was restored to them. Goddard now took the field; and in a few
days the fortress of Dubhoy was reduced, and the city of Ahmedabad, the
capital of Guzerat, carried by storm. His progress was arrested by the
intelligence that a large Mahratta army, under the chiefs Scindia and
Holkar, was marching upon Surat. Goddard resolved to attack that army,
and he marched back for that purpose. At first he was prevented by
a desire which the chiefs expressed for peace, and negociations were
entered into; but it was soon found that they were not sincere, and that
their chief motive was to delay the time until the setting in of the
rains should interrupt the campaign. Negociations were broken off, and
the chiefs hastily retreated; but Goddard followed them, surprised
and defeated them in their very camp; and by that victory obtained
possession of all the country between the mountains and the sea. The
Mahrattas fled in all directions; and Goddard having taken possession of
all the towns, put his army into cantonments.

During these events Hastings had formed an alliance with the Ranna of
Gohud, who ruled over a hilly country between the territories of Scindia
the Mahratta chief, and those of the Nabob of Oude. At the time this
alliance was made the territories of the Ranna of Gohud were invaded by
the Mahrattas, and Captain Popham was sent to assist him in repelling
the invaders. Popham not only drove out the Mahrattas from the dominions
of the Ranna, but followed them into their own territories, where he
stormed the fortress of Labor, and took that of Gualior, winch the
natives deemed impregnable, by escalade. Gualior was not more than
fifty miles from Agra, which was Scindia's capital; and alarmed at his
progress, the Mahrattas abandoned all the neighbouring country, and
took refuge in that city. The Mahratta war, as conducted by Goddard and
Popham, promised a complete triumph; but the victors were stopped at
this point by another Mysorean war, which threatened to ruin the English
power and possessions on the Coromandel coast.

Although nominally at peace with the English, Hyder Ali held them in
utter abhorrence. During the last seven years, indeed, he had been
concerting schemes with the French at Pondicherry, and improving and
increasing his army, with a design of overturning the Anglo-Indian
government at Madras, if not in all India. To enable him to raise
forces, he had recourse to a system of extortion from his subjects, and
pl