of its
settlements, denuded of soldiers and munitions of war, so
that it is not possible for us to show our teeth."

The wish was prophetic.

Like the English the French were forbidden by the Nawab to fortify
themselves. Renault dared not pay attention to this order. He had
seen what had happened to the English by the neglect of proper
precautions, and when things were at their worst, the Nawab had to
seek his alliance against the English, grant him leave to fortify
Chandernagore, and, later on, even to provide him with money under
the pretence that he was simply restoring the sum forcibly extorted
from him the previous year.[24] Trade was at a standstill, and
Renault was determined that if the enemies of his nation were
destined to take the Company's property, they should have the utmost
difficulty possible in doing so. He expended the money on provisions
and ammunition. At the same time, that he might not lose any chance
of settling affairs peaceably with the English, he refused to
associate himself with the Nawab, and entered upon negotiations for
a neutrality in the Ganges. To protect himself if these failed, he
began raising fortifications and pulling down the houses which
commanded the Fort or masked its fire.

He could not pull down the houses on the south of the Fort, from
which Clive subsequently made his attack, partly for want of time,
partly because the native workmen ran away, and partly because of
the bad feeling prevalent in the motley force which formed his
garrison.[25] The most fatal defect of all was the want of a
military engineer. The person who held that position had been sent
from France. He was a master mason, and had no knowledge of
engineering. It had been the same story in Calcutta. Drake's two
engineers had been a subaltern in the military and a young
covenanted servant. Renault had to supervise the fortifications
himself.

"I commenced to pull down the church and the house
of the Jesuit fathers, situated on the edge of the Ditch, also
all the houses of private persons which masked the entire
north curtain. The wood taken from the ruins of these
served to construct a barrier extending from bastion to
bastion and supporting this same north curtain, which
seemed ready to fall to pieces from old age."

This barrier was placed four feet outside the wall, the intervening
space being filled in with earth.

"Also in front of Porte Royale" (i.e. outside the gate in
th