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 Code Simplicity

Max Kanat-Alexander

Beijing • Cambridge • Farnham • Köln • Sebastopol • Tokyo

Code Simplicity
by Max Kanat-Alexander

Copyright © 2012 Max Kanat-Alexander. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America.

Published by O’Reilly Media, Inc., 1005 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, CA 95472.

O’Reilly books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use. Online editions
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corporate/institutional sales department: (800) 998-9938 or [email protected].

Editors: Andy Oram and Mike Hendrickson Cover Designer: Karen Montgomery
Production Editor: Melanie Yarbrough Interior Designer: David Futato
Copyeditor: Rachel Head Illustrator: Robert Romano

Revision History for the First Edition:

2012-03-22 First release
See http://oreilly.com/catalog/errata.csp?isbn=9781449313890 for release details.

Nutshell Handbook, the Nutshell Handbook logo, and the O’Reilly logo are registered trademarks of
O’Reilly Media, Inc. Code Simplicity, the cover image of a ring dove, and related trade dress are trade-
marks of O’Reilly Media, Inc.
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as
trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and O’Reilly Media, Inc., was aware of a
trademark claim, the designations have been printed in caps or initial caps.

While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and authors assume
no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information con-
tained herein.

ISBN: 978-1-449-31389-0

[LSI]

1332356930
 Table of Contents

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
What’s Wrong with Computers? 1
What Is a Program, Really? 3

2. The Missing Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Every Programmer Is a Designer 6
The Science of Software Design 7
Why Has There Been No Science of Software Design? 9

3. The Driving Forces of Software Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

The Goals of Software Design 16

4. The Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
The Equation of Software Design 19
Value 20
Effort 21
Maintenance 22
The Full Equation 23
Reducing the Equation 23
What You Do and Do Not Want 24
The Quality of Design 26
Unforeseeable Consequences 27

5. Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Change in a Real-World Program 31
The Three Flaws 34
Writing Code That Isn’t Needed 34
Not Making the Code Easy to Change 36
Being Too Generic 38

iii
 Incremental Development and Design 40

6. Defects and Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

If It Ain’t Broken... 44
Don’t Repeat Yourself 45

7. Simplicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Simplicity and the Equation of Software Design 49
Simplicity Is Relative 49
How Simple Do You Have to Be? 51
Be Consistent 53
Readability 54
Naming Things 55
Comments 56
Simplicity Requires Design 56

8. Complexity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Complexity and Purpose 61
Bad Technologies 62
Survival Potential 63
Interoperability 63
Attention to Quality 64
Other Reasons 64
Complexity and the Wrong Solution 64
What Problem Are You Trying to Solve? 65
Complex Problems 65
Handling Complexity 66
Making One Piece Simpler 68
Unfixable Complexity 68
Rewriting 69

9. Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

A. The Laws of Software Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

B. Facts, Laws, Rules, and Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

iv | Table of Contents
 Preface

The difference between a bad programmer and a good programmer is understanding.

That is, bad programmers don’t understand what they are doing, and good program-
mers do. Believe it or not, it really is that simple.
This book exists to help all programmers understand software development on a very
broad level that can be applied to any programming language or project from here to
eternity. It lays out scientific laws for software development, in a simple form that
anybody can read.
If you are a programmer, these laws will help explain why certain software development
methods work and why some don’t. They will help guide you in making software de-
velopment decisions on a day-to-day basis, and they will help your team have intelligent
conversations that lead to sensible plans.
If you aren’t a programmer but you work in the software industry, you may find this
book useful for several reasons:
• It is an excellent educational tool to use in the training of junior programmers,
while still containing information that is highly relevant to senior programmers.
• It will allow you to more effectively understand why software engineers want to
do certain things, or why software should be developed in a certain way.
• It can help you communicate your ideas effectively to software engineers, by help-
ing you understand the fundamental principles on which good software engineers
base their decisions.
Ideally, everybody who works in the software industry should be able to read and
understand this book, even if they don’t have a lot of programming experience, or even
if English is not their native language. Having more technical understanding will help
in grasping some of the concepts, but most require no programming experience what-
soever to understand.
In fact, even though this book is about software development, it contains almost no
program code. How can that be? Well, the idea is that these principles should apply to
any software project, in any programming language. You shouldn’t have to know some
specific programming language just to understand things that apply to all

v
programming, everywhere. Instead, real-world examples and analogies are used
throughout the book to help you get a better understanding of each principle, as it is
presented.
Most of all, this book was written to help you, and to help bring sanity, order, and
simplicity into the field of software development. I hope that you enjoy reading it and
that it improves your life and your software in some way.

Conventions Used in This Book

The following typographical conventions are used in this book:
Italic
Indicates new terms, URLs, email addresses, filenames, and file extensions.
Constant width
Used for program listings, as well as within paragraphs to refer to program elements
such as variable or function names.

This icon signifies a tip, suggestion, or general note.

This icon indicates a warning or caution.

Attribution and Permissions

This book is here to help you get your job done. If you reference limited parts of it in
your work or writings, we appreciate, but do not require, attribution. An attribution
usually indicates the title, author, publisher, and ISBN. For example: “Code Simplicity:
The Science of Software Development by Max Kanat-Alexander (O’Reilly). Copyright
2012 Max Kanat-Alexander, 978-1-4493-1389-0.”
If you feel your use of examples or quotations from this book falls outside fair use or
the permission given above, feel free to contact us at [email protected].

