Belle Isle, the Magdalen Islands, the brazen bosom of the Bay of Chaleur
that had allured Jacques Cartier 265 years before, the might of the
noble river and the glorious vista of the citadel and frowning heights
of Quebec, where Wolfe and Montcalm fell--the ancient Stadacona framed
in the sunset--amazed him. A presage of coming conflict crowded his
brain.

* * * * *

"Manfully tell me the truth."

* * * * *

Carr, an educated soldier of the 49th, was hesitating. Desertions had
been frequent at Quebec, and discipline _must_ be restored. Stepping up,
with hand clenched, the officer continued, "Don't lie! Tell the truth
like a man. You know I have ever treated you kindly." The confession of
intended desertion followed. "Go, then," said Colonel Brock,--"go and
tell your deluded comrades everything that has passed here, and also
that I will still treat every man of you with kindness, and then you may
desert me if you please."

During the three years of his command at Montreal, York, Fort George and
Quebec, though mutiny was epidemic in both Europe and America, Brock had
lost but one man by desertion. He had won the loyalty of the rank and
file. FitzGibbon said of him that "he created by his judicious praise
the never-failing interest of the men in the ranks." His accurate
knowledge of human nature served him in the graver experiences of life
which followed. His stay in Quebec was short. A study of the ancient
citadel and its incomplete fortifications occupied his time. In the