eir hands. At Three Rivers they thought themselves safe and
Carleton lay down in a house to sleep. But, while he was resting, some
American soldiers entered the house. His disguise as a peasant saved
him; he passed out unchecked. The skiff soon carried him to an armed
brig, the _Fell_, which lay at the foot of the Richelieu Rapids. He
hastened on to Quebec, which showed joy unspeakable when he arrived on
November 19th. Meanwhile Montgomery pursued his rival down the river and
on December 1st he joined Arnold before Quebec.

Now the siege began in earnest. Carleton had 1800 men; Arnold and
Montgomery can hardly have had more than a thousand, and these were
badly equipped. For the Americans the prospects of success were, at no
time, very great, unless they could secure help from the Canadians.
This, indeed, was not wholly wanting. Montgomery's march along the north
shore of the St. Lawrence to Quebec was a veritable triumph. He promised
to the habitants liberty, freedom from heavy taxes, the abolition of the
seigneurs' rights and other good things. Some of the Canadians hoped
that, in joining the Americans, they were hastening the restoration of
France's power in Canada--an argument however of little weight with
many, who remembered grim days of hard service and starvation when,
without appreciation or reward, they had fought France's battle. The
habitants were, in truth, friendly enough to the Americans; but they
would not fight for them. The invaders tried to arouse the fear of the
peasantry by a tale that when the British caught sixty rebel Canadians,
they had hanged them over the ramparts of Quebec, without time even to
say "Lord, have mercy upon me," and had thrown their bodies to the dogs.
But this only made the habitants think it as well perhaps not to take
arms openly against such stern masters. The Church's weight was wholly
on the British side. Canadians who joined the rebel Americans died
without her last rites. Only one priest, M. de Lotbiniere, a man, it is
said, of profligate character, espoused the cause of the invaders. For
doing so he was promised a bishopric: to see Puritan New Englanders
offering a bishopric in the Roman Catholic Church as a reward for
service, is not without its humour.

As December wore on Montgomery grew eager to seize his prey. Carleton
sat unmoved behind his walls and allowed the enemy to invest the town.
He would hold no communication with the rebel army. When Montgomery sent
mes