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 ■MACAULAY. 
 
 WITH INTRODUCTION, NOTES, &c, 
 
 TOGETHER WITH 
 
 HINTS ON- COMPOSITION AND AN 
 
 ANALYSIS OF SCOTT'S IVANHOK. 
 
 By 
 G. MERCER ADAM, 
 
 AND 
 
 GEORGE DICKSON, M.A. 
 
 Principal Upper Canada College. 
 
 
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 TORONTO: 3 
 
 THE COPP, CLARK COMPANY, LIMITED. § 
 
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 in the time of 
 ij^T WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
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 \j^ \ 100 so o too aoo 300 
 
 TJicCopp, GtarkGxJftit, Toronto. 
 
WARREN HASTINGS 
 
 BY 
 
 LORD l^IACAULAY. 
 
 EDITED FOR HIGH SCHOOL USE, WITH INTRODUCTIONS, 
 NOTES, ETC.; 
 
 TO WHICH IS APPENDED NOTES ON COMPOSITION, INCLUDING A 
 
 CLASSIFICATION OF THE TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS 
 
 OF LITERARY STYLE, ETC., 
 
 AND 
 AN OUTLINE OF THE PLOT OF 
 
 SCOTT'S IVAN HOE, 
 
 WITH A LIST OF ITS CHIEF PERSONAGES, ETC 
 BY 
 
 G. MERCER ADAM, 
 
 AND 
 
 GEORGE DICKSON, M.A., 
 
 Principal of Upper Canada College, 
 
 TORONTO: \\ ; ; «j „ ; >/, 
 THE COPP, CLARK COMPANY, (LIMITED), 
 1890, 
 
T1/JT 
 
 Entered according to Act of Parliament of Canada, in the year one thousand eight 
 hundred and ninety, hy The Copp, Clark Company, Limited, in the office of 
 the Minister of Agriculture. 
 
 fcENRY MORSE STEPHEN* 
 
PREFACE, 
 
 The Editors of this edition of Macaulay's Essay on Warren 
 Hastings have prepared the work to meet the wants of those 
 who intend going up for the Matriculation Examinations in 
 English Composition, for the year 1891, at the Universities. 
 The literary student is to be congratulated on the selection, for 
 the second time by Toronto University, of a work so attractive 
 as this in English prose, at once interesting in matter and ani- 
 mated in style. He is also to be congratulated on the fact 
 that an English Classic is placed on the Curriculum not for 
 grammatical dissection, nor even for critical study, in its literary 
 and rhetorical aspects, but as material for exercises in English 
 Composition. 
 
 While this special object has been kept in view, the Editors 
 have not been unmindful of the many difficulties, literary and 
 historical, which the Essay presents to the reader. In the 
 endeavour to meet these, the Editors have supplied in the 
 Introductions and Annotations such helps as they have deemed 
 essential, and which the slender resources of a student's library 
 do not usually furnish. To facilitate reading and aid the 
 memory in retaining what has been read, the text of the Essay 
 has been broken into chapters, the headings of which may serve, 
 in some degree, as Themes for Composition. 
 
 With Macaulay's Essay, Scott's Ivanhoe has for the same 
 year been bracketed, as an additional prose work, with which 
 the candidate is expected to familiarize himself, and on which 
 his powers of writing an English Prose composition will be 
 tested. To aid the student in his reading of the novel, an out- 
 line of its plot has been furnished, with a list of its principal 
 characters and some observations on its historical setting. 
 
 864754 
 
XV PREFACE. 
 
 Appended to the work is a brief classification of the technical 
 characteristics of literary style, and a few hints on its intellec- 
 tual, emotional, and aesthetic qualities, together with an enu- 
 meration of the chief Figures of Speech, deemed essential to the 
 young student in comprehending the technique of literary 
 criticism. 
 
 In prescribing the Prose Work for English Composition in 
 the several years, the Curriculum of Toronto University enjoins 
 on Candidates for Matriculation that nothing but an essay will 
 be required based on the work or works for the year. This, the 
 Curriculum adds, u shall be dealt with rather as a test of the 
 candidate's power of English composition than as a proof of his 
 knowledge of the subject written upon. Legible writing and 
 correct spelling and punctuation will be regarded as indispen. 
 sible, and special attention will be paid to the structure of 
 sentences and paragraphs. The examiner will allow a choice of 
 subjects, some of which must be based on the selections named, 
 with which the candidate is expected to familiarize himself by 
 careful reading." The Editors deem it proper to call the atten- 
 tion of those using the present book to this requirement of the 
 University authorities. 
 
 Toronto, July, 1890. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 ♦ 
 
 Page 
 
 Preface i i 
 
 Macaulay's Life and the Characteristics of his Writings vii 
 
 India before the time of Warren Hastings viii 
 
 Some Notes on the Essay xi 
 
 Hints on Composition and on the Methods of Literary Criticism . . . xvi 
 
 Text of the Essay. 
 
 Chapter I. — Hasting's Ancestry and School Life 25 
 
 II.— First Duties in India -1750-1764 29 
 
 III. — Visits England and returns to India 32 
 
 IV. — Appointed Governor of Bengal 34 
 
 V. — Bengalee Character described 36 
 
 VI.^-The Double Government dissolved 38 
 
 VII. — An Empty Treasury .... 41 
 
 VIII. — Compact against the Rohillas 43 
 
 IX. — Devastation of Rohilcund 46 
 
 X. — Philip Francis and the Junius Letters 48 
 
 XI. — The Governor-General and the Council 50 
 
 XII. — Hastings, Impey and Nuncomar 55 
 
 XIII. — Unsuccessful efforts to remove Hastings 59 
 
 XIV. — Coote, the Mahrattas and the French 62 
 
 XV. — Impey's Reign of Terror 66 
 
 XVI.— The Struggle with Hyder Ali 71 
 
 XVII. — Benares and the Conflicting Rule 74 
 
 XVIII. — Cheyte Sing plundered and Benares annexed .... 77 
 
 XIX. — Hastings sets covetous eyes on Oude 80 
 
 XX.— The Chief Justice Recalled 84 
 
 XXI. — Review of Hastings' Administration 86 
 
 XXII. — Hastings' Popularity in Bengal 90 
 
 XXIIL— Takes Final Leave of India 93 
 
 XXIV.— The Prosecution— Tribute to Burke 97 
 
 XXV. — Burke defeated on the First Charge 100 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Chapter XXVI.— Fox, Pitt and Sheridan 102 
 
 XXVII. —The Trial in Westminster Hall 106 
 
 XXVIII. — Burke's Impeachment of Hastings 110 
 
 XXIX.— The Acquittal of Hastings 113 
 
 XXX. — In Retirement — Death 118 
 
 Annotations on the Essay 123 to 139 
 
 Chronological Table, and List of Indian Governors 140 
 
 Analysis of the Plot of Scott's Ivanhoe, with a List of the Prin- 
 cipal and Subordinate Characters and Suggestions for Heading 
 the Novel 142 
 
MACATJLAY'S LIFE, 
 
 AND THK 
 
 CHARACTERISTICS OF HIS WRITINGS. 
 
 Thomas Babington (Lord) Macaulay, one of the greatest masters 
 of English prose, was born at Bothley Temple, Leicestershire, October 
 2oth, 1800. His father, Zachafy Macaulay, was intimately associated 
 with Wilberforce in the emancipation of the West Indian slaves. 
 Macaulay, early in life, gave promise of winning a notable name. As a 
 boy he was precocious and self-confident ; though he justified these 
 characteristics by ceaseless reading, by the assiduous cultivation of his 
 mental faculties, and by the exercise of a memory phenomenal in its 
 strength. His university career at Cambridge was not distinguished for 
 profound scholarship : he was rather a desultory student, and preferred 
 to win success in his own paths. English literature was the field in which 
 he chose to seek honours, and there he won them, as well as within the 
 circle of a literary society attached to the College, where he shone in 
 debate. In 1822 he took his B.A. degree, and two years afterwards 
 obtained a College Fellowship. 
 
 On leaving the University Macaulay studied law and was called to 
 the bar. Literature, however, was his lodestar, and in the arena of 
 letters he had already achieved a name. His contributions to Knight's 
 Quarterly had been well received ; but public attention was specially 
 directed to the young writer by his article in the Edinburgh Review on 
 Milton. This essay was the first of that long series of brilliant contributions 
 to the Whig Quarterly, which earned for that periodical its chief reputa- 
 tion. Meanwhile politics was putting forth a rival claim for a hold on 
 Macaulay's talents. In 1830 he entered Parliament ; and for four years 
 took an active part in the stirring scenes of the Reform Bill. He was 
 a Liberal in politics, and his vehement oratory and great powers of 
 work were of much service to his party at this critical period of Parlia- 
 mentary history. In 1832 he was appointed a Commissioner of the 
 Board of Control, which represented the Crown in its relation to the East 
 India Company ; and two years afterwards he was nominated a member 
 of the Supreme Council of India. The next four years Macaulay spent 
 in Calcutta. To this residence in India, and the impress it made upon 
 the writer's mind, we doubtless owe two of the most brilliant essays in 
 the language. 
 
VI LIFE OF MACAULAY. 
 
 Returning to England in 1839, Macaulay again entered Parliament, 
 and for a number of years had a seat in the Cabinet. Laborious as were 
 his Ministerial duties, he yet found time to pursue with unflagging 
 ardour his literary work. The essays on Lord Clive and Warren 
 Hastings are the product of this period, as are those admirable speci- 
 mens of " rhymed rhetoric," the Lays of Ancient Rome. But alternate 
 legislating and electioneering were not favourable to literary composition ; 
 and Macaulay was ambitious to do more than write essays and compose 
 verse. He had long cherished the idea of writing a History of England ; 
 and, fortunately for literature, Parliamentary defeats and loss of office 
 gave him the leisure, though now late in the day, to put his wish into 
 effect. From now to the close of his life, with a brief interruption 
 incident to his temporary return to politics, Macaulay threw his whole 
 heart into the writing of his History. Few Englishmen at the time 
 were so deeply versed as he in the country's annals ; and none had 
 hitherto hit the idea of making history popular, or were able to treat 
 it with such picturesque effect. Alas ! he lived to see but four volumes 
 published ; the fifth, a fragment, appeared posthumously, for, at the 
 close of 1859, the brain that had woven the wonderful fabric had ceased 
 its function^. Its author died Baron Macaulay ; and on the 9th 
 of January, 1860, his remains were interred with impressive pomp in 
 the Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey. 
 
 The social aspects of Macaulay's life present some very loveable traits. 
 His attachment to his sister, Lady Trevelyan, and the fond indulgence 
 of a bachelor-uncle to her children, are prominent features in his bio- 
 graphy and pleasingly attest his affectionate disposition and warmth of 
 heart. The " Life and Letters," by his nephew, Mr. Trevelyan, is one 
 of the most admirable biographies in the language, and should be read 
 by all admirers of the great historian, orator, and essayist. 
 
 Macaulaj' is the most pictorial prose-writer in English literature. His 
 power of graphic narration has rarely been equalled and never surpassed. 
 With wide and accurate knowledge, and the faculty of readily bringing 
 it to his aid, he has enriched the literature of history and biography 
 with scenes and studies that bid fair to have perennial life. He was a 
 typical Englishman ; and his writings, both historical and literary, deal 
 with subjects that interest the national mind and enlist the sympathies 
 of the national heart. His power of reproducing the past is great ; and 
 the impression he leaves on the mind of the reader is vivid and lasting # 
 His work always tells, for it is hearty and genuine. Nor is it ever 
 timidly put forth, but invariably with confidence and conviction. In 
 
CHARACTERISTICS OP HIS STYLE. Vll 
 
 not a few instances this leads him into error, and gives a colour to his 
 statements that does injustice to facts. At times one has to stand off 
 from his work to get its proper focus, and to see his facts out of 
 the glare of his rhetoric. But he has painted many striking pictures, 
 and imbued with fresh life many forgotten incidents and memorable 
 figures of the past. 
 
 The characteristics of Macaulay's style are strength and clearness. It 
 is said that ne never wrote but one obscure sentence in his life. With 
 equal truth it may be affirmed that he never penned a weak one. In 
 reading Macaulay one often sighs, indeed, for an hour of langour, and for 
 a passage of quiet repose. But there is as little of repose as there is of 
 emotion. The tenderness that was in his nature he never imparts to his 
 books. We have the firm hand of the robust rhetorician, but never the 
 soft touch of the idealist or the poet. Macaulay has no acute sensi- 
 bilities ; and hence in his writings there is little of humour and less of 
 pathos. Yet every page is instinct with life, bright with colour, and afflu- 
 ent of illustration. From every nook of literature he brings something 
 to enrich his narrative and ornament his work. Not only are his facts 
 inexhaustible, but inexhaustible also are the resources of his art. On 
 canvas there may be daubs of colour, but the man and the scene he 
 sets out to paint he always succeeds in making live before one. The 
 process may be mechanical and the details too minute, but the result 
 nevertheless is art. 
 
 The essay on Warren Hastings exemplifies both the merits and the 
 defects of Macaulay as a writer. Though somewhat overloaded with 
 ornament, the narrative is clear-cut, forcible and brilliant. It displays 
 vast and varied knowledge, and is enriched with apt, if profuse, illus- 
 tration. But Macaulay rarely brings out the deeper significance of 
 events, and seldom looks into the heart for the motive of his actors. 
 Not only is there an absence of the analytic habit, there is often a 
 narrowness of view, and not infrequently poverty of thought. He is 
 seldom original, and never profound. To the ordinary reader this is 
 concealed by an animated style, and by a florid and abundant rhetoric. 
 
 Macaulay's fondness for antithetical writing often detracts from his 
 sense of justice, and leads him unfairly to praise one man by defaming 
 another. In one other respect his work is defective : as the artists say, 
 his pictures want atmosphere ; he gets too near to the canvas, and, con- 
 sequently, there is a lack of perspective. But despite these defects 
 Macaulay is a great and attractive writer. He is always in earnest, and 
 his industry makes his work thorough, if not at all times accurate. 
 The national history may yet be witten more scientifically, but never 
 with a sturdier patriotism or with more enthusiasm and fire. 
 
INDIA BEFORE THE TIME OF WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 British settlement in India practically dates from the year 1600, when 
 the East India Company was founded. A hundred years earlier the 
 Spaniards, the Portuguese, and the Dutch, actuated by the spirit of 
 enterprise of the time, were all eager to reach the Indies, and to bring 
 home some of its fabled wealth. During the whole of the 16th century 
 the Portuguese had the monopoly of trade in the East. When the 
 crowns of Portugal and Spain were for a time united the national 
 interests of Portugal were merged in Spanish conquest in the West, and 
 her Asiatic trade passed into the hands of the English and the Dutch. 
 Competition between the two latter Powers for the commerce of India 
 was in the 17th century keen and on both sides aggressive. But in 1758 
 the tide turned in favour of Britain, when Clive, at Chinsurah, forced 
 the Dutch to capitulate. Sixty years later Dutch trade on the mainland 
 of India received its death blow, when England, during the great 
 French wars, from 1793 to 1811, won all the colonies of Holland. 
 
 But England had other rivals besides the Portuguese and the Dutch 
 in the trade of the Orient. France had early laid covetous eyes on the 
 wealth of the Indies, and possessed a Trading Company in the East 
 under charter of the French Crown. There were also various English 
 companies formed for trading purposes in India and the Indian Archi- 
 pelago. In 1709 the two chief companies were amalgamated, and were 
 henceforth known as the ' ' East India Company. " At successive 
 periods this great corporation obtained a renewal of its charter, though 
 its powers were more or less modified as time went on, until the year 
 1858, when the Company and its affairs were transferred to the British 
 Crown. On some of the islands of the Indian Archipelago the Company 
 established factories, or houses of trade, which ere long brought its 
 servants into collision with the Portuguese and the Dutch. In 1623 
 occurred the massacre by the Dutch at Amboyna, which drove the 
 English from the Spice Islands to the mainland of India. The Com- 
 pany soon obtained a footing on the Coromandel coast, where it erected 
 Fort St. George, its first territorial possession, and the nucleus of the 
 later city of Madras. Settlements were ere long effected at Bombay, 
 at Fort William (Calcutta), at Moorshedabad, once the capital of 
 Bengal, and at various points on the Hooghly, a navigable branch of the 
 Ganges. The French also made good their foothold in the country, 
 establishing themselves at Chandernagore, just above Calcutta, and at 
 Pondicherry, a hundred miles south of Madras. 
 
INDIA BEFORE HIS TIME. IX 
 
 At first the English East India Company pursued its trade by per- 
 mission of the native princes, whose rights it for a time respected, 
 though the cupidity of the Company and its employes were ere long 
 utterly to disregard both political and commercial morality. The 
 rivalry of the trading companies of other nations, particularly the 
 French, soon introduced discord into the country, and with it a factor 
 of no inconsiderable account in the spoliation of India. Its fruit was 
 soon seen in setting the native rulers by the ears, in deposing some, and 
 extorting from others immense sums of money and ere long their terri- 
 torial possessions. The trading companies were greedy and their 
 servants unscrupulous. Such was the position of affairs in India when, 
 in 1744, war broke out in Europe between England and France. At this 
 time M. Dupleix, the French Governor of Pondicherry, was ambitious 
 that the rule of his countrymen should be the dominant one in India- 
 The English were the special objects of the Governor's designs ; and in 
 1746 Madras surrendered to a French squadron which was then cruising 
 on the coast. In 1748 it was however restored to Britain. 
 
 Meanwhile the whole of Southern India, on the fall of the Mogul 
 power at Delhi, had become practically independent ; and in the Deccan 
 the Nizam-ul-Mulk was founding at Hyderabad a hereditary dynasty. 
 The Carnatic, the lowland district lying between the central plateau 
 and the Eastern Sea, was governed by a deputy of the Nizam, known 
 as the Nawab of Arcot. To the south lay Mysore, Tanjore, and 
 Trichinopoli, which were all seats of independent Hindoo power. On 
 the death,, in 1748, of Nizam-ul-Mulk, the " War of Succession" to the 
 throne of the Deccan, referred to in Macaulay's Essay, began to rage. 
 The English supported the claim of Nasir Jung, a son of the late ruler ; 
 while it suited the purpose of the French Governor, Dupleix, to main- 
 tain the cause first of one grandson and then of another. In like 
 manner, to the subordinate sovereignty of Arcot, the French and 
 English advanced the interests of rival claimants. The former upheld 
 the pretensions of Chunder Sahib, while the latter countenanced those 
 of Mahommed Ali. To end the trouble, which was a source of danger 
 to Madras, and to cripple the influence of France in the Carnatic, the 
 English directed Clive, who had come to India in 1743, to proceed with 
 a small but brave force to seize Arcot. Olive's capture and subsequent 
 defence of the place was the first of his great military achievements. 
 From that period French power in the East begun to decline ; and its 
 overthrow occurred nine years later, when Sir Eyre Coote won the 
 victory of Wandewash, and in the following year starved Pondicherry 
 into a surrender. 
 
X WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 The scene now shifts to Bengal, and to the advent of Warren Hastings. 
 In 1740 the hereditary succession to the throne of the Province had 
 been broken by a usurper, who died in 1756. His grandson, Surajah 
 Dowlah, a hot-headed youth of eighteen, became Nawab of Bengal. 
 The Court was at Moorshedabad, contiguous to Cossimbazar and the 
 European factories on the Hooghly. Down the river, at Calcutta, there 
 was by this time a large settlement of English. Suddenly the city was 
 seized by a panic on the appearance at its gates of an army of the 
 Nawab. On the pretext of capturing a relative, who had escaped from 
 his vengeance, Surajah Dowlah had marched upon and invested Calcutta 
 with his forces. Most of the English fled down the river in their ships ; 
 though about 150 of them were captured and flung for the night into the 
 military jail at Fort William. Only 23 emerged on the morrow from 
 the horrors of the " Black Hole." 
 
 While this tragic occurrence took place Clive was at Madras with the 
 British fleet. On hearing of the calamity he instantly set out for the 
 mouth of the Ganges, and Calcutta was promptly recovered. The 
 Nawab fortunately consented to a peace and made ample compensation 
 for British losses. But Clive soon found the opportunity to settle 
 accounts more satisfactorily with Surajah Dowlah. War having again 
 broken out between France and England, the hero of Arcot made it the 
 pretext to seize the French settlement on the Hooghly of Chanderna- 
 gore. This enraged the Nawab ; and in hot haste he took up the cause 
 of the French. Clive, acting upon the policy of the Governor of Pondi- 
 cherry, put forward a rival claimant for the throne. Resort was had to 
 arms. At Plassy, about 70 miles north of Calcutta, the die was cast ; 
 and Clive with less than a tenth of Dowlah's army met and scattered it 
 to the winds. Placing Meer Jaflier on the throne of Bengal, Clive 
 dictated his own terms on elevating him to the position, and the East 
 India Company practically became masters of the Province. 
 
 little remains now to be said, for Warren Hastings comes at this 
 period upon the scene, and Macaulay's Essay takes up the thread of the 
 narrative. Plassy was fought on the 23rd of June, 1757 : and in the 
 following year Clive was appointed by the Court of Directors Governor 
 of the Company's settlements in Bengal. The incidents connected with 
 th« dethronement of Meer Jaflier, the revolt of Meer Casim, and the re- 
 conquest of Bengal, brings the story of British occupation well on in the 
 career of Hastings. These and subsequent stirring events brought out the 
 resources of that famed administrator ; and, with Clive's military genius, 
 make the history of the period a notable one in the annals of India. 
 
SOME NOTES ON THE ESSAY. 
 
 Lord Macaulay's essay on Warren Hastings is one of his most 
 notable contributions to the Edinburgh Review, where it appeared in 
 October, 1841. Early in the previous year its writer had contributed 
 to the same periodical his hardly less famous essay on Lord Olive, which 
 should be read in connection with that on Warren Hastings, that the 
 student may be familiar with the military achievements which in part 
 precede, and in part run contemporary with, Hastings' lengthy and 
 brilliant rule in India. The two men who were to become the founders 
 of Britain's greatness in the East, and who, despite the stains on their 
 character, figure grandly in the Anglo-Indian history of the eighteenth 
 century, were, for the space of some seventeen years, actors together in 
 the civil and military administration of India. How their careers for 
 a time interlace will best be seen by reproducing the dates in connection 
 with the lives of both men. Clive was born in 1725 ; he made his first 
 voyage to India in 1743 ; and finally quitted the East in 1767. He 
 died in England by his omtl hand in 1774. Warren Hastings was Olive's 
 junior by only seven years ; he made his first voyage to India in 1750 ; 
 and, with a visit of four years' duration to England, was for thirty-five 
 years in the East India Company's service, during thirteen of which he 
 had charge of the affairs of the Indian Empire. Returning to England 
 in 1785, he spenli there the remainder of a long and chequered life, 
 dying in the year 1818. 
 
 Macaulay's personal knowledge of India, and his vast fund of his- 
 torical and literary research, were, no doubt inducing motives in his 
 taking up the Malcolm and Gleig biographies of these heroes of Indian 
 history as themes for an historical essay and studies of portraiture for 
 the pages of the great Whig Quarterly. Britain's Indian Empire, with 
 its barbaric wealth and glitter, the splendour of its temples, courts and 
 palaces, the pageantry and stately ceremonial by which the native 
 princes were surrounded, together with all the glamour of the East, 
 formed a group of subjects well fitted to attract Macaulay's love of the 
 picturesque and give scope for graphic writing. The achievements of 
 the British arms, the successive conquests over the native tribes, the 
 thrilling stories of peril and daring, the knavery of Indian intrigue, and 
 the counter-diplomacy of the English military chiefs, were further sub- 
 jects well calculated to enlist the ardour of a patriotic historian an4 
 
Xll WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 furnish material for brilliant literary effects. It is just here that the 
 student needs to be on his guard against Macaulay, and to take 
 care that the fascination of his style and the brilliance of his 
 stately sentences do not lead him astray in the estimate he desires 
 to form of the events described in his pages, and falsify his 
 judgment of the chief actors who play their part in the narrative. 
 This is particularly necessary in reading the essay on Warren Hastings, 
 where Macaulay delights in marked contrasts, and glorifies his hero by 
 throwing into the deepest shade those who were either his tools or who 
 opposed him in the questionable methods by which he won success. It 
 is this love for startling antitheses, combined at times with a too pro- 
 nounced partisanship, that detracts from Macaulay 's merits as a portrait 
 painter and historian, however spirited may be his narrative, dazzling 
 his eloquence, and great the wealth of the historical and literary illus- 
 tration he lavishes upon his work. Few, however, will fail to be 
 captivated by the polish of the language, the vigour and perspicuity 
 of statement, the telling turns of argument, and the succession and 
 rhythmic flow of the glowing periods. Nor, despite what we have said 
 of Macaulay's partisanship, and the artificial graces and noisy brilliance 
 of many of his sentences, will the reader fail to note the essayist's 
 manifest desire to mete out justice to the figures on his canvas, or 
 remain unstirred while he vigorously applies the lash to meanness and 
 deceit. The value he sets upon uprightness of character, straightfor- 
 wardness of action, purity of living, and all that is noble and unselfish 
 in human nature, is indeed a high one ; though at times he sadly 
 qualifies his ideal by an ingenuity of defence and a sophistry of language 
 when dealing with crime that too often reveals the advocate and 
 throws a cloud over the moral sense. But this is at once the weakness 
 and the strength of Macaulay ; and our estimate of his work, like our 
 estimate of such a character as Warren Hastings, must not be. upon a 
 single trait of the man, but upon the individual as a whole, and upon 
 the completed work he has left behind him 
 
 It is fifty years since Macaulay's Essay was written, and we now see 
 a little more clearly the difficulties of the position in which Warren 
 Hastings was placed. Historical research has meanwhile also brought 
 to light much that hitherto was mere conjecture in regard to the 
 transactions of the period, or are the animadversions of a partisan 
 judgment India a hundred years ago was deemed more emphatically 
 than it is to-day "a distant, alien, and usurped dominion," and the 
 theory then, and perhaps truthfully held, was that " only the force 
 wielded and the fear inspired by arbitrary rule could maintain it.*' 
 
SOME NOTES ON THE ESSAY. Xlll 
 
 " In the eighteenth century," says Sir Alfred Lyall in his admirable 
 monograph on Warren Hastings, in the English Men of Action Series, 
 "the question of governing India from London presented in the highest 
 degree all the difficulties and enigmas inherent in the administration of 
 dependencies that are separated from the sovereign State by distance, 
 by differences of religion, race, climate, and by the strongest possible 
 contrast of social ideas and political traditions." This the essayist not 
 only saw, but he gave Hastings the benefit of the impression it made 
 upon his mind, in the portraiture he has left us of the great Anglo- 
 Indian Proconsul. Not only does he recognise the fact that when 
 Hastings first came upon the scene English rule in the East was charac- 
 terised by all kinds of extortion, and that the sordid company, whose 
 servant he was, looked upon India only as a field to poach in ; but he at 
 the same time places the Governor- General in the midst of his difficult 
 and entangling surroundings, having, figuratively, to make bricks 
 without straw, and administer the affairs of a great trust, fighting, for 
 the most part, with his back to the wall, with a Council Board which, so 
 far from helping him, was a constant perplexity and menace. Macaulay, 
 however, is not careful to give Hastings the full benefit of this view of 
 the case when he comes to deal with the impeachment and the over- 
 charged rhetoric of the impassioned orators for the prosecution. The 
 national inquisition gives him the opportunity, which he evidently 
 coveted, for indulging in picturesque writing, in unison, as he thought, 
 with the tragic declamation of Burke, Fox, and Sheridan ; though a 
 soberer judgment to-day deems the whole proceedings of the trial 
 vexatious, and the language of the prosecution what Pitt at the time 
 censured it for being — "violent and unfair." A great modern legal 
 authority speaks of the impeachment as "a blot on the judicial history 
 of the country." "It is monstrous," writes Sir James Stephen, in his 
 History of Criminal Law, " that a man should be tortured at irregular 
 intervals for seven years in order that a singularly incompetent tribunal 
 might be addressed before an excited audience by Burke and Sheridan, 
 in language far removed from the calmness with which an advocate for 
 the prosecution ought to address a criminal court." More open still to 
 criticism is the Essay when its author comes to consider the relations 
 between Hastings and some of the personages with whom he was in 
 alliance. 
 
 Towards Sir Elijah Impey, Macaulay is now . known to have 
 been grossly unfair. He deems him a mere tool of the Governor- 
 General, and in the Essay he has loaded him with reproach and obloquy. 
 In treating of the alleged compact with Hastings, by which Impey, as 
 
XIV WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 he affirms, became rich and infamous, the historian steeps his pen in 
 gall and writes of the Chief Justice as if he were the greatest felon 
 unhung. Nor is he a whit more lenient when he comes to deal with the 
 plundering of the Begums of Oude, for he again charges the Chief 
 Justice with crimes that stain the robes of his office " by the peculiar 
 rankness of their infamy." The extravagant and partisan judgment of 
 the brilliant essayist is only equalled by Burke's biting invective when 
 he impeached Hastings at the Bar of the House of Commons. There 
 the impassioned orator flung at the incriminated Governor-General 
 every epithet of contumely and scorn. It is now, however, very certain 
 that many counts in the indictment of both Hastings and Impey were 
 cruelly unjust, as well as malignantly aspersive. The alleged compact 
 between them for what was termed the judicial murder of Nuncomar 
 had really no existence ; and most of the charges brought against them 
 by their sleepless enemy, Sir Philip Francis, are now believed to be 
 virulently untrue. The whole Nuncomar case has recently been probed 
 to the bottom, and the exoneration of the Governor- General and the 
 Chief Justice is deemed both explicit and complete. Sir James Fitz- 
 james Stephens has made the most searching and exhaustive inquiry 
 into the matter, and has examined every document and fact relating to 
 it. His conviction is that Nuncomar's trial was perfectly fair, and that 
 there was no sort of conspiracy or understanding between Hastings and 
 the Chief Justice to get rid of the Bengalee ; nor, as he believes, had 
 Hastings anything whatever to do with the prosecution. Sir James 
 makes this further statement exonerating the Chief Justice : — " I have 
 read everything," he says, " I could find throwing light on Impey's 
 character, and it appears to me that he was neither much blacker nor 
 much whiter, in whole or in part, than his neighbours. I have read . 
 through all his letters and private papers, and I can find in them no 
 trace of corruption. . . . When his conduct in the different matters 
 objected to is fully examined I think it will appear that, if the whole of 
 his conduct is not fully justified, he at least is to be honourably 
 acquitted of the tremendous charges which Macaulay has brought 
 against him." 
 
 Thus is conclusively disposed of, we venture to think, not only the 
 odious imputation on Impey as a judge, but the dishonour cast on 
 Hastings by the charge of complicity with the Chief Justice, in taking 
 foul means to get rid of an influential native dignitary who was 
 obnoxious to both. Macaulay's indictment in the case would seem to 
 fall completely to the ground, and a controversy is thus set at rest 
 wjrich has raged intermittently for close upon a hundred years. In 
 
SOME NOTES ON THE ESSAY. XV 
 
 regard to other matters in Hastings' career there was, no doubt, cause 
 for impeachment ; but it must now, we think, be said that the mode 
 and manner of it were inconsistent with fair play and with proper con- 
 sideration for the resplendent services of the whilom Master of all India. 
 Many of Hastings' acts no one would venture to defend ; but though 
 despotic and often unscrupulous, he was neither a political gamester nor 
 a brigand. Whatever he was, Macaulay does not fail, on the whole, to 
 do him justice. His administration reduced chaos to order, gave some 
 measure of security to life and property, widened the area of British 
 jurisdiction, and implanted in the breasts of a restive people the fear of 
 English prowess, and in the hearts of knaves a wholesome dread of th*» 
 English name. 
 
NOTES ON ENGLISH COMPOSITION. 
 
 How the writing of English can best be acquired is a question not 
 easily answered. Text-books and intelligent training will do something ; 
 but practice and the study of good models will, admittedly, do more. 
 The tirst step is to train the pupil to think. If at first, which is likely 
 to be the case, the pupil cannot use his reflective powers so as to pro- 
 vide himself with material for a theme in Composition, he may with 
 advantage be referred to some pregnant passage occurring in the works 
 of a good writer. He should be asked to gather the substance of the 
 writer's argument in the passage, and to translate it into his own words. 
 The paraphrase he may then commit to paper. Varied practice of this 
 sort, with the corrections and counsel of a good teacher, will do more to 
 impart facility in writing than any number of rules, or a lengthy course 
 of grammatical exposition, however good. In English Composition, as 
 in other branches of education, much more may be attained by oral 
 than by text-book teaching. There are a few hints, however, that may 
 be useful to the pupil, which we here venture to set forth, with the re- 
 mark that, in this as in other studies, little can be done without the 
 pupil's exercise of his own mental powers, or without taste in the 
 selection and assiduity, as we have said, in the reading of good literary 
 models. 
 
 Before beginning a practical course of English Composition, the 
 teacher will do well to impress upon the pupil's mind the following 
 requisites to success in the writing of English, mastery of which, in his 
 exercises and practice, the learner should endeavour to gain : (1) Famili- 
 arity with the subject to be written about ; (2) Some notion of method 
 in the arrangement of topics, and natural sequence of ideas in treating of 
 them ; (3) A fair English vocabulary (the simpler the better) ; (4) An 
 accurate knowledge of the meanings of words and phrases; (5) Some 
 degree of taste and sense of propriety in the language used ; (6) Such an 
 acquaintance with the rules of grammar as will keep one from violating 
 syntax ; and (7) "A ready perception of the beauties of language and of 
 those things that tend to make it most effective for its purpose." 
 
 With these general ideas impressed upon the mind of the pupil, and 
 with preliminary practice in sentence-building, including exercises in 
 variations of its structure, phraseology, and sequence, he may go on to 
 
 xvi 
 
NOTES ON COMPOSITION. XV11 
 
 the composition of the paragraph, and to the analysis of its properties — 
 unity, consecutiveness, and variety. From these he may proceed to 
 exercises on theme writing, and to lessons on the qualities of style, par- 
 ticularly in its essentials of perspicuity and strength. In the exercises 
 on the analysis of style the utmost care should be taken to make criti- 
 cism on the mere mechanism of the language subordinate to the all- 
 important consideration of the thought and aim of the writer, which 
 form the essence of every literary work. While a student of literature, 
 it should not be forgotten that the pupil is also a student of the 
 world ; that he is being prepared to enter upon a life of thought and 
 action for himself ; and that the pedantry which makes so much of 
 school work in the grammatical construction of the language is a poor 
 substitute, as a means of training, for those impressive lessons, both of 
 principle and sentiment, which happily abound in English literature, 
 and are its most distinguished characteristics. Nor should it be forgotten 
 that over-attention to the minutiae of criticism prevents the pupil from 
 forming just or adequate conceptions of an author's work, and, in the 
 case of a masterpiece of literature, limits his vision of its large and 
 general aspects. 
 
 In proceeding to theme-writing, the teacher's care, after he has seen 
 to the grammatical purity of the pupil's compositions, should be chiefly 
 directed to the supervision of their rhetorical qualities. A heavy hand 
 will here be needed, as the tendency of imaginative youth is to run riot 
 among the flowers of the language. The first requisites he should exact 
 are Simplicity and Clearness ; after that may come Strength. Perhaps 
 no better rules can be given, as directions to the pupil in attaining these 
 requisites, than the old and simple ones of Lindley Murray, which we 
 fear are, in these modern days, not so familiar as they ought to be, and 
 hence may here be quoted : 
 
 1. " Avoid," says Lindley Murray, M all such words and phrases as are not adapted 
 to the ideas you mean to communicate, or which are less significant than others, of 
 those ideas." 
 
 2. During the course of the sentence the scene should be changed as little as 
 possible, i.e. [do not let the mind be hurried by sudden transitions from person to per- 
 son, or from subject to subject.] 
 
 3. Never crowd into one sentence things which have so little connection that they 
 could bear to be divided into two or three sentences ; and keep clear of all unnecessary 
 parentheses. 
 
 4. For promoting the strength of a sentence, prune it of all redundant words and 
 members ; much force is added to a sentence by brevity. 
 
 5. Attend, particularly to the use of copulatives, relatives, and all the particles em- 
 ployed for transition and connection. 
 
XV111 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 6. Dispose of the capital word, or words, so that they may make the greatest 
 impression ; and, when the subject admits of it, attend to the climax of a sentence. 
 
 7. A weaker assertion or proposition should never come after a stronger ; when a 
 sentence consists of two members, the longer should generally be the concluding one. 
 
 8. Avoid concluding a sentence with an adverb, a preposition, or any inconsiderable 
 word ; and be careful not to misplace an adverb. 
 
 [There is no word in the English language, says a modern authority in grammar* 
 which is so frequently misplaced as only. Hence, it is important to lay down the rule 
 with regard to it : " Only " limits the word or words immediately following it : Alone, 
 limits the word or words immediately preceding it. J 
 
 9. In the members of a sentence, where two things are compared or contrasted with 
 one another, whether either a resemblance or an opposition is intended to be expressed, 
 some resemblance in the language and construction should be preserved. When the 
 things themselves correspond to each other, we naturally expect to find a similar cor- 
 respondence in the words. 
 
 10. Attend to the harmony and easy flow of the words and members. 
 
 11. The same word should not be repeated too often in the same sentence or para- 
 graph, though the sense should not be sacrificed to avoid repetition. 
 
 12. Long and short sentences should be agreeably interspersed in a paragraph : the 
 ear tires of a number of sentences of similar construction following each other with 
 monotonous regularity. 
 
 In setting themes for composition the teacher will do well at first to 
 avoid subjects that make unusual demands upon the pupil's powers of 
 reflection, unless they are familiar to him. Narrative composition, on 
 some incident or story ; on some familiar object or feature of local 
 interest ; or on some character in, or event of, history ; will be found 
 much more suitable. At first a skeleton, or scheme of arrangement in 
 the topics, should be supplied, such as the following : 
 
 In Biography : 1, Place and circumstances of birth ; 2, Youth and education ; 3, 
 Occupation of life, and circumstances determining that occupation ; 4. Progress in 
 life-work ; 5, Death and attendant circumstances ; and 6, Reflections on the character, 
 and lessons drawn from the life, passed under review. 
 
 In History : 1 , The event itself ; 2, Cause or occasion of it ; 3, The time and place ; 
 4, The manner of its happening and attendant circumstances; and 5, The result: 
 what it produced or effected. 
 
 In the essay on Warren Hastings, in the following pages, abundant 
 material will be found for composition themes, in both historical and 
 biographical narration. The more prominent of these themes will be 
 found in the headings of the chapters. As an exercise to the 
 pupil, and that it may tend to familiarise him with the work he may be 
 called upon to do, in writing compositions on the essay, the following 
 model of a paragraph, enlarged from an outline of the life of Lord 
 Clive, is herewith added. The model is taken from Dalgleish's " English 
 Composition " (Edinburgh : Oliver & Boyd), a work that may be com- 
 mended to the teacher. The space taken up with the example is more 
 
NOTES ON COMPOSITION. XIX 
 
 readily given, as the incidents of the sketch will be of interest to the 
 student who proceeds to the study of the essay on Warren Hastings. 
 
 EXAMPLE.— Lord Olive. 
 1. Outline. 
 1. — Description : The founder of the British Empire in India. 
 
 2. — Narrative : Born at Styche (Shropshire), 1725— idle and mischievous at school- 
 goes to Madras — clerk in the E. I. Company — disgusted with the monotony of 
 office life— welcomes the call to military service — English influence in India very 
 low— great success of Clive's exploits — Arcot,1751 — Plassey,1757 — great reputation- 
 returns to England, 1760— made an Irish peer — affairs go wrong in his absence- 
 sent out to put them right, 1764— restores perfect order in eighteen months- 
 returns to England, 1767 — his conduct and administration assailed, 1773 — 
 acquitted— commits suicide, 1774. 
 3. — Character: Great warrior and able statesman — resolute and uncompromising — 
 often unscrupulous— always successful. The effects of his labours. 
 2. Paragraph. 
 " Robert, Lord Clive, Baron of Plassey, the founder of the British Empire in India 
 was born at Styche, in Shropshire, in 1725. At school, he showed greater aptitude for 
 mischief and acts of recklessness than for learning ; and it was a relief to his parents 
 to get him safely shipped off to India in 1744. He entered the civil service of the Com. 
 pany at Madras, at a time when its prosperity had sunk to a very low ebb ; and the 
 monotony of his sedentary life so depressed him, that he oftener than once attempted 
 to commit suicide. When French encroachment and intrigue rendered it necessary to 
 take measures to save English influence from total extinction, Clive gladly welcomed 
 the call to active service. His change of profession marks an epoch in the history of 
 India. From the day when he assumed the sword, English interests began sensibly to 
 revive. His first great exploit was the capture and defence of Arcot, with only 500 
 men, 300 of whom were natives. His crowning triumph was the victory of Plassey, 
 which laid Bengal at the feet of the English. His own reputation was now firmly 
 established, and his name became everywhere a tower of strength. On his return to 
 England in 1760, be received the thanks of the Company, and an Irish peerage from 
 Government. But affairs went wrong in his absence, and in 1764, the Company sent 
 him out again to set them right. This, by his vigorous measures, he very soon sue. 
 ceeded in doing. In the course of eighteen months, perfect order was restored ; and on 
 his final return to England, in 1767, he was received with the distinction which his 
 great services deserved. But his reforms had given offence to many of those who had 
 profited by the former laxity of affairs ; and it is to be regretted that not a few of his 
 acts were of so questionable a character as to give his enemies a handle against him. 
 In 1773, his administration was made the subject of a Parliamentary inquiry. The 
 decision was in his favour ; but he was dissatisfied with the terms of the acquittal ; and 
 the mere fact of his having been put upon his trial affected him so deeply, that he 
 sought relief in suicide, November 22nd, 1774. Clive was one of the greatest warrior- 
 statesmen of whom England can boast. Bold, resolute, and rapid as a soldier, he was 
 equally calm, judicious, and comprehensive as an administrator. It cannot be denied 
 that he was often unscrupulous in opposing cunning with cunning ; but he was not 
 cruel ; he was not selfish ; and his faults have been condoned by the success of his 
 career, and by the splendid services he rendered to his country." 
 
XX WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 The "Art of Authorship," and the methods of professional work 
 among literary men, have lately been the theme of a compilation by a 
 young journalist, from whose volume the editors extract the following 
 useful hints : — 
 
 "The main thing in writing," says Professor Blackie, "is to have 
 distinct and clear and well-marshalled ideas, and then to express them 
 simply and without affectation. This forms what we may call the bones 
 of a good style. Then you must study to give colour by apt images and 
 warmth by natural passion and earnestness. The music of words and 
 the cadence of sentences is a matter which depends on the ear. Above 
 all things monotony in the form of the sentences is to be shunned ; 
 variety means wealth and always pleases. Condensation also ought to be 
 particularly studied, and a loose, rambling, ill-compacted form of sen- 
 tence ought to be avoided." 
 
 " To try to be striking new, fine, is all faulty," says D. C. Murray, 
 the novelist. u Try to see clearly, to speak justly, and you are on 
 the road to a style. ■ Idiom is the cream of language. ' Use common 
 forms for thoughts that have often been expressed. Avoid foreign 
 phrases and scraps of the dead languages. There is nothing which can 
 be said at all which cannot be said in English. Be simple and unpre- 
 tentious. If you get all your goods into the shop window, you have a 
 poor establishment. Say the thing you see as you see it, and bend the 
 whole power of your mind upon it until you see it well. Avoid news- 
 paper English like a pest. Study the Bible, Bunyan, Defoe, and mark 
 their simplicity, their straightforwardness, their accuracy in the choice 
 of words. Few things are so wonderful as language ; few things better 
 worth study." 
 
 "For precepts of style," says Goldwin Smith, "you must go to the 
 masters of style, and for lessons in the art of Composition you must go 
 to artists. My only rule is to know what I mean to say, to say it, and 
 have done with it. Clearness and conciseness are within the reach of 
 all of us, though grandeur, beauty, and piquancy are not. " 
 
 Westland Marston, the dramatist, says, "As to composition, the 
 chief rules I have laid down for myself are to avoid superfluous ex- 
 pressions, to choose epithets carefully and use them sparingly, and to 
 frame sentences neither so long as to be cumbruous, nor so short as to 
 destroy continuity." 
 
 J. H. Shorthouse, the author of "John Inglesant," remarks that "in 
 the way of general advice, I can only suggest the taking of infinite 
 pains, and the avoiding, like the plague, any attempts at affectation, or 
 
NOTES ON COMPOSITION. XXI 
 
 the use of vulgar, colloquial, penny-a-liner, or what are supposed to be 
 humorous, phrases. I would allow very great latitude in the use of 
 words. Your instinct and taste must be your guide in this. But, 
 above everything, strive to form every sentence so as to express your 
 meaning in the simplest way, and in accordance with the easiest, plain- 
 est rules of English Grammar. I am not afraid of a picturesque style, 
 or what is called fine writing, provided you get both grammar and 
 sense." 
 
 Another writer observes, that " one must begin at the bottom of the 
 ladder " in acquiring the art of style and of a good prose composition. 
 The first step in this ladder of style is, if one may so call it, the rung 
 of lucidity. The French have a proverb, ' what is obscure is bad 
 French.' I wish we had a corresponding one. But whether we possess 
 the maxim or not, no good English writer, from Swift to De Quincey, 
 has written English hard to be understood. Then, still mounting the 
 ladder, one might, to parody Mr. Ruskin, place the rung of brevity 
 next, and after that the rung of rhythm, and the rungs of beauty, of 
 force, of grace, and of wit, till presently we should reach a height where 
 only genius can tread, and where humbler folk would do wisely not to 
 climb." 
 
 DICTION. 
 
 DICTION treats of the selection and the right use of words. This 
 includes : — 
 
 1. Purity of Diction, which requires the word made use of to be — 
 
 (1) Reputable, that is, used by the best writers and 
 
 spaakers. 
 
 (2) Recent, used at the present time. 
 
 (3) National, used by the whole people. 
 
 The violation of any of these requirements is called a Barbarism. 
 The chief sources of Barbarisms are — 
 
 (1) The unnecessary use of foreign words. 
 
 (2) The use of obsolete words. Ex. : Yeleped for called, 
 
 (3) New words not sanctioned by good usage. Ex. : Crank 
 
 for an eccentric person. 
 
 (4) The unnecessary use of technical words. 
 
 (5) Incorrectly formed words, or Hybrids. Ex. : Singist. 
 
 (6) Local or provincial words. Ex. : Grit. 
 
 (7) Slang. 
 
