The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1924-06-06
CAPTAINS OF
ADVENTURE
Merrill
By ROGER POCOCK

on earth, this rival adventurer, this
Irish rajah of the Hariana, and sent
an expedition to destroy him.
The new master Of Hindustan de-
tested the English and, degrading the
British officers who had served De
Boigne, procured Frenchmen to take
their place, hairdressers, walters, seal
awags, all utterly useless. Major Bour-
cullen, the worst of the lot, was sent
against Thomas and got thrashing.
But Thomas poor soul, had dead
lier enemy than this coward, and now
lay drunk in camp for a week cele-
brating his victory instead of attend
ing to business. He awakened to find
his force of five thousand men besieged
by thirty thousand veterans. There was
no water, spies burned his stacks of for
age, his battalions were bribed to de-
sert, or lost all hope. Finally, with
three English officers and two hundred
cavalry, Thomas cut his way through
the investing army and fed to his cap
itat l.. oou.r, nou-u,,,.n !, o,.uu,
of the pursuing force that now invest
ed Hanei. Bourguien's officers
preached the walls and took the town
by storm, but Thomas fell back upon
the citadel. Then Bourguien sent spies
to bride the garrison that Thomas
might be murdered, but his officers
went straight to warn the fallen king.
To them he surrendered.
That night Thomas dined with the
officers, and all were merry when Bour-
guien proposed toast insulting his
prisoner. The officers turned their
glasses down, refusing to drink.
Thomas burst into tears; but then he
drew upon Bourguien and, waving the
glittering blade, "One Irish sword" he
cried, sis still sufficient for hundred
Frenchmenp' Bourguien bolted.
Loyal in the days of his greatness,
the fallen king was received with hon.
ors at the British outposts upon the
Gauges. There he was giving valuable
advice to the governor general when
map of India was laid before him, the
British possessions marked red. He
swept his hand across India: "All this
ought to be red"
1t is all red now, and the British con-
quest of India arose out of the defense
made by this great wild hero against
General Perron, ruler of Hindustan.
Scindhia, who had lifted Perron from
the dust, and made him commander-in-
chief of his army, was now in grave
peril on the Deccan, beset by the
league of Mahratta princes. In his
cor. Perron, busy against his enemy
in the Hariana, left Scindhia to his
fate
Perron had no need of Scindhia now,
but was leagued with Napoleon to
hand over the Indian empire to
France.
Now Scindhia, had the Frenchman
been loyal, could have checked the Nah
rata princes, but these got out of
hand, and one of them, Holkar, drove
the Mahratta emperor the peshwa of
Poona, from his. throne. The peshwa
fled to Bombay and returned with
British army under Sir Arthur Welles-
ley. So came the battle of Assaye,
wherein the British force of four thou
sand five hundred men overthrow the
Mahratta army of fifty thousand men,
captured a hundred guns and won
Poona, the capital eof the South.
Meanwhile, for fear of Napoleon's
coming, Perron, his servant, had to be
oyerthrown. A British army under
General Lake swept Perron's army out
Of existence and captured Delhi, the
capital of the North. Both the capt.
tai cities of India fell to British arms,
both emperors came under British pro-
lection, and that vast empire was
founded wherein King George now
reigns. AS to Perron, his fall was
pitiful, a freak Of cowardice. He be-
trayed everybody and sneaked away
to France with large fortune.
And Arthur Wellesley, victor in that
stupendous triumph Of Assaye, became
the Iron Duke of Wellington, destined
to liberate Europe at Waterloo.