regular troops, besides which he had
somewhat the advantage of position; but, falling into the same
error as Montcalm, he abandoned this to begin the attack, and the
same result followed.

The battle of Ste. Foye will always command the respect of men of
discretion without regard to the side which may engage their
sympathies.

There we met a foe as brave as the heart of soldier could desire
who for hours disputed every foot of ground with us, and the one
error of the action on our part was rectified with a precision so
admirable that it but heightened the honours of the day. Before I
record this, I must note a personal incident.

Immediately in front of our left, where the regiments of Bearn and
La Sarre were stationed, stood a mill and its dependencies, belonging,
I believe, to one called Dumont, and though its possession was not
of the slightest strategical importance, by one of those strange
chances of battle it became the centre of the most obstinate fighting
on both sides. Our grenadiers took possession of it, and held it
until driven out at the point of dirk and claymore by the Highlanders,
who in turn were dislodged after a desperate hand-to-hand struggle,
whereupon the whole contest recommenced. M. de Levis, annoyed by
the useless waste of men and the danger of expending such effort
and attention on so misleading an object, sent me with orders to
have our men withdrawn.

When I arrived the struggle was again at its height, both sides
were fighting with the simple ferocity of savages, unmindful of
every rule of war. There was neither direction nor command; it was
man against man in a mad, unmeaning struggle for the pleasure of
mastery.

"Pardon, monsieur," I said to the Chevalier d'Aiguebelle, who
commanded the grenadiers, "but M. de Levis sends positive orders
that you must withdraw your men. You are distracting the attention
of the whole left."

Then catching sight of the officer in command of Fraser's I rode
forward and saluted. As he answered my salute I saw it was my once
prisoner, Nairn.

"Call off your men, Captain Nairn!" I shouted. "This is simply
murder! I have given orders for ours to withdraw. There is no loss
of honour on either side."

[Illustration: "Call off your men Captain Nairn."]

Without a moment's hesitation he rushed among them, commanding and
striking up swords right and left, while we did the same. When our
object was attained, he turned to me and said:

"Hark you, sir! I