COLLISION OF THE RIVAL COLONIES.
The people of the northern English colonies had learned to regard their Canadian neighbors with the bitterest enmity. With them, the very name of Canada called up horrible recollections and ghastly images: the midnight massacre1 of Schenectady, and the desolation of many a New England hamlet; blazing dwellings2 and reeking3 scalps; and children snatched from their mothers’ arms, to be immured4 in convents and trained up in the abominations of Popery. To the sons of the Puritans, their enemy was doubly odious5. They hated him as a Frenchman, and they hated him as a Papist. Hitherto he had waged his murderous warfare6 from a distance, wasting their settlements with rapid onsets7, fierce and transient as a summer storm; but now, with enterprising audacity8, he was intrenching himself on their very borders. The English hunter, in the lonely wilderness9 of Vermont, as by the warm glow of sunset he piled the spruce boughs10 for his woodland bed, started as a deep, low sound struck faintly on his ear, the evening gun of Fort Frederic, booming over lake and forest. The erection of this fort, better known among the English as Crown Point, was a piece of daring encroachment11 which justly kindled12 resentment13 in the northern colonies. But it was not here that the immediate14 occasion of a final rupture15 was to arise. By an article of the treaty of Utrecht, confirmed by that of Aix la Chapelle, Acadia had been ceded16 to England; but scarcely was the latter treaty signed, when debates sprang up touching17 the limits of the ceded province. Commissioners18 were named on either side to adjust the disputed boundary; but the claims of the rival powers proved utterly19 irreconcilable20, and all negotiation21 was fruitless.[93] Meantime, the French and English forces in Acadia began to assume a belligerent22 attitude, and indulge their ill blood in mutual23 aggression24 and80 reprisal25.[94] But while this game was played on the coasts of the Atlantic, interests of far greater moment were at stake in the west.
The people of the middle colonies, placed by their local position beyond reach of the French, had heard with great composure of the sufferings of their New England brethren, and felt little concern at a danger so doubtful and remote. There were those among them, however, who with greater foresight26 had been quick to perceive the ambitious projects of the rival nation; and, as early as 1716, Spotswood, governor of Virginia, had urged the expediency27 of securing the valley of the Ohio by a series of forts and settlements.[95] His proposal was coldly received, and his plan fell to the ground. The time at length was come when the danger was approaching too near to be slighted longer. In 1748, an association, called the Ohio Company, was formed with the view of making settlements in the region beyond the Alleghanies; and two years later, Gist28, the company’s surveyor, to the great disgust of the Indians, carried chain and compass down the Ohio as far as the falls at Louisville.[96] But so dilatory29 were the English, that before any effectual steps were taken, their agile30 enemies appeared upon the scene.
In the spring of 1753, the middle provinces were startled at the tidings that French troops had crossed Lake Erie, fortified32 themselves at the point of Presqu’ Isle33, and pushed forward to the northern branches of the Ohio.[97] Upon this, Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, resolved to despatch34 a message requiring their removal from territories which he claimed as belonging to the British crown; and looking about him for the person best qualified35 to act as messenger, he made choice of George Washington, a young man twenty-one years of age, adjutant general of the Virginian militia36.
Washington departed on his mission, crossed the mountains, descended37 to the bleak38 and leafless valley of the Ohio,81 and thence continued his journey up the banks of the Alleghany until the fourth of December. On that day he reached Venango, an Indian town on the Alleghany, at the mouth of French Creek39. Here was the advanced post of the French; and here, among the Indian log cabins and huts of bark, he saw their flag flying above the house of an English trader, whom the military intruders had unceremoniously ejected. They gave the young envoy40 a hospitable41 reception,[98] and referred him to the commanding officer, whose headquarters were at Le B?uf, a fort which they had just built on French Creek, some distance above Venango. Thither42 Washington repaired, and on his arrival was received with stately courtesy by the officer, Legardeur de St. Pierre, whom he describes as an elderly gentleman of very soldier-like appearance. To the message of Dinwiddie, St. Pierre replied that he would forward it to the governor general of Canada; but that, in the mean time, his orders were to hold possession of the country, and this he should do to the best of his ability. With this answer Washington, through all the rigors43 of the midwinter forest, retraced44 his steps, with one attendant, to the English borders.
With the first opening of spring, a newly raised company of Virginian backwoodsmen, under Captain Trent, hastened across the mountains, and began to build a fort at the confluence45 of the Monongahela and Alleghany, where Pittsburg now stands; when suddenly they found themselves invested by a host of French and Indians, who, with sixty bateaux and three hundred canoes, had descended from Le B?uf and Venango.[99] The English were ordered to evacuate46 the spot;82 and, being quite unable to resist, they obeyed the summons, and withdrew in great discomfiture47 towards Virginia. Meanwhile Washington, with another party of backwoodsmen, was advancing from the borders; and, hearing of Trent’s disaster, he resolved to fortify48 himself on the Monongahela, and hold his ground, if possible, until fresh troops could arrive to support him. The French sent out a scouting49 party under M. Jumonville, with the design, probably, of watching his movements; but, on a dark and stormy night, Washington surprised them, as they lay lurking51 in a rocky glen not far from his camp, killed the officer, and captured the whole detachment.[100] Learning that the French, enraged52 by this reverse, were about to attack him in great force, he thought it prudent53 to fall back, and retired54 accordingly to a spot called the Great Meadows, where he had before thrown up a slight intrenchment. Here he found himself assailed55 by nine hundred French and Indians, commanded by a brother of the slain57 Jumonville. From eleven in the morning till eight at night, the backwoodsmen, who were half famished58 from the failure of their stores, maintained a stubborn defence, some fighting within the intrenchment, and some on the plain without. In the evening, the French sounded a parley59, and offered terms. They were accepted, and on the following day Washington and his men retired across the mountains, leaving the disputed territory in the hands of the French.[101]
While the rival nations were beginning to quarrel for a prize which belonged to neither of them, the unhappy Indians saw, with alarm and amazement60, their lands becoming a bone of contention61 between rapacious62 strangers. The first appearance of the French on the Ohio excited the wildest fears in the tribes of that quarter, among whom were those who, disgusted by the encroachments of the Pennsylvanians, had fled to these remote retreats to escape the intrusions of the83 white men. Scarcely was their fancied asylum65 gained, when they saw themselves invaded by a host of armed men from Canada. Thus placed between two fires, they knew not which way to turn. There was no union in their counsels, and they seemed like a mob of bewildered children. Their native jealousy66 was roused to its utmost pitch. Many of them thought that the two white nations had conspired67 to destroy them, and then divide their lands. “You and the French,” said one of them, a few years afterwards, to an English emissary, “are like the two edges of a pair of shears68, and we are the cloth which is cut to pieces between them.”[102]
The French labored69 hard to conciliate them, plying70 them with gifts and flatteries,[103] and proclaiming themselves their champions against the English. At first, these arts seemed in vain, but their effect soon began to declare itself; and this effect was greatly increased by a singular piece of infatuation on the part of the proprietors71 of Pennsylvania. During the summer of 1754, delegates of the several provinces met at Albany, to concert measures of defence in the war which now seemed inevitable72. It was at this meeting that the memorable73 plan of a union of the colonies was brought forward; a plan, the fate of which was curious and significant, for the crown rejected it as giving too much power to the people, and the people as giving too much power to the crown.[104] A council was also held with the Iroquois, and though they were found but lukewarm in their attachment74 to the English, a treaty of friendship and alliance was concluded with their84 deputies.[105] It would have been well if the matter had ended here; but, with ill-timed rapacity75, the proprietary76 agents of Pennsylvania took advantage of this great assemblage of sachems to procure77 from them the grant of extensive tracts78, including the lands inhabited by the very tribes whom the French were at that moment striving to seduce79.[106] When they heard that, without their consent, their conquerors81 and tyrants82, the Iroquois, had sold the soil from beneath their feet, their indignation was extreme; and, convinced that there was no limit to English encroachment, many of them from that hour became fast allies of the French.
