power to the people. So the plan failed, but it was a good thing for the people to talk and think about union, and they learned to help one another. They fought together with Great Britain against the French.

The Capture of Quebec.-The fighting began in 1755, and the French were finally beaten in 1759 with the capture of Quebec. The city of Quebec and its fort were built on a solid rock high above the St. Lawrence River. The city was walled, and the fort was so strong that it

QUEBEC AT THE TIME OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR

seemed impossible to capture it. But General James Wolfe, who had helped to capture Louisburg, was sent to take it. In the night Wolfe led his troops up a steep path to the plain above the city. Montcalm, the French commander, at once led his army against the British. The two armies met in a terrible battle. Both generals were fatally wounded, but the British were victorious.

As Wolfe was dying he heard some one say: "They run! They run!" "Who run?" he asked. "The French," was the answer. "Now God be praised! I die happy," he murmured. In a few minutes he was dead. When Montcalm was told that he was dying, he said:

"So much the better; I shall not live to see the surrender of Quebec." In the city of Quebec to-day one can see the common monument which has been erected to the memory of these two brave men. On the monument is this inscription: "Valor gave a united death, History a united fame, Posterity a united monument.

On September 18th, 1759, five days after the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, the city and fort of Quebec surrendered to the British.

End of French Rule in America.-The next year the French tried to recapture Quebec, but failed. General Amherst and a large army captured Montreal. All the rest of Canada then surrendered to Great Britain.

The British and Americans now sent an army to Cuba because Spain had helped France. After two months of fighting they captured the city of Havana.

Another British

army was sent to the Philippine Islands, which also belonged to Spain. This army captured the city of Manila, the capital of the Islands.

In 1763 Great Britain, France, and Spain sent representatives to Paris to make peace. France gave Britain all she owned in Canada and all her lands east of the Mississippi River except the town of New Orleans. New Orleans and all the lands France owned west of the Mississippi were given to Spain. Spain gave Florida to Great Britain in exchange for Havana and Manila.

All that France had left in North America was a group of small islands at the mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, south of the island of Newfoundland. Great Britain let her keep these in order that she might have a refuge for her fishermen in American waters.

1. What two causes made several wars in America?
2. What was the cause of the French and Indian War?
3. Describe the capture of Quebec.

4. What was the result of the French and Indian War?

5. Describe the division of territory in America after the French

and Indian War.

CHAPTER X

EARLY LIFE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON

The French and Indian War brought to the attention of the colonists a young man who was to become one of the most famous men in the history of the world. Almost every man, woman, and child in every corner of the earth has heard of him. Let us pause in our story and learn something of the early life of George Washington, "the Father of his Country."

He was born at Bridges Creek in Virginia, near the Potomac River, on February 22nd, 1732. George grew to be a strong and healthy boy on his father's farms or plantations. When he was four years old, a neighbor taught him his letters. Then he went to school and studied reading, writing, spelling, and arithmetic. When he was about eleven years old, his father died. At the age of fourteen he made plans to become a sailor, but his mother begged him to stay with her and he gave up his plans. He went to school again and studied surveying until he was sixteen years of age. Besides what he learned from books, he also learned much about the life and business of Virginia farmers.

George was tall and strong. He loved sports and games and was fond of riding on horseback. He knew a great deal about the Indians and their life in the forests. Everybody who knew him liked him and trusted him. because he was good, brave, and honest. Such a boy could have no trouble in finding employment.

As soon as George left school, a wealthy gentleman named Lord Fairfax employed him to survey his large estate of thousands of acres. Most of this land was covered with forest. The work Lord Fairfax asked George

Washington to do was very difficult, but he did it all and did it well. While making the survey he lived in the forest. Sometimes he slept on the ground, sometimes in the huts of poor settlers. Sometimes he met and talked with savage Indians. When George had finished the work,