office of paymaster of the forces, without a seat in the cabinet (June 29). This was the first ministry of Pitt, who was now 48 years old.

§ 16. It was too late in the season to attempt any enterprise of importance, and an expedition despatched against Rochefort, consisting of 16 ships of the line, with frigates and transports, commanded by sir Edward Hawke, and having on board 10 regiments of foot under general sir John Mordaunt, proved abortive, through the irresolution of the latter. But England had now another war on hand. In the previous year France and Austria had leagued themselves for the partition of Prussia by the treaty of Versailles (May 1, 1756), to which Russia, Saxony, and Sweden afterwards acceded. Apprised of this confederacy through the treachery of a clerk in the Saxon service, Frederick of Prussia was the first to strike a vigorous blow by seizing Dresden. Thus began the SEVEN YEARS' WAR (1756-1763).

Frederick now drew closer his alliance with England; and in April, 1757, the duke of Cumberland proceeded to the continent to fight in his cause, and to defend the electorate. The French, advancing with a large army, compelled the duke to retreat, and overran all Hanover. Supported by four British men-of-war in the Elbe, the duke took refuge under the guns of Stade. In this critical position he appealed to the mediation of the king of Denmark, and was compelled to enter into the convention of Kloster Seven, by which he agreed to dismiss his auxiliaries, withdraw his troops over the Elbe, and disperse them in cantonments, leaving only a garrison in Stade (September 8). Thus Hanover was lost. George II. was as indignant at this failure as Frederick himsel', and received his son on his return with the greatest coldness. Offended by this treatment, the victor of Culloden threw up his employments, and lived in comparative obscurity till 1765, when he died in his 45th year. Frederick, reduced to the last extremity, retrieved his affairs by the victories of Rossbach and Leuthen. This success made him popular in England. He was regarded as the protestant hero; and when, early in 1758, Pitt proposed a new convention with Prussia, with a subsidy of 670,000l., it was carried almost unanimously.

§ 17. In 1758 the war raged in all quarters of the world. The brilliant achievements of Clive, which decided whether the empire of India should fall to England or to France, are related in the next

son became duke of Buckingham; 2. Thomas, who held several high offices in the state, and bequeathed to the country his splendid library, now in the British Museum; 3. William Wyndham,

the friend and colleague of the younger Pitt, who was made lord Grenville in 1790, and who became prime mini ter in 1806. He died in 1834 without issue.

chapter (§ 4). In Africa, the island of Goree was wrested from the French. In America, Pitt projected the conquest of Cape Breton and St. John's; and a fleet and army were despatched under admiral Boscawen and general (afterwards lord) Amherst. At the same time Wolfe, who had attracted Pitt's notice during the Rochefort expedition, was sent out as second in command, with the title of brigadier-general. In these appointments, Pitt, disregarding seniority, as well as aristocratic and parliamentary interest, was guided by merit alone. The armament was composed of 150 ships and 12,000 soldiers. Louisburg capitulated after a siege of two months (July 26), in which Wolfe distinguished himself. After the fall of the capital, the whole of Cape Breton submitted; and soon after the island of St. John did the same. The name of the latter was changed to Prince Edward's Island, in honour of the next brother of the prince of Wales.

A secret expedition against Cherbourg was planned by Pitt, under commodore Howe and lord Anson, with 20,000 soldiers and marines, commanded by Charles, second duke of Marlborough, and lord George Sackville. The attempt partially failed, but was renewed with more success in August, under general Bligh, accompanied by prince Edward. When the troops landed, the town was found to be deserted. The forts and basin were destroyed, together with 170 pieces of iron cannon, and 22 brass guns were carried off. The troops were then landed near St. Malo; but the duke d'Aiguillon coming up with superior forces, the English re-embarked in precipitation, and 1000 men of the rear-guard were either killed or made prisoners.