The courts of London and Versailles still maintained a diplomatic intercourse83, both protesting their earnest wish that their conflicting claims might be adjusted by friendly negotiation; but while each disclaimed84 the intention of hostility85, both were hastening to prepare for war. Early in 1755, an English fleet sailed from Cork86, having on board two regiments88 destined89 for Virginia, and commanded by General Braddock; and soon after, a French fleet put to sea from the port of Brest, freighted with munitions90 of war and a strong body of troops under Baron91 Dieskau, an officer who had distinguished92 himself in the campaigns of Marshal Saxe. The English fleet gained its destination, and landed its troops in safety. The French were less fortunate. Two of their ships, the Lys and the Alcide, became involved in the fogs of the banks of Newfoundland; and when the weather cleared, they found themselves under the guns of a superior British force, belonging to the squadron of Admiral Boscawen, sent out for the express purpose of intercepting94 them. “Are we at peace or war?” demanded the French commander. A broadside from the Englishman soon solved his doubts, and after a stout95 resistance the French struck their colors.[107] News of the capture caused great excitement in England, but the conduct of the85 aggressors was generally approved; and under pretence96 that the French had begun the war by their alleged97 encroachments in America, orders were issued for a general attack upon their marine98. So successful were the British cruisers, that, before the end of the year, three hundred French vessels99 and nearly eight thousand sailors were captured and brought into port.[108] The French, unable to retort in kind, raised an outcry of indignation, and Mirepoix their ambassador withdrew from the court of London.
Thus began that memorable war which, kindling100 among the forests of America, scattered101 its fires over the kingdoms of Europe, and the sultry empire of the Great Mogul; the war made glorious by the heroic death of Wolfe, the victories of Frederic, and the exploits of Clive; the war which controlled the destinies of America, and was first in the chain of events which led on to her Revolution with all its vast and undeveloped consequences. On the old battle-ground of Europe, the contest bore the same familiar features of violence and horror which had marked the strife103 of former generations—fields ploughed by the cannon105 ball, and walls shattered by the exploding mine, sacked towns and blazing suburbs, the lamentations of women, and the license106 of a maddened soldiery. But in America, war assumed a new and striking aspect. A wilderness was its sublime107 arena108. Army met army under the shadows of primeval woods; their cannon resounded109 over wastes unknown to civilized110 man. And before the hostile powers could join in battle, endless forests must be traversed, and morasses111 passed, and everywhere the axe93 of the pioneer must hew112 a path for the bayonet of the soldier.
Before the declaration of war, and before the breaking off of negotiations113 between the courts of France and England,86 the English ministry114 formed the plan of assailing115 the French in America on all sides at once, and repelling117 them, by one bold push, from all their encroachments.[109] A provincial118 army was to advance upon Acadia, a second was to attack Crown Point, and a third Niagara; while the two regiments which had lately arrived in Virginia under General Braddock, aided by a strong body of provincials119, were to dislodge the French from their newly-built fort of Du Quesne. To Braddock was assigned the chief command of all the British forces in America; and a person worse fitted for the office could scarcely have been found. His experience had been ample, and none could doubt his courage; but he was profligate120, arrogant121, perverse122, and a bigot to military rules.[110] On his first arrival in Virginia, he called together the governors of the several provinces, in order to explain his instructions and adjust the details of the projected operations. These arrangements complete, Braddock advanced to the borders of Virginia, and formed his camp at Fort Cumberland, where he spent several weeks in training the raw backwoodsmen, who joined him,87 into such discipline as they seemed capable of; in collecting horses and wagons123, which could only be had with the utmost difficulty; in railing at the contractors124, who scandalously cheated him; and in venting125 his spleen by copious126 abuse of the country and the people. All at length was ready, and early in June, 1755, the army left civilization behind, and struck into the broad wilderness as a squadron puts out to sea.
It was no easy task to force their way over that rugged127 ground, covered with an unbroken growth of forest; and the difficulty was increased by the needless load of baggage which encumbered130 their march. The crash of falling trees resounded in the front, where a hundred axemen labored with ceaseless toil131 to hew a passage for the army.[111] The horses strained their utmost strength to drag the ponderous132 wagons over roots and stumps134, through gullies and quagmires135; and the regular troops were daunted136 by the depth and gloom of the forest which hedged them in on either hand, and closed its leafy arches above their heads. So tedious was their progress, that, by the advice of Washington, twelve hundred chosen men moved on in advance with the lighter137 baggage and artillery138, leaving the rest of the army to follow, by slower stages, with the heavy wagons. On the eighth of July, the advanced body reached the Monongahela, at a point not far distant from Fort du Quesne. The rocky and impracticable ground on the eastern side debarred their passage, and the general resolved to cross the river in search of a smoother path, and recross it a few miles lower down, in order to gain the fort. The first passage was easily made, and the troops moved, in glittering array, down the western margin139 of the water, rejoicing that their goal was well nigh reached, and the hour of their expected triumph close at hand.
Scouts140 and Indian runners had brought the tidings of Braddock’s approach to the French at Fort du Quesne. Their dismay was great, and Contrec?ur, the commander, thought only of retreat; when Beaujeu, a captain in the garrison141, made the bold proposal of leading out a party of French and Indians to waylay142 the English in the woods, and harass143 or88 interrupt their march. The offer was accepted, and Beaujeu hastened to the Indian camps.
Around the fort and beneath the adjacent forest were the bark lodges144 of savage145 hordes146, whom the French had mustered147 from far and near; Ojibwas and Ottawas, Hurons and Caughnawagas, Abenakis and Delawares. Beaujeu called the warriors148 together, flung a hatchet149 on the ground before them, and invited them to follow him out to battle; but the boldest stood aghast at the peril150, and none would accept the challenge. A second interview took place with no better success; but the Frenchman was resolved to carry his point. “I am determined151 to go,” he exclaimed. “What, will you suffer your father to go alone?”[112] His daring proved contagious152. The warriors hesitated no longer; and when, on the morning of the ninth of July, a scout50 ran in with the news that the English army was but a few miles distant, the Indian camps were at once astir with the turmoil153 of preparation. Chiefs harangued154 their yelling followers155, braves bedaubed themselves with war-paint, smeared156 themselves with grease, hung feathers in their scalp-locks, and whooped157 and stamped till they had wrought159 themselves into a delirium160 of valor161.
That morning, James Smith, an English prisoner recently captured on the frontier of Pennsylvania, stood on the rampart, and saw the half-frenzied multitude thronging162 about the gateway163, where kegs of bullets and gunpowder164 were broken open, that each might help himself at will.[113] Then band after band hastened away towards the forest, followed and supported by nearly two hundred and fifty French and Canadians, commanded by Beaujeu. There were the Ottawas, led on, it is said, by the remarkable165 man whose name stands on the title-page of this history; there were the Hurons of Lorette under their chief, whom the French called Athanase,[114] and many more, all keen as hounds on the scent166 of blood. At89 about nine miles from the fort, they reached a spot where the narrow road descended to the river through deep and gloomy woods, and where two ravines, concealed167 by trees and bushes, seemed formed by nature for an ambuscade. Beaujeu well knew the ground; and it was here that he had resolved to fight; but he and his followers were well nigh too late; for as they neared the ravines, the woods were resounding168 with the roll of the British drums.
It was past noon of a day brightened with the clear sunlight of an American midsummer, when the forces of Braddock began, for a second time, to cross the Monongahela, at the fording-place, which to this day bears the name of their ill-fated leader. The scarlet170 columns of the British regulars, complete in martial171 appointment, the rude backwoodsmen with shouldered rifles, the trains of artillery and the white-topped wagons, moved on in long procession through the shallow current, and slowly mounted the opposing bank.[115] Men were there whose names have become historic: Gage129, who, twenty years later, saw his routed battalions173 recoil174 in disorder175 from before the breastwork on Bunker Hill; Gates, the future conqueror80 of Burgoyne; and one destined to a higher fame,—George Washington, a boy in years, a man in calm thought and self-ruling wisdom.
With steady and well ordered march, the troops advanced into the great labyrinth176 of woods which shadowed the eastern borders of the river. Rank after rank vanished from sight. The forest swallowed them up, and the silence of the wilderness90 sank down once more on the shores and waters of the Monongahela.
