They retreated to Trichinopoly, pursued and harassed by the enemy, of whom there appears to have been such a dread, that they did not even occupy the pagoda of Seringham[41], though the strength of that post, and its vicinity to Trichinopoly, rendered it as tenable as it was important. It was instantly taken possession of by the French, and their ally Chunda Sahib, who thus, under the most favourable auspices, commenced their operations on a scene destined to be that of their ultimate defeat. There were at this period so few English officers of any experience, that the governor was compelled to send one of the members of council (Mr. Pigot), a man of known firmness and judgment, in charge of some recruits and stores to Trichinopoly. Clive, who had returned to Fort St. David, from Volconda, accompanied this party. On their way back from this service, these two gentlemen, who had an escort of but twelve sepoys, were attacked by a body of polygars, who with matchlocks harassed them in their march for some hours, and killed seven of the sepoys; when, the ammunition of the survivors being expended, they were ordered to disperse, and Mr. Pigot and Clive only saved themselves by the fleetness of their horses. Another small reinforcement was sent soon afterwards through Tanjore, in charge of Clive, promoted on this occasion to the rank of captain, which, after a sharp affair with a French detachment, succeeded in reaching Trichinopoly in safety. But Clive, on his return from that place, drew such a picture of the situation of the garrison, that the governor was satisfied the cause of Mahommed Ali could be saved only by efforts more considerable than any that had been yet made. Clive suggested, that, as Chunda Sahib had drawn away almost all his forces to invest Trichinopoly, an attack should be made upon his capital (Arcot). This suggestion was adopted; and he was, at his own request, nominated to the conduct of an enterprise, which, whether we consider the means employed, the obstacles to be surmounted, or the results that were produced, must ever rank high in the list of those achievements, where skill and energy supply the place of numbers; and, mocking every calculation, compel fortune, however reluctant, to pay homage to superior genius. But the capture and defence of Arcot forms too important a feature in the life of Clive to be slightly passed over; and as no man can ever give so clear and so eloquent a relation of this operation as the historian[42], who may almost be called an eye-witness of the actions he so admirably described, no apology is necessary for adopting his narrative; which, in its very minuteness, is as interesting as it is instructive; and, while it conveys a lesson to the mere European soldier, paints in true and vivid colours all that belongs to the character of the yet unimproved system of Asiatic warfare.