the bold and sanguine Wolfe perceived more to fear than to hope. In a letter to Mr. Pitt, written before commencing operations, he declared that he saw but little prospect of reducing the place. 65. Quebec stands on the north side of the St. Lawrence, and consists of an upper and lower town. The lower town lies between the river and a bold and lofty eminence, which runs parallel to it, far to the westward. At the top of this eminence is a plain, upon which the upper town is situated. Below, or east of the city, is the river St. Charles, whose channel is rough, and whose banks are steep and broken. A short distance farther down, is the river Montmorency; and between these two rivers, and reaching from one to the other, was encamped the French army, strongly entrenched and at least equal in number to that of the English. 66. General Wolfe took possession of Point Levi, on the bank of the river opposite Quebec, and from that position cannonaded the town. Some injury was done to the houses, but his cannon were too distant to make any impression upon the works of the enemy. He resolved to quit this post, to land below Montmorency, and passing that river, to attack the French general in his entrenchments. 67. He succeeded in landing his troops, and, with a portion of his army, crossed the Montmorency. A partial engagement took place, in which the French obtained the advantage. Relinquishing this plan, he then determined, in concert with the admiral, to destroy the French shipping and magazines. Two attempts were unsuccessful; a third was more fortunate, yet but little was effected. At this juncture, intelligence arrived that Niagara was taken, that Ticonderoga and Crown Point had been abandoned, but that general Amherst, instead of pressing forward to their assistance, was preparing to attack the Isle aux Noix. 68. Wolfe rejoiced at the triumph of his brethren in arms, but could not avoid contrasting their success with his own ill fortune. His mind, alike lofty and susceptible, was deeply impressed by the disasters at Montmorency; and the extreme chagrin of his spirits, preying upon his delicate frame, sensibly affected his health. He was observed frequently to sigh; and, as if life was only valuable while it added to his glory, he declared to his intimate friends, that he would not survive the disgrace which he imagined would attend the failure of his enterprise. 69. Despairing of success below the town, he next directed his efforts towards effecting a landing above it. He removed a part of his army to Point Levi, and the remainder higher up the river. He now found that, on this quarter, the fortifications were not strong; and discovered that the heights behind them might possibly be gained, by ascending the precipice in a narrow path, which was defended only by a captain's guard. 70. The difficulties attending this enterprise were numerous. The current was rapid, the shore shelving, the only landing place so narrow that it might easily be missed in the dark, and the steep above, such as troops, even when unopposed, could not ascend without difficulty. Yet the plan, though bold and hazardous, was well adapted to the desperate situation of affairs, and was determined on. 71. To conceal their intention, the admiral retired several leagues up the river. During the evening, a strong detachment was put on board the boats, and moved silently down with the tide, to the place of landing, where they arrived an hour before day break. Wolfe leaped on shore, was followed by the troops, and all instantly began, with the assistance of shrubs and projecting rocks, to climb up the precipice. The guard was dispersed, and, by the dawn of day, the whole army gained the heights of Abraham, where the different corps were formed under their respective leaders. 72. Montcalm, at first, could not believe that the English had ascended the heights. When convinced of the fact, he comprehended the full advantage they had gained. He saw that a battle was inevitable, and prepared for it with promptness and courage. Leaving his camp at Montmorency, he advanced towards the English army, which was formed in order of battle to receive him. 73. The French advanced briskly. The English reserved their fire until the enemy were near, and then gave it with decisive effect. Early in the engagement, Wolfe was wounded in the wrist, but, preserving his composure, he continued to encourage his troops. Soon after, he received a shot in the groin. This painful wound he also concealed, placed himself at the head of the grenadiers, and was leading them to the charge, when he received a third and mortal wound. 74. Undismayed by the fall of their general, the English continued their exertions under Moncton, who, in a short time, was himself wounded, and the command devolved upon Townshend. About the same time, Montcalm received a mortal wound, and the second in command also fell. The left wing and centre of the French gave way. Part were driven into Quebec, and part over the river St. Charles. 75. On receiving his mortal wound, Wolfe was conveyed into the rear, where, careless about himself, he discovered, in the agonies of death, the most anxious solicitude concerning the fate of the day. From extreme faintness, he had reclined his head on the arm of an officer, but was soon aroused by the cry of, "they fly, they fly." "Who fly ?" exclaimed the dying hero. "The French," answered his attendant. "Then," said he, "I die contented," and immediately expired. A death so glorious, and attended by circumstances so interesting, has seldom been recorded in history.” 76. Five days after the battle, the city surrendered, and re ceived an English garrison. The French concentrated their remaining forces at Montreal, and, early in the spring, made attempts to regain possession of Quebec. Unsuccessful in these, they returned to Montreal, towards which the whole British force in America, under the command of general Amherst, was approaching. This force was too strong to be resisted. In September, 1760, that city surrendered, and soon after all the French posts in Canada fell into the power of the English. 