ediately underneath was the escutcheon of the United States,
on which, heavily craped, was suspended the hero's sword--the weapon by
which, one hundred years before, the dead, but honoured and revered hero
had beckoned on his men, and which only left his hand when he like 'a
soldier fell.'

"Underneath the kindly tribute to the dead General were the solemn
prayerful initials of _Requiescat in Pace_.

"At the foot of the trophy were piled two sets of old flint-lock muskets
and accoutrements, and in the centre a brass cannon, which was captured
from the Americans in 1775, and which bore the 'Lone Star' and the
figure of an Indian--the Arms of the State of Massachusetts. This
military tableau vividly recalled the troublous times of long ago, and
spoke of the patience and pluck, the bravery and sturdy manhood of a
bygone century.

"On the stroke of the hour of midnight, the clear, clarion notes of a
trumpet thrilled all hearts present. A panel in the wainscotting of the
lower dancing-room flew open as if by magic, and out jumped a jaunty
little trumpeter with a slashed and decorated jacket and the busby of a
hussar. The blast he blew rang in tingling echoes far and wide, and a
second later the weird piping and drumming of an unfamiliar music were
heard in a remote part of the barracks.

"Nearer and nearer every moment came the sharp shrill notes of the fifes
and the quick detonation of the drum-stick taps. The rattle of the drums
came closer and closer, when two folding-doors opened, and through them
stalked in grim solemnity the 'Phantom Guard,' led by the intrepid
Sergeant Hugh McQuarters.

"Regardless of the festive decorations and the bright faces around them,
the 'Guard' passed through the assembly as if they were not. On through
salon and passage--past ball-room and conversation parlor--they glided
with measured step, and halting in front of the 'Montgomery Trophy,'
paid military honours to the memento of a hero's valiant, if
unsuccessful act. Upon their taking close order, the Bombardier, who
personated the dead Sergeant, and who actually wore the blood-stained
sword-belt of a man who was killed in the action commemorated, advanced
and delivered an address to the Commander of the Quebec Garrison, of
which the concluding words were:--

'We ask of you to pay us now one tribute,
By firing from these heights one last salute.'

"The grave, sonorous words of the martial request were hardly uttered,
ere thr