UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. SAN DIEGO 31822008130643 ; I - 44 0643 THE LIFE JOHN DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH SOME ACCOUNT OF HIS CONTEMPORARIES AND OF THE AVAR OF THE SUCCESSION. ARCHIBALD ALISON, LL.D. AI'THOR OK " THE HISTORY OK JCl'ROPB." SECOND EDITION, GREATLY ENLARGED. VOL. I. WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS EDINBURGH AND LONDON MDCCCLII P1U.VTED BY WU,MAM lil.ACK U'OOD AND SON'S. EDINBl'TiUH. PREFACE. IT is a common and very just observation, that biography relates to persons, and history to events ; and therefore that the principles of composition in the two must be different. Yet this remark has its limits, for the rise and fall of nations often depend so much on individual agency that the record of their growth and decline runs into the lives of particular men ; and the transactions of nations give such prominence to leading characters that general history insen- sibly turns into biography. He who undertakes to write the history of the French Revolution will soon find his narrative turn into the biographies of Napoleon and Welling- ton ; and he who sets about the life of Maiiborough w r ill ere long discover that he has insensibly become engaged in a general history of the War of the Succession. Consummate, however, as w r ere the abilities, unbroken the success, immense the services, of the Duke of Marlborough, the details of his campaigns can scarcely be said to be known to the vast majority of his countrymen. They have heard the distant echo of his fame, as they have that of the exploits of Timour, of Bajazet, and of Genghis Khan ; the names of Blenheim and Ramilies, of Oudenarde and Malplaquet, iy PREFACE. awaken a transient feeling of exultation in their bosoms ; but as to the particulars of these events, the difficulties with which their general had to struggle, the objects for which he contended, even the places where they occurred they are, for the most part, as ignorant as they are of similar details in the campaigns of Baber or Aurengzebe. What they do know is derived chiefly, if not entirely, from the histories of their enemies. Malice and party spirit have done much to dim the reputation of the illustrious General in his own country, but these disturbing passions have not been felt in other states ; and, strange to say, no adequate opinion of his merits can be formed by his countrymen, but by viewing the impression he has made on her enemies, or studying the history of his victories by them. Marlborough's exploits made a prodigious impression on the Continent. The French, who felt the edge of his flaming sword, and saw the glories of the Grand Afonarque torn from the long triumphant brow of Louis XIV. ; the Dutch, who found in his conquering arm the stay of their sinking republic, and their salvation from slavery and perse- cution ; the Germans, who beheld the flames of the Palati- nate avenged by his resistless power, and the ravages of war rolled back from the Rhine into the territory of the state which had provoked them ; the Lutherans, who regarded him as the appointed instrument of Divine vengeance, to punish the infamous perfidy and cruelty of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes have concurred in celebrating his exploits. The French nurses frightened their children with stories of " Maiibrook," as the Orientals, when their horses start, say they sec the shadow of Ilichard Cccur-dc-Lion crossing their path. Napoleon hummed the well-known air, PREFACE. V " Marlbrook s'cn va-t en guerre," when he crossed the Niemen to commence the Moscow campaign. The fortunate accident is generally known by which the great collection of papers lately published in London has been brought to light. That this collection should at length have become known is less surprising than that it should so long have remained forgotten, and have eluded the researches of so many persons interested in the subject. It embraces, as Sir George Murray's lucid preface explains, a complete series of the correspondence of the great Duke from 1 702 to 1712, the ten years of his most important public services. In addition to the Despatches of the Duke himself, the letters, in some places very numerous, of his private secretary, Mr Cardonnel, and a journal written by his Grace's chaplain, Dr Hare, afterwards Bishop of Chichester, are contained in the eighteen manuscript volumes which were discovered in the record-room of Kensington, near Woodstock, in October 1842, and which have now been given to the public. They are of essential service, especially in rendering intelligible the details of the correspondence, otherwise in great part unin- teresting, and scarcely intelligible, at least by the ordinary reader. Some of the most valuable parts of the work, parti- cularly a full detail of the battle of Blenheim, have been drawn from Dr Hare's journal. In addition to this, the bulletins of some of the events, issued by Government at the time, are to be found in notes at the proper places ; and in the text are occasionally contained short, but correct and luminous notices, of the preceding or contemporaneous poli- tical and military events which are alluded to, but not de- scribed, in the Despatches, and which are necessary for the proper understanding of many of their particulars. Nothing, VI PREFACE. in a word, has been omitted by the accomplished editor which could illustrate or render intelligible the valuable collection of materials placed at his disposal. Yet, with all his pains and ability, it is often very difficult to follow the detail of events, or understand the matters alluded to in the Despatches: so great is the lack of information regarding the eventful War of the Succession, from the want of a popular historian to record it, even among well-informed persons in this country. To the historian who is to go minutely into the details of Marlborough's campaigns and negotiations, and to whom accurate and authentic information is of inestimable import- ance, it need hardly be said that these papers are of the utmost value. But, to the general reader, all such voluminous publications and despatches must, as a matter of necessity, be comparatively uninteresting. They always contain a great deal of repetition, in consequence of the necessity under which the commander lay of communicating the same event to those with whom he was in correspondence in many different quarters. Great part of them relate to details of discipline, furnishing supplies, getting up stores, and other necessary matters, of little value even to the historian, except in so far as they illustrate the industry, energy, and difficulties of the commander. The general reader, who plunges into the midst of the Marlborough Despatches in this age, or into those of Wellington in the next, when contemporary recollection has failed, will find it impossible to understand the greater part of the matters referred to, and will soon lay aside the volumes in despair. Such works arc highly valuable, but they are so to the annalist or historian rather than to the ordinary reader. They are the PREFACE. Vll materials of history, not history itself. They bear the same relation to the works of Livy or Gibbon which the rude blocks in the quarry do to the temples of St Peter's or the Parthenon. The accurate, comprehensive, and admirable life of Marl- borough, by Archdeacon Coxe, must always maintain its place as the most authentic and valuable life of him which exists. Founded on a close examination of the correspond- ence preserved at Blenheim, and embracing all its most valuable parts, it presents the hero painted by the most valuable of all painters, his own contemporaries or himself, in their private and confidential correspondence. Nothing can exceed the diligence, zeal, and energy with which the Arch- deacon has discharged this important task. But his work, invaluable as one of reference, is not calculated to interest the general reader. It is too long and expensive for such an object, and too full of long documents and letters in the text a fault which has proved fatal, as popular works, to many other biographies besides those of that respectable writer. The earlier lives of Marl borough, particularly the able but somewhat partial one by Ledyard, are still of value, and are frequently referred to ; but they were written too near the time to be impartial, and the documents had not then been published which could render them authentic. Mr Gleig's life, in his Military Commanders, is written with his usual fire and genius ; but it is too brief, and contains too little reference to authority, to permit of its being frequently referred to. France has produced several admirable works to illustrate Marlborough's campaigns. Napoleon was so strongly im- pressed with their value that he caused a life of the English Tiii PREFACE. hero to be written in 1807, which contains, in three volumes, the best military narrative which has yet appeared of his exploits. The great collection of original letters and des- patches contained in the Memoircs Militaire rclatifs a la Succession d'Espagne, edited by General Pelot, in nine quarto volumes, contains all the principal despatches on the subject, and may well be put beside Coxe and the Marl- borough Despatches for the Continental side of the contest. Rousset's magnificent work, published at the Hague in 1 720, in three volumes folio, is chiefly valuable as containing the Dutch account of the memorable war of the Succession ; and Kausler, in the admirable summary of great battles annexed to his splendid military atlas, has diligently collected and formed a resume from the best authorities on the subject. To these foreign works the volumes now submitted to the public have been largely indebted, and they will be found referred to in every page. The first edition of this work, in one volume, was intended as a mere sketch, chiefly for military readers, and was sug- gested by the perusal of the Marlborough Despatches on their first appearance. The favourable reception which the work received from the public, and the increasing interest in the subject, has induced the author in this edition to extend his original design, so as not only to embrace the political life of Marlborough, as well as the military, but to state at the end of every paragraph, as in his History of Europe, the authorities on which it was founded. In this way it has insensibly turned into a history of the War of the Succession, at least in those portions of it with which Great Britain is immediately concerned. The Map illustrative of the Campaigns of Marlborough is PEEFACE. ix constructed with the greatest care, and is so arranged as to show the positions of every place in strict accordance \vitli the text ; while the Plans of Battles, so essential to the elucidation of military history, have been accurately reduced, and improved by the addition of the names of Commanders, &c., from the great German work of Kausler, so well known from the splendour of its finishing and the accuracy of its details. A. ALISON. FOSSIL HOUSE, December \, 1851. CONTENTS OF VOL. 1 CHAPTER I. BIRTH AND EARLY HISTORY OF MARLBOROUGH. HIS SHARE IN THE REVOLUTION OF 1688. CAUSES WHICH LED TO THE WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. Page 1. Birth, and family of Marlborough, ..... 1 2. His early life and education, ..... 2 3. His first appearance and early promotion at court, . . 3 4. His intrigue with the Countess of Castlemaine, ... 4 5. His services under Louis XIV. and Tureune in Flanders, . 5 6. Manner in which Providence moulds the character of a great man, . 7 7. Manner in which the ambition of Louis XIV. worked out its own ruin, ib. 8. Churchill's marriage, ....... 9 9. Character of the Duchess, ...... ib. 10. His journey to Scotland, and rapid rise at court, . . . 10 11. His important services on Monniouth's rebellion, . . . 11 12. His endeavours to arrest the headlong course of James, . . 12 13. He deserts James II. on the invasion of the Prince of Orange, . . 15 14. Parallel between his treachery and that of Ney, . . . 17 15. Honours and commands bestowed on Churchill. He signs the Act of Asso- ciation in favour of William, . . . . .18 16. His efforts to obtain a settlement for the Princess Anne, . . 1,9 17. His first services in foreign war under William, ... 20 18. His short campaign in Ireland in 1690, . . . . . ib. 19. His services in 1691 in Flanders, . . . . .21 20. Discreditable intrigues soon after with the exiled royal family, . . 22 21. He is liberated from prison, and ere long restored to favour, . . 24 22. Marriage of Marlborough's two daughters, .... 26 23. Marlborough's conduct when restored to favour, ... 27 24. And appointed to the supreme command in the Netherlands, . . ib. 25. Great difficulties Marlborough experienced in constructing the Alliance, 28 26. At which period the Blenheim Papers commenced, ... 29 27. Great power of the Bourbons at this period, and general alarm which it excited, ........ 30 28. Vast ability by which the government of France was directed, . 31 Xii CONTEXTS. Page 29. Extraordinary success which bad hitherto attended Louis iu all his enterprises, ........ 32 30. Hopes and schemes of the Catholic party throughout Europe at this time. Their ultimate failure, . . . . . .33 31. Simultaneous attacks on the Protestants iu France and England irrevocably separate the two countries, ...... 35 32. Efforts of William III. to avert the danger, .... 37 33. Manner in which the bequest of Spain to the Duke of Aujou had been obtained, ........ 38 34. Fresh treaty of partition between France, England, and Holland, . 39 35. The knowledge of this treaty of partition determines the King of Spain to the bequest in favour of the Bourbons, . . . .41 3G. Extent of the danger which threatened the Continental powers from this accession to the power of France, .... .42 37. Death of James II., and acknowledgment of the Pretender by Louis XIV., 43 38. Death of William III., ....... 44 39. Accession of Anne, and her favour to Maryborough, ... 45 40. Comparative strength of the forces on the opposite sides, . . 47 CHAPTER II. CHARACTERS Or LOUIS XIV., WILLIAM III., AND JAMES II. COMMENCEMENT OF THE WAK. CAMPAIGN OF 1702. 1. Strange diversity in the characters drawn by historians of Louis XIV., 48 2. Which arose from the greatness of his deeds, .... 49 3. Remarkable diversities and seeming contradictions of his character, . 50 4. Vast changes which he effected on France during his reign, . . 51 5. Which arose from his turn of mind coinciding with the spirit of the age, 52 G. His virtues and vices were alike those of his people, . . .53 7. His government was essentially feudal and monarchical, . . 54 8. Unity and centralisation were his great objects, ... 55 9. His efforts to improve the public administration, . . .56 10. And to give unity to general thought, ..... 57 11. General resemblance of his ideas of government to those of Napoleon, 58 12. Magnificent ideas of each as shown in their public works, . . 59 13. Atrocity of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, ... CO 14. Which produced the reaction against him that checked his power, . 01 15. Parallel of Napoleon and Louis XIV. in the affections of the heart, . 62 16. The passion of love in both brought out the selfish feelings, . . 63 17. Opposite characters of Louis XIV. and William III., . . .64 IS. Heroic resistance of William to the French invasion, . . . G5 19. Adaptation of the character of William to his destiny in life, . . 67 20. His policy in war, which at length proved victorious, . . . ib. 21. His character in private, ..... G9 22. His failing, ;i>. CONTENTS. Xlll 1>a se 23. Character of Jaincs II. of England, ..... 70 24. His good and heroic qualities, ...... 71 25. His great battles with the Dutch, ..... 72 26. His great efforts to restore the navy, and effects of this, . . 73 27. The rashness and imprudence which cost him his throne, . . 74 28. Character of Quecu Anne, ...... 75 29. Commencement of the war in Italy under Prince Eugene. His early life, 76 30. Character of his warfare, and his first great victory over the Turks, . 77 31. His campaigns in Italy and Germany, ..... 78 32. Commencement of the war, ...... 79 33. Forces on the side of France, ...... 80 34. Forces of the Allies, ....... 81 35. The weakness of England in land warfare, from inexperience, . . 82 36. Marlborough's first mission to the Continent, and first campaign, . 83 37. His efforts to induce the British cabinet to take their right place in the war, 85 38. Difficulties about the appointment of a commandcr-iu-chicf. Marlborough is at length appointed, . . . . . .86 39. Bolingbroke's character of Marlborough, .... 87 40. His character by Lord Chesterfield, . . . ib. 41. Marlborough was really a combination of both these characters, . 89 42. His tender affection through life for the Duchess of Marlborough, . 90 43. Plan of operations for the campaign on the part of the Allies, . . 92 44. And of the French, . . . . . . ib. 45. Siege and capture of Kaiscrworth, ..... 93 4G. Boufflers attempts a coup-de-main against Nimcguen, which Athlone checks, 94 47. Marlborough takes the command of the army at Nimcguen, . . 95 48. Force at Marlborough's disposal, and his early difficulties in the campaign, 97 49. Movements preparatory to the siege of Veuloo, ... 99 50. Description, siege, and fall of Venloo, . . . . .101 51. Marlborough commences the siege of Liege, .... 102 52. Siege and fall of Liege, . . . . . . .103 5.3. Narrow escape of Marlborough from being made prisoner, . . 104 54. Results of the campaign, which was eminently favourable to the Allies, 100 55. Still greater moral influence of these successes, . . . 107 CHAPTEE III. CAMPAIGNS OF 1703 AND 1704. BATTLE OP BLENHEIM. 1. Description of the Low Countries, . . . . .109 2. Political causes which have divided the Flemish provinces, . . 110 3. Effect of these causes in studding the Low Countries with fortified cities, 112 4. And their effect on the system of war, . . . . .113 5. Effect of these causes on the results of victories, . . . 114 6. And in leading to the formation and strength of lines of defence, . 115 7. Campaign of 1703 illustrates the value of such lines, . . . 117 XIV CONTEXTS. Page 8. Chagrins to which Maryborough began to be exposed at home, . . 118 9. Character of the Marquis of Blandford, Marlborough's ouly son, . 119 10. His illness and death, . . . . . . .120 11. Marriage of Marlborough's two other daughters, . . . 121 12. Accession of Portugal to the confederacy, and insurrection in the Cevennes, 123 13. Magnificent plan of the campaign by Louis XIV. on the side of the French, ........ 124 14. Plans of Marlborough to counteract it, ..... 125 15. Siege and fall of Bonn, ....... 12G 16. Villeroi threatens Overkirk, who holds his ground, . . .127 17. Marlborough's designs against Antwerp and Ostend, . . . 129 18. Marlborough's measures against Antwerp, and their partial success, . 130 19. Defeat of M. Obdam at Eckeren, . . . . .131 20. Gallant retreat of M. Schlangenberg, ..... 133 21. Pernicious effect of this disaster on the Allies, .... 134 22. Marlborough is prevented by the States' deputies from attacking the French lines, . . . . . . .135 23. Marlborough again ui-ges the attack of the French lines, and is prevented by the Dutch, . . . . . . .136 24. Disasters on the Upper Rhine and in Bavaria, . . . .138 25. Extreme danger of the Empire from these successes, . . .139 26. Marlborough's difficulties at home : he wishes to resign, . . 141 27. Alliance with the Duke of Savoy, ..... 142 28. The throne of Spain and the Indies is bestowed on Charles, second son of the Emperor, ....... 143 29. Danger of the Empire from the attacks of France and Bavaria, . 144 30. Measures of Marlborough and Eugene to avert the danger, . . 145 31. Marlborough's cross-march into Germany, and first interview with Eugene, 147 32. Difficulties in arranging the command, . . . . .149 33. Difficulties of Marlborough's march, and his junction with the Prince of Baden, ... .... 150 34. Description of the intrenched camp of Schellenberg, . . . 151 35. Marlborough resolves to attack, . . . . . .152 3G. Commencement of the attack on the Schellenberg, . . .153 37. Final victory of Marlborough, . . . . . .154 38. Subsequent successes in Bavaria, . . . . .155 39. Marshal Tallard joins the Elector of Bavaria, who determines to fight, . 157 40. Yendome i.s defeated in his attempt to penetrate through the Tyrol, . 153 41. Forces on both sides, and their comparative merits, . . . 159 42. Division of the command between Marlborough and Eugene, . . 1C1 43. French position and dispositions, with their dangers, . . .162 44. And advantages, . . . . . . . .164 45. Disposition of the Allies for the attack, ..... 165 46. Marlborough's conduct before the battle began, . . . 166 17. Commencement of the battle, . . . . . .167 48. Attack on Blenheim, which is repulsed, ..... 168 49. Crossing of the Xebel by the Allies, . . . 169 50. The cavalry with great difficulty are got across, . . . 170 51. Jtout of Prince Holstein in the attack on Oberglau, . . 171 52. Operations of Eugene on the right, . 172 CONTENTS. XV Pago 53. Grand and decisive charge by Marlborough in the centre, . . 174 54. Eugene's success on the right, . . . . . .175 55. Total rout of Tallard, who is made prisoner, . . . .176 56'. Mistake by which the French left escaped destruction, . . . 178 57. Capture of all the troops in Blenheim, and conclusion of the battle, . ib. 58. Results of the battle, ....... 180 59. Causes of the defeat of the French, . . . . .182 60. Vast results of the victory, . . . . . .183 61. Capture of Landau and Traerbach, and conclusion of the campaign, . 184 62. Its marvellous results, . . . . . . .186 63. Honours and rewards bestowed on Marlborough, . . .187 64. His reception at the courts of Berlin and Hanover, and acquisition of Blenheim, ...... .189 CHAPTER IV. CAMPAIGNS OF 1705 AND 1706. BATTLE OF RAMILIES AND CONQUEST OF FLANDERS. 1. Impossibility of getting the English to make durable public efforts, . 190 2. Backwardness of the English Parliament in voting supplies, . . 191 3. Causes of this singular peculiarity, ..... 192 4. Bitter sense which Marlborough entertained of this parsimonious dispo- sition, ........ 194 5. Reasons for converting the war into one of sieges, and placing its seat in Flanders, . . . . . . . .195 6. Examples of the same necessity being felt in subsequent times, . 197 7. Extraordinary talent of Marlborough for keeping together the Alliance, ib. 8. Extraordinary domestic jealousy to which he was exposed, . . 198 9. Extraordinary jealousy of Marlborough, . . . .199 10. Caution which the same cause imprinted on Marlborough's military conduct, . . . . . . . .201 11. Strange fetters which the Alliance imposed on his conduct of the war, 202 12. Vigorous efforts of the French government, .... 203 13. Bold plan of Marlborough and Eugene for the invasion of France, . 205 14. Commencement of operations early in June on the Moselle, . . 206 15. Successes of Villeroi over the Allies in Flanders, . . . 208 16. Sudden march of Marlborough to their relief, .... 209 17. The disasters of the German troops in the circle of Treves render the design abortive, . . . . . . .210 18. Position occupied by Villeroi, . . . . . .212 19. Marlborough's able plan to overreach the enemy, . . .213 20. Entire success of the attack on Villeroi's lines, . . .214 21. Obstinacy and backwardness of the Dutch prevent a complete victory, 215 22. The Dutch deputies continue their opposition, . . . .216 23. \Vhichmarsallthesubsequentoperationsofthecampaign, . . 217 24. The Dutch treacherously desert him, . . . . .219 Xvi CONTENTS. Page 25. Maryborough's operations on the field of Waterloo, . . . 220 26. Immense advantage thus gained by Marlborough, who had turned the French, .... ... 221 27 Marlborough prepares to attack the French at Waterloo, . . 222 28. But is again thwarted by the Dutch deputies, .... 223 29. Marlborough is obliged to forego his advantages, . . . 225 30. Complaints of the Dutch against Marlborough, . . . 226 31. Vexation and magnanimous conduct of Marlborough, . . . 227 32. Jealousies of the cabinet of Vicuna and the German powers, . . 229 3:5. Great danger of affairs in Italy, ...... 230 34. Capture of Barcelona by Lord Peterborough, .... 232 35. Extraordinary success of Marlborough in appeasing the jealousies at Vienna, ........ 233 30. And at Berlin and Hanover, ...... 235 37. Similarity between his present situation and that of Wellington in his early campaigns, ....... 23G 38. Affairs in England wear a more promising aspect, . . . 237 3.0. Universal backwardness of the Allies in the commencement of 1706, . 23.9 40. Maryborough's great difficulties in arranging military operations, . 