:xil WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 2. Propriety of Diction consists in choosing words that properly 
 
 express the intended meaning. The violation of this is called an 
 Impropriety. The chief sources of improprieties are — 
 
 (1) Neglect to observe the proper sequence of particles. 
 
 (2) Neglect to distinguish synonyms. 
 
 (3) Carelessness as to the real meaning of words. 
 
 The best way to attain propriety of diction is to observe and imitate 
 the usage of the best writers and speakers of the present time. 
 
 3. Precision of Diction consists in choosing from synonymous terms 
 
 those which best express the ideas to be conveyed. 
 
 THE SENTENCE. 
 
 1. The Periodic Sentence is one in which the sense is held in 
 
 suspense until the end is reached. The effects of the periodic 
 sentence are — 
 
 (1) To hold the attention until the end of the sentence. 
 
 (2) To secure the right placing of qualifying words and 
 
 phrases. 
 
 (3) To secure the unity of the sentence. 
 
 (4) To counteract the tendency of our language to use the 
 
 loose sentence by interspersing the periodic sentence 
 on all suitable occasions. 
 
 2. The Loose Sentence is one in which the ideas are expressed in 
 
 the order in which they occur to the mind. Its characl tics 
 
 are — 
 
 (1) That the predicate follows the subject. 
 
 (2) That qualifying adjuncts follow what they qualify. 
 
 (3) That the parts may be separated without destroying the 
 
 sense. It is the natural structure of the sentence in 
 English. 
 Macaulay's sentences frequently combine both the loose and the 
 periodic. 
 
 3. The Balanced Sentence is made up of two clauses which are 
 
 similar in form and often contrasted in meaning. Some of the 
 
 effects of the balanced sentence are — 
 
 (1) An aid to memory. The repetition impresses the mind. 
 When the part common to the several statements is 
 learnt, the attention is then directed to the points of 
 difference. 
 
NOTES ON COMPOSITION. XXU1 
 
 (2) An agreeable surprise. Sameness of form in difference 
 
 of matter gives a pleasurable impression, or, when a 
 new and distinct meaning can be conveyed in nearly 
 the same words, a feeling of surprise is all the 
 greater. 
 
 (3) Antithesis, or Contrast. 
 
 [As Macaulay is fond of antithesis, that is, the explicit contrasting of things 
 already opposed in meaning, an example from the essay is here given in illustration 
 of its use : Ex. " A war of Bengalees against Englishmen was like a war of sheep 
 against wolves, of men against demons."] 
 
 4. Sentences may be classified also into short and long. 
 
 (1) The effect of the short sentence is to give animation to 
 
 the style, but when carried to excess it becomes 
 tiresome, and destroys the melody of the composition. 
 It is, however, more easily understood. 
 
 (2) The effect of the long sentence is to aid in amplifying an 
 
 idea ; it also gives an opportunity for climax. It 
 requires closer attention, though it is not so easily 
 understood as the short sentence. 
 
 (3) Do not use either the short or the long sentence to 
 
 excess. They should be used to relieve one another. 
 
 The most important qualities of a good sentence are — 
 
 1. Clearness or Meaning. The choice and arrangement of words 
 
 should be such that the meaning cannot be misunderstood. All 
 modifiers, whether words, phrases or clauses, should be placed as 
 near as possible to the word or words which they limit. 
 
 2. Unitv of Thought. The parts of a sentence should be arranged 
 
 so that unity of thought is maintained as far as possible. 
 
 3. Strength of Expression. The sentence should be so constructed 
 
 that the thought which it contains shall be expressed with all 
 possible force. 
 
 (1) All words that do not add anything to the meaning 
 should be struck from the sentence. 
 
 The violations of brevity are — 
 
 (a) Tautology, or the repetition of the same idea in 
 different words. 
 
 (b) Pleonasm or Redundancy, that is, the use of words 
 
 not necessary to express the sense. 
 
 (c) Verbosity, or a diffuse mode of expression. 
 
XXIV WARREtt HASTINGS. 
 
 (2) The strength is increased by a careful use of the 
 
 connectives. 
 
 (3) Contrasted members of a sentence should be similar in 
 
 construction. 
 
 (4) The sentence should end, if possible, with a forcible 
 
 word. 
 
 (5) Effective figures of speech. 
 
 These may be classified as follows : — 
 I. Figures of Comparison. 
 
 (a) In objects closely resembling each other. 
 
 (a) Metaphor, an implied comparison. 
 (/?) Simile, a comparison stated at length. 
 
 (b) In objects remotely resembling each other 
 
 {a) Allegory, a sustained comparison. 
 
 (/?) Personification, the 'comparison of inanimate with ani- 
 mate objects. 
 II. Figures of Substitution. 
 
 (a) Metonomy, of an accompaniment for the thing it accompanies. 
 
 (b) Synecdoche, of a part for the whole, or vice versa. 
 
 III. Figures that present the Unexpected. 
 
 (a) Antithesis, the explicit contrasting of things already opposed 
 
 in meaning. 
 
 (b) Epigram, the conflict or contradiction between the form of 
 
 the language and the meaning really conveyed. 
 
 (c) Irony, the saying of what is not meant in order to say more 
 
 forcibly and clearly what is intended. 
 
 (d) Hyperbole, a self-evident exaggeration. 
 
 (e) Euphemism, the softening of a harsh or indelicate expression. 
 
 IV. Figures of Thought. 
 
 (a) Interrogation, affirmation or denial, strengthened by being 
 
 thrown into the form of a question. 
 
 (b) Exclamation, a mode of expression evoked by sudden and 
 intense emotion,. 
 
 (c) Apostrophe, an address to an absent or imaginary auditor, as if 
 
 he were present. 
 4. Melody of Sound. This is best secured by — 
 
 (1) Avoiding harsh-sounding effects. The vowels and 
 consonants should blend. 
 
NOTES ON COMPOSITION. XXV 
 
 (2) The alternation of long and short, emphatic and unera- 
 
 phatic, syllables. 
 
 (3) The observance of the principle of variety. 
 
 (4) The words should be so arranged as to give an agreeable 
 
 cadence at the close of a sentence. 
 
 (5) The Rhythm : The words should be so arranged that the 
 
 accent shall come at intervals convenient for the reader 
 or speaker. 
 
 THE PARAGRAPH. 
 
 A Paragraph is the division of discourse next above the sentence. 
 It is a collection of sentences with unity of purpose ; it deals with 
 and exhausts a distinct topic. There is, hoAvever, a greater break 
 between one paragraph and another than between the sentences that 
 compose a paragraph. 
 
 The laws which govern the construction of the paragraph are : — 
 
 I. The Law relating to the Theme. The opening sentence, unless 
 
 obviously introductory, should indicate the subject of the 
 paragraph. 
 
 II. The Law of Explicit Reference. The bearing of each sentence 
 upon what precedes should be clear and unmistakable. This is 
 attained by — 
 
 (1) The use of suitable connectives — conjunctions, adverbs, 
 
 pronouns, or connecting phrases. 
 
 (2) Relation of the sentence without expressing the con- 
 
 necting words, their absence having a distinct mean- 4 
 ing. Connectives are unnecessary — 
 
 (a) When a sentence iterates, or explains, what goes 
 
 before. 
 
 (b) Cumulative statements given in succession are pre- 
 
 sumed to have a common bearing. 
 
 (c) In the statement of a consequence. 
 
 III. The Law of Parallel Construction. When several sentences 
 iterate, or illustrate, the same idea they should be constructed as 
 far as possible alike. 
 
 IV. The Law of Continuity. The sentences should he consecutive, or 
 free from dislocations ; the several thoughts should follow each 
 other in their natural order. 
 
:XV1 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 V. The Law of Unity. Every statement in the paragraph should be 
 subservient to the principal affirmation contained in the topic 
 sentence. This law forbids digressions and irrelevant matter. 
 
 VI. The Law of Proportion. A due proportion should be maintained 
 between the principal and subordinate statements. Everything 
 should have space and prominence according to its importance. 
 Other devices for giving prominence may be used — 
 
 {a) The employment of numerals. 
 {b) Difference in type. 
 
 (c) Matter of lesser importance may be relegated to foot- 
 notes. 
 
 Chief Kinds of Paragraph. 
 
 1. The Propositional Paragraph, in which the subject is expressed in 
 
 the form of a definite assertion, and then developed by proof, 
 illustration, or repetition. This is the common type, and it is 
 constructed on the most regular plan ; it is a united whole in 
 itself. 
 
 2. The. Amplifying Paragraph, or one that particularizes or amplifies 
 
 some statement previously made. The distinctive feature of this 
 kind of paragraph is that the subject is not definitely expressed, 
 but has to be gathered from the general bearing of the whole. 
 
 3. The Preliminary Paragraph, or one that gives the general theme 
 
 of a chapter, or essay ; or lays out the plan of succeeding 
 
 4. The Transitional Paragraph, or one that is introduced between the 
 principal divisions of a chapter, to mark the end of one line of 
 thought and the beginning of another. 
 
 KINDS OF COMPOSITION. 
 
 1. Descriptive. — The delineation of the characteristics of any object. 
 
 It should follow the succession of aspects as they appear to the 
 spectator surveying the whole. 
 
 2. Narrative, or a series of events or a succession of views. The 
 
 scene should not be shifted oftener, or to a greater extent, than 
 is necessary, and the introduction or disappearance of an import- 
 ant agent should be fully accounted for. The narrative should 
 follow the order of events, and the details of events should be 
 relieved and assisted by summaries. 
 This process is called abridging, abstracting, or pre'cis writing. 
 
NOTES ON COMPOSITION. XXV11 
 
 3. Expository. — The mode of handling applicable to knowledge, or 
 
 to information pertaining to the Sciences. The methods of ex- 
 pounding a general principle or proposition are — 
 
 (a) By Iteration, or repeating the statements in different 
 
 words. This is a means of impressing it. 
 
 (b) By Obverse Iteration, or the denial of the contrary. 
 
 (c) By Examples or Particular instances. 
 
 (d) By Illustration as distinguished from Example. 
 
 (e) By Proof of the Principle. 
 
 (1) Inductive, or proof from facts. 
 
 (2) Deductive, or the application of a more general 
 
 law to a proof. 
 (/) Inferences, deductions, corollaries, consequences, may 
 be drawn from principle to aid the exposition. 
 
 4. Persuasion or Oratory is the influencing of men's minds, conduct 
 
 and beliefs, by spoken or written address. 
 
 5. Poetry is composition written to produce pleasure by means of 
 
 elevated or impassioned thought or feeling, conveyed in a special 
 artistic form. It differs from prose — 
 
 (1) In possessing a greater variety of figurative expressions. 
 
 (2) In an unusual diction ; the following are the chief 
 
 peculiarities of the language of poetry : — 
 
 (a) It is archaic, and non- colloquial. 
 
 (b) It prefers images to the mere enumeration of facts. 
 
 (c) It avoids general terms. 
 
 {d) It uses epithets instead of the names of things, 
 (e) It is opposed to lengthiness, and is euphonious. 
 
 (3) The chief varieties are Epic, Lyric, Dramatic, Didactic 
 
 and Satiric. 
 
WARREN HASTINGS.* 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HASTINGS* ANCESTRY AND SCHOOL LIFE. 
 
 We are inclined to think that we shall best meet the wishes of our 
 readers if, instead of minutely examining this book, we attempt to give, 
 in a way necessarily hasty and imperfect, our own view of the life and 
 character of Mr. Hastings. Our feeling towards him is not exactly that 
 of the House of Commons which impeached him in 1787 ; neither is it 
 that of the House of Commons which uncovered and stood up to receive 
 him in 1813. He had great qualities, and he rendered great services to 
 the State. But to represent him as a man of stainless virtue is to make 
 him ridiculous; and from regard for his memory, if from no other feeling, 
 his friends would have done well to lend no countenance to such adula- 
 tion. We believe that, if he were now living, he would have sufficient 
 judgment and sufficient greatness of mind to wish to be shown as he was. 
 He must have known that there were dark spots on his fame. He might 
 also have felt with pride that the splendour of his fame would bear 
 many spots. He would have wished posterity to have a likeness of him, 
 though an unfavourable likeness, rather than a daub at once insipid and 
 unnatural, resembling neither him nor anybody else. " Paint me as I 
 am," said Oliver Cromwell while sitting to young Lely. " If you leave 
 out the scars and wrinkles I will not pay you a shilling." Even in such 
 a trifle the great protector shewed both his good- sense and his magnan- 
 imity. He did not wish all that was charactertistic in his countenance 
 to be lost, in the vain attempt to give him the regular features and 
 smooth blooming cheeks of the curl-pated minions of James the First. 
 He was content that his face should go forth marked with all the 
 blemishes which had been put on it by time, by war, by sleepless 
 nights, by anxiety, perhaps by remorse ; but with valour, policy 
 authority, and public care written in all its princely lines. If men 
 truly great knew their own interest, it is thus that they would wish 
 their minds to be portrayed. 
 
 ♦Memoirs of the Life of Warren Hastings, first Governor-General of Bengal. Com 
 piled from Original Papers, by the Rev. G. R. Gleig, M.A., 3 vols., 8vo. London : 1841. 
 
 25 
 
26 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 Warren Hastings sprang from an ancient and illustrious race. It has 
 been affirmed that frs pedigree can be traced back to the great Danish 
 sea-king, whose sails were long the terror of both coasts of the British 
 Channel, and who, after many fierce and 'doubtful struggles, yielded at 
 last to the valour and genius of Alfred. But the undoubted splendour 
 of the line of Hastings needs no illustration from fable. One branch of 
 that line wore, in the fourteenth century, the coronet of Pembroke. 
 From another branch sprang the renowned Chamberlain, the faithful 
 adherent of the White Rose, whose fate has furnished so striking a 
 theme both to poets and to historians. His family received from the 
 Tudors the earldom of Huntingdon, which after long dispossession, was 
 regained in our time by a series of events scarcely paralleled in romance. 
 
 The lords of the manor of Daylesford, in Worcestershire, claimed to 
 be considered as the heads of this distinguished family. The main 
 stock, indeed, prospered less than some of the younger shoots. But the 
 Daylesford family, though not ennobled, was wealthy and highly con- 
 sidered, till about two hundred years ago it was overwhelmed by the 
 great ruin of the civil war. The Hastings of that time was a zealous 
 cavalier. He raised money on his lands, sent his plate to the mint at 
 Oxford, joined the royal army, and after spending half his property in 
 the cause of King Charles, was glad to ransom himself by making over 
 most of the remaining half to Speaker Lenthal. The old seat at Dayles- 
 ford still remained in the family ; but it could no longer be kept up, and 
 in the following generation it was sold to a merchant of London. 
 
 Before this transfer took place, the last Hastings of Daylesford had 
 presented his secoLd son to the rectory of the parish in which the ancient 
 residence of the family stood. The living was of little value ; and the 
 situation of the poor clergyman, after the sale of the estate, was deplo- 
 rable. He was constantly engaged in lawsuits about his tithes with the 
 new lord of the manor, and was at length utterly ruined. His eldest 
 son, Howard, a well-conducted young man, obtained a place in the Cus- 
 toms. The second son Pynaston, an idle, worthless boy, married before 
 he was sixteen, lost his wife in two years, and died in the West Indies, 
 leaving to the care of his unfortunate father a little orphan, destined to 
 strange and memorable vicissitudes of fortune. 
 
 Warren, the son of Pynaston, was born on the sixth of December, 
 1732. His mother died a few days later, and he was left dependent on 
 his distressed grandfather. The child was early sent to the village 
 school, where he learned his letters on the same bench with the sons of 
 the peasantry ; nor did anything in his garb or fare indicate that his 
 life was to take a widely different course from that of the young rustics 
 
HASTINGS ANCESTRY AND SCHOOL LIFE. 27 
 
 with whom he studied and played. But no cloud could overcast the 
 dawn of so much genius and so much ambition. The very ploughmen 
 observed, and long remembered, how kindly little Warren took to his 
 book. The daily sight of the lands which his ancestors had possessed, 
 and which had passed into the hands of strangers, filled his young brain 
 wrth wild fancies and projects. He loved to hear stories of the wealth 
 and greatness of his progenitors, of their splendid housekeeping, their 
 loyalty, and their valour. On one bright summer day fhe boy, then 
 just seven years old, lay on the bank of the rivulet which flows through 
 the old domain of his house to join the Isis. There, as threescore and 
 ten years later he told the tale, rose in his mind a scheme which, 
 through all the turns of his eventful career, was never abandoned. He 
 would recover the estate which had belonged to his fathers. He would 
 be Hastings of Daylesford. This purpose, formed in infancy and 
 poverty, grew stronger as his intellect expanded and as his fortune rose. 
 He pursued his plan with that calm but indomitable force of will which 
 was the most striking peculiarity of his character. When, under a 
 tropical sun, he ruled fifty millions of Asiatics, his hopes, amidst all the 
 cares of war, finance, and legislation, still pointed to Daylesford. And 
 when his long public life, so singularly chequered with good and evil, 
 with glory and obloquy, had at length closed for ever, it was to Dayles- 
 ford that he retired to die. 
 
 When he was eight years old his uncle Howard determined to take 
 charge of him, and to give him a liberal education. The boy went up 
 to London, and was sent to a school at Newington, where he was well 
 taught but ill fed. He always attributed the smallness of his stature to 
 the hard and scanty fare of this seminary. At ten he was removed to 
 Westminster School, then flourishing under the care of Dr. Nichols. 
 Vinny Bourne, as his pupils affectionately called him, was one of the 
 masters. Churchill, Colman, Lloyd, Cumberland, Cowper, were among 
 the students. With Cowper, Hastings formed a friendship which 
 neither the lapse of time nor a wide dissimilarity of opinions and pur- 
 suits could wholly dissolve. It does not appear that they ever met 
 after they had grown to manhood. But forty years later, when the 
 voices of many great orators were crying for vengeance on the oppressor 
 of India, the shy and secluded poet could image to himself Hastings the 
 Governor-General only as the Hastings with whom he had rowed on the 
 Thames and played in the cloister, and refused to believe that so good- 
 tempered a fellow could have done anything very wrong. His own life 
 had been spent in praying, musing, and rhyming among the water-lilies 
 of the Ouse. He had preserved in no common measure the innocence of 
 
28 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 childhood. His spirit had indeed been severely tried, but not by 
 temptations which impelled him to any gross violation of the rules of 
 social morality. He had never been attacked by combinations of 
 powerful and deadly enemies. He had never been compelled to make a 
 choice between innocence and greatness, between crime and ruin. 
 Firmly as he held in theory the doctrine of human depravity, his habits 
 were such that he was unable to conceive how far from the path of right 
 even kind and noble natures may be hurried by the rage of conflict and 
 the lust of dominion. 
 
 Hastings had another associate at Westminster of whom we shall 
 have occasion to make frequent mention, Elijah Impey. We know 
 little about their school-days. But, we think, we may safely venture 
 to guess that whenever Hastings wished to play any trick more than 
 usually naughty he hired Impey, with a tart or a ball, to act as fag in 
 the worst part of the prank. 
 
 Warren was distinguished among his comrades as an excellent 
 swimmer, boatman, and scholar. At fourteen he was first in the 
 examination for the foundation. His name in gilded letters on the 
 walls of the dormitory still attests his victory over many older competi- 
 tors. He stayed two years longer at the school, and was looking 
 forward to a studentship at Christ Church, when an event happened 
 which changed the whole course of his life. Howard Hastings died, 
 bequeathing his nephew to the care of a friend and distant relation, 
 named Chiswick. This gentleman, though he did not absolutely refuse 
 the charge, was desirous to rid himself of it as soon as possible. Dr. 
 Nichols made strong remonstrances against the cruelty of interrupting 
 the studies of a youth who seemed likely to be one of the first scholars 
 of the age. He even offered to bear the expense of sending his favourite 
 pupil to Oxford. But Mr. Chiswick was inflexible. He thought the 
 years which had already been wasted on hexameters and pentameters 
 quite sufficient. He had it in his power to obtain for the lad a writership 
 in the service of the East India Company. Whether the young adven- 
 turer, when once shipped off, made a fortune or died of a liver complaint, 
 he equally ceased to be a burden to anybody. Warren was accordingly 
 removed from Westminster School, and placed for a few months at a 
 commercial academy to study arithmetic and bookkeeping. In January, 
 1750, a few days after he had completed his seventeenth year, he sailed 
 for Bengal, and arrived at his destination in the October following. 
 
First duties m india. 29 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 FIRST DUTIES IN INDIA — 1750-1764. 
 
 He was immediately placed at a desk in the Secretary's office at 
 Calcutta, and laboured there during two years. Fort William was then 
 purely a commercial settlement. In the south of India the encroaching 
 policy of Dupleix had transformed the servants of the English Company, 
 against their will, into diplomatists and generals. The war of the suc- 
 cession was raging in the Carnatic ; and the tide had been suddenly 
 turned against the French by the genius of young Robert Clive. But in 
 Bengal, the European settlers, at peace with the natives and with each 
 other, were wholly occupied with ledgers and bills of lading. 
 
 After two years passed in keeping accounts at Calcutta, Hastings was 
 sent up the country to Cossimbazar, a town which lies on the Hoogley, 
 about a mile from Moorshedabad, and which then bore to Moorshedabad 
 a relation, if we may compare small things with great, such as the city of 
 London bears to Westminster. Moorshedabad was the abode of the prince 
 who by an authority ostensibly derived from the Mogul, but really in- 
 dependent, ruled the three great provinces of Bengal, Orissa and Bahar. 
 At Moorshedabad were the Court, the harem and the public offices. 
 Cossimbazar was a port and a place of trade, renowned for the quantity 
 and excellence of the silks which were sold in its marts, and constantly 
 receiving and sending forth fleets of richly laden barges. At this im- 
 portant point the Company had established a small factory, subordinate 
 to that of Fort William. Here, during several years, Hastings was 
 employed in making bargains for stuffs with native brokers. While he 
 was thus engaged, Surajah Dowlah succeeded to the government, and 
 declared war against the English. The defenceless settlement of Cos- 
 simbazar, lying close to the tyrant's capital, was instantly seized. Has- 
 tings was sent a prisoner to Moorshedabad, but in consequence of 
 the humane intervention of the servants of the Dutch Company, 
 was treated with indulgence. Meanwhile the Nabob marched on 
 Calcutta ; the governor and the commandant fled ; the town and citadel 
 were taken, and most of the English prisoners perished in the Black Hole. 
 
 In these events originated the greatness of Warren Hastings. The 
 fugitive governor and his companions had taken refuge on the dreary 
 islet of Fulda, near the mouth of the Hoogley. They were naturally 
 desirous to obtain full information respecting the proceedings of the 
 Nabob, and no person seemed so likely to furnish it as Hastings, who was 
 a prisoner at large in the immediate neighbourhood of the Court. He 
 
30 WARBEN HASTINGS. 
 
 thus became a diplomatic agent and soon established a high character 
 for ability and resolution. The treason, which at a later period was 
 fatal to Surajah Dowlah was already in progress, and Hastings was ad- 
 mitted to the deliberations of the conspirators. But the time for strik- 
 ing had not arrived. It was necessary to postpone the execution of the 
 design ; and Hastings, who was now in extreme peril, fled to Fulda. 
 
 Soon after his arrival at Fulda, the expedition from Madras, com- 
 manded by Clive appeared in the Hoogley. Warren, young, intrepid, 
 and excited probably by the example of the Commander of the Forces, 
 who, having like himself been a mercantile agent of the Company, had 
 been turned by public calamities into a soldier, determined to serve in 
 the ranks. 
 
 During the early operations of the war he carried a musket. But the 
 quick eye of Clive soon perceived that the head of the young volunteer 
 would be more useful than his arm. When, after the battle of Plassey, 
 Meer Jaffier was proclaimed Nabob of Bengal, Hastings was appointed 
 to reside at the Court of the new prince as agent for the company. 
 
 He remained at Moorshedabad till the year 1761, when he became a 
 Member of Council, and was consequently forced to reside at Calcutta. 
 This was during the interval between dive's first and second adminis- 
 tration, an interval which has left on the fame of the East India Com- 
 pany a stain not wholly effaced by many years of just and humane 
 government. Mr. Vansittart, the Governor, was at the head of a new 
 and anomalous empire. On one side was a band of English functionaries, 
 daring, intelligent, eager to be rich. On the other side was a great 
 native population, helpless, timid, accustomed to crouch under 
 oppression. To keep the stronger race from preying on the weaker was 
 an under taking which taxed to the utmost the talents and energy of 
 Clive. Vansittart, with fair intentions, was a feeble and inefficient 
 ruler. The master caste, as was natural, broke loose from all restraint ; 
 and then was seen what we believe to be the most frightful of all 
 spectacles, the strength of civilization without its mercy. To all other 
 despotism there is a check, imperfect, indeed, and liable to gross abuse, 
 but still sufficient to preserve society from the last extreme of misery. 
 A time comes when the evils of submission are obviously greater than 
 those of resistance, when fear itself begets a sort of courage, when a 
 convulsive burst of popular rage and despair warns tyrants not to pre- 
 sume too far on the patience of mankind. But against misgovernment 
 such as then afflicted Bengal it was impossible to struggle. The 
 superior intelligence and energy of the dominant class made their power 
 irresistible. A war of Bengalees against Englishmen was like a war of 
 
FIRST DUTIES IN INDIA. 31 
 
 sheep against wolves, of men against demons. The only protection 
 which the conquered could find was in the moderation, the clemency, 
 the enlarged policy of the conquerors. That protection, at a later 
 period, they found. But at first English power came among them 
 unaccompanied by English morality. There was an interval between 
 the time at which they became our subjects and the time at which we 
 began to reflect that we were bound to discharge towards them the 
 duties of rulers. During that interval the business of a servant of the 
 Company was simply to wring out of the natives a hundred or two 
 hundred thousand pounds as speedily as possible, that he might return 
 home before his constitution had suffered from the heat, to marry a 
 peer's daughter, to buy rotten boroughs in Cornwall, and to give balls in 
 St. James's Square. Of the conduct of Hastings at this time little is 
 known ; but the little that is known, and the circumstance that little 
 is known, must be considered as honourable to him. He could not 
 protect the natives ; all that he could do was to abstain from plundering 
 and oppressing them, and this he appears to have done. It is certain 
 that £t this time he continued poor ; and it is equally certain that by 
 cruelty and dishonesty he might easily have become rich. It is certain 
 that he was never charged with having borne a share in the worst 
 abuses which then prevailed ; and it is almost equally certain that, if he 
 had borne a share in those abuses, the able and bitter enemies who 
 afterwards persecuted him would not have failed to discover and to 
 proclaim his guilt. The keen, severe, and even malevolent scrutiny to 
 which his whole public life was subjected, a scrutiny unparalleled, as 
 we believe, in the history of mankind, is in one respect advantageous to 
 his reputation. It brought many lamentable blemishes to light, but it 
 entitles him to be considered pure from every blemish which has not 
 been brought to light. 
 
 The truth is, that the temptations to which so many English 
 functionaries yielded in the time of Mr. Vansittart were not temptations 
 addressed to the ruling passions of Warren Hastings. He was not 
 squeamish in pecuniary transactions ; but he was neither sordid nor 
 rapacious. He was far too enlightened a man to look on a great empire 
 merely as a buccaneer would look on a galleon. Had his heart been 
 much worse than it was, his understanding would have preserved him 
 from that extremity of baseness. He was an unscrupulous, perhaps an 
 unprincipled statesman ; but still he was a statesman, and not a free- 
 booter. 
 
32 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 VISITS ENGLAND AND RETURNS TO INDIA. 
 
 In 1764 Hastings returned to England. He had realized only a very 
 moderate fortune ; and that moderate fortune was soon reduced to 
 nothing, partly by his praiseworthy liberality, and partly by his mis- 
 management. Towards his relations he appears to have acted very 
 generously. The greater part of his savings he left in Bengal, hoping 
 probably to obtain the high usury of India ; but high usury and bad 
 security generally go together, and Hastings lost both interest and 
 principal. 
 
 He remained four years in England. Of his life at that time very 
 little is known. But it has been asserted, and is highly probable, that 
 liberal studies and the society of men of letters occupied a great part of 
 his time. It is to be remembered to his honour that, in days when the 
 languages of the East were regarded by other servants of the Company 
 merely as the means of communicating with weavers and money- 
 changers, his enlarged and accomplished mind sought in Asiatic learning 
 for new forms of intellectual enjoyment, and for new views of govern- 
 ment and society. Perhaps, like most persons who have paid much 
 attention to departments of knowledge which lie out of the common 
 track, he was inclined to overrate the value of his favourite studies. He 
 conceived that the cultivation of Persian literature might with advan- 
 tage be made a part of the liberal education of an English gentleman ; 
 and he drew up a plan with that view. It is said that the University 
 of Oxford, in which Oriental learning had never, since the revival of 
 letters, been wholly neglected, was to be the seat of the institution 
 which he contemplated. An endowment was expected from the 
 muni licence of the Company ; and professors thoroughly competent to 
 interpret Hafix and Ferdusi were to be engaged in the East. Hastings 
 called on Johnson, with the hope, as it should seem, of interesting in 
 this project a man who enjoyed the highest literary reputation, and 
 who was particularly connected with Oxford. The interview appears to 
 have left on Johnson's mind a most favourable impression of the talents 
 and attainments of his visitor. Long after, when Hastings was ruling the 
 immense population of British India, the old philosopher wrote to him, 
 and referred in the most courtly terms, though with great dignity, to 
 their short but agreeable intercourse. 
 
 Hastings soon began to look again towards India. He had little to 
 attach him to England, and his pecuniary embarrassments were great. 
 He solicited his old masters the Directors for employment. They 
 
VISITS ENGLAND AND RETURNS TO INDIA. 33 
 
 acceded to his request, with high compliments both to his abilities 
 and to his integrity, and appointed him a Member of Council at Madras. 
 It would be unjust not to mention that, although forced to borrow 
 money for his outfit, he did not withdraw any portion of the sum which 
 he had appropriated to the relief of his distressed relations. In the 
 spring of 1769 he embarked on board of the Duke of Grafton, and com- 
 menced a voyage distinguished by incidents which might furnish matter 
 for a novel. 
 
 Among the passengers in the Duke of Grafton was a German of the 
 name of Imhoff. He called himself a Baron ; but he was in distressed 
 circumstances, and was going out to Madras as a portrait-painter, in the 
 hope of picking up some of the pagodas which were then lightly got and 
 as lightly spent by the English in India. The Baron was accompanied 
 by his wife, a native, we have somewhere read, of Archangel. This 
 young woman, who, born under the Arctic circle, was destined to play 
 the part of a Queen under the tropic of Cancer, had an agreeable person, 
 a cultivated mind, and manners in the highest degree engaging. She 
 despised her husband heartily, and, as the story which we have to tell 
 sufficiently proves, not without reason. She was interested by the 
 conversation and flattered by the attentions of Hastings. The situation 
 was, indeed, perilous. No place is so propitious to the formation of 
 either close friendships or of deadly enmities as an Indiainan. There 
 are very few people who do not find a voyage which lasts several 
 months insupportably dull. Anything is welcome which may break 
 that long monotony — a sail, a shark, an albatross, a man overboard. 
 Most passengers find some resource in eating twice as many meals as on 
 land. But the great devices for killing the time are quarrelling and 
 flirting. The facilities for both these exciting pursuits are great. The 
 inmates of the ship are thrown together far more than in any country- 
 seat or boarding-house. None can escape from the rest except by 
 imprisoning himself in a cell in which he can hardly turn. All food, all 
 exercise, is taken in company. Ceremony is to a great extent banished. 
 It is every day in the power of a mischievous person to inflict 
 innumerable annoyances. It is every day in the power of an amiable 
 person to confer little services. It not seldom happens that serious 
 distress and danger call forth, in genuine beauty and deformity, heroic 
 virtues and abject vices which, in the ordinary intercourse of good 
 society, might remain during many years unknown even to intimate 
 associates. Under such circumstances met Warren Hastings and the 
 Baroness Imhoff, two persons whose accomplishments would have 
 attracted notice in any court of Europe. The gentleman had no 
 3 
 
34 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 domestic ties. The lady was tied to a husband for whom she had no 
 regard, and who had no regard for his own honour. An attachment 
 sprang up, which was soon strengthened by events such as could hardly 
 have occurred on land. Hastings fell ill. The Baroness nursed him 
 with womanly tenderness, gave him his medicines with her own hand, 
 and even sat up in his cabin while he slept. Long before the Duke of 
 Grqfton reached Madras Hastings was in love. But his love was of a 
 most characteristic description. Like his hatred, like his ambition, like 
 all his passions, it was strong, but not impetuous. It was calm, deep, 
 earnest, patient of delay, unconquerable by time. Imhoff was called 
 into council by his wife and his wife's lover. It was arranged that the 
 Baroness should institute a suit for a divorce in the courts of Franconia, 
 that the Baron should afford every facility to the proceeding, and that, 
 during the years which might elapse before the sentence should be pro- 
 nounced they should continue to live together. It was also agreed that 
 Hastings should bestow some very substantial marks of gratitude on the 
 complaisant husband, and should, when the marriage was dissolved, 
 make the lady his wife, and adopt the children whom she had already 
 borne to Imhoff. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 APPOINTED GOVERNOR OF BENGAL. 
 
 At Madras, Hastings found the trade of the Company in a very disor- 
 ganised state. His own tastes would have led him rather to political 
 than to commercial pursuits ; but he knew that the favour of his 
 employers depended chiefly on their dividends, and that their dividends 
 depended chiefly on the investment. He, therefore, with great judg- 
 ment, determined to apply his vigorous mind for a time to this depart- 
 ment of business, which had been much neglected, since the servants of 
 the Company had ceased to be clerks, and had become warriors and 
 negotiators. 
 
 In a very few months he effected an important reform. The 
 Directors notified to him their high approbation, and were so much 
 pleased with his conduct that they determined to place him at the head 
 of the Government of Bengal. Early in 1772 he quitted Fort St. George 
 for his new post. The Imhoffs, who were still man and wife, accom- 
 panied him, and lived at Calcutta on the same plan which they had 
 already followed during more than two years. 
 
 When Hastings took his seat at the head of the Council Board, Bengal 
 
APPOINTED GOVERNOR OP BENGAL 35 
 
 was still governed according to the system which Clive had devised, a 
 system which was, perhaps, skilfully contrived for the purpose of 
 facilitating and concealing a great revolution, but which, when that 
 revolution was complete and irrevocable, could produce nothing but 
 inconvenience. There were two governments, the real and the 
 ostensible. The supreme power belonged to the Company, and was in 
 truth the most despotic power that can be conceived. The only restraint 
 on the English masters of the country was that which their own justice 
 and humanity imposed on them. There was no constitutional check on 
 their will, and resistance to them was utterly hopeless. 
 
 But though thus absolute in reality, the English had not yet assumed 
 the style of sovereignty. They held their territories as vassals of the 
 throne of Delhi ; they raised their revenues as collectors appointed by 
 the imperial commission ; their public seal was inscribed with the 
 imperial titles ; and their mint struck only the imperial coin. 
 
 There was still a Nabob of Bengal, who stood to the English rulers of 
 his country in the same relation in which AugustuJus stood to Odoacer, 
 or the last Merovingians to Charles Martel and Pepin. He lived at 
 Moorshedabad, surrounded by princely magnificence. He was 
 approached with outward marks of reverence, and his name was used in 
 public instruments. But in the government of the country he had 
 less real share than the youngest writer or cadet in the Company's 
 service. 
 
 The English Council which represented the Company at Calcutta was 
 constituted on a very different plan from that which has since been 
 adopted. At present the Governor is, as to all executive measures, 
 absolute. He can declare war, conclude peace, appoint public 
 functionaries or remove them, in opposition to the unanimous sense of 
 those who sit with him in Council. They are, indeed, entitled to know 
 all that is done, to discuss all that is done, to advise, to remonstrate, to 
 send protests to England. But it is with the Governor that the 
 supreme power resides, and on him that the whole responsibility rests. 
 This system, which was introduced by Mr. Pitt and Mr. Dundas, in spite 
 of the strenuous opposition of Mr. Burke, we conceive to be on the whole 
 the best that was ever devised for the government of a country where 
 no materials can be found for a representative constitution. In the time 
 of Hastings the Governor had only one vote in Council, and, in case of 
 an equal division, a casting vote. It therefore happened not unfre- 
 quently that he was overruled on the gravest questions ; and it was 
 possible that he might be wholly excluded, for years together, from the 
 real direction of public affairs. 
 
36 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 The English functionaries at Fort William had as yet paid little or 
 no attention to the internal government of Bengal. The only branch of 
 politics about which they much busied themselves was negotiation with 
 the native princes. The police, the administration of justice, the 
 details of the collection of revenue, were almost entirely neglected. We 
 may remark that the phraseology of the Company's servants still bears 
 the traces of this state of things. To this day they always use the word 
 "political" as synonymous with "diplomatic." We could name a 
 gentleman, still living, who was described by the highest authority as 
 an invaluable public servant, eminently fit to be at the head of the 
 internal administration of a whole presidency, but unfortunately quite 
 ignorant of all political business. 
 
 The internal government of Bengal the English rulers delegated to a 
 great native minister, who was stationed at Moorshedabad. All 
 military affairs, and, with the exception of what pertains to mere cere- 
 monial, all foreign affairs were withdrawn from his control ; but the other 
 departments of the administration were entirely confided to him. His 
 own stipend amounted to nearly a hundred thousand pounds sterling a 
 year. The personal allowance of the Nabob, amounting to more than 
 three hundred thousand pounds a year, passed through the minister's 
 hands, and was, to a great extent, at his disposal. The collection of the 
 revenue, the administration of justice, the maintenance of order, were 
 left to this high functionary ; and for the exercise of his immense 
 power he was responsible to none but the British masters of the 
 country. 
 
 A situation so important, lucrative, and splendid was naturally an 
 object of ambition to the ablest and most powerful natives. Clive had 
 found it difficult to decide between conflicting pretensions. Two candi- 
 dates stood out prominently from the crowd, each of them the repre- 
 sentative of a race and of a religion. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 BENGALEE CHARACTER DESCRIBED. 
 
 One of these was Mahommed Reza Khan, a Mussulman of Persian 
 extraction, able, active, religious after the fashion of his people, and 
 highly esteemed by them. In England he might, perhaps, have been 
 regarded as a corrupt and greedy politician. But, tried by the lower 
 standard of Indian morality, he might be considered as a man of 
 integrity and honour* 
 
BENGALEE CHARACTER DESCRIBED. 37 
 
 His competitor was a Hindoo Bramin, whose name has, by a terrible 
 and melancholy event, been inseparably associated with that of Warren 
 Hastings, the Maharajah Nuncomar. This man had played an 
 important part in all the revolutions which, since the time of Surajah 
 Dowlah, had taken place in Bengal. To the consideration which in that 
 country belongs to high and pure caste, he added the weight which is 
 derived from wealth, talents and experience. Of his moral character it 
 is difficult to give a notion to those who are acquainted with human 
 nature only as it appears in our island. What the Italian is to the 
 Englishman, what the Hindoo is to the Italian, what the Bengalee is to 
 other Hindoos, that was Nuncomar to other Bengalees The physical 
 organization of the Bengalee is feeble even to effeminacy. He lives in a 
 constant vapour bath. His pursuits are sedentary, his limbs delicate, 
 his movements languid. During many ages he has been trampled upon 
 by men of bolder and more hardy breeds. Courage, independence, 
 veracity, are qualities to which his constitution and his situation are 
 equally unfavourable. His mind bears a singular analogy to his body. 
 It is weak even to helplessness for purposes of manly resistance ; but 
 its suppleness and its tact move the children of sterner climates to 
 admiration not un mingled with contempt. All those arts which are the 
 natural defence of the weak are more familiar to this subtle race than 
 to the Ionian of the time of Juvenal, or to the Jew of the dark ages. 
 What the horns are to the buffalo, what the paw is to the tiger, what 
 the sting is to the bee, what beauty, according to the old Greek song, is 
 to woman, deceit is to the Bengalee. Large promises, smooth excuses, 
 elaborate tissues of circumstantial falsehood, chicanery, perjury, 
 forgery are the weapons, offensive and defensive, of the people of the 
 Lower Ganges. All those millions do noi furnish one sepoy to the 
 armies of the Company. But as usurers, as money-changers, as sharp 
 legal practitioners, no class of human beings can bear a comparison with 
 them. With all his softness, the Bengalee is by no means placable in 
 his enmities or prone to pity. The pertinacity with which he adheres 
 to his purposes yields only to the immediate pressure of fear. Nor does 
 he lack a certain kind of courage which is often wanting to his masters. 
 To inevitable evils he is sometimes found to oppose a passive fortitude, 
 such as the Stoics attributed to their ideal sage. A European warrior 
 who rushes on a battery of cannon with a loud hurrah will sometimes 
 shriek under the surgeon's knife, and fall into an agony of despair at 
 the sentence of death. But the Bengalee, who would see his country 
 overrun, his house laid in ashes, his children murdered or dishonoured, 
 without having the spirit to strike one blow, has yet been known to 
 
38 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 endure torture with the firmness of Mucius, and to mount the scaffold 
 with the steady step and even pulse of Algernon Sidney. 
 
 In Nuncomar the national character was strongly and with exaggera- 
 tion personified. The Company's servants had repeatedly detected him 
 in the most criminal intrigues. On one occasion he brought a false 
 charge against another Hindoo, and tried to substantiate it by producing 
 forged documents. On another occasion it was discovered that, while 
 professing the strongest attachment to the English, he was engaged in 
 several conspiracies against them, and in particular that he was the 
 medium of a correspondence between the Court of Delhi and the French 
 authorities in the Carnatic. For these and similar practices he had 
 been long detained in confinement. But his talents and influence had 
 not only procured his liberation, but had obtained for him a certain 
 degree of consideration, even among the British rulers of his country. 
 
 Clive was extremely unwilling to place a Mussulman at the head of 
 the administration of Bengal. On the other hand, he could not bring 
 himself to confer immense power on a man to whom every sort of 
 villainy had repeatedly been brought home. Therefore, though the 
 Nabob, over whom Nuncomar had by intrigue acquired great influence, 
 begged that the artful Hindoo might be entrusted with the government, 
 Clive, after some hesitation, decided honestly and wisely in favour of 
 Mahommed Reza Khan. When Hastings became Governor, Mahommed 
 Reza Khan had held power seven years. An infant son of Meer Jafner 
 was now Nabob ; and the guardianship of the young prince's person had 
 been confided to the minister. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE DOUBLE GOVERNMENT DISSOLVED. 
 
 Nuncomar, stimulated at once by cupidity and malice, had been 
 constantly attempting to hurt the reputation of his successful rival. 
 This was not difficult. The revenues of Bengal, under the adminis- 
 tration established by Clive, did not yield such a surplus as had been 
 anticipated by the Company ; for at that time the most absurd notions 
 were entertained in England respecting the wealth of India. Palaces of 
 porphyry, hung with the richest brocade, heaps of pearls and diamonds, 
 vaults from which pagodas and gold mohurs were measured out by the 
 bushel, filled the imagination even of men of business. Nobody seemed 
 to be aware of what nevertheless was most undoubtedly the truth, that 
 India was a poorer country than countries which in Europe are reckoned 
 
THE DOUBLE GOVERNMENT DISSOLVED. 39 
 
 poor — than Ireland, for example, or than Portugal. It was confidently 
 believed by Lords of the Treasury and members for the City, that 
 Bengal would not only defray its own charges, but would afford an 
 increased dividend to the proprietors of India stock and large relief to 
 the English finances. These absurd expectatious were disappointed ; 
 and the Directors, naturally enough, chose to attribute the disappoint- 
 ment rather to the mismanagement of Mahommed Reza Khan than to 
 their own ignorance of the countiy entrusted to their care. They were 
 confirmed in their error by the agents of Nuncomar ; for Nuncomar had 
 agents even in Leadenhall Street. Soon after Hastings reached Cal- 
 cutta he received a letter addressed by the Court of Directors, not to 
 the Council generally, but to himself in particular. He was directed to 
 remove Mahommed Reza Khan, to arrest him together with all his 
 family and all his partisans, and to institute a strict inquiry into the 
 whole administration of the province. It was added that the Governor 
 would do well to avail himself of the assistance of Nuncomar in the 
 investigation. The vices of Nuncomar were acknowledged. But even 
 from his vices, it was said, much advantage might at such a conjuncture 
 be derived ; and, though he could not safely be trusted, it might still be 
 proper to encourage him by hopes of reward. 
 
 The Governor bore no good- will to Nuncomar. Many years before 
 they had known each other at Moorshedabad ; and then a quarrel had 
 arisen between them which all the authority of their superiors could 
 hardly compose. Widely as they differed in most points, they 
 resembled each other in this, that both were men of unforgiving natures. 
 To Mahommed Reza Khan, on the other hand, Hastings had no feelings 
 of hostility. Nevertheless he proceeded to execute the instructions of 
 the Company with an alacrity which he never showed except when 
 instructions were in perfect conformity with his own views. He had, 
 wisely as we think, determined to get rid of the system of double 
 government in Bengal. The orders of the Directors furnished him with 
 the means of effecting his purpose, and dispensed him from the necessity 
 of discussing the matter with his Council. He took his measures with 
 his usual vigour and dexterity. At midnight the palace of Mahommed 
 Reza Khan at Moorshedabad was surrounded by a battalion of sepoys. 
 The minister was roused from his slumbers and informed that he was a 
 prisoner. With the Mussulman gravity, he bent his head and submitted 
 himself to the will of God. He fell not alone. A chief named Schitab 
 Roy had been entrusted with the government of Bahar. His valour 
 and his attachment to the English had more than once been signally 
 proved. On that memorable day on which the people of Patna saw 
 
40 . WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 from their walls the whole army of the Mogul scattered by the little 
 band of Captain Knox, the voice of the British conquerors assigned the 
 palm of gallantry to the brave Asiatic. "I never," said Knox, when 
 he introduced Schitab Roy, covered with blood and dust, to the English 
 functionaries assembled in the factory, " I never saw a native fight so 
 before." Schitab Roy was involved in the ruin of Mahommed Reza 
 Khan, was removed from office, and was placed under arrest. The 
 members of the Council received no intimation of these measures till 
 the prisoners were on their road to Calcutta. 
 
 The inquiry into the conduct of the minister was postponed on 
 different pretences. He was detained in an easy confinement during 
 many months. In the meantime the great revolution which Hastings 
 had planned was carried into effect. The office of minister was 
 abolished. The internal administration was transferred to the servants 
 of the Company. A system — a very imperfect system, it is true — of 
 civil and criminal justice, under English superintendence, was estab- 
 lished. The Nabob was no longer to have even an ostensible share in 
 the government ; but he was still to receive a considerable annual 
 allowance, and to be surrounded with the state of sovereignty. As he 
 was an infant, it was necessary to provide guardians for his person and 
 property. His person was entrusted to a lady of his father's harem, 
 known by the name of Munny Begum. The office of treasurer of the 
 household was bestowed on a son of Nuncomar, named Goordas. Nun- 
 comar's services were wanted ; yet he could not safely be trusted with 
 power, and Hastings thought it a masterstroke of policy to reward the 
 able and unprincipled parent by promoting the inoffensive child. 
 
