they need not trouble about what might happen to him
afterwards. Their 'patching up' certainly cleared his
fevered brain, for this letter was a masterly account of
the whole siege and the plans just laid to bring it to
an end. The style was so good, indeed, that Charles
Townshend said his brother George must have been the real
author, and that Wolfe, whom he dubbed 'a fiery-headed
fellow, only fit for fighting,' could not have done any
more than sign his name. But when George Townshend's own
official letter about the battle in which Wolfe fell was
also published, and was found to be much less effective
than Wolfe's, Selwyn went up to Charles Townshend and
said: 'Look here, Charles, if your brother wrote Wolfe's
letter, who the devil wrote your brother's?'

Wolfe did not try to hide anything from Pitt. He told
him plainly about the two defeats and the terrible
difficulties in the way of winning any victory. The whole
letter is too long for quotation, and odd scraps from it
give no idea of Wolfe's lucid style. But here are a few
which tell the gist of the story:

I found myself so ill, and am still so weak, that I
begged the generals to consult together. They are all
of opinion, that, as more ships and provisions are
now got above the town, they should try, by conveying
up five thousand men, to draw the enemy from his
present position and bring him to an action. I have
acquiesced in their proposal, and we are preparing to
put it into execution. The admiral will readily join