of
the task to which he was pledged.

"Let him come," said the Marquis of Montcalm grimly; "let him have
from thence a good view of our brave town and its defences!
Perchance it will be a lesson to him, in his youthful pride. He
thinks he is a second Hannibal. It will cool his hot blood,
perchance, to see the welcome we are prepared to accord to the
invaders of our soil."

In effect there was another sort of welcome awaiting the English
fleet; for upon the next day one of those violent squalls for which
these northern waters are famous swept over the great river St.
Lawrence, and in the town of Quebec there were rejoicing and
triumph.

"Now let the British mariners look to themselves!" cried the
people, shaking fists in the direction of the invisible fleet,
which they knew was anchored off the south shore of the great
island. "We shall soon see what they can do against one of our
Canadian tempests! Pray Heaven and all the saints that it may sink
every one of them to the bottom, or grind them to pieces upon the
rocks!"

"Pooh! not a bit of it," cried the midshipmen in contempt, though they
watched the storm with secret anxiety. "As though English-built vessels
could not ride out a capful of wind like this! See, it is clearing off
already! in an hour's time it will have subsided. As though our anchors
would not hold and our sailors keep their heads in such a little mock
tempest as this!"

Luckily for the English fleet, the squall was as brief as it was
violent; nevertheless it did do considerable damage to the ships at
their anchorage, and flying rumours were brought in as to the
amount of harm inflicted. Certainly some considerable damage had
been done, but nothing beyond repair. It had not daunted one whit
the hearts of the invading foe.

Montcalm came into the city that evening, and supped with the Abbe
and Madame Drucour. He was not without anxiety, and yet was calm
and hopeful.

"The tempest did not last long enough to serve our turn as we
hoped. The Governor trusted it would have destroyed the whole
fleet; but from what I can learn, nothing was really lost except a
few of the flat-bottomed landing boats used in the disembarkation
of the troops. The English are certainly notable sailors; but it is
with her soldiers that we shall have more directly to deal. Still,
I wish we could have sunk her ships; it would have placed her on
the horns of a dilemma."

"I have heard," said the Abbe, "that the Governor t