While we were waiting, and during the Fall and Winter, we heard now and then from Philip, for communication was still possible between New York and the rebel army proceeding toward Canada.  He wrote Margaret letters of which the rest of us never saw the contents; but he wrote to Mr. Faringfield and me also.  His history during this time was that of his army, of which we got occasional news from other sources.  During part of September and all of October it was besieging St. John’s, which capitulated early in November.  Schuyler’s ill-health had left the supreme active command to Montgomery.  The army pushed on, and occupied Montreal, though it failed to capture Governor Carleton; who escaped to Quebec in a boat, by ingeniously disguising himself as a countryman.  At Montreal the jealousies and quarrels of officers, so summarily created such, gave Montgomery much trouble, and when he set forward for Quebec, there to join the force sent under Arnold through the Maine wilderness from the rebel main army at Cambridge, he could take with him but three hundred men—­so had the patriot warriors of New York fallen off in zeal and numbers!  But you may be sure it was not from Philip’s letters that we got these items disadvantageous to his cause.

Our last word from him was when he was in quarters before Quebec:  Cornelius was with him; and they were having a cold and snowy time of it, waiting for Quebec to fall before them.  He mentioned casually that he had been raised to a captaincy:  we afterward learned that this was for brave conduct upon the occasion of a sally of Scotch troops from one of the gates of Quebec to cut off a mortar battery and a body of riflemen; Philip had not only saved the battery and the riflemen, but had made prisoners of the sallying party.

Late in the Winter—­that is to say, early in 1776—­we learned of the dire failure of the night attack made by the combined forces of Montgomery and Arnold upon Quebec at the end of December, 1775; that Arnold had been wounded, his best officers taken prisoners, and Montgomery killed.  The first reports said nothing of Winwood.  When Margaret heard the news, she turned white as a sheet; and at this triumph of British arms my joy was far outweighed, Mr. Faringfield’s grief multiplied, by fears lest Philip, who we knew would shirk no danger, had met a fate similar to his commander’s.  But subsequent news told us that he was a prisoner, though severely wounded.  We comforted ourselves with considering that he was like to receive good nursing from the French nuns of Quebec.  And eventually we found the name of Captain Winwood in a list of rebel prisoners who were to be exchanged; from which, as a long time had passed, we inferred that he was now recovered of his injuries; whereupon Margaret, who had never spoken of him, or shown her solicitude other than by an occasional dispirited self-abstraction, regained all her gaiety and was soon her old, charming self again.  In due course, we learned that the exchange of prisoners had been effected, and that a number of officers (among whom was Captain Winwood) had departed from Quebec, bound whither we were not informed; and after that we lost track of him for many and many a month.