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vi | Preface
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Preface | vii
Other documents randomly have
different content
After several manœuvres on the part of each vessel, Captain
Nicholson discovered that his adversary had thirteen ports on each
side, and eight or ten on her quarter-deck and forecastle, and of
course mounted thirty-six guns. At twelve, the Trumbull, finding her
great superiority as to sailing, and having gotten to windward,
determined to avail herself of the advantage to commence the
engagement.
The stranger, observing the design of Captain Nicholson, fired three
shots, and hoisted British colors as a challenge. The Trumbull wore
after her, hoisting British colors, with an intention of getting
alongside. A private signal was made in turn by the British ship,
which not being answered she opened a broadside at a hundred
yards distance. The Trumbull, upon this, run up the continental
colors, and returned the fire.
Such was the commencement of an action of three hours'
continuance. There was bravery, determination, on both sides.
During the greater part of the action, the vessels were not fifty yards
apart, and at one time, they were nearly enlocked.
Twice was the Trumbull set on fire by means of wads from the other
vessel. Her masts and rigging were greatly injured. Observing, at
length, that her masts were in imminent danger of going by the
board, the first lieutenant informed Captain Nicholson of the danger,
and begged him to abandon further attempt to take the enemy's
ship, as without masts they should be at his mercy.
It was with great reluctance that Captain Nicholson adopted the
course suggested. He was confident that with one half-hour more,
he should have been able to have achieved the victory. But yielding
to stern necessity, and the dictates of humanity, he gave up the
contest. He lost his main and mizen-top-mast, when only musket-
shot distant from the other vessel. At length, only her fore-mast was
left, and that was badly wounded and sprung. She had eight men
killed, and twenty-one wounded, nine of whom died after the action.
Her crew consisted of one hundred and ninety-nine men. The
English ship proved to be the Watt, letter-of-marque. She had
upwards of ninety men killed and wounded. Not less than one
hundred balls struck her hull.

6. ALLIANCE, ATALANTA, AND TREPASSEY.

In February, 1781, Captain Barry, of the frigate Alliance, of thirty-two

guns, sailed from Boston for l'Orient, having on board Colonel
Lawrence, destined to France on an important embassy to the
French court. Having landed Mr. Lawrence, he sailed on a cruise.
On the 28th of May, two sail were discovered on the weather-bow of
the Alliance, standing towards her. After having approached
sufficiently near to be discovered by Captain Barry, they hauled to
wind, and stood on the same course with the Alliance. On the 29th,
at day-break, the wind lulled. At sunrise, the Alliance displayed the
American colors, and preparations were made for action. The men
look their stations.
The vessels with which the Alliance was now to contend were a ship
and a brig, displaying English colors—the Atalanta, Captain Edwards,
carrying twenty guns and one hundred and thirty men, and the
Trepassey, of fourteen guns and eighty men, under command of
Captain Smith.
The advantage was, both as to men and guns, on the side of the
British; but more than this, as the Alliance must necessarily engage
both at the same time. But Captain Barry, no way daunted,
determined to do his duty as an officer and a patriot. He, therefore,
summoned them to strike their colors. To such a summons they had,
of course, no inclination to accede, and the engagement opened
with a spirit corresponding to the interest at stake. Unfortunately for
the Alliance, a perfect calm prevailed—and on the bosom of the
water she lay, in respect to motion, as a thing devoid of life. The
opposing vessels had sweeps, and were therefore able to choose
their positions. And the most advantageous positions they did
choose—they lay on the quarters, and athwart the stern of the
Alliance. Consequently, but few of her guns could be brought to
bear.
Added to these untoward circumstances, there soon occurred, on
board the Alliance, a still greater misfortune. A grape-shot struck the
shoulder of Captain Barry, inflicting a severe and dangerous wound.
But he neither heeded its pain nor its danger, but continued on the
quarter-deck, marking the progress of the action, and giving his
orders as occasion required. At length, however, by reason of loss of
blood, he was obliged to be borne below. At this time, the American
flag was shot away, and fell. There was a momentary pause on
board the Alliance, which the enemy construing into a surrender,
they filled the air with loud rejoicings.
But they mistook. The flag had been shot down, not hauled down.
The supposed pause was only the needful interval occupied in
rëloading. The colors were soon rëinstalled, and again floated as
proudly as before; and a full broadside from the Alliance showed to
her foes how the interval had been occupied. That broadside
rëcalled them to their quarters. Fortunately, about this time, a
welcome breeze, though still light, sprung up. The sails of the
Alliance, which had scarcely served any purpose during the
engagement, and seemed destined to acquire no honor in the
coming victory—the sails were no longer idle. They soon brought the
vessel into a more favorable position. This circumstance added to
the confidence and rëdoubled the efforts of the seamen. Broadside
followed broadside in quick succession, and did all desirable
execution. At three o'clock in the afternoon the action terminated:
the Alliance was the victor.
On being ushered into the presence of Barry, Captain Edwards
presented his sword; which, however, the former declined taking,
observing, "that he richly merited it, and that his king ought to give
him a better ship."
The importance of firmness and perseverance, in a commander, was
well illustrated during the above engagement. Soon after Barry
received his wound, and had been obliged to go below, one of his
lieutenants, disheartened by the misfortune which had befallen his
commander, and appalled by the fearful devastation which seemed
to be making by the enemy with the ship's spars and rigging,
repaired to him, and proposed that the colors should be struck.
Barry started. The colors be struck! no such thought had entered his
mind. The colors be struck! "No!" said he; "if the ship can't be
fought without me, carry me at once on deck." The lieutenant, if
ashamed, was also rëanimated. He repaired on deck, went round
among the crew, and made known Barry's courage and
determination. There was but one response among the brave tars.
They decided to "stick to him manfully." And they did. From that
moment "the ship was fought"—and fought without the presence of
Barry. But no sooner was his wound dressed, than he insisted on
being aided in ascending to the deck; before reaching it, however,
the enemy had struck. Brave seamen! brave commander!
The Alliance had eleven killed during the action, and twenty-one
wounded. Among the latter, were several officers. She had suffered
terribly in her spars and rigging. The loss of the enemy was eleven
killed and thirty wounded.

