allied powers were to be
restored.

Two of Tippoo's sons were to be given up as hostages. Even after they
had been handed over, there were considerable delays before Tippoo's
signature was obtained, and it was not until Lord Cornwallis
threatened to resume hostilities that, on the 18th of March, a treaty
was finally sealed. Of the ceded territory the Mahrattis and the Nizam
each took a third as their share, although the assistance they had
rendered in the struggle had been but of comparatively slight utility.
It may, indeed, be almost said that it was given to them as a reward
for not accepting the offers Tippoo had made them, of joining with him
against the British.

The British share included a large part of the Malabar coast, with the
forts of Calicut and Cananore, and the territory of our ally, the
Rajah of Coorg. These cessions gave us the passes leading into Mysore
from the west. On the south we gained possession of the fort of
Dindegul, and the districts surrounding it; while on the east we
acquired the tract from Amboor to Caroor, and so obtained possession
of several important fortresses, together with the chief passes by
which Hyder had made his incursions into the Carnatic.

Dick felt deeply the absence of any proviso, in the treaty, that all
prisoners should be restored previous to a cessation of hostilities;
at the same time admitting the argument of his uncle that, although
under such an agreement some prisoners might be released, there was no
means of insuring that the stipulation would be faithfully carried
out.

"You see, Dick, no one knows, or has indeed the faintest idea, what
prisoners Tippoo still has in his hands. We do not know how many have
been murdered during the years Tippoo has reigned. Men who have
escaped have, from time to time, brought down news of murders in the
places where they had been confined, but they have known little of
what has happened elsewhere. Moreover, we have learned that certainly
fifty or sixty were put to death, at Seringapatam, before we advanced
upon it the first time. We know, too, that some were murdered in the
hill forts that we have captured. But how many remain alive, at the
present time, we have not the slightest idea. Tippoo might hand over a
dozen, and take a solemn oath that there was not one remaining; and
though we might feel perfectly certain that he was lying, we should be
in no position to prove it.

"The stipulation ought to have been made, if o