By these exploits, the attention of the French was diverted from the campaign in Germany. Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick not only drove them out of Hanover, but even over the Rhine, whither he followed them, and gained on the left bank a victory at Crefeld; but the advance of the prince de Soubise obliged him to fall back on Münster. Frederick had achieved brilliant successes, chequered by a disastrous defeat inflicted on him at Hochkirchen by the Austrian generals Daun and Laudon (October 14).

§ 18. In 1759 the arms of England were successful by sea and land. The French, though scarcely able to defend their own coasts, threatened an invasion, and made preparations in Havre, Toulon, and other ports; but in July admiral Rodney bombarded Havre, and did great damage to the town, destroying many of their flatbottomed boats; whilst the Toulon fleet was dispersed with loss by admiral Boscawen, off Lagos in Algarve. Another fleet under sir Edward Hawke blockaded Brest, and a squadron of observation hovered near Dunkirk. Hawke gained a signal victory (November

20) near Quiberon, over a French fleet under De Conflans, consisting of 21 sail of the line and four frigates. Hawke's fleet, which was rather stronger, sunk or burnt three of the Frenchmen and captured two; the others, more or less damaged, succeeded in getting into the river Vilaine.

Frederick sustained a terrible defeat this year at Kunersdorf, near Frankfort-on-the-Oder; but from want of cordiality between the Anstrians and Russians, its consequences did not prove very disastrous. On the other hand, prince Ferdinand, who had in his army 10,000 or 12,000 English troops under lord George Sackville, was more fortunate. He failed indeed in an attack on the French position at Bergen; but he more than retrieved this reverse by the brilliant victory of Minden (August 1), which would have been still more complete had Sackville, who commanded the cavalry, obeyed the orders to charge the routed enemy. Loud clamours were

raised against him, both in England and Germany, and Pitt dismissed Sackville from all his employments.

But the chief success this year was achieved in Canada. The French had colonized that province in the reign of Francis I., but it was not till the following century that the cities of Quebec and Montreal rose to importance. Pitt proposed a plan of invasion by three separate divisions, which were to unite at Quebec. One of these, composed of colonists and Indians under general Prideaux and sir William Johnson, was to advance by way of Niagara and Lake Ontario towards Montreal; another, of 8000 men, under the command of general Wolfe, was to proceed up the St. Lawrence, and lay siege to Quebec; whilst in the centre the main army under general Amherst was to attack Ticonderoga, secure the navigation of Lake Champlain, and, proceeding by the river Richelieu, form a junction with Wolfe.

The first and last of these expeditions succeeded as far as they went. Niagara and Ticonderoga were captured, but it was too late in the season to form a junction with Wolfe. The fleet of admiral Saunders carried Wolfe safely to the Isle of Orleans, opposite Quebec, where the army disembarked on June 27, 1759. Wolfe formed a lodgment on the westernmost point of the island, where Quebec rose to his view, strong in its natural position, but without artificial defences. It is washed on two sides by the rivers St. Charles and St. Lawrence, whose banks are almost inaccessible, while a little below the town the Montmorency falls into the St. Lawrence. The entrance of the harbour is defended by a sandbank; the castle of St. Louis commands the approaches; and above the city rise from the St. Lawrence the rugged Heights of Abraham. Quebec at that time contained a population of about