 The revolution completed, the double government dissolved, the 
 Company installed in the full sovereignty of Bengal, Hastings had no 
 motive to treat the late ministers with rigour. Their trial had been put 
 off on various pleas till the new organization was complete. They were 
 then brought before a committee, over which the Governor presided. 
 Schitab Roy was speeedily acquitted with honour, A formal apology 
 was made to him for the restraint to which he had been subjected. All 
 the Eastern marks of respect were bestowed on him. He was clothed 
 in a robe of state, presented with jewels and with a richly harnessed 
 elephant, and sent back to his government at Patna. But his health 
 had suffered from confinement ; his high spirit had been crue ly 
 wounded ; and soon after his liberation he died of a broken heart. 
 
 The innocence of Mahommed Reza Khan was not so clearly estab- 
 lished. But the Governor was not disposed to deal harshly. After a 
 long hearing, in which Nuncomar appeared as the accuser, and displayed 
 
AN EMPTY TREASURY. 41 
 
 both the art and inveterate rancour which distinguished him, Hastings 
 pronounced that the charge had not been made out, and ordered the 
 fallen minister to be set at liberty. 
 
 Nuncomar had purposed to destroy the Mussulman administration, 
 and to rise on its ruin. Both his malevolence and his cupidity had been 
 disappointed. Hastings had made him a tool, had used him for the 
 purpose of accomplishing the transfer of the government from Moors- 
 hedabad to Calcutta, from native to European hands. The rival, the 
 enemy, so long envied, so implacably persecuted, had been dismissed 
 unhurt. The situation so long and ardently desired had been abolished. 
 It was natural that the Governor should be from that time an object of 
 the most intense hatred to the vindictive Brahmin. As yet, however, 
 it was necessary to suppress such feelings. The time was coining when 
 that long animosity was to end in a desperate and deadly struggle. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 AN EMPTY TREASURY. 
 
 In the meantime Hastings was compelled to turn his attention to 
 foreign affairs. The object of his diplomacy was at this time simply to 
 get money. The finances of his government was in an embarrassed 
 state, and this embarrassment he was determined to relieve by some 
 means, fair or foul. The principle which directed all his dealings with 
 his neighbours is fully expressed by the old motto of one of the great 
 predatory families of Teviotdale, "Thou shalt want ere I want." He 
 seems to have laid it down, as a fundamental proposition which could 
 not be disputed, that, when he had not as many lacs of rupees as the 
 public service required, he was to take them from anybody who had. 
 One thing, indeed, is to be said in excuse for him. The pressure 
 applied to him by his employers at home was such as only the highest 
 virtue could have withstood, such as left him no choice except to 
 commit great wrongs, or to resign his high post, and with that post all 
 his hopes of fortune and distinction. The Directors, it is true, never 
 enjoined or applauded any crime. Far from it. Whoever examines 
 their letters written at that time will find there many just and humane 
 sentiments, many excellent precepts — in short, an admirable code of 
 political ethics. But every exhortation is modified or nullified by a 
 demand for money. " Govern leniently, and send more money ; 
 practice strict justice and moderation towards neighbouring powers, and 
 send more money ; " this is, in truth, the sum of almost all the instruc- 
 
9- 
 
 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 tions that Hastings ever received from home. Now these instructions, 
 being interpreted, mean simply, "Be the father and the oppressor of 
 the people ; be just and unjust, moderate and rapacious." The Direc- 
 tors dealt with India as the Church, in the good old times, dealt with a 
 heretic. They delivered the victim over to the executioners, with an 
 earnest request that all possible tenderness might be shown. We by no 
 means accuse or suspect those who framed these despatches of hypocrisy. 
 It is probable that, writing fifteen thousand miles from the place where 
 their orders were to be carried into effect, they never perceived the gross 
 inconsistency of which they were guilty. But the inconsistency was at 
 once manifest to their vicegerent at Calcutta, who, with an empty 
 treasury, with an unpaid army, with his own salary often in arrear, 
 with deficient crops, with government tenants daily running away, was 
 called upon to remit home another half million without fail. Hastings 
 saw that it was absolutely necessary for him to disregard either the 
 moral discourses or the pecuniary requsitions of his employers. Being 
 forced to disobey them in something, he had to consider what kind of 
 disobedience they would most readily pardon ; and he correctly judged 
 that the safest course would be to neglect the sermons and to find the 
 rupees. 
 
 A mind so fertile as his, and so little restrained by conscientious 
 scruples, speedily discovered several modes of relieving the financial 
 embarrassments of the government. The allowance of the Nabob of 
 Bengal was reduced at a stroke from three hundred and twenty thousand 
 pounds a year to half that sum. The Company had bound itself to pay 
 near three hundred thousand pounds a year to the Great Mogul, as 
 a mark of homage for the provinces which he had entrusted to their 
 care ; and they had ceded to him the districts of Corah and Allahabad. 
 On the plea that the Mogul was not really independent, but merely a 
 tool in the hands of others, Hastings determined to retract these con- 
 cessions. He accordingly declared that the English would pay no 
 more tribute, and sent troops to occupy Allahabad and Corah. The 
 situation of these places was such that there would be little advantage 
 and great expense in retaining them. Hastings, who wanted money 
 and not territory, determined to sell them. A purchaser was not 
 wanting. The rich province of Oude had, in the general dissolution of 
 the Mogul Empire, fallen to the share of the great Mussulman house by 
 which it is still governed. About twenty years ago, this house, by the 
 permission of the British Government, assumed the royal title ; but in 
 the time of Warren Hastings such an assumption would have been 
 considered by the Mahommedans of India as a monstrous impiety. The 
 
COMPACT AGAINST THE ROHILLAS. 43 
 
 Prince of Oude, though he held the power, did not venture to use the 
 style of sovereignty. To the appellation of Nabob or Viceroy, he added 
 that of Vizier of the monarchy of Hindostan, just as in the last century 
 the Electors of Saxony and Brandenburg, though independent of the 
 Emperor and often in arms against him, were proud to style themselves 
 his Grand Chamberlain and Grand Marshal. Sujah Dowlah, then 
 Nabob Vizier, was on excellent terms with the English. He had a 
 large treasure. Allahabad and Corah were so situated that they might 
 be of use to him, and could be of none to the Company. The buyer 
 and seller soon came to an understanding ; and the provinces which had 
 been torn from the Mogul were made over to the government of Oude 
 for about half a million sterling. 
 
 But there was another matter still more important to be settled by 
 the Vizier and the Governor. The fate of a brave people was to be 
 decided. It was decided in a manner which has left a lasting stain on 
 the fame of Hastings and of England. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 COMPACT AGAINST THE ROHILLAS. 
 
 The people of Central Asia had always been to the inhabitants of India 
 what the warriors of the German forests were to the subjects of the 
 decaying monarchy of Rome. The dark, slender, and timid Hindoo 
 shrank from a conflict with the strong muscle and resolute spirit of the 
 fair race which dwelt beyond the passes. There is reason to believe that, at 
 a period anterior to the dawn of regular history, the people who spoke 
 the rich and flexible Sanscrit came from regions lying far beyond the 
 Hyphasis and the Hystaspes, and imposed their yoke on the children of 
 the soil. It is certain that during the last ten centuries a succession of 
 invaders descended from the west on Hindostan ; nor was the course of 
 conquest ever turned back towards the setting sun till that memorable 
 campaign in which the Cross of Saint George was planted on the walls 
 of Ghizni. 
 
 The Emperors of Hindostan themselves came from the other side of 
 the great mountain ridge ; and it had always been their practice to 
 recruit their army from the hardy and valiant race from which their 
 own illustrious house sprang. Among the military adventurers who 
 were allured to the Mogul standards from the neighbourhood of Cabul 
 and Candahar were conspicuous several gallant bands, known by the 
 name of the RobiJJas. Their services had been rewarded with large 
 
44 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 tracts of land, fiefs of the spear, if we may use an expression drawn 
 from an analogous state of things, in that fertile plain through which the 
 Ramgunga flows from the snowy heights of Kumaon to join the Ganges. 
 In the general confusion which followed the death of Aurungzebe, the 
 warlike colony became virtually independent. The Rohillas were dis- 
 tinguished from the other inhabitants of India by a peculiarly fair 
 complexion. They were more honourably distinguished by courage in 
 war and by skill in the arts of peace. While anarchy raged from 
 Lahore to Cape Comorin, their little territory enjoyed the blessings of 
 repose under the guardianship of valour. Agriculture and commerce 
 flourished among them ; nor were they negligent of rhetoric and poetry. 
 Many persons now living have heard aged men talk with regret 
 of the golden days when the Afghan princes ruled in the vale of 
 Rohilcund. 
 
 Sujah Dowlah had set his heart on adding this rich district to his own 
 principality. Right, or show of right, he had absolutely none. His claim 
 was in no respect better founded than that of Catherine to Poland, or that 
 of the Bonaparte family to Spain. The Rohillas held their country by 
 exactly the same title by which he held his, and had governed their 
 country far better than his had ever been governed. Nor were they a 
 people whom it was perfectly safe to attack. Their land was indeed an 
 open plain, destitute of natural defences ; but their veins were full of 
 the high blood of Afghanistan. As soldiers, they had not the steadiness 
 which is seldom found except in company with strict discipline ; but 
 their impetuous valour had been proved on many fields of battle. It 
 was said that their chiefs, when united by common peril, could bring 
 eighty thousand men into the field. Sujah Dowlah had himself seen 
 them fight, and wisely shrank from a conflict with them. There was in 
 India one army, and only one, against which even those proud Caucasian 
 tribes could not stand. It had been abundantly proved that neither 
 tenfold odds, nor the martial ardour of the boldest Asiatic nations, 
 could avail aught against English science and resolution. Was it 
 possible to induce the Governor of Bengal to let out to hire the irresis- 
 tible energies of the Imperial people, the skill against which the ablest 
 chiefs of Eindostan were helpless as infants, the discipline which had 
 so often triumphed over the frantic struggles of fanaticism and despair, 
 the unconquerable British courage which is never so sedate and stubborn 
 as towards the close of a doubtful and murderous day ? 
 
 This was what the Nabob Vizier asked, and what Hastings granted. 
 A bargain was soon struck. Each of the negotiators had what the 
 other wanted. Hastings was in need of funds to carry on the govern- 
 
COMPACT AGAINST THE ROHILLAS. 45 
 
 ment of Bengal and to send remittances to London, and Sujah Dowlah 
 had an ample revenue. Sujah Dowlah was bent on subjugating the 
 Rohillas, and Hastings had at his disposal the only force by which the 
 Rohillas could be subjugated. It was agreed that an English army 
 should be lent to the Nabob Vizier, and that for the loan he should pay 
 four hundred thousand pounds sterling, besides defraying all the charge 
 of the troops while employed in his service. 
 
 "I really cannot see," says Mr. Gleig, "upon what grounds, either 
 of political or moral justice, this proposition deserves to be stigmatized 
 as infamous." If we understand the meaning of words, it is infamous 
 to commit a wicked action for hire, and it is wicked to engage in war 
 without provocation. In this particular war scarcely one aggravating 
 circumstance was wanting. The object of the Rohilla war was this — to 
 deprive a large population, who had never done us the least harm, of a 
 good government, and to place them, against their will, under an 
 execrably bad one. Nay, even this is not all. England now descended 
 far below the level even of those petty German princes who, about the 
 same time, sold us troops to fight the Americans. The hussar-mongers 
 of Hesse and Anspach had at least the assurance that the expeditions 
 on which their soldiers were to be employed would be conducted in 
 conformity with the humane rules of civilized warfare. Was the 
 Rohilla war likely to be so conducted? Di$ the Governor stipulate 
 that it should be so conducted ? He well knew what Indian warfare 
 was. He well knew that the power which he covenanted to put into 
 Sujah Dowlah's hands would, in all probability, be atrociously abused ; 
 and he required no guarantee, no promise, that it should not be so 
 abused. He did not even reserve to himself the right of withdrawing 
 his aid in case of abuse, however gross. We are almost ashamed to 
 notice Major Scott's plea, that Hastings was justified in letting out 
 English troops to slaughter the Rohillas, because the Rohillas were not 
 of Indian race, but a colony from a distant country. What were the 
 English themselves ? Was it for them to proclaim a crusade for the 
 expulsion of all intruders from the countries watered by the Ganges ? 
 Did it lie in their mouths to contend that a foreign settler who estab- 
 lishes an empire in India is a caput lupinum ? What would they have 
 said if any other Power had, on such a ground, attacked Madras or 
 Calcutta without the slightest provocation ? Such a defence was 
 wanting to make the infamy of the transaction complete. The 
 atrocity of the crime and the hypocrisy of the apology are worthy of 
 each other. 
 
46 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 DEVASTATION OP ROHILCUND. 
 
 One of the three brigades of which the Bengal army consisted was 
 sent, under Colonel Champion, to join Sujah Dowlah's forces. The 
 Rohillas expostulated, entreated, offered a large ransom, but in vain. 
 They then resolved to defend themselves to the last. A bloody battle 
 was fought. "The enemy," says Colonel Champion, "gave proof of a 
 good share of military knowledge ; and it is impossible to describe a 
 more obstinate firmness of resolution than they displayed." The 
 dastardly sovereign of Oude fled from the field. The English were left 
 unsupported ; but their fire and their charge were irresistible. It was 
 not, however, till the most distinguished chiefs had fallen, fighting 
 bravely at the head of their troops, that the Rohilla ranks gave way. 
 Then the Nabob Vizier and his rabble made their appearance, and 
 hastened to plunder the camp of the valiant enemies, whom they had 
 never dared to look in the face. The soldiers of the Company, trained 
 in an exact discipline, kept unbroken order while the tents were 
 pillaged by these worthless allies. But many voices were heard to 
 exclaim, " We have had all the fighting, and those rogues are to have 
 all the profit." 
 
 Then the horrors of Indian war were let loose on the fair valleys and 
 cities of Rohilcund. The whole country was in a blaze. More than a 
 hundred thousand people fled from their homes to pestilential jungles, 
 preferring famine and fever and the haunts of tigers to the tyranny of 
 him to whom an English and a Christian Government had, for shameful 
 lucre, sold their substance, and their blood, and the honour of their 
 wives and daughters. Colonel Champion remonstrated with the Nabob 
 Vizier, and sent strong representations to Fort William ; but the 
 Governor had made no conditions as to the mode in which the war was 
 to be carried on. He had troubled himself about nothing but his forty 
 lacs ; and, though he might disapprove of Sujah Dowlah's wanton 
 barbarity, he did not think himself entitled to interfere, except by 
 offering advice. This delicacy excites the admiration of the biographer. 
 * Mr. Hastings," he says, M could not himself dictate to the Nabob, nor 
 permit the commander of the Company's troops to dictate how the war 
 was to be carried on." No, to be sure. Mr. Hastings had only to put 
 down by main force the brave struggles of innocent men fighting for 
 their liberty. Their military resistance crushed, his duties ended ; and 
 he had then only to fold his arms and look on while their villages were 
 
DEVASTATION OP ROHILCUND. 47 
 
 burned, their children butchered, and their women violated. Will Mr. 
 Gleig seriously maintain this opinion ? Is any rule more plain than 
 this — that whoever voluntarily gives to another irresistible power over 
 human beings is bound to take order that such power shall not be 
 barbarously abused ? But we beg pardon of our readers for arguing a 
 point so clear. 
 
 We hasten to the end of this sad and disgraceful story. The war 
 ceased. The finest population in India was subjected to a greedy, 
 cowardly, cruel tyrant. Commerce and agriculture languished. The 
 rich province which had tempted the cupidity of Sujah Dowlah became 
 the most miserable part even of his miserable dominions. Yet is the 
 injured nation not extinct. At long intervals gleams of its ancient 
 spirit have flashed forth ; and even at this day valour and self-respect 
 and a chivalrous feeling rare among Asiatics, and a bitter remembrance 
 of the great crime of England, distinguish that noble Afghan race. To 
 this day they are regarded as the best of all sepoys at the cold steel ; 
 and it was very recently remarked by one who had enjoyed great oppor- 
 tunities of observation that the only natives of India to whom the word 
 "gentleman" can with perfect propriety be applied are to be found 
 among the Rohillas. 
 
 Whatever we may think of the morality of Hastings, it cannot be 
 denied that the financial results of his policy did honour to his talents. 
 In less than two years after he assumed the government he had, 
 without imposing any additional burdens on the people subject to his 
 authority, added about four hundred and fifty thousand pounds to the 
 annual income of the Company, besides procuring about a million in 
 ready money. He had also relieved the finances of Bengal from 
 military expenditure, amounting to near a quarter of a million a year, 
 and had thrown that charge on the Nabob of Oude. There can be no 
 doubt that this was a result which, if it had been obtained by honest 
 means, would have entitled him to the warmest gratitude of his country, 
 and which, by whatever means obtained, proved that he possessed great 
 talents for administration. 
 
 In the meantime Parliament had been engaged in long and grave 
 discussions on Asiatic affairs. The ministry of Lord North, in the 
 session of 1773, introduced a measure which made a considerable change 
 in the constitution of the Indian Government. This law, known by the 
 name of the Regulating Act, provided that the presidency of Bengal 
 should exercise a control over the other possessions of the Company ; 
 that the chief of that presidency should be styled Governor-General ; 
 that he should be assisted by four Councillors ; and that a Supreme 
 
48 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 Court of Judicature, consisting of a chief justice and three inferior 
 judges, should be established at Calcutta. This Court was made 
 independent of the Governor-General and Council, and was entrusted 
 with a civil and criminal jurisdiction of immense and, at the same time, 
 of undefined extent. 
 
 The Governor- General and Councillors were named in the Act, and 
 were to hold their situations for five years. Hastings was to be the 
 first Governor- General. One of the four new Councillors, Mr. Barwell, 
 an experienced servant of the Company, was then in India. The other 
 three, General Clavering, Mr. Monson, and Mr. Francis, were sent out 
 from England. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 PHILIP FRANCIS AND THE " LETTERS OF JUNIUS." 
 
 The ablest of the new Councillors was, beyond all doubt, Philip 
 Francis. His acknowledged compositions prove that he possessed con- 
 siderable eloquence and information. Several years passed in the 
 public offices had formed him to habits of business. His enemies have 
 never denied that he had a fearless and manly spirit ; and his friends, 
 we are afraid, must acknowledge that his estimate of himself was 
 extravagantly high, that his temper was irritable, that his deportment 
 was often rude and petulant, and that his hatred was of intense bitter- 
 ness and long duration. 
 
 It is scarcely possible to mention this eminent man without adverting 
 for a moment to the question which his name at once suggests to every 
 mind. Was he the author of the Letters of Junius ? Our own firm 
 belief is that he was. The evidence is, we think, such as would support 
 a verdict in a civil, nay, in a criminal proceeding. The handwriting of 
 Junius is the very peculiar handwriting of Francis, slightly disguised. 
 As to the position, pursuits, and connections of Junius, the following 
 are the r ost important facts which can be considered as clearly 
 proved ., that he was acquainted with the technical forms of the 
 
 Secret State's office ; secondly, that he was intimately 
 
 acq with the business of the War Office ; thirdly, that he, 
 
 duriii & v3 year 1770, attended debates in the House of Lords, and 
 took notes of speeches, particularly of the speeches of Lord 
 Chatham ; fourthly, that he bitterly resented the appointment of Mr. 
 Chamier to the place of Deputy Secretary-at-War ; fifthly, he was 
 bound by some strong tie to the first Lord Holland. Now, Francis 
 passed some years in the Secretary of State's office. He was subse- 
 
PHILIP FRANCIS AND THE "LETTERS OP JUNIUS." 49 
 
 quently chief clerk of the War Office. He repeatedly mentioned that 
 he had himself, in 1770, heard speeches of Lord Chatham ; and some 
 of these speeches were actually printed from his notes. He resigned 
 his clerkship at the War Office from resentment at the appointment of 
 Mr. Chamier. It was by Lord Holland that he was first introduced 
 into the public service. Now, here are five marks, all of which ought 
 to be found in Junius. They are all five found in Francis. We do not 
 believe that more than two of them can be found in any other person 
 whatever. If this argument does not settle the question, there is an 
 end of all reasoning on circumstantial evidence. 
 
 The internal evidence seems to us to point the same way. The style 
 of Francis bears a strong resemblance to that of Junius ; nor are we 
 disposed to admit, what is generally taken for granted, that the 
 acknowledged compositions of Francis are very decidedly inferior to 
 the anonymous letters. The argument from inferiority, at all events, 
 is one which may be urged with at least equal force against every 
 claimant that has ever been mentioned, with the single exception of 
 Burke ; and it would be a waste of time to prove that Burke was not 
 Junius. And what conclusion, after all, can be drawn from mere 
 inferiority ? Every writer must produce his best work ; and the 
 interval between his best work and his second best work may be very 
 wide indeed. N obody will say that the best letters of Junius are more 
 decidedly superior to the acknowledged works of Francis than three or 
 four of Corneille's tragedies to the rest, than three or four of Ben 
 Jonson's comedies to the rest, than the Pilgrim's Progress to the other 
 works of Bunyan, than Don Quixote to the other works of Cervantes. 
 Nay, it is certain that Junius, whoever he may have been, was a most 
 unequal writer. To go no further than the letters which bear the 
 signature of Junius : the letter to the King and the letters to Home 
 Tooke have little in common, except the asperity ; and asperity was an 
 ingredient seldom wanting either in the writings or in the speeches of 
 Francis. 
 
 Indeed, one of the strongest reasons for believing that Fr? lis was 
 Junius is the moral resemblance between the two men. It is 1 diffi- 
 cult, from the letters which, under various signatures, arc J^-'l^R to 
 have been written by Junius, and from his dealings with Wooufalland 
 others, to form a tolerably correct notion of his character. He was 
 clearly a man not destitute of real patriotism and magnanimity, a man 
 whose vices were not of a sordid kind. But he must also have been a 
 man in the highest degree arrogant and insolent, a man prone to 
 malevolence, and prone to the error of mistaking his malevolence for 
 
50 , WAKREN HASTINGS. 
 
 public virtue. u Doest thou well to be angry ? " was the question 
 asked in old time of the Hebrew prophet. And he answered, "I do 
 well." This was evidently the temper of Junius ; and to this cause we 
 attribute the savage cruelty which disgraces several of his letters. No 
 man is so merciless as he who, under a strong self-delusion, confounds 
 his antipathies with his duties. It may be added that Junius, though 
 allied with the democratic party by common enmities, was the very 
 opposite of a democratic politician. While attacking individuals 
 with a ferocity which perpetually violated all the laws of literary war- 
 fare, he regarded the most defective parts of old institutions with a 
 respect amounting to pedantry, pleaded the cause of Old Sarum with 
 fervour, and contemptuously told the capitalists of Manchester and 
 Leeds that if they wanted votes they might buy land and become free- 
 holders of Lancashire and Yorkshire. All this, we believe, might stand, 
 with scarcely any change, for a character of Philip Francis. 
 
 It is not strange that the great anonymous writer should have been 
 willing at that time to leave the country which had been so powerfully 
 stirred by his eloquence. Everything had gone against him. That 
 party which he clearly preferred to every other, the party of George 
 Grenville, had been scattered by the death of its chief ; and Lord 
 Suffolk had led the greater part of it over to the ministerial benches. 
 The ferment produced by the Middlesex election had gone down. 
 Every faction must have been alike an object of aversion to Junius. 
 His opinions on domestic affairs separated him from the ministry ; his 
 opinions on colonial affairs from the Opposition. Under such circum- 
 stances he had thrown down his pen in misanthropical despair. His 
 farewell letter to Woodfall bears date the nineteenth of January, 1773. 
 In that letter he declared that he must be an idiot to write again ; that 
 he had meant well by the cause and the public ; that both were given 
 up ; that there were not ten men who would act steadily together on 
 any question. " But it is all alike," he added, " vile and contemptible. 
 You have never flinched that I know of ; and I shall always rejoice to 
 hear of your prosperity. " These were the last words of Junius. In a 
 year from that time Philip Francis was on his voyage to Bengal. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL AND THE COUNCIL. 
 
 With the three new Councillors came out the judges of the Supreme 
 Court. The Chief Justice was Sir Elijah Impey. He was an old 
 
THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL AND THE COUNCIL. 51 
 
 acquaintance of Hastings ; and it is probable that the Governor- 
 General, if he had searched through all the Inns of Court, could not 
 have found an equally serviceable tool. But the members of Council 
 were by no means in an obsequious mood. Hastings greatly disliked 
 the new form of government, and had no very high opinion of his 
 coadjutors. They had heard of this, and were disposed to be 
 suspicious and punctilious. When men are in such a frame of mind, 
 any trifle is sufficient to give occasion to dispute. The members of 
 Council expected a salute of twenty-one guns from the batteries of Fort 
 William. Hastings allowed them only seventeen. They landed in ill- 
 humour. The first civilities were exchanged with cold reserve. On 
 the morrow commenced that long quarrel which, after distracting 
 British India, was renewed in England, and in which all the most 
 eminent statesmen and orators of the age took active part on one or the 
 other side. 
 
 Hastings was supported by Barwell. They had not always been 
 friends. But the arrival of the new members of Council from England 
 naturally had the effect of uniting the old servants of the Company. 
 Clavering, Monson, and Francis formed the majority. They instantly 
 wrested the government out of the hands of Hastings, condemned, 
 certainly not without justice, his late dealings with the Nabob Vizier, 
 recalled the English agent from Oude and sent thither a creature of 
 their own, ordered the brigade which had conquered the unhappy 
 Bohillas to return to the Company's territories, and instituted a severe 
 inquiry into the conduct of the war. Next, in spite of the Governor- 
 General's remonstrances, they proceeded to exercise, in the most 
 indiscreet manner, their new 'authority over the subordinate presi- 
 dencies ; threw all the affairs of Bombay into confusion, and interfered, 
 with an incredible union of rashness and feebleness, in the intestine 
 disputes of the Mahratta government. At the same time they fell on 
 the internal administration of Bengal, and attacked the whole fiscal and 
 judicial system, a system which was undoubtedly defective, but which 
 it was very improbable that gentlemen fresh from England would be 
 competent to amend. The effect of their reforms was that all pro- 
 tection to life and property was withdrawn, and that gangs of robbers 
 plundered and slaughtered with impunity in the very suburbs of Cal- 
 cutta. Hastings continued to live in the Government House, and to 
 draw the salary of Governor-General. He continued even to take the 
 lead at the Council Board in the transaction of ordinary business ; for 
 his opponents could not but feel that he knew much of which they were 
 ignorant, and that he decided, both surely and speedily, many questions 
 
52 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 which to them would have been hopelessly puzzling. But the higher 
 powers of government and the most valuable patronage had been taken 
 from him. 
 
 The natives soon found this out. They considered him as a fallen 
 man, and they acted after their kind. Some of our readers may have 
 seen, in India, a crowd of crows pecking a sick vulture to death — no 
 bad type of what happens in that country as often as fortune deserts 
 one who has been great and dreaded. In an instant all the sycophants 
 who had lately been ready to lie for him, to forge for him, to pander for 
 him, to poison for him, hasten to purchase the favour of his victorious 
 enemies by accusing him. An Indian Government has only to let it be 
 understood that it wishes a particular man to be ruined, and in twenty- 
 four hours it will be furnished with grave charges, supported by 
 depositions so full and circumstantial that any person unaccustomed to 
 Asiatic mendacity would regard them as decisive. It is well if the 
 signature of the destined victim is not counterfeited at the foot of some 
 illegal compact, and if some treasonable paper is not slipped into a 
 hiding-place in his house. Hastings was now regarded as helpless. 
 The power to make or mar the fortune of every man in Bengal had 
 passed, as it seemed, into the hands of the new Councillors. Imme- 
 diately charges against the Governor- General began to pour in. They 
 were eagerly welcomed by the majority, who, to do them justice, were 
 men of too much honour knowingly to countenance false accusations, 
 but who were not sufficiently acquainted with the East to be aware that 
 in that part of the world a very little encouragement from power will 
 call forth in a week more Oateses and Bedloes and Dangerfields than 
 Westminster Hall sees in a century. 
 
 It would have been strange indeed if, at such a juncture, Nuncomar 
 had remained quiet. That bad man was stimulated at once by malig- 
 nity, by avarice, and by ambition. Now was the time to be avenged on 
 his old enemy, to wreak a grudge of seventeen years, to establish him- 
 self in the favour of the majority of the Council, to become the greatest 
 native in Bengal. From the time of the arrival of the new Councillors, 
 he had paid the most marked court to them, and had in consequence 
 been excluded, with all indignity, from the Government House. He 
 now put into the hands of Francis, with great ceremony, a paper, con- 
 taining several charges of the most serious description. By this docu- 
 ment Hastings was accused of putting offices up to sale, and of receiving 
 bribes for suffering offenders to escape. In particular, it was alleged 
 that Mahommed Reza Khan had been dismissed with impunity, in con- 
 sideration of a great sum paid to the Governor- General. 
 
THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL AND THE COUNCIL. 53 
 
 Francis read the paper in Council. A violent altercation followed. 
 Hastings complained in bitter terms of the way in which he was treated, 
 spoke with contempt of Nuncomar and of Nuncomar's accusation, and 
 denied the right of the Council to sit in judgment on the Governor. At 
 the next meeting of the Board, another communication from Nuncomar 
 was produced. He requested that he might be permitted to attend the 
 Council, and that he might be heard in support of his assertions. An- 
 other tempestuous debate took place. The Governor-General maintained 
 that the council-room was not a proper place for such an investigation ; 
 that from persons who were heated by daily conflict with him he could 
 not expect the fairness of judges ; and that he could not, without 
 betraying the dignity of his post, submit to be confronted with such a 
 man as Nuncomar. The majority, however, resolved to go into the 
 charges. Hastings rose, declared the sitting at an end, and left the 
 room, followed by Barwell. The other members kept their seats, voted 
 themselves a council, put Clavering in the chair, and ordered Nuncomar 
 to be called in. Nuncomar not only adhered to the original charges, 
 but, after the fashion of the East, produced a large supplement. He 
 stated that Hastings had received a great sum for appointing Rajah 
 Goordas treasurer of the Nabob's household, and for committing the 
 care of his Highness's person to the Munny Begum. He put in a letter 
 purporting to bear the seal of the Munny Begum, for the purpose of 
 establishing the truth of his story. The seal, whether forged, as Hastings 
 affirmed, or genuine, as we are rather inclined to believe, proved nothing. 
 Nuncomar, as everybody knows who knows India, had only to tell the 
 Munny Begum that such a letter would give pleasure to the majority of 
 the Council, in order to procure her attestation. The majority, how- 
 ever, voted that the charge was made out ; that Hastings had corruptly 
 received between thirty and forty thousand pounds ; and that he ought 
 to be compelled to refund. 
 
 The general feeling among the English in Bengal was strongly in 
 favour of the Governor-General. In talents for business, in knowledge 
 of the country, in general courtesy of demeanour, he was decidedly 
 superior to his persecutors. The servants of the Company were naturally 
 disposed to side with the most distinguished member of their own body 
 against a clerk from the War Office, who, profoundly ignorant of the 
 native languages and of the native character, took on himself to regulate 
 every department of the administration. Hastings, however, in spite 
 of the general sympathy of his countrymen, was in a most painful 
 situation. There was still an appeal to higher authority in England. 
 If that authority took part with his enemies, nothing was left to him 
 
54, - WARBEN HASTINGS. 
 
 but to throw up his office. He accordingly placed his resignation in 
 the hands of his agent in London, Colonel Macleane. But Macleane 
 was instructed not to produce the resignation, unless it should be fully 
 ascertained that the feeling at the India House was adverse to the 
 Governor- General. 
 
 The triumph of Nuncomar seemed to be complete. He held a daily 
 levee, to which his countrymen resorted in crowds, and to which, on 
 one occasion, the majority of the Council condescended to repair. His 
 house was an office for the purpose of receiving charges against the 
 Governor-General. It was said that, partly by threats, and partly by 
 wheedling, the villainous Brahmin had induced many of the wealthiest 
 men in the province to send in complaints. But he was playing a peril- 
 ous game. It was not safe to drive to despair a man of such resources 
 and of such determination as Hastings. Nuncomar, with all his acute- 
 ness, did not understand the nature of the institutions under which he 
 lived. He saw that he had with him the majority of the body which 
 made treaties, gave places, raised taxes. The separation between political 
 and judicial functions was a thing of which he had no conception. It had 
 probably never occurred to him that there was in Bengal an authority 
 perfectly independent of the Council, an authority which could protect 
 one whom the Council wished to destroy, and send to the gibbet one 
 whom the Council wished to protect. Yet such was the fact. The 
 Supreme Court was, within the sphere of its own duties, altogether 
 independent of the Government. Hastings, with his usual sagacity, 
 had seen how much advantage he might derive from possessing himself 
 of this stronghold ; and he had acted accordingly. The Judges, especially 
 the Chief Justice, were hostile to the majority of the Council. The time 
 had now come for putting this formidable machinery into action. 
 
 On a sudden, Calcutta was astounded by the news that Nuncomar 
 had been taken up on a charge of felony, committed, and thrown into the 
 common gaol. The crime imputed to him was that six years before he 
 had forged a bond. The ostensible prosecutor was a native. But it 
 v\ was then and still is the opinion of everybody, idiots and biographers 
 excepted, that Hastings was the real mover in the business. 
 
 The rage of the majority rose to the highest point. They protested 
 against the proceedings of the Supreme Court, and sent several urgent 
 messages to the Judges, demanding that Nuncomar should be admitted 
 to bail. The Judges returned haughty and resolute answers. All that 
 the Council could do was to heap honours and emoluments on the family 
 of Nuncomar, and this they did. In the meantime the assizes com- 
 menced ; a true bill was found, and Nuncomar was brought before Sir 
 
HASTINGS, IMPEY AND NUNCOMAR. 55 
 
 Elijah Impey and a jury composed of Englishmen. A great quantity of 
 contradictory swearing, and the necessity of having every word of the 
 evidence interpreted, protracted the trial to a most unusual length. At 
 last a verdict of guilty was returned, and the Chief Justice pronounced 
 sentence of death on the prisoner. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 HASTINGS, IMPEY AND NUNCOMAR. 
 
 That Impey ought to have respited Nuncomar we hold to be perfectly 
 clear. Whether the whole proceeding was not illegal is a question. 
 But it is certain that whatever may have been, according to technical 
 rules of construction, the effect of the statute under which the trial 
 took place, it was most unjust to hang a Hindoo for forgery. The law 
 which made forgery capital in England was passed without the smallest 
 reference to the state of society in India. It was unknown to the natives 
 of India. It had never been put in execution among them, certainly 
 not for want of delinquents. It was in the highest degree shocking to 
 all their notions. They were not accustomed to the distinction which 
 many circumstances, peculiar to our own state of society, had led us to 
 make between forgery and other kinds of cheating. The counterfeiting 
 of a seal was, in their estimation, a common act of swindling ; nor had 
 it ever crossed their minds that it was to be punished as severely as 
 gang-robbery or assassination. A just judge would, beyond all doubt, 
 have reserved the case for the consideration of the sovereign. But 
 Impey would not hear of mercy or delay. 
 
 The excitement among all classes was great. Francis and Francis's 
 few English adherents described the Governor-General and the Chief 
 Justice as the worst of murderers. Clavering, it was said, swore that 
 even at the foot of the gallows Nuncomar should be rescued. The bulk 
 of the European society, though strongly attached to the Governor- 
 General, could not but feel compassion for a man who, with all his 
 crimes, had so long filled so large a space in their sight, who had been 
 great and powerful before the British Empire in India began to exist, 
 and to whom in the old times Governors and members of Council, then 
 mere commercial factors, had paid court for protection. The feeling of 
 the Hindoos were infinitely stronger. They were, indeed, not a people 
 to strike one blow for their countryman. But his sentence filled them 
 with sorrow and dismay. Tried even by their low standard of morality, 
 
56 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 he was a bad man. But, bad as he was, he was the head of their race 
 and religion, a Brahmin of the Brahmins. He had inherited the purest 
 and highest caste. He had practised with the greatest punctuality all 
 those ceremonies to which the superstitious Bengalees ascribe far more 
 importance than to the correct discharge of the social duties. They 
 felt, therefore, as a devout Catholic in the dark ages would have felt at 
 seeing a prelate of the highest dignity sent to the gallows by a secular 
 tribunal. According to their old national laws, a Brahmin could not 
 be put to death for any crime whatever. And the crime for which 
 Nuncomar was about to die was regarded by them in much the same 
 light in which the selling of an unsound horse for a sound price is 
 regarded by a Yorkshire jockey. 
 
 The Mussulmans alone appear to have seen with exultation the fate 
 of the powerful Hindoo, who had attempted to rise by means of the 
 ruin of Mahommed Reza Khan. The Mahommedan historian of those 
 times takes delight in aggravating the charge. He assures us that in 
 Nuncomar's house a casket was found containing counterfeits of the 
 seals of all the richest men of the province. We have never fallen in 
 with any other authority for this story, which in itself is by no means 
 improbable. 
 
 The day drew near ; and Nuncomar prepared himself to die with that 
 quiet fortitude with which the Bengalee, so effeminately timid in 
 personal conflict, often encounters calamities for which there is no 
 remedy. The sheriff, with the humanity which is seldom wanting in an 
 English gentleman, visited the prisoner on the eve of the execution, and 
 assured him that no indulgence consistent with the law should be 
 refused to him. Nuncomar expressed his gratitude with great politeness 
 and unaltered composure. Not a muscle of his face moved. Not a sigh 
 broke from him. He put his finger to his forehead, and calmly said 
 that fate would have its way, and that there was no resisting the 
 pleasure of God. He sent his compliments to Francis, Clavering, and 
 Monson, and charged them to protect Rajah Goordas, who was about to 
 become the head of the Brahmins of Bengal. The sheriff withdrew, 
 greatly agitated by what had passed, and Nuncomar sat composedly 
 down to write notes and examine accounts. 
 
 The next morning, before the sun was in his power, an immense 
 concourse assembled round the place where the gallows had been set up. 
 Grief and horror were on every face ; yet to the last the multitude 
 could hardly believe that the English really purposed to take the life of 
 the Great Brahmin. At length the mournful procession came through 
 the crowd. Nuncomar sat up in his palanquin, and looked round him 
 
HASTINGS, IMPEY AND NUNCOMAR. 57 
 
 with unaltered serenity. He had just parted from those who were most 
 nearly connected with him. Their cries and contortions had appalled 
 the European ministers of justice, but had not produced the smallest 
 effect on the iron stoicism of the prisoner. The only anxiety which he 
 expressed was that men of his own priestly caste might be in attendance 
 to take charge of his corpse. He again desired to be remembered to his 
 friends in the Council, mounted the scaffold with firmness, and gave the 
 signal to the executioner. The moment that the drop fell a howl of 
 sorrow and despair rose from the innumerable spectators. Hundreds 
 turned away their faces from the polluting sight, fled with loud wailings 
 towards the Hoogley, and plunged into its holy waters, as if to purify 
 themselves from the guilt of having looked on such a crime. These 
 feelings were not confined to Calcutta. The whole province was greatly 
 excited ; and the population of Dacca, in particular, gave strong signs of 
 grief and dismay. 
 
 Of Impey's conduct it is impossible to speak too severely. We have 
 already said that, in our opinion, he acted unjustly in refusing to respite 
 Nuncomar. No rational man can doubt that he took this course in 
 order to gratify the Governor-General. If we had ever had any doubts 
 on that point they would have been dispelled by a letter which Mr. Gleig 
 has published. Hastings, three or four years later, described Impey as 
 the man " to whose support he was at one time indebted for the safety 
 of his fortune, honour, and reputation." These strong words can refer 
 only to the case of Nuncomar ; and they must mean that Impey hanged 
 Nuncomar in order to support Hastings. It is, therefore, our deliberate 
 opinion that Impey, sitting as a judge, put a man unjustly to death in 
 order to serve a political purpose. 
 
 But we look on the conduct of Hastings in a somewhat different light. 
 He was struggling for fortune, honour, liberty, all that makes life 
 valuable. He was beset by rancorous and unprincipled enemies. From 
 his colleagues he could expect no justice. He cannot be blamed for 
 wishing to crush his accusers. He was indeed bound to use only legiti- 
 mate means for that end. But it was not strange that he should have 
 thought any means legitimate which were pronounced legitimate by the 
 sages of the law, by men whose peculiar duty it was to deal justly 
 between adversaries, and whose education might be supposed to have 
 peculiarly qualified them for the discharge of that duty. Nobody 
 demands from a party the unbending equity of a judge. The reason 
 that judges are appointed is that even a good man cannot be trusted to 
 decide a cause in which he is himself concerned. Not a day passes 
 on which an honest prosecutor does not ask for what none but a dis- 
 
58 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 honest tribunal would grant. It is too much to expect that any man 
 when his dearest interests are at stake and his strongest passions 
 excited, will, as against himself, be more just than the sworn dispensers 
 of justice. To take an analogous case from the history of our own 
 island : suppose that Lord Stafford, when in the Tower on suspicion of 
 being concerned in the Popish plot, had been apprised that Titus Oates 
 had done something which might, by a questionable construction, be 
 brought under the head of felony. Should we severely blame Lord 
 Stafford, in the supposed case, for causing a prosecution to be instituted, 
 for furnishing funds, for using all his influence to intercept the mercy 
 of the Crown ? We think not. If a judge, indeed, from favour to the 
 Catholic lords, were to strain the law in order to hang Oates, such a 
 judge would richly deserve impeachment. But it does not appear to us 
 that the Catholic lord, by bringing the case before the judge for 
 decision, would materially overstep the limits of a just self-defence. 
 
 While, therefore, we have not the least doubt that this memorable 
 execution is to be attributed to Hastings, we doubt whether it can with 
 justice be reckoned among his crimes. That his conduct was dictated 
 by a profound policy is evident. He was in a minority in Council. It 
 was possible that he might long be in a minority. He knew the native 
 character well. He knew in what abundance accusations are certain to 
 flow in against the most innocent inhabitant of India who is under the 
 frown of power. There was not in the whole black population of Bengal 
 a place-holder, a place-hunter, a government tenant, who did not think 
 that he might better himself by sending up a deposition against the 
 Governor-General. Under these circumstances, the persecuted states- 
 man resolved to teach the whole crew of accusers and witnesses that, 
 though in a minority at the Council Board, he was still to be feared. 
 The lesson which he gave them was indeed a lesson not to be forgotten. 
 The head of the combination which had been formed against him, the 
 richest, the most powerful, the most artful of the Hindoos, distin- 
 guished by the favour of those who then held the government, fenced 
 round by the superstitious reverence of millions, was hanged in broad 
 day before many thousands of people. Everything that could make the 
 warning impressive — dignity in the sufferer, solemnity in the proceeding 
 — was found in this case. The helpless rage and vain struggles of the 
 Council made the triumph more signal. From that moment the con- 
 viction of every native was that it was safer to take the part of Hastings 
 in a minority than that of Francis in a majority, and that he who was 
 so venturous as to join in running down the Governor-General might 
 chance, in the phrase of the Eastern poet, to find a tiger while beating 
 
UNSUCCESSFUL EFFORTS TO REMOVE HASTINGS. 59 
 
 the jungle for a deer. The voices of a thousand informers were 
 silenced in an instant. From that time, whatever difficulties Hastings 
 might have to encounter, he was never molested by accusations from 
 natives of India. 
 
 It is a remarkable circumstance that one of the letters of Hastings to 
 Dr. Johnson bears date a very few hours after the death of Nuncomar. 
 While the whole settlement was in commotion, while a mighty and 
 ancient priesthood were weeping over the remains of their chief, the 
 conqueror in that deadly grapple sat down, with characteristic self- 
 possession, to write about the Tour to the Hebrides, Jones's Persian 
 Grammar, and the history, traditions, arts, and natural productions of 
 India. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 UNSUCCESSFUL EFFORTS TO REMOVE HASTINGS. 
 
 In the meantime intelligence of the Rohilla war and of the first 
 disputes between Hastings and his colleagues had reached London. 
 The directors took part with the majority, and sent out a letter filled 
 with severe i\ flections on the conduct of Hastings. They condemned, 
 in strong but just terms, the iniquity of undertaking offensive wars 
 merely for the sake of pecuniary advantage. But they utterly forgot 
 that, if Hastings had by illicit means obtained pecuniary advantages, 
 he had done so, not for his own benefit, but in order to meet their 
 demands. To enjoin honesty, and to insist on having what could not 
 be honestly got, was then the constant practice of the Company. As 
 Lady Macbeth says of her husband, they " would not play false, and 
 yet would wrongly win." 
 
 The Regulation Act, by which Hastings had been appointed 
 Governor-General for five years, empowered the Crown to remove him 
 on an address from the Company. Lord North was desirous to 
 procure such an address. The three members of Council who had been 
 sent out from England were men of his own choice. General Clavering, 
 in particular, was supported by a large parliamentary connection, such 
 as no Cabinet could be inclined to disoblige. The wish of the minister 
 was to displace Hastings, and to put Clavering at the head of 
 the government. In the Court of Directors parties were very nearly 
 balanced. Eleven voted againat Hastings ; ten for him. The Court of 
 Proprietors was then convened. The great sale-room presented a 
 singular appearance. Letters had been sent by the Secretary of the 
 
60 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 Treasury, exhorting all the supporters of Government who held India 
 stock to be in attendance. Lord Sandwich marshalled the friends of 
 the administration with his usual dexterity and alertness. Fifty peers 
 and privy councillors, seldom seen so far eastward, were counted in the 
 crowd. The debate lasted till midnight. The opponents of Hastings 
 had a small superiority on the division ; but a ballot was demanded, and 
 the result was that the Governor- General triumphed by a majority of 
 above a hundred votes over the combined efforts of the Directors and 
 the Cabinet. The Ministers were greatly exasperated by this defeat. 
 Even Lord North lost his temper, no ordinary occurrence with him, and 
 threatened to convoke Parliament before Christmas, and to bring in a 
 bill for depriving the Company of all political power, and for restricting 
 it to its old business of trading in silks and teas. 
 