Several engineers and guides and six light horsemen led the way; a body of grenadiers under Gage was close behind, and the army followed in such order as the rough ground would permit, along a narrow road, twelve feet wide, tunnelled through the dense177 and matted foliage178. There were flanking parties on either side, but no scouts to scour179 the woods in front, and with an insane confidence Braddock pressed on to meet his fate. The van had passed the low grounds that bordered the river, and were now ascending180 a gently rising ground, where, on either hand, hidden by thick trees, by tangled181 undergrowth and rank grasses, lay the two fatal ravines. Suddenly, Gordon, an engineer in advance, saw the French and Indians bounding forward through the forest and along the narrow track, Beaujeu leading them on, dressed in a fringed hunting-shirt, and wearing a silver gorget on his breast. He stopped, turned, and waved his hat, and his French followers, crowding across the road, opened a murderous fire upon the head of the British column, while, screeching182 their war-cries, the Indians thronged183 into the ravines, or crouched184 behind rocks and trees on both flanks of the advancing troops. The astonished grenadiers returned the fire, and returned it with good effect; for a random185 shot struck down the brave Beaujeu, and the courage of the assailants was staggered by his fall. Dumas, second in command, rallied them to the attack; and while he, with the French and Canadians, made good the pass in front, the Indians from their lurking places opened a deadly fire on the right and left. In a few moments, all was confusion. The advance guard fell back on the main body, and every trace of subordination vanished. The fire soon extended along the whole length of the army, from front to rear. Scarce an enemy could be seen, though the forest resounded with their yells; though every bush and tree was alive with incessant186 flashes; though the lead flew like a hailstorm, and the men went down by scores. The regular troops seemed bereft187 of their senses. They huddled188 together in the road like flocks of sheep; and happy did he think himself who could wedge his way into the midst of the crowd, and place a barrier of human flesh between his life and91 the shot of the ambushed189 marksmen. Many were seen eagerly loading their muskets190, and then firing them into the air, or shooting their own comrades in the insanity191 of their terror. The officers, for the most part, displayed a conspicuous192 gallantry; but threats and commands were wasted alike on the panic-stricken multitude. It is said that at the outset Braddock showed signs of fear; but he soon recovered his wonted intrepidity194. Five horses were shot under him, and five times he mounted afresh.[116] He stormed and shouted, and, while the Virginians were fighting to good purpose, each man behind a tree, like the Indians themselves, he ordered them with furious menace to form in platoons, where the fire of the enemy mowed195 them down like grass. At length, a mortal shot silenced him, and two provincials bore him off the field. Washington rode through the tumult196 calm and undaunted. Two horses were killed under him, and four bullets pierced his clothes;[117] but his hour was not come, and he escaped without a wound. Gates was shot through the body, and Gage also was severely197 wounded. Of eighty-six officers, only twenty-three remained unhurt; and of twelve hundred soldiers who crossed the Monongahela, more than seven hundred were killed and wounded. None suffered more severely than the Virginians, who had displayed throughout a degree of courage and steadiness which put the cowardice198 of the regulars to shame. The havoc199 among them was terrible, for of their whole number scarcely one-fifth left the field alive.[118]
The slaughter200 lasted three hours; when, at length, the survivors201, as if impelled202 by a general impulse, rushed tumultuously92 from the place of carnage, and with dastardly precipitation fled across the Monongahela. The enemy did not pursue beyond the river, flocking back to the field to collect the plunder203, and gather a rich harvest of scalps. The routed troops pursued their flight until they met the rear division of the army, under Colonel Dunbar; and even then their senseless terrors did not abate204. Dunbar’s soldiers caught the infection. Cannon, baggage, provisions and wagons were destroyed, and all fled together, eager to escape from the shadows of those awful woods, whose horrors haunted their imagination. They passed the defenceless settlements of the border, and hurried on to Philadelphia, leaving the unhappy people to defend themselves as they might against the tomahawk and scalping-knife.
The calamities205 of this disgraceful rout172 did not cease with the loss of a few hundred soldiers on the field of battle; for it brought upon the provinces all the miseries206 of an Indian war. Those among the tribes who had thus far stood neutral, wavering between the French and English, now hesitated no longer. Many of them had been disgusted by the contemptuous behavior of Braddock. All had learned to despise the courage of the English, and to regard their own prowess with unbounded complacency. It is not in Indian nature to stand quiet in the midst of war; and the defeat of Braddock was a signal for the western savages207 to snatch their tomahawks and assail56 the English settlements with one accord, murdering and pillaging208 with ruthless fury, and turning the frontier of Pennsylvania and Virginia into one wide scene of havoc and desolation.
The three remaining expeditions which the British ministry had planned for that year’s campaign were attended with various results. Acadia was quickly reduced by the forces of Colonel Monkton; but the glories of this easy victory were tarnished209 by an act of cruelty. Seven thousand of the unfortunate people, refusing to take the prescribed oath of allegiance, were seized by the conquerors, torn from their homes, placed on shipboard like cargoes210 of negro slaves, and transported to the British provinces.[119] The expedition against Niagara was a93 total failure, for the troops did not even reach their destination. The movement against Crown Point met with no better success, as regards the main object of the enterprise. Owing to the lateness of the season, and other causes, the troops proceeded no farther than Lake George; but the attempt was marked by a feat102 of arms, which, in that day of failures, was greeted, both in England and America, as a signal victory.
General Johnson, afterwards Sir William Johnson, had been charged with the conduct of the Crown Point expedition; and his little army, a rude assemblage of hunters and farmers from New York and New England, officers and men alike ignorant of war, lay encamped at the southern extremity211 of Lake George. Here, while they languidly pursued their preparations, their active enemy anticipated them. Baron Dieskau, who, with a body of troops, had reached Quebec in the squadron which sailed from Brest in the spring, had intended to take forcible possession of the English fort of Oswego, erected212 upon ground claimed by the French as a part of Canada. Learning Johnson’s movements, he changed his plan, crossed Lake Champlain, made a circuit by way of Wood Creek, and gained the rear of the English army, with a force of about two thousand French and Indians. At midnight, on the seventh of September, the tidings reached Johnson that the army of the French baron was but a few miles distant from his camp. A council of war was called, and the resolution formed of detaching a thousand men to reconnoitre. “If they are to be killed,” said Hendrick, the Mohawk chief, “they are too many; if they are to fight, they are too few.” His remonstrance213 was unheeded; and the brave old savage, unable from age and corpulence to fight on foot, mounted his horse, and joined the English detachment with two hundred of his warriors. At sunrise, the party defiled214 from the camp, and entering the forest disappeared from the eyes of their comrades.
Those who remained behind labored with all the energy of alarm to fortify their unprotected camp. An hour elapsed, when from the distance was heard a sudden explosion of musketry. The excited soldiers suspended their work to listen. A rattling215 fire succeeded, deadened among the woods, but growing louder and nearer, till none could doubt that their comrades had met the French, and were defeated.
94
This was indeed the case. Marching through thick woods, by the narrow and newly-cut road which led along the valley southward from Lake George, Williams, the English commander, had led his men full into an ambuscade, where all Dieskau’s army lay in wait to receive them. From the woods on both sides rose an appalling216 shout, followed by a storm of bullets. Williams was soon shot down; Hendrick shared his fate; many officers fell, and the road was strewn with dead and wounded soldiers. The English gave way at once. Had they been regular troops, the result would have been worse; but every man was a woodsman and a hunter. Some retired in bodies along the road; while the greater part spread themselves through the forest, opposing a wide front to the enemy, fighting stubbornly as they retreated, and shooting back at the French from behind every tree or bush that could afford a cover. The Canadians and Indians pressed them closely, darting217, with shrill218 cries, from tree to tree, while Dieskau’s regulars, with steadier advance, bore all before them. Far and wide through the forest rang shout and shriek219 and Indian whoop158, mingled220 with the deadly rattle221 of guns. Retreating and pursuing, the combatants passed northward222 towards the English camp, leaving the ground behind them strewn with dead and dying.
A fresh detachment from the camp came in aid of the English, and the pursuit was checked. Yet the retreating men were not the less rejoiced when they could discern, between the brown columns of the woods, the mountains and waters of Lake George, with the white tents of their encampments on its shore. The French followed no farther. The blast of their trumpets223 was heard recalling their scattered men for a final attack.
During the absence of Williams’s detachment, the main body of the army had covered the front of their camp with a breastwork,—if that name can be applied225 to a row of logs,—behind which the marksmen lay flat on their faces. This preparation was not yet complete, when the defeated troops appeared issuing from the woods. Breathless and perturbed226, they entered the camp, and lay down with the rest; and the army waited the attack in a frame of mind which boded227 ill for the result. Soon, at the edge of the woods which bordered the95 open space in front, painted Indians were seen, and bayonets glittered among the foliage, shining, in the homely228 comparison of a New-England soldier, like a row of icicles on a January morning. The French regulars marched in column to the edge of the clearing, and formed in line, confronting the English at the distance of a hundred and fifty yards. Their complete order, their white uniforms and bristling229 bayonets, were a new and startling sight to the eyes of Johnson’s rustic230 soldiers, who raised but a feeble cheer in answer to the shouts of their enemies. Happily, Dieskau made no assault. The regulars opened a distant fire of musketry, throwing volley after volley against the English, while the Canadians and Indians, dispersing231 through the morasses on each flank of the camp, fired sharply, under cover of the trees and bushes. In the rear, the English were protected by the lake; but on the three remaining sides, they were hedged in by the flash and smoke of musketry.