7000; but it had a cathedral, a bishop's palace, and other public buildings. The marquis de Montcalm, the French governor of Canada, a distinguished officer, lay with an army of 10,000 men, chiefly Canadian colonists or native Indians, outside the city, on the line called Beauport, between the rivers St. Charles and Montmorency. The ground was steep; in his front lay the Montmorency; his rear was protected by dense woods, and every open space had been fortified. As Wolfe's attempts to draw Montcalm from this position failed, it only remained to attack him in his entrenchments, Repulsed in an assault on July 31, Wolfe determined on the hazardous exploit of proceeding up the St. Lawrence and scaling the Heights of Abraham, though, through deaths, sickness, and the necessary detachments for securing important points, he could muster no more than 4500 men. Early in the morning of September 13, the troops were silently conveyed by the tide in boats to a small cove, now called Wolfe's Cove, overhung by lofty rocks. As they rowed along to this place, Wolfe repeated in a low voice to the officers in the boat with him Gray's beautiful "Elegy in a Country Churchyard," adding at the end, "Now, gentlemen, I would rather be the author of that poem than take Quebec." Wolfe himself was one of the first to leap ashore. The precipitous path was climbed; an outpost of the enemy fled in alarm; and at daybreak the British army stood arrayed upon the heights, but without cavalry, and having no more than a single gun. Montcalm was now obliged to abandon his position and advance to give battle. The English, by Wolfe's direction, reserved their fire till the enemy were within 40 yards, and then delivered a well-directed and destructive volley. Many fell, the rest wavered; Wolfe, though wounded in the wrist, seized the favourable moment, and springing forwards ordered his grenadiers to charge. At this instant he was struck by another ball in the groin, and shortly after by a third in the breast, which caused him to fall, and he was conveyed to the rear. Before he breathed his last, an officer who was standing by exclaimed, "See, they run!" "Who run?" eagerly cried Wolfe. "The enemy," cried the officer. "Then God be praised!" said Wolfe, "I shall die happy;" and immediately expired. Thus fell this gallant officer at the early age of 33. Montcalm, the French commander, was also mortally wounded. Quebec capitulated on September 17; the French garrison was conveyed by agreement to the nearest French port; and in the following year the conquest of all Canada was achieved.

This event threw a lustre over the close of the reign of George II., which in other respects had not been inglorious. He died suddenly cn October 25, 1760, at the age of 77, from the bursting of the right ventricle of the heart.

Obv.: VICTORY. AT. PLASSY CLIVE. COMMANDER. Victory without wings, bearing trophy and palm, seated on elephant, to left. Below, SOC. P. A. C.

Rev.

MDCCLVIII.

Clive,

INIVRIES. ATTONED. PRIVILEGE. AVGMENTED. TERRITORY. ACQUIRED.
A SOVBAH GIVEN TO BENGAL
MDCCLVIII.

in Roman costume, giving a sceptre to an Indian. Below,

(in imitation of the REX PARTHIS DATUS, and the like, of the Roman imperial coinage).

CHAPTER XXXI.

GEORGE III., b. 1738; r. 1760-1820.

FROM THE KING'S ACCESSION TO THE RECOGNITION OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, AND THE PEACE OF VERSAILLES, A.D. 1760-1783.

§ 1. Accession of George III., and settlement of the government. King's marriage and coronation. § 2. State of the campaign. Negociations. Pitt resigns. § 3. War with Spain. Lord Bute's administration. Peace of Fontainebleau. § 4. Rise and progress of the Indian empire. § 5. Unpopularity of lord Bute. Wilkes and the North Briton, No. XLV. General warrants. § 6. Grenville's American Stamp Act. § 7. Lord Rockingham prime minister. Succeeded by lord Chatham. Lord North's American taxes. § 8. Proceedings against Wilkes. Disturbances in America. Lord North prime minister. Royal Marriage Act. § 9. Effect of the tea duties in America. Commencement of the rebellion. Skirmish at Lexington. Battle of Bunker's Hill. § 10. Attempts at conciliation. American independence. Progress of the war. § 11. La Fayette. Philadelphia taken. Capitulation of Saratoga. Treaty between France and the Americans. § 12. Death of Chatham. § 13. The French fleet in America. Actions in the Channel. Spain joins the French and Americans. Paul Jones. § 14. Lord George Gordon's riots. § 15. Rodney's victory at Cape St. Vincent. "Armed Neutrality." American campaign. Battles of Camden and Eutau Springs. Capitulation of York Town. § 16. Naval engagements. Losses and disasters. Lord Rockingham's second ministry. Independence of the Irish parliament. Parliamentary reform. § 17. Rodney's victory in the West Indies. Lord Shelburne's ministry.

The