's successor, on a bend of the
St. Charles, being beyond the range of the English artillery, the
homeless poor flocked thither for refuge, until the convent and all
its _dependances_ were filled to overflowing with miserable refugees.
The chapel was pressed into service as a ward for the wounded; and
holy Masses were said by special permission in the _choeur_. During
this time of trial Bishop Pontbriand remained in the city, exhorting
its defenders to be of good courage and cheering the wounded by his
ministrations; while, as if to counteract his influence for good, the
more heartless spirits were tempted to robbery and pillage--a
shameless addition to the general suffering promptly checked by a
gallows in the Place d'Armes.

[Illustration: General Sir Jeffery Amherst.
To whom Montreal surrendered 1760.]

Provisions had been plentiful enough up to midsummer; but as the siege
was prolonged beyond harvest time, and as Wolfe's soldiers were laying
the country waste in every direction as far as eye could see, it was
no wonder that Montcalm felt some anxiety for the feeding of fifteen
thousand troops. Moreover, an unexpected consequence of Wolfe's
repulse at Beauport now brought a new anxiety to the French; for
British operations were presently begun at a point above the city, to
the great peril of its food-supply. Admiral Holmes's division had
forced a passage up the river, soon to be joined by twelve hundred men
under Brigadier Murray, who had instructions to menace the city upon
its flank. Up and down the river this composite squadron cruised,
making feints now here, now there, exhausting the energies of
Bougainville and his column of fifteen hundred men, who were thus
forced to cover an exposed shore for a distance of fifty miles. Murray
attempted a landing at Pointe-aux-Trembles, but was beaten back; at
La Muletiere he was also unsuccessful; but at Deschambault, forty-one
miles above the city, he was able to destroy a large quantity of
French stores without the loss of a man. Up to this time the French
had conveyed their supplies from Batiscan to St. Augustin by water,
and thence overland to Quebec, a distance of thirteen miles. But the
presence of Admiral Holmes's squadron rendered this method of
transport precarious, and an attempt was made to drive supplies
overland from Batiscan; but as this place was sixty-seven miles
distant from Quebec, famine laid its hand upon the city before they
could arrive. French transp