fire by the bombs; the fire from the caftle and batteries fooii
flackened, and before the evening fet in, the caitle furrendered,
and Gberiab, and all its dependencies, fell into our hands. Thus
fhortly ended an enterprize, which, for many years, had been
in contemplation by the European governments in India, but
which was never before attempted, from an idea that no force
fufficient could be brought againft the walls of this caitle. Lord
Clive, at this time a lieutenant-colonel, commanded the land
forces.
On the Malabar coait, foon after this, he fell in with a
French ihip from Mauritius, very much his fuperior in men
and guns; ihe was called I'lndienrie: after a fmart aition ihe
itruck, and Sir William carried her in triumph to Bombay.
S i r William "James, in a n em in e n t m a n n e r , d i fp la y e d h i s
n a u t ic a l a b i l i t ie s , b y f h e w i q g , t h a t in d e fp i g h t o f a c o n t r a r y
m o n fo o n , a c om m u n i c a t io n b e tw e e n Bombay a n d t h e Coror
tnandel c o a f t m a y b e e f fe c te d in c a fe s o f e x i g e n c y * .
T h i s paflage was attempted by Sir William in the firft in-
fiance, and he accomplifhed it in nearly as ihort a time as it
ufually was done in the favorable monfoon. It was of the ut-
moft moment that lie fucceeded at the time he did,- for by it, he
confirmed to Admiral Watfon (then in the Ganges), the. intelligence
of the war with France, and brought to his afiiftance
500 troops, by which the Admiral and Colonel Clive were enabled,
in March 1757, to take Chandenagore, the chief of the
French fettlements in Bengal.
I n e f f e c t in g th i s p a f la g e , t h e c om m o d o r e c r o f le d th e e q u a to r
* The tracks are laid down in Mr. Arrowfmith’s map of the world.
S IR W I L L I A M J AME S ) B a r o n e t .
in the meridian of Bombay, and continued his courfe to the
fouthward as far as the tenth degree, and then was enabled to
go as far to the eaftward as the meridian of Atcheen head, the
N. W. extremity o f Sumatra, from whence, with the N. E.
monfoon, which then prevaled in the bay of Bengal, he could
with eafe gain the entrance o f the Ganges, or any port on the
.Coromandel coaft.
I n the beginning o f this narrative it was mentioned, Sir William
had fuffered ihipwreck. The uncommon hardfhips he
and his people encountered were as follows:— After they were
releafed from the Spanijh prifbn at the Havannah, they embarked
in a final! brig for- Carolina. The crew of the brig, and
Sir William and his people, amounted to- fifteen^ The. fecond
day after putting to fea, a very hard gale of wind came on;, the
veflel ftrained, and foon became fo leaky, that the pumps and
the people bailing could not keep her free; and at length, being
worn out with labor, feven o f them, with Sir William, got
into the only boat they had, with a fmall bag o f bifcuit and a
keg of water; the veflel loon after difappeared, and went down.
They were twenty days in this boat without a compafs; their
bifcuit foon got wet with the fea, which for two days made a
breach over the boat;, a fnuff-box Sir William had with him
ferved to diftribute their daily allowance o f water; and after
encountering every difficulty of famine and fevere labor, on
the twentieth day they found themfelves on the ifland of Cuba,
not ten miles from whence they had been embarked out o f a
Spanijhprifon : -but a prifon had no horrors to them. The Spaniards
received them once more into captivity; and.it is remarkable,,
261