 Colonel Macleane, who through all this conflict had zealously sup- 
 ported the cause of Hastings, now thought that his employer was in 
 imminent danger of being turned out, branded with parliamentary 
 censure, perhaps prosecuted. The opinion of the Crown lawyers had 
 already been taken respecting some parts of the Governor-General's 
 conduct. It seemed to be high time to think of securing an honourable 
 retreat. Under these circumstances, Macleane thought himself justified 
 in producing the resignation with which he had been entrusted. The 
 instrument was not in very accurate form ; but the Directors were too 
 eager to be scrupulous. They accepted the resignation, fixed on Mr. 
 Wheler, one of their own body, to succeed Hastings, and sent out orders 
 that General Clavering, as senior member of the Council, should exer- 
 cise the functions of Governor- General till Mr. Wheler should arrive. 
 
 But while these things were passing in England, a great change had 
 taken place in Bengal. Monson was no more. Only four members of the 
 government were left. Clavering and Francis were on one side, Barwelj 
 and the Governor-General on the other, and the Governor-General had 
 the casting vote. Hastings, who had been during two years destitute 
 of all power and patronage, became at once absolute. He instantly pro- 
 ceeded to retaliate on his adversaries. Their measures were reversed ; 
 their creatures were displaced. A new valuation of the lands of Bengal, 
 for the purposes of taxation, was ordered ; and it was provided that the 
 whole inquiry should be conducted by the Governor-General, and that 
 all the letters relating to it should run in his name. He began, at the 
 same time, to revolve vast plans of conquest and dominion, plans which 
 he lived to see realized, though not by himself. His project was to 
 form subsidiary alliances with the native princes, particularly with those 
 of Oude and Berar, and thus to make Britain the paramount power in 
 
UNSUCCESSFUL EFFORTS TO REMOVE HASTINGS. 61 
 
 India. While he was meditating these great designs, arrived the intel- 
 ligence that he had ceased to be Governor-General, that his resignation 
 had been accepted, that Wheler was coming out immediately, and that 
 till Wheler arrived the chair was to be filled by Clavering. 
 
 Had Hastings still been in a minority, he would probably have retired 
 without a struggle ; but he was now the real master of British India, 
 and he was not disposed to quit his high place. He asserted that he 
 had never given any instructions which could warrant the steps taken 
 at home. What his instructions had been, he owned he had forgotten. 
 If he had kept a copy of them he had mislaid it. But he was certain 
 that he had repeatedly declared to the Directors that he would not 
 resign. He could not see how the Court, possessed of that declaration 
 from himself, could receive his resignation from the doubtful hands of 
 an agent. If the resignation were invalid, all the proceedings which 
 were founded on that resignation were null, and Hastings was still 
 G o vernor-G eneral. 
 
 He afterwards affirmed that, though his agent had not acted in con- 
 formity with his instructions, he would neverthess have held himself 
 bound by their acts, if Clavering had not attempted to seize the 
 supreme power by violence. Whether this assertion were or were not 
 true, it cannot be doubted that the imprudence of Clavering gave 
 Hastings an advantage. The General sent for the keys of the fort 
 and of the treasury, took possession of the records, and held a 
 council, at which Francis attended. Hastings took the chair in 
 another apartment, and Barwell sat with him. Each of the two parties 
 had a plausible show of right. There was no authority entitled to their 
 obedience within fifteen thousand miles. It seemed that there remained 
 no way of settling the dispute except an appeal to arms ; and from 
 such an appeal Hastings, confident of his influence over his countrymen 
 in India, was not inclined to shrink. He directed the officers of the 
 garrison at Fort William and of all the neighbouring stations to obey 
 no orders but his. At the same time, with admirable judgment, he 
 offered to submit the case to the Supreme Court and to abide by its 
 decision. By making this proposition he risked nothing ; yet it was a 
 proposition which his opponents could hardly reject. Nobody could be 
 treated as a criminal for obeying what the judges should solemnly 
 pronounce to be the lawful government. The boldest man would 
 shrink from taking arms in defence of what the judges should pronounce 
 to be usurpation. Clavering and Francis, after some delay, unwillingly 
 consented to abide by the award of the Court. The Court pronounced 
 that the resignation was invalid, and that therefore Hastings was still 
 
62 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 Governor- General under the Regulating Act ; and the defeated members 
 of the Council, finding that the sense of the whole settlement was 
 against them, acquiesced in the decision. 
 
 About this time arrived the news that, after a suit which had lasted 
 several years, the Franconian courts had decreed a divorce between Imhoff 
 and his wife. The Baron left Calcutta, carrying with him the means of 
 buying an estate in Saxony. The lady became Mrs. Hastings. The 
 event was celebrated by great festivities ; and all the most conspicuous 
 persons at Calcutta, without distinction of parties, were invited to the 
 Government House. Clavering, as the Mahommedan chronicler tells 
 the story, was sick in mind and body, and excused himself from joining 
 the splendid assembly. But Hastings, whom, as it should seem, success 
 in ambition and in love had put into high good humour, would take no 
 denial. He went himself to the General's house, and at length brought 
 his vanquished rival in triumph to the gay circle which surrounded the 
 bride. The exertion was too much for a frame broken by mortification 
 as well as by disease. Clavering died a few days later. 
 
 Wheler, who came out expecting to be Governor- General, and was 
 forced to content himself with a seat at the Council Board, generally 
 voted with Francis. But the Governor- General, with Barwell's help 
 and his own casting vote, was still the master. Some change took place 
 at this time in the feeling both of the Court of Directors and of the 
 Ministers of the Crown. All designs against Hastings were dropped, 
 and when his original term of five years expired, he was quietly 
 reappointed. The truth is, that the fearful dangers to which the 
 public interests in every quarter were now exposed made both Lord 
 North and the Company unwilling to part with a Governor whose 
 talents, experience, and resolution enmity itself was compelled to 
 acknowledge. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 COOTE, THE MAHRATTAS, AND THE FRENCH. 
 
 The crisis was indeed formidable. That great and victorious empire, 
 on the throne of which George the Third had taken his seat eighteen 
 years before with brighter hopes than had attended the accession of any 
 of the long line of English sovereigns, had, by the most senseless mis- 
 government, been brought to the verge of ruin. In America millions of 
 Englishmen were at war with the country from which their blood, their 
 language, their religion, and their institutions were derived, and to 
 
COOTE, THE MAHRATTAS, AND THE FRENCH. 63 
 
 which, but a short time before, they had been as strongly attached as 
 the inhabitants of Norfolk and Leicestershire. The great Powers of 
 Europe, humbled to the dust by the vigour and genius which had 
 guided the Councils of George the Second, now rejoiced in the prospect 
 of a signal revenge. The time was approaching when our island, while 
 struggling to keep down the United States of America, and pressed 
 with a still nearer danger by the too just discontents of Ireland, was to 
 be assailed by France, Spain, and Holland, and to be threatened by the 
 armed neutrality of the Baltic ; when even our maritime supremacy was 
 to be in jeopardy ; when hostile fleets were to command the Straits of 
 Calpe and the Mexican Sea ; when the British flag was to be scarcely 
 able to protect the British Channel. Great as were the faults of 
 Hastings, it was happy for our country that at that conjuncture, tke 
 most terrible through which she has ever passed, he was the ruler of her 
 Indian dominions. 
 
 An attack by sea on Bengal was little to be apprehended. The danger 
 was that the European enemies of England might form an alliance with 
 some native power, might furnish that power with troops, arms, and 
 ammunition, and might thus assail our possessions on the side of the 
 land. It was chiefly from the Mahrattas that Hastings anticipated 
 danger. The original seat of that singular people was the wild range of 
 hills which runs along the western coast of India. In the reign of Aurung- 
 zebe the inhabitants of those regions, led by the great Sevajee, began to 
 descend on the possessions of their wealthier and less warlike neigh- 
 bours. The energy, ferocity, and cunning of the Mahrattas soon made 
 them the most conspicuous among the new powers which were gen- 
 erated by the corruption of the decaying monarchy. At first they were 
 only robbers. They soon rose to the dignity of conquerors. Half the 
 provinces of the empire were turned into Mahratta principalities. Free- 
 booters, sprung from low castes and accustomed to menial employments, 
 became mighty Rajahs. The Bonslas, at the head of a band of plun- 
 derers, occupied the vast region of Berar. The Guicowar, which is, 
 being interpreted, the Herdsman, founded that dynasty which still 
 reigns at Guzerat. The houses of Scindia and Holkar waxed great in 
 Malwa. One adventurous captain made his nest on the impregnable 
 rock of Gooti. Another became the lord of the thousand villages which 
 are scattered among the green rice-fields of Tanjore. 
 
 That was the time, throughout India, of double government. The 
 form and the power were everywhere separated. The Mussulman 
 nabobs who had become sovereign princes, the Vizier in Oude, and the 
 Nizam at Hyderabad, still called themselves the viceroys of the house 
 
64 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 of Tamerlane. In the same manner the Mahratta States, though really 
 independent of each other, pretended to be members of one empire. 
 They all acknowledged, by words and ceremonies, the supremacy of the 
 heir of Sevajee, a roifaintant who chewed bang and toyed with dancing 
 girls in a State prison at Sattara, and of his Peshwa, or mayor of the 
 palace, a great hereditary magistrate, who kept a court with kingly 
 state at Poonah, and whose authority was obeyed in the spacious 
 provinces of Aurungabad and Bejapoor. 
 
 Some months before war was declared in Europe the Government of 
 Bengal was alarmed by the news that a French adventurer, who passed 
 for a man of quality, had arrived at Poonah. It was said that he had 
 been received there with great distinction, that he had delivered to the 
 Peshwa letters and presents from Louis the Sixteenth, and that a 
 treaty, hostile to England, had been concluded between France and the 
 Mahrattas. 
 
 Hastings immediately resolved to strike the first blow. The title of 
 the Peshwa was not undisputed. A portion of the Mahratta nation was 
 favourable to a pretender. The Governor-General determined to espouse 
 this pretender's interest, to move an army across the peninsula of India, 
 and to form a close alliance with the chief of the house of Bonsla, who 
 ruled Berar, and who, in power and dignity, was inferior to none of the 
 Mahratta princes. 
 
 The army had marched, and the negotiations with Berar were in 
 progress, when a letter from the English consul at Cairo brought the 
 news that war had been proclaimed both in London and Paris. All the 
 measures which the crisis required were adopted by Hastings without a 
 moment's delay. The French factories in Bengal were seized. Orders 
 were sent to Madras that Pondicherry should instantly be occupied. 
 Near Calcutta, works were thrown up which were thought to render the 
 approach of a hostile force impossible. A maritime establishment was 
 formed for the defence of the river. Nine new battalions of sepoys 
 were raised, and a corps of native artillery was formed out of the hardy 
 Lascars of the Bay of Bengal. Having made these arrangements, the 
 Governor-General, with calm confidence, pronounced his presidency 
 secure from all attack, unless the Mahrattas should march against it 
 in conjunction with the French. 
 
 The expedition which Hastings had sent westward was not so speedily 
 or completely successful as most of his undertakings. The commanding 
 officer procrastinated. The authorities at Bombay blundered. But the 
 Governor- General persevered. A new commander repaired the errors 
 of his predecessor. Several brilliant actions spread the military renown 
 
COOTE, THE MAHRATTAS, AND THE FRENCH. 65 
 
 of the English through regions where no European fi^ag had ever been 
 seen. It is probable that, if a new and more formidable danger had not 
 compelled Hastings to change his whole policy, his plans respecting the 
 Mahratta empire would have been carried into complete effect. 
 
 The authorities of England had wisely sent out to Bengal as com- 
 mander of the forces and member of the Council, one of the most distin- 
 guished soldiers of that time. Sir Eyre Coote had, many years before, 
 been conspicuous among the founders of the British empire in the East. 
 At the council of war which preceded the battle of Plassey he earnestly 
 recommended, in opposition to the majority, that daring course which, 
 after some hesitation, was adopted, and which was crowned with such 
 splendid success. He subsequently commanded in the south of India 
 against the brave and unfortunate Lally, gained the decisive battle of 
 Wandewash over the French and their native allies, took Pondicherry, 
 and made the English power supreme in the Carnatic. Since those 
 great exploits near twenty years have elapsed. Coote had no longer 
 the bodily activity which he had shown in earlier days ; nor was the 
 vigour of his mind altogether unimpaired. He was capricious and 
 fretful, and required much coaxing to keep him in good humour. It 
 must, we fear, be added that the love of money had grown upon him, 
 and that he thought more about his allowances and less about his duties 
 than might have been expected from so eminent a member of so noble a 
 profession. Still he was perhaps the ablest officer that was then to be 
 found in the British army. Among the native soldiers his name was 
 great and his influence unrivalled. Nor is he yet forgotten by them. 
 Now and then a white-bearded old sepoy may still be found who loves 
 to talk of Porto Novo and Pollilore. It is but a short time since one of 
 those aged men came to present a memorial to an English officer who 
 holds one of the highest employments in India. A print of Coote hung 
 in the room. The veteran recognised at once that face and figure which 
 he had not seen for more than half a century, and, forgetting his salam 
 to the living, halted, drew himself up, lifted his hand, and with solemn 
 reverence paid his military obeisance to the dead. 
 
 Coote, though he did not, like Barwell, vote constantly with the 
 Governor-General, was by no means inclined to join in systematic oppo- 
 sition, and on most questions concurred with Hastings, who did his 
 best, by assiduous courtship, and by readily granting the most 
 exorbitant allowances, to gratify the strongest passions of the old 
 soldier. 
 
 It seemed likely at this time that a general reconciliation would put 
 an end to the quarrels which had, during some years, weakened and 
 5 
 
66 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 » 
 
 disgraced the government of Bengal. The dangers of the empire 
 might well induce men of patriotic feeling — and of patriotic feeling 
 neither Hastings nor Francis was destitute — to forget private enmities, 
 and to co-operate heartily for the general good. Coote had never 
 been concerned in faction. Wheler was thoroughly tired of it. 
 Barwell had made an ample fortune, and, though he had promised that 
 he would not leave Calcutta while his help was needed in Council, was 
 most desirous to return to England, and exerted himself to promote an 
 arrangement which would set him at liberty. 
 
 A compact was made, by which Francis agreed to desist from oppo- 
 sition, and Hastings engaged that the friends of Francis should be 
 admitted to a fair share of the honours and emoluments of the service. 
 During a few months after this treaty there was apparent harmony at 
 the Council Board. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 impey's reign of terror. 
 
 Harmony, indeed, was never more necessary ; for at this moment 
 internal calamities, more formidable than war itself, menaced Bengal. 
 The authors of the Regulating Act of 1773 had established two inde- 
 pendent powers, the one judicial, and the other political ; and, with a 
 carlessness scandalously common in English legislation, had omitted to 
 define the limits of either. The judges took advantage of the indis- 
 tinctness, and attempted to draw to themselves supreme authority, not 
 only within Calcutta, but through the whole of the great territory sub- 
 ject to the Presidency of Fort William. There are few Englishmen 
 who will not admit that the English law, in spite of modern improve- 
 ments, is neither so cheap nor so speedy as might be wished. Still, it 
 is a system which has grown up among us. In some points it has been 
 fashioned to suit our feelings ; in others it has gradually fashioned our 
 feelings to suit itself. Even to its worst evils we are accustomed ; and, 
 therefore, though we may complain of them, they do not strike us with 
 the horror and dismay which would be produced by a new grievance of 
 smaller se verity. In India the case is widely different. English law, 
 transplanted to that country, has all the vices from which we suffer 
 here ; it has them all in a far higher degree ; and it has other vices, 
 compared with which the worst vices from which we suffer are trifles. 
 Dilatory here, it is far more dilatory in a land where the help of an 
 interpreter is needed by every judge and by every advocate. Costly 
 
impey's reign op terror. 67 
 
 here, it is far more costly in a land into which the legal practitioners 
 must be imported from an immense distance. All English labour in 
 India, from the labour of the Governor-General and the Commander-in- 
 Chief down to that of a groom or a watchmaker, must be paid for at a 
 higher rate than at home. No man will be banished, and banished to 
 the torrid zone, for nothing. The rule holds good with respect to the 
 legal profession. No English barrister will work, fifteen thousand 
 miles from all his friends, with the thermometer at ninety-six in the 
 shade, for the emoluments which will content him in chambers that 
 overlook the Thames. Accordingly, the fees at Calcutta are about 
 three times as great as the fees at Westminster Hall ; and this, though 
 the people of India are, beyond all comparison, poorer than the people 
 of England. Yet the delays and the expense, grievous as they are, 
 form the smallest part of the evil which English law, imported without 
 modifications into India, could not fail to produce. The strongest 
 feelings of our nature, honour, religion, female modesty, rose up against 
 the innovation. Arrest on mesne process was the first step in most 
 civil proceedings ; and to a native of rank arrest was not merely a 
 restraint, but a foul personal indignity. Oaths were required in every 
 stage of every suit ; and the feeling of a Quaker about an oath is hardly 
 stronger than that of a respectable native. That the apartments of a 
 woman of quality should be entered by strange men, or that her face 
 should be seen by them, are, in the East, intolerable outrages, outrages 
 which are more dreaded than death, and which can be expiated only 
 by the shedding of blood. To these outrages the most distinguished 
 families of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa, were now exposed. Imagine 
 what the state of our country would be if a jurisprudence were on a 
 sudden introduced among us which should be to us what our juris- 
 prudence was to our Asiatic subjects. Imagine what the state of our 
 country would be if it were enacted that any man, by merely swearing 
 that a debt was due to him, should acquire a right to insult the persons 
 of men of the most honourable and sacred callings and of women of the 
 most shrinking delicacy, to horsewhip a general officer, to put a bishop 
 in the stocks, to treat ladies in the way which called forth the blow of 
 Wat Tyler. Something like this was the effect of the attempt which 
 the Supreme Court made to extend its jurisdiction over the whole of 
 the Company's territory. 
 
 A reign of terror began, of terror heightened by mystery ; for even 
 that which was endured was less horrible than that which was antici- 
 pated. No man knew what was next to be expected from this strange 
 tribunal. It came from beyond the black water, as the people of India, 
 
68 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 with mysterious horror, call the sea. It consisted of judges not one of 
 whom was familiar with the usages of the millions over whom they 
 claimed boundless authority. Its records were kept in unknown 
 characters ; its sentences were pronounced in unknown sounds. It had 
 already collected round itself an army of the worst part of the native 
 population— informers, and false witnesses, and common barrators, and 
 agents of chicane, and, above all, a banditti of bailiff's followers, compared 
 with whom the retainers of the worst English sponging-houses, in the 
 worst times, might be considered as upright and tender-hearted. Many 
 natives, highly considered among their countrymen, were seized, hurried 
 up to Calcutta, flung into the common gaol, not for any crime even 
 imputed, not for any debt that had been proved, but merely as a pre- 
 caution till their cause should come to trial. There were instances in 
 which men of the most venerable dignity, persecuted without a cause 
 by extortioners, died of rage and shame in the gripe of the vile alguazils 
 of Impey. The harems of noble Mahommedans, sanctuaries respected 
 in the East by governments which respected nothing else, were burst 
 open by gangs of bailiffs. The Mussulmans, braver and less accustomed 
 to submission than the Hindoos, sometimes stood on their defence ; and 
 there were instances in which they shed their blood in the doorway, 
 while defending, sword in hand, the sacred apartments of their women. 
 Nay, it seemed as if even the faint-hearted Bengalee, who had crouched 
 at the feet of Surajah Dowlah, who had been mute during the adminis- 
 tration of Vansitart, would at length find courage in despair. No 
 Mahratta invasion had ever spread through the province such dismay as 
 this inroad of English lawyers. All the injustice of former oppressors, 
 Asiatic and European, appeared as a blessing when compared with the 
 justice of the Supreme Court. 
 
 Every class of the population, English and native, with the exception 
 of the ravenous pettifoggers who fattened on the misery and terror of 
 an immense community, cried out loudly against this fearful oppression. 
 But the judges were immovable. If a bailiff was resisted they ordered 
 the soldiers to be called out. If a servant of the Company, in conformity 
 with the orders of the Government, withstood the miserable catch-poles 
 who, with Impey's writs in their hands, exceeded the insolence and 
 rapacity of gang-robbers, he was flung into prison for a contempt. The 
 lapse of sixty years, the virtue and wisdom of many eminent magistrates 
 who have during that time administered justice in the Supreme Court, 
 have not effaced from the minds of the people of Bengal the recollection 
 of those evil days. 
 
 The members of the Government were, on this subject, united as one 
 
impey's reign of terror. 69 
 
 man. Hastings had courted the judges ; he had found them useful 
 instruments ; but he was not disposed to make them his own masters, 
 or the masters of India. His mind was large ; his knowledge of the 
 native character most accurate. He saw that the system pursued by 
 the Supreme Court was degrading to the Government and ruinous to 
 the people ; and he resolved to oppose it manfully. The consequence 
 was, that the friendship, if that be the proper word for such a con- 
 nection, which had existed between him and Impey, was for a time 
 completely dissolved. The Government placed itself firmly between 
 the tyrannical tribunal and the people. The Chief Justice proceeded to 
 the wildest excesses. The Governor-General and all the members of 
 Council were served with writs, calling on them to appear before the 
 King's Justices, and to answer for their public acts. This was too 
 much. Hastings, with just scorn, refused to obey the call, set at liberty 
 the persons wrongfully detained by the Court, and took measures for 
 resisting the outrageous proceedings of the sheriff's officers, if necessary, 
 by the sword. But he had in view another device, which might prevent 
 the necessity of an appeal to arms. He was seldom at a loss for an 
 expedient ; and he knew Impey well. The expedient in this case was 
 a v«ry simple one, neither more nor less than a bribe. Impey was, by 
 Act of Parliament, a judge, independent of the Government of Bengal, 
 and entitled to a salary of eight thousand a year. Hastings proposed 
 to make him also a judge in the Company's service, removable at the 
 pleasure of the Government of Bengal ; and to give him, in that capa- 
 city, about eight thousand a year more. It was understood that, in 
 consideration of this new salary, Impey would desist from urging the 
 high pretensions of his court. If he did urge these pretensions, the 
 Government could, at a moment's notice eject him from the new place 
 which had been created for him. The bargain was struck ; Bengal was 
 saved ; an appeal to force was averted ; and the Ghief Justice was rich, 
 quiet, and infamous. 
 
 Of Impey's conduct it is unnecessary to speak. It was of a piece with 
 almost every part of his conduct that comes under the notice of history. 
 No other such judge has dishonoured the English ermine since Jefferies 
 drank himself to death in the Tower. But we cannot agree with those 
 who have blamed Hastings for this transaction. The case stood thus. 
 The negligent manner in which the Regulating Act had been framed 
 put it in the power of the Chief Justice to throw a great country into 
 the most dreadful confusion. He was determined to use his power to 
 the utmost unless he was paid to be still ; and Hastings consented to 
 pay him. The necessity was to be deplored. It is also to be deplored 
 
70 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 that pirates should be able to exact ransom by threatening to make 
 their captives walk the plank. But to ransom a captive from pirates 
 has always been held a humane and Christian act : and it would be 
 absurd to charge the payer of the ransom with corrupting the virtue of 
 the corsair. This, we seriously think, is a not unfair illustration of the 
 relative position of Impey, Hastings, and the people of India. Whether 
 it was right in Impey to demand or to accept a price for powers which, 
 if they really belonged to him, he could not abdicate, which, if they did 
 not belong to him, he ought never to have usurped, and which in neither 
 case he could honestly sell, is one question. It was quite another 
 question whether Hastings was not right to give any sum, however 
 large, to any man, however worthless, rather than either surrender 
 millions of human beings to pillage, or rescue them by civil war. 
 
 Francis strongly opposed this arrangement. It may, indeed, be 
 suspected that personal aversion to Impey was as strong a motive with 
 Francis as regard for the welfare of the province. To a mind burning 
 with resentment, it might seem better to leave Bengal to the oppressors 
 than to redeem it by enriching them. It is not improbable, on the 
 other hand, that Hastings may have been the more willing to resort to 
 an expedient agreeable to the Chief Justice, because that high func- 
 tionary had already been so serviceable, and might, when existing 
 dissensions were composed, be serviceable again. 
 
 But it was not on this point alone that Francis was now opposed to 
 Hastings. The peace between them proved to be only a short and 
 hollow truce, during which their mutual aversion was constantly becom- 
 ing stronger. At length an explosion took place. Hastings publicly 
 charged Francis with having deceived him, and with having induced 
 Barwell to quit the service by insincere promises. Then came 
 a dispute, such as frequently arises even between honourable men, 
 when they may make important agreements by mere verbal com- 
 munication. An impartial historian will probably be of opinion that 
 they had misunderstood each other ; but their minds were so much 
 embittered that they imputed to each other nothing less than deliberate 
 villainy. "I do not," said Hastings, in a minute recorded on the Con- 
 sultations of the Government, " I do not trust to Mr. Francis's promises 
 of candour, convinced that he is incapable of it. I judge of his public 
 conduct by his private, which I have found to be void of truth and 
 honour." After the Council had risen, Francis put a challenge into the 
 Governor-General's hand. It was instantly accepted. They met, and 
 fired. Francis was shot through the body. He was carried to a 
 neighbouring house, where it appeared that the wound, though severe, 
 
THE STRUGGLE WITH HYDER ALL 71 
 
 was not mortal. Hastings inquired repeatedly after his enemy's health, 
 and proposed to call on him ; but Francis coldly declined the visit. He 
 had a proper sense, he said, of the Governor-General's politeness, but 
 could not consent to any private interview. They could meet only at 
 the Council Board. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE STRUGGLE WITH HYDER ALI. 
 
 In a very short time it was made signally manifest to how great a 
 danger the Governor-General had, on this occasion, exposed his country. 
 A crisis arrived with which he, and he alone, was competent to deal. 
 It is not too much to say that if he had been taken from the head of 
 affairs, the years 1780 and 1781 would have been fatal to our power in 
 Asia as to our power in America. 
 
 The Mahrattas had been the chief objects of apprehension to Hastings. 
 The measures which he had adopted for the purpose of breaking their 
 power had at first been frustrated by the errors of those whom he was 
 compelled to employ ; but his perseverance and ability seemed likely 
 to be crowned with success, when a far more formidable danger showed 
 itself in a distant quarter. 
 
 About thirty years before this time a Mahommedan soldier had begun 
 to distinguish himself in the wars of Southern India. His education 
 had been neglected ; his extraction was humble. His father had been a 
 petty officer of revenue ; his grandfather a wandering dervish. But 
 though thus meanly descended, though ignorant even of the alphabet, 
 the adventurer had no sooner been placed at the head of a body of troops 
 than he approved himself a man born for conquest and command. 
 Among the crowd of chiefs who were struggling for a share of India, 
 none could compare with him in the qualities of the captain and the 
 statesman. He became a general ; he became a sovereign. Out of the 
 fragments of old principalities, which had gone to pieces in the general 
 wreck, he formed for himself a great, compact, and vigorous empire. 
 That empire he ruled with the ability, severity, and vigilance of Lewis 
 the Eleventh. Licentious in his pleasures, implacable in his revenge, he 
 had yet enlargement of mind enough to perceive how mnch the prosperity 
 of subjects adds to the strength of governments. He was an oppressor ; 
 but he had at least the merit of protecting his people against all 
 oppression except his own. He was now in extreme old age, but his 
 intellect was as clear and his spirit as high as in the prime of manhood. 
 
72 WARBEN HASTINGS.' 
 
 Such was the great Hyder Ali, the founder of the Mahommedan king- 
 dom of Mysore, and the most formidable enemy with whom the English 
 conquerors of India have ever had to contend. 
 
 Had Hastings been Governor of Madras, Hyder would have been 
 either made a friend, or vigorously encountered as an enemy. Unhappily 
 the English authorities in the South provoked their powerful neighbour's 
 hostility, without being prepared to repel it. On a sudden, an army of 
 ninety thousand men, far superior in discipline and efficiency to any 
 other native force that could be found in India, came pouring through 
 those wild passes which, worn by mountain torrents, and dark with 
 jungle, lead down from the table-Ian J of Mysore to the plains of the 
 Carnatic. This great army was accompanied by a hundred pieces of 
 cannon ; and its movements were guided by many French officers, trained 
 in the best military schools of Europe. 
 
 Hyder was everywhere triumphant. The sepoys in many British 
 garrisons flung down their arms. Some forts were surrendered by 
 treachery, and some by despair. In a few days the whole open country 
 north of the Coleroon had submitted. The English inhabitants of 
 Madras could already see by night, from the top of Mount St. Thomas, 
 the eastern sky reddened by a vast semicircle of blazing villages. The 
 white villas, to which our countrymen retire after the daily labours of 
 government and of trade, when the cool evening breeze springs up from 
 the bay, were now left without inhabitants ; for bands of the fierce 
 horsemen of Mysore had already been seen prowling among the tulip 
 trees and near the gay verandas. Even the town was not thought secure, 
 and the British merchants and public functionaries made haste to crowd 
 themselves behind the cannon of Fort St. George. 
 
 There were the means, indeed, of assembling an army which might 
 have defended the presidency, and even driven the invader back to his 
 mountains. Sir Hector Munro was at the head of one considerable 
 force ; Baillie was advancing with another. United they might have 
 presented a formidable front even to such an enemy as Hyder. But the 
 English commanders, neglecting those fundamental rules of the military 
 art, of which the propriety is obvious even to men who have never 
 received a military education, deferred their junction, and were 
 separately attacked. Baillie's detachment was destroyed. Munro was 
 forced to abandon his baggage, to fling his guns into the tanks, and to 
 save himself by a retreat which might be called a flight. In three weeks 
 from the commencement of the war the British empire in Southern 
 India had been brought to the verge of ruin. Only a few fortified places 
 remained to us. The glory of our arms had departed. It was known 
 
THE STRUGGLE WITH HYDER ALL 73 
 
 that a great French expedition might soon be expected on the coast of 
 Coromandel. England, beset by enemies on every side, was in no con- 
 dition to protect such remote dependencies. 
 
 Then it was that the fertile genius and serene courage of Hastings 
 achieved their most signal triumph. A swift ship, flying before the 
 south-west monsoon, brought the evil tidings in a few days to Calcutta. 
 In twenty-four hours the Governor-General had framed a complete plan 
 of policy adapted to the altered state of affairs. The struggle with 
 Hyder was a struggle for life and death. All minor objects must be 
 sacrificed to the preservation of the Carnatic. The disputes with the 
 Mahrattas must be accommodated. A large military force and a supply 
 of money must be instantly sent to Madras. But even these measures 
 would be insufficient unless the war, hitherto so grossly mismanaged, 
 were placed under the direction of a vigorous mind. lb was no time 
 for trifling. Hastings determined to resort to an extreme exercise of 
 power, to suspend the incapable Governor of Fort St. George, to send 
 Sir Eyre Coote to oppose Hyder, and to intrust that distinguished 
 general with the whole administration of the war. 
 
 In spite of the sullen opposition of Francis, who had now recovered 
 from his wound, and had returned to the Council, the Governor- 
 General's wise and firm policy was approved by the majority of the 
 Board. The reinforcements were sent off with great expedition, and 
 reached Madras before the French armament arrived in the Indian seas. 
 Coote, broken by age and disease, was no longer the Coote of Wande- 
 wash ; but he was still a resolute and skilful commander. The progress 
 of Hyder was arrested ; and in a few months the great victory of Porto 
 Novo retrieved the honour of the English arms. 
 
 In the meantime Francis had returned to England, and Hastings was 
 now left perfectly unfettered. Wheler had gradually been relaxing in 
 his opposition, and, after the departure of his vehement and implacable 
 colleague, co-operated heartily with the Governor-General, whose 
 influence over the British in India, always great, had, by the vigour and 
 success of his recent measures, been considerably increased. 
 
 But, though the difficulties arising from factions within the Council 
 were at an end, another class of difficulties had become more pressing 
 than ever. The financial embarrassment was extreme. Hastings had 
 to find the means not only of carrying on the government of Bengal, 
 but of maintaining a most costly war against both Indian and European 
 enemies in the Carnatic, and of making remittances to England. A few 
 years before this time he had obtained relief by plundering the Mogul 
 and enslaving the Rohillas ; nor were the resources of his fruitful mind 
 by any means exhausted. 
 
74 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 BENARES AND THE CONFLICTING RULE. 
 
 His first design was on Benares, a city which, in wealth, population, 
 dignity, and sanctity, was among the foremost of Asia. It was com- 
 monly believed that half a million of human beings was crowded into 
 that labyrinth of lofty alleys, rich with shrines, and minarets, and 
 balconies, and carved oriels, to which the sacred apes clung by 
 hundreds. The traveller could scarcely make his way through the press 
 of holy mendicants and not less holy bulls. The broad and stately 
 flights of steps, which descended from these swarming haunts to the 
 bathing-places along the Ganges, were worn every day by the footsteps 
 of an innumerable multitude of worshippers. The schools and temples 
 drew crowds of pious Hindoos from every province where the Brahmini- 
 cal faith was known. Hundreds of devotees came thither every month 
 to die ; for it was believed that a peculiarly happy fate awaited the man 
 who should pass from the sacred city into the sacred river. Nor was 
 superstition the only motive which allured strangers to that great 
 metropolis. Commerce had as many pilgrims as religion. All along the 
 shores of the venerable stream lay great fleets of vessels laden with rich 
 merchandise. From the looms of Benares went forth the most delicate 
 silks that adorned the balls of St. James's and Versailles ; and in the 
 bazaars, the muslins of Bengal and the sabres of Oude were mingled 
 with the jewels of Golconda and the shawls of Cashmere. This rich 
 capital and the surrounding tract had long been under the immediate 
 rule of a Hindoo Prince, who rendered homage to the Mogul emperors. 
 During the great anarchy of India the lords of Benares became inde- 
 pendent of the Court of Delhi, but were compelled to submit to the 
 authority of the Nabob of Oude. Oppressed by this formidable neigh- 
 bour, they invoked the protection of the English. The English pro- 
 tection was given ; and at length the Nabob Vizier, by a solemn treaty, 
 ceded all his rights over Benares to the Company. From that time the 
 Rajah was the vassal of the government of Bengal, acknowledged its 
 supremacy, and engaged to send an annual tribute to Fort William. 
 This tribute Cheyte Sing, the reigning prince, had paid with strict 
 punctuality. 
 
 About the precise nature of the legal relation between the Company 
 and the Rajah of Benares there has been much warm and acute contro- 
 versy. On the one side, it has been maintained that Cheyte Sing was 
 merely a great subject on whom the superior power had a right to call 
 
BENARES AND THE CONFLICTING RULE. 75 
 
 for aid in the necessities of the empire. On the other side, it has been 
 contended that he was an independent prince, that the only claim which 
 the Company had upon him was for a fixed tribute, and that, while the 
 fixed tribute was regularly paid, as it assuredty was, the English had 
 no more right to exact any further contribution from him than to 
 demand subsidies from Holland or Denmark. Nothing is easier than to 
 find precedents and analogies in favour of either view. 
 
 Our own impression is that neither view is correct. It was too much 
 the habit of English politicians to take it for granted that there was in 
 India a known and definite constitution by which questions of this kind 
 were to be decided. The truth is that during the interval which elapsed 
 between the fall of the house of Tamerlane and the establishment of the 
 British ascendency, there was no such constitution. The old order of 
 things had passed away ; the new order of things was not yet formed. 
 All was transition, confusion, obscurity. Everybody kept his head as 
 he best might, and scrambled for whatever he could get. There have 
 been similar seasons in Europe. The time of the dissolution of the 
 Carlo vingian empire is an instance. Who would think of seriously 
 discussing the question, what extent of pecuniary aid and of obedience 
 Hugh Capet had a constitutional right to demand from the Duke of 
 Brittany or the Duke of Normandy? The words "constitutional 
 right " had, in that state of society, no meaning. If Hugh Capet laid 
 hands on all the possessions of the Duke of Normandy, this might be 
 unjust and immoral ; but it would not be illegal, in the sense in which 
 the ordinances of Charles the Tenth were illegal. If, on the other 
 hand, the Duke of Normandy made war on Hugh Capet, this might be 
 unjust and immoral ; but it would not be illegal, in the sense in which 
 the expedition of Prince Louis Bonaparte was illegal. 
 
 Very similar to this was the state of India sixty years ago. Of the 
 existing governments, not a single one could lay claim to legitimacy, or 
 could plead any other title than recent occupation. There was scarcely 
 a province in which the real sovereignty and the nominal sovereignty 
 were not disjoined. Titles and forms were still retained which implied 
 that the heir of Tamerlane was an absolute ruler, and that the Nabobs 
 of the provinces were his lieutenants. In reality, he was a captive. 
 The Nabobs were in some places independent princes. In other places, 
 as in Bengal and the Carnatic, they had, like their master, become 
 mere phantoms, and the Company was supreme. Among the Mahrattas, 
 again, the heir of Sevajee still kept the title of Rajah ; but he was a 
 prisoner, and his prime minister, the Peshwa, had become the hereditary 
 chief of the state. The Peshwa, in his turn, was fast sinking into the 
 
76 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 same degraded situation into which he had reduced the Rajah. It was, 
 we believe, impossible to find, from the Himalayas to Mysore, a single 
 government which was at once a government de facto and a government 
 dejure, which possessed the physical means of making itself feared by 
 its neighbours and subjects, and which had at the same time the 
 authority derived from law and long prescription. 
 
 Hastings clearly discerned what was hidden from most of his con- 
 temporaries, that such a state of things gave immense advantages to a 
 ruler of great talents and few scruples. In every international question 
 that could arise, he had his option between the de facto ground and the 
 de jure ground ; and the probability was that one of those grounds 
 would sustain any claim that it might be convenient for him to make, 
 and enable him to resist any claim made by others. In every contro- 
 versy, accordingly, he resorted to the plea which suited his immediate 
 purpose, without troubling himself in the least about consistency ; and 
 thus he scarcely ever failed to find what, to persons of short memories 
 and scanty information, seemed to be a justification for what he wanted 
 to do. Sometimes the Nabob of Bengal is a shadow, sometimes a 
 monarch. Sometimes the Vizier is a mere deputy, sometimes an inde- 
 pendent potentate. If it is expedient for the Company to show some 
 legal title to the revenues of Bengal, the grant under the seal of the 
 Mogul is brought forward as an instrument of the highest authority. 
 When the Mogul asks for the rents which were reserved to him by that 
 very grant, he is told that he is a mere pageant, that the English power 
 rests on a very different foundation from a charter given by him ; that 
 he is welcome to play at royalty as long as he likes, but that lie must 
 expect no tribute from the real masters of India. 
 
 It is true that it was in the power of others, as well as of Hastings, 
 to practice this legerdemain : but in the controversies of governments, 
 sophistry is of little use unless it be backed by power. There is a 
 principle which Hastings was fond of asserting in the strongest terms, 
 and on which he acted with undeviating steadiness. It is a principle 
 which, we must own, though it may be grossly abused, can hardly be 
 disputed in the present state of public law. It is this, that where an 
 ambiguous question arises between two governments, there is, if they 
 cannot agree, no appeal except to force, and that the opinion of the 
 stronger must prevail. Almost every question was ambiguous in India. 
 The English Government was the strongest in India. The consequences 
 are obvious. The English Government might do exactly what it chose 
 
CHEYTE SING PLUNDERED. 77 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 CHEYTE SING PLUNDERED AND BENARES ANNEXED. 
 
 The English Government now chose to wring money out of Cheyte 
 Sing. It had formerly been convenient to treat him as a sovereign 
 prince ; it was now convenient to treat him as a subject. Dexterity 
 inferior to that of Hastings could easily find, in the general chaos of 
 laws and customs, arguments for either course. Hastings wanted a 
 great supply. It was known that Cheyte Sing had a large revenue, and 
 it was suspected that he had accumulated a treasure. Nor was he a 
 favourite at Calcutta. He had, when the Governor-General was in 
 great difficulties, courted the favour of Francis and Clavering. 
 Hastings, who, less perhaps from evil passions than from policy, seldom 
 left an injury unpunished, was not sorry that the fate of Cheyte Sing 
 should teach neighbouring princes the same lesson which the fate of 
 Nuncomar had already impressed on the inhabitants of Bengal. 
 
 In 1778, on the first breaking out of the war with France, Cheyte 
 Sing was called upon to pay, in addition to his fixed tribute, an extraor- 
 dinary contribution of fifty thousand pounds. In 1779 an equal sum 
 was exacted. In 1780 the demand was renewed. Cheyte Sing, in the 
 hope of obtaining some indulgence, secretly offered the Governor- 
 General a bribe of twenty thousand pounds. Hastings took the money, 
 and his enemies have maintained that he took it intending to keep it. 
 He certainly concealed the transaction, for a time, both from the 
 Council in Bengal and from the Directors at home ; nor did he ever give 
 any satisfactory reason for the concealment. Public spirit, or the fear 
 of detection, at last determined him to withstand the temptation. He 
 paid over the bribe to the Company's treasury, and insisted that the 
 Rajah should instantly comply with the demands of the English Govern- 
 ment. The Rajah, after the fashion of his countrymen, shuffled, 
 solicited, and pleaded poverty. The grasp of Hastings was not to be so 
 eluded. He added to the requisition another ten thousand pounds as a 
 fine for delay, and sent troops to exact the money. 
 
 The money was paid. But this was not enough. The late events in 
 the South of India had increased the financial embarrassments of the 
 Company. Hastings was determined to plunder Cheyte Sing, and, for 
 that end, to fasten a quarrel on him. Accordingly, the Rajah was now 
 required to keep a body of cavalry for the service of the British Govern- 
 ment. He objected and evaded. This was exactly what the Governor- 
 General wanted. He had now a pretext for treating the wealthiest of 
 
78 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 his vassals as a criminal. "I resolved," — these are the words of 
 Hastings himself — "to draw from his guilt the means of relief of the Com- 
 pany's distresses, to make him pay largely for his pardon, or to exact a 
 severe vengeance for past delinquency. " The plan was simply this, to 
 demand larger and larger contributions till the Rajah should be driven to 
 remonstrate, then to call his remonstrance a crime, and to punish him 
 by confiscating all his possessions. 
 
 Cheyte Sing was in the greatest dismay. He offered two hundred 
 thousand pounds to propitate the British Government. But Hastings 
 replied that nothing less than half a million would be accepted. Nay, 
 he began to think of selling Benares to Oude, as he had formerly sold 
 Allahabad to Rohilcund. The matter was one which could not be well 
 managed at a distance, and Hastings resolved to visit Benares. 
 
 Cheyte Sing received his liege lord with every mark of reverence, 
 came near sixty miles, with his guards, to meet and escort the illustrious 
 visitor, and expressed his deep concern at the displeasure of the English. 
 He even took off his turban, and laid it in the lap of Hastings, a gesture 
 which in India marks the most profound submission and devotion. 
 Hastings behaved with cold and repulsive severity. Having arrived at 
 Benares, he sent to the Rajah a paper containing the demands of the 
 Government of Bengal. The Rajah, in reply, attempted to clear himself 
 from the accusations brought* against him. Hastings, who wanted 
 money, not excuses, was not to be put off by the ordinary artifices of 
 Eastern negotiation. He instantly ordered the Rajah to be arrested and 
 placed under the custody of two companies of sepoys. 
 
 In taking these strong measures, Hasting scarcely showed his usual 
 judgment. It is possible that, having had little opportunity of personally 
 observing any part of the population of India, except the Bengalees, he 
 was not fully aware of the difference between their character and that 
 of the tribes which inhabit the upper provinces. He was now in a land 
 far more favourable to the vigour of the human frame than the Delta of 
 the Ganges ; in a land fruitful of soldiers, who have been found worthy 
 to follow English battalions to the charge and into the breach. The 
 Rajah was popular among his subjects. His administration had been 
 mild ; and the prosperity of the district which he governed presented 
 a striking contrast to the depressed state of Bahar under our rule, and a 
 still more striking contrast to the misery of the provinces which were 
 cursed by the tyranny of the Nabob Vizier. The national and religious 
 prejudices with which the English were regarded throughout India were 
 peculiarly intense in the metropolis of the Brahminical superstition. It 
 can therefore scarcely be doubted that the Govern or- General, before he 
 
CHEYTE SING PLUNDERED. 79 
 
 outraged the dignity of Cheyte Sing by an arrest, ought to have assembled 
 a force capable of bearing down all opposition. This had not been done. 
 The handful of sepoys who attended Hastings would probably have 
 been sufficient to overawe Moorshedabad, or the Black Town of Calcutta. 
 But they were unequal to a conflict with the hardy rabble of Benares. 
 The streets surrounding the palace were filled by an immense multitude, 
 of whom a large proportion, as is usual in Upper India, wore arms. The 
 tumult became a fight, and the fight a massacre. The English officers 
 defended themselves with desperate courage against overwhelming 
 numbers, and fell, as became them, sword in hand. The sepoys were 
 butchered. The gates were forced. The captive prince, neglected by 
 his gaolers during the confusion, discovered an outlet which opened on 
 the precipitous bank of the Ganges, let himself down to the water by a 
 string made of the turbans of his attendants, found a boat, and escaped 
 to the opposite shore. 
 
 If Hastings had, by indiscreet violence, brought himself into a difficult 
 and perilous situation, it is only just to acknowledge that he extricated 
 himself with even more than his usual ability and presence of mind. He 
 had only fifty men with him. The building in which he had taken up 
 his residence was on every side blockaded by the insurgents. But his 
 fortitude remained unshaken. The Rajah, from the other side of the 
 river, sent apologies and liberal offers. They were not even answered. 
 Some subtle and enterprising men were found who undertook to pass 
 through the throng of enemies, and to convey the intelligence of the 
 late events to the English cantonments. It is the fashion of the natives 
 of India to wear large earrings of gold. When they travel, the rings 
 are laid aside, lest the precious metal should tempt some gang of robbers • 
 and, in place of the ring, a quill or a roll of paper is inserted in the 
 orifice to prevent it from closing. Hastings placed in the ears of his 
 messengers letters rolled up in the smallest compass. Some of these 
 letters were addressed to the commanders of English troops. One was 
 written to assure his wife of his safety. One was to the envoy whom he 
 had sent to negotiate with the Mahrattas. Instructions for the 
 negotiation were needed, and the Governor- General framed them in 
 that situation of extreme danger with as much composure as if he had 
 been writing in his palace at Calcutta. 
 
 Things, however, were not yet at the worst. An English officer of 
 more spirit than judgment, eager to distinguish himself made a premature 
 attack on the insurgents beyond the river. His troops were entangled 
 in narrow streets, and assailed by a furious population. He fell, with 
 many of his men, and the survivors were forced to retire. 
 
