robbed of his goods, but
treated like a gentleman; introduced at Court, although deprived of his
purse and liberty, and in a word, found himself surrounded with the most
hostile and hospitable conditions possible in life. It is not surprising
then that with true French philosophy he should have made the best of it;
gained the good will of the queen, played off a little _badinage_ with the
ladies of the court, and forgetting the late Lady de la Tour, asleep in
the old graveyard in the city of Rochelle, essayed to wear his widower
weeds with that union of grace and sentiment for which his countrymen are
so celebrated. The consequence was one of her majesty's maids of honor
fell in love with him; the queen encouraged the match; the king had just
instituted the new order of Knights Baronet, of Nova Scotia; La Tour, now
in the way of good fortune, was the first to be honored with the novel
title, and at the same time placed the matrimonial ring upon the finger of
the love-sick maid of honor. Indeed Charles Etienne de la Tour, commandant
of the little fort at Cape Sable, had scarcely lost a father, before he
had gained a step-mother.

That the French widower should have been so captivated by these marks of
royal favor as to lose his discretion, in the fullness of his gratitude;
and, that after receiving a grant of land from his patron, as a further
incentive, he should volunteer to assist in bringing Acadia under the
British Crown, and as a primary step, undertake to reduce the Fort at Cape
Sable; I say, that when I state this, nobody will be surprised, except a
chosen few, who cherish some old-fashioned notions, in these days more
romantic than real. "Two ships of war being placed under his command," he
set sail, with his guns and a Step-mother, to attack the Fort at Cape
Sable. The latter was but poorly garrisoned; but then it contained a
Daughter-in-law! Under such circumstances, it was plain to be seen that
the contest would be continued to the last ounce of powder.

Opening the trenches before the French fort, and parading his Scotch
troops in the eyes of his son, the elder La Tour attempted to capture the
garrison by argument. In vain he "boasted of the reception he had met with
in England, of his interest at court, and the honor of knighthood which
had been conferred upon him." In vain he represented "the advantages that
would result from submission," the benefits of British patronage; and
paraded before the eyes of t