HISTORY OF VERMONT. 421 



isailed from Enj^hmd about the middle of Feb- 

 tiuuy, and was iii sight of LouisbourQ; so early 

 as the twenty first of April ; but the harbof 

 beiti.s^ blocked Up with ice, the fleet bore away 

 for il.ilif.ix. As soon as the season would per^ 

 mit, the troops were embarked, and the fleet 

 sailed up the river S". L iwrence, without meet- 

 ins^ with any of those difficulties or perils, which 

 thty had been taught to expect. Tow.irds the 

 latter end of June, the whole army was safely 

 •landed on the isle of Orleans, a little below Que- 

 bec, withfnit any opposition, or having met with 

 any disaster. 



From that time till the beginning of Septem- 

 ber, general W'^olte was struggiiiig without pros- 

 pect of success, against every kind of ditHculty, 

 in an enemy's couiitry, against a city strongly 

 fortiiied by niture and art, defended by an army 

 more numerous than his own, eommand.?d by 

 Montcahii, whose military talents avid exploits 

 had already rendeied him famous and formida- 

 ble to the Britibh colonies and generals. la 

 addition to otiier diiliculties he had received a 

 severe check, an 1 lost above five hundred of 

 his men, in an attack which he made on the 

 enemy at the falls of Moiitniorenci. A fever and 

 a dysentan^'^ were wasting his own strength, and 

 for a tinae he became unabie to attend to busi- 

 ness. 



Almost despairing of success, it ^vas the 

 oif)i\iion of his general ofliuers that there was na 

 prospect of succeeding, unless they could carry 

 the troops above the town, effect a landing on 

 the north shjre, and bring the enemy, if possi- 

 ble, to -A generj engigein^hi. Wolfe adopted 

 VOL. I. D 3 



