eed, the
greater the danger, the more clear was his judgment and the more keen
his courage.

The position which Clive took up in the mango-grove, protected as it was
by the trees and by the mud-bank surrounding it, which rendered the
heavy artillery of the enemy practically innocuous, and the skill with
which his few field-pieces were directed, were important elements in
securing the victory. Indeed, the most remarkable feature in the battle
is that while the artillery force of the enemy was enormously superior
in the weight of metal and in the number of guns to that of Clive, the
contest was mainly an artillery contest, and was practically decided by
that arm. The death of the Nawab's only faithful general, Mir Mudin, who
was mortally wounded by a cannon-shot, was, as we have said, the crisis
of the battle. It so disheartened the Nawab that from that moment he
gave himself up in despair, and became only too ready to listen to the
insidious advice of the leaders who had betrayed him, that he should
quit the field and leave it to them to continue the battle. Important as
Plassey was, and well as it was fought by Clive and his small force, it
is not a battle that can be held to redound to the credit of British
arms. Looking to the enormous disparity of numbers, and making every
allowance for the superior courage and training of the victorious force,
it can hardly be supposed that the result could have been what it was
had it not been for the treachery of the Nawab's principal generals.

On the evening after the battle, Clive's force halted at Daudpur, six
miles beyond Plassey. There on the next day he was joined by Mir Jafar,
the latter not altogether at ease as to the reception he might meet with
after his somewhat ambiguous attitude both before and during the
engagement; but Clive at once reassured him, and saluted him as the
Nawab of Bengal, Behar and Orissa, advising him to proceed at once to
Murshidabad, to secure the person of Suraj ud Daulah and prevent the
place being plundered.

Suraj ud Daulah had fled from the battle-field some time before the
issue was finally decided, and had arrived that same night at
Murshidabad. On the following night Mir Jafar reached that place. The
whole of that day Suraj ud Daulah had passed in a state of the greatest
perplexity as to the course he should pursue, whether he should submit
to the English or should make a stand in the city. Some of his principal
officers advised the fo