Meanwhile fruitless damage was inflicted by each party upon the other: the Indians frequently surprised and scalped English stragglers, and the English batteries at Montmorency and Point Levi kept up a continued fire upon the lines and upon the city. On the morning of the 10th of August, at one o'clock, a shell pitched upon the vaulted roof of a cellar in the lower town, broke through, and burst; a large quantity of brandy which was there stored instantly ignited, the flames spread rapidly, and nearly the whole of the quarter, including the Church of Nôtre Dame de la Victoire, was burned to the ground. A fire broke out simultaneously in the Upper Town, but was extinguished without having spread to any great extent. The intelligence of Amherst and Johnson's progress, although satisfactory in itself, gave Wolfe no hope of their assistance before the close of the campaign: defeat could hardly have been more disastrous to the general interests of the war than their inactivity. Almost the whole force of Canada still mustered behind the formidable defenses of Quebec. Nothing, however, could shake the resolution of the British general; while life remained, he determined to persevere in the enterprise. Far from being disheartened, he was only stimulated by increasing difficulties. The fate of the campaign now hung upon him alone: the disaster at Montmorency had endangered his reputation; it only remained to clear away the cloud by success, or to silence censure by a soldier's death. While Wolfe lay stricken with fever and unable to bear the presence of his officers, he meditated unceasingly upon plans of attack. At length, when somewhat recovered, but still incapable of leaving his bed, he dictated the following letter to the brigadiers under his command: "That the public service may not suffer by the general's indisposition, he begs the brigadiers will meet and consult together for the public utility and advantage, and consider of the best method to attack the enemy. "If the French army be attacked and defeated, the general concludes that the town would immediately surrender, because he does not find that they have any provision in that place. "The general is of opinion that the army should be attacked in preference to the place, because of the difficulties of penetrating from the Lower to the Upper Town; in which attempt neither the guns of the shipping nor of our own batteries could be of much use." The letter then proceeds to suggest three different modes of attack--all, however, upon the enemy's lines between the city and Montmorency.