with a commission as "Commander-in-Chief of all His Majesty's
Forces in Great Britain and America," which showed how much Pitt
thought of the Canadian campaigns. The silent Saunders was one of the
best admirals that even England ever had. And when people drank to
"the eye of a Hawke, and the heart of a Wolfe!" they showed they knew
of other first-rate leaders too. But by far the greatest head and
heart, by far the most inspiring soul, of this whole vast Empire War
was Pitt. In many and many a war, down to our own day, the warriors
who have led the fleets and armies have been greater and nobler than
the statesmen who managed the government. But Pitt was greater, though
even he could not be nobler, than any of the warriors who served the
Empire under him; for he knew, better than any one else, how to make
fleets and armies work together as a single United Service, and how to
make the people who were not warriors work with the warriors for the
welfare of the whole United Empire. Of course he had a wonderful head
and a wonderful heart. But his crowning glory as an Empire-maker is
that he could rise above all the petty strife of party politicians and
give himself wholly to the Empire in the same spirit of self-sacrifice
as warriors show upon the field of battle.

In choosing commanders by land and sea Pitt always took the best, no
matter who or what their friends or parties were; and no commander left
Pitt's inspiring presence without feeling the fitter for the work in
hand. In planning the conquest of Canada, Pitt and Ligonier agreed
that Amherst and Wolfe were the men for the army, while Pitt and Anson
agreed that Saunders and Holmes were the men for the fleet. This was
all settled at the beginning of Empire Year--1759.

But this was only a part, though the most important part, of Pitt's
Imperial plan. No point of vantage, the whole world round, escaped his
eagle eye. The French and Dutch were beaten in India; though both
fought well, and though the French fleet fought a drawn battle with the
British off Ceylon. On the continent of Europe our allies were helped
by a British army at the decisive victory of Minden, which drove the
French away from Hanover. And in the West Indies the island of
Guadaloupe was taken by a joint expedition of the usual kind; but only
after the French had made a splendid resistance of over three months.

Stung to the quick by these sudden blows from the sea France planned a
great in