“The French inveighed against the capture of their ships, before any declaration of war, as flagrant acts of piracy; and some neutral powers of Europe seemed to consider them in the same point of view. It was certainly high time to check the insolence of the French by force of arms; and surely this might have been as effectually and expeditiously exerted under the usual sanction of a formal declaration, the omission of which exposed the administration to the censure of our neighbors, and fixed the imputation of fraud and freebooting on the beginning of the war.”—Smollett, III. 481. See also Mahon, Hist. England, IV. 72.
[109] Instructions of General Braddock. See Précis des Faits, 160, 168.
[110] The following is Horace Walpole’s testimony, and writers of better authority have expressed themselves, with less liveliness and piquancy, to the same effect:—
“Braddock is a very Iroquois in disposition. He had a sister, who, having gamed away all her little fortune at Bath, hanged herself with a truly English deliberation, leaving only a note upon the table with those lines, ‘To die is landing on some silent shore,’ &c. When Braddock was told of it, he only said, ‘Poor Fanny! I always thought she would play till she would be forced to tuck herself up.’”
Here follows a curious anecdote of Braddock’s meanness and profligacy, which I omit. The next is more to his credit. “He once had a duel with Colonel Gumley, Lady Bath’s brother, who had been his great friend. As they were going to engage, Gumley, who had good humor and wit (Braddock had the latter), said, ‘Braddock, you are a poor dog! Here, take my purse. If you kill me, you will be forced to run away, and then you will not have a shilling to support you.’ Braddock refused the purse, insisted on the duel, was disarmed, and would not even ask his life. However, with all his brutality, he has lately been governor of Gibraltar, where he made himself adored, and where scarce any governor was endured before.”—Letters to Sir H. Mann, CCLXV. CCLXVI.
Washington’s opinion of Braddock may be gathered from his Writings, II. 77.
[111] MS. Diary of the Expedition, in the British Museum.
[112] Sparks’s Life and Writings of Washington, II. 473. I am indebted to the kindness of President Sparks for copies of several French manuscripts, which throw much light on the incidents of the battle. These manuscripts are alluded to in the Life and Writings of Washington.
[113] Smith’s Narrative. This interesting account has been several times published. It may be found in Drake’s Tragedies of the Wilderness.
[114] “Went to Lorette, an Indian village about eight miles from Quebec. Saw the Indians at mass, and heard them sing psalms tolerably well—a dance. Got well acquainted with Athanase, who was commander of the Indians who defeated General Braddock, in 1755—a very sensible fellow.”—MS. Journal of an English Gentleman on a Tour through Canada, in 1765.