240 41. Forces on the opposite sides in Flanders, . . . .241 42. Position of the French at Ramilies, ..... 242 43. Maryborough's manoeuvres before the battle, and plan of attack, . 243 44. Commencement of the battle, and skilful feint of Marlborough, . 244 45. Repulse of Ovcrkirk, and imminent danger of Marlborough when hasten- ing to his relief, . . . . . . .245 4G. The twenty squadrons ordered up from the right restore the battle, . 247 47. Villeroi's efforts to restore the buttle, which are unsuccessful, . . 24!) 4!!. The enemy, though thrown into disorder, endeavour to rally, . . 240 49. General advance of the Allies, which completes the victory, . . 250 50. Losses of the French and the Allies in the battle, . . . 251 51. Maryborough's humanity and courtesy after the battle, . . . 25 52. And its great results, ....... -~>- 53. Retreat of the French from Flanders, and universal jo y at its liberation, 54. Magnanimous wisdom of Maryborough in protecting the Flemings from oppression, . . ...... 25G 55. Capitulation of Ghent, Bruges, Antwerp, and Oudcnardc, . . 257 5i>. Maryborough's hopes for a speedy peace, .... 258 57. Siege and capture of Ostcnd, ...... 5!!. Commencement of the siege of Merrin, and its great difficulties, 5.0. It is at length carried by assault, ..... CO. Siege and fall of Dcndermondc, ..... (jl. And of Ath, which concludes the campaign, .... G2. Splendid reception of Marlborough at Brussels, and great results of the campaign, ........ 2G5 03. Splendid campaign of Eugene iir Italy, ..... 2(iG (it. Victory of Turin, ....... 2G7 (;.">. Great consequences of this victory, and its analogy to Marcngo, . 27. Subsequent disasters, and loss of Madrid, .... 272 CONTENTS. XT11 Pa B e 68. Untoward state of affairs on the Upper Rl lino, .... 274 69. Immense difficulties of Marlborough's correspondence in thcso cam- paigns, ........ ib, 70. Universal confidence in liis wisdom and probity, . . . 275 71. Terror at the court of Louis XIV., ..... 277 72. His overtures for peace, ...... 278 73. Reasons of Marlborough's conduct, ..... 279 74. Office of the government of the Netherlands declined by Maryborough, 280 75. Jealousies of the Dutch, and continued disinterestedness of Marlborough, 282 76. Opening of a separate secret negotiation between the Dutch and the French, ........ 283 77. Maryborough's address obtains a renewal of the Alliance, . . 284 78. His return to England, and splendid reception there, . . . 28G 7!'. Jealousy against him arises among both the Whigs and Tories, but he pre- vails at court, ....... 287 80. Death aud character of Prince Louis of Baden, .... 288 81. Great error in the subsequent policy of England, . . . 290 CHAPTER V. 1. Great disasters experienced by France in the preceding campaign, . 292 2. Appearance of Charles XII. of Sweden in Germany, . . . 293 3. His character, ........ 294 4. His great military abilities, ...... 295 5. His faults, rashness, and cruelty, ..... 29G G. Efforts of Louis XIV. to win him to his side, .... 297 7. Measures of Marlborough to counteract his efforts, . . . 298 8. Visit of Marlborough to Charles at Dresden, .... 300 9. His address and success with that monarch, .... ib. 10. Singular skill with which he avoided rousing religious differences, . 302 11. His satisfactory arrangement of the difficulties regarding Poland, . ib. 12. Renewed jealousies and procrastinations of the Allied powers, . . 303 13. Defeat of the Allies at Almanza in Spain, .... 305 14. Total defeat of the Allies on the French right, .... 306 15. Progress of the battle in the centre and left, .... ib. 16. Victory declares at all points for the French, .... 307 17. Small force with which decisive victories have been won, . . 309 18. Cause of the magnitude of this disaster, . . . . .311 1 9. Way in which these disasters arc to be avoided, . . . ib. 20. Digression of the Austriaus to Naples, ..... 312 21. Which prevents succours being scut to the south of France, . . 313 22. Forcing of the lines of Stolhotfeu, and irruption of the French into the Palatinate, . . . . . . . .314 XV111 CONTENTS. Page 23. Plan of the campaign in Flanders, and designs of Maryborough and Eugene, . . . . .316 24. Opening of the campaign in Flanders, . . . . .317 25. Secret reasons of the conduct of the Dutch on this occasion, . . 319 26. Disasters of the Allies in Spain and on the Rhine, . . . 321 27. Maryborough, in consequence, strongly urges an invasion of the south of France, ........ 322 28. Selfish conduct of Austria, which ruins the expedition, . . ib. 29. Invasion of Provence by Eugene, ..... 324 30. Eugene is obliged to raise the siege, and retire into Italy, . . 325 31. Fresh difficulties with the King of Sweden, . . . .326 32. A treaty is at length adjusted, ...... ib. 33. Operations in Flanders, ....... 328 34. Maryborough again advances, and the French retire to Lille, . . 329 35. Maryborough closes the campaign, and returns to England, . . 330 36. Causes of the reaction against Maryborough and the war at this time, . ib. 37. Change in the system of government by the Revolution, . . 331 38. Vast increase of loans, taxes, and corruption, .... 332 39. Liability of women to change of disposition and favourites, . . 334 40. Dangers of this in a queen, ...... 335 41. Quecrr Anne's early friendship for Maryborough, . . . 336 42. Real causes of Anne's alienation from Maryborough, . . . 337 43. The Queen's partiality to the Tories, and the Duchess's to the Whigs, . 333 44. "Which was increased by Maryborough's absence and success in war, . 339 45. Vacillation and inconsistency in the Queen, .... 340 46. Commencement of the Duchess's decline in influence at court, . . ib. 47. Dissension about Sunderland's appointment, .... 341 48. Secret reasons of the keenness of both parties on this question, . 342 49. Dread of the Tories was the reason, ..... 343 50. Maryborough joins the Duchess in urging the appointment, . . 344 51. The Queen still holds out, and Maryborough still trusts Harley and St John, ........ 345 52. Views and language of Harley and St John at this period, . . 346 53. Maryborough's influence at length curries through the appointment, . 349 54. Continued leaning of the Queen towards the Tories, . . . 350 55. Which appears in her ecclesiastical preferments, . . .351 56. Jealousy of the Whigs against Maryborough and Godolphin, . . 352 57. Rise of Abigail Hill, and her early history, .... 353 58. Her great influence, ....... 354 59. Imprudent conduct of the Duchess at this crisis, . . . 355 CO. Dignified but irnwise conduct of Godolphin and Maryborough at this crisis, ........ 61. Reasons of its failure, ....... 62. Vehement outcry against Maryborough both in and out of Parliament, 63. Speech of Marlborough against drafting men from Flanders, 64. Circumstances which occasioned a suspicion of Harlejj 6f>. Godolphin breaks with Harley, ...... 66. Godolphin and Marlborough threaten to resign, 67. The Queen at length yields, and Harley is dismissed, . . . 68. Unexpected results of the triumph of the Whigs, . . . CONTENTS. XIX Sl'age 69. Inherent loyalty and aversion to taxation in the English people the cause of this, ........ 3C7 70. The Queen in court is ruled by Harlcy and Mrs Masham, . . 368 71. Defeat of the Pretender's attempted invasion of Scotland, . . 369 72. Design of the Duchess of Maryborough to retire from court, . . 370 73. Flagrant ingratitude of Mrs Masham and all her relations to the Duchess of Marlborough, ....... 372 74. The grasping disposition of the Whigs was the real cause of the change, 373 75. It was the Revolution which occasioned this grasping disposition in the Whigs, 374 CHAPTER VI. CAMPAIGN OF 1708. SURPRISE OF GHENT AND BRUGES BY THE FRENCH, BATTLE OF OUDENARDE. SIEGE AND FALL OF LILLE. RECOVERY OF GHENT AND BRUGES BY MARLBOROUGH. 1. Motives which induced Marlborough to desire an active campaign, . 376 2. Vigorous preparations made by Louis XIV. for the campaign in the Low Countries, ........ 377 3. Preparations and forces of the Allies in Flanders, . . . 378 4. The Dutch are anxious for a separate peace, .... 379 5. Vendc A >me's movements to aid a revolt in Antwerp, . . . 380 6. Continued procrastination of the German powers, . . .381 7... Vendome's able plan to aid a rising in Ghent and Bruges, . . 383 8. He makes himself master of Ghent and Bruges, . . . ib. 9. Marlborough's activity secures Oudenarde against a coup-de-main, . 385 10. Extreme vexation and serious illness of Marlborough, . . . 386 11. Marlborough's cross-march on Vendome's communications, . . 387 12. Vendome moves off, followed by the Allies, .... 383 1 3. Description of the field of battle, ..... 390 14. Dispute between Burgundy and Vendome, .... 391 1 5. Preliminary movements on both sides, and capture of the French advanced guard, ........ 392 16. Forces 011 both sides, and commencement of the battle, . . 393 17. Brilliant success of the French right, ..... 394 18. Operations of Eugene on the right, ..... 395 19. And of Marlborough on the left, ..... 396 20. Decisive movement by Marlborough against the French left, . . 397 21. Vigour with which it was executed by Overkirk, who entirely tiirns them, ........ 398 22. Gallant but ineffectual efforts of Vendome to arrest the disorder, . 399 23. Results of the battle, ....... 400 24. Pursuit of the enemy, and humanity of Marlborough, . . . 402 25. Capture of the French lines, and junction of Berwick with Vendome, and of Eugene's army with Marlborough, .... 403 26. Great results of the battle of Oudenarde, from the French having been cut off from their communications, ..... 404 b XX CONTENTS, g Page 27. Maryborough's advice to march to Paris is overruled, aud it is resolved to lay siege to Lille, ...... 405 28. Advantages of Vcudome's position with a view to interrupting the siege, 406 29. Preparations of the Allies for the siege, ..... 407 30. Vendome makes incursions towards Ostend, and into Cadsand island, 408 31. Which arc avenged by Maryborough's incursions into Artois, . . 409 32. BoufHers takes the command at Lille. Preparations for its defence, . 410 33. Great concourse of illustrious characters on both sides to witness the siege, 411 34. Greatness of the enterprise, ...... ib. 35. Me'asures of Vendome and Berwick to interrupt the convoy, and prevent the siege, ........ 412 36. Commencement of the siege, and position of the covering army, . 414 37. Commencement of the siege, and fortifying of the camp, . . 415 3!f. Commencement of the siege, and first operations, . . .416 39. Advance and junction of Vendome and Berwick to raise the siege, . 417 40. Marlborough arrests Vendome and Berwick when trying to raise the siege, 418 41. Division of the command, and dread of responsibility in the French com- manders, occasioned their failure, . . . . . ib. 42. Marlborough intrenches his position, which Vendome declines to attack, 420 43. The French at length retire towards Oudcnarde, . . . 421 44. Marlborough is prevented from fighting, and follows the enemy, . 422 45. Increasing danger of Marlborough 's position, .... 423 46. Assault on the Gth September, which carries part of the covered-way, 424 47. Increasing difficulties of the siege, ..... 425 48. Second terrible assault, which partially succeeds, . . . 426 49. Eugene's wound throws the siege on Marlborough, who delivers a fresh assault, ........ 428 50. Efforts on the part of the besieged to obtain supplies of ammunition, . 429 51. Extraordinary entry of a French officer into Lille by swimming, . 430 52. Marlborough writes for supplies from England by Ostend, . . 431 53. Movements on both sides before the action, .... ib. 54. Action of Wynendale, and passage of the convoy, . . . 432 55. Progress of the siege after the arrival of the convoy, . . . 434 5G. New expedient of Vendomc's met by a counter device of Maryborough's, 435 57. Siege of the citadel of Lille, -and diversion of Vcudome against Brussels, 436 58. Maryborough's brilliant inarch, which defeats it, . . . 437 59. Losses sustained on both sides during the siege, . . . 438 CO. Courtesy and mutual compliments after the capitulation, . . 439 61. Maryborough's anxious wish to enter France after the fall of Lille, . 440 C2. Marlborough recovers Ghent, . . . . . .441 61!. And Bruges ; concludes the campaign, and again refuses the government of the Netherlands, ...... 442 64. Maryborough's letter to the Duke of Berwick, urging a general peace, . 443 65. Death and character of Marshal Overkirk, .... 445 66. Glorious results of the campaign, aud great ability of Marlborough, . 446 67. His bold offensive measures, and extraordinary capture of Lille, . 447 68. Great issue at stake in the siege of Lille, .... ib. APPENDIX, . . 449 LIFE MARLBOROUGH CHAPTER I. BIRTH, AND EARLY HISTORY OF MARLBOROUGH HIS SHARE IX THE REVOLUTION OF 1G88 CAUSES WHICH LED TO THE WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. JOHN CHURCHILL, afterwards Duke of Marlborough, CHAP. was born on the 5tli July 1G50, (new style,) at Ash, in l ' the county of Devon. His father was Sir Winston _ ! * Birth, and Churchill, a gallant cavalier who had drawn his sword {^J of Marlbo- in behalf of Charles I., and had in consequence been ro s h - deprived of his fortune and driven into exile by Crom- well. His paternal family was very ancient, and boasted its descent from the Courcils de Poitou, who came into England with the Conqueror. His mother was Elizabeth Drake, who claimed a collateral connection with the descendants of the illustrious Sir Francis Drake, the great navigator. The eldest son Winston died in infancy ; so that John, who was the second, became heir to the honours, and all but ruined fortunes of the family. Arabella the eldest, and the only daughter, was born at VOL. T. A 9 THE LIFE OF CHAP. Ash, in February 1648 ; and, from the interest which the loyalty of the family had excited, was appointed maid of honour to the Duchess of York, in which situa- tion she captivated the Duke of York, brother of the rciirning monarch, and became his mistress. This cir- cumstance was not without its influence on the future fate of her brother ; and, what is very remarkable, it gave rise to the birth of a hero who almost singly sup- ported the tottering throne of Louis XIV. against the conquering sword of her redoubtable brother. From this illicit connection sprang James Fitzjames, afterwards Duke of Berwick, who commanded the armies of France and Spain during the War of the Succession, gained the decisive victory of Almanza, and almost counter- balanced by his military genius the victories of his uncle in Germany and Flanders. This circumstance is well worthy of attention, botli as demonstrating what so many other biographies do the descent of intellectual powers by the mother's side, and as showing that the military bent forms no exception to the general rule; for both Marlborough and Berwick inherited their o warlike talents, through the female line, from Sir i Coxe, i. Francis Drake: and most certainly the former derived 1-1!), Intro- . " duction. none of it from the brave and unfortunate race of the Stuarts. 1 Young Churchill received the rudiments of his cduca- iii.s early tioii from the parisli clcTimiian in Devonshire, from whom life and . L Gj education, he imbibed that firm attachment to the Protestant faith by which he was ever afterwards distinguished, and which determined his conduct in the most important crisis of his life, lie was afterwards placed at the school of St Paul's ; and it was there that lie first discovered, on reading Vegetius, that his bent of mind was decidedlv MARLBOROTJGH. 3 for tlie militaiy life/" " What is usually called genius," CHAP. says Johnson, "is nothing but strong natural parts accidentally turned in one direction." But this instance, like many others, would seem to show that there is a natural bent in some minds to particular pursuits, which, as well as general talent, leads to future greatness. Like many other men destined to future distinction, he made no great figure as a scholar; a circumstance easily explained, if we recollect that it is on the knowledge of words that the reputation of a schoolboy is founded of a man on that of things. But the Despatches now published demonstrate that, before he attained middle life, he was a proficient in at least Latin, French, and English composition; for letters in each language are to 2, 'C*" be found in all parts of his correspondence. 1 From his first youth young Churchill was distinguished by the elegance of his manners and the beauty jof his u; s first countenance and figure advantages which, coupled with Nearly the known loyal principles and the sufferings of his at'court. " father in the royal cause, procured for him, at the early age of fifteen, the situation of page in the household of the Duke of York, afterwards James II. His inclina- tion for arms was then so decided that he was rarely absent at the reviews of the Guards ; and on occasion of one of them, being asked by his royal patron in what manner he should provide for him, he threw himself on his knees, and begged he might get a pair of colours in * This curious fact is thus attested in r. copy of Yegetius, by the Rev. Cf. North : " From this very book John Churchill, scholar of this school, after- wards the celebrated Duke of Marlborough, first learnt the elements of the art of war, as was told to me, George North, on St Paul's Day, 1724-5, by an old clergyman who said he was a contemporary scholar, was then well acquainted with him, and frequently saw him read it. This I testify to be true." G. NORTH. 4 THE LIFE OF CHAP, one of those splendid regiments. Accordingly that *' prince procured for him a commission in one of the regi- ments of Guards, when he was only sixteen years old. His uncommonly handsome figure then attracted no small share of notice from the beauties of the court of Charles II., and even awakened a passion in one of the royal mistresses herself. But, impatient to signalise himself, he left their seductions, and embarked as a volunteer in the expedition to Tangiers in 1666, but was soon recalled by the Duke of York to London. During his brief absence, however, he eagerly engaged in the various sallies and skirmishes made from that town, then a dependency of the British crown, and besieged by the Moors. Thus his first essay in arms was made in actions against those undisciplined but formidable i Coxo i. 4-c. Hist, barbarians, who, from the days of Jugurtha to our times, fie Marlb. i. , i rY> i r i i i > 3-4. have proved so climcult of subjugation by European discipline. 1 Having returned to Great Britain, he attracted the His intrigue notice of the Countess of Castlemaine, afterwards Countess of Duchess of Cleveland, then the favourite mistress of maine. Charles II., who had distinguished him by her regard before he embarked for Africa, and who some years after made him a present of 5000, with which the young soldier bought an annuity of .500, which laid the foundation, says Chesterfield, of all his subsequent for- tunes. Marlborough is the first hero recorded in history whose career was commenced by the to him profitable results of an intrigue with women the well-known rock on which the fortunes of so many of his predecessors in the race of glory had been shipwrecked."" Charles, to MARLBOROUGH. 5 remove a daiigcrous rival in her unsteady affections, gave CHAP. him a company in the Guards, and sent him to the Con- tinent with the auxiliary force which, in those days of English humiliation, the cabinet of St James's furnished to Louis XIV., to aid him in subduing the United Pro- vinces. Thus, by a singular coincidence, it was under Turenne, Conde, and Vaubau that the future conqueror of the Bourbons first learned the art of scientific warfare. Wellington went through the same practical course of . . . 1 Coxe, i. study, but in the inverse order his first campaigns were 4 - G - H; st. J ' de Marlbo- niade against the French in Flanders, his next against the nmgh,i.3,4. bastions of Tippoo and the Mahratta horse in Hindostan. 1 Churchill had not been long in Flanders before his talents and gallantry won for him deserved distinction. His services The campaign of 1672, which brought the French xiv!and' s armies to the gates of Amsterdam, arid placed the Flanders!" United Provinces within a hair's-breadth of destruction, was to him fruitful in valuable lessons. The army of Louis XIV., though nominally commanded by that monarch, was really under the direction of Turenne and the Prince of Conde, the two greatest generals of the age. Churchill distinguished himself in many of their operations, and volunteered on every service of diffi- culty or danger. He gained so much honour at the siege of Nimeguen that Turenne, who constantly called him by the soubriquet of " the handsome Englishman," predicted that lie would one day be a great man. On of 500 per annum, for the sum of 4500. COXE. i. 1 3 ; CHESTERFIELD, ii. 297. Coxe, who, however able and meritorious, is often too partial a biographer, endeavours to insinuate that he owed this liberality on the part of the Countess of Castlemaine, afterwards created Duchess of Cleveland by Charles II., to a distant relationship by affinity to that lady. But if the reverend archdeacon had been as well acquainted with women as he was with his books, he would have known that beautiful ladies do not in general bestow 5000 on distant cousins, whatever they may do on favoured lovers. 6 THE LIFE OF CHAP, one occasion a French colonel, M. Rousset, was forced to abandon a post. Tnrenne, who witnessed the retreat, betted that Churchill, with half the force, would regain it. He gave him the command, and Churchill, in pre- sence of the whole army, recovered the post after a desperate struggle. In the following year he was engaged in the siege of Maestricht ; and there he O C o J saved the life of the Duke of Monmouth. The Duke had received orders to attack the counterscarp, which he did with success under the eyes of Louis XIV. ; but the detachment of French guards who carried it were immediately after expelled by the besieged. Monmouth upon this put himself at the head of a small body of twelve English volunteers, among whom was Churchill, who regained the work after a desperate struggle, and planted with his own hand the French standard on the breach. In this struggle he was slightly wounded ; but he had the good fortune to save the life of his colonel, the Duke of Monmouth, who, on presenting him to Charles II., said, ' To the bravery of this gallant officer I owe my life." %/ o / He acquired so much renown at the siege of Maestricht that Louis XIV. publicly thanked him at the head of his army, and promised him his powerful influence with Charles II. for future promotion. He little thought what a formidable enemy he was then fostering at the court of his obsequious brother sovereign. The result of Louis XI V.'s intercession, and of the high character which Churchill 3 o had already acquired, was, that he was made lieutenant- 's 7. Hi-t. colonel : and he continued to serve with the English 1 XT 1 1 rough, i. <;.). auxiliary force in Flanders, under the French generals, till 1 1>77, when he returned with his regiment to London. 1 J3cvond all doubt it was these five years' service MAKLBOliOUGII. 