joined his fortunes with those of the French, and during the early part of the war he had every hope of seeing himself master of the Carnatic. Later, when the French were suffering defeat at the hands of Clive and Lawrence, Chunda Sahib recognised that his cause was lost. It was after the English had taken the Island of Srirungam and defeated Law that the Nabob's officers and most of his troops forsook him, leaving him broken in health and spirit without the means of flight. Law, the French Commandant, seeing the hopelessness of protecting his ally any longer, recommended him, as the only means of saving his life, to give himself up to Monackgee, the general of the Tanjore army, who had been fighting on the side of the English.
Law's hope of safety for his ally by this means was unfulfilled. There were old scores against the Nabob that had to be wiped off—acts of violence committed by his troops at the siege of Tanjore and elsewhere when the victory had been on the side of the French. At the bottom of his heart Chunda Sahib must have known that his chance of escape into honourable captivity was small. Monackgee swore by all he held sacred that he would give the Nabob a safe escort to the French settlement. As soon as the various native allies—the Mysoreans, the rival Nabob whose claims were supported by the English, and the General of the Mahrattas—were aware that Chunda Sahib was in the power of Monackgee, there was a clamour for the possession of his person. The demands coming from his superiors took the form of commands accompanied by threats if the Tanjore general refused to comply. Stringer Lawrence also asked for the prisoner, proposing to keep him at one of the English settlements. To this the disputants would not consent. In his perplexity and dread of bringing down the wrath of those who were stronger than himself, Monackgee violated his