7. CONGRESS AND SAVAGE.

The Savage was a British sloop, carrying twenty guns and about one
hundred and fifty men. In September, 1781, while on a cruise along
the Southern coast of the United States, she entered the Potomac,
and plundered the estate of Washington, then in another quarter,
commanding the American army. It was an expedition unworthy a
high-minded and honorable officer, and a well-merited rebuke was
soon after meted out to him.
On leaving the Potomac, the Savage fell in with the American
privateer Congress, Captain Geddes, off Charleston. The vessels
were of the same force. On board the Congress, at the time, was
Major McLane, a distinguished American officer, who with a part of
his command had volunteered to serve as marines. As the crew of
the Savage were all seamen, she had decidedly the advantage, in
respect to the Congress, whose crew, in part, were landsmen,
unacquainted with marine warfare.
The vessels were now within cannon distance. The Congress
commenced by firing her bow-chasers. This was at half-past ten in
the morning. At eleven, they had approximated so near each other,
that the landsmen employed their musketry, and with effect. A sharp
and destructive cannonade followed on both sides.
At the commencement of the engagement, the advantage lay with
the Savage. Her position being on the Congress' bows, was favorable
for raking. But a closer engagement followed, and the tide turned in
favor of the privateer. So well did she manœuvre, so promptly, so
dextrously, that she soon disabled her enemy. At the expiration of an
hour, the braces and bowlines of the Savage were shot away. Not a
rope was left by which to trim the sails. The musketry of the
Americans had cleared her decks. In this situation, it was deemed
impossible that she could much longer continue the contest. Indeed,
she was already nearly a wreck—her sails, rigging, and yards were
so shattered as to forbid her changing her position, but with the
greatest difficulty. She would not, however, surrender, but
rëcommenced a vigorous cannonade. Again her quarter-deck and
forecastle were cleared by the fatal musketry of the American
landsmen. Three guns on her main deck were rendered useless. The
vessels were now so near each other, that the fire from the guns
scorched the men opposed to them in the other. At length, the
mizen-mast of the Savage was shot away. At this instant, the
boatswain of the Savage appeared forward, with his hat off, calling
for quarter. But it was half an hour before the crew of the Congress
could board her, by reason of the loss of their boats. But, on
reaching her, she was found to be scarcely more than a wreck. Her
decks were covered with blood, and killed and wounded men.
The Congress had thirty men killed and wounded. The Savage had
twenty-three killed and thirty-one wounded. Among the latter, was
her commander, Captain Sterling.
The marine service often furnished examples of great heroism and
most patriotic endurance. Such an instance occurred on board the
Congress. After the action terminated, Major McLane went forward
to ascertain what had become of his sergeant, Thomas. He found
the poor fellow lying on his back in the netting, near the foot of the
bowsprit, with his musket loaded, but both legs broken. "Poor
fellow!" thought the major, as he beheld him; "poor fellow!" But the
poor fellow began huzzaing lustily for the victory achieved; and
followed his exulting and even vociferous huzzas by a corresponding
exclamation addressed to his major: "Well, major, if they have
broken my legs, my hands and my heart are still whole."
Sergeant Thomas was terribly wounded, but the kind-hearted major
did not neglect him. The best care was taken of him; ultimately, he
recovered; and, nothing deterred by the painful experience he had
had of the sometimes ill-fortune of war, he entered on board the
Hyder Ali, commanded by Captain Barney.
It is ever delightful to record instances of high-minded and
magnanimous conduct on the part of victors towards the
vanquished. This engagement furnishes one most honorable to the
American character. The officers and crew of the Savage were
treated with the greatest kindness and attention. Major McLane even
accompanied Captain Sterling into Pennsylvania, to secure him from
insult, his treatment of American prisoners having rendered him
highly obnoxious to the patriots.
Such is a brief account of some of the exploits of the American
marine during the war of the Revolution. There were others perhaps
equally honorable to the skill and enterprise of our naval officers, but
which our limits forbid us to notice. On the breaking out of the war,
the country was poorly prepared to enter the lists with the mistress
of the ocean. Indeed, it was not until 1776, that the forbearing
policy of congress was abandoned, and the nautical enterprise of the
country was let loose upon British commerce. From that time,
however, American valor was exhibited in its true and persevering
spirit, and contributed, as far as it had scope, in inducing the
mother-country to acknowledge the independence of her wayward
child—which she did on the 20th of January, 1783.
Upon this most desirable event, orders of recall were issued to all
naval commanders; and the commissions of privateers and letters of
marque were annulled. On the 11th of April following, a
proclamation from the proper authorities announced the cessation of
hostilities. From this time, as the glad intelligence spread, the helms
of our warlike ships were turned towards our home ports, leaving
the merchantmen again to the peaceful possession of that element,
which for years they had traversed, if at all, at the greatest hazard.
 XV. EMINENT FOREIGNERS,
CONNECTED WITH THE REVOLUTION.

George III. King of England—General Burgoyne—Sir Henry

Clinton—Colonel Barre—Charles Townshend—Lord Cornwallis—
William Pitt—Marquis of Bute—George Grenville—Duke of
Grafton—Lord North—Colonel Tarleton—Sir Peter Parker—Sir
William Meadows—Sir Guy Carlton—General Gage—Marquis of
Rockingham—Edmund Burke—Kosciusko—Count Pulaski—Baron
de Kalb—Baron Steuben—Count Rochambeau—Count D'Estaing.

In the preceding pages, we have had occasion to trace the causes

and events of that struggle which resulted in the independence of
the United States; and, in so doing, incidental mention has been
made of some of the leading men of England, who figured in the
cabinet, in the field, and on the ocean; with the part they acted
either in favor of, or in opposition to the grand object of the colonies
in their contest with the mother-country. Judging from his own early
desires, the author persuades himself that he will be conferring a
favor upon his readers by giving some brief sketches, in this place,
of those distinguished men, and of others, who contributed to retard
or accelerate the final result. Such notices of the most prominent,
we proceed to give, beginning with the monarch, the great fountain
of power and law, then on the throne of Great Britain.

GEORGE III.