7 under the great masters of the military art, who then sustained the power and cast a halo round the crown of Louis XIV., which rendered Marlborouirh the consum- Manner in mate commander that he showed himself to have become, which p. u- from the moment he was placed at the head of the moulds the . . . . character of allied armies. One of the most interesting and mstruc- a great man. tive lessons to be learned from biography is derived from observing the long steps, the vast amount of previous preparation, the numerous changes- some prosperous, others adverse by which the powers of a great man are formed, and he is prepared for playing the important part which it is intended he should perform 011 the theatre of the world. Providence does nothing in vain ; and when it has selected a particular mind for a great achievement, the events which happen to it all seem to conspire in a mysterious way for its development. Were any one omitted, some essential quality in the character of the future hero, statesman, or philosopher, would be found to be awanting. Here also, as in every other period of history, we may see how unprincipled ambition overvaults itself; Manner in and the measures which seem, at first sight, most ^wtio/of securely to establish its oppressive reign, are the as W orkecfout' yet unperceived means by which an overruling Power lt; works out its destruction. Doubtless the able mini- sters of Louis XIV. deemed their master's power secure when this long-desired but scarce hoped-for alliance was concluded ; when the English monarch had become a state-pensioner of the court of Versailles ; when a secret treaty had united them by apparently indissoluble bonds ; when the ministers alike with the patriots of England were corrupted by his bribes ; when the dreaded fleets of Britain were to be seen in union 8 THE LIFE OF CHAP, with those of France, leagued to overpower the squad- rons of an. inconsiderable republic ; when the descend- ants of the conquerors at Cressy, Poitiers, and Azincour stood side by side with the successors of the vanquished in those disastrous fields, ready to achieve the conquest of Flanders and Holland. Without doubt, so far as human foresight could go, Louvois and Colbert were right. Nothing could appear so decidedly calculated to fix the power of Louis XIV. on an immovable foundation. But how vain arc the calculations of the great human intellects, when put in opposition to the overruling will of Omnipotence ! and how often are the very measures by which success seems best secured to the vision of earthly wisdom, afterwards found to have been the means by which its designs were defeated by the far-seeing eye of the Almighty ! It was that very English alliance which ruined Louis XIV., as the Austrian alliance and marriage, which seemed to put the keystone in the arch of his greatness, afterwards ruined Napoleon. As a result, and one of the most desired results, of the English alliance, a strong body of British auxiliaries were sent to Flanders ; the English officers learned the theory and practice of war in the best of all schools, and under the best of all teachers ; that ignorance of the military art, (the result, in every age, of our insular situation, and which generally causes the first four or five years of every war to terminate in disaster,) was for the time removed ; and that mighty genius was developed under the eye of Louis XIV., and by the example of Turenne, which was destined to hurl back to its own frontiers the tide of Gallic invasion, and close in mourning the reign of the Grand Monarque. " Lcs homines agissent," says Bossuet, " mais Dieu les menc." MARLBOROUGII. 9 Upon Churchill's return to London, tlic brilliant CHAP. reputation which had preceded, and the even augmented ! ' personal advantages which accompanied him, imine- chur "' hilp diatelj rendered him the idol of beauty and fashion. m:irria g e - The sovereign distinguished him by his regard, ladies of the palace vied for his homage, the nobles of the land hastened to cultivate his society. Like Julius Ccesar, he was carried away by the stream, and plunged into the vortex of courtly dissipation with the ardour which marks an energetic character in the pursuit either of good or evil. The elegance of his person and manners, and the charms of his conversation, prevailed so far with Charles II. and the Duke of York that events soon succeeded which made his fortune. In 1678 he married the celebrated Sarah Jennings, the favourite lady in attendance on the Princess Anne, second daughter of the Duke of York, one of the most admired beauties of the court, and shortly after obtained a u-ie. ' regiment. 1 This lady, who afterwards, as Duchess of Maryborough, became celebrated, was possessed of great personal Hercha- charms, and more than ordinary talent, and, what was still more remarkable, she had preserved her reputation unspotted amidst the seductions of a corrupted court. She was descended of an ancient Royalist family, which, like that of Churchill, had suffered for its fidelity during the civil wars. But these brilliant qualities were coun- terbalanced by others of an opposite description, which came, in the end, to exercise a most pernicious influence on her husband's fortunes. She was proud, ambitious, and overbearing, selfishly set on aggrandisement, and haughty and imperious in her temper. So great, how- ever, were her abilities, that she preserved her influence 10 THE LIFE OF CHAP, over her husband imdiminished during his whole life ; and his letters to her, not only during his courtship, but through the whole of life, breathe a spirit of ardent and chivalrous devotion which, at first sight, appears to contrast strangely with the general sedate- ness of his character. Their marriage long delayed by want of adequate fortune on both sides was at length brought about by a moving appeal on his part, occasioned by a generous declaration on hers, that she would accompany her sister, the Countess of Hamilton, to Paris, to wean her lover from an attachment which could not but prove prejudicial to his fortunes. This combination of tender and romantic feeling, with great steadiness and consequent success in life, though not usual, is far from being unnatural or unknown. It arises from the imaginative and intellectual faculties being developed i Coxe, in equal proportions a combination which prevents either Life of bu- from attracting general attention, and is so rare in real Maribo- life that, when presented in fiction, it passes for unna- 2^34.' u tural, but which, when it does exist, seldom fails to lead to the greatest civil or military distinction. 1 This alliance increased his influence, already great, iiis journey with the Duke of York, and laid the foundation of the and rapid"' future grandeur of his fortunes. Shortly after his mar- court! riage he was sent on a mission of peculiar delicacy to William, Stadtholder of Holland, who had recently before married Mary, daughter of that prince. He was after- wards employed on various diplomatic missions, for which his elegant manners and great address peculiarly quali- fied him. Some years after, he accompanied the Duke of York to Scotland, where he remained for some time ; in the course of one of their voyages to which country they were botli nearly shipwrecked on the coast of Essex, off MARLB0110UGH. 11 Yarmouth. On this occasion the Duke made the great- CHAP. est efforts to preserve his favourite's life, and succeeded *' in doing so, although the danger was such that many of the Scottish nobles perished under his eye. On their return to London in 1G82, Churchill was presented by his patron to the King, who made him colonel of the third regiment of Guards. When the Duke of York ascended the throne in 1685, on the demise of his brother, Churchill kept his place as one of the gentle- men of the bedchamber, and was raised to the rank of brigadier-general. He was sent to Paris, to notify his sovereign's accession to Louis XIV. ; and on his return he was created a peer, by the title of Baron Churchill of Sandbridge, in the county of Hertford a . 1 Cnxe, ;. title which he took from an estate there which he had 19,28,31. acquired in right of his wife. 1 On the revolt of the Duke of Monmouth, he had an opportunity of showing at once his military ability, and, His impor- by a signal service, his gratitude to his benefactor, vices on Lord Feversham had the command of the royal forces, re beiHon. * and Churchill was brigadier under him. When the O Duke first landed he performed very important duties, with a small force, consisting of nine companies of foot and six troops of horse, which he assembled at Salisbury. By his indefatigable activity at the head of this little band he powerfully contributed to arrest the progress of the insurrection, which was at first very formidable. So valuable did his direction prove that on July 1, 1685, he was appointed major-general of the army ; and he soon had an opportunity of showing how well qualified he was for the situation. The general-iii-chief kept so bad a look-out that he was on the point of being surprised and cut to pieces by the rebel forces, who, on this occasion 12 THE LIFE OF CHAP, at least, were conducted with ability. Feversliam, and almost all his officers were in their beds, and sound asleep, when Monmouth, at the head of all his forces, silently issued from his camp, and suddenly fell on the royal army. But for the vigilance of Churchill, who had his little corps in perfect readiness, the surprise would have been complete, and the royal army cut in pieces. With this small but determined band, however, he made so vigor- ous a resistance as gave time for the remainder of the army to get into order and sustain the attack. Mon- mouth's foot advanced in perfect silence, shrouded in darkness, to the edge of the stream called the Bressex Rhine, on the other side of which Churchill's men were drawn up in perfect array. "For whom arc your' called an officer of the royal army. " For the king !" replied a voice from the rebel ranks. " For which king V rejoined the royalist. " King Monmouth," was the reply ; which was immediately followed by a volley so close and well directed as sent the rebel horse right about, scattered in all directions. The alarm now became general : the foot-soldiers issued from their tents the horsemen, many of them half-drunk, from their 1 Macauiay, stables : the ranks were hastily formed : and this well- i. 608,609. . i . t i -i ' coxe, i. si, conceived nocturnal attack, which had so nearly proved 32. Hist. . . . ,... de Marl- successful against the royalists, terminated in the victory 31-33. ' ' of Sedgcmoor, which determined the fate of Monmouth, and for a brief season fixed James on the throne. 1 Churchill's mind was too sagacious, and his knowledge 12. His endear of the feelings of the nation too extensive, not to be rot the' 1 aware of the perilous nature of the course upon which course 3 of James soon after adventured, in endeavouring to bring about, if not the absolute re-establishment of the Catholic religion, at least such a quasi-cstablishment of it as the MARLBORO UGH. 13 people deemed, and probably with reason, was, with so CHAP. aspiring a body of ecclesiastics, in effect the same thing. L When he saw the headstrong monarch break through all bonds, and openly trample on the liberties, while he shocked the religious feelings of his people, he wrote to him to point out, in firm but respectful terms, the danger of his conduct. He declared to Lord Galway, when James's innovations began, that, if he persisted in his design of overturning the constitution and religion of his country, he would leave his service ; and he was one of the first who, finding all his efforts ineffectual, made secret overtures to the Prince of Orange, through Mr Dykvelt, the agent of the Prince, and Russell and Sidney, the great movers of the Revolution which followed. At the same time he announced to William the resolution of the Princess Anne, rather to abandon her infatuated father than sacrifice her religion.'" So far his conduct * " The Princess of Denmark having ordered me to discourse with Mon- sieur Dykvelt, and to let him know her resolution, so that he might let your Highness, and the Princess her sister, know that she was resolved, by the assistance of God, to suffer all extremities, even to death itself, rather than be brought to change her religion I thought it my duty to your Highness and the Princess Royal, by this opportunity of Monsieur Dykvelt, to give you assurances under my own hand, that my places and the King's favour I set at nought, in comparison of being true to my religion. In all things but this the King may command me; and I call God to witness, that even with joy I should expose my life in his service, so sensible am I of his favours. I know the troubling you, sir, with thus much concerning myself, I being of so little use to your Highness, is very impertinent ; but I think it may be a great ease to your Highness and the Princess to be satisfied that the Princess of Den- mark is safe in the trusting of me I being resolved, though I cannot live the life of a saint, if there be occasion for it, to show the resolution of a martyr." Lord Ckurcldll to William of Orange, May 17, 1687. COXE, i. 34. This is the first authentic indication of Marlborough's intended defection, and the best vindication of it that has ever since been offered. While thus corresponding with William of Orange, however, he was not less assiduous in his endeavours to divert James from the headlong course which appeared so likely to render that defection necessary. During the 14 THE LIFE OF CHAP, was perfectly unexceptionable. Our first duty is to our *' country, our second only to our benefactor. If they are brought into collision, as they often are during the melancholy vicissitudes of a civil war, an honourable man, whatever it may cost him, has but one part to take. He must not abandon his public duty for his private feelings, but he must never betray official duty. If Churchill, perceiving the frantic course of his master, had withdrawn from his service, and then either taken no part in the Revolution which followed, or even appeared 1 Coxe, i. i ;i4 - 3 "- in arms against him, the most scrupulous moralist could Hist. . History has in every age applauded the virtue, while it has commiserated the anguish, of the elder Brutus, who summer of 1GS7, when James was making a progress through the southern counties, with a view to reconcile his subjects to the innovations which were in progress, Churchill waited on him at Winchester. " Well, Churchill," said the King, " what do my subjects say to this ceremony of touching in the church/' (for the king's evil.) " Truly," replied Churchill, '' they do not approve it : and it is the general opinion that your Majesty is paving the way for the introduction of Popery." " How !" exclaimed the King; " have I not given my royal word, and will they not believe their King? I have always given liberty of conscience to others ; I was always of opinion that toleration was necessary for all Christian people; and most certainly I will not be abridged of that liberty myself, nor suffer those of my religion to be pre- vented from paying their devotions to God in their own way." These words were uttered with great warmth ; but Churchill had courage to reply " What I spoke, sir, proceeded from my zeal for your Majesty's service, which I prefer above all things next to that of God; and I humbly beseech your Majesty to believe, that no subject in the three kingdoms will venture further than I will to purchase your favour and good liking. But as I have been bred a Protestant, and intend to live and die in that communion, and as above nine out of ten in England are of that persuasion, I fear from the genius of the people, and their natural aversion to the Roman Catholic worship, some consequences which I dare not so much as name, and which I cannot contemplate without horror." " T tell you, Churchill," said the King, inter- rupting him, "I will exercise my own religion as I think fit; I will be a common father to all my Protestants, of what religion soever: but I am a King, and am to be obeyed by them. The consequences I leave to Provi- dence." Cnxi:. i. :'*!, ',,~ . 1U. \RU50EOUG1]. 15 sacrificed his sons to the perhaps too rigorous laws of his CHAP. country. But Churchill did not do this, and thence has arisen an ineffaceable blot on his memory. lie did not rclin- He deserts quish the service of the infatuated monarch ; he retained on the inva- his office and commands; but he employed the influence Prince of 6 and authority thence derived to ruin his benefactor. Information was sent to James that he was not to be trusted; but, so far were those representations from hav- ing inspired any doubts of his fidelity, that that deluded monarch, when the Prince of Orange landed, confided to him the command of a corps of five thousand men destined to oppose his progress, and raised him to the rank of lieutenant-general. He led this force in person as far as Salisbury, to meet William, who was advancing through Devonshire. And yet he had before that written to William a letter, still extant, in which he expressed entire devotion to his cause/" Nay, he at this time, if we may believe his panegyrist Ledyard, signed a letter, along with several other peers, addressed to the Prince of Orange, inviting him to come over, and had actually concluded with Major-general Kirk, who commanded at Axininster, a convention, for the seizure of the King, and giving him up to his hostile son-in-law. James was secretly warned that Churchill was about to betray him ; * " SIR, Mr Sidney will let you know how I intend to behave myself. I think it is what I owe to God and my country. My honour I take leave to put into your Higliness's hands, where I think it is safe. If you think there is anything which I ought to do, you have but to command me. I shall pay an entire obedience to it, being resolved to die in that religion that it hath pleased God to give you both the will and the power to protect.'' Lord Churchill to the Prince of Orange, Aug. 4, 1688. William landed at Torbay on Nov. 5, 1688; so that three months before Marlborough accepted the com- mand of the forces destined to oppose, he had secretly agreed to join him. COXE, i. 37 ; DALRYMPLE'S Mem. ii. 121, Appendix to Book v. 16 THE LIFE OF CHAP, but he refused to believe it of one from whom he had hitherto experienced such devotion, and was only wakened from his dream of security by learning that his favourite had gone over, with the Duke of Grafton, and the prin- cipal officers of his regiment, to the Prince of Orange/" Not content with this, he shortly after employed his influence witli his own regiment, and others stationed near London, to induce them to desert James and join the invading candidate for the throne. His departure was the signal for a general defection, which included the nearest relations of the falling monarch. Prince George of Denmark left him at Andover, and joined the Prince * Marlborough, on leaving the King, sent the following letter to him : " SIR, Since men are seldom suspected of sincerity when they act contrary to their interests, and though my dutiful behaviour to your Majesty in the worst of times (for which I acknowledge my poor services much overpaid) may not be sufficient to incline you to a charitable interpretation of my actions, yet I hope the great advantage I enjoy under your Majesty, which I cannot expect to enjoy under any other Government, may reasonably convince j'our Majesty and the world that I am actuated by a higher principle, when I offer that violence to iny inclination and interest as to desert your Majesty at a time when your affairs seem to challenge the strictest obedience from all your subjects, much more from one who lies under such obligations to your Majesty. This, Sir, could proceed from nothing but the inviolable dictates of my conscience, and a necessary concern for my religion (which no good man can oppose,) and with which, I am instructed, nothing can come in competition. Heaven knows with what partiality my dutiful regard for your Majesty has hitherto represented those unhappy dangers which inconsiderate and self-interested men have framed against your Majesty's true interest and the Protestant Religion ; but as I can no longer join with such to give a pretence by conduct to bring them to effect, so I will always, witli the hazard of rny life .and fortune (so much your Majesty's due,) endeavour to preserve your royal person and lawful rights, with all the tender concern and dutiful respect that becomes me." Lord Church ill. to James II., Nov. 12, 1G88. LEDYARD, i. 75, and COXE, i. 39. On reading this letter, James said to Lord Fevcrsham, much agitated " You knew him better than me, my Lord, when you proposed to me to arrest him, and those who have accompanied him in his flight; but I did not expect so terrible a blow. I have now no other resource but to throw myself into the arms of Providence. I can no longer reckon on my troops, who arc without doubt corrupted by their oflicers." Hist, dc Mai'lljurov'jh, 39, -10. MAKLBOROUGII. 17 of Orange at Shcrbornc, while the Princess Anne secretly CHAP. withdrew from the palace at midnight, and repaired to Northampton, from whence she was escorted by a party ^poxe.i. of horse to Oxford, where she joined the Prince her Hist, de ' husband. This was a stunning blow to the unhappy 30-44.' James, and drew from him the mournful exclamation, s. 7.5. " My God! my very children have forsaken me." 1 In what does this conduct differ from that of Labe- doyere, who, at the head of the garrison of Grenoble, Paraiieibe deserted to Napoleon when sent out to oppose him ? treachery or Lavalettc, who employed his influence, as postmaster jrfNeyl* under Louis XVIII., to forward the Imperial conspi- racy ? or Marshal Ney, who, after promising at the Tuileries to bring the ex-Emperor back in an iron cage, no sooner reached the royal camp at Melun than he issued a proclamation calling on the troops to desert the Bourbons, and mount the tricolor cockade? Nay, is not Churchill's conduct, in a moral point of view, worse than that of Ney? for the latter abandoned the trust reposed in him by a new master, forced upon an unwilling nation, to rejoin his old benefactor and companion in arms ; but the former betrayed the trust reposed in him by his old master and tried benefactor, to range himself under the banner of a competitor for the throne, to whom lie was bound neither by duty nor obligation. And yet, such is often the inequality of crimes and punishments in this world, that Churchill was raised to the pinnacle of greatness by the very treachery which consigned Ncy, with justice, so far as his conduct is concerned, to an ignominious death. " Treason ne'er prospers ; for when it does, None dare call it treason." History forgets its first and noblest duty when it VOL. I. 13 18 THE LIFE OF CHAP, fails, by its distribution of praise and blame, to counter- l __ balance, so far as its verdict can, this inequality, which, for inscrutable but doubtless wise purposes, Providence has permitted in this transient scene. Charity forbids us to scrutinise such conduct too severely. It is the deplorable consequence of a successful revolution, even when commenced for the most necessary purposes, to obliterate the ideas of man on right and wrong, and to leave no other test in the general case for public conduct but success : its first effect, to place men in such trying circumstances that nothing but the most confirmed and resolute virtue can pass unscathed through the ordeal. He knew the human heart well who commanded us in our daily prayers to supplicate not to be led into temp- tation, even before asking for deliverance from evil. Let no man be sure, however much, on a calm survey, he may condemn the conduct of Marlborough and Ney, that in similar circumstances he would not have done the same. On the approach of William towards the capital, and Honours the flight of James to Feversham, Churchill was sent mands be- forward to reassemble his own squadron of Guards, and Churchill, procure the adhesion of the other troops in and round the Act of the metropolis a service which he rendered with equal in ' favmnof prudence and ability. The report he brought back of the disposition of the troops there was so favourable as induced William, accompanied by Churchill, to hasten on to London. When there, he signed, on the 20th December 1G88, the famous Act of Association in favour of the Prince of Orange. Shortly after, he was named lieutenant-general of the armies of William, and immediately made a new organisation of the troops, under officers whom he could trust, which proved of the utmost service to William, on the unstable throne on MARLBOROUGH. 19 which he was soon after seated. He was present at CHAP. most of the long and momentous debates which took T ' place in the House of Peers on the question on whom the crown should be conferred, and at first inclined to a regency ; but with a commendable delicacy he absented himself on the night of the decisive vote on the vacancy of the throne. He voted, however, on the 6th of Feb- ruary, for the resolution which settled the crown on William and Mary; and he assisted at their coronation, tinder the title of Earl of Maiiborough, to which he had 41-4.5.' shortly before been elevated by William. 1 After the Revolution was over, Churchill, who shall hereafter be called by his historic name of Marl- H; S efforts .,., . i T ry< to obtain a borough, took little part in public affairs, except to use settlement his endeavours to obtain a larger settlement on the Prin- Princess cess Anne than the necessities or parsimony of William was inclined to allow her. As the King had a civil list of no less than 600,000 a-year settled on him, it was hoped he would have made no difficulty in continuing the allowance of 30,000 a-year, which she had enjoyed under her father. William, however, showed great reluctance to do this ; and, in consequence, the friends of the Princess appealed to Parliament, and claimed 70,000 a-year. After much altercation, she succeeded in obtaining 50,000 a-year, chiefly in consequence of the efforts and influence of the Earl and Countess of Marlborough, to whom the Princess Anne, as well she might, testified the utmost gratitude on the occasion ; and, in token of it, settled on the latter a pension of 1000 a-year, which was at first refused by the Countess, but at length accepted through the representations of Lord Godolphin. 