Page:Memoirs of a Huguenot Family.djvu/419

Rh to boast, Dextra mihi Deus et telum quod missile libro, and the proud Assyrian, in the prophet, after victory to vaunt. By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom? If so, the Great Superintendent of the Universe seemed concerned to exhibit some new proof that He doeth according to his will, not only in the armies of heaven, but also among the inhabitants of the earth. Accordingly he chastised that insolent spirit in us, as he did in the two instances just given; and as he sooner or later does in all others of the like sort, consistently with that dreadful sentence, Cursed be the man who trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. But whatever were his reasons for chastising, he has now graciously interfered to rescue from destruction his heritage, humbled and penitent, I hope, and sensible that without his blessing all human force is vain; for our enemies, who then filled us with terror, have since been themselves dismayed. Our efforts have reduced them, instead of an offensive, to act a defensive part. Their naval power has received severe and fatal checks. Their commerce is not only greatly encumbered, but probably well nigh ruined. Their coasts have been perpetually alarmed by repeated descents, and the horrors of war have been turned loose to rage within their own borders, both in Europe and here. The armies of the Grand Monarch once, nay of late, the terror of Europe, have been surprisingly mortified and reduced, nay, almost annihilated, as effectually, though not so suddenly, as those of his brother Sennacherib. The loss of Mahon has been abundantly compensated by the acquisition of Louisburg, which puts us in possession of the keys of Canada. Frontenac, too, the gate from Canada into the lakes, and their rich and extensive environs, is an important as it