The fire of the French had little effect. The English recovered from their first surprise, and every moment their confidence rose higher and their shouts grew louder. Levelling their long hunting guns with cool precision, they returned a fire which thinned the ranks of the French, and galled232 them beyond endurance. Two cannon were soon brought to bear upon the morasses which sheltered the Canadians and Indians; and though the pieces were served with little skill, the assailants were so terrified by the crashing of the balls among the trunks and branches, that they gave way at once. Dieskau still persisted in the attack. From noon until past four o’clock, the firing was scarcely abated233, when at length the French, who had suffered extremely, showed signs of wavering. At this, with a general shout, the English broke from their camp, and rushed upon their enemies, striking them down with the buts of their guns, and driving them through the woods like deer. Dieskau was taken prisoner, dangerously wounded, and leaning for support against the stump133 of a tree. The slaughter would have been great, had not the English general recalled the pursuers, and suffered the French to continue their flight unmolested. Fresh disasters still awaited the fugitives234; for, as they approached the scene of that morning’s ambuscade, they were greeted by a volley of musketry. Two companies of New96 York and New Hampshire rangers63, who had come out from Fort Edward as a scouting party, had lain in wait to receive them. Favored by the darkness of the woods,—for night was now approaching,—they made so sudden and vigorous an attack, that the French, though far superior in number, were totally routed and dispersed236.[120]
This memorable conflict has cast its dark associations over one of the most beautiful spots in America. Near the scene of the evening fight, a pool, half overgrown by weeds and water lilies, and darkened by the surrounding forest, is pointed237 out to the tourist, and he is told that beneath its stagnant238 waters lie the bones of three hundred Frenchmen, deep buried in mud and slime.
The war thus begun was prosecuted239 for five succeeding years with the full energy of both nations. The period was one of suffering and anxiety to the colonists240, who, knowing the full extent of their danger, spared no exertion241 to avert242 it. In the year 1758, Lord Abercrombie, who then commanded in America, had at his disposal a force amounting to fifty thousand men, of whom the greater part were provincials.[121] The97 operations of the war embraced a wide extent of country, from Cape64 Breton and Nova Scotia to the sources of the Ohio; but nowhere was the contest so actively243 carried on as in the neighborhood of Lake George, the waters of which, joined with those of Lake Champlain, formed the main avenue of communication between Canada and the British provinces. Lake George is more than thirty miles long, but of width so slight that it seems like some broad and placid244 river, enclosed between ranges of lofty mountains; now contracting into narrows, dotted with islands and shadowed by cliffs and crags, now spreading into a clear and open expanse. It had long been known to the French. The Jesuit Isaac Jogues, bound on a fatal mission to the ferocious245 Mohawks, had reached its banks on the eve of Corpus Christi Day, and named it Lac St. Sacrement. Its solitude246 was now rudely invaded. Armies passed and repassed upon its tranquil247 bosom248. At its northern point the French planted their stronghold of Ticonderoga; at its southern stood the English fort William Henry, while the mountains and waters between were a scene of ceaseless ambuscades, surprises, and forest skirmishing. Through summer and winter, the crack of rifles and the cries of men gave no rest to their echoes; and at this day, on the field of many a forgotten fight, are dug up rusty249 tomahawks, corroded250 bullets, and human bones, to attest251 the struggles of the past.
The earlier years of the war were unpropitious to the English, whose commanders displayed no great degree of vigor235 or ability. In the summer of 1756, the French general Montcalm advanced upon Oswego, took it, and levelled it to the ground. In August of the following year, he struck a heavier blow. Passing Lake George with a force of eight thousand men, including about two thousand Indians, gathered from the farthest parts of Canada, he laid siege to Fort William Henry, close to the spot where Dieskau had been defeated two years before. Planting his batteries against it, he beat down its ramparts and dismounted its guns, until the garrison, after a brave defence, were forced to capitulate. They marched out with the honors of war; but scarcely had they done so, when Montcalm’s Indians assailed them, cutting down and scalping them without mercy. Those who escaped came in to Fort Edward with exaggerated accounts of the98 horrors from which they had fled, and a general terror was spread through the country. The inhabitants were mustered from all parts to repel116 the advance of Montcalm; but the French general, satisfied with what he had done, repassed Lake George, and retired behind the walls of Ticonderoga.
In the year 1758, the war began to assume a different aspect, for Pitt was at the head of the government. Sir Jeffrey Amherst laid siege to the strong fortress252 of Louisburg, and at length reduced it; while in the south, General Forbes marched against Fort du Quesne, and, more fortunate than his predecessor253, Braddock, drove the French from that important point. Another successful stroke was the destruction of Fort Frontenac, which was taken by a provincial army under Colonel Bradstreet. These achievements were counterbalanced by a great disaster. Lord Abercrombie, with an army of sixteen thousand men, advanced to the head of Lake George, the place made memorable by Dieskau’s defeat and the loss of Fort William Henry. On a brilliant July morning, he embarked254 his whole force for an attack on Ticonderoga. Many of those present have recorded with admiration255 the beauty of the spectacle, the lines of boats filled with troops stretching far down the lake, the flashing of oars256, the glitter of weapons, and the music ringing back from crags and rocks, or dying in mellowed257 strains among the distant mountains. At night, the army landed, and, driving in the French outposts, marched through the woods towards Ticonderoga. One of their columns, losing its way in the forest, fell in with a body of the retreating French; and in the conflict that ensued, Lord Howe, the favorite of the army, was shot dead. On the eighth of July, they prepared to storm the lines which Montcalm had drawn258 across the peninsula in front of the fortress. Advancing to the attack, they saw before them a breastwork of uncommon259 height and thickness. The French army were drawn up behind it, their heads alone visible, as they levelled their muskets against the assailants, while, for a hundred yards in front of the work, the ground was covered with felled trees, with sharpened branches pointing outward. The signal of assault was given. In vain the Highlanders, screaming with rage, hewed262 with their broadswords among the branches, struggling to get at the enemy. In vain the English, with their99 deep-toned shout, rushed on in heavy columns. A tempest of musket-balls met them, and Montcalm’s cannon swept the whole ground with terrible carnage. A few officers and men forced their way through the branches, passed the ditch, climbed the breastwork, and, leaping among the enemy, were instantly bayonetted. The English fought four hours with determined valor, but the position of the French was impregnable; and at length, having lost two thousand of their number, the army drew off, leaving many of their dead scattered upon the field. A sudden panic seized the defeated troops. They rushed in haste to their boats, and, though no pursuit was attempted, they did not regain263 their composure until Lake George was between them and the enemy. The fatal lines of Ticonderoga were not soon forgotten in the provinces; and marbles in Westminster Abbey preserve the memory of those who fell on that disastrous264 day.
This repulse265, far from depressing the energies of the British commanders, seemed to stimulate266 them to new exertion; and the campaign of the next year, 1759, had for its object the immediate and total reduction of Canada. This unhappy country was full of misery267 and disorder. Peculation268 and every kind of corruption269 prevailed among its civil and military chiefs, a reckless licentiousness270 was increasing among the people, and a general famine seemed impending271, for the population had of late years been drained away for military service, and the fields were left untilled. In spite of their sufferings, the Canadians, strong in rooted antipathy272 to the English, and highly excited by their priests, resolved on fighting to the last. Prayers were offered up in the churches, masses said, and penances273 enjoined274, to avert the wrath275 of God from the colony, while every thing was done for its defence which the energies of a great and patriotic276 leader could effect.
By the plan of this summer’s campaign, Canada was to be assailed on three sides at once. Upon the west, General Prideaux was to attack Niagara; upon the south, General Amherst was to advance upon Ticonderoga and Crown Point; while upon the east, General Wolfe was to besiege277 Quebec; and each of these armies, having accomplished278 its particular object, was directed to push forward, if possible, until all three had united in the heart of Canada. In pursuance of the plan,100 General Prideaux moved up Lake Ontario and invested Niagara. This post was one of the greatest importance. Its capture would cut off the French from the whole interior country, and they therefore made every effort to raise the siege. An army of seventeen hundred French and Indians, collected at the distant garrisons279 of Detroit, Presqu’ Isle, Le B?uf, and Venango, suddenly appeared before Niagara.[122] Sir William Johnson was now in command of the English, Prideaux having been killed by the bursting of a cohorn. Advancing in order of battle, he met the French, charged, routed, and pursued them for five miles through the woods. This success was soon followed by the surrender of the fort.