2 Though this circumstance produced a 44,48.' temporary coolness between the King and Maiiborough, 20 THE LIFE OF CHAP, his military services were too important to be dispensed *' with in the field. England having, in 1689, joined the Continental His first league against France, Maiiborough received the com- foreignMar maud of the British auxiliary force in the Nether- nam. rA " lauds, and by his courage and ability contributed in a remarkable manner to the victory of Walcourt. The post bearing that name was confided to Marlborough, with a force composed partly of British, partly of foreign troops ; and with these he not only checked the advance of the French till Prince Waldeck, with the main body of the Allies, could advance to his support, but, when they did arrive, by a vigorous attack on the flank of the enemy essentially contributed to his defeat. So sensible was Prince Waldeck of the importance of his service on this occasion, that he said publicly that " Marlborough had manifested greater talents in a i coxe, i. single battle than generals of longer experience had Hist.'de shown in many years ;" and William, in an autograph c^-lj'. 1 ' letter to his young general, ascribes mainly to his courage and capacity the success which had been gained. 1 * In 1G90 he received orders to return from Flanders, His short in order to assume a command in Ireland, then agitated iu"irciMd by a general insurrection in favour of James ; but, actuated by some remnant of attachment to his old benefactor, he eluded on various pretences complying with the order till the battle of the Boync had extin- guished the hopes of the dethroned monarch, when he * " I am very happy that my troops behaved so well in the affair of Walcourt. It is to you that this advantage is principally owing. You will please accordingly to accept my thanks, and rest assured that your conduct \vill induce me to confer on you still further marks of my e.slecni and friendship, on which you may always rclv."- WHIium to MarlborouyJi, 13th September 10!J!>. COXK. i. -18, note. MARYBOROUGH. 21 embarked with 5000 men at Portsmouth, with which CHAP. he landed near Cork, on 21st September. He at first I- had some difficulties, from the jealousy of the Continental troops and generals with whom he had to co-operate ; but his suavity of manners soon overcame these obstacles, and in a short but brilliant campaign of thirty-seven days, he reduced Cork, with a garrison of 5000 men, and Kinsale, cut off the communications of the insurgents with France, and threw them back into the province of Ulster, where they could not subsist without the utmost difficulty. On his return from this brilliant expedition 49,50,51'. he was received with great distinction by the King, Maribo- who said, " I know no man who has served so few cam- 59, 65. paigns equally fit to command." 1 In 1691 he was again sent into Flanders, in order 19 to act under the immediate orders of William, who was Hisservice then, with heroic constancy, contending with the still Flanders? superior forces of France. Here, as usual, his military sagacity and foresight displayed themselves. Among other suggestions, he strongly recommended measures for the security of Mons as the barrier of Flanders ; but his advice was overlooked, and the place was lost. It was afterwards rendered a fortress of the first order by Wellington. During this campaign, however, his merit led discerning judges to foretell his future celebrity. Among others, the Prince of Yaudmont, being asked by the King to give his opinion on the character of the English generals, said, " Kirk has fire, Lanier thought, Mack ay skill, and Colchester bravery ; but there is something inexpressible in the Earl of Marlborough. All their virtues seem to be united in his single person. I have lost my wonted skill in physiognomy if any sub- ject of your Majesty can ever attain such a height of 22 THE LIFE OF CHAP, military glory as that to which this combination of per- fections must raise him iu whom they are united." " Cousin," replied William, " you have done your part in answering my question, and I believe the Earl of Marlborough will do his to verify your prediction." He stood high at this time in the favour of the monarch, and was the object of general admiration, especially after he returned with William from Flanders, in October 1691. But these flattering prospects were of short duration ; and all England was thrown into alarm by 1 Coxe, i. J 4.0, oo, , -)?, his sudden arrest, on 5th May 1692, along with Lord C3. Hist, de J . .Maribo- Middleton and the Lords Griffin and Dunmore, and 59-68'. Sir John Fenwick, known partisans of the Stuart family, on a charge of high treason. 1 Upon this part of the history of Marlborough there Discredit- hangs a veil of mystery, which all the papers brought to trigues POOH light in more recent times have not entirely removed. '^exiled At the time, his disgrace was by many attributed to mUv. a some cutting sarcasms in which he had indulged on the predilection of William for the Continental troops, and especially the Dutch ; by others, to the efforts made by Lady Marlborough and him to obtain for the Princess Anne a larger pension than the King was disposed to allow her. But neither of these causes are sufficient to explain the fall and arrest of a man so eminent as Marlborough, and who had rendered such important services to the newly-established monarch. It would appear, from what has transpired in later times, that a much more serious cause had produced the rupture between him and William. The charge brought against him at the time, but not prosecuted as it was found to rest on false or insufficient evidence was that of having, along with Lords Salisbury, Cornbury, the Bishop of MARLBORO UGH. 23 Rochester, and Sir Basil Ferebrace, signed the scheme CHAP. of an association for the restoration of James. Sir John Fen wick, who was executed for a treasonable correspondence with James II. in 1694, long after Marlborongh's arrest, declared, in the course of his trial, that ho had been privy to the design, had received the pardon of the exiled monarch, and had engaged to procure for him the adhesion of the army. The papers published by Coxe rather corroborate the view that he was privy to it ; and it is supported by those found at Home in the possession of Cardinal York/" That Marlborough, disgusted with the partiality of William for his Dutch troops, and irritated at the open severity of his government, should have repented of his abandon- ment of his former sovereign and benefactor, is highly * " About a fortnight ago, I wrote a letter to acquaint you with what I had observed of some people, in hopes Mr Arden would have called upon me as he promised ; but I did not care to send it by post, so it was burnt. We had yesterday Sir John Fenicick at the house, and 1 think it all went as you could wish. I do not send you the particulars, knowing you must have it more exactly from others ; but I should bo wanting if I did not let you know that Lord Rochester has behaved himself, on all this occasion, like a friend. In a conversation he had with me, he expressed himself as a real servant of yours ; and I think it would not be amiss if you took notice of it to him. // you think me capable of any commands, I shall endeavour to approve myself what I am, with much truth," c. Marlborough to the Duke of Shrewsbury (a Catholic leader and Royalist) Wednesday niyht no date. Shrewsbury Papers ; and COXE, i. 85. " During the interval between the liberation of Marlborough and the death of Queen Mary, we find him, in conjunction with Godolphiu and many others, maintaining a clandestine intercourse with the exiled family. On the 2d May 1694, only a few days before he offered his services to King William, he com- municated to James, through Colonel Sackville, intelligence of an expedition then fitting out for the purpose of destroying the fleet in Brest harbour."- COXE'S Marlboroiiffh, i. 75. " Maryborough's conduct to the Stuarts," says Lord Mahon, " was a foul blot on his memory. To the last he persevered in those deplorable intrigues. In October 1713 he protested to a Jacobite agent he would rather have his hands cut off than do anything to prejudice King James." MAHON, i. 21, 22. 24 THE LIFE OF CHAP, probable. But it can scarcely be taken as an apology L for one act of treason, that he meditated the commission of another. It only shows how perilous, in public as in private life, is any deviation from the path of integrity, that it impelled such a man into so tortuous and disre- putable a path."" But Marlborough was a man whose services were 21. He is iiber- too valuable to the newly-established dynasty to be ated from . . . , . , ,, -, prison, and permitted to remain long in disgrace ; and, fortunately ere long re- .. i i i i i stored to for him, he was not so openly implicated with the conspirators as to have furnished the Government with adequate evidence to bring him to trial. f He was soon liberated from the Tower, as no sufficient evidence of his alleged accession to the conspiracy had been obtained ; but he was not restored for a considerable time to rank or honours. The reason was, that, although the charge on which he was ori- ginally apprehended had been proved to be a forgery, there was good reason to believe that he was no stranger to a clandestine correspondence with the exiled family. Several years elapsed before he emerged * " Under the apparent influence of these considerations, Marlborough listened to the overtures of the exiled monarch as early as the commencement of 1691 ; and through Colonel Sackvillc and Mr Bulkely, two of the Jacobite agents, he testified, in the most unqualified terms, his contrition for his past conduct, and anxiety to make amends for his defection. From this period both he and his friend Godolphin occasionally maintained a clandestine inter- course with the court of St Germains, and even made many communications on the state of public affairs and domestic transactions. On this intercourse we do not mean to throw the slightest doubt." COXE, i. 54. t Marlborough, and the other noblemen implicated in the charges against him, was imprisoned in consequence of an atrocious scheme formed by one 11. A. Young, then imprisoned iu Xcwgatc for non-payment of a fine. This villain, who was expert in the counterfeiting of hands, drew up an association, to which lie appended the forged signatures of the Karls of Marlborough and tScandale, the Bishop of I'ochestcr, Lord Cornbury, and Sir Basil Ferebrace. He forged al.-:o several letters from Marlborough; and, by the agency of a MARLBOROUGH. 25 from the privacy into which he prudently retired CHAP. on his liberation from confinement. Queen Mary *' having been carried off by the small-pox on the 17th of January 169(5, Maryborough wisely abstained from even taking part in the debates which followed in Parliament, during which some of the malcontents dropped hints as to the propriety of conferring the crown on his immediate patroness, the Princess Anne. This prudent reserve, together with the absence of any decided proofs at the time of Maiiborough's corre- spondence with James, seems to have at length weakened William's resentment, and by degrees he was taken back into favour. The peace of Ryswick, signed on the 20th of September 1697, having consolidated the power of that monarch, Maiiborough was, on the 19th of June 1698, made preceptor of the young Duke of Gloucester, nephew of William, sou of the Princess Anne, and heir-presumptive to the throne ; and this appointment, which at once restored his credit at court, 1 1 1 I T CoXe ' was accompanied by the gracious expression 1 " My lord, r >%, 75, D" make my nephew to resemble yourself, and he will be confederate, Stephen Blackhead, he secreted the whole in the palace of the Bishop of Rochester, at Bromby, in Kent. On the affidavit of Young, who himself gave the information, the palace was searched, and, the papers being found, the supposed delinquents were arrested. The forgery was instantly discovered on Young's being confronted with the Bishop of Rochester; and the accused were all accordingly immediately liberated, with the exception of Maiiborough, who was detained till the 15th June, when he was liberated on bail. Young was severely punished for the offence, and afterwards exe- cuted on another charge. He confessed with great contrition, when about to suffer death, that he had obtained Maiiborough's signature and seal by writ- ing to him under the name of a country gentleman, to inquire the character of a domestic who had lived in his service. Maiiborough himself acknow- ledged, when the forged papers were shown him, that the handwriting was such as would have deceived even himself, had he not been conscious he had never signed such an instrument. See COXE, i. 63, 69,70, and authorities quoted, p. "0. 26 THE LIFE OF CHAP, everything which I can desire." On the same day he was restored to his rank as a privy councillor, and took the oaths and his seat accordingly. At this period the family of Maiiborough consisted of Marriage one son, John, afterwards Marquis of Blaudford, and reu^-Vnvo four daughters. The two eldest, Henrietta and Anne, * *"*o o ' ' being now marriageable, their beauty and accomplish- ments attracted a number of admirers ; but their parents wisely put no restraint upon their inclinations, allowing nature to speak and determine for itself. It was with sincere pleasure, therefore, that they beheld a grow- ing attachment between Mr Godolphin, son of Lord Godolphin, and the Lady Henrietta. The Princess Anne, who was warmly interested in the match, offered to settle on her a marriage portion of l 0.000 ; but Lord and Lady Maiiborough would only accept of 5000 ; adding, however, themselves the like sum to the munificent gift of the Princess. The marriage, thus sup- ported, took place in 1698, when the young lady had attained her eighteenth year. Not long after, a proposal of marriage was made for Lady xVnne, the second daughter, by Lord Spencer, the only son of Lord Sun- derland a young man of bold independent character, but of harsh and unprepossessing manners. Maiiborough at first was averse to the match ; but, by the influence of his Countess, his objections were at length removed, and the marriage was solemnised at St Alban's in January 1699, the Princess Anne bestowing the same munificent sum on the bride which she had done on her elder sister, and Maiiborough, in like manner, equalising their portions. 1 On Marlborough's restoration to favour, he conducted himself with prudence and judgment, which gradually removed the apprehensions of William, and at length MARLBOROUGH. 27 put an end to the estrangement which had subsisted CHAP. between them since his arrest. He was one of the few to whom the monarch, in the anguish of his heart, when -''> 1 Marllm- liis Dutch guards were removed by a vote of the House rough's COH . _ _ duct when of Commons, imparted his thoughts of resigning a throne restored to which had exposed him to such repeated mortifications, and where his patriotic designs were so often thwarted by party violence. He took an active part in the warm discussions which took place on the liquidation of the debt to the Prince of Denmark a service which was gratefully acknowledged by both that Prince and the Princess. Though occasional fits of distrust on the part of the King succeeded, he continued steadily to advance in his confidence, and was consulted by him in all the most important measures and changes which took place ; and this mutual trust increased, when the death of Charles II., king of Spain, which took place on 1st November 1700, without heirs, left no doubt that the great ques- tion of the Spanish succession could be determined only by the sword and the bequest of that imbecile monarch i Coxo, i. 99- 1 0(i in favour of the Duke of Anjou, second son of the Dau- Hardwkke phin of France, made it apparent that the whole gigantic soTlbai- power of Louis XIV. would be thrown into the scale, to io. pe| secure the immense acquisition to the house of Bourbon. 1 So fully had Marlborough during this period regained " . . O J. - .^ the confidence of William that he was three times Amfap- named one of the nine lords-justiciars to whom the t'hTJpreme administration of affairs in Great Britain was subse- theNe*Lr^ quently intrusted, during the temporary absence of Wil- liam in Holland ; and the War of the Succession having become certain in the year 1700, that monarch, who was preparing to take an active part in it, appointed Marl- borough, on 1st June 1701, his ambassador-extraordinary 28 THE LIFE OF CHAP, at the Hague, and Commander-in-chief of the Allied *' forces in Flanders. This double appointment in effect invested Marlborough with the entire direction of affairs, civil and military, so far as England was concerned, on the Continent. William, who was highly indignant at the recognition of the Chevalier St George as King of England, on the death of his father, James II., in Sep- tember 1701, was preparing to prosecute the war with the vigour and perseverance which so eminently distin- guished his character, when he was carried off by the effects of a fall from his horse, on the 19th March 1702. So entirely had the ability and address of Marlborough removed William's coldness before his death that his dying advice to the Princess Anne, his successor, was to intrust him with the entire direction of affairs, both civil and military. This advice was immediately acted upon. The Princess Anne, with whom, both individually and through Lady Marlborough, lie was so intimately con- nected, mounted the throne without opposition ; and by one of her first acts the Queen bestowed on Marlborough. the Order of the Garter, confirmed him in his former offices, and appointed him, in addition, her plenipoten- tiary at the Hague. War was declared on the 15th May 1702, and Marlborough immediately went over to the Netherlands to take the command of the Allied i Ledyani, i. army, sixty thousand strong, then lying before Nimeguen, Ifiw^uo? which was threatened by a superior force on the part of the French. 1 It was not without the utmost difficulty, however, and ''.") . * Great' dim- no small exertions of his wonted ability and address, Mar'n.o- that Marlborough succeeded in arranging the terms and Sfm C " conditions of this alliance, which afterwards wrought constructing -, , r,i i i r I 1 rn the alliance. SUCll WOlldCTS for tllC dellVerailCC 01 blll'OpC. 1 110 MARLBOROUGH. '20 jealousies and animosities which so often appear in the CHAP. outset of such alliances raided with even in'oatcr than O o usual violence, and had wellnigh prevented the formation of the confederacy. A subsidiary treaty had been signed with Denmark before William's death ; but Marl- borough's views extended to the including the whole Empire, Sweden, and even Russia, in the common cause. After great difficulties, a convention was concluded with Charles XII. of Sweden, by which, in consideration of 200,000 crowns paid down, and 300,000 more agreed to be paid, Sweden was detached from the French alliance, into which she had been wellnigh drawn by the diplomacy and gold of Louis XIV., and preserved at least a harmless neutrality. A much more serious difficulty was experienced in arranging the number of troops which each of the confederates should furnish, to set on foot a respectable force. Marlborough, well knowing the paramount importance of this object, was indefatigable in his efforts to stimulate the spirit, and stifle the selfishness of the several Allied powers, whose ministers were assembled at the Hague ; and such was the ability with which his exertions were conducted that all difficulties were at length surmounted, and the denoin- Maribo- 6 bremcnt, or amount of troops to be provided by each 116-120, power, finally settled being 90,000 for the Emperor, 120-128. 10,000 for Holland, and 40,000 for England. 1 It is at this period, June 1702, that the great and memorable, and withal blameless period of Marlborough's At which life commenced. The next ten years were one unbroken ^Tenheim 6 series of efforts, victories, and glory. He arrived in the mmJed. camp at Nimcguen on the evening of the 2d July, hav- ing been a few weeks before at the Hague, and imme- diately assumed the command. Lord Athlone, who had 30 THE LIFE OF CHAP, previously enjoyed that situation, at first laid claim to I- an equal authority with him ; but this ruinous division, which never is safe save with men so great as he and Eugene, and would unquestionably have proved ruinous to the common cause had Athlone been his partner in command, was prevented by the States-General, who insisted upon the undivided direction being conferred on Marlborough. Most fortunately, it is precisely at this period that the Despatches, recently published by Sir George Murray from the Blenheim Papers, commence, which present an unbroken series of his letters to per- sons of every description down to his dismissal from office in May 1712. They thus embrace the early suc- cesses in Flanders ; the cross-march into Bavaria, and battle of Blenheim ; the expulsion of the French from Germany ; the battle of Ramillies, and taking of Brussels and Antwerp ; the mission to the King of Sweden at Dresden ; the battle of Almauza in Spain ; those of Oude- narde, Malplaquet, and all the sieges in Flanders ; and all the important events of the war down to its close. More weighty and momentous events never fell to the lot of the historian or the biographer to record ; and their importance will not be properly appreciated if the previous condition of Europe, and the imminent hazard to the independence of all the adjoining states, from the unmeasured ambition and vast power of Louis XIV., arc not taken into consideration. Accustomed as we are to regard the Bourbons as a Great' fallen and unfortunate race, the objects rather of com- liourbon.s ' e miseration than apprehension, and Napoleon as the only riod"an P d sovereign who has really threatened our independence, a'laTm'which and all but effected the subjugation of the Continent, we can scarcely conceive the terror with which, a century MARLBOROUGII. 31 and a half ago, the monarch of that race, with reason, CHAP. inspired all Europe, or the narrow escape which the Con- tinental states, at least, then made from being reduced to the condition of provinces of France. The forces of that monarchy, at all times formidable to its neighbours from the warlike spirit of its inhabitants, and their rapacious disposition, conspicuous alike in the earliest and the latest times""' its central situation forming, as it were, the salient angle of a bastion projecting into the centre of Germany and its numerous population, were then in a peculiar manner to be dreaded, from the concentration of the elements of power thus afforded in the hands of an able and ambitious monarch, who had succeeded, for the first time for two hundred years, in healing the divisions and stilling the feuds of its nobles, and turning their buoyant energy into the channel of foreign conquest. He had attracted all that was noble and all that was able in France to Paris, and directed its accumulated energies there to the purposes of his ambition. The force thus assembled, and at the disposal of the French monarch, was more than equalled by the ability with which it was directed. Immense was the power which, in consequence of this able policy, was found to exist in France, and terrible the clanger to which it at once exposed the neighbouring states. France was rendered the more formidable, in the time of Louis XIV., from the remarkable talents which he Vast ability himself possessed, and the unbounded ambition by which thegovem- he was actuated, the extraordinary concentration of France was talent which his discernment or good fortune had col- ( lected around his throne, and the consummate abilities, * " Galli turpe esso ducunt fruinentum inarm qurcrerc : itaquo armati alieuos agros demetunt." C.ESAR. 82 THE LIFE OF CHAP, civil and military, with which affairs were directed. T ' Turenne, BoufHcrs, and Conde were his generals ; Vau- ban was his engineer; Louvois and Torcy w r ere his states- men. The lustre of the exploits of these illustrious men, in itself great, was much enhanced by the still greater blaze of fame which encircled his throne, from the genius of the literary men who have given such immor- tal celebrity to his reign. Corneille and Racine were his tragedians ; Moliere wrote his comedies ; Bossuet, Fenelon, and Bourdaloue were his theologians ; Massillon his preacher ; Boileau his critic ; Le Notre laid out his gardens ; Le Brim painted his halls. Greatness had come upon France, as, in truth, it does to most other states, in all departments at the same time ; and the adjoining nations, alike intimidated by a power which they could not resist, and dazzled by a glory which they could not emulate, had come almost to despair of main- taining their independence, and were sinking into that state of apathy which is at once the consequence and the cause of extraordinary reverses. The influence of these causes had distinctly appeared Extra-irdu in the almost unbroken good fortune which had attended which had the enterprises of Louis, and the numerous conquests tcnded a he had made since he had launched into the career of his enter- foreign aggraiidiscmen t. Nothing had been able to resist his victorious arms. At the head of an army of 100,000 men, directed by Turenne, he had, in 1772, speedily overrun Flanders. Its fortified cities yielded to the science of Vauban, or the terrors of his name. The boasted barrier of the Netherlands was passed in a few weeks hardly any of its far-famed fortresses made any resistance. The passage of the Rhine was achieved under the eves of the monarch with MARLBOKOUGII. 