them, having only one path, which was so narrow, that not even two men could ascend it abreast.

"Even the path," says a historian of the war, "was entrenched, and a captain's guard defended it; but these difficulties did not abate the hopes of the general, nor the ardour of the troops. The light infantry, under Colonel Howe, taking hold of stumps and boughs of trees, pulled themselves up, dislodged the guards, and cleared the path; then, all the troops, surmounting every obstacle, gained the top of the hill; and, as fast as they ascended, formed themselves, so that they were all in order of battle by daybreak. Montcalm, when he heard that the English had ascended the hill, and were formed on the high ground at the back of the town, scarcely credited the intelligence, and still believed it to be a feint to induce him to abandon that strong post, which had been the object of all the real attempts that had been made since the beginning of the campaign. But he was soon, and, fatally for him, undeceived.

He saw

clearly, that the English fleet was in such a situation, that the upper and lower town of Quebec might be at once attacked, and that nothing but a battle could possibly save it."

Quitting his entrenchments, Montcalm rapidly crossed the river St. Charles, and formed his troops opposite the British, with admirable skill. In pursuance of the orders issued by Wolfe, his men reserved their fire until the French had approached within forty yards of them. Their first discharge, consequently, produced great havoc in the enemy's lines: "but," says the author before quoted, "just at the moment when the fortune of the field began to declare itself, General Wolfe, in whom every thing seemed included, fell." He first received a ball in the wrist, but silently tied a handkerchief about the wound, and again cheered his troops to the attack: soon afterwards, another struck him in the abdomen; of which, however, he said nothing, but continued to exert him

:

self as before in a few moments, a third took place in his breast; and he then suffered himself, though somewhat reluctantly, to be carried behind the ranks. Notwithstanding his wounds, he still appeared acutely solicitous as to the event of the battle, and requested an attendant to take him to a spot where he might have a nearer view of the field; but, on being carried thither, the near approach of death had so dimmed his sight, that he could not distinctly perceive what was going forward. He, therefore, applied for information to an officer who stood near him; and the latter, to the expiring hero's intense delight, acquainted him that the French lines seemed to be broken. In a few minutes, a cry of "They run!-They run !" was heard. "Who run ?" inquired Wolfe, with trembling eagerness. On being told, in reply, that the French ran, and were utterly routed, he said, in a faint, but composed tone, "Thank God! I die contented!" and immediately expired.

The remains of the gallant general, who had thus expired at the moment of victory, were deposited in a vault at Greenwich, which had, but a few months before, received those of his father. A monument was erected to his memory at Westerham, and another, at the public expense, in Westminster abbey. He was never married, but had, it is said, been betrothed to a lady, with whom his nuptials would have been solemnized, had it been his fortune to have returned from the scene of his glory. It is related, that the people of the village where his widowed mother resided, forbore, with admirable good feeling, to join in the illumination with which the public in general celebrated his victory.

The career of Wolfe was brief, but splendid. It has been truly said of him, that, "unindebted to family or connexions, unsupported by intrigue or faction, he had accomplished the whole business of life at a time when others are only beginning to appear." His powers were great, and his confidence in them daring,

but still not rash. He was brave in the most unqualified acceptation of the term; his zeal for the service enabled him to bear up for a long time against excessive fatigue, notwithstanding the weakness of his constitution; and an intense anxiety not to discourage his troops at a critical moment, rendered him heedless to the anguish which his wounds must have occasioned him. Though young, he was an adept in military tactics; and those operations by which he eventually forced the experienced Montcalm to quit his entrenchments, have, as it appears, with propriety, been termed so many master-pieces in the art

of war."

CHARLES MORDAUNT, EARL OF

PETERBOROUGH.