In the mean time, Sir Jeffrey Amherst had crossed Lake George, and appeared before Ticonderoga; upon which the French blew up their works, and retired down Lake Champlain to Crown Point. Retreating from this position also, on the approach of the English army, they collected all their forces, amounting to little more than three thousand men, at Isle Aux Noix, where they intrenched themselves, and prepared to resist the farther progress of the invaders280. The lateness of the season prevented Amherst from carrying out the plan of advancing into Canada, and compelled him to go into winter-quarters at Crown Point. The same cause had withheld281 Prideaux’s army from descending282 the St. Lawrence.
While the outposts of Canada were thus successfully attacked, a blow was struck at a more vital part. Early in June, General Wolfe sailed up the St. Lawrence with a force of eight thousand men, and formed his camp immediately below Quebec, on the Island of Orleans.[123] From thence he could discern, at a single glance, how arduous283 was the task before him. Piles of lofty cliffs rose with sheer ascent284 on the northern border of the river; and from their summits the boasted citadel285 of Canada looked down in proud security, with its churches and convents of stone, its ramparts, bastions, and batteries; while over them all, from the brink286 of the precipice287, towered the massive walls of the Castle of St. Louis. Above, for many a league, the bank was guarded by an unbroken range of steep101 acclivities. Below, the River St. Charles, flowing into the St. Lawrence, washed the base of the rocky promontory288 on which the city stood. Lower yet lay an army of fourteen thousand men, under an able and renowned289 commander, the Marquis of Montcalm. His front was covered by intrenchments and batteries, which lined the bank of the St. Lawrence; his right wing rested on the city and the St. Charles; his left, on the cascade290 and deep gulf291 of Montmorenci; and thick forests extended along his rear. Opposite Quebec rose the high promontory of Point Levi; and the St. Lawrence, contracted to less than a mile in width, flowed between, with deep and powerful current. To a chief of less resolute292 temper, it might well have seemed that art and nature were in league to thwart293 his enterprise; but a mind like that of Wolfe could only have seen in this majestic294 combination of forest and cataract295, mountain and river, a fitting theatre for the great drama about to be enacted296 there.
Yet nature did not seem to have formed the young English general for the conduct of a doubtful and almost desperate enterprise. His person was slight, and his features by no means of a martial cast. His feeble constitution had been undermined by years of protracted297 and painful disease.[124] His kind and genial298 disposition299 seemed better fitted for the quiet of domestic life than for the stern duties of military command; but to these gentler traits he joined a high enthusiasm, and an unconquerable spirit of daring and endurance, which made him the idol300 of his soldiers, and bore his slender frame through every hardship and exposure.
The work before him demanded all his courage. How to invest the city, or even bring the army of Montcalm to action, was a problem which might have perplexed301 a Hannibal. A French fleet lay in the river above, and the precipices302 along102 the northern bank were guarded at every accessible point by sentinels and outposts. Wolfe would have crossed the Montmorenci by its upper ford169, and attacked the French army on its left and rear; but the plan was thwarted303 by the nature of the ground and the vigilance of his adversaries304. Thus baffled at every other point, he formed the bold design of storming Montcalm’s position in front; and on the afternoon of the thirty-first of July, a strong body of troops was embarked in boats, and, covered by a furious cannonade from the English ships and batteries, landed on the beach just above the mouth of the Montmorenci. The grenadiers and Royal Americans were the first on shore, and their ill-timed impetuosity proved the ruin of the plan. Without waiting to receive their orders or form their ranks, they ran, pell-mell, across the level ground, and with loud shouts began, each man for himself, to scale the heights which rose in front, crested305 with intrenchments and bristling with hostile arms. The French at the top threw volley after volley among the hot-headed assailants. The slopes were soon covered with the fallen; and at that instant a storm, which had long been threatening, burst with sudden fury, drenched306 the combatants on both sides with a deluge307 of rain, extinguished for a moment the fire of the French, and at the same time made the steeps so slippery that the grenadiers fell repeatedly in their vain attempts to climb. Night was coming on with double darkness. The retreat was sounded, and, as the English re-embarked, troops of Indians came whooping308 down the heights, and hovered309 about their rear, to murder the stragglers and the wounded; while exulting310 cries of Vive le roi, from the crowded summits, proclaimed the triumph of the enemy.
With bitter agony of mind, Wolfe beheld311 the headlong folly312 of his men, and saw more than four hundred of the flower of his army fall a useless sacrifice.[125] The anxieties of the siege had told severely upon his slender constitution; and not long after this disaster, he felt the first symptoms of a fever, which soon confined him to his couch. Still his mind never wavered from its purpose; and it was while lying helpless in the chamber313 of a Canadian house, where he had fixed314 his headquarters, that103 he embraced the plan of the enterprise which robbed him of life, and gave him immortal315 fame.
This plan had been first proposed during the height of Wolfe’s illness, at a council of his subordinate generals, Monkton, Townshend, and Murray. It was resolved to divide the little army; and, while one portion remained before Quebec to alarm the enemy by false attacks, and distract their attention from the scene of actual operation, the other was to pass above the town, land under cover of darkness on the northern shore, climb the guarded heights, gain the plains above, and force Montcalm to quit his vantage-ground, and perhaps to offer battle. The scheme was daring even to rashness; but its audacity was the secret of its success.
Early in September, a crowd of ships and transports, under Admiral Holmes, passed the city under the hot fire of its batteries; while the troops designed for the expedition, amounting to scarcely five thousand, marched upward along the southern bank, beyond reach of the cannonade. All were then embarked; and on the evening of the twelfth, Holmes’s fleet, with the troops on board, lay safe at anchor in the river, several leagues above the town. These operations had not failed to awaken316 the suspicions of Montcalm; and he had detached M. Bougainville to watch the movements of the English, and prevent their landing on the northern shore.
The eventful night of the twelfth was clear and calm, with no light but that of the stars. Within two hours before daybreak, thirty boats, crowded with sixteen hundred soldiers, cast off from the vessels, and floated downward, in perfect order, with the current of the ebb317 tide. To the boundless318 joy of the army, Wolfe’s malady319 had abated, and he was able to command in person. His ruined health, the gloomy prospects320 of the siege, and the disaster at Montmorenci, had oppressed him with the deepest melancholy321, but never impaired322 for a moment the promptness of his decisions, or the impetuous energy of his action.[126] He sat in the stern of one of the boats,104 pale and weak, but borne up to a calm height of resolution. Every order had been given, every arrangement made, and it only remained to face the issue. The ebbing323 tide sufficed to bear the boats along, and nothing broke the silence of the night but the gurgling of the river, and the low voice of Wolfe, as he repeated to the officers about him the stanzas324 of Gray’s “Elegy in a Country Churchyard,” which had recently appeared and which he had just received from England. Perhaps, as he uttered those strangely appropriate words,—
“The paths of glory lead but to the grave,”
the shadows of his own approaching fate stole with mournful prophecy across his mind. “Gentlemen,” he said, as he closed his recital325, “I would rather have written those lines than take Quebec tomorrow.”[127]
As they approached the landing-place, the boats edged closer in towards the northern shore, and the woody precipices rose high on their left, like a wall of undistinguished blackness.
“Qui vive?” shouted a French sentinel, from out the impervious326 gloom.
105
“La France!” answered a captain of Fraser’s Highlanders, from the foremost boat.
“A quel régiment?” demanded the soldier.
“De la Reine!” promptly327 replied the Highland260 captain, who chanced to know that the regiment87 so designated formed part of Bougainville’s command. As boats were frequently passing down the river with supplies for the garrison, and as a convoy328 from Bougainville was expected that very night, the sentinel was deceived, and allowed the English to proceed.
