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40 recipient of the honours conferred upon the holder of that office by the King of Delhi, whilst from those of inferior rank in the neighbourhood he received personal homage. Having seen these matters in progress he proceeded to Chandarnagar, to be installed there an Nuwáb. When this ceremony, conducted with the pomp so dear to the people of India, had been concluded, he expressed a desire to pay a visit to the Muhammadan Commandant of the town of Húglí. The latter, however, recognising the superior rank of the Frenchman, insisted with that courtesy innate in the truest type of Islám on paying the first visit. The honours with which Dupleix was received made a deep impression on the natives. On his return, after the ceremony, to Pondichery, he acted there on the same principle. Knowing that the princelets about him recognised display as a symbol of power, he acted so that they should see in him an officer holding his honours direct from the Court of Delhi. To strengthen this feeling he left nothing undone in the way of magnificence of surroundings. Troublous times were coming. In the event of an attack made by a European power, much, he felt, would depend upon the position the French settlement occupied in native opinion. He strove then to act towards the natives, princes as well as people, in the manner which his experience had proved was that best calculated to gain their esteem.

Had Dupleix at this crisis been supported largely and liberally from France he might have established