ew
sovereign a confirmation of their possession. But the power of the
Sultan was destined to fall in its turn; for Aurangzeb, the Moghul
Emperor at Delhi, being desirous of uniting all India under Moghul
rule, waged war against the Sultan of Golconda--who, as a Shiah
Mohammedan, was a heretic in Aurangzeb's eyes--and defeated him.
Aurangzeb put Hyderabad under a Nizam whom he named 'Viceroy of the
Deccan' and the Carnatic under a Nawab who was to be subordinate to
the Viceroy. But the Emperor who succeeded Aurangzeb had none of their
predecessors' greatness; and soon after Aurangzeb's death the Nizam of
Hyderabad assumed independence, with the Nawab of the Carnatic as his
vassal.

In 1749 there was a quarrel for the Nawabship. The French at
Pondicherry supported one claimant, and the English at Madras
supported the other. This was the gallant Clive's opportunity.
Exchanging the clerk's pen for the officer's sword, the youthful
'writer' marched with a small force to Arcot and captured it on behalf
of the Company's nominee, and then sustained most heroically a lengthy
siege. Clive triumphed; and Mohammed Ali, otherwise known as Nawab
Walajah, became undisputed Nawab of the Carnatic. Later, with British
support, the Nawab renounced his allegiance to Hyderabad, and reigned
as an independent prince.

In his capital at Arcot, Nawab Walajah, who had many factionary
enemies, would assuredly have found himself in a dangerous centre of
intrigue; but he was wise in his generation; for as soon as he had
gained his independence he sought and obtained from the Governor of
Madras permission to build a palace for himself within the protective
walls of Fort St. George. Arrangements for the work were made; and one
of the streets of the Fort--the street which still bears the name of
'Palace Street'--received its name because it was the street in which
the Nawab's residence was to be built. Eventually, however, the scheme
was set aside; and in the following year the Nawab acquired private
property in Chepauk, and engaged an English architect to build him a
house. Chepauk Palace thus came into existence. The grounds of the
Palace, which the Nawab surrounded with a wall, formed an immense
enclosure, which included a large part of the grounds of Government
House of to-day and a great deal of adjoining land.

Chepauk Palace was the scene of some grand doings in its time; and
soon after it was built the Nawab entertained the Governor of Mad