A few moments after, they were challenged again, and this time they could discern the soldier running close down to the water’s edge, as if all his suspicions were aroused; but the skilful329 replies of the Highlander261 once more saved the party from discovery.[128]
They reached the landing-place in safety,—an indentation in the shore, about a league above the city, and now bearing the name of Wolfe’s Cove128. Here a narrow path led up the face of the heights, and a French guard was posted at the top to defend the pass. By the force of the current, the foremost boats, including that which carried Wolfe himself, were borne a little below the spot. The general was one of the first on shore. He looked upward at the rugged heights which towered above him in the gloom. “You can try it,” he coolly observed to an officer near him; “but I don’t think you’ll get up.”[129]
At the point where the Highlanders landed, one of their captains, Donald Macdonald, apparently330 the same whose presence of mind had just saved the enterprise from ruin, was climbing in advance of his men, when he was challenged by a sentinel. He replied in French, by declaring that he had been sent to relieve the guard, and ordering the soldier to withdraw.[130] Before the latter was undeceived, a crowd of Highlanders were close at hand, while the steeps below were106 thronged with eager climbers, dragging themselves up by trees, roots, and bushes.[131] The guard turned out, and made a brief though brave resistance. In a moment, they were cut to pieces, dispersed, or made prisoners; while men after men came swarming331 up the height, and quickly formed upon the plains above. Meanwhile, the vessels had dropped downward with the current, and anchored opposite the landing-place. The remaining troops were disembarked, and, with the dawn of day, the whole were brought in safety to the shore.
The sun rose, and, from the ramparts of Quebec, the astonished people saw the Plains of Abraham glittering with arms, and the dark-red lines of the English forming in array of battle. Breathless messengers had borne the evil tidings to Montcalm, and far and near his wide-extended camp resounded with the rolling of alarm drums and the din31 of startled preparation. He, too, had had his struggles and his sorrows. The civil power had thwarted him; famine, discontent, and disaffection were rife104 among his soldiers; and no small portion of the Canadian militia had dispersed from sheer starvation. In spite of all, he had trusted to hold out till the winter frosts should drive the invaders from before the town; when, on that disastrous morning, the news of their successful temerity332 fell like a cannon shot upon his ear. Still he assumed a tone of confidence. “They have got to the weak side of us at last,” he is reported to have said, “and we must crush them with our numbers.” With headlong haste, his troops were pouring over the bridge of the St. Charles, and gathering333 in heavy masses under the western ramparts of the town. Could numbers give assurance of success, their triumph would have been secure; for five French battalions and the armed colonial peasantry amounted in all to more than seven thousand five hundred men. Full in sight before them stretched the long, thin lines of the British forces,—the half-wild Highlanders, the steady soldiery of England, and the hardy334 levies335 of the provinces,—less than five thousand in number, but all inured336 to battle, and strong in the full assurance of success. Yet, could the chiefs of that gallant193 army have pierced the secrets of the future, could they have foreseen that the victory which they107 burned to achieve would have robbed England of her proudest boast, that the conquest of Canada would pave the way for the independence of America, their swords would have dropped from their hands, and the heroic fire have gone out within their hearts.
It was nine o’clock, and the adverse337 armies stood motionless, each gazing on the other. The clouds hung low, and, at intervals338, warm light showers descended, besprinkling both alike. The coppice and cornfields in front of the British troops were filled with French sharpshooters, who kept up a distant, spattering fire. Here and there a soldier fell in the ranks, and the gap was filled in silence.
At a little before ten, the British could see that Montcalm was preparing to advance, and, in a few moments, all his troops appeared in rapid motion. They came on in three divisions, shouting after the manner of their nation, and firing heavily as soon as they came within range. In the British ranks, not a trigger was pulled, not a soldier stirred; and their ominous339 composure seemed to damp the spirits of the assailants. It was not till the French were within forty yards that the fatal word was given, and the British muskets blazed forth340 at once in one crashing explosion. Like a ship at full career, arrested with sudden ruin on a sunken rock, the ranks of Montcalm staggered, shivered, and broke before that wasting storm of lead. The smoke, rolling along the field, for a moment shut out the view; but when the white wreaths were scattered on the wind, a wretched spectacle was disclosed; men and officers tumbled in heaps, battalions resolved into a mob, order and obedience341 gone; and when the British muskets were levelled for a second volley, the masses of the militia were seen to cower342 and shrink with uncontrollable panic. For a few minutes, the French regulars stood their ground, returning a sharp and not ineffectual fire. But now, echoing cheer on cheer, redoubling volley on volley, trampling343 the dying and the dead, and driving the fugitives in crowds, the British troops advanced and swept the field before them. The ardor344 of the men burst all restraint. They broke into a run, and with unsparing slaughter chased the flying multitude to the gates of Quebec. Foremost of all, the light-footed Highlanders dashed along in furious pursuit, hewing345 down the108 Frenchmen with their broadswords, and slaying346 many in the very ditch of the fortifications. Never was victory more quick or more decisive.[132]
In the short action and pursuit, the French lost fifteen hundred men, killed, wounded, and taken. Of the remainder, some escaped within the city, and others fled across the St. Charles to rejoin their comrades who had been left to guard the camp. The pursuers were recalled by sound of trumpet224; the broken ranks were formed afresh, and the English troops withdrawn347 beyond reach of the cannon of Quebec. Bougainville, with his corps348, arrived from the upper country, and, hovering349 about their rear, threatened an attack; but when he saw what greeting was prepared for him, he abandoned his purpose and withdrew. Townshend and Murray, the only general officers who remained unhurt, passed to the head of every regiment in turn, and thanked the soldiers for the bravery they had shown; yet the triumph of the victors was mingled with sadness, as the tidings went from rank to rank that Wolfe had fallen.
In the heat of the action, as he advanced at the head of the grenadiers of Louisburg, a bullet shattered his wrist; but he wrapped his handkerchief about the wound, and showed no sign of pain. A moment more, and a ball pierced his side. Still he pressed forward, waving his sword and cheering his soldiers to the attack, when a third shot lodged350 deep within his breast. He paused, reeled, and, staggering to one side, fell to the earth. Brown, a lieutenant351 of the grenadiers, Henderson, a volunteer, an officer of artillery, and a private soldier, raised him together in their arms, and, bearing him to the rear, laid him softly on the grass. They asked if he would have a surgeon; but he shook his head, and answered that all was over with him. His eyes closed with the torpor352 of approaching death, and those around sustained his fainting form. Yet they could not withhold353 their gaze from the wild turmoil before them, and the charging ranks of their companions rushing through fire and smoke. “See how they run,” one of the109 officers exclaimed, as the French fled in confusion before the levelled bayonets. “Who run?” demanded Wolfe, opening his eyes like a man aroused from sleep. “The enemy, sir,” was the reply; “they give way everywhere.” “Then,” said the dying general, “tell Colonel Burton to march Webb’s regiment down to Charles River, to cut off their retreat from the bridge. Now, God be praised, I will die in peace,” he murmured; and, turning on his side, he calmly breathed his last.[133]
Almost at the same moment fell his great adversary354, Montcalm, as he strove, with vain bravery, to rally his shattered ranks. Struck down with a mortal wound, he was placed upon a litter and borne to the General Hospital on the banks of the St. Charles. The surgeons told him that he could not recover. “I am glad of it,” was his calm reply. He then asked how long he might survive, and was told that he had not many hours remaining. “So much the better,” he said; “I am happy that I shall not live to see the surrender of Quebec.” Officers from the garrison came to his bedside to ask his orders and instructions. “I will give no more orders,” replied the defeated soldier; “I have much business that must be attended to, of greater moment than your ruined garrison and this wretched country. My time is very short; therefore, pray leave me.” The officers withdrew, and none remained in the chamber but his confessor and the Bishop355 of Quebec. To the last, he expressed his contempt for his own mutinous356 and half-famished troops, and his admiration for the disciplined valor of his opponents.[134] He died before midnight, and was buried at his own desire in a cavity of the earth formed by the bursting of a bombshell.
The victorious357 army encamped before Quebec, and pushed their preparations for the siege with zealous358 energy; but before a single gun was brought to bear, the white flag was hung out, and the garrison surrendered. On the eighteenth of September, 1759, the rock-built citadel of Canada passed forever from the hands of its ancient masters.
