l, in 1751, of the southern extremity of India,--a
country nearly as large as France. Given the title of Nabob, he now
had a place among the princes of the land. "A merely commercial policy
was in his eyes a delusion; there could be no middle course between
conquest and abandonment." In the course of the same year further
grants extended the French power through extensive regions to the
north and east, embracing all the coast of Orissa, and made Dupleix
ruler of a third of India. To celebrate his triumphs, perhaps also in
accordance with his policy of impressing the native mind, he now
founded a town and put up a pillar setting forth his successes. But
his doings caused the directors of the company only disquietude;
instead of the reinforcements he asked for they sent him exhortations
to peace; and at about this time Robert Clive, then but twenty-six
years old, began to show his genius. The success of Dupleix and his
allies became checkered with reverses; the English under Clive's
leadership supported the native opponents of the French. The company
at home was but little interested in his political schemes, and was
annoyed at the failure of dividends. Negotiations were opened at
London for a settlement of difficulties, and Dupleix was summoned
home; the English government, it is said, making his recall an
absolute condition of continued peace. Two days after his departure,
in 1754, his successor signed a treaty with the English governor,
wholly abandoning his policy, stipulating that neither company should
interfere in the internal politics of India, and that all possessions
acquired during the war in the Carnatic should be given back to the
Mogul. What France thus surrendered was in extent and population an
empire, and the mortification of French historians has branded the
concession as ignominious; but how could the country have been held,
with the English navy cutting off the eagerly desired reinforcements?

In North America, the declaration of peace was followed by renewed
agitation, which sprang from and betokened the deep feeling and keen
sense of the situation had by the colonists and local authorities on
either side. The Americans held to their points with the stubbornness
of their race. "There is no repose for our thirteen colonies," wrote
Franklin, "so long as the French are masters of Canada." The rival
claims to the central unsettled region, which may accurately enough be
called the valley of the Ohio, invol