were inftantly ftruck with the remembrance of the murder of bis father committed in Velore; murmurs from many had already declared the fufpicions that were entertained of Mortiz Ally, when it was reported, that, during the general confufion, he had gained the gates of the fort, where a large body of cavalry and other troops, which compofed his retinue, were waiting for him; and that, furrounded by these guards, he was already on his way to Velore. The precipitation of this flight, which appeared as much the confequence of previous difpofitions as the effect of fudden fear, left no doubt that he was the author of the affaffination. Nothing was now heard but curfes and im precations on his head, for the murder of the innocent and much loved Seid Mahomed Khan, and for the murder of the father of this unfortunate prince. The people faw themselves obliged to confine their indignation to their expreffions of it: for the ftrength of Mortiz Ally's efcort required a larger body of cavalry to be fent in pursuit of it, than could be affembled within the time neceffary to overtake him, Velore being no more than twelve miles diftant from Arcet. The multitude now received orders from An'war-adean to retire to their homes; and, as men ftruck with difmay at a common calamity, affembled in fecret companies, to communicate their thoughts on the murder of which they had been spectators. An'war-adean, either actuated by the fame spirit of indignation as the people, or affecting the appearance of it, not only removed the Pitans in his fervice from their employments, but also gave orders that all of that nation should immediately quit the city; and as a ftronger proof of his refentment, caufed their houfes to be razed to the ground: a mark of infamy rarely practifed, excepting the perfons, whom it is intended to ftigmatize, have deferved capital punishment. But these expreffions of indignation did not exempt him from imputations. Many perfons of rank and power in the province afferted that they had difcovered fecrets; which convinced them that the affaffination was the result of a confederacy between him and Mortiz Ally. They faid, that the respect and attachment which were fhewn by all ranks of people to Seid Mahomed, joined to the great influence which his relations bore in the Carnatic, by poffeffing the beft forts and governments in the province, had filled the mind of An'war-adean Khan with apprehenfions of confpiracies and revolte, which might at one time or other remove him, in order to place Seid Mohomed in the fovereignty: that, actuated by these fufpicions, he regarded the deftruction of Seid Mahomed as neceffary to his own fecurity, and was only withheld from executing it by the dread of Nizam-al-muluck's refentment; which fuggefted to him the fcheme of practising on Mortiz Ally, by fuch infinuations and offers as might induce him to undertake the destruction of Seid Mahomed; but in fuch a manner, that if a discovery should be made, the murder might be imputed to Mortiz Ally alone; who being perfuaded of the probability of a revolution in favour of Seid Mahomed, and dreading the revenge of this prince for the murder of his father, hired the affaffins, having previously affured himself of protection from An'war-adean Khan, and even of rewards by an increase of the domain of Velore. The fecrets of the princes of Indoftan are very difficult to be discovered. In affairs of confequence nothing, except in the most equivocal terms, is ever given by them in writing; and whenever the matter is of great importance or iniquity, it is trufted to a meffenger, a man of low rank and great cunning, who bears a letter of recommendation, teftifying that he is to be trufted in all he fays. So indefinite a commiffion referves to the lord who gives it, the refource of disavowing the transaction of his agent; and this he never fails to do, whenever the iniquity is dif covered. Hence the public in Indoftan, deprived of authentic evidence, are left to judge of the actions of their rulers either from probable conjectures, or from the general idea of their characters. The conftitution and defects of the govern ment have rendered poifons and alfaffinations, in the practice of the gre, the common method of removing those who ftand in oppofition to the ambition of others; infomuch that a history of one century in Indoftan would furnish more examples of this nature than can he found in the hiftory of one half of the kingdom: of Europe fince the time of Charlemagne. From the frequency of thefe enormous practices, even the deaths which happen in the common courfe of nature, are imputed to those who receive immediate ad. vantage from them. Such were the prin ciples on which the people of the Carna. tic judged and condemned An'war-adean Khan for the murder of Seid Mahomed; although no pofitive proofs were brought of his having been accessary to it. The moft probable