With Clive in India; Or, The Beginnings of an EmpireHenty, G. A. (George Alfred)
History
With Clive in India; Or, The Beginnings of an Empire
Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)
India -- History -- British occupation, 1765-1947 -- Fiction
At four in the afternoon, therefore, the bombardment was renewed; and
in less than half an hour, a white flag appeared above the wall. As,
however, the garrison made no further sign of surrender, and refused
to admit Colonel Clive with his troops, when he advanced to take
possession, the bombardment was again renewed, more vigorously than
ever. The enemy were unable to support the violence of the fire, and
soon shouted over the walls, to Clive, that they surrendered; and he
might enter and take possession. He at once marched in, and the
pirates laid down their arms, and surrendered themselves prisoners.
It was found that a great part of the fortifications had been
destroyed by the fire, but a resolute garrison might have held the
fort, itself, against a long siege. Two hundred guns fell into the
hands of the captors, together with great quantities of ammunition,
and stores of all kinds. The money and effects amounted to a hundred
and twenty thousand pounds, which was divided among the captors. The
rest of Angria's fleet, among them two large ships on the stocks, was
destroyed.
Ramajee Punt sent parties of his troops to attack the other forts held
by the pirates. These, however, surrendered without resistance, and
thus the whole country, which the pirates had held for seventy years,
fell again into the hands of the Mahrattas, from whom they had wrested
it.
Admiral Watson and the fleet then returned to Bombay, in order to
repair the damages which had been inflicted upon them during the
bombardment. There were great rejoicings upon their arrival there; the
joy of the inhabitants, both European and native, being immense at the
destruction of the formidable pirate colonies, which had so long
ravaged the seas.
After the repairs were completed, the fleet, with the troops which had
formed the expedition, were to sail for Madras. Charlie, however, did
not wait for this; but, finding that one of the Company's ships would
sail, in the course of a few days after their return to Bombay, he
obtained leave from Colonel Clive to take a passage in her, and to
proceed immediately to Madras. Tim and Hossein, of course, accompanied
him; and the voyage down the west coast of India, and round Ceylon,
was performed without any marked incident.
When within but a few hours of Madras, the barometer fell rapidly.
Great clouds rose up upon the horizon, and the captain ordered all
hands aloft to reduce sail.
"We are in," he said, "for a furious tempest. It is the breaking up of
the monsoon. It is a fortnight earlier than usual. I had hoped that we
should have got safely up the Hoogly before it began."
Half an hour later the hurricane struck them, and for the next three
days the tempest was terrible. Great waves swept over the ship, and
every time that the captain attempted to show a rag of canvas, it was
blown from the bolt ropes. The ship, however, was a stout one, and
weathered the gale.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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