as likely to cause jealousy among
the latter; that Vansittart, notwithstanding his estimated lofty
moral nature,[1] had no strength of character; {150}no such
persuasive powers as could win men to his side; no pre-eminent
abilities; no force of will, such as Clive himself would have
displayed, to dominate or, in case of great emergency, to suspend a
refractory colleague. He was but one of the herd, well-meaning,
opposed in principle to the venality and corruption then in vogue,
but, in every sense of the term, ordinary. Even with respect to the
two vices he denounced, he was an untried and untempted man.

[Footnote 1: One anecdote will demonstrate the extent of the 'lofty
moral nature' attributed by Clive to Mr. Vansittart. After Clive had
been a year or so in England he wrote to Vansittart requesting him to
select for him and despatch to him an elephant, as he wished to
present one to the King. Vansittart chose and despatched the elephant
for presentation to his Majesty, not as a gift from Clive, but as
from himself.]

His capacity for rule was put to the test very soon after he had
assumed the reins of office. Those reins had not, as I have said,
been handed to him by Clive. He had taken them from Mr. Holwell at
the very end of July (1760). In the interval an event had occurred
which had changed the general position in Bengal. Five months after
Clive had quitted Calcutta (July 2, 1760) Miran, the only son of the
Subahdar, Mir Jafar, was struck dead by lightning. The reader may
recollect the passage in his letter to Mr. Pitt, wherein Clive
referred to this young man. He had described him as 'so cruel,
worthless a young fellow, and so apparently an enemy to the English,
that it will be almost unsafe trusting him with the succession.' If
another successor, with an unquestionable title, had been immediately
available, the death of Miran would have been no calamity. But there
was no such successor. The next son in order of succession had seen
but thirteen summers. Outside of that boy and his younger brothers
were many claimants, not one of them with an indefeasible title. Mir
Jafar himself {151}was older even than his years. It devolved then,
with the tacit consent of the nobles, on the Council at Calcutta, to
nominate the successor to Miran. Such was the state of affairs when
Mr. Vansittart arrived, and took his seat as President of the
Council.

It happened that there were in Bengal at this time two officers who
had