33 little loss, and with melodramatic effect. One half of CHAP. Holland was soon subdued, and the presence >f the *' French army at the gates of Amsterdam seemed to pre- sage immediate destruction to the United Provinces : and, but for the firmness of their leaders, and a fortunate combination of circumstances, unquestionably would have done so. The alliance with England in the early part of his reign, and the junction of the fleets of Britain and France to ruin their fleets and blockade their harbours, seemed to deprive these States of their last resource, derived from their energetic industry. Nor were sub- stantial fruits awanting from these conquests. Alsace and Franche Cointe were overrun, and, with Lorraine, permanently annexed to the French monarchy ; and although, by the treaties of Aix-la-Chapellc and Nime- guen, part of the acquisitions of Louis in Flanders were abandoned, enough was retained by the devouring monarchy to deprive the Dutch of the barrier they had so ardently desired, and render their situation to the last degree precarious in the neighbourhood of so for- midable a power. It was the ambition and detestable cruelty of the 30 Church of Rome which first produced, and probably Hopes and alone could have produced, a reaction against these theCatho- dangers. Intoxicated with the success which had in throughout many quarters attended its efforts, and in an especial tHstfme. manner in France, for the extirpation of heresy, its matefaiiure. leaders thought nothing could resist their power. The long triumphs and well-known orthodoxy of Louis XIV. gave them the greatest hopes that he would employ his vast power and great capacity in effecting that unity in the Church which he had so long laboured to produce in the temporal administration of his monarchy ; while YOL. i. c 34 THE LIFE OF CHAP, the secret inclinations of James II., revealed to bis spi- ritual guides, made the leaders of the Romish Church aware that he was resolutely bent on re-establishing their faith in his dominions, or at least in restoring it to such a degree of power and consideration as, with so aspiring a body, would have amounted, in effect, to the same thing. His character bold, sincere, and enter- prising, but withal rash, bigoted, and inconsiderate- appeared to promise the fairest chance of success to such a design. The moment seemed beyond all hope favour- able for a general aggression on the Protestant faith ; for in France there was an able and powerful monarch, who considered, and perhaps with reason, unity in religion as indispensable to his great object of centralisation in temporal power ; and in England a devout and daring Catholic was on the throne, whose efforts, supported by a considerable party in Great Britain, and a very large one in Ireland, promised ere long to render the British empire, hitherto the stronghold of the Reformed, the chief outwork of the ancient faith. The two rival powers, whose jealousy and conflicting pretensions had so long desolated Europe, and whose opposite creeds had recently still more "svidely severed them from each other, were now united in close alliance, under governments alike anxious for the restoration of unity in matters of religion. And yet, so short-sighted arc often the conclusions of human sagacity, even when founded on the most appa- rently reasonable grounds, or so entirely arc they over- ruled by a superior Power, that to the consequences of this very aggression may be traced, by a clear chain of causes and effects, the curbing of the power of Louis XIV., and the establishment of the Reformed faith on a solid foundation in the north of Europe. MARLBOROUGH. 35 The onset of the Church of Rome against that of CIIAI-. Luther commenced in both countries about the same time. In 1685 the Edict of Nantes was revoked by Louis . 31 - -\r-r-ir 11 ! Simultane- XIV., and those sanguinary military executions began o us attacks which liavc reflected such disgrace on his reign. Such was te tants in 1 ' * 1 the spirit of bigotry and ecclesiastical ambition which at K -land i . . i iin i I f~i t i' '' evocttbly this period actuated the r rench Roman Catholic prelates, separate the i -i . . . i . . two coun- that not only was this inhuman persecution, the most wide- tries. spread and terrible which Europe had yet seen, directly instigated by their advice, but it was publicly lauded as an act of unprecedented wisdom by the brightest orna- ment of their Church."- In 1G87 the persecution of the Protestants, and measures evidently designed for the rc- cstablishment of the Romish faith, commenced in Great Britain. The result was different in the two countries. In France, 400,000 weeping citizens were sent into exile, * " Let us not delay," says Bossuct in his funeral oration on ^L le Tcllicr, the Chancellor of France and principal author of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes " let us not delay to publish this miracle of our days : let us transmit its wonders to future ages. Take up your sacred pens, ye annalists of the Church, ready instruments of a prompt writer and a diligent hand : hasten to place Louis on a level with the Constautincs and Theodosiuscs of antiquity. Our fathers had not seen, as we have done, an inveterate heresy fall all at once ; the misled flocks returning in crowds, and our churches too narrow to receive them ; their false pastors abandoning them without even awaiting the order to do so, and happy to have to allege their sentence of banishment as an excuse. Everything calm in so great a movement ; the universe astonished to see, in an event so new, the mark the most assured, as the noblest exercise, of authority, (comme leplus bel u?ar/e cle I'autoritc,) and the merit of the Prince more generally recognised than his authority itself. Touched with such marvels, let our hearts overflow at the piety of Louis ; let us raise our acclamations to Heaven, and say to that new Constantino, that new Marcian, that new Charlemagne, that which six hundred and thirty prelates said formerly in the council of Chalcedone 'You have secured the faith, you have extermi- nated the heretics;' it is the worthy work of your reign: it is its peculiar characteristic. Through you it is that heresy is no more. God alone could have performed such a miracle. King of the Heavens, preserve the King of the Earth : such is the prayer of the Church, such is the prayer of the bishops." BOSSUET, Oraison Funcbre de M. le Tdlitr. 36 THE LIFE OF CHAP, who carried into foreign states their industry, their arts, their hatred of Roman Catholic oppression ; while 100.000 came to an untimely end in prisons, in hos- pitals, or in exile, of whom a tenth are said to have perished amidst the frightful torments of the stake or the wheel."' In England, the reigning dynasty was expelled from the throne, and carried to foreign courts the inextinguishable desire to regain its inheritance. Europe was permanently divided by these great events. The wrongs committed, the injuries suffered on both J sides, were too great to be forgiven. On the one was a throne overturned, a race of sovereigns in exile ; on the other were half a million of persecuted human beings wandering in foreign lands. Temporal wrongs of the deepest dye had come to be superadded to religious divisions. Alliances on both parts followed, and revealed the vehement passions which were felt. The League of Augsburg, first signed on 9th July 1G86, united Austria, Spain, Holland, Saxony, Swabia to which, after the Revolution of 1688, was added England against * The most respectable of the Roman Catholic historians of the period, M. Capefigue, states the number of persons who were driven into exile by the revocation of the Edict of Xantes, from information derived from the royal archives, at 2311,000 the very number who were, a century after, expatriated by the decrees of the Convention. The property confiscated to the Crown produced of yearly rent 17,000,000 francs (680,000) a-ycar. See CAPE- FIGUE, If iff tire dc Loaix XI \'., ii. 25!!. The Protestant historians state the number of exiles at -100.000. Sec SISMONDI, llisto'ire. dts Fmurnlf, xxv. ol4-,V22 ; ]]OUL.U.\VI;.I.II:KS, Etut dc la France, ii. 257. The King's circular to the commanders of provinces bore, " Sa Majeste vcut qu' on fasse sentir les flerniSrcs ri j riie know- communicated to Charles II., king of Spain, through iedgcofthi s treaty of his secretary -of- state. The intelligence threw the partition determines declining monarch, as well it might, into the utmost the King of Spain to the consternation. He addressed in vain the most pressing inquest in favour of remonstrances to the cabinets of Versailles, London, the Hour- hons. and the Hague, pointing out, in just and emphatic terms, the glaring injustice of friendly and allied powers con- cluding a treaty for the partition of the dominions of a sovereign before he had yet sunk into the grave. It was all in vain. The ambition of France, England, and Holland was proof against every consideration of honour, or faith, or justice. The French ambassador at Madrid got orders to quit that capital ; the Spanish ambassador at London received his passports ; a large French army M r as collecting on the Guipuscoa frontier of the Pyrenees. War seemed inevitable ; the fate which subsequently befell Poland appeared to threaten Spain the moment its present sovereign should be no more. In this extremity, Charles II. convened his Council of State, and submitted the matter to their decision. By a large majority, they determined that a bequest in favour of the Duke of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV., was the most advisable step, as he was the only monarch capable of preventing a partition ; and the old King, sacrificing the partiality of family and race to aroused indignation and sentiments of nation- ality, consented to do so, and signed the bequest which mst.des' involved Europe in conflagration. 1 And thus by the cupidity and ambition of the Allied powers in forming io. treaties for the partition of Spain, even before the 42 THE LIFE OF CHAP, reigning monarch was yet in his grave, joined to the address of the French diplomatists, was the great Euro- pean contest terminated in favour of France, and by a single deed the magnificent succession of the Spanish monarchy was made over to the house of Bourbon. But though the origin of the evil was to be found in Extent' of the unjustifiable ambition of France, England, and Hol- w'hicii" ' land, it was not the less real, or deserving of immediate ti! e e cont7- consideration by the Allied powers. Threatened with so powers from serious a danger, it is not surprising that the powers of sionTothe Europe were in the utmost alarm, and ere long took steps France? to endeavour to avert it. All had injuries to avenge, or in- heritances to regain. Austria armed to regain the Spanish succession, reft from its family by the ambition and diplo- matic ability of the cabinet of Versailles. England had a double motive for hostility : she had danger to avert, and the mortification of being duped to avenge. Holland saw the enemy at her gates : the white flag floated on the bas- tions of Antwerp. Such, however, was the terror inspired by the name of Louis XIV., and the magnitude of the addition made by this bequest to his power, that the new monarch, in the first instance, ascended the throne of Spain and the Indies without any opposition. The Spanish Netherlands, so important both from their intrinsic riches, their situation as the certain theatre of war, and the nume- rous fortified towns with which they were studded, had been early secured for the young Bourbon prince by the Elector of Bavaria, who was at that time the governor of those valuable possessions. The distant colonies of the crown of Castile, in the East and West Indies, sent in their adhesion. Sardinia, Naples, Sicily, the Milanese, and the other Spanish possessions in Italy, speedily followed the example. The young L'rincc of Anjou made his MARLBOROUGH. 43 formal entry into Spain in the beginning of 1701, and CHAP. was crowned at Madrid, under the title of Philip V. The principal Continental powers, with the exception of the Emperor of Germany, acknowledged his title to the throne. Bavaria united itself in a cordial alliance with France and Spain. The Dutch were in despair they beheld the power of Louis XIV. brought to their frontier. Flanders, instead of being the barrier of Europe against France, had become the outwork of France against Europe. Bavaria was an important advanced post, which gave the armies of Louis an entrance into the heart of Germany. Italy, France, Spain, Flanders, and part of Germany, were united in one close league, and in fact formed but one dominion. It was the empire of Charlemagne over again, directed with equal ability, founded on greater power, and backed by the boundless treasures of the Indies. Spain had threatened the liberties of Europe in the end of the sixteenth century; France had all but overthrown them in the close of the seventeenth. What hope was there of being able to make head against them both, united under such a monarch as Louis XIV. ? In addition to these grounds of apprehension from public causes, and the obvious danger to the liberties of Europe Death of arising from the junction of France and Spain under a nac- '' one influence, there were other circumstances of a more menloTt private, but not less pressing nature. James II., the byLouis 1 exiled King of England, died on the 16th September x 1701, and his son was immediately acknowledged as King of Great Britain and Ireland by Louis XIV. This decisive act had a most marked effect both upon the deliberations of the cabinet of St James's and the feel- ings of the British people. It was a distinct and public 44 THE LIFE OF CHAP, declaration of war, not only against the reigning monarch, but against the established religion of Great Britain. The exiled Prince was an avowed Roman Catholic; and the monarch who had acknowledged him was not only of the same persuasion, but the greatest persecutor of the Protestants that had ever appeared in Europe. The support of the reigning dynasty thus became a matter of absolute necessity to the great majority in the British islands, who were attached to the Reformed faith. War with France, now united with Spain, seemed the only mode of averting, not only the destruction of the national liberties, but the ruin of the national faith. The result of this danger was a return of William to his old supporters the Whigs ; and he acted with consummate address in taking advantage of the change in his and their favour. Parliament soon evinced the temper of the nation. The speech from the Throne, in terms of simple and manly eloquence, described the affront offered to the nation by this attempt, on the part of a foreign power, to impose on it a sovereign and a religion contrary to its expressed determination. The Peers answered by a loyal address, signed by seventy at that time a great majority of all shades of party and opinion in that dignified assembly. In the Commons, the moderate Tories vied with the Wliigs in professions of zeal and patriotism. The treaties with foreign powers, which William had concluded, were received with the most unqualified l (',, xo j i-25-b'y.' approbation, and supplies then deemed liberal were voted for the prosecution of the war. 1 dreat as the dangers of the period were, they had no D.Ltiiof effect in daunting the heroic spirit of William 1 .11. In in'. " concert with the Emperor and the United Provinces, who were too nearlv threatened to be backward in MARLBOROUGII. 45 falling into his views, lie laboured for the formation of a CHAP. great confederacy, which might prevent the union of the *' crowns of France and Castile in one family, and prevent, before it was too late, the consolidation of a power which threatened to be so formidable to the liberties of Europe; and he had nearly succeeded in the attempt, chiefly by the great abilities and admirable address of Marlborough at the Hague. But the hand of Fate was on the cur- tain : new actors were about to appear on the stage of human affairs. The health of William had been long declining, and the vigour of his mind struggled with difficulty against the increasing weakness of his frame. His death was accelerated by an accidental fall from his horse, occasioned by its starting at a mole, while hunting in the park at Hampton Court. During his mortal illness, the clearness of his intellect remained unabated; and his last act, a few hours before his death, was signing his name to the bill of abjuration of the Pretender and his heirs. Such had been the zeal which Marlborough had manifested in concluding the treaties of alliance, and the address with which he had overcome the jealousies of the coalesced sovereigns, that William's coldness towards him had been completely dissipated ; and the latest advice which he gave to his successor was a strong recommenda- tion of him as the most proper person either to direct her councils or to lead her armies, and the only one whose ,..,.,. l Coxe, i. capacity was equal to the crisis which was evidently 139, ] 40. approaching. 1 ANXE, who succeeded without opposition to the throne, in terms of the act settling the succession, had suffered Accession great distress, arising from a contention of feelings before and h"'r' that event took place. Indecision, that prolific source of Aiaribo- disquietude to a feeble mind, had preyed upon her K 46 THE LIFE OF CHAP, thoughts, and come seriously to affect her health. It is not surprising it was so : the crisis was such as might March 8, hare sta^ered a stronger mind and a more masculine lju-J. spirit. On the one hand, respect for her father, affec- tion to her brother, prompted her to make way for the exiled line : on the other, duty to her religion, patriotism towards her country, prompted her to accept the proffered crown. She had privately communicated to her father the intelligence of her son's death, when it occurred some years before, and solicited his sanction of her acceptance of the crown, offering at the same time, when an oppor- tunity opened, to make restitution. James positively refused to do so, or accede to any such compromise ; and this augmented the anxiety and irresolution of Anne. Indeed, it was chiefly to overcome these difficulties, and prevent the great work of the Revolution from being defeated by her refusal of the crown on his death, that William had some time before procured the Act of Settle- ment to be passed by both Houses of Parliament, which, after Anne, entailed the crown on the house of Hanover. When the succession actually opened, however, her mind had been made up ; and the influence of Marlborough speedily appeared in the first measure of her Govern- ment. Three days after her accession, he was made a Knight of the Garter, and appointed Captain-General of i M'l'hor- the English forces at home and abroad, and soon after Clarke's ' Master-General of the Ordnance. The Countess of jlmcs ii., Marlborough was at the same time made Mistress of the Robes and Ranger of Windsor Forest, and her two daughters, Lady Harriet Godolphin and Lady Spencer, Ladies of the Bedchamber. 1 The death of William, which, had it taken place earlier, might have prevented the formation of the MARLBOROUGII. 47 confederacy, proved no impediment, but rather tlic CHAP. reverse. His measures had been so well taken, his resolute spirit had laboured with such effect, that the -i<>. Compara- alliancc, offensive and defensive, between the Emperor, tiv e strength England, and Holland, had been already signed. The ontheoppo- acccssion of the Princess Anne, without weakening its bonds, added another power, of no mean importance, to its ranks. Her husband, Prince George of Denmark, brought the forces of that kingdom to aid the common cause. Prussia soon after followed the example. On the other hand, Bavaria, closely connected with the French and Spanish monarchies, both by the influence of its jealousy of Austria, and by the government of the Netherlands, which its Elector held, adhered to France. Thus the forces of Europe were mutually arrayed and divided, much as they afterwards were in the coalition against Napoleon in 1813. It might already be foreseen that Flanders, the Bavarian plains, Spain, and Lombardy, would, as in the great contest which followed a century after, be the theatre of war. But the forces of France and Spain possessed this advantage, unknown in former wars, but immense in a military point of view, that they were in possession of the whole of the Netherlands, the numerous fortresses of which were alike valuable as a basis of offensive operations, and as affording asylums all but impregnable in cases of disaster. The Allied generals, whether they commenced their operations in Flanders or on the side of Germany, had to begin on the Rhine, and cut their way through the long barrier of fortresses with which the genius of Vauban had encircled the frontiers of the monarchy. 48 THE LIFE OF CHAPTER IT. CHARACTERS OF LOUIS XIV., WILLIAM III., AXD JAMES II. COM- MENCEMENT OF THE WAIi. CAMPAIGN OF 170'J. CHAP. Louis XIV., whose unmeasured ambition and diplo- "' matic address had procured the splendid bequest of the 1/021 Spanish succession for his family, was one of the most strange di- remarkable sovereigns M*ho ever sat upon the throne versity in . the charac- of France. Yet there is none of whose character, even ters drawn . .,.. i rr> -i byh^tori- at this comparatively remote period, it is more difficult ans of Louis . 1-1 xiv. to form a just estimate. JJeyond measure eulogised by the poets, orators, and annalists of his own age, who lived on his bounty, or were flattered by his address, he has been proportionally vilified by the his- torians, both foreign and national, of subsequent times. The Roman Catholic writers, with some truth, represent him as the champion of their faith, the sovereign who extirpated the demon of heresy in his dominions, and restored to the Church in undivided unity the realm of France. The Protestant authors, witli not less rea- son, regard him as the deadliest enemy of their religion, and the crudest foe of those who had embraced it ; as a faithless tyrant, who scrupled not, at the bidding of bigoted priests, to violate the national faitli plighted by the Edict of Xantcs, and to persecute, with unrelenting severitv, the unhappy people who, from conscientious MARLBOKOUCII. 49 motives, had broken off from the Church of Rome. One CHAP. set of writers paint him as a magnanimous monarch, '__ whose mind, set on great things, and swayed by lofty 17 ' J - desires, foreshadowed those vast designs which Napoleon, armed with the forces of the Revolution, afterwards for a brief space realised. Another set dwell on the foibles or the vices of his private character depict him as alternately swayed by priests, or influenced by women; selfish in his desires, relentless in his hatred; and sacri- ficing the peace of Europe, and endangering the inde- pendence of France, for the gratification of personal vanity, or from the thirst of unbounded ambition. It is the fate of all men who have made a great and r> durable impression on human affairs, and powerfully winch affected the interests, or thwarted the opinion of large tg& bodies of men, to be represented in these opposite deeds! colours to future times. The party, whether in Church or State, which they have elevated, the nation whose power or glory they have augmented, praise, as much as those whom they have oppressed and injured, whether at home or abroad, strive to vilify, their memory. But in the case of Louis XIV., this general propensity has been greatly increased by the opposite, and, at first sight, inconsistent features of his character. There is almost equal truth in the magniloquent eulogies of his admirers, and in the impassioned invectives of his enemies. He was not less great and magnanimous than he is represented by the elegant flattery of Racine or Boileau, nor less cruel and hard-hearted than he is painted by the austere justice of Sismoncli or d'Aubigne. Like some other men, but more so than most, he was made up of lofty and elevated, of selfish and frivolous qualities. lie could alternately boast, with truth, that 50 THE LIFE OF CHAP, there was no longer any Pyrenees, and rival his youngest IL courtiers in frivolous and often heartless gallantry. In 17 -- his younger years he was equally assiduous iu his appli- emar'ka- cation to business, and carried away by personal vanity. eVand^'' When he ascended the throne, his first words were nTrlTdlc- " I intend that every paper, from a diplomatic despatch arac'Lr'. 