Page:History of the French in India.djvu/218

 196 THN FIRST STRUGGLE IN THE KARNATIK. chap, routing him in the field. And now suddenly, unex- r- y '^_< pectedly, this result had been achieved. From being 1746. the suppliants of the Nawwab of the Karnatik, — the vassals whose very movements depended upon his license, — they in a moment found themselves in reality, his superiors. This action at St. Thome, in fact, com- pletely reversed the positions of the Nawwab and the French Governor. Not only that, but it inaugurated a new era, it introduced a fresh order of things, it was the first decided step to the conquest of Hindustan by an European power. Whether that power were French or English would depend upon the relative strength of either nation, and even more on the character of the men by whom that strength should be put in action. The battle which introduced this change was one then that well deserves to be remembered ; and, in remem- bering it, let not us, who are English, forget to record that the merit of it is due, solely and entirely, to that great nation which fought with us the battle of empire on Indian soil, and did not win it.* To Dupleix this victory presented the means of extri- cating himself from all his difficulties. He now found himself able to carry out the plans which he had con- ceived at the time of the capture of Madras by La Bourdonnais. The conduct of the Nawwab in declaring war against him, in besieging Madras, and in endeavour- ing to intercept and destroy his little army, had quite cancelled the obligation under which he had placed himself to make over to him his conquest. That diffi- culty had been happily surmounted. Nor did the other bequeathed to him by La Bourdonnais, that of restoring 11 It was now more than a century long disuse of arms, had persuaded since any of the European nations them that the Moors were a brave had gained a decisive advantage in and formidable enemy ; when the war against the officers of the Great French at once broke through the Mughal. The experience of former charm of this timorous opinion, by unsuccessful enterprises, and the defeating a whole army w T ith a single scant iness of military abilities which battalion.
 * Mr. Orme wrote on this subject: prevailed in all the colonies, from a