Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan, Volume 1.djvu/152

144 In order therefore to gain the time and intelligence of which he stood so much in need, he determined to enter into a negociation. He had some days before written a letter to Nazir-jing, in which he had offered to make peace, on condition that Murzafa-jing was re-instated in his former governments, and Chunda-saheb put in possession of the Nabobship of the Carnatic. To this letter Nazir-jing had returned no answer, and Mr. Dupleix made use of this neglect as a pretext to continue the correspondence. He asserted, that the retreat of the French troops had been executed in consequence of orders which he himself had given, in hopes of accelerating the peace, by that proof of his aversion to continue hostilities; and to convince Nazir-jing that the troops had not taken flight, as was believed in his camp, he boldly magnified the slaughter they made when attacked in their retreat. He reminded him of the hospitality and good treatment which his sister the mother of Murzafa-jing, received in Pondicherry; recommended this prince to his clemency, and desired leave to send ambassadors.

Nazir-jing consented to receive the embassy, and two of the council of Pondicherry went to the camp; one of them was well versed in the Indostan and Persic languages, which are the only tongues used in the courts of the Mahomedan princes. They had an audience of ceremony, after which they conferred, as usual, with the council of ministers, and after several higher demands, they made their ultimate proposals, which were, that the estates of Murzfa-jing should be invested in the son of that prince, until Nazir-jing could be prevailed upon to reconcile himself to the father; and that Chunda-saheb should be appointed Nabob of the Carnatic. The council of ministers, although many of them wished well to Murzafa-jing, would not venture to represent to their master the demands made by Mr. Dupleix in his behalf; and told the French deputies, that the pretensions of Chunda-saheb were still less admissible, seeing that the government of the Carnatic was bestowed on Mahomed-ally, the son of An'war-odean Khan. The French deputies left the camp, after having remained in it eight days; but although they failed in gaining the apparent ends of their mission, they obtained the real advantages Mr. Dupleix proposed from it, by making themselves acquainted with the state of Nazir-jing's court, and by establishing