We Had A Stove, But Our Highlanders, Who Know No Better, Would Not Suffer The Door To Be Closed, As They Thought If They Could Not Naturally See The Fire, It Was Impossible That They Could Feel It.

In this way they passed the whole of the winter; three or four would sit close up to the door of the stove, and when these were a little warmed, three or four others would relieve them, and so on.

Some days they were almost frozen to death, or suffocated by the smoke, and to mend the matter they had nothing better than green wood!

I contrived somehow or other to procure six blankets, so that notwithstanding that I was almost frozen during the day, being the whole winter out on duty, superintending the party of our Highlanders, making fascines in the woods, still I passed the nights pretty comfortably. 'Twas funny enough to see, every morning, the whole surface of the blankets covered with ice, from the heat of my breath and body. We wore our kilts the whole of this time, but there was no accident, as we were sheltered by the woods. I bought myself a pair of leather breeches, but I could not walk in them, so I laid them aside.

When the spring came round, the French again made their appearance on high ground between the town and Abraham's Plains, and General Murray must needs march us out to fight them. At this time scarcely a man in the garrison but was afflicted with colds or coughs.

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