"The Comte de la Gallisonière proposed that Monsieur du Quesne, a skilful engineer, should be appointed to establish a line of fortifications through the interior of the country, and at the same time urged the Government of France to send out 10,000 peasants to form settlements on the banks of the great lakes and southern rivers. By these means he affirmed that the English colonies would be restricted within the narrow tract lying eastward from the Alleghany Mountains, and in time laid open to invasion and ruin. His advice was, however, disregarded, and the splendid province of Canada soon passed for ever from under the sway of France."-vol. ii. p. 25.

"In the year 1750, commissioners met at Paris to adjust the various boundaries of the North American territories. The English commissioners, however, soon perceived that there was little chance of arriving at a friendly arrangement. The more they advanced in their offers, the more the French demanded; futile objections were started, and unnecessary delays continued: at length Mr. Shirley and his colleague broke up the conference, and returned to England. It now became evident that a decisive struggle was at hand.”—vol. ii. p. 33.

After a long and doubtful contest, in which success alternated between the rival powers, the scale became turned completely in favour of France, till at length the genius of Montcalm and the inefficiency of his antagonists seemed likely to subjugate the whole continent to the sway of the house of Bourbon. It was not until the great Earl of Chatham was securely established as Prime Minister of England that success once more attended the arms of our countrymen.

"This illustrious man knew no party but the British nation, acknowledged no other interest. To exalt the power and prosperity of his country and to humble France was his sole aim and object. Personally disagreeable to the highest power in the state, and from many causes regarded with hostility by the several aristocratic confederacies, it needed the almost unanimous voice of his countrymen, and the acknowledged confidence of those powerful men whose favour he neither possessed nor desired, to sweep away those formidable difficulties, and give to England in the hour of need the services of her greatest son.

"For the remainder of the campaign of 1757, however, the energy and wisdom of Pitt were too late brought to the council, and the illconducted schemes of his predecessors bore, as has been shown, the bitter fruit of disaster and disgrace. But no sooner was he firmly established in office, and his plans put in execution, than the British cause began to revive in the western hemisphere, and, although still chequered with defeat, glory and success rewarded his gigantic efforts. He at once determined to renew the expedition against Cape Breton, and, warned by previous failures, urged upon the king the necessity of removing both the naval and military officers who had hitherto conducted the operations. With that admirable perception, which is one of the

most useful faculties of superior minds, he readily discerned in others the qualities requisite for his purpose,-his judgment ever unwarped, and his keen vision unclouded by personal or political considerations. In Colonel Amherst he had discovered sound sense, steady courage, and an active genius; he, therefore, recalled him from the army in Germany, and, casting aside the hampering formalities of military rule, promoted him to the rank of Major-general, and the command of the troops destined for the attack of Louisburgh. At the same time, from the British Navy's brilliant roll the minister selected the Hon. Edward Boscawen as admiral of the fleet, and gave him also, till the arrival of General Amherst, the unusual commission of command over the land forces. With vigorous zeal the equipments were hurried on, and, on the 19th of February, a magnificent armament sailed from Portsmouth for the harbour of Halifax on the Acadian peninsula. The general was delayed by contrary winds, and did not reach Halifax till the 28th of May, where he met Boscawen's fleet coming out of the harbour; the admiral, impatient of delay, having put all the force in motion, with the exception of a corps 1600 strong, left to guard the post. No less than twenty-two ships of the line and fifteen frigates, with 120 smaller vessels, sailed under his flag, and fourteen battalions of infantry with artillery and engineers, in all 11,600, almost exclusively British regulars, were embarked to form the army of General Amherst. The troops were told off in three brigades of nearly equal strength, under the Brigadier-generals Whitmore, Lawrence, and JAMES WOLFE."-vol. ii. pp. 133-35.

