waters, and
glowing all bright and lovely in the setting sun."

"A good many of those poor fellows only saw the sun set once or twice
more," continued the Canadian. "They landed on the following day a few
miles from Fort Ticonderoga, and marched forward at once, our small
force of men stationed there retiring before them, and by some blunder
losing their way in the thick woods lying between that spot and the
fort. As it happened, they fell in that afternoon with a body of the
English under a milord Howe--as brave an officer as ever fought they
say--who was killed by one of the first shots fired; but his men got
the better of ours, and we lost a few killed and some prisoners. Their
general, however, seems not to have been good for much, and fell back;
but on the day after that he sent part of his army forward under
another brave fellow, Colonel Bradstreet."

"I know," said Isidore; "the same who gallantly forced a passage up the
Onondaga quite at the outset of the war. Well, go on."

"On the 8th they reached a place named Carillon, close to Ticonderoga,
and began their attack on the fort. Some of the provincial militia
came on first, but soon gave way, for our general, as you can guess,
monsieur, had not only strengthened the fort with a formidable rampart
some eight feet high, but had studded the approach to it with an abatis
of prodigious trunks and branches of trees, which not only seemed, but
actually proved impenetrable. On came the regulars as briskly and
bravely as our men could have done, but it was only to be shot down in
scores and hundreds by our sharpshooters sheltered behind the
earthworks, who picked them off as they crossed the open and tried in
vain to struggle through the abatis. Three times the attack was
renewed by fresh troops, and the English fought splendidly; but even
the Highlanders, though they climbed like wild cats, could only here
and there get a few men through the tangled defences outside of us. At
last their General Abercromby seemed to despair of success, and instead
of trying some other point to the right or left, where I believe we
were not half so well protected, he ordered a retreat. From that
moment it was all up with them; their general's loss of heart seemed to
affect even the brave fellows he commanded. When on the following
day--the very 9th of July, monsieur, on which you were making your
sortie at Louisburg--he gave the order to fall back towards the place
where th