80 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 This event produced the effect which has never failed to follow every 
 check, however slight, sustained in India by the English arms. For 
 hundreds of miles round the whole country was in commotion. The 
 entire population of the district of Benares took arms. The fields were 
 abandoned by the husbandmen, who thronged to defend their prince. 
 The infection spread to Oude. The oppressed people of that province 
 rose up against the Nabob Vizier, refused to pay their imposts, and put 
 the revenue officers to flight. Even Bahar was ripe for revolt. The 
 hopes of Cheyte Sing began to rise. Instead of imploring mercy in the 
 humble style of a vassal, he began to talk the language of a conqueror, 
 and threatened, it was said, to sweep the white usurpers out of the 
 land. But the English troops were now assembling fast. The officers, 
 and even the private men, regarded the Governor-General with enthusi- 
 astic attachment, and flew to his aid with an alacrity which, as he 
 boasted, had never been shown on any other occasion. Major Popham 
 a brave and skilful soldier, who had highly distinguished himself in the 
 Mahratta war, and in whom the Governor- General reposed the greatest 
 confidence, took the command. The tumultuary army of the Rajah was 
 put to rout. His fastnesses were stormed. In a few hours above 
 thirty thousand men left his standard and returned to their ordinary 
 avocations. The unhappy prince fled from his country for ever. His 
 fair domain was added to the British dominions. One of his relations 
 indeed was appointed Rajah ; but the Rajah of Benares was henceforth 
 to be, like the Nabob of Bengal, a mere pensioner. 
 
 By this revolution an addition of two hundred thousand pounds a year 
 was made to the revenues of the Company. But the immediate relief 
 was not as great as had been expected. The treasure laid up by Cheyte 
 Sing had been popularly estimated at a million sterling. It turned out 
 to be about a fourth part of that sum ; and, such as it was, it was seized 
 by the army and divided as prize money. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 HASTINGS SETS COVETOUS EYES ON OUDE. 
 
 Disappointed in his expectations from Benares, Hastings was more 
 violent than he would otherwise have been in his dealings with Oude. 
 Sujah Dowlah had long been dead. His son and successor, Asaph-ul- 
 Dowlah, was one of the weakest and most vicious even of Eastern princes. 
 His life was divided between torpid repose and the most odious forms of 
 sensuality. In his court there was boundless waste; throughout his 
 
HASTINGS SETS COVETOUS EYES ON OUDE. 81 
 
 dominions, wretchedness and disorder. He had been, under the skilful 
 management of the English government, gradually sinking from the 
 rank of an independent prince to that of a vassal of the Company. It 
 was only by the help of a British brigade that he could be secure from 
 the aggressions of neighbours who despised his weakness, and from the 
 vengeance of subjects who detested his tyranny. A brigade was 
 furnished, and he engaged to defray the charge of paying and maintaining 
 it. From that time his independence was at an end. Hastings was not 
 a man to lose the advantage which he had thus gained. The Nabob 
 soon began to complain of the burden which he had undertaken to bear. 
 His revenues, he said, were falling off; his servants were unpaid; he 
 could no longer support the expense of the arrangement which he had 
 sanctioned. Hastings would not listen to these representations. The 
 Vizier, he said, had invited the Government of Bengal to send him 
 troops, and had promised to pay for them. The troops had been sent. 
 How long the troops were to remain in Oude was a matter not settled 
 by the treaty. It remained, therefore, to be settled between the con- 
 tracting parties. But the contracting parties differed. Who then must 
 decide? The stronger. 
 
 Hastings also argued that, if the English force was withdrawn, Oude 
 would certainly become a prey to anarchy, and would probably be overrun 
 by a Mahratta army. That the finances of Oude were embarrassed, he 
 admitted. But he contended, not without reason, that the embarrass- 
 ment was to be attributed to the incapacity and vices of Asaph-ul-Dowlah 
 himself, and that if less were spent on the troops, the only effect would 
 be that more would be squandered on worthless favourites. 
 
 Hastings had intended, after settling the affairs of Benares, to visit 
 Lucknow, and there to confer with Asaph-ul-Dowlah. But the 
 obsequious courtesy of the Nabob Vizier prevented this visit. With a 
 small train he hastened to meet the Governor-General. An interview 
 took place in the fortress which, from the crest of the precipitous rock 
 of Ohunar, looks down on the waters of the Ganges. 
 
 At first sight it might appear impossible that the negotiation should 
 come to an amicable close. Hastings wanted an extraordinary supply 
 of money. Asaph-ul-Dowlah wanted to obtain a remission of what he 
 already owed. Such a difference seemed to admit of no compromise. 
 There was, however, one course satisfactory to both sides, one course 
 by which it was possible to relieve the finances both of Oude and of 
 Bengal ; and that course was adopted. It was simply this, that the 
 Governor-General and the Nabob Vizier should join to rob a third 
 6 
 
82 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 party ; and the third party whom they determined to rob was the 
 parent of one of the robbers. 
 
 The mother of the late Nabob, and his wife, who was the mother of 
 the present Nabob, were known as the Begums or Princesses of Oude. 
 They had possessed great influence over Sujah Dowlah, and had, at his 
 death, been left in possession of a splendid dotation. The domains of 
 which they received the rents and administered the government were 
 of wide extent. The treasure hoarded by the late Nabob, a treasure 
 which was popularly estimated at near three millions sterling, was in their 
 hands. They continued to occupy his favourite palace at Fyzabad, the 
 Beautiful Dwelling; while Asaph-ul-Dovvlah held his court in the 
 stately Lucknow, which he had built for himself on the shores of the 
 Goomti, and had adorned with noble mosques and colleges. 
 
 Asaph-ul-Dowlah had already extorted considerable sums from his 
 mother. She had at length appealed to the English ; and the English 
 had interfered. A solemn compact had been made, by which she con- 
 sented to give her son some pecuniary assistance, and he in his turn 
 promised never to commit any further invasion of her rights. This 
 compact was formally guaranteed by the government of Bengal. But 
 times had changed ; money was wanted ; and the power which had 
 given the guarantee was not ashamed to instigate the spoiler to excesses 
 such that even he shrank from them. 
 
 It was necessary to find some pretext for a confiscation inconsistent, 
 not merely with plighted faith, not merely with the ordinary rules of 
 humanity and justice, but also with that great law of filial piety which, 
 even in the wildest tribes of savages, even in those more degraded com- 
 munities which wither under the influence of a corrupt half- civilization, 
 retains a certain authority over the human mind. A pretext was the 
 last thing that Hastings was likely to want. The insurrection at Benares 
 had produced disturbances in Oude. These disturbances it was con- 
 venient to impute to the Princesses. Evidence for the imputation there 
 was scarcely any ; unless reports wandering from one mouth to another, 
 and gaining something by every transmission, may be called evidence. 
 The accused were furnished with no charge ; they were permitted to 
 make no defence ; for the Governor-General wisely considered that, if 
 he tried them, he might not be able to find a ground for plundering 
 them. It was agreed between him and the Nabob Vizier that the noble 
 ladies should, by a sweeping act of confiscation, be stripped of their 
 domains and treasures for the benefit of the Company, and that the 
 sums thus obtained should be accepted by the government of Bengal in 
 satisfaction of its claims on the government of Oude. 
 
HASTINGS SETS COVETOUS EYES ON OUDE. 83 
 
 While Asaph-ul-Dowlah was at Chunar he was completely subjugated 
 by the clear and commanding intellect of the English statesman. But, 
 when they had separated, the Vizier began to reflect with uneasiness on 
 fche engagements into which he had entered. His mother and grand- 
 mother protested and implored. His heart, deeply corrupted by abso- 
 lute power and licentious pleasures, yet not naturally unfeeling, failed 
 him in this crisis. Even the English resident at Lucknow, though 
 hitherto devoted to Hastings, shrank from extreme measures. But the 
 Governor-General was inexorable. He wrote to the resident in terms 
 of the greatest severity, and declared that if the spoliation which had 
 been agreed upon were not instantly carried into effect, he would him- 
 self go to Lucknow, and do that from which feebler minds recoil with 
 dismay. The resident, thus menaced, waited on his highness, and 
 insisted that the treaty of Chunar should be carried into full and imme- 
 diate effect. Asaph-ul-Dowlah yielded, making at the same time a 
 solemn protestation that he yielded to compulsion. The lands were 
 resumed ; but the treasure was not so easily obtained. It was necessary 
 to use violence. A body of the Company's troops marched to Fyzabad, 
 and forced the gates of the palace. The Princesses were confined to 
 their own apartments. But still they refused to submit. Some more 
 stringent mode of coercion was to be found. A mode was found, of 
 which, even at this distance of time, we cannot speak without shame 
 and sorrow. 
 
 There were at Fyzabad two ancient men, belonging to that unhappy 
 class which a practice, of immemorial antiquity in the East, has ex- 
 cluded from the pleasures of love, and from the hope of posterity. It 
 has always been held in Asiatic courts that beings thus estranged from 
 sympathy with their kind are those whom princes may most safely trust. 
 Sujah Dowlah had been of this opinion. He had given his entire con- 
 fidence to the two eunuchs ; and after his death they remained at the 
 head of the household of his widow. 
 
 These men were, by the orders of the British government, seized, im- 
 prisoned, ironed, starved almost to death, in order to extort money from 
 the Princesses. After they had been two months in confinement, their 
 health gave way. They implored permission to take a little exercise in 
 the garden of their prison. The officer who was in charge of them 
 stated that, if they were allowed this indulgence, there was not the 
 smallest chance of their escaping, and that their irons really added nothing 
 to the security of the custody in which they were kept. He did not 
 understand the plan of his superiors. Their object in these inflictions 
 was not security but torture ; and all mitigation was refused. Yet this 
 
84 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 was not the worst. It was resolved by an English government that these 
 two infirm old men should be delivered to the tormentors. For that 
 purpose they were removed to Lucknow. What horrors their dungeon 
 there witnessed can only be guessed. But there remains on the records 
 of Parliament this letter, written by a British resident to a British 
 soldier : — 
 
 " Sir, the Nabob having determined to inflict corporal punishment 
 upon the prisoners under your guard, this is to desire that his officers, 
 when they shall come, may have free access to the prisoners, and be per- 
 mitted to do with them as they shall see proper." 
 
 While these barbarities were perpetrated at Lucknow, the Princesses 
 were still under duress at Fyzabad. Food was allowed to enter their 
 apartments only in such scanty quantities that their female attend- 
 ants were in danger of perishing with hunger. Month after month this 
 cruelty continued, till at length, after twelve hundred thousand pounds 
 had been wrung out of the Princesses, Hastings began to think that he 
 had really got to the bottom of their coffers, and that no rigour could 
 extort more. Then at length the wretched men who were detained at 
 Lucknow regained their liberty. When their irons were knocked off 
 and the doors of their prison opened, their quivering lips, the tears which 
 ran down their cheeks, and the thanksgivings which they poured forth 
 to the common Father of Mussulmans and Christians, melted even the 
 stout hearts of the English warriors who stood by. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE CHIEF JUSTICE RECALLED. 
 
 But we must not forget to do justice to Sir Elijah Impey's conduct on 
 this occasion. It was not indeed easy for him to intrude himself into a 
 business so entirely alien from all his official duties. But there was 
 something inexpressible alluring, we must suppose, in the peculiar rank- 
 ness of the infamy which was then to be got at Lucknow. He hurried 
 thither as fast as relays of palanquin- bearers could carry him. A crowd 
 of people came before him with affidavits against the Begums, ready 
 drawn in their hands. Those affidavits he did not read. Some of them, 
 indeed, he could not read, for they were in the dialects of Northern 
 India, and no interpreter was employed. He administered the oath to the 
 deponents with all possible expedition, and asked not a single question, 
 not even whether they had perused the statements to which they swore. 
 This work performed, he got again into his palanquin and posted back to 
 
THE CHIEF JUSTICE RECALLED. 85 
 
 Calcutta, to be in time for the opening of term. The cause was one 
 which, by his own confession, lay altogether out of his jurisdiction. 
 Under the charter of justice, he had no more right to inquire into the 
 crimes committed by Asiatics in Oude than the Lord President of the 
 Court of Session of Scotland to hold an assize at Exeter. He had no 
 right to try the Begums, nor did he pretend to try them. With what 
 object, then, did he undertake so long a journey ? Evidently in order 
 that he might give, in an irregular manner, that sanction which in a 
 regular manner he could not give to the crimes of those who had recently 
 hired him ; and in order that a confused mass of testimony which he did 
 not sift, which he did not even read, might acquire an authority not 
 properly belonging to it, from the signature of the highest judicial 
 functionary in India. 
 
 The time was approaching, however, when he was to be stripped of 
 that robe which has never, since the Revolution, been disgraced so foully 
 as by him. The state of India had for sometime occupied much of 
 the attention of the British Parliament. Towards the close of the 
 American war, two committees of the Commons sat on Eastern affairs. 
 In one Edmund Burke took the lead. The other was under the 
 presidency of the able and versatile Henry Dundas, then Lord Advocate 
 of Scotland. Great as are the changes which, during the last sixty years, 
 have taken place in our Asiatic dominions, the reports which those 
 committees laid on the table of the House will still be found most inter- 
 esting and instructive. 
 
 There was as yet no connection between the Company and either of 
 the great parties of the State. The ministers had no motive to defend 
 Indian abuses. On the contrary, it was for their interest to show, if 
 possible, that the government and patronage of our Oriental empire 
 might, with advantage, be transferred to themselves. The votes, there- 
 fore, which, in consequence of the reports made by the two committees, 
 were passed by the Commons, breathed the spirit of stern and indignant 
 justice. The severest epithets were applied to several of the measures of 
 Hastings, especially to the Rohilla war ; and it was resolved, on the 
 motion of Mr. Dundas, that the Company ought to recall a Governor- 
 General who had brought such calamities on the Indian people, and such 
 dishonour on the British name. An Act was passed for limiting the 
 jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. The bargain which Hastings had 
 made with the Chief Justice was condemned in the strongest terms, and 
 an address was presented to the King, praying that Impey might be 
 summoned home to answer for his misdeeds. 
 
 Impey was recalled by a letter from the Secretary of State. But the 
 
86 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 proprietors of India stock resolutely refused to dismiss Hastings from 
 their service ; and passed a resolution affirming, what was undeniably 
 true, that they were entrusted by law with the right of naming and re- 
 moving their Governor-General, and that they were not bound to obey 
 the directions of a single branch of the legislature with respect to such 
 nomination or removal. 
 
 Thus supported by his employers, Hastings remained at the head of 
 the Government of Bengal till the spring of 1785. His administration, 
 so eventful and stormy, closed in almost perfect quiet. In the Council 
 there was no regular opposition to his measures. Peace was restored to 
 India. The Mahratta war had ceased. Hyder was no more. A treaty 
 had been concluded with his son, Tippoo ; and the Carnatic had been 
 evacuated by the armies of Mysore. Since the termination of the 
 American war, England had no European enemy or rival in the Eastern 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 REVIEW OF HASTINGS* ADMINISTRATION. 
 
 On a general review of the long administration of Hastings, it is im- 
 possible to deny that, against the great crimes by which it is blemished, 
 we have to set off great public services. England had passed through a 
 perilous crisis. She still, indeed, maintained her place in the foremost 
 rank of European powers : and the manner in which she had defended 
 herself against fearful odds had inspired surrounding nations with a high 
 opinion both of her spirit and of her strength. Nevertheless, in every 
 part of the world, except one, she had been a loser. Not only had she 
 been compelled to acknowledge the independence of thirteen colonies 
 peopled by her children, and to conciliate the Irish by giving up the right 
 of legislating for them ; but in the Mediterranean, in the Gulf of Mexico, 
 on the coast of Africa, on the continent of America, she had been com- 
 pelled to cede the fruits of her victories in former wars. Spain regained 
 Minorca and Florida ; France regained Senegal, Goree, and several West 
 Indian Islands. The only quarter of the world in which Britain had lost 
 nothing was the quarter in which her interests had been committed to 
 the care of Hastings. In spite of the utmost exertions of European and 
 Asiatic enemies, the power of our country in the East had been greatly 
 augmented. Benares was subjected ; the Nabob Vizier reduced to 
 vassalage. That our influence had been thus extended, nay, that Fort 
 William and Fort St. George had not been occupied by hostile armies, 
 
REVIEW OF HASTINGS' ADMINISTRATION. 87 
 
 was owing, if we may trust the general voice of the English in India, to 
 the skill and resolution of Hastings. 
 
 His internal administration, with all its blemishes, gives him a title to 
 be considered as one of the most remarkable men in our history. He dis- 
 solved the double government. He transferred the direction of affairs 
 to English hands. Out of a frightful anarchy he educed at least a rude 
 and imperfect order. The whole organization by which justice was dis- 
 pensed, revenue collected, peace maintained throughout a territory not 
 inferior in population to the dominions of Lewis the Sixteenth or the 
 Emperor Joseph, was formed and superintended by him. He boasted 
 that every public office, without exception, which existed when he left 
 Bengal, was his creation. It is quite true that this system, after all the 
 improvements suggested by the experience of sixty years, still needs 
 improvement, and that it was at first far more defective than it now is. 
 But whoever seriously considers what it is to construct from the begin- 
 ning the whole of a machine so vast and complex as a government, will 
 allow that what Hastings effected deserves high admiration. To com- 
 pare the most celebrated European ministers to him seems to us as 
 unjust as it would be to compare the best baker in London with 
 Robinson Crusoe, who, before he could bake a single loaf, had to make 
 his plough and his harrow, his fences and his scarecrows, his sickle and 
 his flails, his mill and his oven. 
 
 The just fame of Hastings rises still higher when we reflect that he 
 was not bred a statesman ; that he was sent from school to a counting- 
 house ; and that he was employed during the prime of his manhood as 
 a commercial agent, far from all intellectual society. 
 
 Nor must we forget that all, or almost all, to whom, when placed at 
 the head of affairs, he could apply for assistance, were persons who 
 owed as little as himself, or less than himself, to education. A minister 
 in Europe finds himself, on the first day on which he commences his 
 functions, surrounded by experienced public servants, the depositaries 
 of official traditions. Hastings had no such help. His own reflection, 
 his own energy, were to supply the place of all Downing Street and 
 Somerset House. Having had no facilities for learning, he was forced 
 to teach. He had first to form himself, and then to form his instru- 
 ments ; and this not in a single department, but in all the departments 
 of the administration. 
 
 It must be added, that while engaged in this most arduous task, he 
 was constantly trammelled by orders from home, and frequently borne 
 down by a majority in Council. The preservation of an empire from a 
 formidable combination of foreign enemies, the construction of a 
 
88 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 government in all its parts, were accomplished by him, while every ship 
 brought out bales of censure from his employers, and while the records 
 of every consultation were filled with acrimonious minutes by his 
 colleagues. We believe that there never was a public man whose 
 temper was so severely tried ; not Marlborough, when thwarted by the 
 Dutch Deputies ; not Wellington, when he had to deal at once with the 
 Portuguese Regency, the Spanish Juntas, and Mr. Percival. But the 
 temper of Hastings was equal to almost any trial. It was not sweet ; 
 but it was calm. Quick and vigorous as his intellect was, the patience 
 with which he endured the most cruel vexations till a remedy could be 
 found resembled the patience of stupidity. He seems to have been 
 capable of resentment, bitter and long enduring ; yet his resentment so 
 seldom hurried him into any blunder that it may be doubted whether 
 what appeared to be revenge was anything but policy. 
 
 The effect of this singular equanimity was that he always had the full 
 command of all the resources of one of the most fertile minds that ever 
 existed. Accordingly no complication of perils and embarrassments 
 could perplex him. For every difficulty he had a contrivance ready ; 
 and, whatever may be thought of the justice and humanity of some of 
 his contrivances, it is certain that they seldom failed to serve the pur- 
 pose for which they were designed. 
 
 Together with this extraordinary talent for devising expedients, 
 Hastings possessed, in a very high degree, another talent scarcely less 
 necessary to a man in his situation ; we mean the talent for conducting 
 political controversy. It is as necessary to an English statesman in the 
 East that he should be able to write, as it is to a minister in this 
 country that he should be able to speak. It is chiefly by the oratory of 
 a public man here that the nation judges of his powers. It is from the 
 letters and reports of a public man in India that the dispensers of 
 patronage form their estimate of him. In each case, the talent which 
 receives peculiar encouragement is developed, perhaps at the expense of 
 the other powers. In this country we sometimes hear men speak above 
 their abilities. It is not very unusual to find gentlemen in the Indian 
 service who write above their abilities. The English politician is a 
 little too much of a debater ; the Indian politician a little too much of 
 an essayist. 
 
 Of the numerous servants of the Company who have distinguished 
 themselves as framers of minutes and despatches, Hastings stands at 
 the head. He was indeed the person who gave to the official writing of 
 the Indian governments the character which it still retains. He was 
 matched against no common antagonist. But even Francis was forced 
 
REVIEW OF HASTINGS' ADMINISTRATION. 89 
 
 to acknowledge, with sullen and resentful candour, that there was no 
 contending against the pen of Hastings. And, in truth, the Governor- 
 General's power of making out a case, of perplexing what it was incon- 
 venient that people should understand, and of setting in the clearest 
 point of view whatever would bear the light, was incomparable. His 
 style must be praised with some reservation. It was in general forcible, 
 pure, and polished ; but it was sometimes, though not often, turgid, and 
 on one or two occasions even bombastic. Perhaps the fondness of 
 Hastings for Persian literature may have tended to corrupt his taste. 
 
 And, since we have referred to his literary tastes, it would be most 
 unjust not to praise the judicious encouragement which, as a ruler he 
 gave to liberal studies and curious researches. His patronage was ex- 
 tended with prudent generosity, to voyages, travels, experiments, publi- 
 cations. He did little, it is true, towards introducing into India the 
 learning of the West. To make the young natives of Bengal familiar 
 with Milton and Adam Smith, to substitute the geography, astronomy, 
 and surgery of Europe for the dotages of the Brahminical superstition, 
 or for the imperfect science of ancient Greece, transfused through Arabian 
 expositions, this was a scheme reserved to crown the beneficent adminis- 
 tration of a far more virtuous ruler. Still, it is impossible to refuse 
 high commendation to a man who, taken from a ledger to govern an 
 empire, overwhelmed by public business, surrounded by people as busy 
 as himself, and separated by thousands of leagues from almost all literary 
 society, gave, both by his example and by his munificence, a great im- 
 pulse to learning. In Persian and Arabic literature he was deeply skilled. 
 With the Sanscrit he was not himself acquainted ; but those who first 
 brought that language to the knowledge of European students owed 
 much to his encouragement. It was under his protection that the Asiatic 
 Society commenced its honourable career. That distinguished body 
 selected him to be its first president, but, with excellent taste and feeling, 
 he declined the honour in favour of Sir William Jones. But the chief 
 advantage which the student of Oriental letters derived from his 
 patronage remains to be mentioned. The Pundits of Bengal had always 
 looked with great jealousy on the attempts of foreigners to pry into those 
 mysteries which were locked up in the sacred dialect. The Brahminical 
 religion had been persecuted by the Mahommedans. What the Hindoos 
 knew of the spirit of the Portuguese Government might warrant them 
 in apprehending persecution from Christians. That apprehension the 
 wisdom and moderation of Hastings removed. He was the first foreign 
 ruler who succeeded in gaining the confidence of the hereditary priests of 
 India, and who induced them to lay open to English scholars the secrets 
 of the old Brahminical theology and jurisprudence. 
 
90 WARBEN HASTINGS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 hastings's popularity in bengal. 
 
 It is, indeed, impossible to deny that in the great art of inspiring large 
 masses of human beings with confidence and attachment, no ruler ever 
 surpassed Hastings. If he had made himself popular with the English 
 by giving up the Bengalees to extortion and oppression, or if, on the other 
 hand, he had conciliated the Bengalees and alienated the English, there 
 would have been no cause for wonder. What is peculiar to him is that, 
 being the chief of a small band of strangers, who exercised boundless 
 power over a great indigenous population, he made himself beloved both 
 by the subject many and the dominant few. The affection felt for him 
 by the civil service was singularly ardent and constant. Through all his 
 disasters and perils, his brethren stood by him with steadfast loyalty. 
 The army, at the same time, loved him as armies have seldom loved any 
 but the greatest chiefs who have led them to victory. Even in his dis- 
 putes with distinguished military men, he could always count on the sup- 
 port of the military profession. While such was his empire over the 
 hearts of his countrymen, he enjoyed among the natives a popularity 
 such as other Governors have perhaps better merited, but such as no 
 other Governor has been able to attain. He spoke their vernacular dia- 
 lects with facility and precision. He was intimately acquainted with 
 their feelings and usages. On one or two occasions, for great ends, he 
 deliberately acted in defiance of their opinion ; but on such occasions he 
 gained more in their respect than he lost in their love. In general, he 
 carefully avoided all that could shock their national or religious pre- 
 judices. His administration was, indeed, in marfy respects faulty ; but 
 the Bengalee standard of good government was not high. Under the 
 Nabobs, the hurricane of Mahratta cavalry had passed annually over the 
 rich alluvial plain. But even the Mahratta shrank from a conflict with 
 the mighty children of the sea ; and the immense rice harvests of the 
 Lower Ganges were safely gathered in under the protection of the 
 English sword. The first English conquerors had been more rapacious 
 and merciless even than the Mahrattas ; but that generation had passed 
 away. Defective as was the police, heavy as were the public burdens, 
 it is probable that the oldest man in Bengal could not recollect a season 
 of equal security and prosperity. For the first time within living 
 memory the province was placed under a government strong enough to 
 prevent others from robbing, and not inclined to play the robber itself. 
 These things inspired good- will. At the same time, the constant success 
 
Hastings' popularity in bengal. 91 
 
 of Hastings, and the manner in which he extricated himself from every 
 difficulty, made him an object of superstitious admiration; and the more 
 than regal splendour which he sometimes displayed dazzled a people who 
 have much in common with children. Even now, after the lapse of 
 more than fifty years, natives of India still talk of him as the greatest 
 of the English ; and nurses sing children to sleep with a jingling ballad 
 about the fleet horses and richly caparisoned elephants of Sahib Warren 
 Hostein. 
 
 The gravest offence of which Hastings was guilty did not affect his 
 popularity with the people of Bengal ; for those offences were committed 
 against neighbouring states. Those offences, as our readers must have 
 perceived, we are not disposed to vindicate ; yet, in order that the cen- 
 sure may be justly apportioned to the transgression, it is fit that the 
 motive of the criminal should be taken into consideration. The motive 
 which prompted the worst acts of Hastings was misdirected and ill- 
 regulated public spirit. The rules of justice, the sentiments of humanity, 
 the plighted faith of treaties, were in his view as nothing, when opposed 
 to the immediate interest of the State. This is no justification, according 
 to the principles either of morality, or of what we believe to be identical 
 with morality, namely, far-sighted policy. Nevertheless, the common 
 sense of mankind, which in questions of this sort seldom goes far wrong, 
 will always recognize a distinction between crimes which originate in an 
 inordinate zeal for the commonwealth, and crimes which originate in 
 selfish cupidity. To the benefit of this distinction Hastings is fairly en- 
 titled. There is, we conceive, no reason to suspect that the Rohilla 
 war, the revolution of Benares, or the spoliation of the Princesses of 
 Oude, added a rupee to his fortune. We will not affirm that, in all 
 pecuniary dealings, he showed that punctilious integrity, that dread of 
 the faintest appearance of evil, which is now the glory of the Indian 
 civil service. But when the school in which he had been trained, and the 
 temptations to which he was exposed are considered, we are more inclined 
 to praise him for his general uprightness with respect to money, than 
 rigidly to blame him for a few transactions which would now be called 
 indelicate and irregular, but which even now would hardly be designated 
 as corrupt. A rapacious man he certainly was not. Had he been so, he 
 would infallibly have returned to his country the richest subject in 
 Europe. We speak within compass when we say that, without applying 
 any extraordinary pressure, he might easily have obtained from the 
 zemindars of the Company's provinces and from neighbouring princes, 
 in the course of thirteen years, more than three million sterling, and 
 might have outshone the splendour of Carlton House and of the Palais 
 
92 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 Royal. He brought home a fortune such as a Governor-General, fond of 
 state and careless of thrift, might easily, during so long a tenure of office, 
 save out of his legal salary. Mrs. Hastings, we are afraid, was less 
 scrupulous. It was generally believed that she accepted presents with 
 great alacrity, and that she thus formed, without the connivance of her 
 husband, a private hoard amounting to several lacs of rupees. We are 
 the more inclined to give credit to this story because Mr. Gleig, who can- 
 not but have heard it, does not, as far as we have observed, notice or 
 contradict it. 
 
 The influence of Mrs. Hastings over her husband was indeed such that 
 she might easily have obtained much larger sums than she was ever 
 accused of receiving. At length her health began to give way ; and the 
 Governor-General, much against his will, was compelled to send her to 
 England. He seems to have loved her with that love which is peculiar 
 to men of strong minds, to men whose affection is not easily won or 
 widely diffused. The talk of Calcutta ran for some time on the luxurious 
 manner in which he fitted up the roundhouse of an Indiaman for her 
 accommodation, on the profusion of sandal-wood and carved ivory which 
 adorned her cabin, and on the thousands of rupees which had been ex- 
 pended in order to procure for her the society of an agreeable female 
 companion during the voyage. We may remark here that the letters of 
 Hastings to his wife are exceedingly characteristic. They are tender, 
 and full of indications of esteem and confidence ; but, at the same time, 
 a little more ceremonious than is usual in so intimate a relation. The 
 solemn courtesy with which he compliments "his elegant Marian" 
 reminds us now and then of the dignified air with which Sir Charles 
 Grandison bowed over Miss Byron's hand in the cedar parlour. 
 
 After some months Hastings prepared to follow his wife to England. 
 When it was announced that he was about to quit his office, the feeling of 
 the society which he had so long governed manifested itself by many 
 signs Addresses poured in from Europeans and Asiatics, from civil 
 functionaries, soldiers, and traders. On the day on which he delivered 
 up the keys of office, a crowd of friends and admirers formed a lane to 
 the quay where he embarked. Several barges escorted him far down 
 the river, and some attached friends refused to quit him till the low 
 coast of Bengal was fading from the view, and till the pilot was leaving 
 the ship. 
 
TAKES FINAL LEAVE OF INDIA. 93 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 TAKES FINAL LEAVE OF INDIA. 
 
 Of his voyage little is known, except that he amused himself with 
 books and with his pen ; and that among the compositions by which he 
 beguiled the tediousness of that long leisure, was a pleasing imitation 
 of Horace's Otium Divos rogat. This little poem was inscribed to Mr. 
 Shore, afterwards Lord Teignmouth, a man of whose integrity, humanity 
 and honour it is impossible to speak too highly, but who, like some other 
 excellent members of the civil service, extended to the conduct of his 
 friend Hastings an indulgence of which his own conduct never stood in 
 need. 
 
 The voyage was, for those times, very speedy. Hastings was little 
 more than four months on the sea. In June, 1785, he landed at Ply- 
 mouth, posted to London, appeared at Court, paid his respects in 
 Leadenhall Street, and then retired with his wife to Cheltenham. 
 
 He was greatly pleased with his reception. The King treated him 
 with a marked distinction. The Queen, who had already incurred much 
 censure on account of the favour which, in spite of the ordinary severity 
 of her virtue, she had shown to the "elegant Marian," was not less 
 gracious to Hastings. The Directors received him in a solemn sitting, 
 and their chairman read to him a vote of thanks, which they had passed 
 without one dissentient voice. "I find myself," said Hastings, in a 
 letter written about a quarter of a year after his arrival in England, "I 
 find myself everywhere, and universally, treated with evidences, 
 apparent even to my own observation, that I possess the good opinion 
 of my country." 
 
 The confident and exulting tone of his correspondence about this time 
 is the more remarkable because he had already received ample notice of 
 the attack which was in preparation. Within a week after he landed 
 at Plymouth, Burke gave notice in the House of Commons of a motion 
 seriously affecting a gentleman lately returned from India. The session, 
 however, was then so far advanced that it was impossible to enter on so 
 extensive and important a subject. 
 
 Hastings, it is clear, was not sensible of the danger of his position. 
 Indeed, that sagacity, that judgment, that readiness in devising ex- 
 pedients, which had distinguished him in the East, seemed now to have 
 forsaken him ; not that his abilities were at all impaired ; not that he 
 was not still the same man who had triumphed over Francis and 
 Xuncomar ; who had made the Chief Justice and the Nabob Vizier his 
 
94 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 tools ; who had deposed Cheyte Sing ; and repelled Hyder Ali. But an 
 oak, as Mr. Grattan finely said, should not be transplanted at fifty. A 
 man who, having left England when a boy, returns to it after thirty or 
 forty years passed in India, will find, be his talents what they may, that 
 he has much both to learn and to unlearn before he can take a place among 
 English statesmen. The working of a representative system, the war of 
 parties, the arts of debate, the influence of the press, are startling 
 novelties to him. Surrounded on every side by new machines and new 
 tactics, he is as much bewildered as Hannibal would have been at 
 Waterloo, or Themistocles at Trafalgar. His very acuteness deludes 
 him. His very vigour causes him to stumble. The more correct his 
 maxims, when applied to the state of society to which he is accustomed, 
 the more certain they are to lead him astray. This was strikingly the 
 case with Hastings. In India he had a bad hand ; but he was master 
 of the game, and he won every stake. In England he held excellent 
 cards, if he had known how to play them ; and it was chiefly by his own 
 errors that he was brought to the verge of ruin. 
 
 Of all his errors, the most serious was perhaps the choice of a cham- 
 pion. Clive, in similar circumstances, had made a singularly happy 
 selection. He put himself into the hands of Wedderburn, afterwards 
 Lord Loughborough, one of the few great advocates who have also been 
 great in the House of Commons. To the defence of Clive, therefore, 
 nothing was wanting, neither learning nor knowledge of the world, 
 neither forensic acuteness nor that eloquence which charms political 
 assemblies. Hastings entrusted his interests to a very different person, 
 a major in the Bengal army, named Scott. This gentleman had been 
 sent over from India some time before as the agent of the Governor- 
 General. It was rumoured that his services were rewarded with Oriental 
 munificence ; and we believe that he received much more than Hastings 
 could conveniently spare. The Major obtained a seat in Parliament, 
 and was there regarded as the organ of his employer. It was evidently 
 impossible that a gentleman so situated could speak with the authority 
 which belongs to an independent position. Nor had the agent of Hastings 
 the talents necessary for obtaining the ear of an assembly which, 
 accustomed to listen to great orators, had naturally become fastidious. 
 He was always on his legs ; he was very tedious, and he had only one 
 topic, the merits and wrongs of Hastings. Everybody who knows the 
 House of Commons will easily guess what followed. The Major was 
 soon considered as the greatest bore of his time. His exertions were 
 not confined to Parliament. There was hardly a day on which the 
 newspapers did not contain some puff upon Hastings, signed Asiaticus 
 
TAKES FINAL LEAVE OF INDIA. 95 
 
 or Bengalenis, but known to be written by the indefatigable Scott ; and 
 hardly a month in which some bulky pamphlet on the same subject, 
 and from the same pen, did not pass to the trunkmakers and the 
 pastrycooks. As to this gentleman's capacity for conducting a delicate 
 question through Parliament, our readers will want no evidence beyond 
 that which they will find in letters preserved in these volumes. We 
 will give a single specimen of his temper and judgment. He designated 
 the greatest man then living as "that reptile, Mr. Burke." 
 
 In spite, however, of this unfortunate choice, the general aspect of 
 affairs was favourable to Hastings. The King was on his side. The 
 Company and its servants were zealous in his cause. Among public men 
 he had many ardent friends. Such were Lord Mansfield, who had out- 
 lived the vigour of his body, but not that of his mind ; and Lord 
 Lansdowne, who, though unconnected with any party, retained the 
 importance which belongs to great talents and knowledge. The 
 ministers were generally believed to be favourable to the late Governor- 
 General. They owed their power to the clamour which had been raised 
 against Mr. Fox's East India Bill. The authors of that bill, when 
 accused of invading vested rights, and of setting up powers unknown 
 to the constitution, had defended themselves by pointing to the crimes 
 of Hastings, and by arguing that abuses so extraordinary justified 
 extraordinary measures. Those who, by opposing that bill, had raised 
 themselves to the head of affairs, would naturally be inclined to 
 extenuate the evils which had been made the plea for administering so 
 violent a remedy ; and such, in fact, was their general disposition. The 
 Lord Chancellor Thurlow, in particular, whose great place and force of 
 intellect gave him a weight in the government inferior only to that of 
 Mr. Pitt, espoused the cause of Hastings with indecorous violence. Mr. 
 Pitt, tho igh he had censured many parts of the Indian system, had 
 studiously abstained from saying a word against the late chief of the 
 Indian Government. To Major Scott, indeed, the young minister had 
 in private extolled Hastings as a great, a wonderful man, who had the 
 highest claims on the Government. There was only one objection to 
 granting all that so eminent a servant of the public could ask. The 
 resolution of censure still remained on the journals of the House of 
 Commons. That resolution was, indeed, unjust ; but, till it was 
 rescinded, could the minister advise the King to bestow any mark of 
 approbation on the person censured ? If Major Scott is to be trusted, 
 Mr. Pitt declared that this was the only reason which prevented the 
 advisers of the Crown from conferring a peerage on the late Governor- 
 General. Mr. Dundas was the only important member of the adminis- 
 
96 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 tration who was deeply committed to a different view on the subject. 
 He had moved the resolution which created the difficulty ; but even 
 from him little was to be apprehended. Since he had presided over 
 the committee on Eastern affairs, great changes had taken place. He 
 was surrounded by new allies ; he had fixed his hopes on new objects ; 
 and whatever may have been his good qualities — and he had many — 
 flattery itself never reckoned rigid consistency in the number. 
 
 From the ministry, therefore, Hastings had every reason to expect 
 support ; and the ministry was very powerful. The Opposition was 
 loud and vehement against him. But the Opposition, though formidable 
 from the wealth and influence of some of its members, and from the 
 admirable talents and eloquence of others, was outnumbered in Parlia- 
 ment and odious throughout the country. Nor, as far as we can judge, 
 was the Opposition generally desirous to engage in so serious an under- 
 taking as the impeachment of an Indian Governor. Such an impeach- 
 ment must last for years. It must impose on the chiefs of the party an 
 immense load of labour. Yet it could scarcely, in any manner, affect 
 the event of the great political game. The followers of the Coalition 
 were therefore more inclined to revile Hastings than to prosecute him. 
 They lost no opportunity of coupling his name with the names of the 
 most hateful tyrants of whom history makes mention. The wits of 
 Brooks's aimed their keenest sarcasms both at his public and at his 
 domestic life. Some fine diamonds which he had presented, as it was 
 rumoured, to the royal family, and a certain richly-carved ivor}' bed 
 which the Queen had done him the honour to accept from him, were 
 favourite subjects of ridicule. One lively poet proposed that the great 
 acts of the fair Marian's present husband should be immortalised by the 
 pencil of his predecessor ; and that Imhoff should be employed to 
 embellish the House of Commons with paintings of the bleeding 
 Rohillas, of Nuncomar swinging, of Cheyte Sing letting himself down to 
 the Ganges. Another, in an exquisitely humorous parody of Virgil's 
 third eclogue, propounded the question, what that mineral could be of 
 which the rays had power to make the most austere of princesses the 
 friend of a wanton. A third described, with gay malevolence, the 
 gorgeous appearance of Mrs. Hcistings at St. James's ; the galaxy of 
 jewels, torn from Indian Begums, which adorned her head-dress ; her 
 necklace gleaming with future votes ; and the depending questions that 
 shone upon her ears. Satirical attacks of this description, and perhaps 
 a motion for a vote of censure, would have satisfied the great body of 
 the Opposition. But there were two men whose indignation was not to 
 be so appeased — Philip Francis and Edmund Burke. 
 
THE PROSECUTION — TRIBUTE TO BURKE. 97 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THE PROSECUTION — TRIBUTE TO BURKE. 
 
 Francis had recently entered the House of Commons, and had already 
 established a character there for industry and ability. He laboured, 
 indeed, under one most unfortunate defect, want of fluency ; but he 
 occasionally expressed himself with a dignity and energy worthy of the 
 greatest orators. Before he had been many days in Parliament he 
 incurred the bitter dislike of Pitt, who constantly treated him with as 
 much asperity as the laws of debate would allow. Neither lapse of 
 years nor change of scene had mitigated the enmities which Francis had 
 brought back from the East. After his usual fashion, he mistook his 
 malevolence for virtue, nursed it, as preachers tell us that we ought to 
 nurse our good dispositions, and paraded it on all occasions with Phari- 
 saical ostentation. 
 
 The zeal of Burke was still fiercer, but it was far purer. Men unable 
 to understand the elevation of his mind have tried to find out some 
 discreditable motive for the vehemence and pertinacity which he shewed 
 on this occasion ; but they have altogether failed. The idle story that 
 he had some private slight to revenge has long been given up, even by 
 the advocates of Hastings. Mr, Gleig supposes that Burke was 
 actuated by party spirit, that he retained a bitter remembrance of the 
 fall of the Coalition, that he attributed that fall to the exertions of the 
 East India interest, and that he considered Hastings as the head and 
 the representative of that interest. This explanation seems to be suffi- 
 ciently refuted by a reference to dates. The hostility of Burke to 
 Hastings commenced long before the Coalition, and lasted long after 
 Burke had become a strenuous supporter of those by whom the Coalition 
 had been defeated. It began when Burke and Fox, closely allied 
 together, were attacking the influence of the Crown, and calling for 
 peace with the Amercan Republic. It continued till Burke, alienated 
 from Fox, and loaded with the favours of the Crown, died, preaching a 
 crusade against the French Republic. We surely cannot attribute to the 
 events of 1784 an enmity which began in 1781, and which retained 
 undiminished force long after persons far more deeply implicated than 
 Hastings in the events of 1784 had been cordially forgiven. And why 
 should we look for any other explanation of Burke's conduct than that 
 which we find on the surface ? The plain truth is, that Hastings had 
 committed some great crimes, and that the thought of those crimes 
 made the blood of Burke boil in his veins. For Burke was a man in 
 7 
 
98 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 whom compassion for suffering, and hatred of injustice and tyranny, 
 were as strong as in Las Casas or Clarkson. And although in him, as 
 in Las Casas or Clarkson, these noble feelings were alloyed with the 
 infirmity which belongs to human nature, he is, like them, entitled to 
 this great praise, that he devoted years of intense labour to the service 
 of a people with whom he had neither blood nor language, neither 
 religion nor manners in common, and from whom no requital, no thanks, 
 no applause could be expected. 
 
 His knowledge of India was such as few even of those Europeans who 
 have passed many years in that country have attained, and such as cer- 
 tainly was never attained by any public man who had not quitted Europe. 
 He had studied the history, the laws, and the usages of the East with 
 an industry such as is seldom found united to so much genius and so much 
 sensibility. Others have perhaps been equally laborious, and have col- 
 lected an equal mass of materials. But the manner in which Burke 
 brought his higher powers of intellect to work on statements of facts 
 and on tables of figures was peculiar to himself. In every part of those 
 huge bales of Indian information which repelled almost all other readers, 
 his mind, at once philosophical and poetical, found something to instruct 
 or to delight. His reason analysed and digested those vast and shapeless 
 masses ; his imagination animated and coloured them. Out of darkness, 
 and dulness, and confusion, he formed a multitude of ingenious theories 
 and vivid pictures. He had in the highest degree that noble faculty 
 whereby man is able to live in the past and in the future, in the distant 
 and in the unreal. India and its inhabitants were not to him, as to most 
 Englishmen, mere names and abstractions, but a real country and a real 
 people. The burning sun, the strange vegetation of the palm and the 
 cocoa tree, the rice-field, the tank, the huge trees, older than the Mogul 
 empire, under which the village crowds assemble, the thatched roof of 
 the peasant's hut, the rich tracery of the mosque, where the imaum 
 prays with his face to Mecca, the drums and banners and gaudy idols, 
 the devotee swinging in the air, the graceful maiden, with the pitcher 
 on her head, descending the steps to the river-side, the black faces, the 
 long beards, the yellow streaks of sect, the turbans and the flowing robes, 
 the spears and the silver maces, the elephants with their canopies of 
 state, the gorgeous palanquin of the prince and the close litter of the 
 noble lady; all these things were to him as the objects amidst which his 
 own life had been passed, as the objects which lay on the road between 
 Beaconsfield and St. James's Street. All India was present to the eye of 
 his mind, from the halls where suitors laid gold and perfumes at the feet 
 of sovereigns, to the wild moor where the gipsy camp was pitched ; from 
 
THE PROSECUTION — TRIBUTE TO BURKE. 99 
 
 the bazaar, humming like a beehive with the crowd of buyers and sellers, 
 to the jungle where the lonely courier shakes his bunch of iron rings to 
 scare away the hyaenas. He had just as lively an idea of the insurrec- 
 tion in Benares as of Lord George Gordon's riots, and of the execution 
 of Nuncomar as of the execution of Dr. Dodd. Oppression in Bengal 
 was to him the same thing as oppression in the streets of London. 
 
 He saw that Hastings had been guilty of some most unjustifiable acts. 
 All that followed was natural and necessary in a mind like Burke's. His 
 imagination and his passions, once excited, hurried him beyond the 
 bounds of justice and good sense. His reason, powerful as it was, be- 
 came the slave of feelings which it should have controlled. His indigna- 
 tion, virtuous in its origin, acquired too much of the character of per- 
 sonal aversion. He could see no mitigating circumstances, no redeeming 
 merit. His temper, which, though generous and affectionate, had always 
 been irritable, had now been made almost savage by bodily infirmities 
 and mental vexations. Conscious of great powers and great virtues, he 
 found himself, in age and poverty, a mark for the hatred of a perfidious 
 court and a deluded people. In Parliament his eloquence was out of 
 date. A young generation, which knew him not, had filled the House. 
 Whenever he rose to speak, his voice was drowned by the unseemly in- 
 terruption of lads who were in their cradles when his orations on the 
 Stamp Act called forth the applause of the great Earl of Chatham. 
 These things had produced on his proud and sensitive spirit an effect at 
 which we cannot wonder. He could no longer discuss any question with 
 calmness, or make allowance for honest differences of opinion. Those 
 who think that he was more violent and acrimonious in debates about India 
 than on other occasions are ill-informed respecting the last years of his 
 life. In the discussions on the Commercial Treaty with the Court of 
 Versailles, on the Regency, on the French Revolution, he showed even 
 more virulence than in conducting the impeachment. Indeed, it may be 
 re narked that the very persons who called him a mischievous maniac, 
 for condemning in burning words the Rohilla war and the spoliation of 
 the Begums, exalted him into a prophet as soon as he began to declaim, 
 with greater vehemence, and not with greater reason, against the taking 
 of the Bastile and the insults offered to Marie Antoinette. To us he 
 appears to have been neither a maniac in the former case, nor a prophet 
 in the latter, but in both cases a great and good man, led into extrava- 
 gance by a sensibility which domineered over all his faculties. 
 
