buffeted by contrary winds that the commander thought it best to run
across the Atlantic and let her lie up so long in a South American
port that Clive learned to speak Spanish with considerable fluency;
and it was not till nearly a year after leaving England that the young
writer arrived at Madras.

Furthermore, besides the various adventures that were natural to a
sea-voyage, there was the contingency of a sea-fight, and the
possibility of being taken to Pondicherry or Batavia as a prisoner of
war instead of being landed at Madras as a paid employee of the
'Honourable Company.'

[Illustration: THE COMPANY'S FLAG.]

It was usual for several ships to sail together, for mutual
protection; and passengers had reason to congratulate themselves when
they were eventually landed safe and sound at Madras. It can be
readily imagined that the sight of a vessel of the Company approaching
in the distance caused a stir of excitement amongst the residents of
Fort St. George. There were no telegraphs from other ports to give
previous notice of a vessel's prospective arrival; and the fact that a
ship was at hand was unknown until her flag[3] or her particular rig
was discerned in the distance, or until one of her guns gave notice of
her approach. The comparative regularity, however, of the winds in
Eastern seas caused 'seasons' in which vessels might be expected; and
when a season arrived, the look-out who happened to be on duty on
the Fort flagstaff must have been particularly alert. Ay, and there
must have been much hurrying to and fro in the streets of White Town
when the signal had been given and the news had spread that the sails
of a Company's ship had been sighted, and while the vessel, perhaps
with several consorts, came nearer and nearer, till at last the
anchors were dropped and salutes were exchanged between ship and
shore.

[Footnote 3: 'The flag displayed by the Company's ships bore seven
horizontal red stripes on a white ground, with a St. George's Cross in
the inner top corner.'--_Love_.]

There was good cause for excitement. The ship brought letters from
home--perhaps after several months of no news at all. There were the
private letters that told the news about near ones and dear ones;
there were the official letters that decreed appointments in the
Company's service and promotions and penalties, and dealt with the
Company's business; and there were the 'news-letters'--the
old-fashioned predecessors of the mod