The wifh'd-for effect of the ftroke I beheld,

And as I beheld, I admir'd; My bofom with joy, like a patriot's fwell'd,

My foul with ambition was fir'd: Ambition to ape th' illuftrious Crambo,

And to get acquaint with his friend; 'To tell you the truth, Sir,-not alter, but ambo

Induc'd me the verses to fend.

I call'd to the mufes, and told them my cafe,

Imploring immediate aid

To fing the brave heroes-when full in my face

There fmerk'd a young frolick fome maid:

Go write and be great, Sir, the wanton expreft,

Then ftroaked my juvenile chin, Hence flew in a moment to where she lik'd beft,

And left me alone to begin. Ah yes! with herself her influence went;

Unaided I blunder'd along, Not one of the train tho' promis'd were fent;

No graces to quicken my fong; Yet nevertheless I wrote at a ven

Yet see how your muse-indignantly keen,

Takes pleasure in doing me wrong, Expofes my thoughts as pefter'd with fpleen,

And makes me the butt of her fong:

Nor can I help adding before I conclude,

The Limmer is greatly to blame, And highly ungenerous-I'd almo faid rude,

For hurting a young poet's fame. 'Tis true-'twas no wonder the stuck at my lays,

And boggled at fome-body's data: But where you read lays, you'll please, Sir, read bays,

And add to the Printer's errata. She fays the diflikes my jocular stile, And urges a levius plectrum, Nay-ev'n does not fcruple the page to defile

With the ugly name of a Spec

Friend Morifon fays, that his publication,

Without more fupporters must ceafe; I'm heartily forry, Sir, for the relation; I'd rather give him a five-penny piece. But come my brave Philo-our friends we'll folicit,

And gather fubfcriptions around, Ufe every endeavour which is not illicit,

To make its real merit refound.At mid-fummer fair we'll laugh and be jolly,

And drink to its lafting fuccefs, Nor value the weakness of them, and their folly,

Who ftudied its fame to fupprefsAnd now to stop fhort my kindred quill, Without one unfair Logo-tropos s I'll quaff to your health, and declare I am ftill

Your fervant and friend,

February 9th.}

1773.

Philanthropos.

Thou propagated folly! what in thee 'Could heav'n fupreme, could perfect wisdom fee,

To fix one glance of his regarding eye; Why art thou chofe the fav'rite of the sky!

While angels wonder at the mercy

known,

And fcarce the wretch himself the debt will own. PERTH, Feb. 19th.'

1773.

(Continued from page 245. VOL. III.)

Jovis, 14 Maii, 1772. Col. Munro to give an account of the tranfactions in Bengal.

A. In April 1764. I was under the king's orders, from his majefty's fecretaries of state and war, to return to Europe with fuch of his Majefty's troops as did not chufe to inlift in the Company's fervice. I was accordingly to have imbarked with the troops the beginning of May on board a Mocoa fhip, which was to fail for Europe; but before I imbarked, there were two expreff s arrived from Bengal, acquaint ing the Governor and Council at Bombay, that Sujah Dowla and Coffim AlJy Khan had marched into the provinces of Bengal at the head of 60,000 men; that Major Adams, who commanded the army, was dead; that the fettlement of Calcutta was in the utmoft confternation, and the Company's affairs in the utmost danger:--they therefore requested, that the Governor and Council of Bombay would apply to me to go round inmediately to take the command of the army with his Majefty's troops, and as many as could be fpared from the Presidency of Bombay. As his Majefty's intention in fending out his troops to India, by the orders I had, was to affift and defend the Company in their different fettlements, I thought it would not be anfwering the intention of fending them out, to return and leave the Company's

complied with the requeft, and arrived at Calcutta with his Majefty's troops, and a detachment of the Company's of May 1764. Mr. Vanfittart, who from Bombay, some time in the month was then Governor, acquainted me that the army under the command of Major Carnac, had been, fince the death of Major Adams, and Sujah Dowla and his army had come into the provinces, upon the defenfive, and retreated be fore the enemy:-But I am fure, from Major Carnac's gallant behaviour upon every occafion, that he will be able to give a proper account for his conduct in that campaign.

Mr Vanfittart requested, that I would repair immediately with the troops I had carried round from Bombay, to join the army, who were in cantonment at Patna, and take the command of them.

I found the army, Europeans as well as Seapoys, mutinous, deserting to the enemy; threatening to carry off their officers, demanding an augmentation of pay; demanding large fums of money, which they faid had been promifed them by the Nabob, and difobedient to all order;-400 of the Europeans had gone off in a body, and joined the enemy fome time before I joined the army. This being the fituation the army was in, I fully determined to endeavour to conquer that mutinous difpofition in them before I would attempt to conquer the enemy.-Iaccordingly went with a detachment of the King's and Company's Europeans from Patna,with four field-pieces of artillery, to Chippera, one of the cantonments. I think the very day, or the day after,

