that he might not hear the cries of the persons whom he was
causing to be killed."

So bad was the reputation of this young prince, that many persons,
among them Mr. Watts, imagined it impossible that the people would
ever tolerate his accession. The European nations in Bengal had no
regular representatives at the Court of the Nawab; and the Chiefs of
the Factories at Cossimbazar, though now and then admitted to the
_Durbar_, transacted their business mainly through _wakils_, or
native agents, who, of course, had the advantage of knowing the
language and, what was of much greater importance, understood all
those indirect ways in which in Eastern countries one's own business
is forwarded and that of one's rivals thwarted. Then, as now, the
difficulty of dealing with native agents was to induce these agents
to express their own opinions frankly and clearly.[70] So far from
the English Chief being corrected by his _wakil_, we find the
latter, whilst applying to other nobles for patronage and
assistance, studiously refraining from making any application to
Siraj-ud-daula when English business had to be transacted at Court.

The English went even further:--

"On certain occasions they refused him admission into
their factory at Cossimbazar and their country houses,
because, in fact, this excessively blustering and impertinent
young man used to break the furniture, or, if it pleased his
fancy, take it away. But Siraj-ud-daula was not the man
to forget what he regarded as an insult. The day after the
capture of the English fort at Cossimbazar, he was heard to
say in full _Durbar_, 'Behold the English, formerly so proud