office had expired, and a successor had come out, with orders to
carry out a policy differing widely from that which he had
followed. The latter had enormously extended the area of the
British possessions in India, the British troops had won a
marvellous series of victories; but this had been effected at an
immense cost and, so far, the revenue drawn from the conquered
provinces barely sufficed to pay the expenses of occupation and
management.

The treaties, too, that had been entered into with various rajahs
and chiefs might, at any moment, plunge the Government into war in
support of our allies and, accordingly, Lord Cornwallis was again
sent out, to carry out the policy of maintaining friendly relations
with the native powers, and of abstaining from interference in
their quarrels with each other. Indeed, a breathing time was
urgently needed. The rapid progress of the British arms had aroused
a feeling of distrust and hostility among all the native princes;
and it was necessary to carry out a strong but peaceful
administration in the conquered provinces, to give confidence to
their populations, to appoint civil officers of all sorts; and so
to divide the troops that, while they ceased to threaten any of the
native powers, they should maintain order in the new dependencies
not yet reconciled to the change of masters, or capable of
appreciating the benefits arising from orderly rule.

Accordingly, Scindia's excuses were accepted. A considerable
portion of the dominions that had been wrested from him were
restored; and even Holkar, whose atrocious cruelties to all the
British soldiers and officers who fell into his hands should have
placed him beyond the pale of pardon, was again invested with most
of his former possessions--with the object, no doubt, of
counterbalancing Scindia's power as, had Holkar been driven to take
refuge in the north, as a fugitive, Scindia would have become
paramount among the Mahrattas.

One of the last acts of the Marquis of Wellesley was to offer Harry
a high civil appointment, in one of the new provinces; but he
declined it, upon the ground that he was about to apply for leave
to go to England. He had, indeed, already formed the idea of
quitting the service altogether. The presents he had received from
Bajee Rao, on his first arrival at Poona, and on being invested as
Peishwa; and the still larger one that Nana Furnuwees had given
him; had been, for the most part, invested in the purcha