appeared to be under a Governor who was something like
an independent monarch. He had drawn up elaborate plans for his army,
comical in their apparent disregard of the realities of war, naming
the hour when the force should land "unobserved" before Louisbourg,
instructing Pepperrell to surprise that place while every one was
asleep, and so on. Kindly Providence was expected even to give
continuous good weather. "The English appear to have enlisted Heaven in
their interests," said a despairing resident of the town; "so long as
the expedition lasted they had the most beautiful weather in the world."
There were no storms; the winds were favorable; fog, so common on that
coast, did not creep in; and the sky was clear.

Among the French the opinion prevailed that the English colonists were
ferocious pirates plotting eternally to destroy the power of France.
Their liberty, however, it was well understood, had made them strong;
and now they quickly became formidable soldiers. Their shooting, bad at
first, was, in the end, superb. Sometimes in their excess of zeal they
overcharged their cannon so that the guns burst. But they managed to hit
practically every house in Louisbourg, and since most of the houses were
of wood there was constant danger of fire. Some of the French fought
well. Even children of ten and twelve helped to carry ammunition.

The Governor Duchambon tried to keep up the spirits of the garrison by
absurd exaggeration of British losses. He was relying much on help
from France, but only a single ship reached port. On May 19, 1745, the
besieged saw approaching Louisbourg a great French ship of war, the
Vigilant, long looked for, carrying 64 guns and 560 men. A northwest
wind was blowing which would have brought her quickly into the harbor.
The British fleet was two and a half leagues away to leeward. The great
ship, thinking herself secure, did not even stop to communicate with
Louisbourg but wantonly gave chase to a small British privateer which
she encountered near the shore. By skillful maneuvering the smaller ship
led the French frigate out to sea again, and then the British squadron
came up. From five o'clock to ten in the evening anxious men in
Louisbourg watched the fight and saw at last the Vigilant surrender
after losing eighty men. This disaster broke the spirit of the
defenders, who were already short of ammunition. When they knew that the
British were preparing for a combined assault by land and sea,