ON CAPE BEETON. 225 



of some iudividuals ou whom they had uo claim for favour." ' His tomb eveu was 

 neglected for years, uutil at last it was repaired by a New England lady who claimed a 

 connectiou with his family, audit is now an object of interest to the curious tourists who 

 frequent the pleasant summer resort that has grown up in the vicinity of his old home 

 on the picturesque shore of " hundred harboured Maine." - 



France had heard with dismay of the loss of Cape Breton which she now recognized 

 as the key to her possessions on the St. Lawrence, and made two efforts to recover it 

 before the war closed iu 1*748. One of the noblest fleets that ever sailed from the shores 

 of France, under the command of M. de la Eochefoucauld, the Duke d'Anville, was scat- 

 tered to the winds while on its way to the island, and the unfortunate admiral himself 

 died of an apoplectic seizure while counting his losses iu the harbour of Chebouctou.^ 



The unfortunate nobleman was a member of one of the oldest and most illustrious 

 families of France, immortalized by the author of the famous maxims and memoirs 

 which still remain unequalled for their literary taste and style, and their wealth of astute 

 and practical philosophy. "While distinguished for a highly cultured mind, he appears to 

 have had no experience at sea, though he had entered the naval service of France at an 

 early age. It is easy to understand that the disasters that overwhelmed his noble fleet 

 should have so disturbed his sensitive brain as to cause his sudden death. Canadian his- 

 toriaus have heretofore given his place of burial as a small island at the entrance of Halifax 

 harbour, generally believed to be Greorge's Island where Cornwallis in 1849 landed a 

 number of settlers and a fort was subsequently erected for the protection of the new town. 

 It has, however, recently come to light that the duke's body was not allowed to remain 

 for any long time on English soil. It appears from an official report of Monsieur Desber- 

 biers ' who became governor of Cape Breton after its formal surrender in the July of 1749, 

 that he obtained a promise from Colonel Hopson, the English governor of the island, that 

 the duke's remains should not be disturbed at Chebouctou, but that they should be sent 

 to Louisbourg, if the place of burial could be found. This promise, the French governor 



' Parson's "Life of Pepperrell," 328. 



- S. A. Drake, "Nooks and Corners of the New England Coast," (N.Y., 1875) p. 147. In App. IX and X to tlii.s 

 work is givtn a bibliographical and critical review of the English and French anthorities on the siege of 17-15. 



■' The news of the sailing of this expedition created great consternation in New England, and towards the end 

 of September, says an eye witness, Dr. William Douglass, author of "Summary of the British Settlements" (See App. 

 X to this work) ''eiOO men from the country, well armed, appeared on the Boston Common ; some of them from 

 Brookfleld travelled 700 miles in two days, each with a pack (.in which was provision for 14 days) of about a 

 bushel corn weight." Supplications went up from all the pulpits for assistance in the hour of need, and Rev. 

 Thomas Prince, who had a year before preached a thanksgiving sermon on the fall of Louisbourg (See App. X.) 

 now fervently prayed in the old South Church at Boston, when he heard the windows rattle with the coming of the ' 



storm. 



" Oh Lord ! we would not advise, This was the prayer I made. 



But if in thy providence For my soul was all on flame, 



A tempest should arise, And even as I pra}-od, 



To drive the French fleet hence, Tlie answering tempest came. 



And scatter it far and wide, It came witli a mighty power, 



Or sink it in the sea Shaking the windows and halls, 



We should be satisfied, . And tolling the bell in the tower. 



And thine the glory be." As it tolls at funerals. 

 —From Longfellow's "Ballad of the French Fleet," October, 1746; Mr. Thomas Prince lo<iuitur. See Prince's 

 "Thanksgiving Sermon on the Salvation of God in 1746" (Boston, 1746.) 

 * Quebec Documents, iii. 455-456. 



Sec. II, 1891. 29. 



