him his intention of proceeding at once to Pondichery, to obtain the advice of the illustrious man who ruled there.
To Dupleix the news of the victory had come as a startling but most welcome surprise. He had not dared to hope for it, so impossible had it seemed to him. Yet it was in very deed the direct result of his own policy. He had first stretched out the hand to Muzaffar Jang. He had organised the conspiracy against his uncle. For a moment, so dark appeared the prospects of Muzaffar Jang, he was inclined to make terms with that uncle. The daring of De la Touche had saved him from that error. And now, his policy was triumphing all along the line. A French protégé was Subáhdár of the Deccan. A French protégé would soon become Nuwáb of the Karnátik. The English, without a leader, for Lawrence had left for England, and the superlative merits of Clive had not as yet been discovered, were crouching at Fort St. David. Their ally, Nádir Jang, was dead. Their protégé, Muhammad Alí, had, after many difficulties, succeeded in reaching Trichinopoli, but without a following. Never had policy triumphed more completely than had the policy of Dupleix.
The visit of the new Subáhdár to Pondichery only confirmed his power. The victory over Nádir Jang had brought vast riches to Pondichery, for the spoils were enormous. But those spoils were the least valued of the results. At the first formal meeting with Dupleix, Muzaffar Jang, in open darbár, conferred
