tish channel, have been fo well watch'd and guarded by our fuperior fleets, that the enemy, altho' they had had a fufficient force, and all things in readiness to make a descent, have not yet had it in their power to leave their own coafts, without almoft the certain lofs of their whole army and armament, with a great part of their navy. Yea, divine providence has fo favour'd us, that one of the Britifh admirals has had it in his power to enter one of the enemy's ports, where these grand preparations were making; and to deftroy a part thereof, with fome of their ftores and magazines, fome of their fhipping, and even a confiderable part of the city itself, near which they were. †

ANOTHER of our admirals, or at least part of his fquadron, not long after, approached fo near their principal port, *where their chief maritime ftrength was collected, as to bring off fome of the fhips carrying fupplies to them, even from under the fruitless fire of their caftles and batteries.

BUT we have very lately had authentic advices of ftill greater importance, refpecting the good fuccefs of a third British admiral, the fame who commanded the fleet the last Year at the fiege of Louisbourg, ftill fresh in all our memories. For when one of the enemy's fquadrons was about joining their principal fleet, and in a fair way of effecting it, which might have proved of bad confequence to us, this brave and fuccefsful admiral, you know, opportunely discovered, attacked, and beat it; taking and deftroying five or fix capital fhips; the remainder, or at least the most of them, being obliged to betake themselves to a neutral port; and there reduced, in their extremity, to implore convoy of a neutral power, to fee them fafe back again into their own, from whence their evil genius had tempted them to depart. But

Havre de Grace.

* Breft.

Toulon.

in

in vain; being ftili blocked up by a fuperior force; fo that we need not wholly despair of having further accounts of them, which may be agreeable to us.

I MUST not omit, now I am hinting at fome very interesting occurrencies in Europe, relative to the war, to mention the laft advices, which we hope may be depended on, refpecting the victory of his Majefty's great Pruffian ally over the Ruffian army, then within a few leagues of his own capital, which feemed in imminent danger of falling into the hands of those Barbarians. If this advice be not premature, as we all hope it is not, this is a very important event, not only to his Pruffian Majefty, who has now ftood as it were on the brink of a mighty precipice, for feveral years together; but alfo to our King, and to GreatBritain, whofe interefts are at prefent fo clofely connected with thofe of that truly great and illuftrious Monarch. May angels ftill guard him! or rather He, who "maketh his angels fpirits, and his minifters a flame of fire :" who giveth falvation unto kings; and has hitherto delivered FREDERIC his fervant from the hurtful fword!

BUT if you pleafe, we will now come from Europe to America; which is coming ftill nearer to ourselves. But before I fay any thing of the military operations on the continent, we will caft an eye towards the American iflands. For it is there we are to look for, and there that we may find, one of the great things which God has lately done for us. The reduction of

Guadaloupe, with fome of the adjacent islands, is truly fuch; and, in fome fenfe the greater, because effected by fo fmall a force, and under fuch feemingly difadvantageous circumftances. This is almoft, and perhaps may prove quite, an irretrievable and irreparable

lofs,

lofs, to that haughty, and all-grafping power which has incurred it; a lofs which he will much longer feel and mourn, than we did that of the island of Minorca, at the beginning of the prefent war, during a lefs watchful miniftry than the present. And to GreatBritain, this acquifition alone, if maintained, will probably much more than make good all the damage the fuftained in the former refpect; which, if I miftake not, time and experience make ftill lefs and lefs confiderable.

BUT while our thoughts are in that part of the world, where fo valuable and noble an acquifition has been made, by the bleffing of God on the British arms; while our thoughts are engaged in that part of the world, I fay, and on fo worthy and joyful an occafion; what is it that ftill gives a kind of damp to my fpirits; or rather, raifes my indignation? While a British fleet rides fafely and quietly in port, do I fee an inferior French one failing, in a kind of triumph, from port to port, from ifland to inland, from one month to another? Do I fee our merchantmen, by scores, or hundreds, taken within hearing of the British cannon, if they were but discharged? Do I fee then carried into port, in vaft numbers, even by the ene my's privateers, from within a few leagues of our fleet, which looks patiently on? Do I hear our enemies faying, with fcorn and infult, "Where is the boasted

courage of thefe Britons, who vainly pretend to be "lords of the ocean?" And do I hear even fome of our friends whifpering, "that all British comman"ders have not the fpirit which becomes their charac"ter?"-But perhaps all this is but a reverie: If so, I will trouble you no longer with my dreams: But even dreams are not always falfe; and if there fhould happen to be any thing of reality in this, fuch things

will

will doubtless be taken proper notice of by thofe, who want neither the authority, nor the public fpirit to do it.

AND having thus taken a fhort trip, if I may fo exprefs it, to the American iflands; and feen there, an important acquifition lately made by his Majefty's troops, under the favour of divine providence; let us now cross over to the continent, in the affairs of which we ourselves are moft immediately concerned. And being arrived here, we will not now needlefly ramble about, backwards and forwards. But fetting out from the fouthermoft fcene of action, (I mean, where any thing of great importance has lately been done) which is indeed nearest the parts from whence we laft came, and proceeding thence to the northward, tho' the diftance is great, thro' a wilderness, and tho' there are feveral noble profpects in the way to detain and delight us, even in a wilderness; yet it will not be long before we arrive at the capital city of Canada. There our chief bufinefs lies: There it will, therefore, be at leaft proper, if not neceffary, to make a longer stay. And tho' it be a cold climate, I flatter myself, we shall find something to warm and enliven us; or at least to keep our blood from chilling.

To begin at the fouthward then: It was not long after our last general thanksgiving, when we had the little expected, and therefore the more joyful tydings, that the British troops, even without the trouble of a fiege, were in poffeffion of the French fortrefs on the forks of the Ohio, ufually called fort du Quefne; but now Pittsburgh, in honor to that great patriot, that wife, honeft, and magnanimous British minifter, during whofe miniftry, not only this, but all our other fucceffes, worth mentioning, fince the prefent war commenced, have been obtained. This fortress, it feems,

feems, was evacuated by the enemy on the near approach of our army. The acquifition whereof is of great importance to our fouthern colonies; not only with reference to the favages in thofe parts, who are fince, from enemies become friends; but alfo in refpect of that most valuable and very extenfive country about it; which, in due time, may probably be peopled with British subjects.

AND there are one or two circumstances befides, which may just be mentioned with relation hereto; and which may, perhaps, heighten the joy of fome on account of this acquifition. One is, that the prefent war with France, had its rife more immediately from fome differences refpecting this country on the Ohio; here hoftilities began; here it was, that the French had the affurance to feize, captivate, and murder, our traders and others, in a time of peace; as alfo to fortify on this river. But we have now the fatisfaction to reflect, that the law of arms at least, has decided in our favour one confiderable point controverted between the two crowns; and which was indeed a principal ground of the prefent war, tho' by no means the only one.

ANOTHER Circumftance alluded to above, is, that we had received feveral repulfes and defeats from the enemy, in endeavouring to regain the poffeffion of the country we are fpeaking of; from whence the enemy had, in a time of peace, driven the subjects of Great-Britain. The expence of one of the former expeditions againft Du Quefne had been very great, through almost impracticable woods and mountains: And at laft, when the British army had in a manner furmounted these difficulties, and thought themselves almost fure of fuccefs, it was in a fort furprised, and