We have already given so many extracts from the earlier portions of the work, that the limits which we have assigned to this article prevent us from giving any lengthened account of the operations which ended in the conquest of Canada, and the final triumph of the Anglo-Saxon race on the North American continent. Dangers and difficulties of the most appalling description were overpowered by the skill and courage of Amherst and Wolfe; nor did the genius and valour of Montcalm, or the inefficiency of their own coadjutors, prevent the triumph which their supereminent merit forced from the hands of the gallant enemy.

The first exploit of the English was the capture of Louisburgh, bravely defended by Drucour. The account of the siege is most spirited and graphic. We have only room for the concluding observations.

"In those days the taking of Louisburgh was a mighty triumph for the British arms: a place of considerable strength, defended with skill and courage, fully manned and aided by a powerful fleet, had been bravely won; 5000 men, soldiers, sailors, and mariners, were prisoners; eleven ships of war taken or destroyed, 240 pieces of ordnance, 15,000 stand of arms, and a great amount of ammunition, provisions and military stores, had fallen into the hands of the victors, and eleven

stand of colours were laid at the feet of the British sovereign; they were afterwards solemnly deposited in St. Paul's Cathedral.

But, while the wisdom and zeal of Amherst and the daring skill of Wolfe excite the gratitude and admiration of their countrymen, it must not be forgotten that causes beyond the power and patriotism of man mainly influenced this great event. The brave admiral doubted the practicability of the first landing. Amherst hesitated, and the chivalrous Wolfe himself, as he neared the awful surf, staggered in his resolution, and, purposing to defer the enterprise, waved his hat for the boats to retire. Three young subaltern officers, however, commanding the leading craft, pushed on ashore, having mistaken the signal for what their stout hearts desired, the order to advance; some of their men, as they sprung upon the beach, were dragged back by the receding surge and drowned, but the remainder climbed up the rugged rocks, and formed upon the summit. The brigadier then cheered on the rest of the divisions to the support of this gallant few, and thus the almost desperate landing was accomplished.

"Nor should due record be omitted of that which enhances the glory of the conquerors, and the merit of the conquered. To defend the whole line of coast with his garrison was impossible; for nearly eight miles, however, the energetic Drucour had thrown up a chain of works, and occupied salient points with troops. And when, at length, the besiegers effected a landing, he still left no means untried to uphold the honour of his flag. Hope of relief or succour there was none; beyond the waters of the bay the sea was white with the sails of the hostile fleet. Around him on every side the long red line of the British infantry closed in from day to day. His light troops were swept from the neighbouring woods; his sallies were interrupted or overwhelmed ; well-armed batteries were pushed up to the very ramparts; a murderous fire of musketry struck down his gunners at their work; three gaping breaches lay open to the assailants; his best ships burned or taken; his officers and men worn with fatigue and watching; fourfifths of his artillery disabled; then, and not till then, did the brave Frenchman give up the trust which he had nobly and faithfully held. To the honour of the garrison, not a man deserted his colours, through all the dangers, privations, and hardships of the siege, with the exception of a few Germans, who served as unwilling conscripts. This spirited defence was in so far successful, that it occupied the bulk of the British force, while Abercromby was being crushed by the superior genius and power of Montcalm; by thus delaying for seven weeks the progress of the campaign, the season became too far advanced for further operations, and the final catastrophe of French American dominion was deferred for another year."-vol. ii. pp. 140-143.

In the spring of 1759 every preparation was made by the British to ensure the entire conquest of Canada, which had now become the darling object both of the Minister and the nation. It is painful to look back on the cruelties perpetrated throughout

this war by both the parties engaged in it, though the balance of humanity is strongly on the side of the English, and no charge of bad faith can be brought against our countrymen.

"The general's active care could not protect the frontier settlers from the atrocious cruelties of the French and Indians; although scouting parties were constantly moving through the forests, the subtle and ferocious enemy eluded their vigilance, and scalped men, women, and children without mercy. These outrages gave rise to the following order by Amherst, which he found means to forward to the governor of Canada and his general:

"No scouting party, or others in the army, are to scalp women or children belonging to the enemy. They are, if possible, to take them prisoners, but not to injure them on any account, the general being determined, should the enemy continue to murder and scalp women and children who are the subjects of the King of Great Britain, to revenge it by the death of two men of the enemy for every woman or child murdered by them.'

war.

