ps as privateers and corsairs, and the ruin of her navy sent
many a fine seaman aboard them. Skippers of English traders who
straggled from their convoy, or sailed ahead of it in order to be first
in the market, were often punished for their obstinacy or greediness by
these fast-sailing privateers.[1] In spite of these losses, England's
supremacy at sea caused a rapid increase in her wealth and commerce, and
she took full advantage of her power, seizing French merchandise carried
in neutral vessels. The wealth acquired through her naval supremacy
enabled her to uphold the cause of her allies on the continent.
England's purse alone afforded Frederick of Prussia the means of keeping
the field, and the continuance of the war depended on her subsidies. The
continental war, in which our troops played a secondary part, was by no
means so popular as the naval war, yet under Pitt's administration it
had helped to rouse the spirit of the nation. A new militia had been
created and the old jealousy of a standing army was weakened. It was,
then, at a time when national feeling was strong that Englishmen were
called upon to welcome a king of their own nationality, and they
answered to the call with enthusiasm.

[Sidenote: _THE YOUNG KING._]

George was in many respects worthy of their welcome. Moral in his
conduct and domestic in his tastes, he set an example of sobriety and
general decency of behaviour. He was kind-hearted and had the gift of
pleasing. On public occasions his demeanour and words were dignified. In
private he talked in a homely way, his words following one another too
quickly and sometimes showing a confusion of thought and excitability of
brain. To the poor he would speak with familiar kindness, chatting with
them like a good-natured squire. Yet simple as he was in his habits and
private talk, he always spoke and acted as a gentleman; the coarseness
of the old court was a thing of the past. He was deeply and unaffectedly
pious, and was strongly attached to the Church of England; his religion
was of a sober kind and was carried into his daily life. He was
constantly guided by the dictates of his conscience. His will was
strong; and as his conscience was by no means always so well-informed as
he believed it to be, his firmness often deserved the name of obstinacy.
Nor, in common with the best of men, did he always clearly distinguish
between his personal feelings and conscientious convictions. He had
great self-cont