the world; but which was not in a state of strength to de fend itself against the attack even of barbarians. The fort was taken, having been deserted by the commander; and the garrison, to the number of a hundred and forty-six persons, were made prisoners.

14. They expected the usual treatment of prisoners of war, and were therefore the less vigorous in their defence; but they soon found what mercy was to be expected from a savage conqueror. They were all crowded together into a narrow prison, called the Black Hole, of about eighteen feet square, and received air only by two small windows to the west, which by no means afforded a sufficient circulation. 15. It is terrible to reflect on the situation of these unfortunate men, shut up in this narrow place, in the burning climate of the East, and suffocating each other. Their first efforts, upon perceiving the effects of their horrid confinement, were to break open the door of the prison: but, as it opened inwards, they soon found that impossible. They next endeavoured to excite the compassion or the avarice of the guard, by offering him a large sum of money for his assistance in removing them into separate prisons; but with this he was not able to comply, as the viceroy was asleep, and no person dared to disturb him. 16. They were now, therefore, left to die without hopes of relief; and the whole prison was filled with groans, shrieks, contest, and despair. This turbulence, however, soon after sunk into a calm still more hideous! their efforts of strength and courage were over, and an expiring languor succeeded. In the morning, when the keepers came to visit the prison, all was horror, silence, and desolation. Of a hundred and forty-six who had entered alive, twenty-three only survived, and of these the greatest part died of putrid fevers upon being set free.

17. The destruction of this important fortress served to interrupt the prosperous success of the English company; but the fortune of Mr. Clive, backed by the activity of an English fleet under admiral Watson, still turned the scale in their favour. Among the number of those who felt the power of the English in that part of the world was the famous Tullagee Angria, a piratical prince, who had long infested the Indian ocean, and made the princes on the coast his tributaries. He maintained a large number of galleys, and with these he attacked the largest ships, and almost ever with success. 18. As the company had been greatly harassed by his depredations, they resolved to sub

due such a dangerous enemy, and attack him in his own fortress. In pursuance of this resolution, admiral Watson and colonel Clive sailed into his harbour of Geriah; and though they sustained a warm fire as they entered, yet they soon threw all his fleet into flames, and obliged his fort to surrender at discretion. The conquerors found there a large quantity of warlike stores, and effects to a considerable value.

1. (A.D. 1757.) COLONEL CLIVE proceeded to take revenge for the cruelty practised upon the English. About the beginning of December he arrived at Balasore, in the kingdom of Bengal. He met with little opposition either to the fleet or army, till they came before Calcutta, which seemed resolved to stand a regular siege. As soon as the admiral with two ships arrived before the town, he received a furious fire from all the batteries, which he soon returned with still greater execution, and in less than two hours obliged them to abandon their fortifications. By these means the English took possession of the two strongest settlements on the banks of the Ganges; but that of Geriah they demolished to the ground.

2. Soon after these successes, Hoogly, a city of great trade, was reduced, with as little difficulty as the former, and all the viceroy of Bengal's storehouses and granaries were destroyed. In order to repair these losses, this barbarous prince assembled an army of ten thousand horse and

fifteen thousand foot, and professed a firm resolution of expelling the English from all their settlements in that part of the world. 3. Upon the first intelligence of his march, colonel Clive obtained a reinforcement of men from the admiral's ships, and advanced with his little army to attack these numerous forces. He attacked the enemy in three columns, and, though the numbers were so disproportionate, victory soon declared in favour of the English.

4. The English by these victories having placed a viceroy on the throne (for the Mogul had long lost all power in India), they took care to exact such stipulations in their own favour as would secure them in possession of the country whenever they thought proper to resume their authority. They were gratified in their avarice to its extremest wish; and that wealth which they had plundered from slaves in India, they were resolved to employ in making slaves at home.

5. From the conquest of the Indians, colonel Clive turned to the humbling of the French, who had long disputed empire in that part of the world, and soon dispossessed them of all their power, and all their settlements.

6. In the mean time, while conquest shined upon us from the East, it was still more splendid in the western world. But some alterations in the ministry led to those successes which had been long wished for by the nation, and were at length obtained. The affairs of war had hitherto been directed by a ministry but ill supported by the commons, because not confided in by the people. They seemed timid and wavering, and but feebly held together, rather by their fears than their mutual confidence. 7. When any new measure was proposed which could not receive their approbation, or any new member was introduced into government whom they did not appoint, they considered it as an infringement on their respective departments, and threw up their places with disgust, with a view to resume them with greater lustre. Thus the strength of the crown was every day declining, while an aristocracy filled up every avenue to the throne, intent only on the emolument, not the duties of office.

8. This was, at that time, the general opinion of the people, and it was too loud not to reach the throne. The ministry that had hitherto hedged in the throne were at length obliged to admit some men into a share of the government, whose activity at least would counterbalance their