The victory on the Plains of Abraham and the downfall of Quebec filled all England with pride and exultation359. From north to south, the land blazed with illuminations, and resounded110 with the ringing of bells, the firing of guns, and the shouts of the multitude. In one village alone all was dark and silent amid the general joy; for here dwelt the widowed mother of Wolfe. The populace, with unwonted delicacy360, respected her lonely sorrow, and forbore to obtrude361 the sound of their rejoicings upon her grief for one who had been through life her pride and solace362, and repaid her love with a tender and constant devotion.[135]
Canada, crippled and dismembered by the disasters of this year’s campaign, lay waiting, as it were, the final stroke which was to extinguish her last remains363 of life, and close the eventful story of French dominion364 in America. Her limbs and her head were lopped away, but life still fluttered at her heart. Quebec, Niagara, Frontenac, and Crown Point had fallen; but Montreal and the adjacent country still held out, and thither, with the opening season of 1760, the British commanders turned all their energies. Three armies were to enter Canada at three several points, and, conquering as they advanced, converge365 towards Montreal as a common centre. In accordance with this plan, Sir Jeffrey Amherst embarked at Oswego, crossed Lake Ontario, and descended the St. Lawrence with ten thousand men; while Colonel Haviland advanced by way of Lake Champlain and the River Sorel, and General Murray ascended366 from Quebec, with a body of the veterans who had fought on the Plains of Abraham.
By a singular concurrence367 of fortune and skill, the three armies reached the neighborhood of Montreal on the same day. The feeble and disheartened garrison could offer no resistance, and on the eighth of September, 1760, the Marquis de Vaudreuil surrendered Canada, with all its dependencies, to the British crown.
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1
massacre
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| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
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dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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reeking
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| v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的现在分词 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
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immured
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| v.禁闭，监禁( immure的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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onsets
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| 攻击，袭击（onset的复数形式） | |
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audacity
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| n.大胆，卤莽，无礼 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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encroachment
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| n.侵入，蚕食 | |
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kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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rupture
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| n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂 | |
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ceded
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| v.让给，割让，放弃( cede的过去式 ) | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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commissioners
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| n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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irreconcilable
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| adj.（指人）难和解的，势不两立的 | |
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negotiation
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| n.谈判，协商 | |
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belligerent
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| adj.好战的，挑起战争的；n.交战国，交战者 | |
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mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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24
aggression
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| n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害 | |
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25
reprisal
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| n.报复，报仇，报复性劫掠 | |
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26
foresight
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| n.先见之明，深谋远虑 | |
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27
expediency
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| n.适宜；方便；合算；利己 | |
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28
gist
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| n.要旨；梗概 | |
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29
dilatory
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| adj.迟缓的，不慌不忙的 | |
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30
agile
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| adj.敏捷的，灵活的 | |
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31
din
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| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
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32
fortified
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| adj. 加强的 | |
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33
isle
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| n.小岛，岛 | |
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34
despatch
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| n./v.(dispatch)派遣；发送；n.急件；新闻报道 | |
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35
qualified
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| adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的 | |
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36
militia
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| n.民兵，民兵组织 | |
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37
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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38
bleak
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| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 | |
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39
creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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40
envoy
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| n.使节，使者，代表，公使 | |
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41
hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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42
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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43
rigors
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| 严格( rigor的名词复数 )； 严酷； 严密； （由惊吓或中毒等导致的身体）僵直 | |
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44
retraced
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| v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯 | |
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45
confluence
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| n.汇合，聚集 | |
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46
evacuate
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| v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便 | |
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47
discomfiture
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| n.崩溃；大败；挫败；困惑 | |
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48
fortify
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| v.强化防御，为…设防；加强，强化 | |
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49
scouting
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| 守候活动，童子军的活动 | |
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50
scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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51
lurking
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| 潜在 | |
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52
enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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53
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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54
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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55
assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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56
assail
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| v.猛烈攻击，抨击，痛斥 | |
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57
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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58
famished
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| adj.饥饿的 | |
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59
parley
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| n.谈判 | |
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60
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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61
contention
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| n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张 | |
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62
rapacious
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| adj.贪婪的，强夺的 | |
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63
rangers
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| 护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员 | |
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64
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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65
asylum
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| n.避难所，庇护所，避难 | |
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66
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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67
conspired
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| 密谋( conspire的过去式和过去分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致 | |
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68
shears
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| n.大剪刀 | |
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69
labored
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|
| adj.吃力的，谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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70
plying
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|
| v.使用（工具）( ply的现在分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
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71
proprietors
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| n.所有人，业主( proprietor的名词复数 ) | |
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72
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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73
memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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74
attachment
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| n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附 | |
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75
rapacity
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| n.贪婪，贪心，劫掠的欲望 | |
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76
proprietary
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| n.所有权，所有的；独占的；业主 | |
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77
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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78
tracts
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| 大片土地( tract的名词复数 )； 地带； （体内的）道； （尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的）短文 | |
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79
seduce
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|
| vt.勾引，诱奸，诱惑，引诱 | |
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80
conqueror
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| n.征服者，胜利者 | |
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81
conquerors
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| 征服者，占领者( conqueror的名词复数 ) | |
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82
tyrants
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| 专制统治者( tyrant的名词复数 )； 暴君似的人； （古希腊的）僭主； 严酷的事物 | |
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83
intercourse
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|
| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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84
disclaimed
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| v.否认( disclaim的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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85
hostility
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|
| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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86
cork
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| n.软木，软木塞 | |
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87
regiment
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|
| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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88
regiments
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| （军队的）团( regiment的名词复数 )； 大量的人或物 | |
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89
destined
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|
| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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90
munitions
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|
| n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品 | |
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91
baron
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|
| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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92
distinguished
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|
| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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93
axe
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|
| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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94
intercepting
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| 截取（技术），截接 | |
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96
pretence
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|
| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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97
alleged
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| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
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98
marine
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|
| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
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99
vessels
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|
| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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100
kindling
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| n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式 | |
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101
scattered
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|
| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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102
feat
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| n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的 | |
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103
strife
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|
| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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104
rife
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| adj.(指坏事情)充斥的，流行的，普遍的 | |
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105
cannon
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|
| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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106
license
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|
| n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许 | |
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107
sublime
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|
| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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108
arena
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| n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台 | |
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109
resounded
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|
| v.（指声音等）回荡于某处( resound的过去式和过去分词 )；产生回响；（指某处）回荡着声音 | |
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110
civilized
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|
| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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111
morasses
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|
| n.缠作一团( morass的名词复数 )；困境；沼泽；陷阱 | |
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112
hew
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| v.砍；伐；削 | |
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113
negotiations
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| 协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过 | |
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114
ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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115
assailing
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| v.攻击( assail的现在分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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116
repel
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| v.击退，抵制，拒绝，排斥 | |
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117
repelling
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| v.击退( repel的现在分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开 | |
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118
provincial
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| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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119
provincials
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| n.首都以外的人，地区居民( provincial的名词复数 ) | |
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120
profligate
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| adj.行为不检的；n.放荡的人，浪子，肆意挥霍者 | |
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121
arrogant
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的 | |
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122
perverse
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| adj.刚愎的；坚持错误的，行为反常的 | |
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123
wagons
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| n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车 | |
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124
contractors
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| n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 ) | |
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125
venting
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| 消除； 泄去； 排去； 通风 | |
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126
copious
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| adj.丰富的，大量的 | |
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127
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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128
cove
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| n.小海湾，小峡谷 | |
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129
gage
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| n.标准尺寸，规格；量规，量表 [=gauge] | |
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130
encumbered
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| v.妨碍，阻碍，拖累( encumber的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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131
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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132
ponderous
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| adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的 | |
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133
stump
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| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
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134
stumps
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| （被砍下的树的）树桩( stump的名词复数 )； 残肢； （板球三柱门的）柱； 残余部分 | |
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135
quagmires
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| n.沼泽地，泥潭( quagmire的名词复数 ) | |
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136
daunted
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| 使（某人）气馁，威吓( daunt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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137
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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138
artillery
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|
| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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139
margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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140
scouts
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| 侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员 | |
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141
garrison
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|
| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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142
waylay
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| v.埋伏，伏击 | |
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143
harass
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| vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰 | |
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144
lodges
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| v.存放( lodge的第三人称单数 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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145
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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146
hordes
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| n.移动着的一大群( horde的名词复数 )；部落 | |
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147
mustered
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|
| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的过去式和过去分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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148
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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149
hatchet
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| n.短柄小斧；v.扼杀 | |
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150
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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151
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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152
contagious
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| adj.传染性的，有感染力的 | |
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153
turmoil
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| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
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154
harangued
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| v.高谈阔论( harangue的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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155
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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156
smeared
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| 弄脏； 玷污； 涂抹； 擦上 | |
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157
whooped
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| 叫喊( whoop的过去式和过去分词 )； 高声说； 唤起 | |
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158
whoop
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| n.大叫，呐喊，喘息声；v.叫喊，喘息 | |
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159
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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160
delirium
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| n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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161
valor
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| n.勇气，英勇 | |
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162
thronging
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的现在分词 ) | |
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163
gateway
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| n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法 | |
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164
gunpowder
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| n.火药 | |
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165
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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166
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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167
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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168
resounding
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| adj. 响亮的 | |
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169
Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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170
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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171
martial
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| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
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172
rout
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| n.溃退，溃败；v.击溃，打垮 | |
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173
battalions
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| n.（陆军的）一营（大约有一千兵士）( battalion的名词复数 )；协同作战的部队；军队；（组织在一起工作的）队伍 | |
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174
recoil
