his officers as to whether there remained anything
that could be done other than to sail for home, beaten and humiliated,
with a heavy burden of debt to hang round the neck of a too ambitious
Massachusetts. Thus ended the second siege of Quebec (October 23,
1690).

Frontenac had lost two of his best soldiers--Sainte-Helene, of the
fighting Le Moynes, and the Chevalier de Clermont; but, this
notwithstanding, the victory was felt to be complete. {130} The most
precious trophy was the flag of Phips's ship, which a shot from the
ramparts had knocked into the river, whence it was rescued and brought
ashore in triumph. Best of all, the siege had been too short to bring
famine in its train. The loss of life was inconsiderable, and in
prestige the soldiery of New France now stood on a pinnacle which they
had never before attained. When we consider the paucity of the forces
engaged, this repulse of the English from Quebec may not seem an
imposing military achievement. But Canada had put forth her whole
strength and had succeeded where failure would have been fatal. In the
shouts of rejoicing which followed Phips's withdrawal we hear the cry
of a people reborn.

The siege of Quebec and Schuyler's raid on Laprairie open up a subject
of large and vital moment--the historical antagonism of New France and
New England. Whoever wishes to understand the deeper problems of
Canada in the age of Frontenac should read John Fiske's volumes on the
English colonies. In the rise of Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New
York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts one sees the certain doom which
was {131} impending over New France. It may be too much to say that
Richelieu by conquering Alsace threw away America. Even had the
population of Canada been increased to the extent called for by the
obligations of Richelieu's company in 1627, the English might have
nevertheless prevailed. But the preoccupation of France with the war
against Austria prevented her from giving due attention to the colonial
question at the critical moment when colonists should have been sent
out in large numbers. And it is certain that by nothing short of a
great emigration could France have saved Canada. As it was, the
English were bound to prevail by weight of population. When the
conflict reached its climax in the days of Montcalm and Wolfe, two and
a half million English Americans confronted sixty-five thousand French
Canadians. On such terms the result of t