ing to and fro, catching up their weapons and
falling into some sort of military order, while others brought up
horses and elephants, the caparisons of which shone gaily with silk of
many colours. So great was the throng, and so confused were their
motions, that I could not even guess their numbers, but Colonel Clive,
glancing over them with the eye of a veteran, declared that there must
be at least fifty thousand men, of whom upwards of fifteen thousand
were cavalry. Their guns I counted myself up to forty-three, and they
had others which they left in the camp.

As we stood and watched, this great host began to slowly pour out from
different openings in the rampart and advance on the plain, forming a
sort of bow round the front and right flank of our position. The
river, as I have said, protected the left, and they made no attempt to
close round the rear.

"I wonder which is Meer Jaffier's division?" muttered Colonel Clive
anxiously, as the array extended itself. The infantry remained for the
most part between the camp and our front, while the masses of cavalry
spread away to our right, forming their left wing. The army was not in
one line, but seemed to advance in a number of detached bodies, the
intervals between them being filled up with the guns.

This artillery was a truly formidable spectacle. Our own few guns were
merely six-pounders, nor had we the means of transport for larger
pieces. But many of the Nabob's cannon were of immense calibre, 24 and
even 32-pounders, more suitable for siege guns than to be brought into
action. They were mounted on high wooden stages, which bore not
merely the cannon but the artillerymen and ammunition as well, and
each of these carriages was drawn along by as many as eighty or a
hundred huge white oxen, of the famous Purneah breed. Moreover, in
case the oxen should not prove sufficient, an elephant walked behind
each of these moving platforms, and butted it with his forehead from
behind whenever it stuck from any difficulty of the ground.

Between the grove where we lay and the enemy's camp there were a
couple of tanks, such as the Indians build to contain rain water.
These tanks, being protected by banks of earth, served the purpose of
redoubts, and we saw a small body of men, about forty or fifty,
advance to the tank nearest us, dragging two light guns, with which
they at once began playing on the grove.

"Those are white men!" exclaimed Colonel Clive, who had been watchin