Colonel Lawrence must ever stand high among those officers who have distinguished themselves in India. He neither was, nor pretended to be, a statesman, but he was an excellent officer. He possessed no dazzling qualities, and his acts never displayed that brilliancy which men admire as the accompaniment of genius; but he was, nevertheless, a rare and remarkable man. We trace in all his operations that sound practical knowledge of his profession, which, directed by a clear judgment and firm mind, secured to him an uninterrupted career of success, under circumstances of great difficulty and danger. As one of the chief causes of this success, we may notice the absence of that common but petty jealousy, which renders men afraid lest they should detract from their own fame by advancing that of others, and the influence of which is, consequently, most fatal to the rise of merit. Lawrence early discovered, and fully employed, the talents of those under his orders; and we find him on all occasions much more forward to proclaim their deeds than to blazon his own. To this quality, which is the truest test of a high and liberal spirit, England is principally indebted for all the benefit she has received from the services of Clive. It was the fostering care and the inspiring confidence of his commander that led to the early developement of those talents, which, by the opportunities afforded him, were matured at an age, when most men are only in the rudiments of their military education. Clive continued, through life, fully sensible of the magnitude of his obligations to Lawrence, towards whom he ever cherished the most affectionate gratitude. When his venerated commander was on the point of retirement, with a very moderate fortune, Clive settled 500_l._ per annum on him during life.[63] "It gives me great pleasure," he observes to Lawrence on this occasion, "that I have an opportunity given me of showing my gratitude to the man to whom my reputation, and, of course, my fortune is owing." This liberal annuity must have added to the comfort of his old age; but its value was greatly enhanced by the warmth and delicacy of the sentiments which Clive expressed upon this occasion. These expressions of grateful obligation gave the retired veteran a right to associate his own fame with that of the successful pupil to whose progress to fortune and renown he had, by his early notice and encouragement, so greatly contributed. FOOTNOTES: CHAPTER 9 Footnote 1: Vide Vol. I. p. 183. Footnote 2: The particulars of the storm of Boobilee are narrated, by Orme (vol. ii. p. 254.), with the clearness and a feeling which do honoured to that historian. Such scenes as are here described are but too common in the history of India; where Hindus, of a high tribe, often take the heroic, but barbarous, resolution of not leaving a living being for their enemies to triumph over. Footnote 3: