taken the field in a very advantageous situation,—­I could not flatter myself that I should be able to reduce the place.  I sought, however, an occasion to attack their army, knowing well that with these troops I was able to fight, and hoping that a victory might disperse them.”  Then, after recounting the events of the campaign with admirable clearness, he continues:  “I found myself so ill, and am still so weak, that I begged the general officers to consult together for the general utility.  They are all of opinion that, as more ships and provisions are now got above the town, they should try, by conveying up a corps of four or five thousand men (which is nearly the whole strength of the army after the Points of Levi and Orleans are left in a proper state of defence), to draw the enemy from their present situation and bring them to an action.  I have acquiesced in the proposal, and we are preparing to put it into execution.”  The letter ends thus:  “By the list of disabled officers, many of whom are of rank, you may perceive that the army is much weakened.  By the nature of the river, the most formidable part of this armament is deprived of the power of acting; yet we have almost the whole force of Canada to oppose.  In this situation there is such a choice of difficulties that I own myself at a loss how to determine.  The affairs of Great Britain, I know, require the most vigorous measures; but the courage of a handful of brave troops should be exerted only when there is some hope of a favorable event; however, you may be assured that the small part of the campaign which remains shall be employed, as far as I am able, for the honor of His Majesty and the interest of the nation, in which I am sure of being well seconded by the Admiral and by the generals; happy if our efforts here can contribute to the success of His Majesty’s arms in any other parts of America.”

Some days later, he wrote to the Earl of Holdernesse:  “The Marquis of Montcalm has a numerous body of armed men (I cannot call it an army), and the strongest country perhaps in the world.  Our fleet blocks up the river above and below the town, but can give no manner of aid in an attack upon the Canadian army.  We are now here [off Cap-Rouge] with about thirty-six hundred men, waiting to attack them when and wherever they can best be got at.  I am so far recovered as to do business; but my constitution is entirely ruined, without the consolation of doing any considerable service to the state, and without any prospect of it.”  He had just learned, through the letter brought from Amherst by Ensign Hutchins, that he could expect no help from that quarter.

Perhaps he was as near despair as his undaunted nature was capable of being.  In his present state of body and mind he was a hero without the light and cheer of heroism.  He flattered himself with no illusions, but saw the worst and faced it all.  He seems to have been entirely without excitement.  The languor of disease, the desperation of the chances, and the greatness of the stake may have wrought to tranquillize him.  His energy was doubly tasked:  to bear up his own sinking frame, and to achieve an almost hopeless feat of arms.