Wellington’s Secret
The future hero of Waterloo dealt with political ambush as comfortably as he dealt with the military kind.
1803
The future hero of Waterloo dealt with political ambush as comfortably as he dealt with the military kind.
1803
Arthur Wellesley spent the years 1797 to 1804 in India. He went out as a Colonel in the British Army’s 33rd regiment of Foot, and was soon being addressed as General Sir Arthur. On 23rd September 1803, he secured a significant victory over the Maratha Empire at Assaye in the state of Maharashtra, western India.
SHORTLY after the Battle of Assaye, one morning the Prime Minister of the Court of Hyderabad waited upon him [Sir Arthur] for the purpose of privately ascertaining what territory and what advantages had been reserved for his master in the treaty of peace between the Mahratta princes and the Nizam.* To obtain this information the minister offered the general a very large sum — considerably above £100,000.**
Looking at him quietly for a few seconds, Sir Arthur said, “It appears, then, that you are capable of keeping a secret?”
“Yes, certainly,” replied the minister.
“Then so am I,” said the English general, smiling, and bowed the minister out.
That is, the Maratha Empire and the Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad, monarch of the Hyderabad State.
In terms of purchasing power, £100,000 in 1804 would be roughly equivalent to £8 million today. See Measuring Worth.
1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?
2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?
3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?
Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
The Nizam of Hyderabad agreed a treaty. His Prime Minister wanted to know the terms. He went to see Wellesley.