satisfied; Newcastle gave to Pitt the Parliamentary majority which he wanted, and Pitt took on himself the responsibility which Newcastle shunned. Fox got a lucrative appointment without political influence, and in a few years made himself enormously rich. 12. Military Disasters. 1757. When Pitt took office in combination with Newcastle things were going badly. In America, French reinforcements were poured into Canada, and an attempt made by Lord Loudon, the British commander, to take Louisburg, a strong fortress which guarded the French island of Cape Breton, failed signally. In Germany, the king of Prussia, Frederick the Great, after overrunning Saxony in the preceding year, now, in 1757, attempted to overrun Bohemia. After winning a battle at Prague in May, he was disastrously defeated at Kolin in June, and driven out of the country. A French army, in the meanwhile, entered Hanover and defeated the Duke of Cumberland at Hastenbeck; after which Cumberland signed the Convention of Closterseven in September, leaving Hanover in the hands of the enemy. "Here is my son," said George II. of him when he returned to England, "who has ruined me and disgraced himself.” 13. Pitt and Frederick the Great. 1757-1758.--Pitt set himself to remedy the mischief, as far as he could. His plans for military action were often faulty, but he had indomitable courage, and an almost unique power of inspiring others with courage. Boldly throwing aside the traditions of the century, according to which appointments in the army and navy were given to men of good birth, or of families whose favour would bring votes in Parliament, he chose commanders for their merit. Every young officer knew that Pitt's eye was on him, and that he would be promoted if he conducted himself well, even if he were poor and friendless. A new spirit was breathed into both services. Before Pitt could achieve anything, Frederick's military genius had given him the mastery over his enemies. In November the King of Prussia smote down the French at Rossbach, and in December he smote down the Austrians at Leuthen. Pitt at once saw that a close alliance with Frederick was necessary if England was to maintain her struggle with France beyond the Atlantic. In 1758, therefore, he repudiated the Convention of Closterseven, which had not been brought into a binding form, gave a subsidy of 700,000l. a year to Frederick, and sent 12,000 English soldiers to join the Hanoverian army in defending Hanover. The commander of this force was Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, one of the best of Frederick's generals. In June the Prince defeated the French at Crefeld.

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AN ATTACK ON QUEBEC

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Frederick had, in the meanwhile, driven back the Russians at Zorndorf, but late in the year was beaten at Hochkirch by the Austrians.

14. Fighting in France and America. 1757-1758. Both in 1757 and in 1758 Pitt sent expeditions to harass the French at home. In 1757 an attempt to take Rochefort failed through dissensions amongst the commanders. One expedition, in 1758, destroyed some French ships and stores at St. Malo, whilst a second did some damage at Cherbourg, but was driven off with heavy loss in the Bay of St. Cast. In America Pitt made a great effort to gain his ends. He dismissed the incompetent Loudon, and appointed Abercrombie to command in chief, placing under his orders young men whose ability and energy he had noted, of whom the most conspicuous was Wolfe, who had distinguished himself in the abortive attempt on Rochefort. England's superiority at sea now told heavily in her favour. In the course of 1758 Louisburg and Fort Duquesne were taken, though Abercrombie was repulsed at Ticonderoga. In America the British troops, supported as they were by the colonial militia, far outnumbered the French. France was so fully occupied in Germany that she was unable to send more than scanty reinforcements to the Marquis of Montcalm, the commander of the French army in Canada, who had, therefore, to defend the French possessions in America against heavy odds.

15. The Campaign in Canada. 1759.-Pitt planned a serious attack on Canada for 1759. Abercrombie, having failed at Ticonderoga, was discarded. Three armies were to be brought from distant points to meet before Quebec, the fortified capital of Canada. Amherst, who replaced Abercrombie, was to capture Ticonderoga and Crown Point, push up by way of Lake Champlain, and approach Quebec from the south. Prideaux and Johnson were to capture Fort Niagara and approach it from the west. Wolfe was to sail up the St. Lawrence and to approach it from the east. The idea that three armies, separated by vast and thinly populated regions, could be brought to co-operate at a given time was essentially faulty. In fact, though the western army captured Niagara and the southern army captured Ticonderoga and Crown Point, neither of them got near Quebec that year. Wolfe found himself, with his troops, alone at the meeting-point on the St. Lawrence. The position of Quebec is exceedingly strong, lying between two rivers, the St. Lawrence and the St. Charles. Behind it rise the Heights of Abraham, which are easily defensible, as it has steep cliffs on the river sides. Around the defences of the town Montcalm

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THE CAPTURE OF QUEBEC

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manoeuvred with admirable skill; and though Wolfe landed his army, he could neither pass his adversary by nor compel him to fight. The season was growing late, and it seemed as if the British general would be forced to return home without accomplishing his task.

16. The Conquest of Canada. 1759-1760.-The St. Lawrence, as it flows by Quebec, is a broad and navigable stream, and Wolfe, re-embarking his troops, moved his ships up the river past Quebec,

hoping to be able to achieve something from that side. Though he had but little hope, he resolved to make one desperate attempt. Placing his men in boats at night he floated with them down the river. Gray's Elegy had been recently published, and Wolfe repeated some of its lines to his officers. "Now gentlemen," he said, "I would rather be the author of that poem than take Quebec!" His boats were steered for a point at which there was a zig-zag path up the cliff which edged the Heights of Abraham. It was so narrow that the French had taken no special pre

cautions to guard it, and when a few English soldiers reached the top the French sentinels ran off in surprise. The whole British force had time to draw itself up on the plateau of the Heights of Abraham before Montcalm was ready to meet it. In the battle which ensued Wolfe was killed. As he lay dying he heard an officer 66 cry, See how they run!" Wolfe roused himself to ask, "Who run?" When he heard that it was the enemy he gave orders to cut off their retreat, exclaiming, as he fell back in the arms of his comrades, "God be praised !—I will die in peace.” Montcalm, too, was sorely wounded in the battle, and died on the following day, Quebec surrendered, and in 1760 the whole of Canada submitted to the British.

17. The War in Europe; Naval Successes. 1759. In 1759, the year in which Quebec was captured, the French threatened to invade England. Pitt let loose upon them three admirals. Rodney bombarded Havre and destroyed the boats in which the invading army was to cross the Channel. Boscawen defeated off Lagos in Portugal a fleet which was on its way from Toulon to protect the crossing. Hawke, a seaman of the highest quality, blockaded another fleet at Brest, till it broke out in a storm. Hawke, however, pursued it, and caught it up off Quiberon Bay. Conflans, the French admiral, took refuge amongst the rocks and shoals which guard the mouth of the river Vilaine. Hawke dashed after him, though a gale was blowing. His pilot remonstrated with him at the risk he was incurring. "You have done your duty," replied Hawke, "in this remonstrance; you are now to obey my orders and lay me alongside the French admiral." A complete victory was the result.

18. Progress of the War in Germany. 1759.--In Germany things went hard with Frederick. Hemmed in by enemies on every side he struggled on with unabated heroism, but with almost continued ill success. The time seemed approaching when Prussia and its king must succumb, borne down by mere numbers; yet the end of 1760 saw Frederick with sadly diminished forces, yet still alert and hopeful of relief, though he knew not where to look for it. Prince Ferdinand and his British and Hanoverian army at least did him good service by warding off the blows of the French. In 1759 the Prince inflicted on a French army at Minden a defeat which would probably have been decisive but for the misconduct of Lord George Sackville, who, being in command of the cavalry, refused, in spite of distinct orders, to charge at a critical moment.