They bore him past an ancient hall, The lady looks o'er the terrace wall, Her joy is in that precious life, 'Far other weird 2 was thine, poor youth;' Her bosom thrills with woman's ruth,3 She looks upon the long bright hair, 'Some mother's heart, my darling fair, Beside thee lieth low. God's kindness cheer that stricken heart, He hath been kind to me, Else haply, e'en as now thou art, So might my Ronald be.' Her own soft hands the corpse will streek, She draws the plaid away, Vernal, growing as in spring. 2 Weird, destiny. • Streek, stretch, 'lay out.' 167 WILLIAM PITT. Comes ghastly whiteness o'er her cheek, Ah! close her arms the dead enfold, Her lips to his are pressed; The mother's heart lies still and cold, CANON BRIGHT. XXXVII. THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 1. THERE were five years of peace between 1748 and 1753. During this time William Pitt, or, as he was called, the Great Commoner, rose to have much influence with the people, though George II. greatly disliked him. 2. Causes of war were, however, growing up everywhere. The English and French had hated each other bitterly, ever since the English Revolution, and Spain was in alliance with France. These three nations all had large possessions beyond sea. The Spaniards held great part of South America and the West Indies; the French had large settlements in North America and in India; and the English had colonies in North America, possessed several West Indian islands, and ever since the time of Charles II. had been establishing a great trading company in the East Indies. 3. There were frequent disputes among the settlers whose lands bordered on one another, and these at last led to a war. It began badly for England; Minorca was retaken by the Spaniards, owing, it was thought, to the slackness of Admiral Byng, who did not bring his fleet to relieve the garrison, thinking it overmatched by that of the enemy. For this he was tried by court-martial, and was shot, lest the example of cowardice should do harm; or 'to encourage the rest,' as a clever Frenchman said. 4. In America, where the French were trying to join their lands in Canada and Louisiana by a chain of forts, between the rivers Ohio and Mississippi, General Braddock led a force to attack them near the Ohio. He was set upon by the French and the wild Red Indian tribes who served under them, in a narrow valley covered with forest. He was defeated with terrible loss; five horses were killed under him, and he was so badly wounded that he died on the way back. 5. Another war had broken out in Europe, between Maria Theresa and the King of Prussia. The English and French were as usual on opposite sides, though they had changed their allies; George II. now taking the part of Frederick II. of Prussia, and Louis XV. of Maria Theresa, whose husband was now Emperor. 6. The English were much out of spirits, but Pitt became Secretary of State, and everything went better. A young general, named James Wolfe, was chosen by him to take the command of a body of troops in North America. With these he crossed the river St. Lawrence into the French THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 169 settlements in Lower Canada. General Montcalm with a great army was watching to prevent him, but he took his men over in boats at night, and climbed the Heights of Abraham, a very steep hill overhanging the city of Quebec. 7. In the morning, the French found the English already on the hill. A great battle was fought in the September of 1759, in which the English gained a complete victory, and both the generals were killed. As Wolfe lay under a tree dying, someone called out They run, they run!' 'Who run?' he asked. then he said, 'I The French,' he was told; die happy.' Montcalm, on the other hand, was told he had but a few hours to live. 'It is well,' he said, 'for I shall not see Quebec surrendered to the British.' 8. Quebec was surrendered, and though the French tried to retake it, they could not succeed, and Canada has ever since belonged to the English. The Red Indian tribes were allies, some of the English, some of the French, and they used to fall on the homesteads of their enemies, burning, killing, and torturing, so that there was much to make this war very horrible. 9. In 1756 there had been a great disaster in India. One of the native Princes, called the Nabob Suraja Dowlah, had fallen on the small body of English merchants settled at Calcutta, had seized the town, and thrust 146 prisoners into a cell less than twenty feet square, in the very hottest season. There was only one window, and at the end of twenty-four hours, only twenty-three persons remained alive, the dead lying heaped up below the window. This place was called the Black Hole of Calcutta. 10. A young man named Robert Clive saved the fortunes of the East India Company. He brought together the English, trained the natives in their service or made alliances with them, and not only defeated the Hindoo princes, but the French who set them on to attack the English. In the great battle of Plassy, in 1757, he routed Suraja Dowlah and his French allies, he regained Calcutta, and placed the chief power in Bengal in the hands of the East India Company of merchants and traders, who ruled it from their office in London. II. The Duke of Cumberland had led an army into Germany, but he was turned back by the French and driven up into a narrow corner between the river Elbe and the sea, where, to save himself from being made prisoner, he had to sign a treaty called the Convention of Klosterseven, leaving Hanover to the French. The King was very angry and would not confirm the treaty. The Duke resigned his command, and when he came home he was received by his father with the words, ' Here is my son, who has betrayed me and disgraced himself.' 12. However, in 1760, the English shared in a great victory gained at Minden, by Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, over the French and their German allies. It was the last great battle of |