1816.] Dr. John Robison. 171 
William, of 80 guns, Mr. Robison went. with him on board that 
ship, and was there rated asa midshipman. 
The fleet arrived on the coast of America in April ; but it was 
not till the beginning 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 commenced, which termi- 
nated so much to the credit of the British 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 
conduct 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 was 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 exultation of success, gave a deeper 
interest to the whole transaction. 
Of the operations of this period Mr. Robison was by no means a 
mere spectator. A hundred seamen, under the command of Lieut. 
Knowles, were drafted from the Royal William into the Stirling 
Castle, the Admiral’s ship. Mr. Robison was of this party, and 
had an opportunity.of seeing a great deal of active service, At this 
time, also, he was occasionally employed in making surveys of the 
river and the adjacent 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, whether 
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 taken part, or 
to gather, from the imperfect recollection of his conversation, the 
scenes in which he was actually engaged. 1 have heard him express 
great admiration at the cool intrepidity which he witnessed when 
the fire-ships, sent down the stream against the English navy at 
anchor in the river, seemed to present a wall of fire, extending 
from one bank to another, from which nothing that floated on the 
water could possibly escape. Without the smallest alarm or con- 
fusion, the British ‘sailors assailed this flaming battlement in their 
boats, grappled the ships which composed it, and towed them to 
€ shore, where they burnt down quietly to the water’s edge. 
’ An anecdote which he -also used to tell deserves well to be re- 
membered. He happened to be on duty in the boat in which Gen, 
Wolfe went to visit some of his posts, the night before the battle, 
ich was expected to be decisive of the fate of the campaign. 
evening was fine, and the scene, considering the work they 
were engaged in, and the morning to which they were looking 
orward, sufliciently impressive. As they rowed along, the General, 
M 2 
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