now felt he must try something decisive, even if desperate;
and he planned an attack by land and water on the French
left. Both French and British were hard at work on July
31. In the morning Wolfe sent one regiment marching up
the Montmorency, as if to try the fords again, and another,
also in full view of the French, up along the St Lawrence
from the Levis batteries, as if it was to be taken over
by the ships to the north shore above Quebec. Meanwhile
Monckton's brigade was starting from the Point of Levy
in row-boats, the _Centurion_ was sailing down to the
mouth of the Montmorency, two armed transports were being
purposely run ashore on the beach at the top of the tide,
and the _Pembroke_, _Trent_, _Lowestoff_, and _Racehorse_
were taking up positions to cover the boats. The men-of-war
and Wolfe's batteries at Montmorency then opened fire on
the point he wished to attack; and both of them kept it
up for eight hours, from ten till six. All this time the
Levis batteries were doing their utmost against Quebec.
But Montcalm was not to be deceived. He saw that Wolfe
intended to storm the entrenchments at the point at which
the cannon were firing, and he kept the best of his army
ready to defend it.

Wolfe and the Louisbourg Grenadiers were in the two armed
transports when they grounded at ten o'clock. To his
disgust and to Captain Cook's surprise both vessels stuck
fast in the mud nearly half a mile from shore. This made
the grenadiers' muskets useless against the advanced
French redoubt, which stood at high-water mark, and which
overmatched the transports, because both of these had