George III. was born in 1738, and succeeded to the throne on the
death of his grandfather, George II., October 25, 1760, about the
time the troubles with America began. At this period, principally
through the lofty spirit and political sagacity of Pitt, afterwards Earl
of Chatham, who was, and for some time had been, at the head of
the administration, the affairs of the nation were in a most
prosperous state. The army and navy were highly efficient, and
flushed with recent conquests; the revenue flourished; commerce
was increasing; the people were loyal; and, perhaps, no prince had
ascended the throne of his ancestors with more flattering prospects
than George the Third.
Soon after ascending the throne, the king evinced a determination to
procure a general peace. In this measure he differed from his great
minister, Pitt, who, on that account, retired from office, October 5,
1761. Peace, however, contrary to the wishes and designs of the
king could not be obtained on a just basis, and the war proceeded.
In May, 1762, Lord Bute, a particular favorite of the king, who had
contrived to gain a remarkable ascendancy over him, succeeded the
Duke of Newcastle, as first lord of the treasury. Preliminaries of
peace between England, France, and Spain, were signed on the 3d
of November, and the definite treaty followed, February 10th, 1763.
The people, however, were by no means pacifically inclined, or
contented with the political ascendancy of Lord Bute, whose
administration was attacked with unsparing severity by several
popular writers, particularly by the celebrated John Wilkes, in his
periodical paper, called the North Briton. The arrest of Wilkes, and
the seizure of his papers under a general warrant, issued by the
secretary of state for the home department, increased the
indignation and clamors of the people; Lord Bute was execrated
throughout the country, and the king himself became exceedingly
unpopular. The removal of the favorite, and the appointment of
George Grenville to the head of the treasury, having failed to allay
the national irritation, Pitt, it is asserted, was at length summoned to
court, and requested to make arrangements for forming a new
ministry; but he presumed, it is added, to dictate such arrogant
terms, that, rather than submit to them, the king said he would
place the crown on Pitt's head, and submit his own neck to the axe.
In 1764, the king suggested to Grenville the taxation of America, as
a grand financial measure for relieving the mother-country from the
heavy war expenses, which, it was unjustly claimed, had chiefly
been incurred for the security of the colonies. The minister was
startled, and raised objections to the proposal, which, however, were
overruled by the king, who plainly told him that, if he were afraid to
adopt such a measure, others might easily be found who possessed
more political courage. At length, Grenville reluctantly brought the
subject before parliament; and, in spite of a violent opposition, the
stamp act, so important in its consequences, was passed in the
following year. The most alarming irritation prevailed among the
colonists of America.
The Rockingham party, which now came into power, procured the
repeal of the stamp act; but, notwithstanding this and some other
popular measures of the new cabinet, it was dissolved in the
summer of 1766. The Duke of Grafton succeeded Lord Rockingham,
as first lord of the treasury, and Pitt (then Earl of Chatham) took
office as lord privy seal. In the following year, Charles Townshend,
chancellor of the exchequer, proposed the taxation of certain articles
imported by the American colonists; and, early in 1768, Lord
Chatham retired in deep disgust from the administration, which,
during the preceding autumn, had been weakened by the succession
of Lord North to Charles Townshend, as chancellor of the exchequer.
Some other official changes took place; one of the most important of
which, perhaps, was the appointment of Lord Hillsborough to the
new colonial secretaryship.
The aspect of affairs in America grew more serious every hour: the
deputies of Massachusetts declared taxation by the British
parliament to be illegal; a scheme for a general congress of the
different states was proposed, and an open rupture with the mother-
country was evidently approaching. Blind to the consequences of
their fatal policy, the king and his ministers, however, persisted in
those measures, with regard to the trans-Atlantic colonies, which
eventually produced a dismemberment of the empire.
In January, 1770, the Duke of Grafton resigned all his employments;
but, unfortunately for America, he was succeeded by Lord North,
who increased rather than alleviated the national calamities, and
was decidedly with the king in his determination never to yield to the
demands of the colonists, but to coerce them to submission,
however unjustly, by the arm of power.
In 1782, Lord North was compelled to resign, and the Rockingham
party, friendly to the independence of America, came into office; but
the new administration soon afterwards broke up, on account of the
sudden death of the premier. Lord Shelburne was now placed at the
head of the treasury, and Pitt, son of the great Earl of Chatham,
became chancellor of the exchequer.
In 1783, a general peace was concluded, and the United States
procured a formal acknowledgment of their independence. When
Adams, the first American envoy, attended at the levee, the king, to
whom he was personally disagreeable, received him with dignified
composure, and said, "I was the last man in England to acknowledge
the independence of America, but having done so, I shall also be the
last to violate it." This was highly honorable to the king. America was
a jewel in the British crown which was increasing in lustre, to part
with which was truly painful to royal ambition. Nor did George III.
consent to any acts which tended to this relinquishment, only as he
was compelled to it by the ill success of his armies in America, and
the clamorous demands for peace by his subjects at home. But
having, at length, parted with this jewel, and having acknowledged
the independence of America, he nobly declared his intention to live
in peace with this newborn empire.

JOHN BURGOYNE.

General Burgoyne was the natural son of Lord Bingley. At an early

age he entered the army; and while quartered with his regiment at
Preston, married Lady Charlotte Stanley, whose father, the Earl of
Derby, was so incensed at the match, that he threatened utterly to
discard her; but a reconciliation at length took place, and the earl
allowed her three hundred pounds a-year during his life, and, by his
will, bequeathed her a legacy of twenty-five thousand pounds. The
influence of the family to which Burgoyne had thus become allied,
tended materially to accelerate his professional advance. In 1762, he
acted as brigadier-general of the British forces which were sent out
for the defence of Portugal against France and Spain.
In 1775, he was appointed to a command in America; whence he
returned in the following year, and held a long conference with the
king on colonial affairs. Resuming his post in 1777, he addressed a
proclamation to the native Indians, in which he invited them to his
standard, but deprecated, with due severity, the cruel practice of
scalping. The pompous turgidity of style, in which this address was
couched, excited the ridicule of the Americans, and procured for
General Burgoyne the soubriquet of "Chrononhotonthologos." His
first operations were successful: he dislodged the enemy from
Ticonderoga and Mount Independence, and took a large number of
cannon, all their armed vessels and batteries, as well as a
considerable part of their baggage, ammunition, provisions, and
military stores. But his subsequent career was truly disastrous; his
troops suffered much from bad roads, inclement weather, and a
scarcity of provisions; the Indians, who had previously assisted him,
deserted; and the Americans, under General Gates, surrounded him
with a superior force, to which, although victorious in two
engagements, he was, at length, compelled to capitulate at
Saratoga, with the whole of his army. This event, which rendered
him equally odious to ministers and the people, was, for some time,
the leading topic of the press; and numberless lampoons appeared,
in which the general's conduct was most severely satirized. The
punsters of the day, taking advantage of the American general's
name, amused themselves unmercifully at Burgoyne's expense; but
of all their effusions, which, for the most part, were virulent rather
than pointed, the following harmless epigram, poor as it is, appears
to have been one of the best:
 "Burgoyne, unconscious of impending fates,
Could cut his way through woods, but not through
Gates."