13 to a private petition, shall be submitted to me;" and his vast powers of application enabled him to compass the task. Like Louis Philippe, he was his own prime minister; and even when he acted through others, he never failed to communicate the impress of his own lofty mind and great capacity to the conduct of all his subordinate authorities. From, the magnificent publica- tion lately given to the world by the French Govern- ment, and his correspondence with his generals there preserved, it is evident that lie rivalled Napoleon himself iu the vigilant superintendence which he kept up over all his officers, and the skill with which he directed, from his cabinet at Versailles, the movements of his armies at once in Flanders and Germany, Italy and Spain.""" Discerning in the choice of his ministers swayed only, at least in matters of state, by powerful intellects- patriotic and unselfish in the choice of his ministers he collected round himself the first talent in France, and yet preserved his ascendency over them all. Yet, at the same time, he deserted his Queen for Madame la Valliere, and soon after broke La Valliere's heart by abandoning her for Madame de Montcspan, and in the end forgot both in the arms of Madame dc Maintcnon. MARLBOEOUGH. 51 Iii mature life, his ambition to extend the bounds and CHAP. enhance the glory of France was equalled by his desire "' to win the admiration or gain the favour of the fair sex. 17 2 - In his later days, he alternately engaged in devout austerities with Madame dc Maintenon, and, with mourn- ful resolution, asserted the independence of France against Europe in arms. Never was evinced a more striking exemplification of the saying, so well known among men of the world, that no one is a hero to his valet-de-chambrc ; nor a more remarkable confirmation of the truth, so often proclaimed by divines, that charac- ters of imperfect goodness constitute the great majority of mankind. That he was a great man, as well as a successful sove- reign, is decisively demonstrated by the mighty changes Vast which he effected in his own realm, as well as in the which L neighbouring states of Europe. When he ascended the France dur- throne, France, though it contained the elements of reign. greatness, had not yet become great. It had been alternately wasted by the ravages of the English, and torn by the fury of the religious wars. The insurrection of the Fronde had shortly before involved the capital in all the horrors of civil conflict; barricades had been erected in the streets ; alternate victory and defeat had by turns elevated and depressed the rival factions. Turenne and Coude had displayed their consummate talents in miniature warfare within sis;ht of Xotre- o Dame. Never had the monarchy been depressed to a greater pitch of weakness than during the reign of Louis XIII. and the minority of Louis XIV. But from the time the latter sovereign ascended the throne, order seemed to arise out of chaos. The ascendency of a great mind as in India, when Marquis Wellesley 52 THE LIFE OF CHAP, assumed the government soon made itself felt in every . department. Civil war ceased ; rival factions disappeared ; i/o-j. cycn ti lc bitterness of religious hatred seemed for a time to be stilled by the influence of patriotic feeling. The energies of France, drawn forth during the agonies of civil conflict, were turned to public objects and the career of national aggrandisement as those of England had been after the conclusion of the Great Rebellion, by the firm hand and magnanimous mind of Cromwell. From a pitiable state of anarchy, that glorious realm at once appeared on the theatre of Europe, great, power- ful, and united. It is no common capacity which can thus seize the helm and right the ship when it is reeling most violently, and the fury of contending elements has all but torn it in pieces. It is the highest proof of political capacity to discern the bent of the public mind, when most strongly excited, and, by falling in with the prevailing desire of the majority, to convert the desolat- ing vehemence of social conflict into the steady passion for national advancement. Napoleon did this with the political aspirations of the eighteenth, Louis XIV. with the religious fervour of the seventeenth century. It was because his character and turn of mind coin- .x winch' cided with the national desires, at the moment of his iiis tun 'of ascending the throne, that this great monarch was cidin/with enabled to achieve this marvellous transformation. If the age! Napoleon was the incarnation of the Revolution, with not less truth it may be said that Louis XIV. was the incarnation of the monarchy. The feudal spirit, modi- fied but not destroyed by the changes of time, appeared to be concentrated, with its highest lustre, in his person. lie was still the head of the Franks- -the lustre of the historic families yet surrounded his throne : but he was MARYBOROUGH. 53 tlic head of the Franks only that is, of a hundred and CHAP. fifty thousand conquering warriors. Twenty millions of conquered Gauls were no further considered in his 170 -- administration, than in so far as they augmented the national strength, or added to the national resources. JUit this distinction was then neither perceived nor regarded. Worn out with civil dissension, torn to pieces by religious passions, the fervent minds and restless ambition of the French longed for a national field for exertion an arena in which social dissensions might be forgotten. Louis XIV. gave them this field he opened this arena. He ascended the throne at the time when this desire 6. had become so strong and general as in a manner to nis virtues TT . , and vices concentrate on its objects the national will. His char- were alike ...... , 1 . those of his acter, equally in all its parts, was adapted to the general people. want. He took the lead alike in the greatness and the foibles of his subjects. Were they ambitious I so was he : were they desirous of renown 1 so was he : were they set on national aggrandisement '? so was he : were they desirous of protection to industry 1 so was he : were they prone to gallantry \ so was he. His figure stately, and countenance majestic ; his manner lofty and commanding ; his conversation dignified, but enlightened; his spirit ardent, but patriotic he was thus qualified to take the lead and preserve his ascendency among a proud body of ancient nobles, whom the disasters of preceding reigns, and the astute policy of Cardinal Richelieu, had driven into the antechambers of Paris, but who preserved in their ideas and habits the pride and recollections of the conquerors who followed the banners of Clovis. And the great body of the people proud of their sovereign, proud of his victories, proud 54; THE LIFE OF CHAP, of his magnificence, proud of his fame, proud of his national spirit, proud of the literary glory which envi- roned his throne, in secret proud of his gallantries joy- fully followed their nobles in the brilliant career which his ambition opened, and submitted to his government with as much docility as they had once ranged themselves round the banners of their respective chiefs on the day of battle. It was the peculiarity of the government of Louis His govern- XIV., arising from this fortuitous but to him fortunate Ssentkify combination of circumstances, that it united the distinc- monarJhT- tions of rank, family attachments, and ancient ideas of feudal times, with the vigour and efficiency of monar- chical government, and the lustre and brilliancy of lite- rarv dory. Such a combination could not, in the nature %/ t.~ */ of things, last long; it must soon work out its own destruction. In truth, it was sensibly weakened during the course of the latter part of the half century that he sat upon the throne. But, while it endured, it produced a most formidable union : it engendered an extraordinary and hitherto unprecedented phalanx of talent ; it brought the power of mind, and the feelings of honour, to act together on the national fortunes. The feudal ideas still lingering in the hearts of the nation produced subordination; the national spirit, excited by the genius of the sovereign, induced unanimity ; the development of talent, elicited by his discernment, conferred power; the literary celebrity, encouraged by his munificence, diffused fame. The peculiar character of Louis, in M'hich great talent was united with great pride, and unbounded ambition with heroic magnanimity, qualified him to turn to the best account this singular combina- tion of circumstances, and to unite in France, for a MARLBORO UGH. 55 brief period, the lofty aspirations and dignified manners CHAP. of chivalry, with the energy of rising talent and the lustre of literary renown. 170 -- Louis XIV. was essentially monarchical. That was the secret of his success ; it was because he first gave the Unity 'and r . . -i i 11 centralisa- powcrs ot unity to the monarchy that he rendered r ranee tion were so brilliant and powerful. All his changes, and they objects! were many, from the dress of soldiers to the instructions to ambassadors, were characterised by the same spirit. He first introduced a uniform in the army. Before his time, the soldiers merely wore a banderole over their steel breastplates and ordinary dresses. That was a great and symptomatic improvement ; it at once induced an esprit de corps and a sense of responsibility. He first made the troops march with a measured step, and caused large bodies of men to move with the precision of a single company. The artillery and engineer service, under his auspices, made astonishing progress. Never was a man who more thoroughly possessed that quality, invaluable in a sovereign, which discerns, and at once selects, ability in the public service. Here no prejudice misled, no jealousy arrested, no partiality blinded him. His dis- criminating eye selected the genius of Vaubau, which invented, as it were, the modern system of fortification, and wclluigh brought it to its greatest elevation and raised to the highest command that of Turenne, which carried the military art to the most consummate perfec- tion. Skilfully turning the martial and enterprising genius of the Franks into the career of conquest, he multiplied tenfold their power, by conferring on them the inestimable advantages of skilled discipline and unity of action. He gathered the feudal array around his banner ; he roused the ancient barons from their 56 THE LIFE OF CHAP, chateaux, the old retainers from their villages. But he arranged them in disciplined battalions of regular troops, 1702 - who received the pay and obeyed the orders of govern- ment, and never left their colours. His regular army was all enrolled by voluntary enlistment, and served for pay. The militia alone was raised by conscription. When he summoned the military forces of France to undertake the conquest of the Low Countries, he ap- peared at the head of 120,000 men, all regular and disciplined troops, with 100 pieces of cannon. Modern Europe had never seen such an array. It was irre- sistible, and speedily brought the monarch to the gates of Amsterdam. The same unity which the genius of Louis and his His efforts ministers communicated to the military power of France, to improve . . i i the public lie gave also to its naval forces and internal strength. adniinistra- , . i p -i i i i tion. lo such a pitch of greatness did he raise the marine of the monarchy that it all but outnumbered that of England : and the battle of La Hogue, in 1G92, alone determined, as Trafalgar did a century after, to which of these rival powers the dominion of the seas was to belong. His Ordinances of the Marine, promulgated in 1681, form the best code of maritime law yet known, and one which is still referred to, like the Code Na- poleon, as a ruling authority in all commercial states. He introduced astonishing reforms into the proceed- ings of the courts of law ; and to his efforts the great perfection of the French law, as it now appears in the admirable works of Pothier, is in a great degree to be ascribed. He reduced the government of the interior to that regular and methodical system of governors of pro- vinces, mayors of cities, and other subordinate autho- rities, all receiving their instructions from the Tuilcrics, MAULBOROUGII. ."7 which under no subsequent change of government, im- cn.\r. perial or royal, lias been abandoned, and which has, in _^_ every succeeding age, formed the main source of its 17 -- strength. He concentrated around the monarchy the rays of genius from all parts of the country, and threw around its head a lustre of literary renown, which, more even than the exploits of his armies, dazzled and fasci- nated the minds of men. lie arrayed the scholars, philosophers, and poets of his dominions like soldiers and sailors ; almost all And to give the academies of France, which have since become so general f, , . , . thought. famous, were or his institution ; he sought to give discipline to thought, as he had done to his fleets and armies, and rewarded distinction in literary efforts not less than warlike achievement. No monarch ever knew better the magical influence of intellectual strength on general opinion, or felt more strongly the expedience of enlisting it on the side of authority. Not less than Hildebrand or Napoleon, he aimed at drawing, not over his own country alone, but over the whole of Europe, the meshes of regulated and centralised thought ; and more durably than either he attained his object. The religious persecution which constitutes the great blot on his reign, and caused its brilliant career to close in mourn- ing, was the result of the same desire. He longed to give the same unity to the Church which he had clone to the army, navy, and civil strength of the monarchy. He saw no reason why the Huguenots should not, at the royal command, face about like one of Turenue's batta- lions. Schism in the Church was viewed by him in exactly the same light as rebellion in the state. No efforts were spared by inducements, good deeds, and fail- promises, to make proselytes ; but when 1,200,000 Pro- 58 THE LIFE OF CHAP, testants resisted his seductions, the sword, the fagot, and the wheel were resorted to without mercy for their 170 -- destruction. Napoleon, it is well known, had the highest admira- 11. . General re- tion of Louis XIV. Nor is this surprising : their prin- Ideas ciples of government and leading objects of ambition mentT were the same. " L'etat cest mo?" was the principle Napoleon. of the grandson of Henry IV. : "Your first duty is to me, your second to France," said the Emperor to his nephew, Prince Louis Napoleon. In different words, the idea was the same. To concentrate Europe in France, France in Paris, Paris in the government, and the government in himself, was the ruling idea of each. But it was no concentration for personal or unworthy purposes which was thus desired; it was not for the gratification of vanity, or to multiply the seductions of sense, that the aggrandisement of the capital and the government was so eagerly pursued. It was for great and lofty objects that this undivided power was sought by both. It was neither to gratify the desire of an Eastern seraglio, nor exercise the tyranny of a Roman emperor, that either coveted unbounded authority. It was to exalt the nation of which they formed the head, to augment its power, extend its dominion, enhance its fame, magnify its resources, that they both deemed them- selves sent into the world. It was the general sense that this was the object of their administration which constituted the strength of both. Equally with the philosophers of later times, they regarded society as a pyramid, of which the multitude formed the base, and the monarch the head. Equally with the most ardent democrat, they desired the augmentation of the national resources, the increase of public felicity. But II. MAKLBOBOTJGH. 59 they both thought that these blessings must descend CHAP. from the sovereign to his subject, not ascend from the subjects to their sovereign. " Every thing for the people, nothing by them," which Napoleon described as the secret of good government, was not less the maxim of the imperious despot of the Bourbon race. The identity of their ideas, the similarity of their objects of ambition, appear in the monuments which Magnificent both have left at Paris. Great as was the desire of the ns shown in Emperor to add to its embellishment, magnificent as Avcrc works. his ideas in the attempt, he has yet been unable to equal the noble structures of the Bourbon dynasty. The splendid pile of Versailles, the glittering dome of the Invalidcs, still, after the lapse of a century and a half, overshadow all the other monuments in the metropolis ; though the confiscations of the Revolution, and the victories of the Emperor, gave succeeding governments the resources of the half of Europe for their construction. The inscription on the arch of Louis, " Ludovico Magno," still seems to embody the gratitude of the citizens to the greatest benefactor of the capital ; and it is not generally known that the two edifices which have added most since his time to the embellishment of the metropolis, and of which the Revolution and the Empire would fain take the credit the Pantheon and the Madeleine were begun in 1764 by Louis XV., and owe their origin to the magnificent ideas which Louis XIV. transmitted to his, in other respects, unworthy descendant.* Had one dark and atrocious transaction not taken * " La Madeleine eomme Ic Pantheon avail etc coinmencee la memo annec en 1764, par les ordrc-; do Louis XV., le roi des grands monumcns, et clont Ic rcgnc a etc travcsti par la petite histoire." CAPEFIGUE, Jlittoirc dc Louis Philippe, viii. 2S 1. 60 THE LIFE OF CHAP, place, the annalist might have stopped here, and painted the French monarch, with a few foibles and weaknesses, W-- the common bequest of mortality, yet still, upon the Atrocity of whole, in public affairs, a noble and magnanimous ruler. tioVofthe" Ui s ambition, great as it was, and desolating as it proved, Nantes* both to the adjoining states, and in the end to his own subjects, was the "last infirmity of noble minds." lie shared it with Caesar and Alexander, with Charlemagne and Napoleon. Even his cruel and unnecessary ravag- ing of the Palatinate, though attended with dreadful private suffering, has too many parallels in the annals of military cruelty. His accession to the league of 1700 for the partition of Spain was a violent stretch of ambition, and carried into execution with equal duplicity and per- fidy ; but these were directed against the hereditary enemy of France, and the annals of diplomacy in all ages prove that violations of state morality arc too fre- quent among governments. His personal vanities and weaknesses, his love of show, his passion for women, his extravagant expenses, were common to him with his grandfather, Henry IV.; they seemed inherent in the ]>ourbon race, and are the frailties to which heroic minds in every age have been most subject. But, for the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and the heart-rending cruelties with which it was carried into execution, no such apology can be found : it admits neither of palliation nor excuse. Were it not for the massacre of St Bartho- lomew, and the expulsion of the Morescoes from Spain, it would stand foremost in the annals of the world as an example of kingly perfidy and priestly cruelty. The expulsion of 400,000 innocent human beings from their country, for no other cause but difference of religious opinion the destruction of nearly 100,000, MARLBOROTJGH. Gl of whom it is said a tenth perished by the frightful tor- CHAP. tures of the wheel and the stake the wholesale dcsola- "' tion of provinces and destruction of cities for conscience 170 -- j j sake, never will and never should be forgotten. It is the which' pro- eternal disgrace of the Roman Catholic religion a dis- reaction' 1-1,1 , f i , against him grace to winch the " execrations or ages nave not jet unchecked affixed an adequate censure" that all these infamous state crimes took their origin in the bigoted zeal, or sanguinary ambition of the Church of Rome. In truth the Romish is essentially and of necessity a persecuting and intolerant establishment. As it acknowledges only one faith, and regards all others as heresies, it must con- sider it as the first of sacred duties to extinguish them. Looking upon heresy and schism as crimes equal in dye to murder and robbery, and far more dangerous in their effects, it of necessity holds it equally a political and social obligation to crush them by the arm of the civil power, and by all the terrors of the most inhuman punishments. Thence the frightful crimes which have so often stained the annals of the Church of Rome. Nor have any of them, passed without their just reward. The expulsion of the Moors, the most industrious and valuable inhabitants of the Peninsula, has entailed a weakness upon the Spanish monarchy which the subse- quent lapse of two centuries has been unable to repair. The reaction against the Romish atrocities in France produced the great league of which William III. was the head; it sharpened the swords of Eugene and Marl- borough; it closed in mourning the reign of Louis XIV. Nor did the national punishment stop here. The mas- sacre of St Bartholomew, and revocation of the Edict of Nantes, were the chief among the remote but certain causes of the French Revolution, and all the unutterable 62 THE LIFE OF CHAP, miseries which it brought both upon the Bourbon race and the professors of the Romish faith. Nations have 1702. 