argument against him wa founded on the early appearance of Mortiz Ally at Arcot in the days of a new admi nistration. nitration. This was thought incompatible with the warinefs of his character, without fuppofing a connection which affured him of protection from An'war-adean. Anwar adean strongly denied all connections with Mortiz Ally, and challenged any proof to be brought that either he himself, or any of his dependents, had, ever had any correfpondence with the Pitans who committed the murder; which he attributed folely to Mortiz Ally, alledging as a proof, that the Pitans had often been at Velore, and were known to have received many marks of favour from him. On the other hand, Mortiz Ally retorted the accufation, but brought no teftimonies to fupport his affertion: it was fuppofed that the only proofs which he could have brought against An'war-adean, would at the fame time have condemned bimfelf. Although Anwar-adean was not able to exculpate him felf in the opinion of his fubjects, he found means to convince his fuperior, Nizam-al-muluck, that he was intirely innocent of the blood of Seid Mahomed. Nizam-al-muluck, who never did any thing by halves, thought it neceflary to give him fupport, in proportion as he became odious to the Carnatic, and fent him a full and regular commiffion for the nabobfhip of Arcot foon after the death of Seid Mahomed. The province, irritated by their averfion to a lord, whofe fovereignty deftroyed their hopes of being ruled by one of the family they fo much loved, complained loudly of the avarice and parfimony of his government, and contrafted it, much to his difadvantage, with that of their former nabobs. War was now declared between Great Britain and France, in confequence of which a fquadron of English men of war appeared in the Indian feas. It confifted of two fixty gun fhips, one of fifty, and a frigate of twenty guns: thefe fhips did not come immediately to the English fet tlements in Indoftan, but paffing beyond them, cruized in two divifions in the traits of Sunda and Malacca. They took in thefe ftations three French fhips returning from China to Europe, and one returning from Manilla to Pondicherry; the cargoes of which produced one hundred and eighty thousand pounds iterling, They alfo took a French fhip at Atchin, which was converted into an English man of war of forty guns, and called the Medway's Prize. After rendezvoufing at Batavia, the fquadron united appeared on the coaft of Coromandel in the month of July 1745, at which time the garrison of Pondicherry confifted of no more than Hib. Mag. July, 1782. four hundred and thirty-fix Europeans; its fortifications were not completed, and no French squadron had hitherto appeared in India. The appearance of the English fquadron, and the report of the reinforcements which they expected from England, alarmed Mr. Dupleix for the fafety of Pondicherry. He prevailed on the nabob An'war-adean to infift with the government of Madrafs, that the English fhips of war fhould not commit any hoftilities by land against the French poffeffions in the territories of Arcot; but the nabob at the fame time affured the English, that he would oblige the French to obferve the fame law of neutrality, if their force should hereafter become fuperior to that of the English. The government of Madrafs remonftrated, that they were always ready to obey his commands as far as their power extended; but that Mr. Barnet, the commander of the Englifh fquadron, was the immediate officer of the king of Great Britain, by whofe orders and commiffion he acted, independent of the Eaft India company's agents at Madrafs. The nabob replied, that all officers of the English nation who came to the coaft of Coromandel were equally obliged to refpect his government in the Carnatic; and that if Mr. Barnet, with his fquadron, fhould venture to act contrary to the orders he had now given, the town of Madrafs fhould atone for their difobedience. Thefe threats made fo much impreffion upon the government of Madrass, that they requested and prevailed on commodore Barnet to confine his operations to the fea. He therefore fent one of the fifty gun fhips to cruize in the road of Balafore, at the entrance of the river Ganges, where fhe took two or three French fhips returning from different parts of India to the French fettlements in Bengal. The reft of the fquadron left the coaft of Coromandel to avoid the approaching ftormy feason, and went to Mergui, a port fituated on the coaft which lies oppofite to that of Coromandel in the Gulph of Bengal. In the beginning of the year 1746 the fquadron returned to the coaft of Coromandel, and were reinforced by two fifty gun fhips, and a frigate of twenty guns, from England: but at this time the fixty gun fhip, in which Mr. Barnet hoifted his flag, was found unfit for action, and, together with the twenty gun fhip which caine firft into India, was