Note 91 — CHAP. III.

The grenadier volunteers and sepoys had been pushed as near the fort as they could be, under cover, to be ready for an assault. The remainder had been halted in a hollow plain, to intercept the garrison in the event of an attempt at retreat. No enemy was believed to be near, except in the fort of Budge-Budge. The consequence was a surprise, the bad effects of which were only remedied by Clive's presence of mind and courage. He has been censured for not using more precaution; but having only landed seven days, and being ill, he must have depended upon others for intelligence, and he justly complains of their want of it. The nature of the country, however, is such, as to offer to almost any numbers the power of concealing their advance.

It has further been stated, that "if the enemy's cavalry had advanced and charged at the same time that the infantry began to fire, it is not improbable that the war would have been concluded on the very first trial of hostilities."—Orme, vol. i. p. 124. In answer to this remark, there is one single fact to be stated;—the thick jungle which concealed the approach of the infantry was impervious to cavalry, who had no means of advancing except through openings, where they must have been seen, and the possibility of surprise defeated.