The life and letters of James Wolfe . hem to flight. Two batteries weretaken in reverse befoie they had given much trouble. All this while Wolfe was at the bottom of the slope. Nosooner did he hear the discharge of weapons and the ringing cheersabove than, by his orders, the rest of the division flung themselvesupon the face of the cliff, and, helped by the bushes, tore a waysomehow to the top. There they joined their comrades, who hadalready made several prisoners.^ Dawn was just breaking as the General himself climbed theheight, and gathered around him his 1600 men. Did nofleeting thought co
The life and letters of James Wolfe . hem to flight. Two batteries weretaken in reverse befoie they had given much trouble. All this while Wolfe was at the bottom of the slope. Nosooner did he hear the discharge of weapons and the ringing cheersabove than, by his orders, the rest of the division flung themselvesupon the face of the cliff, and, helped by the bushes, tore a waysomehow to the top. There they joined their comrades, who hadalready made several prisoners.^ Dawn was just breaking as the General himself climbed theheight, and gathered around him his 1600 men. Did nofleeting thought come to him as he stood there of the terriblerisk he had run ? From the plateau, known as the Heights ofAbraham, he could discern the return of the boats laden with thesecond division commanded by Townshend. By this time the pathhad been cleared, and an ascent was made double file. Then the ^ These men gave Wolfe some valuable information, which practicallyconfirmed the truth of his o>vn forecast in every particular.—Wood, p. WOLFE AT QUEBEC/•Vo)?i a pencil skdch hy Capt. Hcrvcy Smith, in the poaacssion of C. A. M. Wardi, J. P. CLIMBING THE HEIGHTS 489 bluejackets hastened across the river, where Burton and his1200 men were eager to embark. I^ng before the sim aroseWolfe had 4800 men on the heights, awaiting the onset of theastonished enemy. Each man carried seventy rounds of ammu-nition, but the labour of dragging the guns up the cliff was heavyand tedious, so that only one had gained the summit when theaction began. Excited and eager, but preserving the strictestdiscipline, they stood, while Wolfe examined the position gave the order to march in files, and on the Plains of Abrahamthey halted. No sooner had Holmes emptied his transports than he swunghis squadron down the river to Beauport, where the arrival of theships made Montcalm suspect an attack upon his position had spent a sleepless night, perplexed at tactics he couldno
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