of the realities of war, naming the hour when the force should
land "unobserved" before Louisbourg, instructing Pepperrell to
surprise that place while every one was asleep, and so on. Kindly
Providence was expected even to give continuous good weather.
"The English appear to have enlisted Heaven in their interests,"
said a despairing resident of the town; "so long as the
expedition lasted they had the most beautiful weather in the
world." There were no storms; the winds were favorable; fog, so
common on that coast, did not creep in; and the sky was clear.

Among the French the opinion prevailed that the English colonists
were ferocious pirates plotting eternally to destroy the power of
France. Their liberty, however, it was well understood, had made
them strong; and now they quickly became formidable soldiers.
Their shooting, bad at first, was, in the end, superb. Sometimes
in their excess of zeal they overcharged their cannon so that the
guns burst. But they managed to hit practically every house in
Louisbourg, and since most of the houses were of wood there was
constant danger of fire. Some of the French fought well. Even
children of ten and twelve helped to carry ammunition.

The Governor Duchambon tried to keep up the spirits of the
garrison by absurd exaggeration of British losses. He was relying
much on help from France, but only a single ship reached port. On
May 19, 1745, the besieged saw approaching Louisbourg a great
French ship of war, the Vigilant, long looked for, carrying 64
guns and 560 men. A northwest wind was blowing which would have
brought her quickly into the harbor. The British fleet was two
and a half leagues away to leeward. The great ship, thinking
herself secure, did not even stop to communicate with Louisbourg