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the Seven Years' war in which the English were concerned, though peace was not made for three more years, and by that time George II. had died, like his father, very suddenly, in 1760. His eldest son, Frederick, Prince of Wales, had died in the year 1751, very little mourned, for he was both worthless and ill-tempered; he was on bad terms with his parents and did not make himself respected by the people.

Persons: William Pitt-Admiral Byng-General Braddock -Queen Maria Theresa-Frederick II. of Prussia-James Wolfe-General Montcalm-Robert Clive-Frederick, Prince of Wales-The Duke of Cumberland.

Dates: Battle of Plassy, 1757-Conquest of Canada, 1759 -Battle of Minden and Death of George II., 1760.

XXXVIII. THE AMERICAN WAR.

I. THE eldest grandson of George II. was twenty-two years of age, when, in 1760, he came to the throne as George III. His mother, Augusta, Princess of Wales, had trained him carefully, and he was deeply religious, and thoroughly anxious to do his duty with an honest heart, and great firmness of temper. Though he sometimes made mistakes and held fast to them, it was from want of judgment, not from selfishness or any meaner reason. He was born in England too, and loved England heartily, instead of caring most for Germany, and in return the great body of his people loved and honoured him greatly.

2. So long as his mother lived she had great influence over him. She chose his wife for him, Charlotte of Mecklenburg, which is a little duchy in Germany. The chosen Queen was only about seventeen, but she had written of her own accord a letter to the King of Prussia, begging him not to

let his troops hurt the poor people in her brother's country. She used to tell her ladies how she was told one day that she was to dine at court, and her brother bade her not to behave like a child; her mother also lent her a pair of garnet earrings. She sat next an English gentleman, and,

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trying to talk to him, observed, 'They say that your King is very amiable.' She thought he smiled a little, and by-and-by she found that she was to be married immediately to this same young King!

3. The King and Queen did their best to put an end to the many evil practices that had become common in England. The King showed no favour to any State Minister or member of Parliament who took bribes, or did not act honestly, and the Queen would have no lady at court who did not conduct herself rightly, so that in course of time the whole tone of the court and country improved very much.

4. The war in North America had been very expensive, and it was thought just that the colonists should help to pay for it, so they were taxed for this purpose. But the colonists contended that no place ought to be called upon to pay taxes unless it had sent a member to the House of Commons to give his consent to them. Pitt, who had been made Earl of Chatham, thought there was reason in this, and tried to hinder the taxing, but he was overruled by the Earl of Bute, who had much influence with the King.

5. The Americans were very angry. They resolved to do without the articles that were taxed, and as tea was among these, a number of young men, dressed as Red Indians, boarded the tea ships in Boston Harbour, and threw all the tea into the sea. Soldiers were sent from England to put down

the disturbances, but this only angered the colonists still more. They took up arms in 1775, and besieged the garrison in Boston.

6. The troops tried to break their lines, and fought the battle of Bunker's Hill, just outside the city. The Americans were beaten, but the English suffered heavily, and the siege still continued. On the 4th of July, 1776, representatives from thirteen American settlements met, and drew up a Declaration of Independence, by which they cast themselves loose from the mother country, and declared that England had no control over them.

7. George Washington, a Virginian gentleman, became the American commander-in-chief, and soon showed himself a great general, as spirited as he was patient. He did not always gain the victory in his battles, but he was never disheartened, and in the year 1777 the English General Burgoyne and 10,000 men were taken prisoners.

8. Such a success as this made the French think it worth while to own the United States of America to be a separate power, and to send out troops to help them. This made the war much more serious, and it was thought that it must be given up, and that the King must renounce his rights to the thirteen States.

9. Lord Chatham was old and in bad health. He would have prevented the war by making terms with the colonists; but he could not endure that England should yield her rights to revolted subjects in alliance with her old enemy, France. So, feeble

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as he was, he came down to the House of Lords to speak. He made one speech with great force. It was answered, and he rose to reply, but at that moment he was seized with a fit. He was carried out of the House insensible, and died a few days later, in his 70th year.

10. The war went on, sometimes with victory on one side, sometimes on the other; but the Spaniards and the Dutch both joined the Americans and the French, and England stood alone. The French tried to take Jersey, but were beaten off by a brave young officer, Major Peirson, who was killed in the fight; and the Spaniards for three whole years besieged Gibraltar, which held out gallantly under General Elliot, till they were forced to give up the siege. Moreover, Admiral Rodney defeated the whole French fleet in the West Indies, and brought its commander to England as a prisoner.

II. However, in 1781 the English army under Lord Cornwallis was obliged to surrender itself to the allied French and American armies, and it was decided that no more blood should be shed, but that George III. should resign the colonies, thenceforth known as the United States. He said to their deputies, I was the last man to acknowledge your independence, I will be the last man to do anything to violate it.'

12. Peace was finally signed in 1783, and all the places which England had taken from France or Spain in the war were restored to them. All