he
question of the Spanish succession; for while Louis XIV. claimed the
throne for his grandson, Philip of Anjou, England, on the other hand,
recognised that this union of France and Spain would upset the balance
of power on both sides of the Atlantic, and that her American
possessions would be exposed to a cross fire from both north and
south.

The great battles of Blenheim, Ramilies, Oudenarde, and Malplaquet of
the European conflict had their counterpart in the _petite guerre_
which was waged by the opposing colonies in America. French privateers
issuing from Port Royal swept along the coast of New England, the
settlements of Acadia suffering reprisals in kind. At last the
ruthless destruction of the little village of Haverhill on the
Merrimac by a Canadian war-party roused the English colonists to fury,
and they loudly demanded the conquest of Canada. The authorities were
already predisposed to this large undertaking by the arguments of one
Samuel Vetch, whom the Governor of Massachusetts had formerly
despatched on a special mission to Canada. Vetch soon perceived that
the defences of Quebec and Montreal were not too formidable to be
overcome by a well-devised assault; and proceeding to England he made
representations to the advisers of Queen Anne, who, in 1709, sent him
back to Boston with command to contrive an expedition against the
fortress of Canada. A land force from New England was to proceed
northward by way of the Richelieu, and to co-operate with an English
fleet on the St. Lawrence.

Once more, however, fortune intervened to save Quebec. England long
delayed in sending the promised fleet, and it was already late autumn
before the colonial forces were ready to set out. While Colonel
Nicholson, its leader, perceived the hopelessness of so unseasonable
an assault upon the city, he was yet unwilling to remain inactive.
Moreover, Acadia lay close by, and the stronghold of Port Royal
challenged his arms. He determined on its subjection. The brave
highspirited Subercase[21] was commandant of the town, and although
his garrison was ill-provisioned and almost destitute of ammunition,
the fort was defended with the utmost boldness against the
overwhelming force of the besiegers. Subercase saw the hopelessness of
his situation from the first, but in the end his invincible courage
secured an honourable capitulation, and, with a pomp and circumstance
contrasting strangely with their starved faces and ragged uniform