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| vi.退却，退缩，畏缩 | |
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175
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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176
labyrinth
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| n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路 | |
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177
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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178
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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179
scour
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| v.搜索；擦，洗，腹泻，冲刷 | |
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180
ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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181
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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182
screeching
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| v.发出尖叫声( screech的现在分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫 | |
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183
thronged
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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184
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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185
random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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186
incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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187
bereft
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| adj.被剥夺的 | |
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188
huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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189
ambushed
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| v.埋伏( ambush的过去式和过去分词 )；埋伏着 | |
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190
muskets
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| n.火枪，（尤指）滑膛枪( musket的名词复数 ) | |
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191
insanity
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| n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐 | |
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192
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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193
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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194
intrepidity
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| n.大胆，刚勇；大胆的行为 | |
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195
mowed
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| v.刈，割( mow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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196
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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197
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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198
cowardice
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| n.胆小，怯懦 | |
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199
havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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200
slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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201
survivors
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| 幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 ) | |
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202
impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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203
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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204
abate
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| vi.(风势，疼痛等)减弱，减轻，减退 | |
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205
calamities
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| n.灾祸，灾难( calamity的名词复数 )；不幸之事 | |
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206
miseries
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| n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 )；痛苦的事；穷困；常发牢骚的人 | |
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207
savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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208
pillaging
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| v.抢劫，掠夺( pillage的现在分词 ) | |
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209
tarnished
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| （通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏 | |
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210
cargoes
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| n.（船或飞机装载的）货物( cargo的名词复数 )；大量，重负 | |
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211
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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212
ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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213
remonstrance
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| n抗议，抱怨 | |
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214
defiled
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| v.玷污( defile的过去式和过去分词 )；污染；弄脏；纵列行进 | |
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215
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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216
appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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217
darting
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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218
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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219
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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220
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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221
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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222
northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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223
trumpets
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| 喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 )； 小号； 喇叭形物； （尤指）绽开的水仙花 | |
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224
trumpet
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| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
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225
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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226
perturbed
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| adj.烦燥不安的v.使（某人）烦恼，不安( perturb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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227
boded
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| v.预示，预告，预言( bode的过去式和过去分词 )；等待，停留( bide的过去分词 )；居住；（过去式用bided）等待 | |
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228
homely
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|
| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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229
bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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230
rustic
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| adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬 | |
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231
dispersing
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| adj. 分散的 动词disperse的现在分词形式 | |
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232
galled
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| v.使…擦痛( gall的过去式和过去分词 )；擦伤；烦扰；侮辱 | |
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233
abated
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| 减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼） | |
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234
fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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235
vigor
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| n.活力，精力，元气 | |
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236
dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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237
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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238
stagnant
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| adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的 | |
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239
prosecuted
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| a.被起诉的 | |
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240
colonists
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| n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 ) | |
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241
exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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242
avert
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| v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等) | |
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243
actively
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| adv.积极地，勤奋地 | |
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244
placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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245
ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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246
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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247
tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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248
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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249
rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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250
corroded
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| 已被腐蚀的 | |
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251
attest
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| vt.证明，证实；表明 | |
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252
fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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253
predecessor
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| n.前辈，前任 | |
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254
embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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255
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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256
oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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257
mellowed
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| （使）成熟( mellow的过去式和过去分词 )； 使色彩更加柔和，使酒更加醇香 | |
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258
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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259
uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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260
highland
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| n.(pl.)高地，山地 | |
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261
highlander
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| n.高地的人，苏格兰高地地区的人 | |
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262
hewed
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| v.（用斧、刀等）砍、劈( hew的过去式和过去分词 )；砍成；劈出；开辟 | |
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263
regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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264
disastrous
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|
| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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265
repulse
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| n.击退，拒绝；vt.逐退，击退，拒绝 | |
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266
stimulate
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| vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋 | |
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267
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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268
peculation
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| n.侵吞公款[公物] | |
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269
corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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270
licentiousness
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| n.放肆，无法无天 | |
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271
impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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272
antipathy
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| n.憎恶；反感，引起反感的人或事物 | |
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273
penances
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| n.（赎罪的）苦行，苦修( penance的名词复数 ) | |
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274
enjoined
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| v.命令( enjoin的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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275
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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276
patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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277
besiege
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| vt.包围，围攻，拥在...周围 | |
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278
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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279
garrisons
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| 守备部队，卫戍部队( garrison的名词复数 ) | |
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280
invaders
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| 入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 ) | |
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281
withheld
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| withhold过去式及过去分词 | |
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282
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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283
arduous
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| adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的 | |
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284
ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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285
citadel
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| n.城堡；堡垒；避难所 | |
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286
brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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287
precipice
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| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
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288
promontory
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| n.海角；岬 | |
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289
renowned
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| adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的 | |
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290
cascade
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| n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下 | |
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291
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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292
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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293
thwart
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| v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的) | |
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294
majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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295
cataract
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| n.大瀑布，奔流，洪水，白内障 | |
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296
enacted
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| 制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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297
protracted
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| adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词 | |
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298
genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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299
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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300
idol
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| n.偶像，红人，宠儿 | |
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301
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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302
precipices
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| n.悬崖，峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
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303
thwarted
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| 阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过 | |
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304
adversaries
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| n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 ) | |
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305
crested
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| adj.有顶饰的，有纹章的，有冠毛的v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的过去式和过去分词 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点 | |
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306
drenched
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| adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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307
deluge
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| n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥 | |
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308
whooping
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| 发嗬嗬声的，发咳声的 | |
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309
hovered
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| 鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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310
exulting
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| vi. 欢欣鼓舞，狂喜 | |
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311
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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312
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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313
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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314
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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315
immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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316
awaken
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| vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起 | |
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317
ebb
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| vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态 | |
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318
boundless
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| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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319
malady
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| n.病，疾病(通常做比喻) | |
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320
prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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321
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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322
impaired
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| adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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323
ebbing
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| （指潮水）退( ebb的现在分词 )； 落； 减少； 衰落 | |
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324
stanzas
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| 节，段( stanza的名词复数 ) | |
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325
recital
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| n.朗诵，独奏会，独唱会 | |
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326
impervious
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| adj.不能渗透的，不能穿过的，不易伤害的 | |
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327
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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328
convoy
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| vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队 | |
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329
skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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330
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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331
swarming
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| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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332
temerity
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| n.鲁莽，冒失 | |
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333
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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334
hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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335
levies
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| （部队）征兵( levy的名词复数 )； 募捐； 被征募的军队 | |
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336
inured
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| adj.坚强的，习惯的 | |
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337
adverse
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| adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的 | |
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338
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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339
ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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340
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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341
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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342
cower
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| v.畏缩，退缩，抖缩 | |
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343
trampling
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| 踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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344
ardor
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| n.热情，狂热 | |
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345
hewing
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| v.（用斧、刀等）砍、劈( hew的现在分词 )；砍成；劈出；开辟 | |
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346
slaying
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| 杀戮。 | |
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347
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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348
corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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349
hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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350
lodged
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| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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351
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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352
torpor
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| n.迟钝；麻木；（动物的）冬眠 | |
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353
withhold
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| v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡 | |
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354
adversary
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| adj.敌手，对手 | |
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355
bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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356
mutinous
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| adj.叛变的，反抗的；adv.反抗地，叛变地；n.反抗，叛变 | |
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357
victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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358
zealous
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| adj.狂热的，热心的 | |
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359
exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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360
delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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361
obtrude
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| v.闯入；侵入；打扰 | |
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362
solace
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| n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和 | |
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363
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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364
dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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365
converge
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| vi.会合；聚集，集中；(思想、观点等)趋近 | |
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366
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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367
concurrence
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| n.同意；并发 | |
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