110 immortality ; their punishment is inflicted in this world ; it is visited with unerring certainty on the third and fourth generations. Providence has a certain way of dealing with the political sins of men which is, to leave them to the consequences of their own actions. The secret which furnishes the key to these dark 15. Parallel of stains on tlie character of Louis XIV., as it afterwards and Louis did to that of Napoleon, was the intense selfishness by XIV. iu the 1-111 -I T i vi- affections of whicli both were actuated, it is in their private lire that the real motives of both appear; their public career does not so clearly reveal them. Directed to state objects, and the advancement of the public interests, this prin- ciple led them alternately into great and glorious deeds, and cruel or infamous acts ; for their ambition was so wound up with the national glory that when they struck for themselves they struck for France. But in private life, and the intercourse of the affections, the innate self- ishness of the dispositions of both appeared in clearer and more odious, because less disguised colours. Napo- leon, it is well known, was extremely amorous in his disposition, and yielded to no man that ever lived in his desire of sensual enjoyment ; but his manners were so abrupt, that he scarce ever inspired the passions which he felt ; and his most ardent admirers admit that there was a bn/s7 Like many other men who arc called on to play an CHAP. important part in the af Fairs of the world, William seemed formed by nature for the duties he was destined i7o-_>. to perform. Had his mind been stamped by a different All . q ! t ; !; t;on die, .his character cast in a different mould, he would ^J e ^ bar " have failed in his mission. Jfe was not a monarch of ^'"'j* the most brilliant, nor a general of the most daring in hfe - kind. Had he been either the one or the other, he would have been shattered against the colossal strength of Louis XIV., and crushed in the very outset of his career, lint he possessed in the highest perfection that great quality without which, in the hour of trial, all others prove of no avail moral courage, and invincible determination. His enterprises, often designed with ability and executed with daring, were yet all based, like those of Wellington afterwards in Portugal, on a just sense of the necessity of husbanding his resources, arising from the constant inferiority of his forces and means to those of the enemy. lie was perseverance itself. Nothing could shake his resolution, nothing divert his purpose. With equal energy he laboured in the cabinet to construct and keep together the vast alliance necessary to restrain the ambition of the French monarch, and toiled in the field to baffle the enterprises of his able generals. With a force generally inferior in number, always less . ''0 powerful than that of his adversaries in its discipline, His policy composition, and resources, he nevertheless contrived to wMchat sustain the contest, and gradually wrested from his proved vie- powcrful enemy the more important fortresses, which, tc in the first tumult of invasion, had submitted to his arms. He w r as frequently worsted, but scarcely ever entirely defeated in pitched battles, for his troops were 68 THE LIFE OP CHAP, for the most part inferior in composition to those of the L_ French, while his tenacity and skill never failed to inter- 1 ' 02- pose so as to avert a total disaster. But he generally contrived to inflict on them a loss nearly equal to his own ; and the barren honours of a well-contested field were all that remained to the victors. Like Washing- ton, he made great use of the mattock and the spade, and often, though for the day victorious, the gallant chivalry of France were decimated before his well-con- structed intrenchments. At length he worked his way up to a superiority, when the capture of Namur, in 1C 95, in the face of the French army, and with the garrison commanded by Marshal Boufrlers, proved that the armies of the Grand Monarque had by great exertions been overmatched. If the treaty of Nimeguen was less detrimental to the French power than that of Utrecht afterwards proved, it was more glorious to the arms of the Dutch commonwealth and the guidance of William ; for it was the result of efforts in which the weight of the conflict generally fell on Holland alone ; and its honours were not to be shared with those won by the wisdom of a Marlborough, or the daring of a Eugene. So passion- ately fond was William of war, that he fought the great battle with Marshal Luxembourg at St Denis, near Mons, four days after he knew of the signature of the peace of Ximeguen. When reproached for such a need- less effusion of blood, he replied, " I could not refuse myself that last lesson in my profession." And at 1 Hist, do Murii.o- length, mainly by his exertions, the treaty of Ryswick rousjli, i. . . . J J put a bridle in the mouth of Louis, and France openly receded before her once despised foe. 1 In private life, William was distinguished by the same qualities which marked his public career. He had not MAllLBOROUGII. C9 the chivalrous ardour which bespoke the nobles of CHAP. France, nor the stately munificence of their haughty "' sovereign. His manners and habits were such as arose from, and suited, the austere and laborious people iiis amongst whom his life was passed. Without being V ate. insensible to the softer passions, he never permitted them to influence his conduct, or encroach upon his time. He was patient, laborious, and indefatigable. To courtiers accustomed to the polished elegance of Paris, or the profligate gallantry of St James's, his manners appeared cold and unbending. It was easy to sec he had not been bred in the saloons of Versailles or the soirees of Charles II. But he was steady and unwaver- ing in his resolutions ; his desires were set on great objects ; and his external demeanour was correct, and often dignified. lie was reproached by the English, not without reason, with being unduly partial, after his accession to the British throne, to his Dutch subjects ; and he was influenced through life by a love of money which, though at first arising from a bitter sense of its necessity in his long and arduous conflicts, degenerated in his older years into an avari- cious turn. The national debt of England has been improperly ascribed to his policy. It arose unavoidably from the iiis failings Revolution, and is the price which every nation pays for a lasting change, how necessary soever, in its ruling dynasty. When the sovereign can no longer depend on the unbought loyalty of his subjects, he has no resource but in their interested attachment. The selfish desires of the holders of stock must come in place of the disinterested attachment of nations. Louis Philippe's government did the same, under the influence of the 70 THE LIFE OF CHAP, same necessity. Yet William was not a perfect char- acter. He was cold in his feelings, occasionally revenge- 17 -- ful, and always avaricious. There is nothing lofty or generous recorded of him ; he was merely the per- severing architect of his own fortune. More than one dark transaction has left a stain on his memory : his accession to the treaties with France for the parti- tion of Spain proved that his ambition could at times render him insensible to all the dictates of public morality ; and the massacre of Glencoe, if it did not equal the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in the wide- spread misery with which it was attended, rivalled it in the perfidy in which it was conceived, and the cruelty with which it was executed. Less distinguished than either of his great roval con- 23. . o j character of temporaries, \)\ genius or success, JAMES II. of England .1 allies II. . ofKiighmd. was yet a sovereign of no ordinary character, and the important events of his reign have impressed his name in an indelible manner on the records of history. In his person a dynasty was overturned, a form of government changed, a race of sovereigns sent into exile, and a new impulse communicated to the Reformed religion. He consummated the Waterloo of the royal dynasty of the Stuarts ; he established, without intending it, the Protestant faith in the British empire on an imperishable foundation. Such deeds, for good or for evil, necessarily give immortality to their authors ; for they lift them from the common herd of men, the effect of whose actions perish with themselves, to the rank of those who have made durable and indelible changes on human affairs. James did this, like Charles X. in after times, from the force of his will, and the absence of corresponding strength of understanding ; from the sincerity of his conscientious MARLBOROUGH. 71 opinions, and the want of that intermixture of worldly CHAP. prudence which was necessary to give his measures lasting success. A less honest man would never have 170 -- thought of hazarding the name of royalty for that of religion ; a more able one would probably have succeeded in rendering his religion victorious. It is the mixture of zeal with rashness, sincerity with imprudence, warlike courage with civil incapacity, which has generally induced royal martyrdom. Yet James II. was not destitute of abilities, and he 24. was actuated by that sincerity of intention and earnest- His good ness of purpose which is so important an element in qualities. every elevated character. He had none of the levity or insouciance of his brother Charles. That light- hearted monarch was his superior in penetration, and greatly his superior in prudence, but he had less of the hero, and incomparably less of the martyr, in his composi- tion. Charles was at heart a Catholic, but he would never have sacrificed three crowns for a mass. In the arms of the Countess of Castlemaine, or the Duchess of Ports- mouth, he forgot alike the cares and the duties of royalty. James was not without his personal frailties as well as Charles, but they did not form a ruling part of his character. Cast in a ruder mould, moved by more serious feelings, he was actuated in every period of life by lofty and respectable, because generous and disin- terested, passions. Patriotism at first was his ruling motive England had not a more gallant admiral ; and in his combats with De Ruyter and Van Tromp he exhibited a degree of nautical skill rarely witnessed in those who have been bred in palaces. Nelson or Collingwood did not more gallantly steer into the midst of the enemy's fleet, or engage with more dogged resolu- 72 THE LIFE OP CHAP, tion, yard-arm to yard-arm, with a powerful and redoubt- " able foe. Nor was he without capacity in the direction of His great such combats ; and the system of naval tactics which the Dutch. ' he introduced was followed for above a hundred years in the British navy, till, in the confidence of superior prowess in combating an inferior foe, it was superseded by the breaking of the line, introduced by Rodney in 1784. In one of these great battles with the Dutch, James commanded ninety-eight ships of the line, and was opposed by the Dutch with one hundred and thirteen. Eighteen of the latter were taken or burnt, the greatest victory ever gained by the English prior to Trafalgar. James both fought most gallantly dur- ing the action, and led the chase in his own vessel. In another battle with the Dutch, under DC Ruyter, he fought with forty ships of the line against seventy ; and so desperate was the fight that, though the Eng- lish in the end were victorious, James was obliged three times to change his ship, and hoist his flag on another, from the former having become disabled in the fight. But this spirit of gallantry, which led to such glorious deeds when he was Lord High Admiral, only precipitated his ruin. lie thought he could direct the nation as he had done his ships of the line. When he ascended the throne, this daring and obsti- nate disposition was entirely directed towards religion. l I^nsrarcl. ix. in.-) 107, A sincere, even a bigoted Catholic, he deemed his duty itii'l '2 1 ** m to his faith far superior to all worldly considerations. 1 From the moment of his accession, he laboured assidu- ously to eiFect, if not the re-establishment of Romish .supremacy, at least such an equal partition of power with the Church of England, as was probably, in the MAKLBOKOUG1I. 73 case of so ambitious a body as the Romish ecclesiastics, CHAP. the same thing. The interest of James in the navy, and his efforts for l '-- . . . ~2C> augmenting its strength and increasing its efficiency, were His groat not terminated with his accession to the throne. Not restore the less clearly than his ill-fated father, he felt the necessity usYffeTts. of naval superiority to maintain the independence and security of the country ; but it was not on ship-money that his fortunes were wrecked. He was a thorough man of business, and frugal in his habits ; and the perma- nent revenue of the Crown was five times what it had been in the time of Charles I., so that he was enabled, without incurring debt, or having recourse to arbitrary or illegal exactions, to replenish the dockyards, and put the navy into the most respectable condition. He was in- defatigable in his efforts to attain these objects ; and such was the practical acquaintance with ship-building and nautical details of which he was possessed, that he was enabled to detect all the abuses in the dockyards which had hitherto eluded observation or defied reformation, and direct all the public funds set apart for that service to the real purposes of the State. Mr Macaulay, no partial panegyrist of James, has told us that he effected these reforms because " he was the only honest man in his dockyards." Several hours of personal and close attention were devoted every day to this important branch of the public service ; and the effects which attended his exertions were immense. It was mainly owing to his efforts and patriotic perseverance that the navy of England was put on a footing commensurate with the commercial necessities and political importance of the State, and the fleet equipped, which, four years after he had been expelled from the throne, broke the 71 THE LIFE OP CHAP, naval power of Franco at La llogue, and determined for above a century the maritime contest between France and 1702. England. And thus, although James w r as a bigoted Catholic, and sincerely desirous of seeing that faith restored in his dominions, he did more, directly or indirectly, without intending it, than any other man to establish the Protestant faith in Europe ; for he reared the fleet which gave Protestant England the empire of the seas, and, by paving the way for the accession of William 111. to the throne, he placed her at the head of the grand league for the support of the Reformed faith in Europe, and broke the strength of Louis XIV., the great Romish supporter. So evidently does Supreme Power work out its mysterious designs by the ii. acauay> acts, often done with very different intentions, of free agents. 1 In the prosecution of his object of changing the The rash- national religion he was rash, vehement, and incon- sidcratc. Deterred by no consideration of prudence, influenced by no calculation of his means to his end, he permitted, if he did not actually sanction, atrocious cruelty and oppression towards his unhappy Protestant subjects ; and drove on his own objects without the slightest regard to the means of effecting them which lie possessed, or the chances of success which they pre- sented. He uniformly maintained, to the last hour of his life, that it was perfect liberty of conscience, and not any exclusive supremacy, which he intended to establish for his Roman Catholic subjects ; and several acts of his reign unquestionably favour this opinion. If so, it is a curious historical fact, illustrative of the silent changes of time on human affairs, that the Whigs of 1GS8 took the crown from his head, and placed a new dynasty on the MAHLIJUllOUCH. 75 throne, for attempting to do the very thing which their <-HAP. successors in 1829, after thirty years' of incessant efforts, actually accomplished. As it was, the attempt lost 170 -'- James and his family the throne, threw England perma- nently into the Protestant alliance, and, by giving her the lead in the great confederacy against France, contri- buted more than any other cause to place her on that lofty eminence which she has ever since maintained in European affairs. The constancy of James in misfor- tune was as remarkable as, and more respectable than, his vehemence in prosperity : with mournful resolution he continued to assert to his dying hour the cause of legitimacy against that of revolution ; and died an exile in a foreign land, the martyr of religious fidelity and royal resolution/ 1 ' ANXE, who ascended the throne on the demise of f)O William, was a very different character from either her character father or brother-in-law who had preceded her. She Anne. 66 ' had neither the military intrepidity of the one, nor the civil firmness and moral courage of the other. She had few decided vices, but still fewer noble or elevated qualities. She was a weak and undecided character ; and, like all other persons of that disposition, was extremely liable to the influence of favourites, and not a little violent and capricious in her prepossessions. Her reign is one of the most glorious in the English annals ; but she owed this mainly to the fortunate circumstances which gave the Earl and Countess of Marlborough so * Mr Macaulay, in his brilliant history, passes over in entire silence all James's gallant actions with the Dutch, and merely says, when James was driven from the throne, he did not exhibit the resolution which he certainly showed in. early life in combating the Hutch. He might as well have said that Xclson was a vain, foolish man ashore, but he certainly exhibited some spirit in early life in combating the French. 76 THE LIFE OF CFIAP. great an ascendency, early in life, over her opinions and n ' affections, and the strong religious impressions which 170-j. rendered her, through the greater and the most important part of her reign, the firm bulwark of the Protestant cause and European independence. But later in life her vacillation of character and subjection to favourites appeared in still stronger colours, and were attended with more disastrous effects. Private quarrels, bedchamber intrigues, came to exercise a fatal influence on public affairs. A fit of passion against a lady of her household caused her to break off from the Grand Alliance, reft from England the fruit of Marlborough's victories, and preserved from destruction the tottering throne of Louis XIV. ; before her decease she had returned to the influences of her youth, had opened secret negotiations with the exiled family ; and the suddenness of her death probably alone prevented the Stuart line, and with it the Roman Catholic religion, from being re-established in the British dominions. The real sovereign, duringthegreat and glorious period of her reign, was the Duke of Marlborough. War having been resolved on, the first step was taken Of) Comnit'ncc- ^J the Emperor, who laid claim to Milan as a fief of the incut of the T< i i i i war in Italy Empire, and supported his pretensions by moving an Prince army into Italy, under the command of Prince Eugene infeTriv of Savoy, M'ho afterwards became so celebrated as the brother and worthy rival in arms of Marlborough. PIIINCE EUGENE, though belonging to the same age, often acting in the same army, and sometimes commanding alternately with Marlborough, was a general of an essentially different character. A descendant of the house of Savoy, born at Paris in 1GG3, and originally destined for the Church, he earlv evinced a repugnance to theological studies, and, instead of his breviarv, was MARLBORO UGH. 77 devouring in secret Plutarch's lives of ancient heroes. CHAP. His figure was slender, and his constitution at first weak; but these disadvantages, which caused Louis XIV. J 7 2 - to refuse him a regiment, from an opinion that he was not equal to its duties, were soon overcome by the ardour of his mind. Immediately upon this refusal, setting out for Vienna, he entered the Imperial service ; but he was still pursued by the enmity of Louvois, who procured from Louis a decree which pronounced sentence of banishment on all Frenchmen in the armies of foreign powers who should fail to return to their country. " I will re-enter France in spite of him," said Eugene ; and he was more than once as good as his word. His genius for war was not methodical or scientific, 30. like that of Turenne or Marlborough, nor essentially character chivalrous, like that of the Black Prince or the Great fare, anAis Conde. It was more akin to the terrible sweep of the v[ctory e over Tartar chiefs ; it savoured more of Oriental daring. He was as prodigal of the blood of his soldiers as Napoleon ; but, unlike him, he never failed to expose his own person with equal readiness in the fight. He did not reserve his attack in person for the close of the affray, like the French Emperor, but was generally to be seen in the fire from the very outset. It was with difficulty he could be restrained from heading the first assault of grenadiers, or leading on the first charge of horse. He spared his soldiers as little as he did himself : column after column, often headed by himself, were hurried on to the attack; and it was by the unsparing use of that formidable quality in war, recklessness of human life, that he achieved his astonishing successes. His earliest distinguished command was in Italy, in 1691, and his abilities soon gave his kinsman, the Duke of Savoy, an ascendant there II. 78 THE LIFE OF CHAP, over the French. But it was at the great battle of Zcnta, on the Teife, where he surprised and totally defeated Cara-Mustapha, at the head of 120,000 Turks, that his wonderful genius for war first shone forth in its full lustre. He there killed or wounded 20,000 of the enemy, drove 10,000 into the river, took their whole artillery and standards, and entirely dispersed their mighty array. Like Nelson at Copenhagen, Eugene had gained this glorious victory by acting in opposition to his orders, which were positively to avoid a general engagement. This circumstance, joined to the envy excited by his unparalleled triumph, raised a storm at court against the illustrious general, and led to his being deprived of his command, and even threatened with a court-martial. The public voice at Vienna, however, loudly condemned such base ingratitude towards so great a benefactor to the Imperial dominions ; and the want of his directing eye being speedily felt in the campaign with the Turks, the Emperor was obliged to restore him to the command, which he, however, only agreed to accept on receiving a carte Nanchc for the conduct of the war. The peace of Carlowitz, in 1699, between the Impe- His cam- rialists and the Ottomans, soon after restored him to a i'ufyand pacific life, and the study of history, in which, above any other, he delighted. But on the breaking out of the War of the Succession, in 1701, he was restored to his military duties, and during two campaigns measured his strength, always \vith success, in the plains of Lombardy, with the scientific abilities of Marshal Catinat, and the learned experience of Marshal Villeroi, the latter of whom he made prisoner during a nocturnal attack on Cremona in 1703. In 1704 he was transferred to the north of the Alps, to unite with Marlborough in making head against MAKLBOROUGII. 79 the great army of Marshal Tallard, which was advancing CHAP. in so threatening a manner through Bavaria ; and he . shared with the illustrious Englishman the glorious 170 ' 2 - victory of Blenheim, which at once delivered Germany, and hurled the French armies, with disgrace, behind the Rhine. Then commenced that steady friendship, and sincere and mutual regard, between these illustrious men, which continued unbroken till the time of their death, and is not the least honourable trait in the character of each. But the want of his protecting arm was long felt in Italy. The great abilities of the Duke do Vendome had well-nigh counterbalanced there all the advantages of the Allies in Germany ; and the issue of the war in the plains of Pied- mont continued doubtful till the glorious victory of Eugene, on the 7th September 1706, when he stormed the French intrenchments around Turin, defended by 50,000 men, at the head of 30,000 only, and totally defeated Marshal Marsin and the Duke of Orleans, with such loss that the French armies were speedily driven across the Alps. The French and Spaniards assembled an army in the Milanese to resist his advance ; and the Duke of Mantua commence- having joined the cause, that important city was garrisoned a" by the French troops. But Prince Eugene ere long obliged them to fall back from the banks of the Adige to the line of the Oglio, on which they made a stand. But though hostilities had thus commenced in Italy, nego- tiations were still carried on at the Hague. It was soon found, however, that the pretensions of the French King were of so exorbitant a character that an accommodation was impossible. He had recently taken a step which showed how much his ambition had increased with the vast accession of power he had received. Charles II. had declared in his testament that the Duke of Anjou 80 THE LIFE OF CHAP, should renounce his rights to the crown of France before IL receiving that of Spain ; but Louis would not permit him 17 2 - to make such a renunciation, and he accepted the Spanish crown without any qualification. The resolution to unite the two crowns on the same head was therefore not attempted to be disguised. When the contest commenced, the forces which the )0 Forces on contending parties could command seemed nearly equal France! to each other, and the result showed that they were very equally matched. On the side of Louis was France, which, with a population of 20,000,000, could maintain 200,000 soldiers in arms, and Spain, with its vast and varied possessions in the Peninsula, Flanders, Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, containing at least 30,000,000 of inhabitants, besides the colonies beyond seas, of great importance from the revenue not less than 5,000,000 sterling which they furnished to the Spanish govern- ment. Bavaria, too, was an important outwork, not merely from the courageous disposition of its inhabitants, and the firm adherence of its government, through jealousy of Austria, to the French interest, but from the entrance which it afforded to hostile armies into the heart of Germany. The central position, however, of France, and the close proximity of its frontiers to the scat of war in Flanders, Italy, and on the Rhine, ren- dered it easy to foresee, what the event soon demon- strated, that the weight of the contest, save in the Peninsula, would fall on its forces. But they were numerous and efficient, admirably disciplined, and led by generals of talent and experience ; and above all, they were inspired with that confidence in themselves, and justifiable pride, which is the invariable consequence of a long train of military success. It was a matter, too, of MAllLBOllOUOII. 