7.Then came the grand difficulty：having got the fortress，how to keep it.The young Englishman found within the loose and crumbling walls just eight cannon of different sizes，and he expected to get two eighteen-pounders from Madras，now restored to England.With these mounted at favourable points，he commenced his defence in the face of a native army，growing every day larger.
In several sallies he was successful；and in the difficult undertaking of bringing the two eighteen-pounders through the enemy’s lines he also succeeded.
8.The foe grew furious，and showered cannon-balls and musket bullets onthe walls in vast numbers；but in spite of famine and assault the defence was admirably sustained.The enemy then made up their minds to a last desperate attack，and they chose for it a holy day，on which the native soldiers were likely to be in a state of mad intoxication.
9.At the dawn huge elephants were driven toward the gates，which they were to force open with massive plates of iron bound upon their foreheads.At the same time，swarms of dark turbaned men ran from their camp and leaped down into the ditch，wherever it contained rubbish；while others got on a raft，where the ditch held water，and tried to push it over to the broken walls.
10.Clive was ready for both attempts.The elephants，smarting under a rain of bullets，which pierced their thick skins，ran back on their drivers，trampling them to death.With his own hands Clive pointed a cannon which sent a shower of grape among the crowd huddled on the raft，and cleared it at once.The enemy，baffled at every point，gave up the siege and withdrew.This defencea Trichinopoli.-A town 180miles south-west of Madras.
b Arcot.-sixty-four miles southwest of Madras.
c The Carnatic.-The south-eastern portion of the peninsula of Hindustan，extending along the coast，andinland for 75miles.
was the turning-point in the strife which secured to Britain the possession of Madras.
11.The tyranny and cruelty of Sujah Dowlah，an Indian prince who had taken Calcutta，brought Clive to Bengal for the sake of avenging the crime of the Black Hole.The place was deserted by the Govemor and the Commandant；but one hundred and forty-six Europeans were captured by the boyish monster，and were pushed into a low and dark cell，only twenty feet square，with nomeans of admitting air except two little windows secured with iron bars.
12.In a few minutes they began to feel suffocation，and screamed out to the guard：but the guard only laughed.A dreadful struggle then began among the prisoners to get near the windows，for on this their lives depended.In this struggle the weakest were overcome，and sank down to die.Money was offered in great sums to the sentinels，if they would go and waken the Prince；but they refused，because these Eastern tyrants used sometimes to cut off a man‘s head for so slight a thing as rousing them from sleep.
13.Hour by hour the screams and struggles grew fainter，for the few that remained alive were too weak to cry out；and，when in the morning an order came to open the door，the rush of a hot stench from the corpses within almost overpowered the men who undid the bolts.Of the twenty-three persons that came out alive，fever killed several in a short time.
14.This crime was avenged on the field of Plassey.There Clive，having retaken Calcutta，met the cruel Nabob in battle.The native army was enormous；the British force very small.Cannons，placed on high platforms which were drawn alongby white oxen and pushed from behind by elephants，opened a harmless fire on the British lines，which were protected by a mud wall.
15.Clive waited quietly for the enemy to attack him.Indeed he was so cool in this hour of danger，that，being very tired，he lay down to sleep：but the army of the enemy was in fact a mere mob armed with matchlocks and spears，and they undertook no distinct movement.They loaded and fired，until a shower of rain wet their powder，and then they began to retreat.Of this Clive quickly took advantage.He pointed his artillery on the broken masses of the enemy，and turned their confusion into headlong flight.The Nabob lost all his artillery and his baggage.Ever since that day the English have been supreme in India.
