GENERAL WOLFE. 345 
instead of hazarding a battle at all, retired 
within the walls of the city and defended it, 
the place was so strong that there is reason to 
think it might have held out until the ap¬ 
proach of winter, when the British ships must 
have quitted the river, and General Wolfe 
would consequently have been under the ne¬ 
cessity of raising the siege. 
General Wolfe thought it a vain attempt 
to make an assault on the side of the town 
which lies towards the water, where the rock 
is so steep, and so easily defended; his object 
was to get behind it, and to carry on the at¬ 
tack on the land side, where there is an ex¬ 
tensive plain adjoining the town, and not a 
great deal lower than the highest part of the 
point. In order to do so, he first of all at¬ 
tempted to land his troops some miles below 
the town, near the Falls of Montmorenci. 
Here the banks of the river are by no means 
so difficult of ascent as above the town ; but 
they were defended by a large division of 
the French forces, which had thrown up 
several strong redoubts, and, in attempting to 
land, Wolfe was repulsed with loss. 
Above Quebec, the banks of the river are 
~ extremely high, and so steep at the same time, 
that by the French they were deemed inacces¬ 
sible. Foiled, however, in bis first attempt 
to get on shore. General "Wolfe formed the 
