shouted, 'Give way!' and presently the whole infernal
flotilla was safely stranded. But it was a close thing
and very hot work, as one of the happy-go-lucky Jack tars
said with more force than grace, when he called out to
the boat beside him: 'Hullo, mate! Did you ever take hell
in tow before?'

Vaudreuil now made Montcalm, who was under his orders,
withdraw the men from the Levis Heights, and thus abandon
the whole of the south shore in front of Quebec. Wolfe,
delighted, at once occupied the same place, with half
his army and most of his guns. Then he seized the far
side of the Montmorency and made his main camp there,
without, however, removing his hospitals and stores from
his camp on the island of Orleans. So he now had three
camps, not divided, but joined together, by the St Lawrence,
where the fleet could move about between them in spite
of anything the French could do. He then marched up the
Montmorency to the fords, to try the French strength
there, and to find out if he could cross the river, march
down the open ground behind Montcalm, and attack him from
the rear. But he was repulsed at the first attempt, and
saw that he could do no better at a second. Meanwhile
his Levis batteries began a bombardment which lasted two
months and reduced Quebec to ruins.

Yet he seemed as far off as ever from capturing the city.
Battering down the houses of Quebec brought him no nearer
to his object, while Montcalm's main body still stood
securely in its entrenchments down at Beauport. Wolfe