friend, Mr. Bissett, was still on board), and leaving Durell with eleven of the deepest draught to guard against any interference from a French fleet, he proceeded up the river with the remainder.  The work was hard, constantly anchoring and weighing to take every advantage of wind and tide, and the progress was slow; but at length the whole of the ships passed the Traverse, and on the 26th the fleet anchored off St. Laurent, on the Ile d’Orleans, and the troops were landed on the following day.  Thus the much-dreaded passage up the St. Lawrence had been carried out, and the fact that no loss of any kind had occurred to either man-of-war or transport, reflects the very greatest credit on all engaged in the operation.  Knox relates how the Master of the transport he was on, a Brother of Trinity House and Thames pilot, named Killick, refused the services of a French prisoner as pilot, and observing, “Damme, I’ll show them an Englishman can go where a Frenchman dar’n’t show his nose,” took his ship up himself, chaffing the occupants of the mark boats as he passed, and in the end declared that it was no worse than the Thames.

The wonderful success of their passage was emphasised the afternoon after their arrival at St. Laurent when a heavy gale struck the fleet, driving several ships into collision or ashore, and causing considerable loss in anchors and cables.  As soon as possible the men-of-war boats were out rendering every assistance, and all the vessels were secured but two, which were too firmly fixed to be towed off shore, and these were soon afterwards burnt by the enemy.

Fireworks.

Thinking to profit by the disorder which must necessarily have been caused by the storm, the French made a determined attempt to destroy the fleet by means of eight fireships which were floated down stream on the unsuspecting British.  Fortunately they were ignited prematurely, and the boats of the Pembroke and other ships were again out, employed in the hazardous task of towing these undesired visitors into such places as would permit them to burn themselves out without danger to the shipping.  Six were quickly got into safety, whilst the other two grounded and burnt out without causing further inconvenience.  Captain Knox describes the scene as a display of “the grandest fireworks that can possibly be conceived.”  The only result was to cause the retirement of a picket at the western end of the Ile d’Orleans, and the officer in command, who thought he was about to be attacked in force, was to have been tried by court-martial, but being advised to throw himself on Wolfe’s mercy, was pardoned for his error of judgment.  To guard against a repetition of such an attack, a system of guard boats, some moored across the river and some patrolling, was established, entailing considerable extra work on the sailors.