CHARLES MORDAUNT, son of the profligate Viscount Mordaunt, was born in 1658, and succeeded his father in title and estate in 1675. In his youth he served under Admirals Torrington and Narborough, against Algiers, and distinguished himself at Tangier, in Africa, when that place was besieged by the Moors. Averse to the arbitrary proceedings of James, he strenuously opposed the repeal of the test act, and forseeing that some great political change would speedily occur, opened a communication with the Prince of Orange. He soon after went over to Holland, and, accompanying William to England, was sworn in of the privy-counsel, appointed lord of the bed-chamber, and lord commissioner of the treasury; and, a few days before the coronation, was created Earl of Monmouth. This title he is reported to have solicited in order to prevent the children of the Duke of Monmouth, for whom he had always professed the highest regard, from being restored to their unfortunate father's rank.

He served in Flanders throughout the campaign of

1692, and enjoyed the full confidence of William, until his natural giddiness, in running from party to party, deprived him of the royal favour. In 1697, he disgraced himself by an attempt to suborn Sir John Fenwick to accuse the Duke of Shrewsbury and Lord Orford of a design to restore King James; he also, by the assistance of Dr. D'Avenant, wrote a book against the duke, to which he affixed the name of Smith. His intrigues being discovered, he was committed a prisoner to the Tower; the peers ordered the work in question to be burnt by the hands of the common hangman; and the house of commons voted his conduct a scandalous design to create differences between the king and his majesty's best friends. In the same year he succeeded his uncle, who had been a very abandoned character, as Earl of Peterborough.

Ón the accession of Queene Anne, he was appointed captain-general of the plantations in America, and governor of Jamaica; but Marlborough, returning from Holland before the commission had passed the seals, represented to government the impropriety of committing so important a trust to one of such a fiery and uncertain temper, and the appointment was, consequently, revoked. Incensed by this disappointment, the earl acted in opposition to government, until he was constituted general and commander-inchief of the forces sent to the assistance of Charles the Third of Spain, and joint admiral of the fleet with Sir Cloudesley Shovel. He sailed from England in May, 1705, and, arriving at his destination, published a manifesto, in the Spanish language, which had such an effect upon the inhabitants, that they crowded to his standard, and acknowledged Charles the Third as their lawful sovereign. His first exploit was the siege of Barcelona, which surrendered, after a vigorous attack; and, in a few days, King Charles made his entrance in triumph. Pending the arrangements for its capitulation, the governor complained to the earl, that some soldiers, who had climbed over the

walls, were committing the most barbarous excesses against the inhabitants. "They must be the troops of the Prince of Hesse,” replied Peterborough; "allow me to enter the city with my English forces,—I will save it from ruin, and afterwards return to my present situation." The governor accepted this offer; and Peterborough, after expelling the Germans, restoring their plunder to its owners, rescuing the Duchess of Popoli from two brutal ruffians, and conducting her in safety to her husband, returned, as he had promised, to his former station.

He next marched to the relief of San Matheo, a place of great consequence, which was then invested by six thousand men, under the Conde de las Torres, whom, by means of false intelligence, Peterborough induced to abandon the siege. He afterwards relieved Barcelona, when greatly distressed by the enemy; and, with ten thousand men, drove the Duke of Anjou, at the head of twenty-five thousand French, out of Spain; gained possession of Catalonia, Valencia, Arragon, and Majorca, with part of Murcia and Castile, and enabled Lord Gallway to advance to Madrid without the slightest opposition. For these services he was declared a general in Spain, by Charles, and was appointed, by Queen Anne, ambassador extraordinary to adjust all matters of state and traffic between the two kingdoms. Charles, however, soon afterwards transmitted to England some charges against the earl, who was, consequently, recalled; but, on his conduct being investigated by the peers, they thought proper to vote him their thanks in the most solemn manner, for his zeal and services.

In 1710, he was employed in embassies to Vienna and several of the Italian courts. While thus diplomatically engaged, he travelled with such speed that the British ministers used to say they wrote at, rather than to him. From the rapidity of his movements, and the number of his missions to crowned heads, he is said to have seen more postillions and princes than