continues to wipe off old scores. .. .. 278 CHAPTER 29: In which our hero does not win the Battle of Plassey: but, where all do well, gains as much glory as the rest. .. .. .. .. 289 CHAPTER 30: In which Coja Solomon reappears: and gives our hero valuable information. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 299 CHAPTER 31: In which friends meet, and part: and our hero hints a proposal. .. .. 311 CHAPTER 32: In which the curtain falls to the sound of wedding bells: and our hero comes to his own. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 320 PREFACE I have not attempted in this story to give a full account of the career of Lord Clive. That has been done by my old friend, Mr. Henty, in "With Clive in India." It has always seemed to me that a single book provides too narrow a canvas for the display of a life so full and varied as Clive's, and that a work of fiction is bound to suffer, structurally and in detail, from the compression of the events of a lifetime within so restricted a space. I have therefore chosen two outstanding events in the history of India--the capture of Gheria and the battle of Plassey--and have made them the pivot of a personal story of adventure. The whole action of the present work is comprised in the years from 1754 to 1757. But while this book is thus rather a romance with a background of history than an historical biography with an admixture of fiction, the reader may be assured that the information its pages contain is accurate. I have drawn freely upon the standard authorities: Orme, Ives, Grose, the lives of Clive by Malcolm and Colonel Malleson, and many other works; in particular the monumental volumes by Mr. S.C. Hill recently published, "Bengal in 1756-7," which give a very full, careful and clear account of that notable year, with a mass of most useful and interesting documents. The maps of Bengal, Fort William and Plassey are taken from Mr. Hill's work by kind permission of the Secretary of State for India. I have to thank also Mr. T. P. Marshall, of Newport, for some valuable notes on the history and topography of Market Drayton. For several years I myself lived within a stone's throw of the scene of the tragedy of the Black Hole; and though at that time I had no intention of writing a story for boys, I hope that the impressions of Indian life, character and scenery then gained have helped to create an atmosphere and to give reality to my picture. History is more than a mere record of events; and I shall be satisfied if the reader gets from these pages an idea, however imperfect, of the conditions of life under which all empire builders labored in India a hundred and fifty years ago. Herbert Strang In Clive's Command - A Story of the Fight for India; Copyright © www.sanipanhwar.com 1 Chapter 1: In which the Court Leet of Market Drayton entertains Colonel Robert Clive; and our hero makes an acquaintance. One fine autumn evening, in the year 1754, a country cart jogged eastwards into Market Drayton at the heels of a thick-set, shaggy-fetlocked and broken-winded cob. The low tilt, worn and ill fitting, swayed widely with the motion, scarcely avoiding the hats of the two men who sat side by side on the front seat, and who, to a person watching their approach, would have appeared as dark figures in a tottering archway, against a background of crimson sky. As the vehicle jolted through Shropshire Street, the creakings of its unsteady wheels mingled with a deep humming, as of innumerable bees, proceeding from the heart of the town. Turning the corner by the butchers' bulks into the High Street, the cart came to an abrupt stop. In front, from the corn market, a large wooden structure in the center of the street, to the Talbot Inn, stretched a dense mass of people; partly townfolk, as might be discerned by their dress, partly country folk who, having come in from outlying villages to market, had presumably been kept in the town by their curiosity or the fair weather. "We'n better goo round about, Measter," said the driver, to the passenger at his side. "Summat's afoot down yander." "You're a wise man, to be sure. Something's afoot, as you truly say. And, being troubled from my youth up with an inquiring nose, I'll e'en step forward and smell out the occasion. Do you bide here, my Jehu, till I come back." "Why, I will, then, Measter, but my name binna Jehu. 'Tis plain Tummus." "You don't say so! Now I come to think of it, it suits you better than Jehu, for the Son of Nimshi drove furiously. Well, Tummus, I will not keep you long; this troublesome nose of mine, I dare say, will soon be satisfied." By this time he had slipped down from his seat, and was walking toward the throng. Now that he was upon his feet, he showed himself to be more than common tall, spare and loose jointed. His face was lean and swarthy, his eyes black and restless; his well- cut lips even now wore the same smile as when he mischievously misnamed his driver. Though he wore the usual dress of the Englishman of his day--frock, knee breeches and buckle shoes, none of them in their first youth--there was a something outlandish about him, in the bright yellow of his neckcloth and the red feather stuck at a jaunty angle into In Clive's Command - A Story of the Fight for India; Copyright © www.sanipanhwar.com 2 the ribbon of his hat; and Tummus, as he looked curiously after his strange passenger, shook his head and bit the straw in his mouth, and muttered: "Ay, it binna on'y the nose, 't binna on'y the nose, with his Jehus an' such." Meanwhile the man strode rapidly along, reached the fringe of the crowd, and appeared to make his way through its mass without difficulty, perhaps by reason of his commanding height, possibly by the aforesaid quaintness of his aspect, and the smile which forbade any one to regard him as an aggressor.