I

I arrived, a whole battalion of feapoys, with their arms and accoutrements, went off to join the enemy.- --I immediately detached about 100 Europeans, and a battalion of feapoys, whofe officers told me they thought they could depend upon them not to defert, with two field-pieces, to endeavour to come up with the deferters, and bring them back to me.---The detachment came up with them in the night-time, found, them asleep, took them prifoners, and carried them back to Chippera. The officer who commanded the detachment, fent me an exprefs, acquainting me with the hour he would arrive at Chippera with the prifoners.--I was ready to receive them with the troops under arms. Upon their arrival at Chippera, I immediately ordered their officers to pick me out fifty of the men of the worst characters, and who they thought might have enticed the battalion to defert to the enemy. They did pick me out fifty.-I defined them to pick me out twenty-four of thofe fifty of the worst characters.-I immediately ordered a field court-martial to be held by their own Black officers; and after reprefenting to the officers the heinous crime the battallion had been guilty of, defired they would immediately bring me their fentence. They found them guilty of mutiny and defertion, fentenced them to fuffer death, and left the manner to me. I immediately ordered four of the twenty-four to be tied to the guns, and the artillery-officers to prepare to blow them away.- -There was a remarkable circumftance: Four grenadiers reprefented, as they always had the poft of honour, they thought they were intitled to be first blown away. The four battalion-men were untied from the guns, and the four grenadiers tied, and blown away; upon which the European officers of the battalion of feapoys, who were then in the field, came and told me, that the feapoys would not suffer any more of the men to be blown away.I ordered the artillery-officers

-

to load the four field-pieces with grapefhot, and drew up the Europeans, with the guns in their intervals, defired the officers to return to the heads of the battalions, ordered them immediately to ground their arms, and if one of them attempted to move, I would give orders to fire upon them, and treat them the fame as if they were Sujah Dowla's army. They did ground their arms, and did not attempt to take them up again. Upon which I ordered fixteen more of the twenty-four to be tied to the guns by force, and blown away the fame as the firft; which was done.-I immediately ordered the other four to be carried to a cantonment where there had been a defertion of the feapoys fome time before, with pofitive orders to the commanding officer of that cantonment, to blow them away in the fame manner at the guns; which was done accordingly; and which put an end to the mutiny and defertion.

I prepared to take the field as early as poffible after the rains with the army, and fixed the 15th of September for the rendezvous of the troops from their different cantonments.-A couple of days before the army marched, I had intelligence, that the enemy had advanced feveral parties of horfe, and had thrown up fome breaft-works on the banks of the Soane, to impede the croffing of the troops.-I ordered Major Champion, with a detachment and four field-pieces, to march, and cross. the Soane fome miles below where the army was to crofs. After fixing with him the hour and the day that I intended to arrive at the Soane with the army, I defired that he might be at that time on the other fide, and endeavour to diflodge the enemy, and cover the landing of the troops. That officer was fo pointed in executing his or ders, he began to fire upon the enemy juft as the van of the army appeared upon the banks of the Soane, and foon dislodged them; by which means the whole army in four hours was landed on the other fide without the leaft Rr 2 moleftation

--

moleftation. I continued to march on towards Buxar, where the enemy was. -The last two or three days march the line of march was a good deal haraffed by the enemy's cavalry; fo much, that two ferjeants and fix or feven men of the advanced guard were killed. Upon the 22d of October we arrived at Buxar, and incamped juft without range of the enemy's fhot; and upon my going to reconnoitre their fituation with fome of the field-officers, I found the greateft part of them were intrench ed, with the Ganges upon their left, and the fort or village of Buxar on their rear. I intended to have attacked their camp about one or two in the mo ning of the 23d; and fent out fpies to bring me fome pieces of intelligence, fuch as to know whether I could bring my artillery on the right of their camp, refolving not to attack them on their left, that we might have a better chance to drive them into the Ganges then they should us.-I likewife wanted to know in what part of their incampment the force of their artillery Jay, and where the Vizier and Coffim Aily Khans tent ftood.-The fpies did not return to camp by twelve o'clock at night. I took it for granted they had been taken prifoners, and therefore refolved to put off the attack till the 24th in the morning.

Two of the fpies came in by day light of the morning of the 23d, and told me, that the enemy were under arms all night, moving their artillery, and tending off their treasure and women in the night.-I went immediately with fome officers to look at their difpofition: I faw a good many of their troops under arms, but not out of their intrenchments.-The officers who were with me, as well as myfelf, thought they only meant to fhew themselves, in order to strike a terror into our troops, never imagining they would quit their line in order to attack us, as I never heard of a Black army before attacking an European army-I returned to our camp, wishing they would come out to

attack us: for our army was incamped in order of battle.--About eight o'clock in the morning the field-officer of the day came into my tent, as I was at breakfast, and acquainted me, that the enemy's right was in motion, and he was fure they meant to attack us.—Į immediately went out with my reconnoitring glafs in my hand, and faw and thought as he did:-upon which I or dered the drums to beat immediately to arms; which was done; and the troops advanced from their incamp. ment, and were in a few minutes rea dy to receive them.-The action lasted from nine till twelve: the enemy then gave way, went off very flowly, blowing up feveral tumbrels, and three large magazines of powder, as they went off.

I immediately ordered the lines to break into columns and purfue. Two miles from the field of battle there was a rivulet, where the enemy had a bridge of boats; they pierced the boats, and funk them before the rear of their army got over, by which means there were about 2000 of them drowned, and fticking in the mud: but that was the best piece of generalfhip Sujah Dowla fhewed that day; becaufe, if I could have croffed the rivulet with the army, I would either have taken or drowned his whole army in the Carnaffa, and come up with his treasure and jewels, and Coffim Ally Khan's jewels, which I was informed amounted to between two and three millions.

The ftrength of our army at this battle was as follows:- -Europeans in battalion rank and file 746, of which 250 were King's troops, artillery-men 71,-European cavalry 40,---in all Europeans 857, exclufive of officers.

Seapoys rank and file 5297Black cavalry 918; in all 7072.Train of artillery twenty field-pieces.

European officers killed 2; wounded 7- Europeans killed 34; wounded 49.-Non-commiffioned officers killed 3; wounded 6.-Europeans killed and wounded 10I.-. Seapoys killed 205; wounded 414; mifling 85.-Black ca

valry