By Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland (1735-1811), from the National Portrait Gallery, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain. Source
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Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, in an undated portrait by Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland (1735-1811). He married Margaret Maskelyne in 1753, and thereafter Clive’s career continued to flourish. After he retired home in 1767 he found himself dogged by accusations of corruption, and though he was vindicated by a Parliamentary inquiry in 1773, the ‘censure and misunderstanding’ at home that he had felt even in the happy days of his courtship took their toll. Clive, who had always been highly-strung and was now addicted to medicinal opium owing to gallstones, died on November 22nd the following year, 1774. His detractors caught gleefully at rumours (which persist to this day) that he had cut his own throat, but there was no inquest so the truth can never be known.
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By Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland (1735-1811), from the National Portrait Gallery, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, in an undated portrait by Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland (1735-1811). He married Margaret Maskelyne in 1753, and thereafter Clive’s career continued to flourish. After he retired home in 1767 he found himself dogged by accusations of corruption, and though he was vindicated by a Parliamentary inquiry in 1773, the ‘censure and misunderstanding’ at home that he had felt even in the happy days of his courtship took their toll. Clive, who had always been highly-strung and was now addicted to medicinal opium owing to gallstones, died on November 22nd the following year, 1774. His detractors caught gleefully at rumours (which persist to this day) that he had cut his own throat, but there was no inquest so the truth can never be known.
CLIVE gradually accustomed them to danger, and by
exposing himself constantly in the most perilous
situations, shamed them into courage. He at length
succeeded in forming a respectable force out of his
unpromising materials. Covelong fell. Clive learned
that a strong detachment was marching to relieve it
from Chingleput. He took measures to prevent the enemy
from learning that they were too late, laid an ambuscade*
for them on the road, killed a hundred of them with one
fire, took three hundred prisoners, pursued the
fugitives to the gates of Chingleput, laid siege
instantly to that fastness, reputed one of the strongest
in India, made a breach, and was on the point of storming,
when the French commandant capitulated and retired with
his men.
Clive returned to Madras victorious,* but in a state
of health which rendered it impossible for him to remain
there long. He married at this time a young lady of the
name of Maskelyne,* and her husband’s letters, it is said,
contain proofs that he was devotedly attached to her.
Madras or Chennai lies on the east coast of India, somewhat towards the south of the country.
Margaret Maskelyne (1735-1817) was sister to the Revd Dr Nevil Maskelyne (1732–1811), a mathematician who also served as Astronomer Royal from 1765 to 1811. He the first person to measure scientifically the mass of the planet Earth. It was Nevil’s elder brother Edmund (1728-1775), one of Robert’s closest friends, who introduced Clive to Margaret in 1752. See Blind Date.
Questions for Critics
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.
About the Author
Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-1859), 1st Baron Macaulay, was educated at Cambridge University and having enjoyed success there as a writer began contributing to the Edinburgh Review, with essays on Milton and on Abolition. His father, Zachary, had been a vigorous anti-slavery campaigner and governor of Sierra Leone, the British colony specially for freed slaves. Macaulay became MP for Calne in 1830 — he used his maiden speech to call for an end to statutory discrimination against Jews — and for Leeds in 1833. He served on the Supreme Council of India between 1834 and 1838, and advised on both education and the penal code. He returned to England and to Westminster, becoming Secretary for War in 1839, and embarked on the History of England (published 1849-1861) that made him a household name. In 1857 he was raised to the peerage, but died just two years later, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1Expose.Shoot.Siege.
2Available.Ill.Recruit.
3Description.Have.Instant.
Variations:1.include direct and indirect speech2.include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who3.use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Many words can serve as noun or verb depending on context: see if you can prove this with the examples below. Nouns go well with words such as the/a, or his/her; verbs go well after I/you/he etc..
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
Variations:
1.if possible, use your noun in the plural, e.g. cat → cats.2.use your verb in a past form, e.g. go → went.3.use your noun in a sentence with one of these words: any, enough, fewer, less, no, some.
In each group below, you will find words that sound the same, but differ in spelling and also in meaning. Compose your own sentences to bring out the differences between them.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
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