it, found them strongly posted at Leuthen, eighty
thousand men against thirty thousand, and without hesitation resolved to
attack them. Never was he more heroic than on the eve of this, his
crowning triumph. "The hour is at hand," he said to his generals. "I
mean, in spite of the rules of military art, to attack Prince Karl's
army, which is nearly thrice our own. This risk I must run, or all is
lost. We must beat him or die, all of us, before his batteries." He
burst unawares upon the Austrian left, and rolled their whole host
together, corps upon corps, in a tumult of irretrievable ruin.

While her great ally was reaping a full harvest of laurels, England,
dragged into the Continental war because that apple of discord, Hanover,
belonged to her King, found little but humiliation. Minorca was wrested
from her, and the Ministry had an innocent man shot to avert from
themselves the popular indignation; while the same Ministry, scared by a
phantom of invasion, brought over German troops to defend British soil.
But now an event took place pregnant with glorious consequence. The
reins of power fell into the hands of William Pitt. He had already held
them for a brief space, forced into office at the end of 1756 by popular
clamor, in spite of the Whig leaders and against the wishes of the King.
But the place was untenable. Newcastle's Parliament would not support
him; the Duke of Cumberland opposed him; the King hated him; and in
April 1757, he was dismissed. Then ensued eleven weeks of bickering and
dispute, during which, in the midst of a great war, England was left
without a government. It became clear that none was possible without
Pitt; and none with him could be permanent and strong unless joined with
those influences which had thus far controlled the majorities of
Parliament. Therefore an extraordinary union was brought about; Lord
Chesterfield acting as go-between to reconcile the ill-assorted pair.
One of them brought to the alliance the confidence and support of the
people; the other, Court management, borough interest, and parliamentary
connections. Newcastle was made First Lord of the Treasury, and Pitt,
the old enemy who had repeatedly browbeat and ridiculed him, became
Secretary of State, with the lead of the House of Commons and full
control of the war and foreign affairs. It was a partnership of magpie
and eagle. The dirty work of government, intrigue, bribery, and all the
patronage that did not affect the war,