STRAINED POSITION OF DUPLEIX. north bauk of the Kavari, within the territories of Tanjur. In this position we must leave the hostile parties — the French beaten and dispirited, without con- fidence in themselves or in their leaders ; the English proud of themselves, proud of the general who had three times led them to decisive victory, proud likewise of their achievements, confident and secure as to the future ; here we must leave them, to return once again to the action of the Governor whose great plans had thus been so strangely baffled, Whilst these tremendous conflicts were going on in the vicinity of Trichinapalli, Dupleix, continuing to feed and to strengthen his armies before that place, had been exerting himself to the utmost to restore peace to the Karnatik. To this course he had been moved by several concurring reasons. The Directors of the Com- pany of the Indies and the French Ministers had never ceased to urge it upon him. The continued warfare, from which so much had been expected, drained the pockets of the shareholders, a result ill calculated to satisfy those who looked only for dividends. The con- test which Dupleix had declared over and over again could not possibly last long, and could not end but in the elevation of France to a pitch of unprecedented glory, seemed to the Directors likely to be spun out indefinitely, and to end in humiliation rather than in advantage. In that august body, the want of immediate success on the part of Dupleix had produced the usual results. Those who had long been envious of his success now joined the faction that was really alarmed, to agitate for an end to such a state of things. The longer the war lasted, the more powerful and persistent became the adherents of the party in favour of peace at any price. But that was not the only reason. Dupleix was himself most anxious for peace with the English, if only to give him time to consolidate his arrangements
