s,
animals, &c., of the place. Those who seemed to have clearer notions
than the rest were obliged to give him circumstantial descriptions of
what they had seen. He himself wrote down all the accounts he received,
and by this great appreciation, so uncommon among persons of his rank,
he soon acquired a knowledge of the most distant parts of America. The
priests, commandants of forts and of several distant places, are often
surprised by his questions, and wonder at his knowledge when they come
to Quebec to pay their visits to him, for he often tells them that near
such a mountain, or on such a shore, &c., where they often went a
hunting, there are some particular plants, trees, earths, ores, &c., for
he had got a knowledge of these things before. From hence it happened
that some of the inhabitants believed he had a preternatural knowledge
of things, as he was able to mention all the curiosities of places,
sometimes near 200 Swedish miles from Quebec, though he never was there
himself. Never was there a better statesman than he, and nobody can take
better measures, and choose more proper means for improving a country
and increasing its welfare. Canada was scarcely acquainted with the
treasure it possessed in the person of this nobleman when it lost him
again; the king wanted his services at home, and could not have him so
far off."--Kalm, in Pinkerton, vol. xiii., p. 679.]

[Footnote 437: Louisburg, together with the whole island of Cape Breton,
had been restored to the French by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in
1748.]

[Footnote 438: "In the year after the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, the land
forces of Great Britain were reduced to little more than 18,000 men;
those in Minorca, Gibraltar, and the American plantations, to 10,000;
while the sailors retained in the royal navy were under
17,000."--_Commons' Journals_, Nov. 23, 1749, and Jan. 19, 1750.

"From the large number both of soldiers and seamen suddenly discharged,
it was found that they might be either driven to distress or tempted to
depredation. Thus, both for their own comfort and for the quiet of the
remaining community, emigration seemed to afford a safe and excellent
resource. The province of Nova Scotia was fixed upon for this
experiment, and the freehold of fifty acres was offered to each settler,
with ten acres more for every child brought with him, besides a free
passage, and an exemption from all taxes during a term of ten years.
Allured by such advantag