Page:History of the French in India.djvu/305

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283 CHAPTER VII. THE STRUGGLES OF DUPLEIX WITH ADVERSITY. The energetic measures taken by Bussy after the death C y^ p * of MuzafFar Jang had confirmed the ascendency which , ' the French had attained in the counsels of the Subadar. 1751. All the promises, all the arrangements, made by the de- ceased Prince, had been at once ratified by his successor. Of these perhaps the most important at the moment was the engagement entered into with Muhammad Ali. It will be recollected that this noble, the representative of the family of Anwaru-din, abandoned by everyone after the downfall of Nasir Jang, had taken refuge in the strong fortress of TrichinapalH. Here, at the instance of the Maratha, Raja Januji, he had opened with Dupleix negotiations, which had terminated in a promise on the part of Muhammad Ali to recognise Chanda Sahib as Nawwab, and to make over to him TrichinapalH and its dependencies, on condition of being himself secured in the possession of his father's treasures, free from all inquiry as to his administration, and of being intrusted with a subordinate government in another part of the Dakhan. It was in the fullest belief that this engagement would be adhered to, and that the matter was settled, that Dupleix had despatched Bussy to Aurangabad. Yet, notwithstanding that Muhammad Ali had before the march of Bussy agreed to the terms proposed, and that Dupleix, on his part, had obtained and forwarded to him the sanction of the Subadar to their being carried out in their entirety, the matter seemed to hang