Page:History of the French in India.djvu/327

 LAW SLUMBERS WHILST OTHERS ACT. 303 the measures of Law, unenterprising as they were, C y^ p " seemed to be on a fair way to success. But he forgot ^—^-L that there were other actors on the scene besides him- 1751. self. He forgot that the time, with which he was trifling, might be used to good purpose by his opponents. He forgot, or, at least, acted as if he forgot, that his army and the fortress of Trichinapalli were not isolated from all the world ; that, if he looked upon its capture as the tinal seal to French domination, others were determined to use every means in their power to prevent it. Thus it happened that he slumbered whilst others acted. When a little energy would have given him possession of the coveted prize, he was content to act with more caution and more reserve than might have been expected even from a Nicias ; nay more, he absolutely threw away chances, courted defeat, and, by his conduct, gave to his rival that empire of the East, which, but for him, might have been gained, at least for a time, by the French. For whilst Law, disre- garding the entreaties of Dupleix, slumbered before Trichinapalli, the daring energy of Clive was gaining for England advantages and resources of which the French were thus deprived. No sooner had the youth- ful victor of Arkat seen the besieging army of Raju Sahib melt away from before him, than, having received the reinforcement commanded by Captain Kilpatrick, and having made the necessary arrangements for the defence of the capital he had conquered, he set out in pursuit of the enemy at the head of 200 Europeans, 700 sipahis, and three pieces of field-artillery. Notwith- standing that his Maratha allies, venturing too close to Vellur, had sustained a severe defeat at the hand of the French who were with Raju Sahib, and that a reinforce- ment of these from Pondichery had effected a junction with their countrymen, raising their number to 300, Clive did not hesitate to move in their direction. After a forced march of twenty miles he came up with them