fent back to England. There was now certain intelligence that a French fquadron was preparing to come come on the coaft of Coromandel, when ed the English fquadron, perceiving this that of the Englith was deprived of one intention, determined to engage with his of its principal advantages, by lofing fquadron nearer to the wind than that of commodore Barnet, who died at Fort the enemy, fince in this fituation their ef St. David's in April. His death, happen- forts to board would be easily avoided; ing at a time when the English affairs in and a great part of the day was employed India were threatened with danger, was in preferving this advantage. It was not generally regretted as a public lofs, and until four in the afternoon that the fight indeed he was a man of great abilities in began: it was maintained at such a dif fea affairs. tance that the fire of the fmall arms from the French fhips, notwithstanding the great numbers and expertness of the musketeers, did very little execution; but, on the other hand, the cannon of the English, from the fame caufe, did much less than might have been expected from them in a clofer engagement. The fight finished with the entrance of the night; about thirty-five men were killed in the English fquadron, and the greatest part of these on board the Medway's Prize. We are not exactly informed of the lofs fuftained by the French; but it was believed that the killed and wounded together did not amount to lefs than three hundred. One of their hips, which mounted thirty guns, was in lefs than half an hour difmafted, and fo mach fhattered, that, immediately after the action, Mr. De la Bourdonnais ordered her to proceed to Bengal to be refitted in the Ganges. Early in the morning of the 25th of June, the English squadron cruizing to the fouthward of Fort St. David, near Negapatnam, defcried that of the French arriving on the coaft of Coromandel. It confifted of nine fhips, which were commanded by Mr. de la Bourdonnais, who had equipped them at the ifle of Mauritius, and afterwards, when feattered by a hurricane, had refitted them in the island of Madagascar, overcoming the greateft difficulties with fuch indefatigable perfeverance and activity, as entitles him to a reputation equal to that of the ableft marine officer his country has produced. Of thefe fhips one mounted twenty fix guns, two twenty-eight, one thirty, three thirty-four, one thirty fix, and that on board of which Mr. de la Bourdonnais hoifted his flag mounted seventy guns, of which fixty were eighteen pounders. There were but fourteen other guns of this fize in all the whole fquadron, the reft being twelve and eight pounders. All but the feventy gun fhip were bored to mount more guns than the number with which Mr. de la Bourdonnais had been able to equip them; and five of them were fifty gun fhips. On board of the fhips were three thousand three hundred men, of which feven hundred were either Caffres or Lafcars: three or four hundred of the whole number were rendered unfit for fervice by fickness. The English fquadron confifted of one fixty gun fhip, three of fifty, one of forty, and one frigate of twenty guns, which was too fmall to be brought into the action. The number of men did not amount to one half of that in the French fquadron but the English had greatly the advantage in the weight of their cannon, by which the fortune of engagements at fea is at prefent generally decided and they likewife failed better than the French, and were worked with much greater skill. Mr. De la Bourdonnais, knowing the advantages and disadvantages of his force, had determined to decide the impending engagement by boarding the English Chips, if it were poffible to bring his own into the fituations neceffary to accomplish this defign. Mr. Peyton, who command The next morning Mr. Peyton called a council of war, when, on a review of the condition of the fquadron, it was not thought prudent, especially as the fixty gun fhip was extremely leaky, to venture a fecond engagement before the damages it had fuftained were repaired. In confequence of this refolution, the fhips made fail for the harbour of Trincanomaly in the island of Ceylon, and in the evening loft fight of the French fquadron, which had lain to the whole day, as if challenging the English, who were to windward, to bear down and renew the fight. This appearance of refolution in Mr. De la Bourdonnais was no more than a feint, practifed to deter the English from doing what he moft dreaded; for most of his hips had expended the greateft part of their ammunition, and feveral of them had not victuals on board for twenty-four hours. In the night of the enfuing day the French fquadron, now confifting of eight ships, arrived in the road of Pondicherry; where Mr. Dupleix commanded, for the French Eaft India company, all the efta blifhments of his nation in India, the iflands of Mauritius and Bourbon, ex