so, for although during most of the war he was their ally, he was
fighting on his own behalf, and not on theirs.

"In the war with Hyder it was different. He was then quite under
English influence, and, indeed, could scarcely be termed independent.
And as he suffered terribly--his lands were wasted, his towns
besieged, and his people driven off into slavery--the Company are at
present engaged in negotiations for assisting him to pay his debts,
which are very heavy.

"It was before you left, when the Nabob was much pressed for money,
and had at that time no claim on the Company, that our father bought
of him a perpetual commutation of tribute, taxes, and other monies and
subsidies payable by Tripataly; thus I am no longer tributary to
Arcot. Nevertheless, this forms a portion of the Nabob's territories,
and I cannot act as if I were an independent prince.

"I could not make a treaty with Mysore on my own account, and it is
clear that neither Arcot nor the English could allow me to do so, for
in that case Mysore could erect fortresses here, and could use
Tripataly as an advanced post on the plain. Therefore, I am still
subject to the Nabob, and could be called upon for military service by
him. Indeed, that is one of the reasons why, even if I could afford
it, I should not care to keep up a force of any strength. As it is, my
troop is too small to be worth summoning. The Nabob has remonstrated
with me more than once, but since the war with Hyder I have had a good
excuse, namely, that the population has so decreased that my lands lie
untilled, and it would be impossible for me to raise a larger force. I
have, however, agreed that, in case of a fresh war, I will raise an
additional hundred cavalry.

"I expect it is in relation to this that he has sent for me to Arcot.
We know that the English are bound, by their treaty with Travancore,
to declare war. They ought, in honour, to have done it long ago, but
they were unprepared. Now that they are nearly ready, they may do so
at any time, and indeed the Nabob may have learned that fighting has
begun.

"The lookout is bad. The government of Madras is just as weak and as
short sighted as it was during Hyder's war. There is but one comfort,
and that is that Lord Cornwallis, at Calcutta, has far greater power
than his predecessors; and as he is an experienced soldier, and is
said to be an energetic man, he may bring up reinforcements from
Calcutta without loss of time, and also