I have before mentioned the origin of Clive's regard for Colonel Forde; the grounds upon which he selected him for the command of Bengal, and the degree in which he deemed himself indebted to him for his great and brilliant achievements. We have also seen the poignant feelings with which he regarded the conduct of the Court of Directors towards this able and gallant officer, who, immediately after the capture of Masulipatam, had the mortification to find himself superseded by Colonel Coote, who, a year before, had been his junior in Adlercron's regiment; but, returning from India with fortune and reputation, had obtained a Colonel's commission, and had just landed at Madras in command of a regiment destined for Calcutta. Though Colonel Coote had evinced, on the expedition to Bengal, those qualities as an officer which subsequently made him so renowned, neither his opportunities nor his achievements bore as yet any comparison with those of Colonel Forde; but the successes of the latter were not known in England at the period of Coote's appointment. Many, therefore, will deny the justice of Clive's complaint of the conduct of his superiors on this occasion; but even these must admire that warmth and decision, with which he pledged himself to support an officer with whom he had no private friendship, except such as had been formed in consequence of his eminent public services. The news of Colonel Coote's arrival reached Clive about the same period as the account of Major Forde's capture of Masulipatam, and of the conclusion of the treaty with the Subahdar of the Deccan. Desiring, at such a moment, to afford every consolation to the mind of that meritorious officer, he not only stated his opinion as to his superior claims to those of the officer by whom he was superseded, but gave him the most unqualified assurances of his future support. "I can easily conceive," he observes in a letter[140] to Colonel Forde upon this occasion, "that such rank and honour bestowed (I think I can say without flattery) on one so much your inferior in every respect, must give you much concern. I assure you it has affected me greatly, and is one of my principal motives for wanting to push home with the utmost expedition on the 'Royal George.' I flatter myself, the request I have to make will not be denied me, which is, that you will stay in Bengal all next year, provided Coote remains on the coast. If within that time I do not get you a colonel's or lieutenant-colonel's commission, and an appointment of Commander-in-chief of all the forces in India, I will from that instant decline all transactions with Directors and East India affairs."