100 WARKEN HASTINGS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 BURKE DEFEATED ON THE FIRST CHARGE. 
 
 It maybe doubted whether the personal antipathy of Francis, or the nob- 
 ler indignation of Bnrke, would have led their party to adopt extreme mea- 
 sures against Hastings if his own conduct had been judicious. He should 
 have felt that, great as his public services had been, he was not faultless, 
 and should have been content to make his escape, without aspiring to 
 the honours of a triumph. He and his agent took a different view. 
 They were impatient for the rewards which, as they conceived, were 
 deferred only till Burke's attacks should be over. They accordingly re- 
 solved to force on a decisive action with an enemy for whom, if they 
 had been wise, they would have made a bridge of gold. On the first day 
 of the session of 1786, Major Scott reminded Burke of the notice given 
 in the preceding year, and asked whether it was seriously intended to 
 bring any charge against the late Governor-General. This challenge left 
 no course open to the Opposition, except to come forward as accusers, or 
 to acknowledge themselves calumniators. The administration of Hastings 
 had not been so blameless, nor was the great party of Fox and North so 
 feeble, that it could be prudent to venture on so bold a defiance. The 
 leaders of the Opposition instantly returned the only answer which they 
 could with honour return ; and the whole part}' was irrevocably pledged 
 to a prosecution. 
 
 Burke began his operations by applying for papers. Some of the docu- 
 ments for which he asked were refused by the ministers, who, in their" 
 debate, held language such as strongly confirmed the prevailing opinion, 
 that they intended to support Hastings. In April the charges were laid 
 on the table. They had been drawn by Burke with great ability, though 
 in a form too much resembling that of a pamphlet. Hastings was fur- 
 nished with a copy of the accusation ; and it was intimated to him, that 
 he might, if he thought fit, be heard in his own defence at the bar of the 
 Commons. 
 
 Here again Hastings was pursued by the same fatality which had 
 attended him ever since the day when he set foot on English ground. It 
 seemed to be decreed that this man, so politic and so successful in the 
 East, should commit nothing but blunders in Europe. Any judicious 
 adviser would have told him that the best thing which he could do would 
 be to make an eloquent, forcible, and affecting oration at the bar of the 
 House ; but that, if he could not trust himself to speak, and found it 
 necessary to read, he ought to be as concise as possible. Audiences 
 
BURKE DEFEATED ON THE FIRST CHARGE. 101 
 
 accustomed to extemporaneous debating of the highest excellence are 
 always impatient of long written compositions. Hastings, however, sat 
 down as he would have done at the Government House in Bengal, and 
 prepared a paper of immense length. That paper, if recorded on the con- 
 sultations of an Indian administration, would have been justly praised 
 as a very able minute. But it was now out of place. It fell flat, as the 
 best written defence must have fallen flat, on an assembly accustomed to 
 the animated and strenuous conflicts of Pitt and Fox. The members, as 
 soon as their curiosity about the face and demeanour of so eminent a 
 stranger was satisfied, walked away to dinner, and left Hastings to tell 
 his story till midnight to the clerks and the sergeant-at-arms. 
 
 All preliminary steps having been duly taken, Burke, in the beginning of 
 June, brought forward the charge relating to the Rohilla war. He acted 
 discreetly in placing this accusation in the van ; for Dundas had formerly 
 moved, and the House had adopted, a resolution condemning, in the 
 most severe terms, the policy followed by Hastings with regard to Rohil- 
 cund. Dundas had little, or rather nothing, to say in defence of his own 
 consistency ; but he put a bold face on the matter, and opposed the 
 motion. Among other things, he declared that, though he still thought 
 the Rohilla war unjustifiable, he considered the services which Hastings 
 had subsequently rendered to the State as sufficient to atone even for so 
 great an offence. Pitt did not speak, but voted with Dundas ; and 
 Hastings was absolved by a hundred and nineteen votes against sixty- 
 seven. 
 
 Hastings was now confident of victory. It seemed, indeed that he 
 had reason to be so. The Rohilla war was, of all his measures, that 
 which his accusers might with the greatest advantage assail. It had 
 been condemned by the Court of Directors. It had been condemned by 
 the House of Commons. It had been condemned by Mr. Dundas, who 
 had since become the chief minister of the Crown for Indian affairs. 
 Yet Burke, having chosen this strong ground, had been completely 
 defeated on it. That, having failed here, he should succeed on .any point, 
 was generally thought impossible. It was rumoured at the clubs and 
 coffee-houses that one or perhaps two more charges would be brought 
 forward ; that if, on those charges, the sense of the House of Commons 
 should be against impeachment, the Opposition would let the matter 
 drop ; that Hastings would be immediately raised to the peerage, 
 decorated with the star of the Bath, sworn of the Privy Council, and 
 invited to lend the assistance of his talents and experience to the India 
 Board. Lord Thurlow, indeed, some* months before, had spoken with 
 contempt of the scruples which prevented Pitt from calling Hastings to 
 
102 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 the House of Lords, and had even said that, if the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer was afraid of the Commons, there was nothing to prevent the 
 Keeper of the Great Seal from taking the royal pleasure about a patent 
 of peerage. The very title was chosen. Hastings was to be Lord 
 Daylesford. For, through all changes of scene and changes of fortune, 
 remained unchanged his attachment to the spot which had witnessed 
 the greatness and the fall of his family, and which had borne so great a 
 part in the first dreams of his young ambition. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 FOX, PITT AND SHERIDAN, 
 
 But in a very few days these fair prospects were overcast. On the 
 thirteenth of June Mr. Fox brought forward, with great ability and 
 eloquence, the charge respecting the treatment of Cheyte Sing. Francis 
 followed on the same side. The friends of Hastings were in high spirits 
 when Pitt rose. With his usual abundance and felicity of language, the 
 Minister gave his opinion on the case. He maintained that the Governor- 
 General was justified in calling on the Rajah of Benares for pecuniary 
 assistance, and in imposing a fine when that assistance was contumaciously 
 withheld. He also thought that the conduct of the Governor-General 
 during the insurrection had been distingaished by ability and presence 
 of mind. He censured, with great bitterness, the conduct of Francis, 
 both in India and in Parliament, as most dishonest and malignant. The 
 necessary inference from Pitt's arguments seemed to be that Hastings 
 ought to be honourably acquitted, and both the friends and the opponents 
 of the Minister expected from him a declaration to that effect. To the 
 astonishment of all parties, he concluded by saying that, though he 
 thought it right in Hastings to fine Cheyte Sing for contumacy, yet the 
 amount of the fine was too great for the occasion. On this ground, and 
 on this ground alone, did Mr. Pitt, applauding every other part of the 
 conduct of* Hastings with regard to Benares, declare that he should vote 
 in favour of Mr. Fox's motion. 
 
 The House was thunderstruck, and it well might be so. For the 
 wrong done to Cheyte Sing, even had it been as flagitious as Fox and 
 Francis contended, was a trifle when compared with the horrors which 
 had been inflicted on Rohilcund. But if Mr. Pitt's view of the case of 
 Cheyte Sing were correct, there was no ground for an impeachment, or 
 even for a vote of censure. If the offence of Hastings was really no 
 more than this, that, having a right to impose a mulct, the amount of 
 
FOX, PITT AND SHERIDAN. 103 
 
 which mulct was not defined, but was left to be settled by his discretion, 
 he had, not for his own advantage, but for that of the State, demanded 
 too much, was this an offence which required a criminal proceeding of 
 the highest solemnity, a criminal proceeding to which, during sixty 
 years, no public functionary had been subjected? We can see, we think, 
 in what way a man of sense and integrity might have been induced to 
 take any course respecting Hastings except the course which Mr. Pitt 
 took. Such a man might have thought a great example necessary for 
 the preventing of injustice and for the vindicating of the national 
 honour, and might on that ground, have voted for impeachment both on 
 the Rohilla charge and on the Benares charge. Such a man might have 
 thought that the offence of Hastings had been atoned for by great 
 services, and might, on that ground, have voted against the impeachment 
 on both charges. With great diffidence we give it as our opinion that 
 the most correct course would, on the whole, have been to impeach on 
 the Rohilla charge and to acquit on the Benares charge. Had the 
 Benares charge appeared to us in the same light in which it appeared to 
 Mr. Pitt, we should, without hesitation, have voted for acquittal on 
 that charge. The one course which it is inconceivable that any man of 
 a tenth part of Mr. Pitt's abilities can have honestly taken was the 
 course which he took. He acquitted Hastings on the Rohilla charge. 
 He softened down the Benares charge till it became no charge at all ; 
 and then he pronounced that it contained matter for impeachment. 
 
 Nor must it be forgotten that the principal reason assigned by the 
 ministry for not impeaching Hastings on account of the Rohilla war was 
 this, that the delinquencies of the early part of his administration had 
 been atoned for by the excellence of the later part. Was it not most 
 extraordinary that men who had held this language could afterwards 
 vote that the later part of his administration furnished matter for no less 
 then twenty articles of impeachment? They first represented the 
 conduct of Hastings in 1780 and 1781 as so highly meritorious that, like 
 works of supererogation in the Catholic theology, it ought to be 
 efficacious for the cancelling of former offences ; and they then prosecuted 
 him for his conduct in 1780 and 1781. 
 
 The general astonishment was the greater, because, only twenty-four 
 hours before, the members on whom the Ministry could depend had 
 received the usual notes from the Treasury, begging them to be in their 
 places and to vote against Mr. Fox's motion. It was asserted by Mr. 
 Hastings that, early on the morning of the very day on which the 
 debate took place, Dundas called on Pitt, woke him, and was closeted 
 with him many hours. The result of this conference was a determination 
 
104 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 to give up the late Governor-General to the vengeance of the Opposition. 
 It was impossible even for the most powerful Minister to carry all his 
 followers with him in so strange a course. Several persons high in 
 office, the Attorney -General, Mr. Grenville, and Lord Mulgrave, divided 
 against Mr. Pitt. But the devoted adherents who stood by the head of 
 the government without asking questions were sufficiently numerous to 
 turn the scale. A hundred and nineteen members voted for Mr. Fox's 
 motion ; seventy-nine against it. Dundas silently followed Pitt. 
 
 That good and great man, the late William Wilberforce, often related 
 the events of this remarkable night. He described the amazement of 
 the House, and the bitter reflections which were muttered against the 
 Prime Minister by some of the habitual supporters of the Government. 
 Pitt himself appeared to feel that his conduct required some explanation. 
 He left the treasury bench, sat for some time next to Mr. Wilberforce, 
 and very earnestly declared that he had found it impossible, as a man of 
 conscience, to stand any longer by Hastings. The business, he said, 
 was too bad. Mr. Wilberforce, we are bound to add, fully believed 
 that his friend was sincere, and that the suspicions to which this 
 mysterious affair gave rise were altogether unfounded. 
 
 Those suspicions, indeed, were such as it is painful to mention. The 
 friends of Hastings, most of whom, it is to be observed, generally 
 supported the administration, affirmed that the motive of Pitt and 
 Dundas was jealousy. Hastings was personally a favourite with the 
 King. He was the idol of the East India Company and of its servants. 
 If he were absolved by the Commons, seated among the Lords, admitted to 
 the Board of Control, closely allied with the strong-minded and imperious 
 Thurlow, was it not almost certain that he would soon draw to himself 
 the entire management of Eastern affairs ? Was it not possible that he 
 might become a formidable rival in the Cabinet ? It had probably got 
 abroad that very singular communications had taken place between 
 Thurlow and Major Scott, and that, if the First Lord of the Treasury 
 was afraid to recommend Hastings for a peerage, the Chancellor was 
 ready to take the responsibility of that step on himself. Of all ministers, 
 Pitt was the least likely to submit with patience to such an encroach- 
 ment on his functions. If the Commons impeached Hastings, all danger 
 was at an end. The proceeding, however it might terminate, would 
 probably last some years. In the meantime, the accused person would 
 be excluded from honours and public employments, and could scarcely 
 venture even to pay his duty at Court. Such were the motives attributed 
 by a great part of the public to the young minister, whose ruling passion 
 was generally believed to be avarice of power. 
 
FOX, PITT AND SHERIDAN. 105 
 
 The prorogation soon interrupted the discussions respecting Hastings. 
 In the following year those discussions were resumed. The charge 
 touching the spoliation of the Begums was brought forward by- 
 Sheridan in a speech which was so imperfectly reported that it may be 
 said to be wholly lost, but which was, without doubt, the most elabor- 
 ately brilliant of all the productions of his ingenious mind. The impres- 
 sion which it produced was such as has never been equalled. He sat 
 down, not merely amidst cheering, but amidst the loud clapping of 
 hands, in which the Lords below the bar and the strangers in the gallery 
 joined. The excitement of the House was such that no other speaker 
 could obtain a heariDg ; and the debate was adjourned. The ferment 
 spread fast through the town. Within four and twenty hours Sheridan 
 was offered a thousand pounds for the copyright of the speech if he 
 would himself correct it for the press. The impression made by 
 this remarkable display of eloquence on severe and experienced critics, 
 whose discernment maybe supposed to have been quickened by emulation, 
 was deep and permanent. Mr. Windham, twenty years later, said that 
 the speech deserved all its fame, and was, in spite of some faults of 
 taste, such as were seldom wanting either in the literary or in the parlia- 
 mentary performances of Sheridan, the finest that had been delivered 
 within the memory of man. Mr. Fox, about the same time, being asked 
 by the late Lord Hollaud what was the best speech ever made in the 
 House of Commons, assigned the first place, without hesitation, to the 
 great oration of Sheridan on the Oude charge. 
 
 When the debate was resumed, the tide ran so strongly against the 
 accused that his friends were coughed and scraped down. Pitt declared 
 himself for Sheridan's motion ; and the question was carried by a hun- 
 dred and seventy -five votes against sixty -eight. 
 
 The Opposition, flushed with victory, and strongly supported by the 
 public sympathy, proceeded to bring forward a succession of charges 
 relating chiefly to pecuniary transactions. The friends of Hastings were 
 discouraged, and having now no hope of being able to avert an impeach- 
 ment were not very strenuous in their exertions. At' length the House, 
 having agreed to twenty articles of charge, directed Burke to go before 
 the Lords and to impeach the late Governor- General of high crimes and 
 misdemeanours. Hastings was at the same time arrested by the sergeant- 
 at-arms and carried to the bar of the Peers. 
 
 The session was now within ten days of its close. It was, therefore, 
 impossible that any progress could be made in the trial till the next year. 
 Hastings was admitted to bail ; and further proceedings were postponed 
 till the Houses should re- assemble. 
 
106 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 When Parliament met in the following winter, the Commons pro- 
 ceeded to elect a committee for managing the impeachment. Burke 
 stood at the head ; and with him were associated most of the leading mem- 
 bers of the Opposition. But when the name of Francis was read, a fierce 
 contention arose. It was said that Francis and Hastings were notori- 
 ously on bad terms, that they had been at feud during many years, that 
 on one occasion their mutual aversion had impelled them to seek each 
 others lives, and that it would be improper and indelicate to select a 
 private enemy to be a public accuser. It was urged on the other side 
 with great force, particularly by Mr. Windham, that impartiality, though 
 the first duty of a judge, had never been reckoned among the qualities 
 of an advocate ; that in the ordinary administration of criminal justice 
 among the English, the aggrieved party, the very last person who ought 
 to be admitted into the jury-box, is the prosecutor ; that what was 
 wanted in a manager was, not that he should be free from bias, but that 
 he should be able, well-informed, energetic, and active. The ability and 
 information of Francis were admitted : and the very animosity with 
 which he was reproached, whether a virtue or a vice, was at least a 
 pledge for his energy and activity. It seems difficult to refute these 
 arguments. But the inveterate hatred borne by Francis to Hastings had 
 excited general disgust. The House decided that Francis should not be 
 a manager. Pitt voted with the majority, Dundas with the minority 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THE TRIAL IN WESTMINSTER HALL. 
 
 In the meantime the preparations for the trial had proceeded rapidly, 
 and on the thirteenth of February, 1788, the sittings of the Court com- 
 menced. There have been spectacles more dazzling to the eye, more 
 gorgeous with jewellery and cloth of gold, more attractive to grown-up 
 children, than that which was then exibited at Westminster ; but per- 
 haps there never was a spectacle so well calculated to strike a highly 
 cultivated, a reflecting, an imaginative mind. All the various kinds of 
 interest which belong to the near and to the distant, to the present and 
 to the past, were collected on one spot and in one hour. All the talents 
 and all the accomplishments which are developed by liberty and civiliza- 
 tion were now displayed, with every advantage that could be derived 
 both from co-operation and from contrast. Every step in the proceed- 
 ings earned the mind either backward, through many troubled centuries, 
 to the days when the foundations of our constitution were laid; 
 
THE TRIAL IN WESTMINSTER HALL. 107 
 
 or far away, over boundless seas and deserts, to dusky nations living 
 under strange stars, worshipping strange gods, and writing strange 
 characters from right to left. The High Court of Parliament was to sit, 
 according to forms handed down from the days of the Plantagenets, on 
 an Englishman accused of exercising tyranny over the lord of the holy 
 city of Benares, and over the ladies of the princely house of Oude. 
 
 The place was worthy of such a trial. It was the great hall of William 
 Rufus, the hall which had resounded with acclamations of the inaugura- 
 tion of thirty kings, the hall which had witnessed the just sentence of 
 Bacon and the just absolution of Somers, the hall where the eloquence 
 of Strafibrd had for a moment awed and melted a victorious party in- 
 flamed with just resentment, the hall where Charles had confronted the 
 High Court of Justice with the placid courage which has half-redeemed 
 his fame. Neither military nor civil pomp was wanting. The avenues 
 were lined with grenadiers. The streets were kept clear by cavalry, 
 The Peers, robed in gold and ermine, were marshalled by the heralds 
 under Garter King-at-arms. The judges in their vestments of state 
 attended to give advice on points of law. Near a hundred and seventy 
 lords— three-fourths of the Upper House, as the Upper House then was 
 — walked in solemn order from their usual place of assembling to the 
 tribunal. The junior Baron present led the way. George Eliott, Lord 
 Heathfield, recently ennobled for his memorable defence of Gibraltar 
 against the fleets and armies of France and Spain. The long procession 
 was closed by the Duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshal of the Realm, by the 
 great dignitaries, and by the brothers and sons of the King. Last of all 
 came the Prince of Wales, conspicuous by his fine person and noble 
 bearing. The grey old walls were hung with scarlet. The long galleries 
 were crowded by an audience such as has rarely excited the fears or the 
 emulation of an orator. They were gathered together from all parts of 
 a great, free, enlightened, and prosperous empire, grace and female loveli- 
 ness, wit and learning, the representatives of every science and of every 
 art. There were seated round the Queen the fair-haired young daughters 
 of the house of Brunswick. There the ambassadors of great kings and 
 commonwealths gazed with admiration on a spectacle which no other 
 country in the world could present. There Siddons, in the prime of her 
 majestic beauty, looked with emotion on a scene surpassing all the imita- 
 tations of the stage. There the historian of the Roman Empire thought 
 of the days when Cicero pleaded the cause of Sicily against Verres, and 
 when, before a Senate which still retained some show of freedom, Tacitus 
 thundered against the oppressor of Africa. There were seen, side by 
 side, the greatest painter and the greatest scholar of the age. The spec- 
 
108 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 tacle had allured Reynolds from that easel which has preserved to us the 
 thoughtful foreheads of so many writers and statesmen, and the sweet 
 smiles of so many noble matrons. It had induced Parr to suspend his 
 labours in that dark and profound mine from which he had extracted a 
 vast treasure of erudition, a treasure too often buried in the earth, too 
 often paraded with injudicious and inelegant ostentation, but still pre- 
 cious, massive, and splendid. There appeared the voluptuous charms of 
 her to whom the heir of the throne had in secret plighted his faith. 
 There, too, was she, the beautiful mother of a beautiful race, the Saint 
 Cecilia, whose delicate features, lighted up by love and music, art has 
 rescued from the common decay. There were the members of that bril- 
 liant society which quoted, criticised, and exchanged repartees under 
 the rich peacock hangings of Mrs. Montague. And there the ladies whose 
 lips, more persuasive than those of Fox himself, had carried the West- 
 minster election against palace and treasury, shone round Georgiana, 
 Duchess of Devonshire. 
 
 The Sergeants made proclamation. Hastings advanced to the bar, and 
 bent his knee. The culprit was indeed not unworthy of that great pre- 
 sence. He had ruled an extensive and populous country, had made 
 laws and treaties, had sent forth armies, had set up and pulled down 
 princes. And in his high place he had so borne himself, that all had 
 feared him, that most had loved him, and that hatred itself could deny 
 him no title to glory, except virtue. He looked like a great man, and 
 not like a bad man. A person small and emaciated, yet deriving dignity 
 from a carriage which, while it indicated deference to the court, indi- 
 cated also habitual self-possession and self-respect, a high and intellectual 
 forehead, a brow pensive but not gloomy, a mouth of inflexible decision, a 
 face pale and worn, but serene, on which was written, as legibly as 
 under the picture in the council chamber at Calcutta, Mens cequa in 
 arduis ; such was the aspect with which the great Proconsul presented 
 himself to his judges. 
 
 His counsel accompanied him, men all of whom were afterwards raised 
 by their talents and learning to the highest posts in their profession, the 
 bold and strong-minded Law, afterwards Chief Justice of the King's 
 Bench ; the more humane and eloquent Dallas, afterwards Chief Justice 
 of the Common Pleas; and Plomer, who, near twenty years later, 
 successfully conducted in the same high court the defence of Lord Mel- 
 ville, and subsequently became Vice-Chancellor and Master of the 
 Rolls. 
 
 But neither the culprit nor his advocates attracted so much notice as 
 the accusers. In the midst of the blaze of red drapery, a space had been 
 
THE TRIAL IN WESTMINSTER HALL. 109 
 
 fitted up with green benches and tables for the Commons. The mana- 
 gers, with Burke at their head, appeared in full dress. The collectors 
 of gossip did not fail to remark that even Fox, generally so regardless 
 of his appearance, had paid to the illustrious tribunal the compliment 
 of wearing a bag and sword. Pitt had refused to be one of the conduc- 
 tors of the impeachment ; and his commanding, copious, and sonorous 
 eloquence was wanting to that great muster of various talents. Age and 
 blindness has unfitted Lord North to the duties of a public prosecutor ; 
 and his friends were left without the help of his excellent sense, his 
 tact, and his urbanity. But, in spite of the absence of these two dis- 
 tinguished members of the Lower House, the box in which the managers 
 stood contained an array of speakers such as perhaps had not appeared 
 together since the great age of Athenian eloquence. There were Fox 
 and Sheridan, the English Demosthenes and the English Hyperides. 
 There was Burke, ignorant, indeed, or negligent of the art of adapting 
 his reasonings and his style to the capacity and taste of his hearers, but 
 in amplitude of comprehension and richness of imagination superior to 
 every orator, ancient or modern. There, with eyes reverentially fixed 
 on Burke, appeared the finest gentleman of the age, his form developed 
 by every manly exercise, his face beaming with intelligence and spirit, 
 the ingenuous, the chivalrous, the high-souled Windham. Nor, though 
 surrounded by such men, did the youngest manager pass unnoticed. At 
 an age when most of those who distinguish themselves in life are still 
 contending for prizes and fellowships at college, he had won for himself 
 a conspicuous place in Parliament. No advantage of fortune or connec- 
 tion was wanting that could set off to the height his splendid talents and 
 his unblemished honour. At twenty-three he had been thought worthy 
 to be ranked with the veteran statesmen who appeared as the delegates 
 of the British Commons, at the bar of the British nobility. All who 
 stood at that bar, save him alone, are gone, culprit, advocates, accusers. 
 To the generation which is now in the vigour of life, he is the sole 
 representative of a great age which has passed away. But those who 
 within the last ten years, have listened with delight, till the morning 
 sun shone on the tapestries of the House of Lords, to the lofty and ani- 
 mated eloquence of Charles Earl Grey, are able to form some estimate 
 of the powers of a race of men among whom he was not the foremost 
 
110 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 bukke's impeachment. 
 
 The charges and the answers of Hastings were first read. The cere- 
 mony occupied two whole days, and was rendered less tedious than it 
 would otherwise have been by the silver voice and just emphasis of 
 Cowper, the clerk of the court, a near relation of the amiable poet. On 
 the third day Burke rose. Four sittings were occupied by his open- 
 ing speech, which was intended to be a general introduction to all the 
 charges. With an exuberance of thought and a splendour of diction which 
 more than satisfied the highly raised expectation of the audience, he des- 
 cribed the character and institutions of the natives of India, recounted 
 the circumstances in which the Asiatic empire of Britain had originated, 
 and set forth the constitution of the Company and of the English Presi- 
 dencies. Having thus attempted to communicate to his hearers an idea 
 of Eastern society, as vivid as that which existed in his own mind, he 
 proceeded to arraign the administration of Hastings as systematically 
 conducted in defiance of morality and public law. The energy and 
 pathos of the great orator extorted expressions of unwonted admiration 
 from the stern and hostile Chancellor, and, for a moment, seemed to 
 pierce even the resolute heart of the defendant. The ladies in tha 
 galleries, unaccustomed to such displays of eloquence, excited by 
 the solemnity of the occasion, and perhaps not unwilling to display 
 their taste and sensibility, were in a state of uncontrollable emotion. 
 Handkerchiefs were pulled out; smelling-bottles were handed round ,- 
 hysterical sobs and screams were heard ; and Mrs. Sheridan was carried 
 out in a fit. At length the orator concluded. Raising his voice till 
 the old arches of Irish oak resounded, "Therefore," said he, "hath 
 it with all confidence been ordered, by the Commons of Great Britain, 
 that I impeach Warren Hastings of high crimes and misdemeanours. I 
 impeach him in the name of the Commons' House of Parliament, whose 
 trust he has betrayed. I impeach him in the name of the English nation, 
 whose ancient honour he has sullied. I impeach him in the name of the 
 people of India, whose rights he has trodden under foot, and whose 
 country he has turned into a desert. Lastly, in the name of human 
 nature itself, in the name of both sexes, in the name of every age, in the 
 name of every rank, I impeach the common enemy and oppressor of 
 all I" 
 
 When the deep murmur of various emotions had subsided, Mr. Fox 
 rose to address the Lords respecting the course of proceeding to be fol- 
 
burke's impeachment. Ill 
 
 lowed. The wish of the accusers was that the Court would bring to a 
 close the investigation of the first charge before the second was opened. 
 The wish of Hastings and of his counsel was that the managers should 
 open all the charges, and produce all the evidence for the prosecution, 
 before the defence began. The Lords retired to their own House to con- 
 sider the question. The Chancellor took the side of Hastings. Lord 
 Loughborough, who was now in opposition, supported the demand of the 
 managers. The division showed which way the inclination of the tribu- 
 nal leaned. A majority of near three to one decided in favour of the 
 course for which Hastings contended. 
 
 When the Court sat again, Mr. Fox, assisted by Mr. Grey, opened the 
 charge respecting Cheyte Sing, and several days were spent in reading 
 papers and hearing witnesses. The next article was that relating to 
 the Princesses of Oude. The conduct of this part of the case was en- 
 trusted to Sheridan. The curiosity of the public to hear him was un- 
 bounded. His sparkling and highly finished declamation lasted two 
 days ; but the hall was crowded to suffocation during the whole time. 
 It was said that fifty guineas had been paid for a single ticket. Sheri- 
 dan, when he concluded, contrived, with a knowledge of stage effect 
 which his father might have envied, to sink back, as if exhausted, into 
 the arms of Burke, who hugged him with the energy of generous 
 admiration. 
 
 June was now far advanced. The session could not last much longer ; 
 and the progress which had been made in the impeachment was not very 
 satisfactory. There were twenty charges. On two only of these had 
 even the case for the prosecution been heard ; and it was now a year 
 since Hastings had been admitted to bail. 
 
 The interest taken by the public in the trial was great when the Court 
 began to sit, and rose to the height when Sheridan spoke on the charge 
 relating to the Begums. From that time the excitement went down 
 fast. The spectacle had lost the attraction of novelty. The great dis- 
 plays of rhetoric were over. What was behind was not of a nature to 
 entice men of letters from their books in the morning, or to tempt ladies 
 who had left the masquerade at two to be out of bed before eight. 
 There remained examinations and cross-examinations. There remained 
 statements of accounts. There remained the reading of papers, filled 
 with words unintelligible to English ears, with lacs and crores, zemin- 
 dars and aumils, sunnuds and perwannahs, jahires and nuzzurs. There 
 remained bickerings, not always carried on with the best taste or with 
 the best temper, between the managers of the impeachment and the 
 counsel for the defence, particularly between Mr. Burke and Mr. Law, 
 
112 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 There remained the endless marches and countermarches of the Peers 
 between their House and the Hall ; for as often as a point of law was to 
 be discussed, their Lordships retired to discuss it apart, and the conse- 
 quence was, as a Peer wittily said, that the judges walked and the trial 
 stood still. 
 
 It is to be added that, in the spring of 1788, when the trial commenced, 
 no important question, either of domestic or foreign policy, occupied the 
 public mind. The proceeding in Westminster Hall, therefore, naturally 
 attracted most of the attention of Parliament and of the country. It 
 was the one great event of that season. But in the following year the 
 King's illness, the debates on the Regency, the expectation of a change 
 of ministry, completely diverted public attention from Indian affairs ; 
 and within a fortnight after George the Third had returned thanks in 
 St. Paul's for his recovery, the States-General of France met at Ver- 
 sailles. In the midst of the agitation produced by these events, the im- 
 peachment was for a time almost forgotten. 
 
 The trial in the Hall went on languidly. In the session of 1788, when 
 the proceedings had the interest of novelty, and when the Peers had 
 little other business before them, only thirty-h've days were given to the 
 impeachment. In 1789 the Regency Bill occupied the Upper House 
 till the session was far advanced. When the King recovered, the 
 circuits were beginning. The judges left town ; the Lords waited for 
 the return of the oracles of jurisprudence ; and the consequence was 
 that during the whole year only seventeen days were given to the case 
 of Hastings. It was clear that the matter would be protracted to a 
 length unprecedented in the annals of criminal law. 
 
 In truth, it is impossible to deny that impeachment, though it is a 
 fine ceremony, and though it may have been useful in the seventeenth 
 century, is not a proceeding from which much good can now be expected. 
 Whatever confidence may be placed in the decision of the Peers on an 
 appeal arising out of ordinary litigation, it is certain that no man has the 
 least confidence in their impartiality when a great public functionary, 
 charged with a great state crime, is brought to their bar. They are all 
 politicians. There is hardly one among them whose vote on an impeach- 
 ment may not be confidently predicted before a witness has been examined; 
 and even if it were possible to rely on their justice, they would still be 
 quite unfit to try such a cause as that of Hastings. They sit only 
 during half the year. They have to transact much legislative and much 
 iudicial business . The law-lords whose advice is required to guide the 
 unlearned majority, are employed daily in administering justice 
 w where. It is imposoible, therefore, that during a busy session the 
 
THE ACQUITTAL OF HASTINGS. 113 
 
 Upper House should give more than a few days to an impeachment. To 
 expect that their Lordships would give up partridge-shooting in order 
 to bring the greatest delinquent to speedy justice, or to relieve accused 
 innocence by speedy acquittal, would be unreasonable indeed. A well- 
 constituted tribunal, sitting regularly six days in the week and nine 
 hours in the day, would have brought the trial of Hastings to a close in 
 less than three months. The Lords had not finished their work in 
 seven years. 
 
 The result ceased to be matter of doubt from the time when the Lords 
 resolved that they would be guided by the rules of evidence which are 
 received in the inferior courts of the realm. Those rules, it is well 
 known, exclude much information which would be quite sufficient to 
 determine the conduct of any reasonable man in the most important 
 transactions of private life. These rules at every assizes save scores of 
 culprits whom judges, jury, and spectators firmly believe to be guilty. 
 But when those rules were rigidly applied to offences committed many 
 years before, at the distance of many thousands of miles, conviction 
 was, of course, out of the question. We do not blame the accused and 
 his counsel for availing themselves of every legal advantage in order to 
 obtain an acquittal ; but it is clear than an acquittal so obtained cannot 
 be pleaded in bar of the judgment of history. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 THE ACQUITTAL OF HASTINGS. 
 
 Several attempts were made by the friends of Hastings to put a stop 
 to the trial. In 1789 they proposed a vote of censure upon Burke for 
 some violent language which he had used respecting the death of 
 Nuncomar and the connection between Hastings and Impey. Burke 
 was then unpopular in the last degree both with the House and with the 
 country. The asperity and indecency of some expressions which he had 
 used during the debates on the Regency had annoyed even his warmest 
 friends. The vote of censure was carried ; and those who had moved 
 it hoped that the managers would resign in disgust. Burke was deeply 
 hurt. But his zeal for what he considered as the cause of justice and 
 mercy triumphed over his personal feelings. He received the censure of 
 the House with dignity and meekness, and declared that no personal 
 mortification or humiliation should induce him to flinch from the sacred 
 duty which he had undertaken. « 
 
 In the following year the Parliament was dissolved ; and the friends 
 
114 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 of Hastings entertained a hope that the new House of Commons might 
 not be disposed to go on with the impeachment. They began by main- 
 taining that the whole proceeding was terminated by the dissolution. 
 Defeated on this point, they made a direct motion that the impeachment 
 should be dropped ; but they were defeated by the combined forces of 
 the Government and the Opposition. It was, however, resolved that, 
 for the sake of expedition, many of the articles should be withdrawn. 
 In truth, had not some such measure been adopted, the trial would have 
 lasted till the defendant was in his grave. 
 
 At length, in the spring of 1795, the decision was pronounced, near 
 eight years after Hastings had been brought by the Sergeant-at-Arms of 
 the Commons to the bar of the Lords. On the last day of this great pro- 
 cedure the public curiosity, long suspended, seemed to be revived. 
 Anxiety about the judgment there could be none ; for it had been fully 
 ascertained that there was a great majority for the defendant. Never- 
 theless many wished to see the pageant, and the Hall was as much 
 crowded as on the lirst day. But those who, having been present on the 
 first day, now bore a part in the proceedings of the last, were few, and 
 most of those few were altered men. 
 
 As Hastings himself said, the arraignment had taken place before one 
 generation, and the judgment was pronounced by another. The specta- 
 tor could not look at the woolsack, or at the red benches of the Peers, 
 or at the green benches of the Commons, without seeing something that 
 reminded him of the instability of all human things, of the instability 
 of power and fame and life, of the more lamentable instability of friend- 
 ship. The Great Seal was borne before Lord Loughborough, who, when 
 the trial commenced, was a fierce opponent of Mr. Pitt's government, 
 and who was now a member of that government, while Thurlow, who 
 presided in the court when it first sat, estranged from all his old allies, 
 sat scowling among the junior Barons. Of about a hundred and sixty 
 nobles who walked in the procession on the first day, sixty had been 
 laid in their family vaults. Still more affecting must have been the sight 
 of the managers' box. What had become of that fair fellowship, so 
 closely bound together by public and private ties, so resplendent with 
 every talent and accomplishment ? It had been scattered by calamities 
 more bitter than the bitterness of death. The great chiefs were still 
 living, and still in the full vigour of their genius. But their friendship 
 was at an end. It had been violently and publicly dissolved, with tears 
 and stormy reproaches. If those men, once so dear to each other, were 
 now compelled to meet for the purpose of managing the impeachment, 
 they met as strangers whom public business had brought together, and 
 
THE ACQUITTAL OF HASTINGS. 115 
 
 behaved to each other with cold and distant civiliby. Burke had in his 
 vortex whirled away Windham. Fox had been followed by Sheridan 
 and Grey. 
 
 Only twenty-nine Peers voted. Of these only six found Hastings guilty 
 on the charges relating to Cheyte Sing and to the Begums. On other 
 charges, the majority in his favour was still greater. On some he was 
 unanimously absolved. He was then called to the bar, was informed 
 from the woolsack that the Lords had acquitted him, and was solemnly 
 discharged. He bowed respectfully and retired. 
 
 We have said that the decision had been fully expected. It was also 
 generally approved. At the commencement of the trial there had been 
 a strong and indeed unreasonable feeling against Hastings. At the close 
 of the trial there was a feeling equally strong and equally unreasonable in 
 his favour. One cause of the change was, no doubt, what is commonly 
 called the fickleness of the multitude, but what seems to us to be merely 
 the general law of human nature. Both in individuals and in masses 
 violent excitement is always followed by remission, and often by reaction. 
 We are all inclined to depreciate whatever we have overpraised, and, on 
 the other hand, to show undue indulgence where we have shown undue 
 rigour. It was thus in the case of Hastings. The length of his trial, 
 moreover, made him an object of compassion. It was thought, and not 
 without reason, that, even if he was guilty, he was still an ill-used man, 
 and that an impeachment of eight years was more than a sufficient pun- 
 ishment. It was also felt that, though, in the ordinary course of criminal 
 law, a defendant is not allowed to set off his good actions against his 
 crimes, a great political cause should be tried on different principles, and 
 that a man who had governed an empire during thirteen years might have 
 done some very reprehensible things, and yet might be on the whole 
 deserving of rewards and honours rather than of fine and imprisonment. 
 The press, an instrument neglected by the prosecutors, was used by 
 Hastings and his friends with great effect. Every ship, too, that arrived 
 from Madras or Bengal, brought a cuddy-full of his admirers. Every 
 gentleman from India spoke of the late Governor-General as having 
 deserved better, and having been treated worse, than any man living. 
 The effect of this testimony unanimously given by all persons who knew 
 the East, was naturally very great, Retired members of the Indian ser- 
 vices, civil and military, were settled in all corners of the kingdom. Each 
 of them was, of course, in his own little circle, regarded as an oracle on 
 an Indian question ; and they were, with scarcely one exception, the 
 zealous advocates of Hastings. It is to be added that, the numerou- 
 addresses to the late Governor- General, which his friends in Bengal 
 
116 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 obtained from the natives and transmitted to England, made a 
 considerable impression. To these addresses we attach little or no 
 importance. That Hastings was beloved by the people whom he 
 governed is true ; but the eulogies of pundits, zemindars, Mahommedan 
 doctors, do not prove it to be true. For an English collector or judge 
 would have found it easy to induce any native who could write to sign 
 a panegyric on the most odious ruler that ever was in India. It was 
 said that at Benares, the very place at which the acts set forth in the 
 first article of impeachment had been committed, the natives had 
 erected a temple to Hastings ; and this story excited a strong sensation 
 in England. Burke's observations on the apotheosis were admirable. 
 He saw no reason for astonishment, he said, in the incident which had 
 been represented as so striking. He knew something of the mythology 
 of the Brahmins. He knew that as they worshipped some gods from 
 love, so they worshipped others from fear. He knew that they 
 erected shrines, not only to the benignant deities of light and plenty, 
 but also to the fiends who preside over smallpox and murder ; nor did 
 he at all dispute the claim of Mr. Hastings to be admitted into such a 
 Pantheon. This reply has always struck us as one of the finest that 
 ever was made in Parliament. It is a grave and forcible argument, 
 decorated by the most brilliant wit and fancy. 
 
 Hastings was, however, safe. But in everything except character, he 
 would have been far better off if, when first impeached, he had at once 
 pleaded guilty, and paid a fine of fifty thousand pounds. He was a 
 ruined man. The legal expenses of his defence had been enormous. 
 The expenses which did not appear in his attorney's bill were perhaps 
 larger still. Great sums had been paid to Major Scott. Great sums 
 had been laid out in bribing newspapers, rewarding pamphleteers, and 
 circulating tracts. Burke, so early as 1790, declared in the House of 
 Commons that twenty thousand pounds had been employed in corrupting 
 the press. It is certain that no controversial weapon, from the gravest 
 reasoning to the coarsest ribaldry, was left unemployed. Logan defended 
 the accused Governor with great ability in prose. For the lovers of 
 verse, the speeches of the managers were burlesqued in Simpkin's letters. 
 It is, we are afraid, indisputable that Hastings stooped so low as to 
 court the aid of that malignant and filthy baboon John Williams, who 
 called himself Anthony Pasquin. It was necessary to subsidise such 
 allies largely. The private hoards of Mrs. Hastings had disappeared 
 It is said that the banker to whom they had been entrusted had failed 
 Still if Hastings had practised strict economy, he would, after all his 
 losses, have had a moderate competence ; but in the management of his 
 
THE ACQUITTAL OF HASTINGS. 117 
 
 private affairs he was imprudent. The dearest wish of his heart had 
 always been to regain Daylesford. At length, in the very year in which 
 his trial commenced, the wish was accomplished ; and the domain, 
 alienated more than seventy years before, returned to the descendant of 
 its old lords. But the manor house was a ruin ; and the grounds round 
 it had, during many years, been utterly neglected. Hastings proceeded 
 to build, to plant, to form a sheet of water, to excavate a grotto ; and, 
 before he was dismissed from the bar of the House of Lords, he had 
 expended more than forty thousand pounds in adorning his seat. 
 
 The general feeling both of the Directors and of the proprietors of the 
 East India Company was that he had great claims on them, that his 
 services to them had been eminent, and that his misfortunes had been 
 the effect of his zeal for their interest. His friends in Leadenhall 
 Street proposed to reimburse him the costs of his trial, and to settle on 
 him an annuity of five thousand pounds a year. But the consent of the 
 Board of Control was necessary ; and at the head of the Board of Control 
 was Mr. Dundas, who had himself been a party to the impeachment, 
 who had, on that account, been reviled with great bitterness by the 
 adherents of Hastings, and who, therefore, was not in a very complying 
 mood. He refused to consent to what the Directors suggested. The 
 Directors remonstrated. A long controversy followed. Hastings, in 
 the meantime, was reduced to such distress that he could hardly pay his 
 weekly bills. At length a compromise was made. An annuity for life 
 of four thousand pounds was settled on Hastings ; and in order to enable 
 him to meet pressing demands, he was to receive ten years' annuity in 
 advance. The Company was also permitted to lend him fifty thousand 
 pounds, to be repaid by instalments without interest. This relief, 
 though given in the most absurd manner, was sufficient to enable the 
 retired Governor to live in comfort, and even in luxury, if he had been 
 a skilful manager. But he was careless and profuse, and was more than 
 once under the necessity of applying to the Company for assistance, 
 which was liberally given. , 
 
 He had security and affluence, but not the power and dignity which, 
 when he landed from India, he had reason to expect. He had then looked 
 forward to a coronet, a red riband, a seat at the Council Board, an office 
 at Whitehall. He was then only fifty-two, and might hope for many 
 years of bodily and mental vigour. The case was widely different when 
 he left the bar of the Lords. He was now too old a man to turn his mind 
 to a new class of studies and duties. He had no chance of reciving any 
 mark of royal favour while Mr. Pitt remained in power ; and, when Mr. 
 Pitt retired, Hastings was approaching his seventieth year. 
 
118 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 Once, and only once, after his acquittal, he interfered in politics ; and 
 that interference was not much to his honour. In 1804 he exerted him- 
 self strenuously to prevent Mr. Addington, against whom Fox and Pitt 
 had combined, from resigning the Treasury. It is difficult to believe 
 that a man, so able and energetic as Hastings, can have thought that, 
 when Bonaparte was at Boulogne with a great army, the defence of our 
 island could safely be entrusted to a ministry which did not contain a 
 single person whom flattery could describe as a great statesman. It is 
 also certain that, on the important question which had raised Mr. Ad- 
 dington to power, and on which he differed from both Fox and Pitt, 
 Hastings, as might have been expected, agreed with Fox and Pitt, and 
 was decidedly opposed to Addington. Religious intolerance has never 
 been the vice of the Indian service, and certainly was not the vice of 
 Hastings. But Mr. Addington had treated him with marked favour. 
 Fox had been a principal manager of the impeachment. To Pitt it was 
 owing that there had been an impeachment ; and Hastings, we fear, was 
 on this occasion guided by personal considerations, rather than by a 
 regard to the public interest. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 IN RETIREMENT — DEATH. 
 
 The last twenty-four years of his life were chiefly spent at Daylesford. 
 He amused himself with embellishing his grounds, riding fine Arab horses, 
 fattening prize-cattle, and trying to rear Indian animals and vegetables 
 in England. He sent for seeds of a very fine custard-apple, from the 
 garden of what had once been his own villa, among the green hedgerows 
 of Allipore. He tried also to naturalise in Worcestershire the delicious 
 leechee, almost the only fruit of Bengal which deserves to be regretted 
 even amidst the plenty of Oovent Garden. The Mogul emperors, in the 
 time of their greatness, had^n vain attempted to introduce into Hindos- 
 tan the goat of the table-land of Thibet, whose down supplies the looms 
 of Cashmere with the materials of the finest shawls. Hastings tried, 
 with no better fortune, to rear a breed at Daylesford ; nor does he seem 
 to have succeeded better with the cattle of Bootan, whose tails are in 
 high esteem as the best fans for brushing away the mosquitoes. 
 
 Literature divided his attention with his conservatories and his men- 
 agerie. He had always loved books, and they were now necessary to 
 him. Though not a poet, in any high sense of the word, he wrote neat 
 and polished lines with great facility, and was fond of exercising this 
 
IN RETIREMENT — DEATH. 119 
 
 talent. Indeed, if we must speak out, he seems to have been more of a 
 Trissotin than was to be expected from the powers of his mind, and from 
 the great part which he had played in life. We are assured in these 
 memoirs that the first thing which he did in the morning was to write a 
 copy of verses. When the family and guests assembled, the poem made 
 its appearance as regularly as the eggs and rolls ; and Mr. Gleig requires 
 us to believe that, if from any accident Hastings came to the breakfast- 
 table without one of his charming performances in his hand, the omission 
 was felt by all as a grievous disappointment. Tastes differ widely. For 
 ourselves, we must say that, however good the breakfasts at Daylesford 
 may have been, — and we are assured that the tea was of the most aro- 
 matic flavour, and that neither tongue nor venison-pasty was wanting, — 
 we should have thought the reckoning high if we had been forced to 
 earn our repast by listening every day to a new madrigal or sonnet com- 
 posed by our host. We are glad, however, that Mr. Gleig has preserved 
 this little feature of character, though we think it by no means a beauty. 
 It is good to be often reminded of the inconsistency of human nature, 
 and to learn to look without wonder or disgust on the weaknesses which 
 are found in the strongest minds. Dionysius in old times, Frederic in the 
 last century, with capacity and vigour equal to the conduct of the great- 
 est affairs, united all the little vanities and affectations of provincial 
 blue- stockings. These great examples may console the admirers of 
 Hastings for the affliction of seeing him reduced to the level of the 
 Hayleys and Sewards. 
 
 When Hastings had passed many years in retirement, and had long 
 outlived the common age of men, he again became for a short time an 
 object of general attention. In 1813 the charter of the East India 
 Company was renewed ; and much discussion about Indian affairs took 
 place in Parliament. It was determined to examine witnesses at the bar 
 of the Commons ; and Hastings was ordered to attend. He had appeared 
 at that bar once before. It was when he read his answer to the charges 
 which Burke had laid on the table. Since that time twenty-seven years 
 had elapsed; public feeling had undergone a complete change; the 
 nation had now forgotten his faults, and remembered only his services. 
 The reappearance, too, of a man who had been among the most dis- 
 tinguished of a generation that had passed away, who now belonged to 
 history, and who seemed to have risen from the dead, could not but 
 produce a solemn and pathetic effect. The Commons received him with 
 acclamations, ordered a chair to be set for him, and when he retired, 
 rose and uncovered. There were, indeed, a few who did not sympathize 
 with the general feeling. One or two of the managers of the impeach- 
 
1 20 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 ment were present. They sate in the same seats which they had 
 occupied when they had been thanked for the services which they had 
 rendered in Westminster Hall ; for, by the courtesy of the House, a 
 member who has been thanked in his place is considered as having a 
 right always to occupy that place. These gentlemen were not disposed 
 to admit that they had employed several of the best years of their lives 
 in persecuting an innocent man. They according^ kept their seats, and 
 pulled their hats over their brows ; but the exceptions only made the 
 prevailing enthusiasm more remarkable. The Lords received the old 
 man with similar tokens of respect. The University of Oxford conferred 
 on him the degree of Doctor of Laws ; and, in the Sheldonian Theatre, 
 the undergraduates welcomed him with tumultuous cheering. 
 
 These marks of public esteem were soon followed by marks of royal 
 favour. Hastings was sworn of the Privy Council, and was admitted to 
 a long private audience of the Prince Regent, who treated him very 
 graciously. When the Emperor of Russia and the King of Prussia visited 
 England, Hastings appeared in their train both at Oxford and in the 
 Guildhall of London, and, though surrounded by a crowd of princes and 
 great warriors, was everywhere received with marks of respect and 
 admiration. He was presented by the Prince Regent both to Alexander 
 and to Frederic William ; and His Royal Highness went so far as to 
 declare in public that honours far higher than a seat in the Privy Council 
 were due, and would soon be paid, to the man who had saved the British 
 dominions in Asia. Hastings now confidently expected a peerage ; 
 but, from some unexplained cause, he was again disappointed. 
 
 He lived about four years longer, in the enjoyment of good spirits, of 
 faculties not impaired to any painful or degrading extent, and of health 
 such as is rarely enjoyed by those who attain such an age. At length, 
 on the twenty-second of August, 1818, in the eighty-sixth year of his 
 age, he met death with the same tranquil and decorous fortitude which 
 he had opposed to all the trials of his various and eventful life. 
 
 With all his faults — and they were neither few nor small — only one 
 cemetery was worthy to contain his remains. In that temple of silence 
 and reconciliation where the enmities of twenty generations lie buried, 
 in the great Abbey which has during many ages afforded a quiet resting- 
 place to those whose minds and bodies have been shattered by the con- 
 tentions of the Great Hall, the dust of the illustrious accused should 
 have mingled with the dust of the illustrious accusers. This was not 
 to be. Yet the place of interment was not ill chosen. Behind the 
 chancel of the parish church of Daylesford, in earth which already held 
 the bones of many chiefs of the house of Hastings, was laid the coffin of 
 
IN RETIREMENT — DEATH. 121 
 
 the greatest man who has ever borne that ancient and widely extended 
 name. On that very spot, probably, fourscore years before, the little 
 Warren meanly clad and scantily fed, had played with the children of 
 ploughmen. Even then his young mind had revolved plans which might 
 be called romantic. Yet, however romantic, it is not likely that they 
 had been so strange as the truth. Not only had the poor orphan retrieved 
 the fallen fortunes of his line — not only had he repurchased the old lands 
 and rebuilt the old dwelling — he had preserved and extended an empire. 
 He had founded a polity. He had administered government and war 
 with more than the capacity of Richelieu. He had patronized learning 
 with the judicious liberality of Cosmo. He had been attacked by the 
 most formidable combination of enemies that ever sought the destruction 
 of a single victim ; and over that combination, after a struggle of ten 
 years, he had triumphed. He had at length gone down to his grave in 
 the fulness of age, in peace, after so many troubles, in honour, after so 
 much obloquy. 
 
 Those who look on his character without favour or malevolence will 
 pronounce that, in the two great elements of all social virtue, in respect 
 for the rights of others, and in sympathy for the sufferings of others, he 
 was deficient. His principles were somewhat lax. His heart was 
 somewhat hard. But though we cannot with truth describe him either 
 as a righteous or as a merciful ruler, we cannot regard without admiration 
 the amplitude and fertility of his intellect, his rare talents for command, 
 for administration, and for controversy, his dauntless courage, his 
 honourable poverty, his fervent zeal for the interests of the State, his 
 noble equanimity, tried by both extremes of fortune, and never disturbed 
 by either. 
 
NOTES 
 
 Chapter I. 
 
 Our feeling" . . 1813— Note in the illustration Macaulay's judicial attitude. 
 
 Oliver Cromwell— (1599-1658) a zealous Puritan and member of the Long Parlia- 
 ment (1640-1653), which he forcibly dissolved, and became Lord Protector of the 
 Commonwealth of England. See Green's " Short History," Sect. Puritan England. 
 
 Lely, Sir Peter — a famous portrait painter of the 17th century. 
 
 Curl-pated minions— the foppish favourites of Charles I., who wore long curls, 
 whilst the Roundheads— Cromwell's followers — wore their hair close -cropped. 
 
 Great Danish sea-king— Hastings, who. at the head of a number of Norse 
 freebooters, invaded England in the time of King Alfred, but was defeated by the 
 latter, and driven out of England in A.D. 896. 
 
 Renowned Chamberlain— The favourite minister and Lord High Chamberlain 
 of Edward IV. He was beheaded by Richard III. in 1483. 
 
 White Rose— the floral emblem of the Yorkists in the prolonged contests (1455- 
 1485) with the Lancastrians, whose emblem was the red rose. This struggle for the 
 succession to the Crown of England is known in history as the " Civil Wars of the 
 
 The Tudors— (1485-1603) the ruling dynasty in England from the accession of 
 Henry VII. to the death of Elizabeth. 
 
 Earldom of Huntingdon— a claimant for the Earldom of this house, which 
 had been dormant for thirty years, came forward at the beginning of the present 
 century, and, after proving his descent from an early branch of the family, gained 
 possession of the title and estates. 
 
 Speaker Lienthal— Speaker of the House of Commons at the time of the " Long 
 Parliament." 
 
 Isis — The Thames river above Oxford bears this name. The rivulet spoken of in the 
 text is a tributary of the Thames. Daylesford is situate on this stream. 
 
 But no Cloud ... to die — Note this fine passage, and the essayist's manifest 
 sympathy with young Hastings' ambition and the associations that filled the boy's 
 mind. 
 
 Westminster School— founded by Queen Elizabeth for the education of forty 
 boys, who are known as " Queen's Scholars." 
 
 Vinny (Vincent) Bourne— An English schoolmaster and fine Latin scholar. His 
 pupil, Cowper, the poet, ranks him with Ovid. He died in 1747. 
 
 Churchill, Charles— (1731-64) author of The Rosciad, and other satirical 
 writings. 
 
 Coleman George [the elder]— (1733-94) a translator and playwright. 
 
 Lloyd, Robert— (1733-64) poet and miscellaneous writer. 
 
 Cumberland, Richard— {1732-1811) a dramatist and essay writer. 
 
 Shy and secluded poet— Wm. Cowper (1731-1800), author of " The Task," the 
 ballad of "John Gilpin," &c. He resided for a long time at Olney, on the Ouse, in 
 Buckinghamshire. 
 
 Elijah Impey, Sir— afterwards Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Calcutta, 
 and, according to the essayist, discreditably connected with Hastings in his arbitrary 
 acts in India. For his many corrupt deeds he was recalled to England and impeached 
 in 1783. Macaulay represents him as a vile tool of Hastings : note how the essayist 
 foreshadows this by speaking of him here as a school-fag. Sir James Fitzjames 
 Stephen, an eminent jurist, has since shown that Macaulay's portrait of the Chief 
 Justice is exaggerated and untrue. This authority treats as calumnious the notion 
 
 123 
 
124 NOTES. 
 
 that there was a corrupt compaot between Impey and Hastings to get rid of Nuncomar 
 in order to serve a political purpose. 
 
 Christ Church — one of the largest of the Oxford Colleges. It was founded in 
 1525 by Cardinal Wolsey. 
 
 Writership . . . Company— See Sketch of Indian History. The staff 
 of the E. I. Co. consisted of merchants, factors, and writers. The writer entered 
 the service as a clerk or book keeper ; from this position he rose to be a factor, who 
 inspected and bought the gocds, and finally attained the position of a merchant, who 
 haa charge of the " Factory," or place of trade. 
 
 Chapter II. 
 
 Fort William— erected by the British in 1757 to protect Calcutta (on the Hooghly) 
 the capital of Bengal. It was the scene of the massacre of the " Black Hole." 
 
 Dupleix, Joseph (pronounced Du-pld}— Governor of the French possessions in 
 India. At first, a clever but unscrupulous trader ; afterwards, a scheming politician 
 and intriguer for territorial possessions and power in India ; for a time successful, but 
 ultimately unfortunate, ruined and disgraced. See Macaulay's essay on Lord Clive. 
 Also, Sketch of Indian History (p. ix). 
 
 The War . . . Carnatic— See Sketch of Indian History (p. ix). 
 
 Clive, Robert— Baron Plassey [1725-74]. See Macaulay's essay. 
 
 Mogul— the Mahommedan ruler at Delhi. 
 
 Bengal, Orissa, and Bahar— Bengal is the largest and most populous of the 
 twelve provinces of British India ; capital, Calcutta. Orissa and Bahar, the two pro- 
 vinces within the presidency of Bengal ; Bahar lies to the north, Orissa to the south. 
 
 Surajah Dowlah— See Macaulay'e essay on Lord Clive. 
 
 Dutch Company— See Sketch Indian History (p. viii). 
 
 Nabob— {corruption of Nawab) deputy of the Nizam, who derived his power from 
 the Mogul rulers at Delhi. 
 
 Black Hole— a confined gaol-room at Fort William, in which 146 English prisoners 
 were thrust over a hot summer night, in June, 1756. All but 23 were found dead in 
 the morning, having been suffocated or trampled to death. See an account of the 
 atrocity in Macaulay's essay on " Lord Clive." 
 
 Plassey— This battle, which was fought in a grove, 70 miles north of Calcutta, 
 practically established British rule in India. It was won by Lord Clive, June 23rd, 
 1757, with a small army of 2,000 Sepoys, 1,000 Europeans, and 8 cannon, against the 
 forces of Surajah Dowlah, numbering 35,000 foot, 15,000 horse, and 50 cannon. 
 
 Meer Jaffier.— After the victory of Plassey, Dowlah was deposed from the vice- 
 royalty of Bengal, and by his successor put to death. The British gave Jaffier the 
 nominal rule of the province ; but he was afterwards dethroned in favour of his son- 
 in-law, Meer Cosim. The latter, however, revolted, and at Patna massacred 2,000 
 Sepoys and 200 Europeans. By the battle of Buxar, won by Sir Hector Munro in 1764, 
 Bengal was reconquered, and both it and the adjoining province of Oude became 
 subject to Britain. Oude was for a time restored on the payment of an enormous 
 ransom. From this period the native rulers were for the most part puppets of the 
 British administration of Calcutta, and the East India Co. levied on the territories of 
 the Nabobs at its will. See essay on Lord Clive. 
 
 On one Side . . . morality.— Note this fine passage, in which the essayist 
 sets forth the malign influence of a dominant over a subject race. 
 
 Mr. Vansittart— Interim Governor of Bengal in Lord Clive's absence in England 
 (1760-65). Hastings was a member of Council at Calcutta during his administration. 
 
 There was . . . freebooter.— Note here the evils of the East India Co.'s 
 rule at the period, and the attitude of Hastings, in taking no part in the common 
 plunder. 
 
 Rotten Boroughs,— towns, the electorate of which could be bought by aspirants 
 for Parliamentary honours. 
 
NOTES. 125 
 
 St. James' Square,— a home of fashion in the neighbourhood of St. James' 
 Palace, London. 
 Buccaneer — a pirate. Galleon — a Spanish trading-ship. 
 
 Chapter III. 
 
 Revival Of Letters — an intellectual movement which spread over Europe at the 
 beginning of the 16th century. 
 
 It is to be remembered . . . intercourse— Observe Macaulay's sym- 
 pathy with culture, and his approving comment on Hastings' literary tastes, and the 
 projects he had in his mind for extending a knowledge of Oriental languages. 
 
 Company— the East India Co. 
 
 Ha'flx and Ferdu'si— Persian poets, the former of the 13th, and the latter of 
 the 10th century. 
 
 Johnson, Samuel, (1709-84) — a famous critic and lexicographer, whom Smollett, 
 the novelist, called "The Great Cham of Literature." See Boswell's "Life of Johnson," 
 and Macaulay's essay thereon. 
 
 The Directors— The London Managers of the East India Co. 
 
 Madras,— the capital of Madras Presidency, and the earliest settlement of the 
 E. I. Co. in India. 
 
 Pagodas— An East India coin, worth about $2. 
 
 Indiaman— one of the old sailing ships trading to India. 
 
 Pranconia — now Bavaria, in Germany. 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 
 Fort St. George- Madras. 
 
 Constitutional check— a provision in the Constitution, or form of Government, 
 to check abuses. 
 
 Delhi,— a wealthy city, on the Jumna, in the northern part of Hindostan, and for 
 over 200 years the seat of the Mogul power in India. 
 
 There was . . . Pepin. — Note Macaulay's wealth and ready resources of 
 illustration, though here it is rather recondite. The same illustration, almost in the 
 same words, does duty in Macaulay's essay on Lord Clive, q. v. 
 
 Augustulus Odoacer— At the period of the Fall of the Western Empire the 
 Roman emperors were mere tools of the German generals. Odoacer, (434-493) a son of 
 a chieftain of one of the Scyrii tribes of the Danube, entered the imperial service, and 
 in the year 475, at the head of his barbarian mercenaries, invaded Italy and demanded 
 to be made proprietor of one-third of its soil. Romulus Augustulus, a youthful son of 
 Orestes, was then Emperor. On Odoacer's demand being refused, his fellow-soldiers 
 deposed Augustulus and made Odoacer King of Italy. For thirteen years he reigned 
 with undisputed sway. In Theodoric's invasion of Italy Odoacer was repeatedly de- 
 feated, and finally perished at hands of the Goth. 
 
 Merovingians, Charles Martel, Pepin— Merovingians a once vigorous 
 dynasty that ruled Germany from the time of Clovis to that of Charlemagne. With 
 the death of Dagabert (A. D. 638) the Kings became mere shadows of power beside their 
 high officers of State. These were called Mayors of the Palace. Charles Martel and 
 the Pepins of Haristel, about the end of the Merovingian line, filled this ancestral office, 
 and were the real rulers of the country. Their descendants afterwards succeeded to 
 the throne of Germany. 
 
 At present,— When Macaulay wrote his essay, in 1841. The power is now vested 
 in the Crown, represented by the Government of the day, and by the Secretary of 
 State for India. 
 
 Mr. Pitt, the younger, (1759-1806) son of the Earl of Chatham, and for 17 years 
 Prime Minister of England. In 1784 Pitt passed in Parliament what is known as "The 
 
126 NOTES. 
 
 India Bill," establishing a Board of Control over the affairs of the East India Company. 
 See Macaulay's essay on Pitt. 
 
 Mr. Dundas — (1740-1811) — afterwards Viscount Melville. A Scottish statesman in 
 the British Parliament who assisted Pitt in passing his India Bill. 
 
 Burke, Edmund, — (1730-97) — a distinguished statesman, eloquent orator, and 
 able philosophic writer. With the two other great Whig orators of the period—Fox 
 and Sheridan— Burke won undying fame by his magnificent speeches on the impeach- 
 ment of Warren Hastings. 
 
 Chapter V. 
 
 Mussulman, — a believer in the religion of Mahomraed. 
 
 Important, lucrative and splendid — A severe taste would cancel the third 
 adjective : it has a weakening effect. 
 
 Brahmin.— An Indian of the highest or priestly caste. 
 
 Maharajah— lit. u Great Rajah." Rajah is the title borne by a native prince; his 
 territory is called a raj. 
 
 Caste— a social status rigidly observed among the Hindoos. It rests upon dis- 
 tinctions of race, occupation, and geographical position, which sharply define the lines 
 of society in the East. Occupation generally marks the dividing line. The four classes 
 which caste recognizes are the Brahmins or priests, the soldiery, the traders, and the 
 agricultural population. As a rule, the Hindoo remains for life in the caste in which 
 he is born. 
 
 What the Italian . . . Sidney. — Note in this clever disquisition on the 
 Bengalee character; 1, Macaulay's love of minute details; 2, his fondness for anti- 
 thesis ; 3, his apt comparisons and wealth of illustration ; 4, the art with which he piles 
 up an indictment; and, 5, the climactic force with which he brings home to the 
 reader the ingrained deceit of Nuncomar. The passage is also a good example of 
 parallel construction. 
 
 He lives . . . vapour bath.— This may be said to be literally true ; for the 
 atmosphere of the Valley of the Ganges, owing to the great heat, is at times like that 
 arising from a steam bath. Its weakening effect upon the physical and mental frame- 
 work of the Bengalee \u well brought out in the illustration which immediately follows. 
 
 Ionian,— one of an eflieminate race, once inhabiting Ionia, in Asia Minor. Juve- 
 nal, (A.D. 30-100), last of the Roman poets and satirists. 
 
 Jew • . . Dark Ages.— The Jews of the period (A.D. 500-1400) were in 
 so-called Christian countries, a down-trodden race, subjected to every outrage. 
 
 Stoics . . . ideal sage— a sect of Greek philosophers, led by Zena, who 
 taught his followers to be indifferent to suffering and all ill. 
 
 Mucius, — a valorous Roman, remarkable for his fortitude in bearing suffering. 
 
 Algernon Sidney -(1622-83)— an English patriot who, with Lords Russell and 
 Essex, was accused of taking part in the Rye House Plot against Charles II. He was 
 found guilty, though on sufficient evidence, by the infamous Judge Jeffreys, and 
 beheaded on Tower Hill. His demeanour at his execution has gained him the 
 admiration of history. 
 
 French . • . Carnatic— Set Sketch of Indian History, (p. ix). 
 
 Chapter VI. 
 
 Lieadenhall Street— A street in London in which were the offices of the East 
 India Co. 
 
 Double Government,— the dominant rule of the English and the subordinate 
 local rule of the native princes. Clive, it will be remembered, entrusted the internal 
 government of Bengal— the collection of the revenue, the administration of justice, the 
 maintainence of order, &c— to a native minister of the Nabob of the Province. It was 
 this Hastings now determined to get lid of, and to assume for the Company the entire 
 
NOTES. 127 
 
 internal administration. The dual system of government extended from 1765, when 
 Clive established it, to the present time, 1772, when Hastings abolished it and removed 
 the Provincial exchequer from Moorshedabad to Calcutta, appointing European 
 officers, under the title of Collectors, to superintend the collections, and to preside in 
 the revenue courts. In this great administrative work Hastings was to be no less 
 successful than in his military policy, though it led him into very questionable 
 transactions with, and at times into rapacious measures in regard to, some of the 
 native rulers. 
 
 Patna, — capital of the then Province of Bahar, situate on the Ganges, north-west 
 of Calcutta. It was the scene of the first Sepoy mutiny, quelled by Sir Hector Munro, 
 and came into prominence during the revolt of Meer Cossim. Schitab (pr. She-tawb) 
 Roy was at this period Rajah. 
 
 Munny Begum— female guardian of the young Nabob of Bengal, who is said to 
 have made presents to Hastings, to whom she owed her appointment. Records con- 
 cerning her presents were excluded as evidence on Hastings' trial. 
 
 Chapter VII. 
 
 Lacs of rupees,— a lac is 100,000; a silver rupee is worth about fifty cents ; a 
 gold rupee about $7.50. 
 
 Govern leniently . . . rapacious.— Note here Macaulay's scarcely con- 
 cealed sarcasm and his use of antithesis. 
 
 Corah and Allahabad, — two provinces, lying in the north-west of India, sold 
 by the English to the Nabob of Oude. The city of Allahabad is at the confluence of 
 the Jumna and the Ganges. 
 
 On the plea . . . concessions.— Since the decline of the Mogul power the 
 Mahrattas exercised no little influence in Northern Hindostan. 
 
 Vizier . . . Hindostan— Sujah Dowlah, Prince of Oude, (1754-75) assumed 
 the title of Vizier (Prime Minister) or deputy of the Mogul. 
 
 Electors . . . Grand Marshal— rulers of two Prussian provinces, who had 
 a vote in electing the Emperor of Germany : hence the title of " Electors." 
 
 Chapter VIII. 
 
 Rich . . . Sanscrit— Sanscrit was the ancient language of India, and that in 
 which the Sacred Books of the Hindoos were written, 
 
 Hyphasis and Hystaspes— the Sut-lej (? the Beas) and the Jellum, the great 
 feeders of the river Indus, which drains part of the northern Himalayas. 
 
 Ghizni— a town and fortress in Afghanistan, taken by storm in 1839 during English 
 interference with Afghan affairs. 
 
 Great mountain ridge— the Hindoo Koosh range of the Himalayas, through 
 the passes of which the Mohammedan conquerors of India entered Hindostan. 
 
 Cabul and Candahar the two chief cities of Afghanistan ; the former is the 
 residence of the Ameer. 
 
 Rohillas — a brave but turbulent people, of Afghan origin, who, since Ahmad Shah's 
 desolating invasion in 1761, had held possession of Rohilcund, a province lying to the 
 north-west of Oude, between the Himalayas and the Ganges. In the years 1773-4 the 
 Rohillas were crushed by the forces of the Nabob of Oude and the English troops 
 Hastings had lent out for hire. Hastings' conduct was wrong in principle, for the 
 Rohillas had not provoked the English: while to aid in their extermination was to 
 countenance a warfare of oriental savagery, however much the alliance and the loan of 
 the troops relieved the ever-pressing wants of the Bengal treasury. Macaulay's story 
 is however an exaggeration of what really occurred, and his glittering phrases lack the 
 sobriety of truth. See on this point, Sir Alfred Lyall's '* Warren Hastings," in the Series 
 of English Men of Action, pp. 44-50 
 
 Kumaon— formerly a province lying close to the Himalayas, near the sources of 
 
128 NOTES. 
 
 the Ganges. The latter, rising in the Himalayas, flows south-east to the sea through 
 the North-west provinces, Oude, Bahar, and Bengal. Its length is 1,500 miles. 
 
 Auning'zebe— (1563-1707) the sixth and most princely of the Mohammedan 
 emperors. 
 
 Lahore . . . Comorin— i.e. from the north to the south of India. Lahore, 
 the capital of the Punjab ; Cape Comorin, the most southerly point of Hindostan. 
 
 Sujah Dowlah— See note, previous Chapter, "Vizier . . . Hindostan," (not 
 to be confounded with Surajah Dowlah, Nabob of Bengal, of " Black Hole " infamy). 
 
 Catherine to Poland— During the reign of the Empress Catherine II. of Russia 
 (1762-96) there were three partitions of the once Kingdom of Poland, viz., in 1772, in 
 1793, and in 1795. Austria and Germany had a share in the spoil ; but the bulk of the 
 territory was annexed by Russia. 
 
 Bonaparte . . . Spain -In 1S08 Napoleon, wishing to annex Spain and 
 Portugal to France, sent an army to enter Madrid and proclaim his brother, Joseph 
 Bonaparte, King. This led to what is known in British history as the " Peninsular 
 War." 
 
 Was it . . . day ?— Note, in this fine tribute to British daring, the irony that 
 lies beneath it. 
 
 If we understand . . . other — Note Macaulay's indignant comment on 
 the infamous Rohilla war, and his hot arguments in reply to the view of the matter 
 taken by the biographer of Hastings 
 
 German Princes . . . Americans— Hessians and other Continental 
 troops were used as " auxiliaries" by Britain in the Revolutionary war. The German 
 princes who let them out for hire Macaulay terms Hussar-mongers — i.e. trafficers 
 in horse -soldiery. 
 
 Major Scott (of the Bengal army)— a member of the British Parliament, to whom 
 Hastings, on his return from India, foolishly entrusted his defence against impeach- 
 ment 
 
 Caput lupinum— lit. "a wolfish head," or, freely interpreted, a hungry and 
 unscrupulous invader. 
 
 Chapter IX. 
 
 Mr. Hastings . . . Violated— Here the essayist, with keen irony, again 
 falls upon Hastings' biographer. 
 
 Lord North— British Prime Minister (1770-82) and tool of George III. during the 
 American Revolutionary war. He resigned office at the close of the humiliating 
 struggle, and was succeeded by the Whigs. By the " Regulating Act" (l77a) Hastings 
 became Governor-General of India. 
 
 Chapter X. 
 
 Sir Philip Francis— (1740-1818) Public interest in this character is owing not so 
 much to his relations with Warren Hastings in India, nor to his active hostility to hiiti 
 in Parliament, but to the theory which connects him with the authorship of "The 
 Letters of Junius." These famous political articles, which trenchantly attacked the 
 Ministry of the day, appeared anonymously in the Public Advertiser during the years 
 1769-72. The secret of their authorship, though Macaulay, on what seems good evi- 
 dence, traces it to Francis, has never been disclosed. 
 
 Lord Chatham— 1708-78) William Pitt, the elder, a great English statesman, and 
 for a time, one of the chief opponents of Sir Robert Walpole. He was Prime Minister 
 during Chve's rule in India, and at the period when Wolfe was laying siege to Quebec. 
 During his administration the war against France was conducted with great spirit, and 
 her navy was all but annihilated. He opposed the taxation of the American colonists 
 but was equally opposed to granting them their independence. While delivering a 
 powerful speech in the House of Lords against making peace with America, he was 
 
NOTES. 129 
 
 seized with an apoplectic fit, and died a few weeks afterwards, on the 11th of May, 
 1778. See Macaulay's essay. 
 
 Lord Holland— an English statesman, descended from Henry Fox, Secretary of 
 State to George II. He was trained for public life under his famous uncle, Charles 
 James Fox. See Macaulay's essay. 
 
 The internal . . . Francis.— Note here Macaulay's argument for consider- 
 ing Francis the author of Junius's Letters, based on similarity of literary style and on 
 resemblance in moral character. 
 
 Corneille— (1606-84) a great French dramatist. 
 
 Ben Jonson — (1574-1637) English poet-laureate, dramatist, and friend of Shake- 
 speare. 
 
 Bunyan, John-^(1628-S8) " the Bedford tinker," who wrote his renowned 
 " Pilgrim's Progress" in gaol. See Macaulay's essay. 
 
 Cervantes (1547-1616) Spanish novelist, and author of " Don Quixote." 
 
 Home Tooke— (1736-1812), political writer and author of a philological treatise, 
 entitled " The Diversions of Purley." 
 
 Woodfall — (1745-1803) printer of The Public Advertiser, in which " Junius's 
 Letters " appeared. He was prosecuted on account of the publication. 
 
 Old Sarum — a " pocket borough " in Wiltshire, which the Reform Bill of 1832 
 deprived of representation in Parliament. 
 
 George Grenville— (1712-70) English Prime Minister, 1763-65, during the John 
 Wilkes agitation. 
 
 Lord Suffolk— (1739-1820) John Howard, 15th Earl of Suffolk, a general officer in 
 the British army. 
 
 Middlesex election— John Wilkes (1727-97), having been guilty of seditious 
 language in articles written for his paper, The North Briton, while denouncing the 
 ministry of the day for agreeing to the peace with America, he was prosecuted and 
 fled to France. In 1768 he returned, and was elected to Parliament for Middlesex. He 
 was thrice expelled from the House, and his expulsion gave rise to prolonged agitation 
 and rioting. In this agitation the freedom of the press was first asserted, and the 
 rights of constituencies against violation of the Constitution on the part of a despotic 
 majority in the House of Commons, were vindicated. 
 
 Chapter XL 
 
 Sir Elijah Impey — See note Chapter I. 
 
 Inns of Court— the four Law Societies of London— the Inner and Middle Temple, 
 Lincoln's Inn, and Gray's Inn. 
 
 Mahrattas— This famous Hindoo confederacy, which had its rise in 1650 and its 
 downfall in 1818, was composed of the several independent tribes ruled at various 
 times by the chiefs Bonsla, Sevajee, Scindia, Holkar, and the Guicowar of Baroda. 
 Each reigning house had its own distinctive territory, though they all raided, not only 
 over the Deccan, but at times over nearly the whole of Hindostan. The English 
 contests with the Mahrattas occurred during the years 1779-81, 1803-4, and 1817-18. 
 With the latter year the Mahratta power was completely broken. The son of the last 
 reigning Rajah, who was a British prisoner in the neighbourhood of Cawnpore, wa^the 
 infamous Nana Sahib, whose connection with the mutiny of 1857 is historic. 
 
 Some . . • helpless. —Note in the apt illustration in the first sentence of 
 this passage the fate which not infrequently, though perhaps undeservedly, befalls a 
 man whom fortune deserts. Note, also, to what lengths Asiatic mendacity went in 
 the endeavour to accomplish Hastings' ruin, and see what befel Nuncomar in the way 
 of retaliation. 
 
 Oates, Bedloe, Dangerfield— three scoundrels who, at the close of the 17th 
 century, pretended to have discovered that plots against the English Government were 
 being hatched by Catholics. 
 
 Westminster Hall— the " Hall of Rufus," the great historic edifice built by 
 William II., which adjoins the English Houses of Parliament. 
 
130 NOTES. 
 
 Biographers excepted— a sarcastic reference to Hastings' biographer, Mr. 
 Gleig, who wished to relieve the Governor of responsibility for the fate of Nuncomar. 
 Macaulay, while he condemns the act, holds Chief Justice Impey, and not Hastings, 
 responsible. 
 
 Chapter XII. 
 
 Dacca— once the capital of Bengal, 150 miles N.E. of Calcutta. 
 
 Lord Stafford— a Catholic nobleman executed in 1680 on a charge of treason 
 made by Titus Oates. See note to page 31, line 1. 
 
 Tour to the Hebrides— an account of a visit paid by Dr. Samuel Johnson to 
 the Scottish Hebrides, published in 1773. 
 
 Jones's Persian Grammar— a work published in 1771 by the eminent Asiatic 
 scholar, Sir William Jones ^1745-94). 
 
 Chapter XIII. 
 Would • . . "win— Macbeth, Act 1, so. V. 
 
 Court of Proprietors— General meeting of the E. I. Company shareholders. 
 Lord Sandwich— John Montagu (1718-92), an English statesman. 
 Berar — one of the central provinces of India, made over to British administration 
 by the Nizam of Hyderabad. 
 
 Chapter XIV. 
 
 The crisis . . . dominions— England was at that time at war with America, 
 France, Spain, and Holland. The personal ministry of George III. was as disastrous 
 as the ministry of the first Pitt under George II. had been glorious. See Macaulay's 
 review of Hastings' administration, Chapter XXI. 
 
 Armed . . . Baltic— a mutual compact by Russia, Sweden and Denmark to 
 resist England's right of search on the high seas. 
 
 Straits of Calpe— Straits of Gibraltar. 
 
 Sevajee— (1627-80) founder of the Mahratta confederacy. He long waged war 
 against the Mogul dynasty, and from the Emperor Aurungzebe extorted recognition of 
 his kingdom. 
 
 The Bonslas . . . Holkar— See note on the Mahrattas, Chapter XL 
 
 Guzerat— a province in Western Hindostan, on the Gulf of Cambay; capital, 
 Baroda. 
 
 Malwa— a district to the east of Guzerat and south of Bundelcund. 
 
 Gooti— a fortified point on the Eastern Ghauts, to the north of Mysore. 
 
 Tanjore— a district in South-eastern India. 
 
 Double Government— The two system of rules in India— the one established 
 by Clive and abolished by Hastings, and the other which arose out of the growing 
 power of the independent princes and the decline of Mogul authority at Delhi; not to 
 be confounded with "Double Government," Chapter VI. 
 
 House of Tamerlane —descendants of Timur, the Tartar, who in 1400 founded 
 a new dynasty in the Mogul kingdom. 
 
 Roi faineant (rwah fa-na-ong)— a lazy, do-nothing King. 
 
 Sattara— a fortified town on the Western Ghauts, south of Bombay. 
 
 Peshwa— The titular head of the Mahratta confederacy at Poonah. 
 
 Poonah— Formerly the capital of the Western Mahrattas, to the south of Bombay. 
 
NOTES. 131 
 
 Aurungabad— a city lying to the n. e. of Bombay, a fovourite residence of the 
 Emperor Aurungzebe. 
 
 Bejapoor— a town in Bombay Presidency, west of Hyderabad. 
 
 Louis XVI.— (1754-93) King of France, beheaded during the Revolution. His 
 consort, Marie Antoinette, was executed nine months after him. 
 
 Cairo— On the Nile ; capital of Egypt. ' . 
 
 Pondicherry— a city south of Madras, and chief of the French possessions in the 
 Carnatic. It was captured by the English in 1760, and restored to the French in 1815. 
 See sketch of Indian history. 
 
 Lascars —Native seamen of India. 
 
 Sir Eyre Coote— an Irish General in the British army, victor at Wandewash, 
 1760 ; at Pondicherry, 1761 ; and at Porto Novo, 1781. In this last engagement Hyder 
 Ali was defeated, and shortly afterwards the first Mysore war was brought to a close. 
 
 Lally, Thomas — an Irishman in the French service, who commanded at Wande- 
 wash anfl Pondicherry. 
 
 Wandewash— a French stronghold in the Carnatic, situate between Madras and 
 Pondicherry. 
 
 Pollilore, Porto Novo— two villages in the southern part of Mysore, scenes of 
 the above-mentioned engagements. 
 
 Chapter XV. 
 
 The "Regulating Act," 1773— See Green's "Short History" chap. X., sec. 
 II., p. 758. 
 
 Wat Tyler— the leader of a peasant insurrection in Kent in 1380, the origin of 
 which was a taxgatherer's insult to a young girl of Dartford. Tyler was slain by the 
 Lord Mayor of London. 
 
 Alguazils— (aVga'zeels) a Spanish term for an inferior officer of justice. 
 
 Spongfingf-houses— places to which debtors used to be taken before committment 
 to prison, and where bailiffs used to sponge upon them, or riot at their cost. See 
 Johnson's Dictionary. 
 
 Rich, quiet, and infamous— Note the epigrammatic force of these words, and 
 with what brevity they summarize the transaction. 
 
 Jefteries— (sometimes, Jeffreys) a judge of unsavoury fame who conducted the 
 11 Bloody Assize" after the Monmouth Rebellion, 1685. 
 
 Chapter XVI. 
 
 Dervise— a Mohammedan priest or monk of great austerity and professing poverty. 
 
 Louis XI.— King of France (1461-83) "of iron will and subtle though pitiless 
 nature," 
 
 Hyder Ali— The two strongest Mussulman potentates in India at this period were 
 the Nizam of the Deccan and Hyder Ali, of Mysore. Both were anxious to induce the 
 Mahrattas to join them against the English. The Nizam of Hyderabad and the 
 Mahratta of Nagpore, Hastings, by his diplomacy, had pacified. The ruler of Mysore, 
 incensed at the reckless conduct of the Madras Government, had, however, taken up 
 arms, and his calvary ravaged the country to the walls of Madras. The Mysore army 
 was not only well disciplined but admirably handled. For a time the fate of Southern 
 India was in doubt. Hastings, with the help of Eyre Coote, at length saved it, and 
 peace was concluded in 1784. Hyder Ali died in 1782, though his son, Tippoo Saib, 
 lived to direct two later wars against the English, dying in the breach at Seringapatam 
 when that fortress was stormed under General Harris. The assault was led by General 
 Baird ; and Colonel Sir Arthur Wellesley, afterwards Duke of Wellington, participated 
 in it. This event occurred while a brother of the latter, the Marquis of Wellesley, was 
 Governor-General. 
 
132 NOTES. 
 
 Coleroon— (better known as the Cauvery) a river rising in Mysore and issuing on 
 the Coromandel coast, to the south of Pondicherry. 
 
 Mount St. Thomas — a high elevation contiguous to Madras. 
 
 Sir Hector Munro— at one time Commander-in-Chief of the forces in India and 
 member of the Madras Council. He had a long and honourable military career in the 
 East. He distinguished himself in engagements with Sujah Dowlah, with the Mogul 
 Emperor, and with Hyder Ali. The mutiny at Patna was suppressed by Munro. See 
 note " Patna," Chapter VI. 
 
 Baillie, Colonel— After desperate conflicts with Hyder's army this officer's small 
 but gallant force was obliged to surrender, and was cut to pieces. 
 
 Chapter XVII. 
 
 Benares — a city of great wealth, on the Ganges, and capital of the province. By 
 the Hindoos it is esteemed the chief of the sacred cities of Hindostan. 
 
 His first design . . . Cashm9re— a fine descriptive passage, enriched by 
 the effective illustration in the closing sentence. 
 
 Sacred apes, holy bulls— In India both are considered sacred ; ape-worship is 
 common in the East. 
 
 Golconda— a city in the Dominions of the Nizam of Hyderabad, once famous for 
 its diamond mines. It was twice besieged by the Emperor Aurungzebe. 
 
 Cashmere— a province close to the Himalayas, and lying between the Punjab and 
 Kashgaria. It is noted for its rich Cashmere shawls. 
 
 The great anarchy— Consequent upon the fall of the Mogul Kingdom (after the 
 murder, in 1759, of the Emperor Alamgir II.) hastened by Persian invasion and 
 Mahratta conquest. Upon the death of the Emperor there ensued a long period of 
 strife among the native tribes for mastery in India. Mohammedan rule, after this, was 
 merely nominal ; while that of Britain became more and more dominant. 
 
 Cheyte Sing— Rajah of Benares. Hastings' part in the Rohilla war, and his 
 oppression and plunder of Cheyte Sing, the Queen mother and princesses of Oude, are 
 great stains upon his reputation. The shameful story is told with considerable detail 
 by Macaulay, and it forms the first of the charges in Hastings' impeachment. For its 
 motive, see the essay, p. 78, 11. 4-7. "The plan . . possessions." 
 
 Carlovingian empire.— Hugh Capet— The Carlovingian line of Franco- 
 German sovereigns extends from Charlemagne to Louis (or Ludwig) V. At its 
 dissolution, the Capetian line begins with the nominal rule, in 987, of Hugh Capet, 
 Duke of the Franks. With the accession of this dynasty begins the line of French 
 kings proper. The authority of Hugh Capet was not good throughout France. The 
 dukes of Britanny and Normandy, while they paid homage to Capet, were supreme in 
 their own districts. 
 
 Charles the Tenth, in 1824, succeeded Louis XVIII. on the throne of France, 
 but was exiled six years afterwards, when Louis Philippe ascended the throne. Charles 
 X. pursued a retrograde policy, attacked the freedom of the press, and encouraged 
 Ultramontane pretensions. In July, 1830, he published the ordinances which threw 
 Paris into the revolution known as the Three Days of Barricades, the result of which 
 was to lose him his throne. 
 
 Prince Louis Bonaparte— "Louis Napoleon " is no doubt here intended. In 
 August, 1840, the nephew of the first Napoleon, afterwards Emperor of the French, 
 planned a second invasion' of France with the object of succeeding to the throne. 
 While an exile in England he left its shores with a small following, and landed at Bou- 
 logne, where he unfurled the Imperial standard, but was ignominiously beaten off, and 
 subsequently captured and imprisoned. He afterwards escaped from the place of his 
 confinement, and on the abdication of Louis Philippe, returned to France, and by the 
 coup d'etat of December 2nd, 1851, became President and subsequently Emperor. 
 
 Of the existing governments . . . chose— In these paragraphs we find 
 some justification, though not on moral grounds, for Hastings' conduct. Among the 
 native rulers the real and the nominal sovereignty was, as Macaulay remarks, disjoined. 
 So far as titles and forms went, the Mogul ruled; but the "heir of Tamerlane" was 
 now a British captive, and his lieutenants were " independent princes." As Hastings 
 
NOTES. 133 
 
 viewed the situation, the native sovereigns might "play at royalty," but the English 
 were the masters of India. 
 De facto— Lot. really ; ■ from the fact.' De jure— by right ; ' from the law.' 
 
 Chapter XVIII. 
 
 He was now . . . breach— Cf. p. 37, 11. 9-17 
 
 Major Popham— a British officer who distinguished himself in the first Mahratta 
 war. He captured Lahar and Patecta, and stormed the rock-fortress of Gwalior, 
 considered the key of Hindostan. 
 
 Chapter XIX. 
 
 Asaph-ul-Dowlah— Nabob of Oude. See Sheridan's great speech on the " Spoli- 
 ation of the Begums," in connection with the impeachment of Hastings. Oude now 
 dispoiled was finally annexed under Lord Dalhousie's administraTion in 1856. The 
 axiom upon which that high-minded statesman acted was "the greatest good to the 
 greatest number." Princely debauchees, his theory was, only cumbered the ground ; 
 and, in annexing Oude, he did so on the plea that "no false sentiment should preserve 
 dynasties which had forfeited our sympathies by generations of misrule, or prolong 
 those that had no natural successor." 
 
 Lucknow— At the period the capital of Oude, and, in 1857, famous as the scene of 
 the relief, by Sir H. Havelock, of its beleagured English defenders during the Sepoy 
 rebellion. It is situate on the Goomti, a tributary of the Ganges. 
 
 Chunar (Ku\)— a fortified town on the Ganges, about 20 miles s. w. of Benares. 
 
 The Begums— the wife and mother of Sujah Dowlah, Nabob of Oude. In 1775, 
 when this ruler died, the two Begums claimed that his hoarded treasure amounting to 
 two or three millions sterling, had been made over to them as their private property, 
 and could not be used as revenues of the State for the payment of tribute to the East 
 India Co. or for any other purpose. The new ruler, Asaph-ul-Dowlah, by dint of 
 coaxing, had got his mother and grandmother to dole out some of the treasure. It was 
 the remainder Hastings set his eyes upon, and with the Nabob's connivance, en- 
 deavoured to wring from the princesses, with what success will be seen from the text. 
 
 Fyzabad— (modern spelling, Faizabady-a. town in the Province of Oude, 60 miles 
 east of Lucknow. 
 
 Chapter XXI. 
 
 Not only . . . Hastings— At this period the United States (the " thirteen 
 Colonies") had won independence; Ireland was putting forward a claim for her 
 independence, and for a time (from 1782 to 1800) had been given a local parliament and 
 by the treaties of Paris and Versailles England had surrendered to France and Spain 
 possessions she had formerly wrested from these powers. In India, thanks to Warren 
 Hastings, Britain had the while been wholly a gainer. See Green's "Short History," 
 Chap, x, Sec. 2. (Page 761). 
 
 Lewis XVI. . . . Emperor Joseph— Fraoce and Germany were at the 
 time two of the most populous states in Europe. 
 
 Marlborough . . . deputies -John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough (1650- 
 1722) while conducting the war in Spain and in Flanders, during the reign of Queen 
 Anne (1702-14), had under him, besides his English troops, those of Holland and 
 Germany. In his campaigns he was constantly thwarted by the German princes and 
 the Dutch deputies. His military genius, nevertheless, enabled him to win great 
 victories ; though his political foes in England prevented him from long enjoying the 
 honours of them. 
 
 Wellington . . . Mr. Percival— The Duke of Wellington, during the 
 Peninsular war, was embarrassed at times by the want of ready support on the part of 
 
134 NOTES. 
 
 the Spanish Juntas, or War Committee, and of the Ministry which represented the 
 Portugul Regency, while the Queen was insane. After the defeat at Corunna of Sir 
 John Moore, Mr. Percival, the English Prime Minister, (1809-12) was also lukewarm in 
 prosecuting the war against the French in Spain and Portugal : and he threw on 
 Wellington the responsibility of remainging further with the English troops in the 
 Peninsula. Wellington readily accepted the responsibility and added to the battle-flag 
 of England the honours of Talavera, Badajos, and Salamanca. 
 
 Milton, John- (1608-74), one of England's chief poets and a great prose writer ; 
 author of Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained, dec. 
 
 Adam Smith— (1723-90), political economist, and author of The Wealth of Nations, 
 published in 177(3, a work which may be said to have given birth to the doctrine of 
 "Free Trade." 
 
 To substitute . . . Arabian expositions— In Hastings' time the practical 
 wisdom of the West, with the fruit of discovery in every department of thought, had 
 not been introduced into India. Learning was still represented by the puerilities of the 
 Brahminical schools, or by the hazy notions of the physical world of the ancient Greeks, 
 with Arabian interpretations thereof, which had got into India through its Moham- 
 medan conquerors. 
 
 Virtuous ruler— Lord Wm. Bentinck, Governor-General (1828-35), and an en- 
 lightened ruler. He abolished sati, or widow-burning, and suppressed thuggism, or 
 assassination by strangling. Macaulay penned the following inscription for Bentinck's 
 monument at Calcutta : — " He abolished cruel rites ; he effaced humiliating distinctions ; 
 he gave liberty to the expression of public opinion ; his constant study was to elevate 
 the intellectual and moral character of the natives committed to his charge." 
 
 Asiatic Society — an association of learned men who, at Calcutta, in 1783, founded 
 a society for the study of Oriental literature. 
 
 Sir Wm. Jones — (1746-94), a famous Orientalist, "who by pointing out the 
 connection of Sanskrit and Latin and Greek laid the foundation of philology." 
 
 Pundits — (sometimes, Pandits,) learned Brahmins, expounders of the law. 
 
 What . . . Christians— The Portuguese during the whole of the 16th 
 century enjoyed a monopoly of the East India trade. The contemporary narratives of 
 their conquests in India are full of horror. At Goa, which from 1510 has been the 
 capital of Portuguese India, they established the Inquisition, and treated the Hindoos 
 with the greatest cruelty, as enemies of Portugal and of Christ. 
 
 Chapter XXII. 
 
 Hurricane ■ . . cavalry— Note the beauty of the metaphor. The Mahratta 
 cavalry were noted for the swiftness of their movements and the unrestrained force of 
 their attacks. 
 
