“Further, at the solicitation of my enemies, the Nawab sent people to pull down the earthworks I had erected.  He even wished the native agent of the English to be present.  In my life I have never suffered what I did that day.  To the orders of the Nawab I replied that so long as I was in the Factory no foreigner should touch my fortifications, but that to keep my agreement with him I was ready to withdraw and to make over the Factory to him, with which he could afterwards do as he liked, and for which I should hold him responsible.  At the same time, I made my whole troop arm themselves, and, having had my munitions loaded on carts for several days previous, I prepared to depart with the small amount of money which belonged to me and to a few other individuals.  The Nawab’s officer, seeing my resolution, and fearing to do anything which, might not be approved, postponed the execution of his orders, and informed the Nawab of what was happening.  He replied that he absolutely forbade my leaving the Factory, and ordered the pioneers to be sent away; but at the same time he informed me that it was absolutely necessary for me to pull down the earthworks, that under the present circumstances he had himself to do many things contrary to his own wishes, that by refusing to obey I should draw the English upon him and upon us, that we could not defend ourselves and must therefore submit, that I should not be troubled any more, and that, finally, he would give me money enough to build in brick what I had wished to make in earth.  I knew well the value of his promises, but I was forced to humour him.  It did not suit me to abandon the Factory altogether, so I set my workmen to pull down what I had built, and the same night the work was finished.”

The English now tried to win over the French soldiers, and had some success, for many of them were deserters from the British forces, and they quickly saw how precarious was the shelter which Law could afford them; but the Nawab could not be persuaded to force Law to surrender, and, though he agreed to leave the country, Law declared he would not do even that unless he received passports and money.  On the 8th of April he received passports, and was promised that if he would go to Phulbari, near Patna, he should there receive all he wanted.  He was allowed four or five days to make his preparations.

“I profited by this interval to persuade the only man who dared speak for us to got to action.  This was the Nazir Dalal, a man of no importance, but at the same time a man in whom the Nawab appeared to have some confidence.  As he was constantly at the Factory, I had opportunities of telling him many things of particular interest to the Nawab, and I believed that by politeness and presents I had brought him over to our interests.  A little later, however, I learned that he received quite as much from the English as from us.  He told the Nawab all that he learned from me, viz.