ting that not till after the fall of
Quebec, in 1759, was it fairly opened to the English. In 1757 the
attempt against Louisburg failed; the English admiral being unwilling
to engage sixteen ships-of-the-line he found there, with the fifteen
under his own command, which were also, he said, of inferior metal.
Whether he was right in his decision or not, the indignation felt in
England clearly shows the difference of policy underlying the action
of the French and English governments. The following year an admiral
of a higher spirit, Boscawen, was sent out accompanied with twelve
thousand troops, and, it must in fairness be said, found only five
ships in the port. The troops were landed, while the fleet covered
the siege from the only molestation it could fear, and cut off from
the besieged the only line by which they could look for supplies. The
island fell in 1758, opening the way by the St. Lawrence to the heart
of Canada, and giving the English a new base both for the fleet and
army.

The next year the expedition under Wolfe was sent against Quebec. All
his operations were based upon the fleet, which not only carried his
army to the spot, but moved up and down the river as the various
feints required. The landing which led to the decisive action was made
directly from the ships. Montcalm, whose skill and determination had
blocked the attacks by way of Lake Champlain the two previous years,
had written urgently for reinforcements; but they were refused by the
minister of war, who replied that in addition to other reasons it was
too probable that the English would intercept them on the way, and
that the more France sent, the more England would be moved to send. In
a word, the possession of Canada depended upon sea power.

Montcalm, therefore, in view of the certain attack upon Quebec by the
river, was compelled to weaken his resistance on the Champlain route;
nevertheless, the English did not get farther than the foot of the
lake that year, and their operations, though creditable, had no effect
upon the result at Quebec.

In 1760, the English, holding the course of the St. Lawrence, with
Louisburg at one end and Quebec at the other, seemed firmly seated.
Nevertheless, the French governor, De Vaudreuil, still held out at
Montreal, and the colonists still hoped for help from France. The
English garrison at Quebec, though inferior in numbers to the forces
of the Canadians, was imprudent enough to leave the city and meet