She could pay for it in honors, if in nothing else. Montcalm
was made lieutenant-general, Levis major-general, Bourlamaque brigadier,
and Bougainville colonel and chevalier of St. Louis; while Vaudreuil was
solaced with the grand cross of that order.[685] But when the two envoys
asked substantial aid for the imperilled colony, the response was
chilling. The Colonial Minister, Berryer, prepossessed against
Bougainville by the secret warning of Vaudreuil, received him coldly,
and replied to his appeal for help: "Eh, Monsieur, when the house is on
fire one cannot occupy one's self with the stable." "At least, Monsieur,
nobody will say that you talk like a horse," was the irreverent answer.
[Footnote 685: _Ordres du Roy et Depeches des Ministres, Janvier,
Fevrier, 1759._]
Bougainville laid four memorials before the Court, in which he showed
the desperate state of the colony and its dire need of help. Thus far,
he said, Canada has been saved by the dissensions of the English
colonies; but now, for the first time, they are united against her, and
prepared to put forth their strength. And he begged for troops, arms,
munitions, food, and a squadron to defend the mouth of the St.
Lawrence.[686] The reply, couched in a letter to Montcalm, was to the
effect that it was necessary to concentrate all the strength of the
kingdom for a decisive operation in Europe; that, therefore, the aid
required could not be sent; and that the King trusted everything to his
zeal and generalship, joined with the valor of the victors of
Ticonderoga.
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