1759.] DEATH OF WOLFE. 137 



The ardor of the men burst all restraint. They 

 broke into a run, and with unsparing slaughter 

 chased the flying multitude to the gates of Quebec. 

 Foremost of all, the light-footed Highlanders dashed 

 along in furious pursuit, hewing down the French- 

 men w^ith their broadswords, and slaying many 

 in the very ditch of the fortifications. Never was 

 victory more quick or more decisive.^ 



In the short action and pursuit, the French lost 

 fifteen hundred men, killed, wounded, and taken. 

 Of the remainder, some escaped within the city, 

 and others fled across the St. Charles to rejoin their 

 comrades who had been left to guard the camp. 

 The pursuers were recalled by sound of trumpet ; 

 the broken ranks were formed afresh, and the Ens:- 

 lish troops withdrawn beyond reach of the cannon 

 of Quebec. Bougainville, with his corps, arrived 

 from the upper country, and, hovering about their 

 rear, threatened an attack ; but when he saw what 

 greeting was prepared for him, he abandoned his 

 purpose and withdrew. Townshend and Murray, 

 the only general officers who remained unhurt, 

 passed to the head of every regiment in turn, and 

 thanked the soldiers for the bravery they had 

 shown ; yet the triumph of the victors was min- 

 gled with sadness, as the tidings went from rank to 

 rank that Wolfe had fallen. 



In the heat of the action, as he advanced at the 

 head of the grenadiers of Louisburg, a bullet shat- 



1 Despatch of General Townshend, Sept. 20. Gardiner, Memoirs of the 

 Siege of Quebec, 28. Journal of the Siege of Quebec, by a Gentleman in an 

 Eminent Station on the Spot, 40. Letter to a Right Honorable Patriot on the 

 Glorious Success of Quebec. Annual Register for 1759, 40. 



