Louisbourg he became an Imperial hero. The only other
the Army had yet produced in this war was Lord Howe, who
had been killed in a skirmish just before Ticonderoga.
Wolfe knew Howe well, admired him exceedingly, and called
him 'the noblest Englishman that has appeared in my time,
and the best soldier in the army.' He would have served
under him gladly. But Howe--young, ardent, gallant, yet
profound--was dead; and the hopes of discerning judges
were centred on Wolfe. The war had not been going well,
and this victory at Louisbourg was the first that the
British people could really rejoice over with all their
heart.

The British colonies went wild with delight. Halifax had
a state ball, at which Wolfe danced to his heart's content;
while his unofficial partners thought themselves the
luckiest girls in all America to be asked by the hero of
Louisbourg. Boston and Philadelphia had large bonfires
and many fireworks. The chief people of New York attended
a gala dinner. Every church had special thanksgivings.

In England the excitement was just as great, and Wolfe's
name and fame flew from lip to lip all over the country.
Parliament passed special votes of thanks. Medals were
struck to celebrate the event. The king stood on his
palace steps to receive the captured colours, which were
carried through London in triumph by the Guards and the
Household Brigade. And Pitt, the greatest--and, in a
certain sense, the only--British statesman who has ever
managed people, parliament, government, navy, and army,