498 BIOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNT 



The fleet arrived on the coast of America in April ; but it 

 was not till the beginnuig of May that the entire dissolution 

 of the ice permitted it to ascend the River St Lawrence, and 

 that the active scene of naval and military operations com- 

 menced, which terminated so much to the credit of the Bri- 

 tish arms. A person whose seafaring life was to be limited to 

 two years, may well be considered as fortunate, in witnessing, 

 during that short period, a series of events so remarkable as 

 those which preceded and followed the taking of Quebec. 

 Though great armies were not engaged, much valour and con- 

 duct were displayed ; the leaders on both sides were men of 

 spirit and talents ; and, on the part of the English, the most 

 cordial co-operation of the sea and land forces w^s worthy of 

 men animated by the spirit of patriotism, or the love of glory ; 

 the fate also of the gallant Leader, who fell in the moment of 

 victory, and in the prime of life, by repressing the exulta- 

 tion of success, gave a deeper interest to the whole transac- 

 tion. 



Of the operations of this period Mr Robison was by no 

 means a mere spectator. A hundred seamen, under the com- 

 mand of Lieutenant Knowles, were drafted from the Royal 

 William into the Stirling Castle, the Admiral's ship. Mr Ro- 

 BisoN was of this party, and had an opportunity of seeing a 

 sreat deal of active service. At this time, also, he was occa- 

 sionally employed in making surveys of the river and the ad- 

 jacent grounds ; a duty for which he was eminently qualified, 

 both by his skill as a mathematician, and his execution as a 

 draughtsman. 



It is, however, much to be regretted, that his papers, whe- 

 ther memorandums or letters, give no account of the incidents 

 of this period ; so that we are left to conclude, from the history 

 of the times, what were the events in which he must have ta- 

 ken, 



