A. INDEX. PAGE. E. PAGE. 71 ..434 . 81, 187, 280, 375, 467, 560 Epithalamium. By ROBERT S. CHILTON,....546 A SUMMER Thought. By JOHN K. HOLMES,..25 Evening Shadows. By ELLA RODMAN,.. Aunt Piety PARSON: A Specimen of Western ..62 F. A Brace of Sonnets. By S. J. P.,. 129 A Novel in a Nut-Shell. By the Condensationalist,.. Fire-Side Musings. By a New Contributor,..137 215 An Epigram,.. .231 A Walk in a Church-Yard. By an Old Contributor, BEAUCLERC,....... .436 233 A Day at Utica: Orthe first House Warming. A Walk in the Country. By PASTEL,. 252 A Remembrance. By W. H. C. HOSMER, Gossip with Readers and Correspondents, 87, 191, 287, 383, 471, 560 .320 UNDER MAJOR-GENERAL SIR JAMES ABERCROMBIE, JULY 8, 1758 BY M. DUDLEY BEAN. POSSESSED of the most brilliant and controlling intellect, and wielding the power of a mighty empire, the fame of WILLIAM PITT attended the glory of the British arms in India, and gave new hopes to the desperate and yet doubtful contest for North America. To the colonist here, his was a fit character for emulation: it excited equally the admiration of the ploughman in the field, the student in his closet, and the ranging soldier, in his daring and romantic service. No hamlet was so remote, where the English tongue was heard, that the fame of the illustrious minister did not reach it; and almost incredible response was given, from our widely-extended and thinly-populated country, to the mons for the great campaign of 1758. To carry out successfully the vast plans for that campaign became the ambition of the man who filled the entire measure of England's greatness. The colonist saw that the whole power of the crown, and all but the crown itself of the venerable old king, now near four-score, was surrendered without reserve to a man but yesterday an ensign. Encouraged by the example of his advance to power, and by his present matchless position in the great empire which was carrying her conquests gloriously in the East, the answer to this summons from New-England, New-York and New-Jersey caused both the minister and court to exult in the hope of the entire conquest of another hemisphere. William Pitt, afterward Earl of Chatham, was the man of his day; his recognition and favor of personal merit and personal responsibility made a thousand heroes, gave life to republican principles, and, without design, greatly advanced the establishment of a mighty republic. When it became known in England that commissions of high grade, regardless of purchase or family influence, were given to those of humble position, and that more were to be sent to America to be disposed of, according to the true spirit of republicanism, to the most deserving, even the king was remonstrated with. It was on this occasion that Wolfe was represented to him as being a madman. If this be so,' replied the old king, 'I hope he will bite all my generals not so afflicted.' Within eighteen months from that time, the brave Wolfe,' then but little more than thirty-two, showed with what 'madness' he was possessed, as well as the method of it. He is seen ascending the Heights of Quebec to the Plains of Abraham, and there, while battling for a stronghold, dying with the words of triumphant bravery on his tongue, amid the scenes of carnage and the shouts of victory. The attention of the British ministry having been diverted from the conquest of the East, three expeditions were decided on for America; and, on the recall of Lord Loudoun, Major-General Sir James Abercrombie found himself in command of more than fifty thousand men : the largest army ever known under one chief within the boundaries of the North American States. The war had already devastated the military establishments and frontier settlements of the English along the great lakes of the West and of northern New-York. The smothered vengeance of almost four years was in the breast of the colonist; and Massachusetts sent forth its every third able-bodied man' (more than seven thousand), and Connecticut, Rhode-Island, New-Hampshire, New-York and NewJersey furnished their quotas for the grand campaign. The legislatures of the different colonies convened expressly to hear the address of the minister and to vote supplies and men. In it they were informed explicitly of his purposes; that Louisbourg was to be reduced, to prevent farther communication of the French with Canada; that Fort Du Quesne, Crown Point, Frontenac, Ticonderoga, and the command of the great lakes must be gained; and that the war must be carried quite within the acknowledged confines of the French and their savage allies that by this course the captured women and children of the colonists should be restored to them, trade on the frontier revived, and ample revenge taken upon their combined enemies. Massachusetts replied in the most patriotic and spirited manner, declaring the blood of old New-England to be heated for the contest.' An account dated April third, 1758, says: So agreeable were the contents of Mr. Secretary Pitt's letter, that the House unanimously voted compliance with what was recommended. And notwithstanding such great numbers have lately entered in the king's service as soldiers, rangers, batteau-men, and ship and house carpenters, yet such was the zeal of our government, that they voted to raise seven thousand men for the present expedition, and, on Wednesday, to raise a subscription, notwithstanding the unhappy circumstances of this metropolis-taxes already on the income of estates being thirteen shillings and sixpence on the pound-yet in twenty-four hours twenty thousand pounds sterling was raised by subscription to pay bounty!" The object of the crown and the name and fame of Pitt were pro claimed in the same breath every where; by Sir William Johnson among the Six Nations; by the clergy from their pulpits, who declared that true religion must be maintained at every cost; and especially by the governors of the different colonies in their speeches to the respective Houses of Assembly. Governor James Delancey made his eloquent and soul-stirring address to the Assembly of New-York on the tenth of March. It was circulated far and wide over the province, and excited the same enthusiasm which was manifested in the other provinces. So universal was the interest which was felt in this campaign, and in the prospects of conquest and glory to the British arms, that the enrolment of the men under the act of the legislatures in the different colonies was nearly completed by volunteers. Still, in some instances, there was a deficiency, and the following-distinguished as well for its facetious and patriotic tone as for its poetic character- -was circulated among the young men, and finally found its way into print. I will not reflect on the early gallantry of any portion of our country by naming the neighborhood where this effusion first appeared; it is enough that we can boast of the zealous spirit which fired the spinsters of those times : THE SPINSTERS' PETITION TO HIS MAJESTY GEORGE THE SECOND of 'FOR LEAVE TO FIGHT HIS BATTLES, AS THE MEN IN SOME CASES REFUSE. March 15, 1758.' 'Most humbly, Sir, we this petition Of every rank and every station. 'Some men won't fight, and so disgrace us; We beg you'll put us in their places; The petticoat and bib and apron We'll leave behind for them to put on: And fight the battles they 've refused, By which the nation's so abused, And show them that a British wench can, If put at blows, beat any Frenchman. "When once we've got them in close quarter, Our country's credit soon regain, 'But one small recompense we ask- This address was numerously signed, and so unpopular was the refusal young men to enlist voluntarily, that in many instances their names were rejected by The Spinsters' Society,' and made the ridicule of the neighborhood by a resolution that 'Sister' be prefixed instead of ' Mr.' to the name of John Doe,' 'Richard Roe,' and so on. There were Spartan daughters as well as mothers in those times. In fact the gallantry of the betrothed John or George was judged suspicious unless he readily entered for the great campaign. |