 Nurses . . . Sahib Warren Hostein— a fine touch this of Macaulay, and 
 a happy illustration of the " superstitious admiration " of the native Hindoos for 
 Warren Hastings. The whole passage is full of beauty. 
 
 Sahib — Lord ; an East Indian courtesy title for an English gentleman. 
 
 Zemindar— a magistrate, landholder, and revenue collector. 
 
 Carlton House— a luxuriantly-furnished palace in London, given to the Prince 
 of Wales, afterwards Georsre IV. 
 
 Palais Royal— at the period, a royal residence in Paris, furnished with princely 
 splendour. 
 
 " His elegant Marian "—the divorced Baroness Imhoff, whom Hastings married. 
 
 Sir Charles Grandison, Miss Byron -characters in Richardson's novel 
 of Sir Charles Grandison, published in 1754. Sir Walter Scott speaks of the hero of 
 this work of fiction as "the faultless monster that the world ne'er saw." 
 
 Chapter XXIII. 
 
 Otium divos rogat— (Everyone asks the gods for repose) ; the opening line of 
 Od. XVI., Bk. II., by the Latin poet. Horace, (B.C. 68). 
 
NOTES. 135 
 
 Lord Teignmouth -(Sir John Shore), a civil servant in India who rose to be 
 Governor-General (1793-8.) His knowledge of India was in his time unsurpassed, and 
 during his administration the " Permanent Land Settlement" was effected. 
 
 Who, like . . . need— Observe how nicely turned is this compliment, yet 
 what censure it conveys. 
 
 Cheltenham— at the period, a fashionable English watering-place, in Gloucester- 
 shire. 
 
 Grattan, Henry— (1746-1820), an Irish orator and statesman, noted for his 
 eloquent speeches on Irish independence. 
 
 Surrounded . . . Trafalgar— another illustration of Macaulay's wonderful 
 power of utilizing his vast knowledge for the purpose of illustration, by contrast or 
 comparison. At Waterloo and Trafalgar, modern warfare being so different from 
 ancient warfare, Hannibal and Themistocles would have been incapable of success- 
 fully directing an engagement. 
 
 Hannibal- (B.C. 247-183), the great Carthaginian general during the second 
 Punic war. 
 
 Themistocles— (B.C. 514-449), Athenian general and statesman. By a stratasrem 
 of Themistocles the Persian fleet of of Xerxes was destroyed by the Greeks at Salamis. 
 
 Wedderburn— (1733-1805), a Scottish judge and statesman. 
 
 Asiaticus— of Asia; Bengalensis— of Bengal. 
 
 Lord Mansfield— (1705-93), an eminent Scottish judge, known as the "silver- 
 tongued Murray." 
 
 Lord Lansdowne— (2nd Earl of Shelburne), a General in the British army, and 
 statesman of the time of George III. In 1782, on the decease of the Marquis of Rock- 
 ingham, under whom he filled the office of Secretary of Foreign Affairs, he became 
 Prime Minister. He died in 1805. The 5th Marquis of Lansdowne was lately Governor- 
 General of Canada. 
 
 Thurlow— (1732-1806), an English judge and statesman. Was Lord Chancellor 
 from 1783 to 1792. 
 
 Mr. Dundas— See note in Chapter IV. (p. 126). 
 
 The Coalition— the union, in 1783, of the Whigs under Fox and the Tories under 
 Lord North, to oppose the ministry of Lord Shelburne. See Green's "Short History," 
 Chap. X, Sec. 3, Page 764. 
 
 Brooke's— a club in London, the favourite social resort of the leading Whig 
 politicians. 
 
 Virgil's third eclogue— a pastoral poem of the Roman poet Virgil, who died 
 B.C. 19. 
 
 Depending questions — a metaphorical allusion to Mrs. Hastings' priceless 
 Indian ear-rings, which, with "her necklace gleaming with future votes," were under- 
 stood to be within the gift of the lady to those who would espouse her husband's cause 
 in Parliament. 
 
 Chapter XXIV. 
 
 Mistook . . . ostentation— a severe comment on Francis's life-long hostility 
 to Hastings. Macaulay in this passage would seem to characterize Francis's moral 
 indignation at Hastings' oonduct in India as a piece of self -righteousness. 
 
 Fox, Charles James— (1749-1806), one of the greatest of English statesmen, and 
 a bitter opponent of Pitt and the war with France. Burke called him the "greatest 
 debater the world ever saw." 
 
 Burke . . . French Republic— In 1790 Bu*ke published his famous Re- 
 flections on the Revolution in France, an eloquent attack on the principles of the 
 Revolutionists rather than on its events. The French Revolution had its origin in 
 1789, in a revolt against the oppressive government of the aristocracy. The first Re- 
 public lasted from 1793 to 1804. 
 
 Las Casas, Bartolomeo de— (1474 -1576), Apostle of the Indies and Catholic 
 Bishop of Chiapa. His humane interest in the Indians of South America led him to 
 
136 NOTES. 
 
 cross the Atlantic many times to plead their cause before King Ferdinand and the 
 Spanish Court. 
 
 Clarkson, Thomas— (1760-1846), a Quaker philanthropist associated with Wil- 
 berforce in the crusade against the iniquity of the slave-trade. In 1808 he published 
 his views on the subject. 
 
 A people ... in common- Recent philological research shows that this 
 statement is not correct. Both in blood and in language the people of Europe are akin 
 to the people of India. This was not known, however, in Burke's day, nor in 
 Macaulay's. 
 
 His knowledge . . . London— "This passage," says Mr. Trevelyan, the 
 essayist's biographer, "unsurpassed as it is in force of language and splendid fidelity 
 of detail by anything that Macaulay ever wrote or uttered, was inspired by sincere an«l 
 entire sympathy with that great statesman of whose humanity and breadth of view it 
 is the merited, and not inadequate, panegyric." 
 
 Imaum — a Mohammedan priest. 
 
 Beaconsfleld— a town in Buckinghamshire, where Burke had his country resi" 
 dence, and where he lies buried. In St James's Street was his town residence. 
 
 Lord George Gordon— (1750-93), a mischievous maniac, the leader of a mob 
 who, in 1780, on the pretext of seeking to repeal laws imposing penalties on Catholics, 
 pillaged about London and inflamed the populace. Though acquitted on his trial for 
 high treason, he afterwards fell into the hands of the authorities, and in 1793 died in 
 prison. 
 
 Dr. Dodd— (1729-77), author of " Beauties of Shakespeare ;" a fashionable preacher 
 during the reign of Geo. II. and III., and at one time chaplain to the King. In 1777, 
 he was executed for forging a bond on his patron, the Earl of Chesterfield. 
 
 Stamp Act — a measure passed in the English Parliament, in 1765, requiring the 
 American Colonists to put stamps on legal documents, the sale of which would return 
 a revenue to Britain. The obnoxious Act, though it was repealed in the following 
 year, led to the War of Independence. See Green's " Short History," chap. X., sect. 
 II., page 746. 
 
 The Regency— In 1788, the king for a time became mentally deranged, and the 
 Prince of Wales advanced his right to be Regent. The King, however, recovered, and 
 held the sceptre till 1820. 
 
 French Revolution —See note, Chap. XXIV., Burke. . . French Revolution. 
 
 Bastile — A fortress in Paris latterly used as a prison. When the Revolution broke 
 out, the populace stormed and destroyed it, as a hated symbol of tyranny. Its 
 capture, says Mr. Green, was taken for the sign of a new era of constitutional freedom 
 for France and for Europe. 
 
 Marie Antoinette— See note to Louis XVI., Chap. XIV. 
 
 Chapter XXV. 
 
 Lord Daylesford— a title derived from Hastings' ancestral estates in Worcester- 
 shire. 
 
 Chapter XXVI. 
 Grenville, George— head of the English Administration from 1763 to 1765. 
 William Wilberforce— (1759-1833), an English member of Parliament, noted for 
 his philanthrophy in the suppression of the slave-trade. 
 
 Sheridan, Richard Brinsley— (1751-1816), a brilliant orator, statesman, and 
 dramatist. At his death Lord Byron wrote the followingwell-known Monody : 
 " Long shall we seek his likeness - long in vain, 
 And turn to all of him which may remain, 
 Sighing that Nature formed buc one such man, 
 And broke the die— in moulding Sheridan 1" 
 See speech on the Spoliation of the Begums. 
 
NOTES. 137 
 
 Windham, Wm.— (1750-1810), an eloquent statesman, and member of the Coal- 
 ition Ministry of 1783. Macaulay elsewhere speaks of him as "the high-souled 
 Windham." 
 
 Chapter XXVII. 
 
 There have been . . . right to left— We here come to the opening sen- 
 tences of that fascinating word-picture so frequently quoted from Macaulay, the scene 
 of the trial of Warren Hastings. How graphic is the picture need hardly be pointed 
 out. The stately movement of the sentences ; the animation of the style, with its 
 balanced structure, abrupt transitions, and pointed figures of speech ; the splendour 
 of the imagery, the flashing of antithesis, and the crispness and vigour of the epi- 
 grams — so characteristic of the Essay as a whole — come specially out in the description 
 of the scene in Westminster Hall. Note in the last four words of the present passage 
 how the Essayist descends to what would seem triviality of detail, except that he 
 wishes to make clear the allusion to the strange written characters of the Semitic 
 languages, which are traced from right to left, 
 
 Plantagenets— a line of English monarchs from Henry II. (1154) to Richard II. 
 (1399). The name is derived from the common broom of An jou (the pfanta genista), a 
 sprig of which Geoffrey, the father of Henry II., used to wear in his helmet. During 
 the rule of the Plantagenets (Seethe "Good Parliament" [1360-77] under Richard III.) 
 the Commons wrested from the Crown many practical reforms, and received many 
 concessions in the interest of the people. The right of Parliament to inquire into 
 public abuses, and to impeach public counsellors, were among the privileges granted 
 at this period. 
 
 Great . . Rufus— See note to Westminster Hall, Chap. XI. 
 
 Bacon, Sir Francis— (1561-1626), statesman, author, philosopher, and judge. In 
 1621, while Lord High Chancellor, he was impeached for taking bribes and for other 
 corrupt practices; and was fined and imprisoned. His sentence was afterwards 
 remitted. Burke thus speaks of him : "Who is there that upon hearing the name of 
 Lord Bacon does not instantly recognize everything of genius the most profound, 
 everything of literature the most extensive, everything of discovery the most pene- 
 trating, everything of observation of human life the most distinguished and refined?" 
 
 Somers, John, Lord (1651-1716), a great Whig leader during the reign of William 
 and Anne ; an active promoter of the Revolution, friend of Addison, and Lord Chan- 
 cellor. In 1701 he was impeached for alleged illegal practices, but acquitted, owing to 
 a disagreement between the Commons and the Lords as to the mode of procedure 
 against him. 
 
 Stafford, Thomas Wentworth, Earl of, (1593-1641), impeached by Pym, in 
 the Long Parliament, for having plotted with Laud for subverting the Constitution and 
 making Charles I. an absolute monarch. He was condemned to death by a " bill of 
 attainder." The eloquence of his defence is a matter of history. 
 
 Victorious party . . . fame - the Parliamentary forces opposed to Charles 
 and Stafford, and which ultimately brought the King to trial and to his death. At his 
 trial, in 1649, Charles bore himself with great dignity. 
 
 Queen . . . Brunswick- Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, wife of George 
 III. House of Brunswick, or Hanover,— the line of sovereigns from George I. 
 to Victoria. 
 
 Siddons, Sarah— (1755-1831), a great tragedy queen and actress, then at the 
 height of her fame. 
 
 Historian . . . Empire— Edward Gibbon (1739-94), author of The Decline 
 and Fall of the Roman Empire a work which gave a new impulse to historical studies. 
 The history is grandly conceived and is rich in detail, though its style is heavily-laden 
 and its tone contemptuous. It appeared during the years 1776-88. 
 
 Cicero— (B. C. 106-43), a great Roman orator and statesman. Verres, praetor of 
 Sicily, was impeached (B.C. 70) for acts of cruelty, and Cicero conducted the prosecu- 
 tion. His orations on the occasion finely manifest his genius. 
 
 Tacitus i . . Africa— Tacitus (A.D. 55-117 f), a celebrated Roman historian, 
 whose chief works extant are Histories, Annals t Germany, and Life of Agricola. 
 Tacitus was one of the prosecutors of Marius Prisous, Roman Governor of Africa about 
 ♦he end of the first century. 
 
138 NOTES. 
 
 Greatest Painter—Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-92); Greatest Scholar— Samuei 
 Parr, LL.D., (1747-1826), a renowned classical scholar and editor. See De Quincey's 
 
 Charms Of M her " — Mrs. Fitzherbert, who was privately married, in 1785, to the 
 Prince of Wales, afterwards George IV. 
 
 Saint Cecelia — understood to refer to Mrs. Sheridan, whose portrait Sir Joshua 
 Reynolds had painted in the character of the patroness of Music. 
 
 Mrs. (Elizabeth) Montagu— (1720-1800), founder of the " Blue-Stocking Club," 
 an author of some note, and great friend of the eminent literary men of the time. See 
 Doran's "A Lady of the Last Century," and Boswell's ".Life of Johnson." 
 
 Ladies . . . Devonshire — In the election canvasses of the time, it was not 
 uncommon for ladies to solicit for their friends the votes of electors. The Duchess of 
 Devonshire is said to have gained for Fox the vote of a butcher by allowing him to 
 kiss her. 
 
 The culprit . . . judges— Note in this brief paragraph the fine description 
 of Hastings dignified appearance at the Bar of the Peers ; aiso note the animation ol 
 the narrator's style. 
 
 Mens eequa in arduis— a mind equal, or serene, amid difficulties. 
 
 Pro-consul— a Roman title for the Governor of a Province. 
 
 But neither . . . accusers— Note here the mode of transition, from the 
 description of the accused to that of the accusers. It is easy yet effective, and has the 
 art of exciting the reader by its quality of suspense. 
 
 Great age - . . eloquence— From Pericles (B.C. 450) to Demosthenes (B.C. 
 322). 
 
 English Demosthenes— Charles James Fox. Demosthenes (B.C. 388-322) was 
 the greatest of Athenian orators. 
 
 English Hyperides— Richard Brinsley Sheridan. Hyperides, a oontemporary 
 of Demosthenes, and an eloquent Greek orator. His writings have not come down 
 to us. 
 
 Ignorant . . . hearers— Burke by this time had lost the ear of the House, 
 partly owing to his political attitude, and partly to the philosophic character of his 
 speeches, which wearied the members. 
 
 Youngest manager— Charles, Earl Grey (1764 — 1845), an English statesman of 
 chivalrous honour, who rendered great political services in his day. At the period of 
 Hastings' trial he was but 24 years of age, and he held the office of Prime Minister 
 when the Reform Bill of 1832 was passed. Macaulay's panegyric is well-deserved. 
 
 Chapter XXVIII. 
 
 "With an exuberance . . . all ! -This is one of the most effective passages 
 in the Essay. The Anaphora and the climax in the peroration will not escape the 
 reader. Nor will the fine touch of the essayist be missed, where he alludes to the 
 "resounding arches of Irish oak," as if the building itself sympathized, as has been 
 remarked, with the great Irish orator. 
 
 Lac— one hundred thousand ; crore— ten millions ; aumil— court official ; sun- 
 nud— a warrant; perwannah— a judge's order; jaghire— a tract of land; 
 nuzzar, a present, or bribe made to a superior. 
 
 The King's illness— See note on the Regency, Chap. XXIV. 
 
 States-General— the Representative Assembly of France, which Louis XVI. 
 summoned to meet during the Revolution, though it had not met since the time of 
 Richelieu. It was afterwards called the National Assembly. " No sooner did it meet 
 at Versailes," says Mr. Green, " than the fabric of despotism and privilege began to 
 crumble." 
 
 Oracles of jurisprudence— By Metonymy, for the great law officers of the 
 Crown, on whom the tf cuss depended for advice in legal matters. 
 
NOTES. 139 
 
 Chapter XXIX. 
 
 Woolsack— the seat of the Lord Chancellor in the House of Lords. 
 
 Scattered. . . . death — Friendships had been estranged by the political 
 differences of the time. 
 
 The great chiefs— Burke, Sheridan, Fox, Windham, Grey. 
 
 He saw . . • Pantheon — Observe the effective use of Anaphora, and the * 
 keen irony which characterizes this passage from Burke. iNote also how it depreciates 
 the value of Hastings' testimonials. 
 
 Logan, John— (1784-1788), divine, poet and miscellaneous writer. In 1783 Logan 
 published a tragedy entitled " Runnimede," founded on the story of Magna Charta ; 
 and in the following year he brought out a defence of Warren Hastings. He is a type 
 of the political parson of the time. See Adams' " Dictionary of English Literature." 
 
 Simpkin's Letters— an account in verse of the Hastings' Trial, one of the many 
 squibs which the proceedings evoked. Published in 1790. • 
 
 Anthony (Tony) Pasquin— the name of an old Roman cobbler, who was wont 
 to make cutting remarks about his neighbours. The name was assumed by Williams 
 for low political objects. 
 
 Addington, Mr. Henry— (1757-1844). Premier (1801-4) in a ministry of the 
 second rank of political eminence in England. Green speaks of him as "a man as 
 dull aad bigoted as George (III.) himself." He owed his elevation to office by opposing 
 Catholic Emancipation. 
 
 Chapter XXX. 
 
 Allipore— a suburb of Calcutta. 
 
 Covent Garden— the chief market in London for flowers, fruit and vegetables. 
 
 Thibet— An extensive plateau north of the Himalayas. 
 
 Bootan (sometimes Bhutan)— an independent province in the n.e. of India, between 
 Assam and the Himalayas. 
 
 Trlssotin— a gallant who affects poetry in Moliere's play of Femmes Savantes. 
 
 Dionysius— {B.C. 430-367) an Athenian general and dilletante in literature. 
 
 Frederic (the Great)— (1712-86), King of Prussia (1740-86) and a successful 
 general who, however, dabbled in letters. 
 
 Hayley, Wm.— (1745-1820), poet and dramatist. He wrote a Life of Cowper 
 published in 1803. 
 
 Seward, Wm. Henry— (1746-99), a now forgotten miscellaneous writer and 
 collector of anecdotes. 
 
 Sheldonian Theatre— The great hall y* Oxford where university degrees are 
 conferred. 
 
 Guildhall— a civic hall in London where distinguished people are entertained by 
 the city fathers. 
 
 With all his faults . . . obloquy— a touching passage, one of the few 
 instances of pathos in Macaulay's writings. 
 
 Great Abbey— Westminster Abbey, where Hastings' accusers, Pitt and Fox, lie 
 buried. Note the beautiful figure, M that temple of silence and reconciliation." 
 
 Great Hall— Westminster Hall. 
 
 Richelieu— (1585— 1642), a great French statesman and cardinal. The period of 
 his power and influence was from 1624 till his death. 
 
 Cosmo de Medici— (D. 1574), a statesman of the Florentine Republic, and liberal 
 patron of learning and the fine arts. 
 
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 
 
 [Chief Incidents in Warren Hastings 1 Career.} 
 
 Yeah. 
 
 Age 
 
 1600 
 
 
 1623 
 
 
 1640 
 
 
 1658 
 
 
 1698 
 
 
 1709 
 
 
 1725 
 
 
 1732 
 
 
 1740 
 
 
 1742 
 
 10 
 
 1746 
 
 
 1747 
 
 
 1749 
 
 
 1750 
 
 18 
 
 1751 
 
 
 1752 
 
 20 
 
 1756 
 
 
 1757 
 
 25 
 
 1758 
 
 
 1759 
 
 
 1760 
 
 
 1761 
 
 29 
 
 1763 
 
 
 1764 
 
 32 
 
 1767 
 
 
 1769 
 
 
 
 37 
 
 1772 
 
 40 
 
 1773 
 
 
 1774 
 
 42 
 
 1775 
 
 43 
 
 1776 
 
 
 Event. 
 
 East India Company granted its first charter. 
 
 Massacre of English by the Dutch at Amboyna. 
 
 Madras founded ; Calcutta, 1645 ; Bombay, 1665. 
 
 Mogul Emperor Aurungzebe began to reign. (Died, 1707.) 
 
 English acquire Calcutta by purchase. 
 
 Amalgamation of rival East India Companies. 
 
 Robert Clive born. (Committed suicide, 1774.) 
 
 Warren Hastings born. (Died 1818 ; age 86.) 
 
 Edmund Burke born. (Died 1797.) 
 
 Sir Philip Francis ("Junius?") born. (Died, 1818.) 
 
 Hastings at Westminster School. 
 
 Dupleix made Governor of French India. 
 
 Madras surrenders to French. (Restored 1748.) 
 
 Clive enters E. I. Co.'s service as ensign. 
 
 Charles James Fox born. (Died 1806.) 
 
 Hastings arrives in India. Clerk in Bengal. 
 
 Clive victorious at Arcot. 
 
 Hastings sent to trade at Cosimbazar. 
 
 Massacre of English in Black Hole at Calcutta. 
 
 H. prisoner and secret agent of E.I.C. at Moorshedabad. 
 
 Battle of Plassey gained by Clive. 
 
 Clive takes Chinsurah from Dutch. Governor of Bengal. 
 
 William Pitt (son of Earl of Chatham) born. (Died 1800. ) 
 
 Clive raised to peerage as Baron Plassey. 
 
 Sir Eyre Coote defeats French at Wandewash. 
 
 George III. King of England. (Died 1820.) 
 
 Hastings made member of Council at Calcutta. 
 
 Sir Eyre Coote takes Pondicherry from the French. 
 
 Revolt of Meer Cossim. Massacre at Patna. 
 
 Hastings returns to England. Battle of Buxar. 
 
 Clive's rule in India terminates. 
 
 (to 1772) Dual system of administration in Bengal. 
 
 Letters of Junius commenced ; ended 1772. 
 
 Hastings returns to India as member of Council at Madras. 
 
 " made Governor of Bengal. 
 
 " removes Mahommed Reza Khan. 
 
 M sells Corah and Allahabad to Oude. 
 The Regulating Act passed by British Parliament. 
 Sir P. Francis made a member of the Supreme Council at 
 
 Bengal, and Sir Elijah Impey appointed Chief Justice. 
 Supreme Court of Judicature established at Calcutta. 
 Hastings made Govern or- General of India. 
 English troops lent to conduct Rohilla war. 
 Hastings accused in Council of taking bribes. 
 Nuncomar condemned by Sir E. Impey and executed. 
 140 
 
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 
 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE— (Continued). 
 
 lil 
 
 Year. 
 
 Age 
 
 1777 
 
 
 1778 
 
 46 
 
 1780 
 
 48 
 
 1781 
 
 
 1784 
 
 
 1785 
 
 53 
 
 1787 
 
 
 1788 
 
 56 
 
 1794 
 
 62 
 
 1795 
 
 63 
 
 1799 
 
 
 1800 
 
 
 Event. 
 
 Hastings quarrels with the Council and the Directors. 
 
 " marries Baroness Imhoff. 
 Pondicherry captured by Sir Hector Munro. 
 Hastings fights a duel with Sir Philip Francis, 
 (to 1799) Wars with Hyder AH and Tippoo Saib in Carnatic. 
 Hyder Ali defeated by Sir E. Coote at Porto Novo. 
 Plunder of Cheyte Sing and the Begums. 
 Benares made subject to the East India Co. 
 Hastings accused of taking a bribe from Nabob of Oude. 
 Pitt carries his India Bill in Parliament. 
 Hastings resigns and returns to England. 
 Burke proposes to impeach Hastings. 
 Hastings tried for high crimes and misdemeanors. 
 
 " acquires ancestral estates at Daylesford. 
 
 " acquitted, April 23. 
 End of third Mysore war : Wellington at Seringapatam : 
 
 Tippoo Saib killed and territory annexed. 
 Lord Macaulay born. 
 
 GOVERNORS AND GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF INDIA 
 UNDER THE EAST INDIA COMPANY, 1758-1858. 
 
 Interim 
 Gov's. 
 
 ■Lord Clive, first Governor. 
 Howell, Mr. 
 Vansittart, Mr. 
 1765. — Spencer, Mr. 
 Lord Clive. 
 Harry Verelst. 
 John Car tier. 
 Warren Hastings ; first G ov- 
 
 ernor-General, 1774. 
 Marquis of Cornwallis. 
 Sir John Shore (Lord Teign- 
 
 mouth). 
 Lord Morningfcon (Marquis 
 
 of Wellesley). 
 
 1757. 
 1760. 
 
 1767- 
 
 1769.- 
 1772.- 
 
 1786.- 
 1793.- 
 
 1798.- 
 
 1805. 
 
 1806. 
 1815. 
 
 1823. 
 1826. 
 
 1835. 
 1836. 
 1842. 
 1844. 
 1848. 
 1856. 
 
 —Marquis of Cornwallis, 2nd 
 
 Administration. 
 —Earl of Minto. 
 —Earl of Moira (Marquis of 
 
 Hastings). 
 —Earl Amherst. 
 —Lord Wm. Cavendish Ben- 
 
 tinck. 
 —Sir Chas. Metcalfe (pro tern. ) 
 —Lord Auckland. 
 —Earl of Ellenborough. 
 —Viscount Hardinge. 
 —Marquis of Dalhousie. 
 — Earl Canning. 
 
 VICEROYS UNDER THE CROWN, 1858-1888. 
 
 1876.— Earl of Lytton. 
 1880.— Marquis of Ripon. 
 1884.— Earl of Dufferin. 
 1888. — Marquis of Lansdowne, 
 
 1858.— Earl Canning. 
 
 1862.— Lord Elgin. 
 
 Ig64 .—Sir John (Lord) Lawrence. 
 
 1869.— Earl of Mayo. 
 
 1872.— Earl of Northbrook. 
 
NOTES ON SCOTT'S "IVANHOE." 
 
 CHIEF CHARACTERS IN THE NOVEL. 
 Cedrio the Saxon, of Rotherwood Grange, not yet reconciled to the Norman Conquest. 
 Wilfred of Ivanhoe, his disinherited son, returned from exile in the East. 
 Tub Lady Rowena, Cedric's ward, beloved by Ivanhoe. 
 Gurth, swineherd ; Wamba, jester or fool, in Cedric's household. 
 Athelstane, of Coningsburgh, a Saxon Knight, and Ivanhoe's rival in love; 
 Sir Philip db Malvoison, a neighbour of Cedric's. 
 The Prior of Aymer, Abbot of Jourvaulx. 
 
 King Richard I. (the Black Knight), returned from the Third Crusade. 
 Prince John, brother of Richard I. (Coeur de Lion). 
 Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert, a Norman Knight-Templar. 
 Reginald Front de Boeuf, a 
 Richard db Malvoisin, I Norman 
 
 Hugh db Grantmksnel, VKnights 
 
 Ralph db Vipont, I Templar. 
 
 Maurice db Bract, J 
 
 Lucas de Beaumanotr, Grand Master of the Templars. 
 Conradb de Malvoison, his attendant knight. 
 Dame Ulrica, of Torquilstone. 
 Isaac of York, a Jew money-lender. 
 Rebecca, his daughter, secretly in love with Ivanhoe. 
 Lockslby (Robin Hood) an outlaw. 
 Friar Tuck, of Copmanhurst. 
 Higg, a Saxon peasant. Saxon Outlaws. 
 
 Knights, Squires and Attendants at a Tournament. Period 119U. Localities—York- 
 shire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. 
 
 Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe, like The Talisman, is a tale 
 of the Crusaders at the close of the Twelfth Century. Richard 
 the First of England ("Lion-Heart") is a prominent figure in 
 both stories. The scene of The Talisman is Syria, during the 
 Third Crusade \ that of Ivanhoe is England, on the return of 
 Richard from Palestine and his release from imprisonment in 
 Germany. The chief localities familiar to us in Ivanhoe are 
 Yorkshire, where was the ancestral home of the "disinherited" 
 Saxon hero of the story, Leicestershire, the scene of the tour- 
 naments at Ashby de la Zouche, and Nottinghamshire, the 
 
 142 
 
HISTORICAL SETTING OF THE NOVEL. 143 
 
 scene of the woodland life, in Sherwood Forest, of Robin Hood 
 and his "merry men." The novel furnishes a fascinating bat 
 idealized picture of society in the Middle Ages, full of the 
 romance of the period and of the glamour of a martial and 
 chivalrous age. We have glimpses in the story of the public 
 and private life of our Saxon and Norman ancestors — the 
 domestic meal, the formal banquet, the storming of a baronial 
 stronghold, the tournament, the solemn trial, and judicial 
 combat. Among the personages introduced to us are Cceur de 
 Lion and his brother Prince John ; Knights, Crusaders, Jews, 
 and Outlaws ; Robin Hood, Friar Tuck, and the gladesmen of 
 the Forest of Sherwood, with Saxon peasants, swineherd and 
 jester. Some of the characters are vigorously sketched and 
 stand boldly out from the canvass; others are lacking in 
 individuality and are less vividly drawn. The story as a whole, 
 however, is a realistic picture of contemporary England at the 
 period. 
 
 In the tale there are certain historical inaccuracies which 
 seem to indicate that its author had first intended that the 
 story should describe an era nearer to the Conquest, probably 
 that of the First Crusade, with its hero, Robert of Normandy. 
 The early portions of Ivanhoe manifestly deal with a social life 
 which belongs to the close of the eleventh century, when the 
 relations between the Saxon and the Norman were still hard and 
 bitter. Later on in the story we come to a change in this respect, 
 when the two races were beginning to blend and to stand on com- 
 mon ground, in resistance to the designs of King Philip of France 
 and to the treacherous intrigues of Richard's brother, Prince 
 John. To this later period belongs the picture given us of the 
 cruel and profligate life led by the Knights-Templar, whose 
 haughty patrician Order came to a summary close in the year 
 1340. Another element which at the time provoked social fer- 
 ment was that of the Jews, a community of traders and money- 
 lenders whom the Church and the people hated, and who were 
 
144 scott's " ivanhoe." 
 
 allowed, only by sufferance, to domicile themselves in special 
 quarters of the cities, called Jewries. In the time of Richard I. 
 the Jews were subjected to great cruelty and hardship, and 
 they had to pay heavily for whatever rights were allowed them. 
 In the reign of Edward I. they were expelled from England 
 and were not again permitted a footing in the Kingdom for 
 three hundred and fifty years. Issac of York may be taken as 
 an unhappy representative of the money-lending Jew of the 
 period, who by his special arts absorbed much of the wealth 
 of the people, and during lawless times was made to disgorge it 
 under the screw either of fanaticism or of the need of money 
 for the King's empty exchequer. 
 
 Outline of the Plot. 
 
 To understand the plot of the story, which we purpose 
 briefly to outline, it is necessary to premise that Oedric, " one 
 of the few Saxon thanes who still retained the ample posses- 
 sions of his forefathers, and bravely made head against the 
 in solent usurpations of the Norman nobility, had long acted as 
 guardian to the Lady Rowena, a descendant of the illustrious 
 Alfred (the Great), in whose issue he still nourished a feeble 
 hope that the ancient line of the English monarchs might be 
 restored. Though himself of the noblest race, he did not con- 
 ceive his family entitled to aspire to this lofty alliance ; and, 
 while the great object of his patriotic anxiety was to unite the 
 lovely Rowena to the noble Athelstane of Coningsburgh, he 
 had banished his only son from his presence for having pre- 
 sumed to solicit the favour of the royal beauty. Wilfred of 
 Ivanhoe (the ' disinherited' son), though conscious of having 
 made an impression on the tender heart of Rowena, had sub- 
 mitted in silence to this exile ; and had not abated his father's 
 displeasure by following the fortunes of the Norman Richard 
 in his chivalrous exploits in Palestine, where it was under- 
 stood he had performed many feats of valour, and endured 
 
OUTLINE OF THE PLOT. 145 
 
 many wrongs and hardships ; though the imperfect communi- 
 cation that could be maintained with that distant region had 
 long rendered his fate uncertain."* 
 
 The story opens with a picture of two of Cedric's domestics 
 tending swine in a forest adjoining his domain ; one of them is 
 the keeper of the herd, the other is the household jester or 
 fool. A characteristic dialogue is maintained between the two, 
 about their several occupations and common sufferings from the 
 Normans, when they are interrupted by the approach of the 
 Prior of a neighbouring abbey, accompanied by Sir Brian de 
 Bois-Guilbert, attended by two Moorish slaves. The party 
 inquire the way to the dwelling of Cedric, on whose hospitality 
 they mean to encroach for that night's lodging, as they travel 
 to an approaching tournament at Ashby-de-la-Zouche. They 
 find a Pilgrim in the wood, who guides them to Rotherwood, 
 where they are received with haughty dignity. At the evening 
 meal, a wandering Jew (Isaac) seeks the shelter of Cedric's hall 
 for the night. On account of his race he finds himself in the 
 midst of a disdainful society, though the Pilgrim from compas- 
 sion shows him consideration and resigns to him his seat at 
 table. Lady Rowena, solicitous for news of her lover, turns 
 the conversation to the Holy Land and to the honours won 
 there by the Knights-Templar, and elicits the information that 
 Ivanhoe had gained as much renown as any of the Norman 
 Knights who had followed " Lion-Heart" to the Holy Land. 
 In the colloquy that ensues, Sir Brian admits that he had been 
 worsted by Ivanhoe in a tournament in Syria, but boastfully 
 declares that, were his vanquisher now in England, he would 
 dare him to another encounter. The Pilgrim or Palmer (who 
 is Ivanhoe in disguise) replies that were his antagonist near 
 the challenge would be soon answered. " If Ivanhoe," he 
 
 * From a critique on " Ivanhoe," contemporary with its first publication, in the 
 Edinburgh Review, Jan. 1820, to which the Editors are indebted for not a little of the 
 following outline. 
 
146 scott's "ivanhoe." 
 
 says, " ever returns from Palestine, I will be surety that he 
 meets you." The Lady Rowena, on behalf of her absent lover, 
 confidently affirms that " he will meet fairly every honourable 
 challenge." Later in the evening, Lady Rowena plies the 
 Palmer with anxious inquiries about the Knight of Ivanhoe, 
 of whom he evasively disclaims any further knowledge than 
 that he proposed about that time to return to England. When 
 all had retired, the Palmer learns of a plot, on the part of 
 Bois-Guilbert and his Moors, to waylay the Jew on the road 
 to the tournament at Ashby, and of this he informs the Jew, 
 and, with the assistance of Gurth, they together escape from 
 Rotherwood. 
 
 The next incident is the Passage of Arms at Ashby, presided 
 over by Prince John, then engaged in his treasonable plots 
 with the French King against his brother Richard. Hither 
 come Cedric and Rowena, Athelstane, Ivanhoe, (still keeping 
 his disguise, though now presenting himself in knightly array), 
 Isaac the Jew and his daughter Rebecca. Among the group of 
 Knights-Templar, is also present Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert. 
 The tournament continues for two days, Ivanhoe in sable 
 armour, with the legend ' disinherited ' on his shield, meets 
 and discomfits the defiant Sir Brian, and, as victor, has the 
 honour of naming Lady Rowena ' Queen of the Lists.' At 
 the second day's jousting, another unknown knight appears 
 and with Locksley (Robin Hood) takes part in the fray, aiding 
 Ivanhoe to win further honours at the hand of Rowena. In 
 receiving the latter, he had to bare his head and was thus 
 recognized by his lady-love and by her guardian, his father. 
 At this juncture, the knightly victor falls down in a swoon, 
 the result of a wound in his side, and is borne off the field to 
 be nursed by the Jew and his daughter. Meanwhile, conster- 
 nation falls upon Prince John and his followers at the rumour 
 of the return of Richard I. to England. 
 
 The plot now thickens. De Bracy, a profligate knight of 
 
OUTLINE OF THE PLOT. 147 
 
 Prince John's faction, agrees with Bois-Guilbert to entrap the 
 Saxon party of Cedric and Rowena, — who have been joined in 
 the forest by Isaac and the fair Jewess, bearing Ivanhoe in a 
 litter, — and to carry them off to Front-de-Boeuf 's Castle, where 
 De Bracy and Sir Brian are to demand the hands of their 
 female captives and the Jew is to be liberated on a ransom. 
 The plot is successful, Gurth and the faithful jester alone con- 
 triving to escape. The latter carry news of the outrage to 
 Locksle} 7 and his woodsmen. These, with the assistance of Friar 
 Tuck and the Black Knight, who had aided Ivanhoe at the 
 tournament, take instant measures for a rescue. In the interior 
 of the castle, in the meantime, a variety of scenes are being 
 enacted. " The worthy owner, with the Templar's two black 
 slaves, are in the dungeon, threatening to broil the poor Jew 
 on a gridiron, unless he agrees to pay a mighty ransom. De 
 Bracy is unsuccessfully striving with the scorn and the tears 
 of Lady Rowena in one turret, and the Templar menacing all 
 manner of abominations to the fair Jewess in another ; while 
 the valiant Cedric is bursting with indignation in his prison 
 hall." Very vivid and exciting is the account of the storming of 
 the castle, and spirited is the descriptive dialogue that ensues 
 between Rebecca and Ivanhoe, for the heroic Jewess had 
 escaped Sir Brian's designs and returned to her attendance on 
 the wounded knight. Wamba, the jester, gets access to the 
 castle in the disguise of a friar and aids Cedric, his master, to 
 escape. After a desperate struggle, the latter, in concert with 
 the Black Knight (King Richard) and the sturdy bowmen of 
 Sherwood Forest, carry the fortress by assault and give it to 
 the flames. Sir Brian manages to cut his way through the 
 attacking force with Rebecca in his arms and makes off with 
 his prize. The others gain their freedom. 
 
 The king now declares his presence in England and at the 
 Castle of Athelstane is joined by Ivanhoe, though still suffering 
 from his wounds. Here a message is brought to Ivanhoe of the 
 
148 SCOTT'S "1VANHOE." 
 
 mischief that threatens the lovely Rebecca. De Bois-Guilbert 
 had taken her off to the Prceeptory of Templestowe, and to 
 save his friend the Templar, the grand-master, had given out 
 that Rebecca had exercised a magic spell over Guilbert, which 
 had led him to decamp with her. To give colour to this 
 explanation of his profligate conduct, the poor Jewess was put 
 on her trial for sorcery, the death-issue of which she escapes 
 by challenging and receiving the privilege of trial by combat. 
 No champion however appears for Rebecca. The day of her 
 doom arrives and she is about to be burnt at the stake, when a 
 knight, urging his horse to speed, appears on the plain, advan- 
 cing towards the lists. The knight is Ivanhoe. The gage of 
 battle is thrown down and accepted by Bois-de-Guilbert. " The 
 overtired horse of Ivanhoe falls in the encounter; but the 
 Templar, though scarcely touched by the lance of his adversary, 
 reels and falls also. When they seek to raise him, he is found 
 to be dead, — a victim to his own contending passions. 
 
 The story now draws to its close. The king appears on the 
 scene, Malvoison is arrested for high treason, the grand-master 
 of the Templars, with a threat of an appeal to Rome, with- 
 draws with his followers from the Kingdom, and Prince John, 
 by his brother's clemency, is pardoned. The nuptials of Ivanhoe 
 and Rowena now take place at York in the presence of the 
 king; and the heart-sore Rebecca, after presenting the bride 
 with a casket of costly jewels, leaves England with her father 
 for Granada. 
 
 Suggestions for Reading the Novel. 
 
 (1) The pupil should read the novel over in his own way for 
 the story, noting carefully the characters, and distinguishing 
 the leading from the subordinate ones. 
 
 (2) In reading it a second time, the pupil should keep in 
 view the questions on the novel (to be prepared by the teacher) 
 as if he intended to answer them. 
 
SUGGESTIONS FOR READING THE NOVEL. 149 
 
 (3) Then, once a term, certain of these questions should be 
 selected for examination, and two hours, at least, should be 
 given to the questions submitted to the pupil to answer. In 
 answering, the aim should be consecutive thinking, and in order 
 to attain this, the pupil should be directed to make out a 
 preliminary skeleton of the plot, as a framework for any sub- 
 sequent theme-writing on the novel. This framework will save 
 the pupil from the three common faults of youthful essay 
 writers : 
 
 (1) Aimless wandering, through not knowing from the 
 
 beginning how the argument is to end. 
 
 (2) The omission of some good point in its proper place, 
 
 and its insertion in some quite inappropriate place. 
 
 (3) The lack of proportion. The principle parts of an 
 
 essay are the introduction, the theme proper, and 
 the conclusion. These should be symmetrical ; the 
 first and last should be subsidiary to the second. 
 Set down first the skeleton ; then clothe it so that the 
 bones are not prominent ; afterwards run the outline 
 into the essay in a natural manner using it merely as a 
 <mide to the thoughts. 
 In writing the theme, the pupil should make use of his 
 previous reading as far as possible by way of illus- 
 tration. 
 
 (4) The themes should be read carefully by the teacher and 
 the criticism noted in the margin of the pages in such a 
 manner as will enable him to recall all the mistakes or defects 
 observed while reading them, when the papers are returned to 
 the pupils. 
 
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 HENDERSON'S CLASSICS. 
 
 The following Classics with Notes, Vocabulary, etc. 
 
 By John Henderson, M.A. 
 
 CAESAR'S BELLUM GALLICUM. (B. I.) 
 
 With Life of Caesar — Notes and Vocabulary. 
 
 Price . . , 50c. 
 
 CAESAR'S BELLUM BRITTANICUM. 
 
 With Life of Caesar — Notes and Vocabulary. 
 
 Price . • . 50c, 
 
 CICERO IN CATILINAM. (B. I.) 
 
 With Life of Cicero — Notes and Vocabulary. 
 
 Price, . . . 50c. 
 
 CICERO IN CATILINAM. (B. II.) 
 
 With Life of Cicero — Notes and Vocabulary. 
 
 Price, . . . 50a 
 
 VERGIL'S AENEID (B. I.) 
 
 With Life of Vergil — Notes and Vocabulary. 
 
 Price, . . . 50c. 
 
 VERGIL'S AENEID (B. V.) 
 
 With Life of Vergil— Notes and Vocabulary. 
 
 Price, . . . 60c. 
 
 CAESAR'S BELLUM GALLICUM. (B. I. and II.) 
 
 With life of Caesar — Maps, Notes and Vocabulary, etc 
 
 Price, . . . 75a 
 
 (also in separate volumes, each 50c.) 
 
The Copp, Clark Company, Ltd. School and College Books. 
 
 HIGH SCHOOL GERMAN GRAMMAR, 
 
 By W. H. VanderRmissen, M.A., and W. H. Fraser, B.A. 
 
 Authorized by Education Department. 
 
 Price 76c. 
 
 HIGH SCHOOL GERMAN READER. 
 
 By W. H. Vani>erSmissen, M.A. 
 
 Authorized by Education Department. 
 
 Price - 75o. 
 
 HIGH SCHOOL CHEMISTRY. 
 
 By A. P. Knight, M.A., M.D. 
 Authorized by Education Department. 
 
 Price 75c. 
 
 HIGH SCHOOL BOOK-KEEPING AND PRECIS 
 WRITING. 
 
 By H. S. MacLean. 
 Authorized by Education Department. 
 
 Price 65c. 
 
 HIGH SCHOOL WORD BOOK. 
 
 A Combined Orthoepist, Verbalist and Dictionary of Synonyms. 
 
 By J. W. Connor, B.A., and G. Mercer Adam. 
 
 Authorized by Education Department. 
 
 Price 60c. 
 
The Copp, Clark Company, Ltd. School and College Books. 
 
 PUBLIC SCHOOL SPELLER AND WORD-BOOK. 
 
 New and Enlarged Edition. 
 
 Part IV. contains Latin and Greek Roots, etc. 
 
 By G. W. Johnson, Central School, Hamilton. 
 
 Containing 272 pages. Price, - - 30c. 
 
 PUBLIC SCHOOL HISTORY OF ENGLAND AND CANADA 
 
 By G. Mereer Adam and W. J. Robertson, B.A. LL.B. 
 Authorized by Education Department. Price, - - 35c. 
 
 SIMPLE RULES IN ARITHMETIC. 
 
 For use in 2nd Book Classes. 
 By R. T. Martin, Head Master, Park School, Toronto. 
 Price, 
 
 10c. 
 
 SMITH & MACMURCHY'S 
 
 ELEMENTARY ARITHMEIC. 
 
 Price, 
 
 15c. 
 
 Key to same 
 
 j - - 75c. 
 
 UNIVERSAL 
 
 SCHOOL M. 
 
 A.PS. 
 
 Dominion of Canada 
 
 , 4 ft. 3 x 
 
 2 ft. 4, . 
 
 - $2.50 
 
 World on Mercator's Projection, 
 
 4.00 
 
 World in Hemispheres, 4 ft. 5 
 
 x 3 ft. 10, 
 
 3.50 
 
 Europe, 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 3.50 
 
 Asia, 
 
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 do. 
 
 3.50 
 
 Africa, 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 3.50 
 
 North America, 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 3.50 
 
 South America, 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 3.50 
 
 United States, 
 
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 do. 
 
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 The prominent coast line, clear representation of rivers and mountains, 
 
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 make the Universal Maps best suited for Schools where clearness is so much 
 
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 ASK FGR THE UNIVERSAL SCHOOL MAPS. 
 
The Copp, Clark Company, Ltd. School and College Books. 
 
 ANNOTATED BOOK-KEEPING BLANKS. 
 
 Prepared with special reference to Maclean's High School Book-Keeping 
 
 Published in four numbers : 
 
 No. 1. — Day Book. No. 2. — Journal. No. 3. — Ledger. 
 
 No. 4. — Six-Column Journal, Cash and Bill Book. 
 
 Each Book contains Hints and Notes as to its use. Price each, 10c. 
 
 ANNOTATED BLANKS, ALSO MADE THREE-IN-ONE. 
 Foolscap size. Retail, - - 25c. 
 
 CHERRIMAN AND BAKER'S TRIGONOMETRY. 
 
 Price, - • 75c. 
 
 COPY BOOK OF BUSINESS FORMS AND ACCOUNTS, 
 
 No. i. 
 
 .For Senior Third and Junior Fourth Book Classes. 
 
 By McAllister, Clare and Slater. 
 
 Price, - - 10c. 
 
 COPY BOOK OF BUSINESS FORMS AND ACCOUNTS, 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 For Fourth Class and entrance to Coll. Inst, and High Schools. 
 
 By McAllister and Clare. 
 
 Price, - - 10c. 
 EXERCISE BOOK, to accompany No. 2, - . 10c. 
 
 COPY BOOK OF BUSINESS FORMS AND ACCOUNTS, 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 With Forms of Cheques, Drafts, Bills of Exchange, etc., in Tint. 
 
 For Collegiate Institutes and High Schools. 
 
 By McAllister, Clare and Slater. 
 
 Price, . 10a 
 
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