Enraged by these events, Decaen and Linois determined to inflict every possible injury on their foes.

The latter soon swept from the eastern seas British merchantmen valued at a million sterling, while the general ceased not to send emissaries into India to encourage the millions of natives to shake off the yoke of "a few thousand English." These officers effected little, and some of them were handed over to the English authorities by the now obsequious potentates.

Decaen also endeavoured to carry out the First Consul's design of occupying strategic points in the Indian Ocean.

In the autumn of 1803 he sent a fine cruiser to the Imaum of Muscat, to induce him to cede a station for commercial purposes at that port.

But Wellesley, forewarned by our agent at Bagdad, had made a firm alliance with the Imaum, who accordingly refused the request of the French captain.