中文阅读
1.这个小男孩的淘气劲儿，曾经是什罗普郡马基特－德雷顿小店主的噩梦，但却昭示着罗伯特·克莱夫男爵的坚定和果敢，这些品质在他长大成人后能够清晰地辨别出来。有一次，他与一群无所事事的小男孩一起，用草皮给一条很脏的溪流筑堤，目的是让溪流转而流向一家不怀好意的店老板家的商店。但草皮筑的堤坝被水流冲毁了。辛苦了一个小时的成果，似乎转眼间就被汹涌的水流毁掉。不过，克莱夫却跑过去用身体横在缺口上挡住水流，直到同伴们垒起的草皮高到足以阻住水流为止。终于，他成了街坊四邻和父母双亲无法摆脱的梦魇，没办法，家人只好为他在东印度公司找了个当书记员的差事，将他送上前往马德拉斯的船上。
2.当职员的生活对他来说太枯燥了，而由于薪水微薄，巨大的生活压力迫使他活得非常累。恼怒和沮丧之余，他在某一天将自己锁在自己的小屋里试图自杀。他两次举起燧石枪对着自己的脑袋并扣起板机，却两次都没有射出子弹！
3.他把枪放下，坐在那里认真回想自己的苦恼，这时有个朋友敲门。克莱夫让他进了屋。那支枪还躺在桌子上。“把枪拿起来对着窗外开火。”这个绝望的职员说。朋友拿起枪，扣响板机，枪声便在屋子里回荡。克莱夫一跃而起，喊道：“我觉得我是为了某种伟业而活下来的！”
4.克莱夫成就的两件丰功伟业使得英国得到了马德拉斯和孟加拉，这便是阿科特防御战和普拉西战役。
5.法国占领马德拉斯之后，克莱夫化装成穆斯林逃到圣大卫堡。在那里，由于作为一名办事员无事可做，他便操起一支步枪出去打仗，而他的胆识和勇猛也很快使他脱颖而出，受到上级信任而得到指挥权。
6.当一个觊觎王位的本地人与法国人结盟而进攻特里奇诺波利a的时候，克莱夫冒着雷电交加的倾盆大雨向阿科特镇b挺进，当时这个城镇是卡纳提克c的首府。阿科特由一些凌乱的街道组成，环绕着一个城堡，城墙又矮又破。指挥防御城堡的当地军官惊恐万分，很快便向克莱夫投降。
7.随之大难题就出现了：占领城堡之后，怎么守住它呢？这位年轻的英国人发现，在零乱而漏洞百出的城墙里，只有8门不同大小的大炮，他希望从此时已经回归英国的马德拉斯，再运两门能发射18磅重型炮弹的大炮来。他将城内的大炮架在恰当的位置上，开始当着一支当地军队的面修筑防御工事，工事规模一天天增大。他成功突围了几次，并且历尽艰难，成功地将那两门发射18磅重型炮弹的大炮穿过敌人的前线运过来。
a 特里奇诺波利：马德拉斯西南方向180英里的一个小镇。
b 阿科特：马德拉斯西南方向64英里处。
c 卡纳提克：印度半岛西南方向沿海岸线延伸的部分，内陆纵深75英里的范围。
8.敌人火了，将无数炮弹和步枪子弹像雨点一样射到城墙上，但是，尽管饥寒交迫、受敌攻击，克莱夫的防御却令人生畏地得以维持。敌人遂决心发动最后一次孤注一掷的进攻，并且选了一个好日子，也就是本地士兵很可能由于酒精麻醉而处于极度疯狂状态的那一天。
9.天刚破晓，他们在巨象的前额上绑上重重的铁盘，迫使它们在铁盘的重击下向城门狂奔。同时，包上黑头巾的穆斯林从营地蜂拥而出，纵身跳进城外处处都是垃圾的壕沟，另一些士兵则在有水的沟渠里登上橡皮艇，并推倒皮艇去撞击毁坏的城墙。
10.克莱夫对这两种进攻方式都预有应对准备。受到弹雨刺激的大象被子弹穿透厚厚的皮肤，又返回跑向驱赶它们的人，将他们踩死。克莱夫亲自将一门发射大量霰弹的大炮，瞄向在橡皮艇上缩成一团的人群，很快便将其全部打死。在每个位置上都难以为继的敌人只能放弃围攻并向后撤退。这次防御作战是确保英国占领马德拉斯的转折点。
