tiable a
determination to become rich, no matter what misery might be thereby
caused to others; never, on the other, a more honest endeavour, by
sacrifices of any kind, to escape the ruin caused by such cruel
exactions.

At last, when he had exhausted appeal after appeal to the Calcutta
authorities, Mir Kasim recognized that his only chance of escape from
the pressure too hard to be borne, was to appeal to the God of
Battles. He was ready; the English, he believed, were not. He had
excellent fighting material; generals who would not betray him. On
the other hand, he knew that Clive and Calliaud had quitted India,
and he did not believe that either had his equal amongst the men on
the spot. Accordingly, just after he had received a demand from
Calcutta, compliance with which would have completed the ruin then
{155}impending, he took the bold step of abolishing all transit
duties, and of establishing free-trade throughout his territories.
Anticipating the consequences of this bold act, he notified to his
generals to be prepared for any movement the English might make.

Here, in the space allotted,[4] it must suffice to state that the
English, amazed that such a worm as the Subahdar of the three
provinces should dare to question their commands, sent two of their
number to remonstrate with him. But, whilst they were negotiating,
another Englishman, one of their own clique, a civil officer named
Ellis, furious at the idea of stooping to negotiate, made
preparations to seize the important city of Patna. At the head of a
small force he did surprise (June 25, 1763) that city during the
hours before daybreak, but the garrison of the citadel and of a large
stone building refused to admit him. Little caring for this, he
permitted his men to disperse to plunder. Meanwhile the commander of
the Subahdar's troops, Mir Mehdi Khan, had started for Mungir to
represent to his master the turn events had taken. On his way
thither, a few miles from the city, he encountered the troops in his
master's service commanded by Markar, the Armenian. Markar, as in
duty bound, at once marched on Patna, found the English still
plundering, drove them out of the city, and forced them to take
refuge in a factory outside of it. {156}There he besieged them, and
thence he forced them to retreat (June 29). Meanwhile the Subahdar
had despatched his other brigade, under Samru, to Baksar, to cut off
the retreat of the English, whilst he urged Markar to follow