able, from the evasive answers given by that court to the repeated remonstrances made by the British ambassador against the depredations and encroachments at the back of the British settlements, along the river Ohio, in North America. Hostilities soon commenced on both sides; but war was not formally declared till 1756. At first nothing but disappointment and loss attended the British arms; till Pitt, afterwards earl of Chatham, being firmly seated at the head of the administration, gave striking proofs of his superior abilities for conducting an extensive war, by seeking out and employing, in the land and sea service, men of the most enterprising and active genius. Of this number was Colonel Wolfe, who was raised by the minister to the rank of brigadier-general, and sent under Major-general Amherst, in the expedition against Louisbourg, the capital of the island of Cape Breton. At the siege of this important place he acquired fresh military reputation; for he was the first general officer who landed amidst the strong and continued fire of the enemy from their batteries on shore: notwithstanding an impetuous surf, which overset some of the boats, he calmly gave orders to be rowed to the shore, where he made good his descent, and maintained his post, till he had covered the debarkation of the middle and the right divisions of the land forces, commanded by Brigadiers Whitmore and Lawrence. He then moved with a strong detachment round the north-east part of the harbour, and took possession of the Lighthouse point, where he erected several batteries against 1 the ships and the island fortification; by this dexterous manœuvre the success of the whole enterprise was in a great measure secured. The regular approaches to the town were conducted by the engineers under the immediate command and inspection of General Amherst; but the indefatigable Wolfe, with his detached party, raised several batteries wherever he found a proper situation for annoying the enemy; and these did great execution, both within the town and among the shipping in the harbour. On the 27th of July, 1758, Louisbourg surrendered.

The share Brigadier Wolfe was known to have had in this important conquest, induced Pitt to make choice of him to command a still more important expedition in the ensuing campaign; and, with this view, he was promoted to the rank of major-general. The plan of operations for the campaign of 1759, in North America, having been concerted in the cabinet, it was resolved that Wolfe, as soon as the season of the year would admit, should sail up the river St Lawrence with a body of 8000 men, aided by a considerable squadron of ships, to undertake the siege of Quebec; and that General Amherst, the commander-in-chief, should, with another army of about 12,000 men, after reducing Ticonderago and Crown Point, cross Lake Champlain, proceed along the river Richlieu to the banks of St Lawrence, and join General Wolfe in the siege of Quebec. Amherst, however, though he succeeded in reducing Ticonderago and Crown Point, found himself under a necessity to support that part of the plan which had been intrusted to Brigadier Prideaux. The latter officer was to attack Niagara; but was killed by the bursting of a cohorn, while he was visiting the trenches. Upon receiving the news of this disaster, and that the French had been reinforced, Amherst sent a large detachment from his army, under Brigadier Gage, to join Sir William Johnson, on whom the command devolved, and to sustain the siege. Niagara surrendered on the 24th of July.

1759, and thus two parts in three of the plan of operations were happily executed; but the time necessarily employed in these services made it impossible to comply with the general instructions to assist Wolfe in the siege of Quebec.

The fleets from England destined for that expedition, under the command of Admirals Saunders and Holmes, arrived at Louisbourg in May, and took on board the 8000 land forces, whose operations at Quebec were to be conducted by General Wolfe, as commander-in-chief, and, under him, by Brigadiers Monckton, Townshend, and Murray. Thus this arduous undertaking was intrusted to four young officers, in the flower of their age; not a single veteran having any principal command in the enterprise. The armament sailed up the St Lawrence without interruption, and about the latter end of June the troops were landed, in two divisions, upon the isle of Orleans, a little below Quebec. General Wolfe, upon landing, published a manifesto, offering protection and indulgence to the inhabitants, if they would remain neuter. He represented to them, in the strongest terms, the folly of resistance, as the English fleet were masters of the river; and he informed them, that the cruelties exercised by the French upon British subjects in America might justify the most severe reprisals, but that Britons had too much generosity to follow such examples: This humane declaration had no immediate effect; the influence of the priests stimulated the French Canadians to join the scalping parties of the Indians, and to sally from the woods upon the stragglers of the British army, whom they slaughtered with the most inhuman circumstances of barbarity. Wolfe wrote a polite remonstrance to M. de Montcalm, the French general, desiring him to exert his authority to prevent such enormities, as contrary to the rules of war; but he ultimately found it necessary, in order to put a stop to these outrages, to suffer his troops to retaliate upon some of their prisoners.