cepted. Thefe were under the govern ment of Mr. De la Bourdonnais, t whom all the operations of the squadro wer were intrufted, independent of the con- History of a beautiful but unfortunate young troul of Mr. Dupleix. The reputation and riches which it was probable Mr. De la Bourdonnais would gain in the command of his armament, created jealousy in the mind of Mr. Dupleix. Diffenfions arofe between the two commanders: but the activity of Mr. De la Bourdonnais did not fuffer the intereft of his nation to be facrificed to them. Knowing that the force which he commanded could not be employed by land with any probability of fuccefs, until the English fquadron fhould be either ruined or forced to quit the coaft of Coromandel; he determined to go in queft of them as foon as his own fhips were refitted and provided with thirty or forty pieces more of heavy cannon than they mounted on leaving the island of Mau ritius. On the 24th of July the French fquadron failed from Pondicherry, working to the fouthward against the fouthern monfoon, and on the 6th of Auguft difcovered the English, which had been refitted at Trincanomaly. The English perceiving the addition of cannon with which the enemy had been fupplied at Pondicherry, avoided an engagement. The two fquadrons were three days in fight of each other, after which, according to Mr. De la Bourdonnais's account, the English fhips availing themselves of the advantage of failing better than the French, disappeared. Mr. De la Bourdonnais returned with his ships to Pondicherry, imagining that the English fquadron, although they did not think themselves ftrong enough to rifk a general engagement, would remain on the coaft of Coromandel, to deter him from attempting any operations against the English fettlements. But notwithftanding this opinion, he determined to lay fiege to Madrafs. The English informed of the preparations which were making at Pondicherry to attack them, called on the nabob to fulfil his promife of reftraining the French from committing hoftilities against them by land. But they omitted to employ the most certain means, of obtaining his protection, by neglecting to accompany their application for his affiftance with a prefent of money. This ill judged parfi. mony left the nabob fo luke-warm in their interests, that although he did not give Mr. Dupleix a pofitive permiffion, he refrained from making any preparatione, or even from ufing menaces to prevent the French from attacking Madrafs. (To be continued.) Lady. Hißory of Maria; communicated in a Letter found among her Papers after her death. SIR, M To Mr. C Y fudden departure from E and the uncertainty of every friend concerning my fituation, are circumftances that, I doubt not, ere now have been interpreted much to my disadvantage. Nor do I deferve that pity which a lefs guilty object might claim; be my mifery greater than it is, it can fcarcely equal my offences. Yet there are fome minds, of a heavenly tendernefs, by whom my frailty will be remembered with a charitable forrow, many a diftant year after the who has wrung their hearts fhall have been among the number of the forgotten.-For their fakes, for the fake of my unhappy parents, and in fome measure a regard to convey the memory of a spotless intention, I embrace this, the laft opportunity that will ever be in my power, to addrefs the tale of my woe to you; because I know your goodness of heart will incline you to conftrue favourably where charity can interpofe, and fincerely to pity where you cannot withhold your blame. Your judgment will direct you how much of my story may be communicated at home, and where there will be no occafion to extenuate my faults by the affiftance of art. When I am gone, the memory of departed penitence will raise that tendernefs which I had probably been without, if my life had ftill continued a reproach and a calamity to my friends. The morning of my unhappy existence arofe with every profpect that bade fair for a chearful day. The youngest of an honourable family, I received every attention which the fondeft of parents could pay; and as death had leffened the number of our family, thofe attentions were beftowed on me alone. My infant days glided with unufual pleasantnefs. Partial friends difcovered, or thought they difcovered, a difpofition and an innocence in my early deportment that rewarded their care; and all around me gave me credit for many virtues, the want of which I have fince forely lamented. But while I lay smiling with infant chearfulness in the fond lap of an enraptured mother, could fhe have difcerned, through the mift of her tenderness, the true colour of my fate, fhe would have prayed that every hour might be my laft, ere I had tafted this bitter cup of adverfity, full of forrow to Y ya them or acquired the character of being affableyou know it.