A half-century of conflict. France and England in North America. Part ...

1745.] WARREN AND PEPPERRELL. 127Indians of his party, aided by the so-called Acadianneutrals. Mascarene, the governor, kept them atbay till the twenty-fourth of May, when, to his surprise,they all disappeared. Duchambon had sentthem an order to make all haste to the aid of Louisbourg.As the report of this reached the besiegers,multiplying Marin's force fourfold, they expected tobe attacked by numbers more than equal to those oftheir own effective men. This wrought a wholesomereform. Order was established in the camp, whichwas now fenced with palisades and watched by sentinelsand scouting-parties.Another tribulation fell upon the general. Shirleyhad enjoined it upon him to keep in perfect harmonywith the naval commander, and the injunction wasin accord with Pepperrell's conciliating temper.Warren was no less earnest than he for the success ofthe enterprise, lent him ammunition in time of need,and offered every aid in his power, while Pepperrellin letters to Shirley and Newcastle praised his colleaguewithout stint. But in habits and characterthe two men differed widely. Warren was in theprime of life, and the ardor of youth still burned inhim. He was impatient at the slow movement of thesiege. Prisoners told him of a squadron expectedfrom Brest, of which the "Vigilant" was the forerunner; and he feared that even if it could not defeathim, it might elude the blockade, and with the helpof the continual fogs, get into Louisbourg in spite ofhim, thus making its capture impossible. Therefore