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at his house. He was the bearer of an order to the 

 militia officers to furnish him with relays of horses to 

 travel. As he spoke French fluently, the lieutenant 

 thought he would drive him himself. ' What ruins 

 are those ? ' enquired the Englishman when he passed 

 close to the convent. ' Why, one could see them from 

 St. Joachim, and even from Quebec ! 



" ' It was formerly a convent, sir ; it was destroyed 

 in '59 when the country was ceded : I have reason to 

 know something about it. I can tell you I felt toler- 

 ably nervous on that day.' He then related his and 

 Drouin's mission, their utter surprise, and how they 

 were chased, also the serious illness which it caused 

 them. 



" ' Well, my friend,' said the English officer, ' I see 

 you and I are old acquaintances. We have met before. 

 I was the lieutenant in charge of the company stationed 

 in that convent, to prevent any attack on our rear. I 

 saw you come down the hill, and it occurred to me we 

 might get important information if we could catch one 

 or the other of you two. Before I could utter a word 

 of French to you, you were off. We fired, in hopes of 

 frighteniDg you and making you surrender. If you 

 gave us no information, we had a hearty laugh at your 

 expense. I have just arrived from England, and I felt 

 curious to revisit this portion of the country, which I 

 once visited in a very different way. I am glad to 

 meet in you an acquaintance, at a time when I have 

 to meet in the field an older acquaintance still, in the 

 person of my old friend General Montgomery.' " 



