his steps to Cape Rouge. De Vandreuil, with his 1500 Canadians, immediately deserted the entrenched camp. Leaving artillery, ammunition, and stores behind, he made for Montreal; and Quebec was without defence, beyond what the small garrison and the walls afforded.

After Wolfe was borne from the field, when those who attended him had reached a small redoubt that had been captured early in the morning, he desired them to lay him down. An officer having proposed to send for a surgeon, he replied, "It is needless; it is all over with me." The mourning group thought their beloved commander was already lifeless, when the cry was heard, "They run they run!" Like one suddenly aroused from heavy sleep, Wolfe demanded, with great earnestness, "Who-who run ?" "The enemy, Sir," he was answered; "they give way everywhere." Thereupon the expiring hero, summoning all his fleeting strength, rejoined, "Go, one of you, my lads, to Colonel Burton ; tell him to march Webb's regiment with all speed down to Charles river, to cut off the retreat of the fugitives from the bridge." He then turned upon his side, and his last words were "Now God be praised; I die in peace!"* Thus, in his three-and-thirtieth year, died

"WOLFE, upon the lap

Of smiling Victory that moment won."

*Knox, 'Journal of Campaigns,' etc. London, 1769. Captain Knox appends the following note:-" Various accounts have been circulated of General Wolfe's manner of dying, his last words, and the officers into whose hands he fell; and many, from a vanity of talking, claimed the honour of being his supporters after he was wounded. But the foregoing circumstances were ascertained to me by Lieutenant Brown, of the Grenadiers of Louisbourg and the 22nd regiment, who, with Mr.

Henderson, a volunteer in the same company, and a private man, were the three persons who carried his Excellency to the rear, which an artillery officer seeing, immediately flew to his assistance; and these were all that attended him in his dying moments. I do not recollect the artillery officer's name, or it should be recorded here." Captain Knox's text may be accepted without hesitation, since he could not have invented the command for a particular corps to follow the fugitives, and since also his statement was made on the authority of an eyewitness, with the intention of correcting previous mis-statements. On the other hand, I have been favoured with a copy of a letter, written in 1803 by the centenarian Thomas Wilkins, who states that he was the only surgeon on the field of battle; that he was speaking to Wolfe about ten minutes before he received his mortal wound; and that the hero's "last and dying words were, 'Lay me down, I am suffocating.'" It is needless to particularize the various other persons who, either from the "vanity of talking," or the more pardonable desire of being associated with Wolfe, have asserted that they carried him from the field, or were present at his death.

599

CONCLUSION.

THE Battle of Quebec is one of the most remarkable on record. Whether we consider the value of the stake, the consequences to which the victory led, the loss of the two first Generals of their time, the almost insuperable obstacles overcome by Wolfe, or the grandeur of the site high over the great river, we cannot but wonder and admire. Nor does the smallness of the opposing powers lessen the interest of the story. When we read of the unwieldy masses now contending in America without any telling result, of cannon, shells, rifles, such as were undreamt of by Marlborough, Wolfe, or Wellington, yet perfectly indecisive in effect, we lose all sympathy with the combatants, and regard them as mere machines; while a man-to-man conflict, like that of the Plains of Abraham, inspires us with personal feelings akin to those we should have for duellists.

In a military aspect, the Battle of Quebec was one of the most regular battles ever fought. The issue was determined by the superiority of the English to their more numerous enemy in unity, discipline, and prowess. This was acknowledged by Montcalm himself, who, at the point of death, declared,-" Since it is my misfortune to

be discomfited and mortally wounded, it is a great consolation to me to be vanquished by so brave an enemy. If I could survive, I would engage to beat three times the number of such forces as I commanded with a third of British troops." Whether the defeated hero meant it so or not, he could not have paid a higher compliment to the General who had brought his little army to such perfection. The English, led by one whom they obeyed with confidence and love, and elated by the success of their morning's enterprise, were full of fearless ardour. The death of their chief, whose spirit still survived, instead of enervating them, only added to their enthu siasm. Amongst the Highlanders especially it was so. An officer wrote home on the 20th of September :"Our loss has been inconsiderable, separate from our dear, courageous, yet mild Wolfe, whose fall added revenge to intrepidity. The regiment of Lascelles, Kennedy's, and Wolfe's Grenadiers did wonders; the Highlanders, if anything, exceeded them. When they betook to their broad-swords, what havoc they made! drove everything before them that came in their way, and walls could not resist their fury!"*

* Public Advertiser,' Tuesday, October 23, 1759. Mr. Pitt, following the liberal policy he had determined to pursue in relation to Scotland, in 1757 prevailed upon George II. to appoint the Hon. Simon Frazer, son of Lord Lovat, colonel of a regiment to be raised amongst his clan. Such was the influence of clanship, that Frazer, though not possessed of an inch of land, in a few weeks raised a corps of 800 men (78th Highlanders), to whom as many more were soon afterwards added. The Highland costume being thought ill-adapted for the climate of America, the authorities proposed to alter it; but officers and men protested strongly against any change. "Thanks to our gracious chief," said a veteran of the corps, we were allowed to wear the garb of our fathers, and, in the course of six winters, showed the doctors that they

While the fall of Wolfe infused such an invincible spirit into his soldiers, the loss of Montcalm produced a most depressing effect upon the enemy. If any chance remained of reinvigorating his regular troops after the discomfiture of their Canadian allies, it was lost when the French General was borne from the field. Even the veterans who had served under Saxe fled before their conquerors; while their officers, apprehensive of rigorous treatment, with their hats off, sued piteously for quarter, declaring that they took no part in the massacre at Fort William-Henry in 1757. Five hundred French and Canadians were killed in the battle, and about one thousand surrendered or were made prisoners.* The French soldiers were treated by their victors with the greatest clemency, though the Canadians were at first hardly dealt with; but after the heat of the action, owing to the perseverance of the officers in restraining their men, there was no slaughter or cruelty. Montcalm, who had previously been struck by a musket-shot, received his deathwound from the single gun which the English had in

did not understand our constitutions; for in the coldest winters our men were more healthy than those who wore breeches and warm clothing." (Browne's History of the Highlands.') The Canadians, who formed the most absurd notions of the sauvages d'Écosse, as they called them, believed that they were so swift of foot that no one could catch them, that they neither gave nor took quarter, and spared neither sex

nor age.

* The English had one general, one captain, six lieutenants, one ensign, three sergeants, and forty-five rank and file killed; one brigadier, four staff-officers, twelve captains, twenty-six lieutenants, ten ensigns, twenty-five sergeants, four drummers, and five hundred and six rank and file wounded. Of the artillery company, one gunner was killed, and seven were wounded. Amongst the wounded officers were Carleton and Barré. Barré lost an eye, and the other was so severely injured that he subsequently became totally blind.