With Wolfe in Canada

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With Wolfe in Canada

The Project Gutenberg eBook, With Wolfe in Canada, by G. A. Henty
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Title: With Wolfe in Canada The Winning of a Continent
Author: G. A. Henty

Release Date: February 13, 2006 [eBook #17766]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITH WOLFE IN CANADA***
E-text prepared by Martin Robb

WITH WOLFE IN CANADA
Or The Winning of a Continent
by
G. A. Henty
1894

CONTENTS:
Preface.



Chapter 1
: A Rescue.



Chapter 2
: The Showman's Grandchild.



Chapter 3
: The Justice Room.



Chapter 4
: The Squire's Granddaughter.



Chapter 5
: A Quiet Time.



Chapter 6
: A Storm.



Chapter 7
: Pressed.



Chapter 8
: Discharged.



Chapter 9
: The Defeat Of Braddock.



Chapter 10
: The Fight At Lake George.



Chapter 11
: Scouting.



Chapter 12
: A Commission.



Chapter 13
: An Abortive Attack.



Chapter 14
: Scouting On Lake Champlain.



Chapter 15
: Through Many Perils.



Chapter 16
: The Massacre At Fort William Henry.



Chapter 17
: Louisbourg And Ticonderoga.



Chapter 18
: Quebec.



Chapter 19
: A Dangerous Expedition.



Chapter 20
: The Path Down The Heights.



Chapter 21
: The Capture Of Quebec.

Preface.
My Dear Lads,
In the present volume I have endeavoured to give the details of the principal events in a struggle whose importance can hardly be overrated. At its commencement the English occupied a mere patch of land on the eastern seaboard of America, hemmed in on all sides by the French, who occupied not only Canada in the north and Louisiana in the south, but possessed a chain of posts connecting them, so cutting off the English from all access to the vast countries of the west.
On the issues of that struggle depended not only the destiny of Canada, but of the whole of North America and, to a large extent, that of the two mother countries. When the contest began, the chances of France becoming the great colonizing empire of the world were as good as those of England. Not only did she hold far larger territories in America than did England, but she had rich colonies in the West Indies, where the flag of England was at that time hardly represented, and her prospects in India were better than our own. At that time, too, she disputed with us on equal terms the empire of the sea.
The loss of her North American provinces turned the scale. With the monopoly of such a market, the commerce of England increased enormously, and with her commerce her wealth and power of extension, while the power of France was proportionately crippled. It is true that, in time, the North American colonies, with the exception of Canada, broke away from their connection with the old country; but they still remained English, still continued to be the best market for our goods and manufactures.
Never was the short-sightedness of human beings shown more distinctly, than when France wasted her strength and treasure in a sterile contest on the continent of Europe, and permitted, with scarce an effort, her North American colonies to be torn from her.
All the historical details of the war have been drawn from the excellent work entitled Montcalm and Wolfe, by Mr. Francis Parkman, and from the detailed history of the Louisbourg and Quebec expeditions, by Major Knox, who served under Generals Amherst and Wolfe.
Yours very sincerely,
G. A. Henty.



Chapter 1
: A Rescue.
Most of the towns standing on our seacoast have suffered a radical change in the course of the last century. Railways, and the fashion of summer holiday making, have transformed them altogether, and great towns have sprung up where fishing villages once stood. There are a few places, however, which seem to have been passed by, by the crowd. The number yearly becomes smaller, as the iron roads throw out fresh branches. With the advent of these comes the speculative builder. Rows of terraces and shops are run up, promenades are made, bathing machines and brass bands become familiar objects, and in a few years the original character of the place altogether disappears.
Sidmouth, for a long time, was passed by, by the world of holiday makers. East and west of her, great changes took place, and many far smaller villages became fashionable seaside watering places. The railway, which passed by some twelve miles away, carried its tens of thousands westward, but left few of them for Sidmouth, and anyone who visited the pretty little place, fifteen years back, would have seen it almost as it stood when our story opens a century ago.
There are few places in England with a fairer site. It lies embosomed in the hills, which rise sharply on either side of it, while behind stretches a rich, undulating country, thickly dotted with orchards and snug homesteads, with lanes bright with wildflowers and ferns, with high hedges and trees meeting overhead. The