[At the Point of the Bayonet by G. A. Henty]@TWC D-Link bookAt the Point of the Bayonet CHAPTER 15: Assaye 1/27
While the Deccan had been torn by civil war, the Government of Bombay had extended their territory.
The Nabob of Surat, who had been under their protection, had died; and they had taken the government of the province into their own hands.
A civil war having broken out, at Baroda, they had supported one of the rival princes; and had, after a good deal of fighting, placed their candidate on the throne--various districts being assigned to them, in return for their assistance. Holkar, on hearing of Bajee's arrival at Bassein, placed his brother Amrud on the musnud, and commenced a series of atrocities, in Poona, equal to that which it had suffered at the hands of Ghatgay; respectable inhabitants being robbed and ill treated, many tortured, and some killed, in order to wring from them the treasures that they were supposed to have concealed. During the months that followed his return to Calcutta, Harry remained attached to the staff of the Marquis of Wellesley--for to this title Lord Mornington had succeeded, during his absence, on the death of his father--and was sent on various missions; among others accompanying the Governor General's brother, the Honorable Henry Wellesley, to the court of Oude.
He could now speak Hindustani, as well as Mahratti; and was very useful in acting as an interpreter, and in aiding to carry on the negotiations. In February, 1803, he was sent by the Governor General to join the force that Major General Wellesley was preparing, in Mysore, to aid Bajee Rao to recover his throne.
The treaty that the latter had concluded with the Government, on his arrival at Bassein, was a most advantageous one to the English.
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