The French, though superior in numbers to the English, chose to depend upon the natural strength of the country rather than run the risk of a general engagement in the field. The city of Quebec was skilfully fortified, defended by a numerous garrison, and plentifully supplied with provisions and ammunition; Montcalm had reinforced the troops of the colony with five regular battalions formed of the choicest citizens, and had completely disciplined all the Canadians of the neighbourhood capable of bearing arms, with several tribes of savages. With this army he had taken post in a very advantageous situation along the shore, having every accessible part of his camp deeply intrenched. To undertake the siege of Quebec against such advantages, and in the face of superior numbers, was a deviation from the established practice of war; but no prospect of danger could restrain the ardour of Wolfe, and at this time he entertained strong hopes of being joined by General Amherst.

The necessary works for the security of the hospital and stores on the island of Orleans being completed in July, the British forces crossed the north channel in boats, and encamped on the banks of the river Montmorenci, which separated them from the left division of the enemy's camp. The general now wrote to Mr Pitt, describing his situation, and assigning most excellent reasons for the choice of his ground; amongst others he stated, that there was a ford below the falls

of Montmorenci, passable for some hours at the ebb of the tide; and that he hoped, by means of this passage, to find an opportunity of engaging Montcalm upon more advantageous terms than by directly attacking his intrenchments. In this position the British army remained a considerable time, expecting to hear every day from General Amherst, and constantly employed in some enterprise against the enemy, in order to facilitate the final attack on Quebec. Brigadier Monckton dislodged the French from Point Levi, on the south shore opposite the city; and Colonel Carleton took possession of the western point of the island of Orleans. Both these posts were then fortified, and batteries erected, which played with such success that they greatly damaged the upper, and almost demolished the lower town. To balance these advantages, our troops met with some losses in reconnoitring the fordable parts of the river.

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At length the dispositions were made for attacking the enemy's intrenchments; and, on the last day of July, it was resolved to storm a redoubt built close to the water's edge, and within gun-shot of the intrenchments. Instead of defending this post, as Wolfe expected, the French precipitately abandoned it; and thirteen companies of our grenadiers, animated by the confusion they observed the French were thrown into by the hot fire kept up by the Centurion while the troops were landing, inconsiderately rushed on to the French intrenchments, without waiting for the disembarkation of the rest of the army. ill-timed impetuosity, and the accident of some boats getting aground off Point Levi, disconcerted the whole plan; the grenadiers were repulsed; and the French had time to recover from their surprise at this bold attempt. Meanwhile intelligence was received from some prisoners that General Amherst had taken Niagara and Crown Point, but was obliged to employ all his forces against M. de Burlemaque, who was posted with a strong corps at the Isle aux Noix. Thus deprived of all hopes of reinforcement from that quarter, General Wolfe returned without molestation to his old camp, on the other side of the river; and here his disappointment and fatigue threw him into a fever which reduced him to a very low state of health. In this unhappy plight he despatched an express to England with an account of his proceedings, but written in the style of a desponding man. Yet such was the per

spicuity and accuracy of his justification of his measures, that the despatch was received with applause, though the expedition had not been successful. As soon as the general recovered a little strength, he went on board the admiral's sloop, and these two commanders proceeded up the river, passed the town unmolested, and reconnoitred it in order to judge if an assault were practicable. Their opinion concurred with that of the chief engineer, namely, that such an attack could not be hazarded with any prospect of success; and the next measure taken was, to break up the camp at Montmorenci, as no possibility appeared of attacking the enemy above the town.

It was now resolved to change the plan of operations; and the three brigadiers advised the general to transport the troops under night, and land them within a league of Cape Diamond, below the town, where they might perhaps succeed in scaling the Heights of Abraham, which rise abruptly with a steep ascent from the banks of the river, and thus gain possession of the plain at the back of the city, on that side but weakly

fortified. The dangers and difficulties attending the execution of this design were great, but Wolfe readily assented to the daring project of his brave associates, and animated his troops by leading them on in person. The necessary preparations being made, and the time fixed for this bold attempt, Admiral Holmes, with the view of deceiving the enemy, moved with his squadron higher up the river. This had the desired effect, for his motions were watched till night came on by a detachment of the French, who lined that part of the shore; but in the night, the admiral, pursuant to his instructions, fell down the river to cover the landing of the troops. About one o'clock in the morning of the 12th of September, the first embarkation, consisting of four regiments, the light infantry commanded by Colonel Howe, a detachment of Highlanders, and the American grenadiers, fell gently down the river in flat-bottomed boats, under the conduct of Brigadiers Monckton and Murray; General Wolfe accompanied them, and was among the first who landed. No accident happened, except their overshooting the intended place of landing, owing to the rapidity of the tide. these troops landed, the boats were sent back for the second embarkation, which was superintended by Brigadier Townshend. In the meantime Colonel Howe, with the light infantry and the Highlanders, ascended the woody precipices and dislodged a captain's guard which defended a small intrenched narrow path by which alone the other forces could reach the summit. They then mounted without further molestation; and General Wolfe drew them up in order of battle as they arrived.

