Page:History of the French in India.djvu/60

 38 THE EARLY FRENCH IN INDIA. chap, never dwelt upon. They were careful, on the contrary, ' m, to pay the utmost deference to the wishes of the prince 1706. Wltn whom they were brought in contact, and to at- tempt to gain his confidence by a recognition of his power and authority. Their policy, in fact, was to adapt themselves as much as possible to native habits, whilst not departing from those strict principles, an adherence to which alone can beget confidence. In this respect, the ruler of Pondichery had something to repair, for the discreditable departure from Surat had materially affected French credit. Though it was left unavoidably to the successors of Martin to atone for that blot, yet, by the fairness of his own dealings, he brought his relations with the natives to such a point, that he and his French were not only trusted, but per- sonally esteemed and regarded. In this way he laid the foundation for that intimate connexion with native powers, which the most illustrious of his successors used with such effect to build up a French empire in India. Perhaps it was, that, left so long to his own resources in the presence of contending powers, any one of which was strong enough to destroy him, he deemed a policy of conciliation his only safe policy. But, even in that case, to him the credit is undoubtedly due of being able to dive so well into the character of the natives as to use them for his own purposes by seeming to defer to their wishes ; to turn the attack of Sivaji into a claim for Maratha protection, and to con- vert the loan to Sher Khan Lodi into the means of obtaining a fixed and perpetual revenue. It is a remarkable result, too, of Martin's skilful policy that the progress of Pondichery caused neither envy nor apprehension to any of the native rulers of the country. It is a result which can only be ascribed to the confidence which that policy had inspired. The guns on the ramparts were regarded, not as threatening to a native power, but as a means of defence against