Note 196 — CONCLUSION.

"Who the deuse was thinking of Quebec? America was like a book one has read and done with, or, at least, if one looked at the book, one just recollected that there was a supplement promised, to contain a chapter on Montreal, the starving and surrender of it; but here we are on a sudden reading our book backward. An account came two days ago that the French, on their march to besiege Quebec, had been attacked by General Murray, who got into a mistake and a morass, attacked two bodies that were joined when he hoped to come up with one of them before he was inclosed, embogged, and defeated. By the list of officers killed and wounded, I believe there has been a rueful slaughter, and the place, I suppose, will be retaken."—Walpole's Letters to Sir H. Mann, June 20th, 1760.