77. In the other parts of the world, their arms were equally successful; and, at the commencement of 1763, a peace, highly advantageous to their interests, was concluded at Paris. By the treaty, France ceded to Great Britain all her northern settlements in America, which relieved the colonies from the continual dread of savage incursions. CHAPTER XV. REVOLUTION IN the late brilliant contest, England had made unprecedented exertions. At its close, she found that, though she had encircled her name with glory, and added extensive territories to her empire, she had increased, in proportion, the burdens of her subjects, having added three hundred and twenty millions of dol lars to the amount of her debt. To find the means of defraying the annual charges of this debt, and her other increased expenditures, was the first and difficult task of her legislators. 2. Regard for their own interest and popularity impelled them to avoid, if possible, imposing the whole burden upon themselves and their fellow subjects at home; and their thoughts were turned to the colonies, as the source whence alleviation and assistance might be derived. On their account, it was al leged, the contest had been waged; they would share the advantages of its glorious termination, and justice required that they should also defray a portion of the expenses. 3. To adopt this expedient, the British ministry were the more naturally led by the opinion which all the European governments entertained of the relation between the mother country and her colonies. They were supposed to be dependent on her will; their inhabitants a distinct and subordinate class of sub jects, and their interests entirely subservient to her aggrandizement and prosperity. 4. Acting upon these principles, Great Britain had, by her laws of trade and navigation, confined the commerce of the colonies almost wholly to herself. To encourage her own artizans, she had even, in some cases, prohibited the establishment of manufactories in America. These restrictions, while they increased her revenue and wealth, greatly diminished the profits of the trade of the colonies, and sensibly impeded their internal prosperity. They were most injurious to New-England, where the sterility of the soil repelled the people from the pursuits of agriculture; there they were most frequently violated, and there the arbitrary mode of enforcing them, by writs of assistance, awakened the attention of a proud and jealous people to their natural rights, to their rights as English subjects, and to the rights granted and secured by their charters. 5. In the beginning of the year 1764, the British parliament enacted a law imposing duties upon certain articles of merchandise, to be paid in the colonial ports. Mr. Grenville, the prime minister, also proposed a resolution, "that it would be proper to charge certain stamp duties on the colonies," but postponed the consideration of that subject to a future session. As it was foreseen that the law would be disregarded, if extraordinary measures were not adopted to enforce it, provision was made that all penalties for violations of it, and of all other revenue laws, might be recovered in the admiralty courts. The judges of these courts were dependent solely on the king, and decided the causes brought before them, without the intervention of a iury. 6. Intelligence of these proceedings occasioned, in America, great and universal alarm. They were considered the commencement of a system of taxation, which, if not vigorously resisted, would, in time, be extended to every article of commerce, and to every internal source of income; and if the colonists could be deprived in one class of causes, why not in all, of that inestimable privilege, the trial by jury? 7. The general court of Massachusetts, at their session in June, took this law into consideration. The house of representatives sent a spirited letter of instructions to their agent, in England, in which they denied the right of parliament to impose duties and taxes upon the people not represented in the house of commons; and directed him to remonstrate against the duties imposed, and the stamp act in contemplation. They also acquainted the other colonies with the instructions they had given to their agent, and desired their concurrence in the mode of opposition adopted. In the course of the year, several other colonies, particularly New-York and Virginia, remonstrated in respectful, but decided terms, against the proceedings of parlia ment. 8. In these several state papers, the right of Great Britain to collect a tax in the colonies, was explicitly denied; and the denial was supported by clear and powerful arguments. It was stated that the first emigrants came to America with the undoubted consent of the mother country; that all the expenses of removal, of purchasing the territory, and, for a long time, of protection from savage warfare, were defrayed by private individuals, except in the single instance of the settlement of Georgia: that charters, under the great seal, were given to the emigrants, imparting and securing to them and to their descendants, all the rights of natural born English subjects; that of these rights, none was more indisputable, and none more highly valued, than that no subject could be deprived of his property but by his own consent, expressed in person or by his representative; that taxes were but grants, by the representative, of a portion of his own property, and of that of those who had authorized him to act in their behalf. Could it be just, it was asked, that the representatives of Englishmen should “give and grant" the property of Americans? With what safety to the colonies, could the right of taxing them be confided to a body of men three thousand miles distant, over whom they had no control, none of whom could be acquainted with their situation or resources, and whose interests would impel them to make the burdens of the colonists heavy, that their own might be light? 9. But, besides infringing the rights of freemen, the measure was neither equitable nor generous. The colonies had domestic governments which they alone supported; in the late war, their exertions had been greater, in proportion to their ability, than those of England; they also had contracted debts which they must themselves pay; the taxes laid by many of the assem blies, were higher than those paid by the inhabitants of England; if the war had been waged on their account, it was because, as colonies, they were beneficial to the mother country; and from |