"The delivery of this letter,"
In presence of the senior officers of his garrison, Munro opened and read this communication from the French marquis, in which the latter wrote, that he deemed himself obliged by the common dictates of humanity to request that M. le Colonel Munro would surrender the fort, and cease, by a futile resistance, to provoke the savage Iroquois, who accompanied the French army in such vast and unmanageable hordes.
"A detachment of your garrison, under Colonel Parker, has lately (he continued) experienced their cruelty. I have it yet in my power to restrain and oblige them to observe a capitulation, as comparatively few of them have been hitherto killed. Your persisting in the defence of your fort can only retard its fate a few days, and must of necessity expose an unfortunate garrison, who cannot possibly receive relief, when we consider the precautions taken to prevent it. I demand a decisive answer; and for this purpose have sent the Sieur de Fontbrune, one of my staff. You may implicitly credit all that he tells you.
"MONTCALM."
"I will never surrender while we have a shot left," exclaimed Munro, furiously. "What say you, gentlemen?"
"That we and our soldiers will stand by you, Colonel, to the last gasp!" replied Captain Dacres.
"This, then, is your decision, messieurs?" said M. Beauchatel, playing with the ringlets of his peruke.
"It is—it is," was the answer on all hands.
"A most unwise one, permit me to say," urged the baron.
"To yield when General Webb is within less than one day's march of us, would be a treason to the King and a disgrace to ourselves."