-To me, no grace feemed more attracting than affability, and both nature and art confpired to make it fhine. In the company of all, I was free and open, but in the company of T- I loft every referve; fo deceitful was his exterior, that I thought myself not lefs fafe with him than in the company of the best of my own fex. But let fuch of them as can ftill boast of the peaceful mind and virtuous intention remember, that there are facred bounds beyond which no female delicacy can fubfift; which to overleap is to bid adieu to virtue and character; to leave thofe paths which, though rugged and unfeemly, lead to fupreme felicity, and wander in an alluring, delufive country, whence there can be no return unburthened with remorse, mifery, and fhame. Let them learn of me, that this is not the age when ingenuoufnefs and open-hearted conduct in them are in no danger from the unfeeling and treacherous character. Let them learn of me, that it is not elevation of rank, or the most exalted noti ons of purity and innocence which will fcreen them in an hour of paffion under the embarrassments of trial, unless they fhelter themfelves under the wings of that angel by whofe power their weakness will become ftrength, relinquishing all fecurity in leffer helps, or the unavailing confcioufnefs of harmlefs meaning. them-remorfe and guilt to me. Confiding in the promifing afpect of my mind, fhe was lefs attentive to cultivate and direct its powers, to regulate its emotions, and fill its vacancies, than to adorn that outfide which nature had finished, and recommend thofe employments which the vanity of my age would of itself have been fufficient to point out. Hence drefs and finery were my fole ftudies, and youth and folly like my own my fole companions. I had virtuous example, indeed, before me daily; but when the feeds of principled rectitude lie barren on the foul, it becomes unambitious of its greatest excellence. I was innocent, becaufe with out temptation; but I knew not the va lue of that innocence, in any degree, till I had loft it. Every one faid I was a pattern of youthful virtue and worth, but none ftrove to preferve that virtue and enlarge that worth. The elegance of apparel, the fplendor of a ball room, the variations of the fashion, were ftrongly recommended, and unremittingly confidered as objects of the most ferious at tention. Born to a family distinguished for its merit, I exulted in the pride of reputation borrowed from hereditary worth, and folaced myfelf with the reflection (when I did reflect), that as my reputation was untouched it was invulnerable; and my character for innocence formed a fecurity in which I determined to reft an independent confidence. I was of a gay and lively difpofition, ever prone to return The deftroyer of my peace continued the focial fmile, and re echo the loud to take every method in his power to inlaugh of a vacant mind. I had no pro- gratiate himself with me. These were penfity to anticipate mifery. Abandoning not unfuccefsful.-'Tis too late now to my imagination to the delights of the hide my thoughts under any fubterfuge. prefent moment, I left the days of for--He foon infpired me with the tendereft row to come when they would. From fuch a difpofition, the effect of a neglected mind, proceeded a degree of thought Jefsnefs and inattention, which deepened the gloom of that tempeft gathering around me, and which burft on my devoted head when I leaft was prepared to encounter it. About two years ago, I became acquainted with Mr. T by an accidental interview: from this I date my ruin. Being of that age when young fe males are furrounded and pleafed with the language of flattery, I obferved with fatisfaction the many civilities this gentleman honoured me with, and contracted a liking for his company. His addrefs was infinuating, his appearance that of a man of honour and fincerity, and his vices too clofely covered for my penetration. Had they been lefs fo, I was too much blinded by thoughtlessnefs to take the advice even the little difcernment I poffeffed. I paflion for him. He made me believean easy task in a credulous mind!—that the happiness or misery of his future life depended entirely on me. Vanity made fuch perfuafion agreeable; it was not in my nature to give pain, and I thought that gratitude for his attentions to me was an emotion amiable and graceful at my age. In a word, what he seemed to feel, joined with the impaffioned tenor of his whole conduct, laid the most forcible claim on my affections. I had an enemy in my own bofom to fecond his attempts-an uninformed, inexperienced foul, that had not yet learned to fufpect the alluring pleasure that courted its embrace. I knew to gratify my inclinations, but I had not been taught to correct their luxuriancy when in a hurtful channel. He told me, that love was the fupreme blifs of human life; that it would be infinitely more fo, if free and unfettered by the trammels of man's invention; that no emotion could |