ceived any accessions of strength, and not to
wait for Bougainville, who would probably come up in time with his
force of two thousand men. By ten o'clock the two armies--that of
Montcalm outnumbering the English probably by fifteen hundred--were
advancing on each other. The French as they drew near poured a volley
into the ranks of the British regiments, but the latter reserved their
fire until they were within forty yards of their enemy, when they
discharged their guns with most deadly effect. The {257} French fell
in heaps, and as the bullets crashed amongst their faltering ranks,
they broke and retreated. The battle was literally won in a few
minutes. Wolfe, who had been wounded in the wrist at the beginning of
the fight, was leading a charge of the grenadiers, who had shown such
fateful precipitancy at Montmorency, when he was fatally wounded. He
was removed to a redoubt in the rear and laid on the ground, where he
remained for a few minutes in a swoon or stupour. "They run! See how
they run!" exclaimed one of the men watching their wounded chief. "Who
run?" he called, as he attempted to rise for an instant. "The enemy,
sir; 'egad, they give place everywhere!" "Go, one of you, my lads,"
ordered the dying General, whose brain was still clear and active,
"with all speed to Colonel Burton, and tell him to march Webb's
regiment down to the St. Charles River, and cut off the fugitives to
the bridge." He turned on his side and said: "God be praised, I now
die in peace." Then, in a moment later, he passed into the great
silent land. Montcalm also received his death blow while he was
endeavouring to give some order to his beaten army. He was borne along
by the crowd of retreating soldiers through the St. Louis gate into the
town. A few hours later, on the 14th September, he breathed his last.
His last words were in commendation of Chevalier de Levis--a soldier in
no way inferior to himself in military genius.

Monckton, who was next to Wolfe in rank, had been also severely wounded
in the battle, and {258} consequently by a strange irony of fate,
Townshend, who had been unfriendly to Wolfe, and had doubted his
military capacity, was called upon to take command. Levis was absent
at Montreal, unfortunately for French interests at this very critical
juncture, and Vaudreuil's opinion prevailed for a retreat to Jacques
Cartier. When Levis arrived and Vaudreuil consented to march to the
support of Quebec it was