CHAPTER XIII. 



1690. 



DEFENCE OF QUEBEC. 



Phips ox the St. Lawrence. — Phips at Quebec. — A Flag of 

 Truce. — Scene at the Chateau. — The Summons and the An- 

 swer. — Plan of Attack. — Landing op the English. — The 

 Cannonade. — The Ships repulsed. — The Land Attack. — 

 Retreat of Phips. — Condition of Quebec. — Rejoicings of 

 the French. — Distress at Boston. 



The delay at Boston, waiting aid from England 

 that never came, was not propitious to Phips ; 

 nor were the wind and the waves. The voyage to 

 the St. Lawrence was a long one ; and when he 

 began, without a pilot, to grope his way up the 

 unknown river, the weather seemed in league 

 with his enemies. He appears, moreover, to have 

 wasted time. What was most vital to his success 

 was rapidity of movement; yet, whether by his 

 fault or his misfortune, he remained three weeks 

 within three clays' sail of Quebec. 1 While an- 

 chored off Tacloussac, with the wind ahead, he 

 passed the idle hours in holding councils of war 

 and framing rules for the government of his men ; 

 and, when at length the wind veered to the east, it 

 is doubtful if he made the best use of his oppor- 

 tunity. 2 



1 Journal of Major Walley, in Hutchinson, Hist. Mass., I. 470. 



2 " lis ne profiterent pas du vent favorable pour nous surprendre 

 couime ils auroient pu faire." Juchereau, 320. 



