since the hour of battle.

In the first years of the war, there were many disasters on the English
side. Among these was the loss of Fort Oswego, in 1756, and of Fort
William Henry, in the following year. But the greatest misfortune that
befell the English, during the whole war, was the repulse of General
Abercrombie, with his army, from the ramparts of Ticonderoga, in 1758. He
attempted to storm the walls; but a terrible conflict ensued, in which
more than two thousand Englishmen and New Englanders were killed or
wounded. The slain soldiers now lie buried around that ancient fortress.
When the plough passes over the soil, it turns up here and there a
mouldering bone.

Up to this period, none of the English generals had shown any military
talent. Shirley, the Earl of Loudon, and General Abercrombie, had each
held the chief command, at different times; but not one of them had won a
single important triumph for the British arms. This ill success was not
owing to the want of means; for, in 1758, General Abercrombie had fifty
thousand soldiers under his command. But the French general, the famous
Marquis de Montcalm, possessed a great genius for war, and had something
within him, that taught him how battles were to be won.

At length, in 1759, Sir Jeffrey Amherst was appointed commander-in-chief
of all the British forces in America. He was a man of ability, and a
skilful soldier. A plan was now formed for accomplishing that object,
which had so long been the darling wish of the New Englanders, and which
their fathers had so many times attempted. This was the conquest of
Canada.

Three separate armies were to enter Canada, from different quarters. One
of the three, commanded by General Prideaux, was to embark on Lake
Ontario, and proceed to Montreal. The second, at the head of which was Sir
Jeffrey Amherst himself, was destined to reach the River St. Lawrence, by
the way of Lake Champlain, and then go down the river to meet the third
army. This last, led by General Wolfe, was to enter the St. Lawrence from
the sea, and ascend the river to Quebec. It is to Wolfe and his army that
England owes one of the most splendid triumphs, ever written in her
history.

Grandfather described the siege of Quebec, and told how Wolfe led his
soldiers up a rugged and lofty precipice, that rose from the shore of the
river to the plain on which the city stood. This bold adventure was
achieved in the darkness of night. At day-break, tidings