further advanced his house in wealth and circumstance. Accustomed from
boyhood to the dangers of Indian warfare, he was as apt for arms as
for arts, and it is characteristic of the time and place that this
prosperous merchant should be known to fame as the commander of a
triumphant expedition. It was in 1745 that his chance came. For many
years Louis-burg had afforded harbourage to French privateers, who
had harried the coast of New England and captured rich cargoes of
merchandise. At last Governor Shirley of Massachusetts resolved to
attack it, and we may judge of the esteem in which Pepperell was held,
by the fact that he was appointed to lead an expedition against a
fortress deemed impregnable by the French, and known as the Dunkirk of
America. His selection was a tribute not merely to his courage but
to his tact. No man of his time was better fitted to control the
conflicting tempers of the colonial militia, and he set forth at the
head of his 4000 men under the best auspices. Being a Puritan in command
of Puritans, he quickened the bravery of his comrades by a show of
religious zeal. He made it plain that he was engaged in a war against
papistry, and he asked George White-field, then in America, for a motto.
"Nil desperandum, Christo duce," said the preacher; and thus heartened,
the little fleet set sail on its triumphant journey. At first sight
the contest seemed unequal. On one side was Duchambon, an experienced
soldier, defending a fortress which had long been thought invincible.
On the other was a plain merchant in command of no more than 4000
militiamen. But the very simplicity of Pepperell's attack ensured its
success. He sailed into the harbour without warning and without fear, in
the very eye of the French artillery, landed his men, and began a siege
which resulted, after six weeks, in the reduction of Louisburg. It was a
gallant feat of arms, marred only by the fact that a foolish Government
declined to take advantage of a colonial victory. Three years later
Louisburg was wickedly restored to France in exchange for certain
advantages in India, and a foolish policy obscured for a while at least
the eminent services of William Pepperell.

To-day the victor of Louisburg is not without fame--save in his own
country. Fortunately for himself, Pepperell died before the War of the
Revolution, and did not see the ruin which overtook his family. The
property which had passed into the hands of his grandchildren was