"It were a needless pain to dwell upon the cruelties of this bloody Our countrymen must bear their share, although not an equal share, of the deep disgrace. The contending parties readily acquired the fiendish ingenuity in torture of their Indian allies; the Frenchman soon became as expert as his Red teacher in tearing the scalp from a prostrate enemy; and even the British soldier counted those odious trophies with unnatural triumph. In the exterminating strife, the thirst of blood became strong and deep, and was slaked, not only in the lifestreams of the armed foe, but in that of the aged, the maimed, the helpless woman, and the innocent child. The peaceful hamlet and the smiling corn-field excited hostile fury alike with the camp, the intrenchment, and the fort, and shared in their destruction when the defenders were overpowered. Yet, still over these murdered corpses and scenes of useless desolation the spotless flag of France and the Red Cross of St. George waved in alternate triumph, proudly and remorselessly, by their symbolic presence sanctioning the disgraceful strife."-vol. ii. p. 241.

It is with pleasure that we leave this painful subject to give some of the outlines of that great achievement which forms the climax of the interesting narrative before us-great in every sense, whether we consider the chivalrous commander and his gallant army, or the mighty results which have thence arisen. Well might the great minister pour forth the full tide of his overwhelming eloquence as he spoke of "the horror of the night, the precipice scaled by Wolfe, the empire he with a handful of men had added to England, and the glorious catastrophe of contentedly terminating his life when his fame began." Well might he declare that "ancient story may be ransacked, and ostentatious

philosophy thrown into the account before an episode can be found to rank with Wolfe's."

The whole wondrous narrative is here told in a manner to give full effect to every incident. It is like some mighty picture, so true to life and nature, that we see the shades of night gathering, we hear the almost silent plash of the stealthy oar, we mark the troops as one by one they gain the rough ascent, we see the terrified courier as he scuds over the plains of Abraham, and gives the deadly intelligence to the brave, the talented, the merciless Montcalm. For a moment we share in his concealed distress, till the memory of the many atrocities which he encouraged or permitted removes all sympathy from our minds, and we exclaim, "No pity for the pitiless!"

It would seem as if Montcalm had for the moment been preternaturally urged upon his destruction. "Once, and once only, in a successful and illustrious career, did this gallant Frenchman forget his wisdom and military skill; but that one tremendous error led him to defeat and death." Had he remained within the shelter of the fortifications of Quebec, winter would soon have forced the English to retire from before its walls, for Wolfe's force was (without the assistance of Amherst, who was still far distant) quite unequal to reducing the city so strongly garrisoned and defended, especially in the brief interval before the severe season set in. In this case the fall of Quebec must have been delayed till next year; and in the meanwhile a change might have occurred in European affairs, or France might have been enabled to send efficient succours. Despite of all these considerations, and after having only a short time before recorded his deliberate opinion that he could not face the British army in a general engagement, he now on an open plain, without waiting even for his artillery, led his troops, a great portion of which consisted of the rude Canadian Militia, against the veterans of England. We extract a few passages describing the results. After some movements on both sides::

"The whole of the French centre and left, with loud shouts and arms at the recover now bore down to the attack. Their right troops then ceased firing, and passed to the rear. As the view cleared, their long unbroken lines, were seen rapidly approaching Wolfe's position. When they reached within 150 yards, they advanced obliquely from the left of each formation, so that the lines assumed the appearance of columns, and chiefly threatened the British right. And now from flank to flank of the assailing battalions rolled a murderous and incessant fire. The 35th and the Grenadiers fell fast. Wolfe, at the head of the 28th, was struck on the wrist, but not disabled. Wrapping a handkerchief round the wound, he hastened from one rank to another, ex