purpose, he often crossed the Atlantic, and traversed Great Britain and America, soliciting aid from the pious and charitable. Wherever he went, he preached with sincerity and fervour; his peculiar doctrines, making proselytes of most who heard him, and founding a sect which has since become numerous and respectable. His orphan house, during his life, did not flourish, and after his death, was entirely abandoned.

In 1740, the trustees rendered an account of their administration. At that time, two thousand four hundred and ninety-eight emigrants had arrived in the colony. Of these, fifteen hundred and twenty-one were indigent Englishmen, or persecuted protestants. The benefactions, from government and from individuals, had been nearly half a million of dollars; and it was computed that, for every person transported and maintained by the trustees, more than three hundred dollars had been expended.

The hope which the trustees had cherished, that the colony, planted at such vast expence, would be prosperous, and the objects of their benevolence happy, were completely disappointed. Such was the character of the greater part of the settlers, and such the restrictions imposed, that the plantations languished and continued to require the contributions of the charitable.

War having been declared against Spain, Mr. Oglethorpe was promoted to the rank of general in the British army, and at the head of two thousand men, partly from Virginia and the Carolinas, undertook an expedition against Florida. He took

two Spanish forts and besieged St. Augustine; but encountering an obstinate resistance, was compelled to return unsuccessful to Georgia.

Two years afterwards the Spaniards, in retaliation, prepared to invade Georgia; and they intended, if successful there, to subjugate the Carolinas and Virginia. On receiving information of their approach, General Oglethorpe solicited assistance from South Carolina. But the inhabitants of that colony, entertaining a strong prejudice against him, in consequence of his late defeat, and terrified by the danger which threatened themselves, determined to provide only for their own safety.

Meanwhile General Oglethorpe made preparations for a vigorous defence. He assembled seven hundred men, exclusive of a body of Indians, fixed his head-quarters at Frederica, on the island of St. Simon, and with this small band, determined to encounter whatever force might be brought against him. It was his utmost hope that he might be able to resist the enemy until a reinforcement should arrive from Carolina, which he daily and anxiously expected.

On the last of June, the Spanish fleet, consisting of thirty-two sail, and having on board more than three thousand men, came to anchor off St. Simon's bay. Notwithstanding all the resistance which General Oglethorpe could oppose, they sailed up the river Alatamaha, landed upon the island, and there erected fortifications.

General Oglethorpe, convinced that his small force, if divided, must be entirely inefficient, as

M

sembled the whole of it at Frederica. One portion he employed in strengthening his fortifications; the Highlanders and Indians, ranging night and day through the woods, often attacked the outposts of the enemy. The toil of the troops was incessant; and the long delay of the expected succours, so cruelly withheld by South Carolina, caused the most gloomy and depressing apprehensions.

Learning that the Spanish army occupied two distinct positions, Oglethorpe conceived the project of attacking one by surprise. He selected the bravest of his little army, and in the night marched, entirely unobserved, to within two miles of the camp which he intended to assail. Directing his troops to halt, he advanced, at the head of a small body, to reconnoitre the enemy. While thus employed, a French soldier of his party, firing his musket, deserted to the Spaniards. Discovery destroying all hope of success, the general immediately returned to Frederica. He was not only chagrined at this occurrence, but apprehended instant danger from the disclosure which the deserter would doubtless make of his weakness.

In this embarrassment, he devised an expedient, which was attended with the most happy success. He wrote a letter to the deserter, instructing him to acquaint the Spaniards with the defenceless state of Frederica, to urge them to attack the place, and if he could not succeed, to persuade them to remain three days longer on the island; for within that time, according to late advices from Carolina, he should receive a reinforcement

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of two thousand men and six ships of war. cautioned him against dropping any hint of the attack meditated, by Admiral Vernon, upon St. Augustine, and assured him that the reward for his services should be ample.

For a small bribe, a soldier, who had been made prisoner in one of the numerous skirmishes, engaged to deliver this letter to the deserter, and was then set at liberty. As was foreseen, he carried it directly to the Spanish general, who immediately suspected the deserter to be a spy from the English camp, and ordered him to be put in irons. But although his suspicions were awakened, he was yet uncertain whether the whole might not be a stratagem of his antagonist.

While hesitating what to believe, three small vessels of war appeared off the coast. Supposing they brought the reinforcements alluded to in the letter to the deserter, he hesitated no longer, but determined to make a vigorous attack upon the English, before these reinforcements could arrive and be brought into action.

General Oglethorpe, by mere accident, obtained information of their design. A small party was instantly placed in ambuscade, the Spaniards advanced near them, halted to rest, and laid aside their arms. A sudden and well directed fire, killing many, threw the enemy into confusion. After a few more discharges, they fled to their fortifications, which they demolished, and, hastily embarking, made every possible effort to escape from the reinforcements that were supposed to be approaching.

Thus was Georgia, with trifling loss, delivered from the most imminent danger. General Ogle. thorpe not only retrieved, but exalted his reputation. From the Carolinians, grateful for their preservation, and from the governors of most of the northern colonies, he received cordial congratulations upon his address and good fortune. And so mortified were the Spaniards at the result of the expedition, that the commander, on his return, was arrested, tried, and cashiered for misconduct.

But the prosperity of the colony was retarded by these disturbances. For ten years longer, it remained under the management of the trustees, who, embarrassing it by too much regulation, discouraged the emigrants and checked its growth. At length, disappointed in their hopes, and wearied by complaints, they surrendered their charter to the crown; and, in 1754, a royal government was established over the colony.

New regulations being adopted, Georgia began to flourish. Among her governors, James Wright deserves honourable notice for his wisdom in discerning, and his zeal in pursuing her true interests. The cultivation of rice and indigo was prosecuted with augmented industry, skill, and profit; and in every succeeding year, an increased amount of these staple commodities was exported to the mother country. The Florida Indians were sometimes troublesome, but were as often chastised and compelled to sue for peace.