er sources from which he had a right to expect it. He called an extra
session of the House to enact laws to meet the crisis, to invest him
with greater authority and to vote money for defence. He closed his
Speech from the Throne with a declaration delivered in sonorous, ringing
tones that echoed throughout the chamber:

"We are engaged in an awful and eventful contest. By unanimity and
vigour we may teach the enemy this lesson, that a country defended by
free men, devoted to the cause of their King and constitution, can never
be conquered."

Though Brock's speech "inspired the faithful and foiled the designs of
some of the faithless," his demands were conceded in part only, and he
left for Fort George with heart filled with misgivings. In answer to his
request, Prevost declined to define the extent of the authority with
which he had himself vested him. Extreme measures, he told him, must be
taken at his own risk. Our hero was one of those limited few who had
sounded the depths of the truth that it was easier to do one's duty than
to know it. His shrewdness and self-reliance came to the rescue. Seeing
that the Niagara River would be selected as the point for invasion, he
made it his _defensive_ frontier, while the Detroit River was the
_offensive_ front of his campaign. These views he outlined to his staff
on the night following the prorogation of the House.

Judge Powell, after a long session of Council, the last to depart, was
rising to leave. "Then, sir," said Colonel Macdonell, General Brock's
new provincial aide, the young and brilliant Attorney-General of Upper
Canada--engaged to Mary Powell, the daughter of the judge--"you really
believe we can bombard Detroit successfully? The fort has, I understand,
parapets twenty feet high, with four bastions, surrounded by palisades,
a ditch and a glacis, and is capable of withstanding a long siege;
besides which it has 2,500 fighting men to defend it."

"My good Macdonell," responded our hero, interest and deep regard
imprinted on his face, "we fortunately know from Hull's own letters that
he has as little confidence in his army as they have confidence in him.
I fancy he is merely whistling to keep up his courage. A bold front on
our part, with a judicious display of our small force, will give him
cause to reflect. Then, provided we enthuse the Indians--and if Mackinaw
is fallen, this should not be difficult--Detroit is ours!"

"How about Amherstburg and Sandwich, Gener