In May, 1778, he returned to England, on his parole, but the king

refused to see him. Burgoyne solicited a court-martial, but in vain. In
1779, he was dismissed the service for refusing to return to America.
Three years after, however, he was restored to his rank in the army,
appointed commander-in-chief in Ireland, and sworn in one of the
privy-council of that kingdom. He died suddenly of a fit of the gout,
at his house in Hertford street, on the 4th of August, 1792; and his
remains were interred in the cloisters of Westminster abbey.
It would, perhaps, be rash to pronounce a positive opinion of the
merits of Burgoyne, as a commander. He boldly courted a scrutiny
into the causes which led to his surrender at Saratoga, which
ministers refused, because, as it has been insinuated, such a
proceeding might expose the absurd imprudence and inefficiency of
their own measures with regard to the American war. Prior to the
capitulation, his military career, as well in America as Portugal, had
been rather brilliant; his misfortune was precisely that which befel
Cornwallis; but, unlike the latter, Burgoyne was not allowed an
opportunity of redeeming his reputation.
In parliament, he was a frequent and fluent, but neither a sound nor
an impressive speaker. While in employment, he appears to have
been a staunch advocate for the American war; which, however, he
severely reprobated, from the time that he ceased to hold a
command. He was a writer, chiefly dramatic, of considerable merit.

SIR HENRY CLINTON.

This distinguished general was a grandson of the Earl of Clinton, and

was born about the year 1738. After having received a liberal
education, he entered the army, and served for some time in
Hanover. In the early part of the revolutionary struggle he came to
America, and was present at the battle of Bunker's hill; from which
time to the close of the American war, he continued to aid the British
cause. In 1777, he was made a Knight of the Bath, and in January,
1778, commander-in-chief of the British forces in America. On his
return to England, a pamphlet war took place between him and
Cornwallis, as to the surrender of the latter, the entire blame of
which each party attributed to the other. In 1793, he obtained the
governorship of Gibraltar, in possession of which he died on the 23d
of December, 1795.
 Sir Henry Clinton.

The merits of Sir Henry Clinton, as a commander, have been variously estimated; and,
as is usually the case, the truth seems to be intermediate between the panegyric of his
friends and the censure of his enemies. That he was endowed with bravery, and
possessed a considerable share of military skill, cannot, in fairness, be denied; but he
was decidedly unequal to the great difficulties of his situation and unfit to contend
against so lofty a genius as Washington, supported by a people resolved on obtaining
their independence, and fighting on their native soil.

ISAAC BARRE.
 Colonel Barre.

Colonel Barre was born in Ireland, about the year 1726. He served at Quebec, under
Wolfe, in the picture of whose death, by Benjamin West, his figure is conspicuous. The
Earl of Shelburne procured him a seat in parliament, where, acting in opposition to
government, he was not only deprived of his offices of adjutant-general and governor
of Stirling castle, which he had received as a reward for his services in America, but
dismissed from the service. During the Rockingham administration, he was
compensated for the loss which he had sustained, by being voted a pension of three
thousand two hundred pounds per annum; which he subsequently relinquished,
pursuant to an arrangement with Pitt, on obtaining a lucrative, but not distinguished
office. He usually took office when his party predominated; and was, in the course of
his career, a privy counsellor, vice treasurer of Ireland, paymaster of the forces, and
treasurer of the navy. His best speeches were delivered during North's administration,
on the American war, to which he appears to have been inflexibly opposed. His oratory
was powerful, but coarse; his manner, rugged; his countenance, stern; and his stature,
athletic. He was suspected, but apparently without reason, of having assisted in writing
the letters of Junius. For the last twenty years of his life, he was afflicted with
blindness, which, however, he is said to have borne with cheerful resignation. His death
took place on the 20th of July, 1792.
 CHARLES TOWNSHEND.

Charles Townshend, son of Viscount Townshend, was born 1725. From his youth, he
was distinguished for great quickness of conception and extraordinary curiosity. In
1747, he went into parliament, and continued a member till he died. He held various
offices in the government. In 1765, he was paymaster general, and chancellor of the
exchequer; and a lord of the treasury in August, 1766, from which period he remained
in office until his decease, which took place on the 4th of September, 1767.
In person, Charles Townshend was tall and beautifully proportioned; his countenance
was manly, handsome, expressive, and prepossessing. He was much beloved in private
life, and enjoyed an unusual share of domestic happiness.
Burke, in his speech on American taxation, thus admirably depicted the general
character of Charles Townshend: "Before this splendid orb (alluding to the great Lord
Chatham) had entirely set, and while the western horizon was in a blaze with his
descending glory, on the opposite quarter of the heavens arose another luminary, and
for his hour he became lord of the ascendant. This light, too, is passed, and set for
ever! I speak of Charles Townshend, officially the rëproducer of this fatal scheme
(American taxation); whom I cannot even now remember, without some degree of
sensibility. In truth, he was the delight and ornament of this house, and the charm of
every private society which he honored with his presence. Perhaps there never arose in
this country, nor in any country, a man of more pointed and finished wit, and (where
his passions were not concerned) of a more refined, exquisite, and penetrating
judgment. If he had not so great a stock, as some have had who flourished formerly, of
knowledge long treasured up, he knew better by far, than any man I ever was
acquainted with, how to bring together, within a short time, all that was necessary to
establish, to illustrate, and to decorate that side of the question he supported. He
stated his matter skillfully and powerfully; he particularly excelled in a most luminous
explanation and display of his subject."

CHARLES CORNWALLIS, MARQUIS.

