atitude Mr. Holwell expresses for a few little
services which I was able to render him makes me regret
my inability to do as much to deserve his gratitude as I
should have liked to do."[77]

He also, apparently with some difficulty, obtained consent to M.
Courtin's request for the release of the English prisoners at Dacca;
for--

"Siraj-ud-daula, being informed that there were two or
three very charming English ladies at Dacca, was strongly
tempted to adorn his harem with them."

Law's success in these matters is a striking instance of his
personal influence, for Siraj-ud-daula was by no means any longer
well disposed towards the French and Dutch.

"The fear of drawing on his back all the European
nations at once had made him politic. At first he pretended
to be satisfied with the reply sent by the Governor
of Chandernagore, and assured him that he would always
treat us with the greatest kindness. He said the same to
the Dutch, but when Calcutta was taken the mask fell. He
had nothing more to fear. Scarcely had he arrived at Hugli
when he sent detachments to Chandernagore and Chinsurah
to summon the commandants to pay contributions, or to
resolve to see their flags taken away and their forts
demolished. In short, we were forced to yield what the
Nawab demanded; whilst he, as he said, was content with
having punished a nation which had offended him, and with
having put the others to ransom to pay for the expenses of
the expedition. We saw the tyrant reappear in triumph at
Murshidabad, little thinking of the punishment which Providence
was preparing for his crimes, and to make which still
more striking, he was yet to have some further successes."

It may be here pointed out that, not only did the Nawab not insist
on the destruction of the French and Dutch fortifications, but he
did not destroy the fortifications of Calcutta. This proves that if
the English had shown the humility and readiness to contribute which
he desired, he would have left them in peace at the first, or, after
the capture of Calcutta, have permitted them to resettle there
without farther disturbance. In short, the real necessity of making
the European nations respect his authority, instead of guiding him
in a settled course, merely provided a pretext for satisfying his
greed. This is the opinion, not only of the French and English who
were at Murshidabad when the troubles began, but of the Englis