or patience, till the coming-on of
better days, when, God willing, he might render a good and faithful
account of this, his country's trust.

But the little folks must not suppose that Col. Washington and Gov.
Dinwiddie were by any means the only persons of consequence who
figured in this Old French War. On the contrary, there were others of
far more importance at the time than they, not so much from any
peculiar merit of their own, as from the part they played in those
events; and upon whom, as such, I must needs bestow some passing
notice, were it but to give to our story greater clearness and
completeness. What concerns you to know of them at present I will
briefly sum up in a few words, and make it as plain to you as a table
of simple addition.

As Commander-in-chief of all the British forces in America, Braddock,
as I have told you elsewhere, was succeeded by Gen. Shirley; who,
proving himself unfit for the place, was soon recalled, and Lord
Loudoun sent over from England instead; who, proving himself equally
unfit, was dealt with in the same manner, and Gen. Abercrombie sent
over instead; who also, proving himself incompetent, was also
recalled, and Gen. Amherst sent over; who, proving a wiser choice,
there followed happier results; and it fell to him, and to the brave
young general, Wolfe, his next in rank, to bring this long and irksome
war, in due course of time, to a glorious end. After the failure of
Braddock's designs against Fort Duquesne, the conquest of Canada was
made the chief object of the British Government; and the regions of
the North thenceforth became the seat of war. While our young Virginia
colonel, making the best use of the slender means allowed him, was
struggling to keep back the pestilent savages and their pestilent
white allies from his long line of frontier in the South and West,
some of these leaders with their red allies, and some of the French
leaders with their red allies, were, with various fortunes and
misfortunes on either side, carrying on the war along the borders of
the great Lake Ontario, the little Lakes Champlain and George, and up
and down the mighty St. Lawrence.

Of these English leaders, I will mention Lord Loudoun merely, as being
the only one with whom Washington had any special dealings. Had this
nobleman come up to the hopes and expectations which many of the
colonists were at first wild enough to entertain respecting him, he
would have regained what Braddock had