Lord Cornwallis, eldest son of the fifth lord, and first Earl Cornwallis, was born 1738. At
the age of twenty, he entered the army, and obtained a captaincy. In 1762, on the
death of his brother, he took his seat in the house of lords. In 1770, he and three other
young peers, having protested, with Lord Camden, against the taxation of America,
Mansfield, the chief justice, is said to have sneeringly observed, "Poor Camden could
only get four boys to join him!"
Although he had opposed the measures of the government with regard to the
disaffected colonies, yet when hostilities commenced, he did not scruple to accept of
active employment against the Americans. His history, during the war, will be found in
the preceding pages. He was a proud man, and most humiliating was it when he was
obliged to surrender to Washington at Yorktown.
But his failure in America did not impair his reputation. On his return to England, he
was made governor of the Tower. In 1786, he was sent to Calcutta, as governor-general
and commander-in-chief. Having terminated, successfully, a war in that country, he
returned to England. In 1799, he became lord-lieutenant of Ireland. Soon after the
expiration of his vice-regency, he was sent to France as plenipotentiary for Great
Britain, in which capacity he signed the treaty of Amiens. In 1804, he succeeded the
Marquis Wellesley, as governor-general of India. On his arrival at Calcutta, he
proceeded, by water, to take the command in the upper provinces. The confinement of
the boat, the want of exercise, and the heat of the weather, had a most serious effect
on his health. Feeling, soon after he had landed, that his dissolution was at hand, he
prepared some valuable instructions for his successor; and the last hours of his life
were passed in taking measures to lessen the difficulties which his decease would
produce. He expired at Ghazepoore, in Benares, on the 5th of October, 1805.
Lord Cornwallis was not endowed with any brilliancy of talent. He had to contend with
no difficulties, on his entrance into life: high birth procured him a military station, which
his connexions enabled him to retain, after he had committed an error, or, at least, met
with a mischance, that would have utterly ruined a less influential commander.
Although ambitious, he appears to have possessed but little ardor. He manifested no
extraordinary spirit of enterprise; he hazarded no untried manœuvres; and yet, few of
his contemporaries passed through life with more personal credit or public advantage.
He had the wisdom never to depute to others what he could perform himself. His
perseverance, alacrity, and caution, procured him success as a general, while his strong
common sense rendered him eminent as a governor. He always evinced a most anxious
desire to promote the welfare of those who were placed under his administration;
Ireland and Hindostan still venerate his memory. His honor was unimpeachable; his
manners, devoid of ostentation; and his private character, altogether amiable.
Napoleon Buonaparte, in his conversations with Barry O'Meara, declared that Lord
Cornwallis, by his integrity, fidelity, frankness, and the nobility of his sentiments, was
the first who had impressed upon him a favorable opinion of Englishmen. "I do not
believe," said the ex-emperor, "that he was a man of first-rate abilities; but he had
talent, great probity, sincerity, and never broke his word. Something having prevented
him from attending at the Hôtel de Dieu, to sign the treaty of Amiens, pursuant to
appointment, he sent word to the French ministers that they might consider it
completed, and that he would certainly execute it the next morning. During the night,
he received instructions to object to some of the articles; disregarding which, he signed
the treaty as it stood, observing that his government, if dissatisfied, might refuse to
ratify it, but that, having once pledged his word, he felt bound to abide by it. There was
a man of honor!" added Napoleon; "a true Englishman."

LORD CHATHAM.

William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, was born November 15, 1708. His father was Robert Pitt,
of Boconnock, in the county of Cornwall. He received his education at Trinity college,
Cambridge. He took a seat in parliament as early as 1735, as a member for Old Sarum.
His exalted talents, his lofty spirit, and commanding eloquence, soon rendered him
singularly conspicuous. Under George II., in 1757, he became premier of that
celebrated war administration, which raised England to a proud prëeminence over the
other nations of Europe. His energy was unbounded. "It must be done," was the reply
he often made, when told that his orders could not be executed. After which, no excuse
was admitted. Under his auspices, England triumphed in every quarter of the globe. In
America, the French lost Quebec; in Africa, their chief settlements fell; in the East
Indies, their power was abridged; in Europe, their armies suffered defeat; while their
navy was nearly annihilated, and their commerce almost reduced to ruin.
On the accession of George the Third, Pitt, who felt strongly impressed with the policy
of declaring war against Spain, was thwarted in his wishes by the influence of Lord
Bute; and, disdaining to be nominally at the head of a cabinet which he could not
direct, he resigned his office in October, 1761.

Lord Chatham.

In 1764, he greatly distinguished himself by his opposition to general warrants, which,

with all his accustomed energy and eloquence, he stigmatized as being atrociously
illegal. A search for papers, or a seizure of the person, without some specific charge,
was, he contended, repugnant to every principle of true liberty. "By the British
constitution," said he, "every man's house is his castle! not that it is surrounded by
walls and battlements; it may be a straw-built shed; every wind of heaven may whistle
round it; all the elements of nature may enter it; but the king cannot; the king dare
not."
He invariably opposed, with the whole force of his eloquence, the measures which led
to the American war: and long after his retirement from office, he exerted himself most
zealously to bring about a reconciliation between the mother-country and her colonies;
But when the Duke of Portland, in 1778, moved an address to the crown, on the
necessity of acknowledging the independence of America, Lord Chatham, although he
had but just left a sick bed, opposed the motion with all the ardent eloquence of his
younger days. "My lords," said he, "I lament that my infirmities have so long prevented
my attendance here, at so awful a crisis. I have made an effort almost beyond my
strength to come down to the house on this day, (and perhaps it will be the last time I
shall be able to enter its walls,) to express my indignation at an idea which has gone
forth of yielding up America. My lords: I rejoice that the grave has not yet closed upon
me; that I am still alive to lift up my voice against the dismemberment of this ancient
and most noble monarchy. Pressed down, as I am, by the hand of infirmity, I am little
able to assist my country in this most perilous conjuncture; but, my lords, while I have
sense and memory, I will never consent to deprive the royal offspring of the house of
Brunswick of their fairest inheritance."
The Duke of Richmond having replied to this speech, Lord Chatham attempted to rise
again, but fainted, and fell into the arms of those who were near him. The house
instantly adjourned, and the earl was conveyed home in a state of exhaustion, from
which he never recovered. His death took place at Hayes, early in the following month,
namely, on the 11th of May, 1778. The House of Commons voted the departed patriot,
who had thus died gloriously at his post, a public funeral, and a monument in
Westminster abbey at the national expense. An income of four thousand pounds per
annum was annexed to the earldom of Chatham, and the sum of twenty thousand
pounds cheerfully granted to liquidate his debts: for, instead of profiting by his public
employments, he had wasted his property in sustaining their dignity, and died in
embarrassed circumstances.
In figure, Lord Chatham was eminently dignified and commanding. "There was a
grandeur in his personal appearance," says a writer, who speaks of him when in his
decline, "which produced awe and mute attention; and, though bowed by infirmity and
age, his mind shone through the ruins of his body, armed his eye with lightning, and
clothed his lips with thunder." Bodily pain never subdued the lofty daring, or the
extraordinary activity of his mind. He even used his crutch as a figure of rhetoric. "You
talk, my lords," said he, on one occasion, "of conquering America—of your numerous
friends there—and your powerful forces to disperse her army. I might as well talk of
driving them before me with this crutch."

CHARLES JAMES FOX.

