The most difficult task was yet to be accomplished. They had so far eluded the vigilance of the enemy, and were treading upon the coveted north shore, but above them frowned the cliffs which had hitherto bid defiance.

The men who formed a part of the first division were not, however, unprepared for the task which awaited them. On the 10th of September, Colonel Howe had been instructed by the General to call for volunteers from the light infantry for a particular service. The Colonel had explained to them that the General desired that a few men should be prepared to ascend the heights at a certain place which would be pointed out to them by Captain Delaune, and that as the service would be dangerous the General would not fail to reward merit. Eight men had responded to this invitation, whose names are already given, and each man was to select two additional men of his own choice, making in all twenty four. These men were now upon the shore eager to redeem their promise.

Anse du Foulon, now known as Wolfe's Cove, the place selected by Wolfe for the commencement of the final operations against Quebec, is particularly adapted for the landing of troops, although the French did not expect any serious attempt would be made there.

It is true that there was a winding path leading from the shore to the summit of the cliff, but in the month of August this path had been broken up, and strewed with trees and branches, and moreover at the termination of the path there was a post defended by a hundred men, who from the advantage of their position could easily keep five hundred of the enemy at bay. Wolfe had observed all

these obstacles two days before when he reconnoitred the situation in disguise, wearing the uniform of a Grenadier.(1)

The apparently impracticable nature of the project seems to have been its chief attraction to Wolfe, and it is probable that he did not expect as much opposition at this post as at the others.

About two hundred yards to the right of the foot of the winding path is a bold jutting rock which marks the eastern point of the cove, and it was by this uninviting means of ascent that Wolfe proposed that the twenty-four men should gain the heights, surprise the post by attacking it in the rear, capture the guards, and prepare to clear the path for the remainder of the troops to ascend.

One by one the boats drew near the shore and the small army on the beach was being gradually augmented, until the whole of the attacking force of the first division stood beneath the rugged heights.

The first part of Wolfe's plan had been successfully accomplished.

(1) Wolfe at first proposed to make the final attack on Quebec in the night, as he was thoroughly acquainted with the ground and possessed a plan.

CHAPTER IV.

THE

MISTRESS OF THE SEAS.

HE plan of General Wolfe, daring even to recklessness in its conception, depended absolutely for its successful execution upon the sympathy and help of the naval officers, and the unquestioning obedience of every member of the expedition whether soldier or sailor. These requirements had been fulfilled and as a consequence the General and his little force now stood upon the beach at Foulon prepared to carry out the still more dangerous part of his design.

It was an essential part of Wolfe's policy to keep the enemy in ignorance of his real intentions, which could only be accomplished with the assistance of the navy. The squadron below the city was therefore ordered to move as close as possible to the Beauport shore, and by a furious. bombardment of the French camp to engage the attention of Montcalm. Admiral Holmes in the meantime was to proceed with his ships towards Pointe-aux-Trembles in order to draw de Bougainville westward. This being effected the men were to embark in boats supplied, officered and manned by the navy, and to land on the north shore near the city without alarming the garrison or the sentinels

stationed on the summit of the cliff. So far the whole work was to be entrusted to the sailors, and not until the boats grated on the stony beach and the regiments had formed under the frowning cliff would the duties of His Majesty's land forces begin. It can therefore be seen that great responsibility rested upon the officers and men of the king's ships, for neglect of a single order would have caused the complete failure of the General's plan, and rendered the siege of Quebec abortive; while upon the British sailors, the British soldiers, and the young but gifted commander-in-chief would have rested forever the onus of disaster and defeat.

We have already seen how narrowly Wolfe escaped danger while passing the Hunter sloop, and how much depended upon the prompt action of a naval officer.

The British navy at the time of the siege of Quebec had inherited the traditions of centuries of conflict which had fired officers and men with ambition, and set before them high ideals of service and suffering for the honour of the flag of old England. In order to follow the history of the British navy we must revert to the days when the North sea, and other known waters about Europe were dominated by those hardy navigators and semi-pirates, the sea rovers of Normandy and Denmark. When William the Conqueror became Englands' King, Normandy was practically removed to England where the adventerous sea fighters found an asylum inaccessible to their enemies. Indeed one of the principal causes of England's strength is, and has always been, the fact that her nearest neighbour is separated from her by twenty-one miles of prob