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Montcalm was thunderstruck at the intelligence that the English had gained the Heights of Abraham; and, knowing the weakness of the city on that side, was at no loss to determine that a general engagement was now unavoidable. He advanced therefore with his whole force, in such order as showed a design to flank the English forces on the left. Brigadier Townshend, with the regiment of Amherst, was sent to prevent this, by forming his corps so as to present a double front to the enemy. The French began the action with an irregular galling fire; which they kept up till it proved fatal to many of our officers. At about nine in the morning, the enemy advanced to the charge with great order and resolution. The British forces reserved their shot until the French had approached within forty yards of their line, when they poured in a terrible discharge at their assailants. General Wolfe took his station on the right, at the head of Bragg's regiment and the Louisbourg grenadiers. He early received a shot in the wrist; but, having wrapped a handkerchief round it, he continued giving his orders, and was advancing at the head of the grenadiers, with their bayonets fixed, when another ball, most probably from the same marksman, pierced the breast of the intrepid hero, who fell in the arms of victory, just as the enemy gave way, and at the very instant when every separate regiment of the British army seemed to exert itself for the honour of its own corps. The wounded general was carried to a small distance in the rear, where, roused from a fainting fit by the loud cry of "They run! They run !" He with great eagerness inquired, "Who run ?" and being told, the French, exclaimed, "Then, thank God, I die contented and almost instantly expired,

Much about the same time, Brigadier-general Monckton, the second in

command, was dangerously wounded; so that the command devolved on Brigadier-general Townshend, who had thus the honour of completing the victory. Never was a battle fought which did more honour to both sides than this. The highest encomiums were bestowed on the Marquess de Montcalm, the French general, who was mortally wounded, and who distinguished himself in his last moments by writing a letter to General Townshend, recommending the French prisoners "to that generous humanity, by which the British nation has been always distinguished." He died in Quebec a few days after the battle. His second in command was left wounded on the field, and was conveyed on board an English ship where he expired the next day.

The death of Montcalm was an irreparable loss to France. It threw the Canadians into the utmost consternation; confusion and dissensions prevailed in their councils; and seeing themselves invested by the British fleet, which, after the victory, sailed up in a disposition to attack the lower town while the upper should be assaulted by General Townshend, they gave up all for lost, and sent out a flag of truce, with proposals of capitulation, which were judiciously accepted; for the place was not yet completely invested; the enemy were on the point of receiving a strong reinforcement from Montreal; and M. de Bouganville, at the head of 800 fresh men, with a convoy of provisions, was lmost at the gates of the town on the day of its surrender. A new army was likewise assembling in the neighbourhood, with which the city continued to have free communication on one side after the battle; and the British troops, in a little time, must have been obliged to desist from their operations by the severity of the weather, and even to have retired with their fleet before the approach of winter, when the St Lawrence is constantly frozen up.

It is difficult to describe the various emotions with which the British public were affected when the news of this success arrived in England. A day of solemn thanksgiving was appointed; and, when parliament assembled, Mr Pitt, with that energy of eloquence peculiar to himself, expatiated upon the successes of the campaign, and dwelt on the transcendant merit of the deceased general in such a strain as drew tears from all who heard him. He concluded with a motion for an address to his majesty, praying that he would order a monument to be erected in Westminster Abbey, to the memory of Major-general Wolfe. The house agreed unanimously to the address, and at the same time passed another resolution, that the thanks of the house should be given to the surviving generals and admirals employed in the glorious and successful expedition to Quebec.

Wolfe's untimely fate-if it can be called untimely-revived the exertions of emulative genius amongst our artists. It has been the historical subject of the sculptor, the painter, and the engraver, by which means the names of Wilton, West, and Wooller, will be transmitted to posterity with the affecting story of the immortal Wolfe.