Charles James Fox was the third son of Henry Fox, Lord Holland, and was born January
24th, 1749. His mother was a daughter of the Duke of Richmond, and his sister the
wife of Lord Cornwallis. Lord Holland made it a rule, in the tuition of his children, to
follow and regulate, but not to restrain nature. This indulgence was a sad error, as it
always is on the part of parents. On arriving to maturity, Charles used to boast that he
was, when young, never thwarted in any thing. Two instances are related of this
indulgence of the father, before the son was six years old. One day, standing by his
father, while he was winding up a watch—"I have a great mind to break that watch,
papa," said the boy. "No, Charles; that would be foolish." "Indeed, papa," said he, "I
must do it." "Nay," answered the father, "if you have such a violent inclination, I won't
baulk it." Upon which, he delivered the watch into the hands of the youngster, who
instantly dashed it on the floor.
At another time, while Lord Holland was secretary of state, having just finished a long
dispatch which he was going to send, Mr. Charles, who stood near him, with his hand
on the inkstand, said, "Papa, I have a good mind to throw this ink over the paper." "Do,
my dear," said the secretary, "if it will give you any pleasure." The young gentleman
immediately threw on the ink, and his father sat down very composedly to write the
dispatch over again.
Such a course of education, we should anticipate, would work the moral ruin of a child.
Its baleful influence was seen in after years, in gambling, horse-racing, drinking, and
kindred vices, carried to a fearful extent on the part of this son, whose training was so
inauspiciously begun and persevered in.
 Fox.

But, despite of these most degrading and ruinous practices, Fox proved to be one of
the most accomplished and effective orators, and perhaps we may add, statesman of
his times. He was the rival of Pitt; and, though not so finished in his elocution, he not
unfrequently equalled him in the effect produced.
By what means he attained to such eminence, it scarcely appears; for the younger part
of his life seems to have been so exclusively devoted to his pleasures, as scarcely to
have time left for the cultivation of his intellect. His genius, however, was brilliant; and
from his earliest years he was in the society of men distinguished for their cultivated
intellect, and the eminent part they took in the government of the country. It is related
of Fox, that he would not unfrequently spend the entire night at his favorite
amusement, gambling, and thence proceed to the House of Commons, when he would
electrify the whole assembly with some cogent and brilliant speech.
Fox was a firm, steadfast friend to the Americans and their independence. At the time
the measures which led to the American war had come to a crisis, a formidable party
existed in England, opposed to the unjust and illiberal policy of the government. To this
party, Fox united himself; and, from his conspicuous talents, soon acquired the
authority of a leader. In 1773, he opposed the Boston port bill, and apologized for the
conduct of the colonies. In his speech on that occasion, he arraigned the measures of
the ministers in bold and energetic language, and explained the principles of the
constitution with masculine eloquence. The session of 1775, opened with a speech from
the king, declaring the necessity of coercion. On this occasion, Fox poured forth a
torrent of his powerful eloquence. In that plain, forcible language, which formed one of
the many excellencies of his speeches, he showed what ought to have been done, what
ministers had promised to do, and what they had not done. He affirmed that Lord
Chatham, the king of Prussia—nay, even Alexander the Great—never gained more in
one campaign than Lord North had lost.
When the news of the disastrous defeat of Burgoyne reached England, Fox loudly
insisted upon an inquiry into the causes of his failure. And in like manner, when the fate
of Cornwallis' army at Yorktown was made known, the oppositionists were loud in their
denunciations of the proceedings of ministers in regard to the war. Mr. Fox designed to
make a motion for an investigation into the conduct of Lord Sandwich, who was at the
head of the admiralty. But he was, for a time, too much indisposed to make the
attempt. It was on this occasion, that Burke is reported to have said, "that if Fox died,
it would be no bad use of his skin, if, like John Ziska's, it should be converted into a
drum, and used for the purpose of sounding an alarm to the people of England."
The death of Mr. Fox occurred 13th of August, 1806.
Walpole thus compares the two great orators of England: "Mr. Fox, as a speaker, might
be compared to the rough, but masterly specimen of the sculptor's art; Mr. Pitt, to the
exquisitely finished statue. The former would need a polish to render him perfect; the
latter possessed, in a transcendent degree, every requisite of an accomplished orator.
The force of Mr. Fox's reasoning flashed like lightning upon the mind of the hearer: the
thunder of Mr. Pitt's eloquence gave irresistible effect to his powerful and convincing
arguments."
The sympathy and support of such men as Fox, during our Revolutionary struggle,
served to sustain and animate our patriotic fathers. They felt that while they were in
the field, engaged in defeating the armies of England, they had friends in the House of
Commons, who were making every possible effort to defeat the impolitic and
oppressive measures of the king and his ministers.

JOHN STUART.

John Stuart, Marquis of Bute, was born in 1715. In the ninth year of his age, he
succeeded his father as Marquis of Bute. On the accession of George the Third, the
highest dignities in the state were supposed to be within the grasp of Lord Bute; but,
however he might have swayed the king's mind in private, he took no public part in the
direction of public affairs until 1761, when he accepted the secretaryship resigned in
that year by Lord Holderness. At length, he became prime minister; and, immediately
on coming into power, determined, if possible, to effect a peace, which had for some
time been negotiating. He accomplished his object, but his success rendered him
exceedingly unpopular. He was accused, by some weak-minded persons, of having been
bribed by the enemies of his country; and it was added, that the princess dowager had
shared with him in the price at which peace had been purchased by the French
government.
He quitted office in April, 1763, but continued to exert a powerful influence over the
mind of the king, especially in relation to America. Several measures, the object of
which was to humble the colonies, and continue them in subjection to the crown, are
said to have been suggested by this nobleman. He died in 1792.

GEORGE GRENVILLE.

Grenville.

George Grenville was born 1712. In 1741, he was returned to parliament for the town
of Buckingham, for which place he served during the remainder of his life. He held
several important offices. In April, 1763, he became first lord of the treasury and
chancellor of the exchequer. He resigned his office in July, 1765, and died in November,
1770. During his premiership, the project of imposing internal taxes in America was
carried into effect. The project was first named to him by the king, and urged upon
him. At first, the minister was opposed to the idea, but after having adopted it as a
measure of his administration, which he was compelled to do by royal authority, he
urged and supported it by all the means in his power.

DUKE OF GRAFTON.

