MDDM Ch. 75 The Nabob

[Dave Monroe]

"'Thankee, Gents, altho' this time I am come upon an
Errand of Gravity.'  He explains to them his search
for a Scottish Mountain, suiting as many as possible
of Maskelyne's Stipulations.
   "'Hum...' Boswell's gaze bright'ning, 'he's Clive
of India's Brother-in-law.  Do you suppose the Nabob
wants to buy a Mountain?'
   "'Good Lord,-- Maskelyne, working in Confidence, as
a Land-Agent?  I never thought of that.'
   "'Then you are not as corrupted as you believe you
are, at least according to the creases of your Phiz,
Sir,' sometimes brusquely announces Dr. Johnson. 
'Such relative Innocence may be a sacred Asset, yet a
secular Liability.  May you ever distinguish the one
from the other.  Oh, and Mason?'
   "'Your Servant.'
   "'Be careful.'
   "'Of what, Sir?'
   "'Of the Attention you'll be getting up there, if
your Principal's illustrious Relation becomes widely
known,' warns Mr. Boswell, himself a Scot." (M&D, Ch.
76, p. 745)

Cf. ...

"... one more lad from Cambridge, clever with Numbers,
tho' none beyond that damn'd Tripos, who but happens
to be Clive of fucking India's, fucking,
Brother-in-law" (M&D, Ch. 43, p. 437)


"Errand of Gravity"

http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue99/classic.html


Clive of India

The great empire of the Moguls was disintegrating,
early in the 18th century the succession was disputed
and peace broke down. The British and the French were
rivals in India but commercial ones, they were
interested in trading rather than gaining territories.
Gradually trading became more difficult as the Indian
territories fought each other. It became clear that
India needed a new ruler. 

In 1746 the French took Madras. Clive, who had joined
the East India Company's army as a Captain, set out to
attack Arcot, the French headquarters in India. The
French immediately returned, the struggle lasted 50
days and was finally won by the British. 

By 1752 Clive had defeated the French and placed
Mahomet Ali, the British candidate, on the throne. 

Robert Clive of India 
ROBERT CLIVE (1725-1774)

Son of a Shropshire squire
Sent to India aged 18 as a clerk
Joined the East India Company in 1742
By chance, took command of a Company military force
and quickly proved to be a good tactician
Known as the victor at the Battle of Plassey in June
1757 when he defeated the Nawab of Bengal
This victory signalled Britain's control over India
Became Governor of the Bengal Presidency
Returning to England, he was elected MP for Salop in
1761 and given an Irish barony
In 1763 returned to India as Governor and
Commander-in-Chief
Died in tragic but not unexpected circumstances
Accused of financial irregularities, Clive, who had a
history of trying to take his own life, committed
suicide in November 1774

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/sceptred_isle/page/108.shtml?question=108

"Will you not allow, sir, that vice does not hurt a
man's character so as to obstruct his prosperity in
life, when you know that [Lord Clive] was loaded with
wealth and honours; a man who had acquired his fortune
by such crimes, that his consciousness of them
impelled him to cut his own throat." (Boswell, Life of
Johnson, Tues 12th May 1778)

http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9707&msg=18274&sort=date

http://www.hyperarts.com/pynchon/mason-dixon/extra/info.html

Clive of India (dir. Richard Boleslawski, 1935) ...

http://us.imdb.com/Title?0026221


Main Entry: na·bob 
Pronunciation: 'nA-"bäb
Function: noun
Etymology: Urdu nawwAb, from Arabic nuwwAb, plural of
nA'ib governor
Date: 1612
1 : a provincial governor of the Mogul empire in India
2 : a person of great wealth or prominence

Alphonse Daudet, The Nabob (1877) ...

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=2077


"the creases of your Phiz"

http://www.engl.virginia.edu/~enec981/dictionary/termpages/physiognomy.html

http://www.newcastle.edu.au/discipline/fine-art/theory/race/phrenol.htm

http://skepdic.com/physiogn.html

http://www.equilibrium.org/montaigne/essay19.html

Shookman, Ellis, ed.  The Faces of Physiognomy:
   Interdisciplinary Approaches to Johann Caspar
   Lavater.  New York: Camden House, 1993.

http://www.boydell.co.uk/1337.HTM


But why "be careful" "of the attention" Mason will "be
getting up there," i.e., Scotland, if his "Principal's
illustrious Relation," i.e., Clive of India, becomes
widely known?  Why might the Scots in particular have
it in for Clive?  Let me know ...

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