Brock was quartered at the Château de Ramezay, then much out of repair. When Montreal was occupied by the Americans in 1776, this had been the headquarters of the leaders of the invasion. Benjamin Franklin, Bishop Carroll, and Mr. Chase, when they came from congress on their mission to the French Canadians, had also been sheltered by its walls. General Brock, with the _bonhomie_ that was natural to him, seems to have entered very heartily into the gaieties of the place. His friend, Colonel Thornton, writes to him from Quebec, "You ought never to feel uneasy about your friends, for in your kindness and hospitality no want of comfort can ever be felt by them; in this I am fully supported by all the accounts from Montreal." News came at this time that Sir George Prevost had been appointed lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia, and had also been made second in command to Sir James Craig in North America. He arrived in Halifax in January, 1808, bringing with him the 7th, 8th, and 23rd Regiments of Foot. During this year there seems to have been very little correspondence between General Brock and his family. He complains to one of his brothers that although he had written to all of them since {102} navigation opened, he had heard only from Irving, "who, to do him justice, is the most attentive and regular correspondent amongst you." It was not always the fault of the correspondents that letters from England were so few and far between, for each vessel now on the high seas was liable to capture, and sometimes even when the coveted mail did arrive, an accident, such as the upsetting of a canoe, would deprive the colony of the longed-for home news. Official letters from England by way of Halifax and Quebec took four and sometimes six months to reach Toronto. There was only irregular communication between that place and Montreal, and it took a month--sometimes longer--for the carriage of letters. Brock, in his letter, tells his brother that he is getting on pretty well at Montreal, although "the place in summer loses the advantage it had over Quebec in winter." One thing he rejoices in--"not a desertion for sixteen months in the 49th, except Hogan, Savery's former servant. He was servant to Major Glegg, at Niagara, when a fair damsel persuaded him to this act of madness."