282 DEFE^XE OF QUEBEC. [1690. 



the appeal in vain : for each day seemed to bring 

 some new token of celestial favor ; and it is not 

 surprising that the head-winds which delayed the 

 approach of the enemy, the cold and the storms 

 which hastened his departure, and, above all. his 

 singularly innocent cannonade, which killed but 

 two or three persons, should have been accepted 

 as proof of divine intervention. It was to the Holy 

 Virgin that Quebec had been most lavish of its 

 vows, and to her the victory was ascribed. 



One great anxiety still troubled the minds of the 

 victors. Three ships, bringing large sums of money 

 and the yearly supplies for the colony, were on 

 their way to Quebec ; and nothing was more likely 

 than that the retiring fleet would meet and capture 

 them. Messengers had been sent down the river, 

 who passed the English in the dark, found the 

 ships at St. Paul's Bay, and warned them of the 

 danger. They turned back, and hid themselves 

 within the mouth of the Sapmenay ; but not soon 

 enough to prevent Phips from discovering their 

 retreat. He tried to follow them ; but thick fogs 

 arose, with a persistent tempest of snow, which 

 completely baffled him, and, after waiting five 

 days, he gave over the attempt. When he was 

 gone, the three ships emerged from their hiding- 

 place, and sailed again for Quebec, where they 

 were greeted with a universal jubilee. Their de- 

 liverance was ascribed to Saint Ann, the mother of 

 the Virgin, and also to St. Francis Xavier, whose 

 name one of them bore. 



Quebec was divided between thanksgiving and 



