As Clive had been given paramount authority in Bengal, and as Mr.
Drake had every reason to suppose that he, himself, would be recalled
as soon as the circumstances attending the capture of Calcutta were
known in England, he was unable to do anything further in the matter,
and Charlie landed with Clive on the 28th. The force consisted of two
hundred and fifty Europeans, and twelve hundred Sepoys, who were
forced to drag with them, having no draft animals, two field pieces
and a waggon of ammunition.
The march was an excessively fatiguing one. The country was swampy in
the extreme, and intersected with watercourses; and, after a terribly
fatiguing night march, and fifteen hours of unintermittent labour,
they arrived, at eight o'clock in the morning, at the hollow bed of a
lake, now perfectly dry. It lay some ten feet below the surrounding
country, and was bordered with jungle. In the wet season it was full
of water. On the eastern and southern banks lay an abandoned village,
and it was situated about a mile and a half from the fort of Baj-baj.
Clive was ill, and unable to see after matters himself. Indeed,
accustomed only to the feeble forces of Southern India, who had never
stood for a moment against him in battle, he had no thought of danger.
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