Henry Augustus Fitzroy, Duke of Grafton, was born 1735. He was educated at
Cambridge, where he was notoriously profligate. In July, 1766, the Rockingham
administration was dissolved, and the Duke of Grafton was made first lord
commissioner of the treasury, which office he held until January, 1770. He has received
an unenviable notoriety from the strictures of Junius. His administration was composed
of men of different political principles and parties. Junius, in a letter addressed to the
duke, thus narrates, and severely animadverts upon, the circumstances of his grace's
appointment to the premiership: "The spirit of the favorite (Lord Bute) had some
apparent influence upon every administration; and every set of ministers preserved an
appearance of duration as long as they submitted to that influence; but there were
certain services to be performed for the favorite's security, or to gratify his resentments,
which your predecessors in office had the wisdom, or the virtue, not to undertake. A
submissive administration was, at last, gradually collected from the deserters of all
parties, interests, and connexions; and nothing remained but to find a leader for these
gallant, well-disciplined troops. Stand forth, my lord, for thou art the man! Lord Bute
found no resource of dependence or security in the proud, imposing superiority of Lord
Chatham's abilities; the shrewd, inflexible judgment of Mr. Grenville; nor in the mild,
but determined integrity of Lord Rockingham. His views and situation required a
creature void of all these properties; and he was forced to go through all his division,
resolution, composition, and refinement of political chemistry, before he happily arrived
at the caput mortuum of vitriol in your grace. Flat and insipid in your retired state, but
brought into action, you become vitriol again. Such are the extremes of alternate
indolence or fury, which have governed your whole administration!"

FREDERICK NORTH, EARL OF GUILFORD.

This nobleman, better known as Lord North, was the minister of George III., under
whose administration England lost her American colonies. He succeeded Charles
Townshend, as chancellor of the exchequer; and, in 1770, the Duke of Grafton, as first
lord of the treasury, and continued in that high, but laborious office, till the conclusion
of the war. As a public character, Lord North was a flowing and persuasive orator, well
skilled in argumentation, and master of great presence and coolness of mind; and, in
private life, he was very amiable, cheerful, and jocose in conversation, the friend of
learned men, and correct in conduct. In his policy towards America, he was stern and
uncompromising. On first coming into power, he was inclined to be conciliatory; but
soon he adopted restrictive and oppressive measures, more so than his predecessors,
and, at length, declared that he would omit no means but that he would bring America
in humility at his feet. The faithful warnings of Pitt, Burke, Fox, and others, had no
restraining influence, and the consequence was, that America was lost to the British
crown. Lord North, in the latter years of his life, was afflicted with blindness. He died
July, 1792, aged sixty.

BARRASTRE TARLETON.

Colonel Tarleton was born in Liverpool, on the 21st of August, 1754, and at first
commenced studying law, but, on the breaking out of war in America, he entered the
army, and, having arrived in that country, he was permitted to raise a body of troops
called the "British Legion," which he commanded in several successful excursions
against the enemy. Such was the daring intrepidity, energy, and skill, with which he
conducted his corps, that he may be said to have greatly accelerated, if not secured,
some of the most important victories under Lord Cornwallis. On his return to England,
he was made a colonel, and became so popular that, in 1790, he was returned, free of
expense, as a member for Liverpool, which he represented in three subsequent
parliaments.
In 1818, previously to which he had been raised to the rank of general, he was created
a baronet, and, on the coronation of George the Fourth, was made a K. C. B. He was
one of the bravest officers of his time, and is described as having been to the British, in
the American war, what Arnold, in his early career, was to the Americans.

SIR PETER PARKER.

Sir Peter Parker, son of Rear-admiral Christopher Parker, was born in 1723, and entered
the navy under the auspices of his father. Having served with great reputation on
several occasions, in 1775 he hoisted his broad pendant on board the Bristol, of fifty
guns, in which he proceeded, with a squadron under his command, to the American
station. On account of bad weather and other impediments, he did not reach Cape Fear
until May, 1776. In the following month, he made an unsuccessful attack on Charleston,
in South Carolina. Shortly afterwards, he joined Lord Howe, the commander-in-chief, at
New York, whence he was dispatched, with the Asia, Renown, and Preston, to distract
the attention of the enemy, while the army attacked the lines on Long Island. Towards
the close of the same year, he proceeded, in command of a small squadron, to make an
attempt on Rhode Island, of which he obtained possession without loss. He was now
advanced to the rank of rear-admiral of the blue; and, a few months after, appointed to
the chief command on the Jamaica station, where he served with signal success until
1782, in which year he returned with a convoy to England. Before his death, which
occurred in 1811, he became admiral of the blue and admiral of the white.

SIR WILLIAM MEADOWS.

Sir William Meadows was born in 1738. In 1775, he repaired with his regiment to
America, where he distinguished himself, particularly at the battle of Brandywine,
during which he was wounded.
In 1792, he served under Cornwallis in India. On returning to England, he was
appointed governor of the Isle of Wight, and, afterwards, governor of Hull. He died at
Bath, 1813.
As a military man, he was highly distinguished. He was invariably cheerful, during an
engagement; and his troops, by whom he was much beloved, are said, on more than
one occasion, to have mounted the breach, laughing at their general's last joke. His
hilarity scarcely ever deserted him; one day, while on a reconnoitering party, he
observed a twenty-four-pound shot strike the ground, on his right, in such a direction
that, had he proceeded, it would, in all probability, have destroyed him; he, therefore,
stopped his horse, and, as the ball dashed across the road in front of him, gracefully
took off his hat, and said: "I beg, sir, that you will continue your promenade; I never
take the precedence of any gentleman of your family."

GENERAL GAGE.

General Thomas Gage, second son of Viscount Gage, was born about the year 1721,
and entered the army at an early age. Having served with considerable credit, he was
commissioned as lieutenant-general; soon after which, (April, 1774,) he was appointed
to succeed Mr. Hutchinson, as governor of Massachusetts Bay. In May, he sailed for
Boston with four regiments, where, contrary to his expectations, he was received with
great ceremony and outward respect.
About this time, serious troubles of the colonies with England began. General Gage
took strong and decided measures, and hastened, rather than retarded, an open
contest. By his order it was that the military stores at Concord were destroyed, which
led to the skirmish at Lexington, and which opened the war.
On the 10th of October, 1775, he resigned his command to Sir William Howe, and
departed for England. At the time of his death, which took place on the 2d of April,
1788, he was a general in the army. His talents for command are said to have been
respectable.

SIR GUY CARLTON.

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