Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan.djvu/760

736 of records from which they were to form their judgments, and how few persevered in comparing and combining this multitude of depositions with one another, in a subject so new to them, whether as military operations by land and sea, or as transactions in a strange land, of which they were now to learn the customs, manners, climate, and geography. Nevertheless, with due attention, much of this knowledge, and of the cause itself, might be acquired from the memoirs published not long before the decision, by Mr. D'Aché, Soupires, Bussy, and of Mr. Deleyrit, who was dead, but published by his heirs, with several others of lesser note and importance; and from the more copious justifications of Mr. Lally, written by himself, with the same unconquered spirit of invective against his enemies, as had brought on him the combination of accusations on which the jurisprudence of his country was now to pronounce. But none of these publications alleged, nor did any evidence assert any fact, to warrant the sentence of his judges, who must therefore have been led by the report of the recorder to condemn him to be beheaded, as duly attainted and convicted of having betrayed the interests of the King, the state, and the East India company; of abuse of authority, vexations, and exactions, upon the subjects of the King, and strangers resident in Pondicherry. Before the sentence was made known, he had been divested in the presence of the court of his military orders, and declared degraded of his military rank, in consequence of which he was removed from the Bastile, as a more honourable cofinement, to the common prison of criminals. Herein the morning of the 9th of May, 1766, his sentence was read to him; he threw up his hands to heaven, and exclaimed, Is this the reward of 45 years service! and snatching a pair of compasses, which lay with maps on his table, struck it to his breast, but it did not pierce to his heart; he then gave loose to every execration against his judges and accusers. His scaffold was prepared, and his execution appointed for the same afternoon: to prevent him from speaking to the spectators, a large gag was put into his mouth before he was taken out of prison, when he was carried in a common cart, and beheaded on the Greve. He perished in the 65th year of his age.