81 the highest importance to France, that by the Spanish CHAP. alliance it was secured from invasion or insult from the side of the Pyrenees the weakest side of the monarchy, 170 ' 2 - and the only one which is not defended by a triple line of fortresses. This enabled Louis to present nearly his whole disposable forces on the Rhine, and in Flanders, 1 sismondi, 1411- Hist- - cause of the facility with which he for long repaired his 290.' c ape V Ti c j.1 l l %ue,Hist. disasters. It was a sense or the same necessity which THE LIFE OP CIIAP. are the same, and who are equally the object of her IL solicitude. The present conjuncture of affairs renders it 17 -- a duty to hold with a firm hand the balance of power in Europe, and to adopt in concert with you the most vigorous measures to put a bridle on the unbounded ambition of France. Should you suggest to her new alliances, new plans, new resources, she will hasten to adopt them, and to support them with all her strength. She puts at your disposition her whole forces by land and sea : all her means of defence and security are in your hands. Her Majesty has authorised me to concert with you such measures as you may deem expedient for the common cause. How fortunate shall I deem myself if I can congratulate my Sovereign on the success of my mission to your High Mightinesses, and I succeed in convincing them of my zeal for their interests and their glory ! " M. Dyckclt, the President of the United States Assembly, answered in a speech worthy of the occasion, and of the hero to whom it was addressed. All the efforts of M. de Bart, the French envoy at the Hague, were shattered against the address and persua- sive abilities of Marlborough, and the obvious identity of interests which united the two powers. " No," replied the States-General, ' it is not force, but our true inte- rests, which dictate our treaties, and which we shall execute with the most religious good faith. Had France been disposed to renew her former relations with us, she would never have recalled the Count d'Avaux without making some overtures of peace." 1 Jiut it was not in foreign negotiations alone that the great civil and political talents of Marlborough proved at tli is juncture of the most essential service to Europe. Queen Anne, at her accession to the throne, "\vas deeply MARLBOROTJGH. 85 imbued with the prejudices, in ordinary circumstances CHAP. not unreasonable, of the Tories against foreign connec- tions. Her cabinet was composed almost entirely of 1702 - T\IJ men of that party, insomuch that Marlborough, when H ; s efforts urging his friend Godolphin to accept the important u ie in BritLh situation of Lord Treasurer corresponding to our First Lord of the Treasury on the formation of the cabinet, [n used as his main argument, that " unless he took that office he could not hold the command of the armies, as he could rely on no one else to provide the requisite supplies." But although the obvious danger to the independence of the country, from the union of the strength of France and Spain in the person of so able and ambitious a monarch as Louis XIV., rendered it a matter of necessity for the Tory majority in the cabinet to go into measures for the defence of Europe, yet they were inclined to do so in the most economical manner, and on the smallest possible scale a policy which would have proved altogether fatal to the common cause, and rendered the war productive only of expense, defeat, and disaster, Marlborough, who clearly discerned that England was the soul of the Grand Alliance, and that, unless she came forward in a manner worthy of her strength and renown, all their efforts would prove in- effectual, exerted himself to the utmost, after his return from the Ha. Boyer-s influence with the Queen, proved successful. A majority Queen . Auiii', 141. of the cabinet came over to his views : war was pro- 149 -iVi claimed against France, on the 4th May, at London, the Maribo- Ilairue, and Vienna ; and the Britisli cabinet took the rough, i. . ..,. i-ju-i-jo'. most energetic steps to prosecute it with vigour, and execute its engagements with exemplary fidelity. 1 No sooner was this difficulty overcome than a fresh s one presented itself in the choice of a commander-in- chief for the Allied forces. This important post was r- coveted by the King of Prussia, the Archduke Charles, the Elector of Hanover, and the Duke of Zell ; while rough is at . . . length aj,- Quceu Anne made the greatest exertions to obtain it for her husband, Prince George of Denmark. She even went so far as to declare through Marlboro ugh, at the Hague, that unless the prince was appointed she would not declare war. As Marlborougb could not combat the declared wishes of his sovereign, and publicly sup- ported the pretensions of Prince George, everything came to depend on the Dutch Government. But they firmly stood out for Marlborough, as the only man capable of directing the armies ; and. owing mainly to their determination, the command was ultimately be- stowed on him. In making this vigorous stand, the States-General were actuated not less by respect for his abilities, and confidence in his wisdom, than by an appre- that Prince George would resist the control (i.,,1.,1,,1: . , ,,< t] l( , field-deputies whom they alwavs sent to hcad- Marrh .il , J * quarters to control the operations of the cominamler- in-chiei ;- and if the first motive was proved by the MARLBORO UGH. 87 result to have been entirely well founded, the last was the CHAP. source of boundless vexation, and often caused the fairest u ' opportunities of decisive success to be lost. 17()2 - The Earl of MARLBOKOUGH, who had now come to be invested with the chief direction, both civil and mili- Boiing- broke's clia- tarv, of the forces of the coalition, was a character of so racter of Marlbo- rare and peculiar a kind that he was not only misuudcr- wi-b. stood by his contemporaries, but has been in a great degree misrepresented by his successors. It was thus drawn at the time by the hand of an acute observer, a political opponent, and certainly no partial panegyrist. " Marlborough," says Lord Bolingbroke, " succeeded the Prince of Orange, both in the command of the army and in the chief direction of the league ; lie was the soul of the Grand Alliance against the French. Although un homme nouveau, a private individual, a subject, he acquired by his talents and his activity a greater influ- ence in public affairs than his high birth, established authority, and the crown of England, had procured for the Prince of Orange. Not only were all the parts of that great machine preserved by him more entire, and in a state of more complete union, but he in a manner animated the whole, and communicated to it a more rapid and better-sustained movement. To the protracted and often disastrous campaigns which had taken place under the Prince of Orange, succeeded warlike scenes full of action ; and all those in which he himself had the direction were crowned with the most brilliant sue- broken T r i i -i i r- i i W 01 'ks, vi. cess. He showed himself at once the greatest general i.a and the most skilful minister of his time." 1 On the other hand, a not less experienced and com- petent observer has ascribed all Marlborough's success n; s charac- ter by Lord to the irresistible charm of his manner, and denied 88 THE LIFE OF CHAP, that he possessed any extraordinary abilities. " Of all "' the men I ever knew," says Lord Chesterfield, " the late 1701'. Duke of Marlborough possessed the graces in the highest degree, not to say engrossed them. Indeed, he got the most by them ; and contrary to the custom of profound historians, who always assign deep causes for great events, I ascribe the better half of the Duke of Marl- borough's greatness to those graces. He had no bright- ness nothing shining in his genius. He had most undoubtedly an excellent plain understanding and sound judgment ; but these qualities would probably have never raised him higher than they found him, which was page to James II. 's Queen. But then the graces protected and promoted him. His figure was beautiful; but his manner was irresistible either by man or woman. It was by this engaging graceful manner that he was enabled, during all the war, to connect the various and jarring powers of the Grand Alliance, and to carry them on to the main object of the war, notwithstanding their private and separate views, jealousies, and wronghcaded- ncss. Whatever court he went to, (and he was often obliged to go to restive and refractory ones,) he brought them into his measures. The Pensionary Ileinsius, who had governed the United Provinces for forty years, was absolutely governed by him. He was always cool, and M or.i nobody ever observed the least variation in his counte- Let- nance; he could refuse more easily than others could [ a- ivii- grant ; and those who went from him the most dissatisfied ' as to the substance of their business, were yet charmed by his manner, and, as it were, comforted by it." l The characters thus drawn by these two acute and experienced observers may appear inconsistent with each other, but in reality they arc not so. Each tells the MARLBOROUGII. 89 truth, but not the whole truth. There is equal correct- CHAP. ness in the veteran statesman's account of his vast civil L_ and military capacity, as in the influence ascribed by 17 -- the elegant courtier to the beauty of his person and the Maribo- 11 i mi i r- rough was irresistible charm or his manner. I he last at first reaiiy a opened to him the path to greatness; but the first had tionofboth, the greatest share in leading him to its summit. In truth, the secret of Marlborough's character, and the cause of the opposite views presented regarding it, are to be found not merely in the greatness, but the equal balance of his faculties. lie was not less prudent than daring, wise than enterprising, ardent than cautious. This is met with so seldom in real life, that, when it does occur, the presence of superior abilities is scarcely ever suspected; and their existence is revealed to asto- nished, and often envious contemporaries, only by the great things afterwards achieved. We are so accus- tomed to see genius blended with eccentricity, and ardour disfigured by extravagance of conduct or petu- lance of manner, that when it exists tempered by wis- dom, restrained by prudence, guided by a just regard for the feelings of others, and eminently successful, its pre- sence is never suspected; and it becomes known only, generally after middle life, by the great deeds, wholly inconceivable to ordinary men, which it achieves. This was the case with Crcsar; this was the case with Marl- borough. If any novelist were to paint in his hero the combination of genius with prudence, of passion with calmness, of impulse with self-control, of warmth of feeling with circumspection of conduct, which occurred in these two great men, the character would pass for unnatural. Nevertheless, it is one which occasionally does exist; just as in a highly-disciplined army there is II. 90 THE LIFE OF CHAP, sometimes found all the ardour and enterprise, though guided by wisdom, which distinguishes irregular bauds; and it is one which, if moderately favoured by fortune, can scarcely fail to lead, in the end, to the greatest civil or military distinction. A striking proof of this combination of ardent and 42. iiis tender romantic feelings with exemplary prudence and temper through life iii Marlborough, occurred on occasion of his leaving the c'ountfHs shores of Britain to embark for the Continent, in the rough. " beginning of May 1702. His despair at parting with his Countess, when he embarked for the Continent, on May 15, (old style,) 1702, was such, that it resembles rather the anguish of an impassioned lover at the first separation from his beloved, than the grief of a man of fifty-two separated from a wife to whom he had been three-ail d-twenty years married."- This warmth of secret and unsuspected feeling was the more remarkable in Marl- borough, that his public conduct was characterised by uncommon prudence and circumspection, which enabled him to overcome difficulties and weather storms which would have proved fatal to ordinary men. The same strange and unusual combination of qualities appeared * " It is impossible to express with what a heavy heart I parted with you when I was by the water's edge. I could have given my life to have come back, though I knew my own weakness so much that I durst nut, for I knew I should have exposed myself to the company. I did for a great while, with a perspective ^lass, look upon the cliffs, in hopes I might have had one .sight of you. We are now out of sight of Margate, and 1 have neither soul nor spirits ; but I do at this minute suffer so much that nothing but being with you can recompense it. ]f you will be sensible of what I now feel, you will endeavour ever to be easy to me, and then I >hall be most happy ; for it is you only who can give me true content. I pray God to make you and yours happy : and if I could contribute anything to it, with the utmost ha/ard of my life I should bo glad to do \t:'Marllj. After landing at the Hague on the lil'tli, lie wrote t'j her: "1 do ar-.-ure you, upon my -on], I had much rather the whule II. MAKLBOHOUCH. 91 in his military career. Such was the bold and daring CHAI character of his enterprises, that to those who contem- plated them beforehand they appeared the height of temerity ; such the prudence and foresight with which the means of carrying them into execution were prepared, and the vigour with which they were executed, that, to those who contemplated them after, they seemed dictated by the most consummate wisdom. He never fought a battle which he did not gain, nor sat down before a town which he did not take. Though his enterprises were always bold, often daring, they were invariably crowned with success : alone of the great commanders recorded in history, he never sustained a reverse ; on many occasions throughout the war he was only prevented, bj^ the timi- dity of the Dutch deputies, or the feeble co-operation of the Allied powers, from gaining early and decisive suc- cess ; and as it was, he broke the power of the Grand Monarque, and if his hands had not in the end been tied up by an intrigue at home, he would have planted the British standards on Moutmartre, and anticipated the triumphs of Bluchcr and Wellington. The first month after Marlborongh's arrival at the world should go wrong than you should be uneasy, for the quiet of my life depends only upon your kindness; and I beg you to believe that you are dearer to me than the whole world. My temper may make you and my- self sometimes uneasy , but when I am alone, and I find you kind, if you knew the true quiet I have in my mind, you would then be convinced of my being entirely yours, and that it is in no other power in this world to make me happy but yourself." '^[arllorough to the Countess, Hague, 29th May 170'J; COXK, i. 100. It is of the nature of heroic and noble characters to be secretly influenced often through the whole of life by the romantic and impassioned sentiments of this description. We sec this in Ciesar, in Pom- pey, in Henry IV., in Xelson, in Marquis Wellosley, in Mark Antony : but how seldom are they united with the strictest attention to domestic duties, and exhale not in passionate addresses to an adored mistress, but, as witli Marlborough and Edward I. of England, in tender and affectionate effusions to a beloved wife ! 92 THE LIFE OF CHAP. Hat. of Kaiscrworth ; a fourth body of 10,000, under Cohorn, i. e i29* r i3b. the celebrated engineer, was collected near the mouth of the Scheldt, and threatened the district of Bruges. 1 The preparations on the part of the French were not And of'the less vigorous ; and from the more concentrated position of their troops, and unity of action among their com- manders, they, in the first instance, were enabled to bring a preponderating force into the field. On the Lower Rhine, a force, under the Marquis Bcdmar and the Count do la Mottc, were stationed opposite to Cohorn, to protect the western Netherlands from insult ; Marshal Tallard was detached from the Upper Rhine, with 13,000 men, to interrupt the siege of Kaiscrworth ; while the main army, under the command nominally of the Duke of Burgundy, really of Marshal Boufflers, a veteran and experienced officer, was stationed in the bishopric of Liege, resting on the strong fortresses with which that MARLBOROUGII. 93 district of Flanders abounded. Not only were the forces CHAP. under his command superior by a third to those that Athloue had at his disposal, the latter being 45,000, the 17 ' J - former only 35,000 strong, but they had the immense advantage of being in possession of the whole strong places of Brabant and Flanders, which were all garri- soned by French or Spanish troops," forming not only the best and most secure possible basis for offensive operations, but an iron defensive barrier, requiring to be iCoxo, ;. ' . . . l4,l(i.5. cut through in successive campaigns, and at an enormous Hist. . k's breaches in manv different parts of the rampart ; and the 174, 17."). n\>t. , II K). iii.t. do carried the strong castles of the latter city by storm, ni'-5-] guns, ready to pour out death upon the audacious intruder, and so strong as to be altogether beyond the reach of an attack so vigorous soever, if not preceded by regular approaches. The presence of these fortified towns over the whole of Flanders, generally not more than four or five leagues And uid distant from each other, has had an important and deci- sysTem'of sive cifeet on the system of war which it has been found wal ' necessary to carry on there. It is the more important to attend to this in the outset of Maryborough's career, because the experience of the last war is apt to induce an erroneous opinion on the subject. It is well known that the Allies, both in 1814 and 1815, passed with huge armies through Flanders without besieging any of its fortresses, and on both occasions succeeded, by their daring, in dictating a glorious peace under the walls of Paris. But the reason was, that nearly the whole of the famous barrier fortresses had been destroyed by the absurd policy of the Emperor Joseph in 1790 ; and such as remained were easily blockaded by the immense forces which the Allies had at their disposal. The case of a million of armed men, under consummate commanders, assailing a single state, is the exception, not the rule. But with Marlborough, and all the generals of his time, the case was widely different. They were at the head of armies which seldom, if at all, exceeded those imme- diately opposed to them ; and the fortresses with which the theatre of war was studded were so numerous that it was equally impossible to get at the enemy but through them, or to pass without regarding them. An army VOL. I. 11-4 THE LIFE OF CHAP, which should have attempted to do so would speedily UL have found its rear assailed, and communications cut off, 1 ' 0;5> by a host in its rear of equal or greater strength than itself, formed by the union of the garrisons which had been passed. If it attempted to detach in order to observe them, the invading army speedily found itself reduced to a half of its original strength, and incurred the most imminent risk of being obliged to surrender amidst the multitude of enemies with which it was envi- roned. Thus a war of sieges was forced upon Marl- borough by the nature of the country in which the con- test was carried on, however much he might have been individually disposed to have brought it to a speedier issue by a more audacious policy. Add to which, that both the security of his allies and the strength of the enemy prescribed the same system of warfare ; for the Dutch deputies were so apprehensive for the safety of their own territory, that it was certain no consideration would induce them to agree to measures which threatened in appearance even to endanger it : and the Netherlands, bristling with fortified towns, formed so great an addition to the power of France that there could be no security for the liberties of Europe so long as they remained in the hands of Louis. These circumstances were attended with two important Effect of effects, which go far to explain what at first sight appears the re-' s often unaccountable iii the campaigns of Marl borough in Flanders. The first of these is the inconsiderable results which often followed very great victories; and the facility with which serious disasters were soon repaired by the defeated party. The reason is, that the strength of the conqueror was as much impaired by the necessity of detachments to form sieves or blockade fortresses, when MARLBORO UGH. 115 the enemy was defeated iu the field, as the resources of CHAP. the latter were augmented by the reserves drawn from the garrisons upon which he fell back. The armies 1703 - which cither party brought into the field, large as they were, constituted but a part, and often an inconsiderable part, of the total force at their disposal. At the conclu- sion of the campaign of 1702, the whole force which Marlborough commanded consisted of 178 battalions and 220 squadrons, although the force in the field was rarely more than half the amount of either arm.* The remainder was scattered in garrisons over the frontier, or the provinces which were likely to become the theatre of war. It was the same with the French ; in the rear of their army in the field was always to be found an equal or greater force, distributed in garrisons. Thus a disaster in battle, however great, was readily surmounted : reinforcements drawn from the fortresses in the rear speedily repaired its losses, and in a few days the defeated army often found itself superior to that by which it had been overcome. The second effect which resulted from this peculiar character of the theatre of war was the facility of form- Ami in lead- ing, and the great difficulty of expelling an enemy from, formation the lines of defence to which, when inferior in the field, of lines of recourse was invariably had. Such a line, generally from fifteen to twenty miles in length, supported by two or three strongly - fortified towns in its course, and strengthened by every castle, wood, or hamlet which was capable of defence, formed an extremely strong position, which it was equally difficult to force by a front attack, or render untenable by a flank movement. To attempt * Hlstoire MHitaire du Guerre de la Succession, ii. 130, 116 THE LIFE OF CHAP, the first with a force barely equal, often inferior, was to HI - incur the risk of almost certain defeat ; to hazard the 1703> second, by passing, and exposing the flank of the advanc- ing army to a perpendicular assault from the concen- trated masses of the stationary one, was, of all operations that could be imagined, the most perilous. The famous lines of Wellington at Torres Vedras, where the conquests of Napoleon were for the first time permanently arrested, can alone, in recent warfare, give an idea of the formi- dable nature of such defensive positions. Recourse was almost constantly had to them by the French generals, when they were inferior in the field to the Allies ; and the terrible carnage of Malplaquet, where the victors only won the barren honours of the field by the loss of twenty thousand men, may show the great hazard of assaulting them, even with a numerical superiority of force. It was hopeless to besiege any of the fortresses in the line, when the enemy could at pleasure throw 20,000 or 30,000 men from either side into the beleaguered walls ; and supposing, by a skilful and rapid night-march, they were passed, how were the communications of the invading army to be kept up, with a force equal to itself in its rear, securely posted in a strong position on which all the resources of art had been exhausted, and resting on more than one strong fortress amply supplied with pro- visions and all the muniments of war ? On lines such as these the French generals repeatedly, during the cam- paign with Marl borough, bestowed the greatest possible pains: twenty-five thousand peasants laboured at their construction for months together in the rear of the cover- ing army; and when it fell back and took post under their shelter, a front was presented which often arrested for a whole campaign the utmost efforts of the victorious MARLBORO UGH. 117 Allies, and gained time for the formation of armaments in CHAI>. the interior, \vliicli enabled Louis to repair his disasters. Never was the value of such defensive lines more J 7 ( -'i. clearly demonstrated than in the campaign of 1703, canvp'aign throughout the whole of which they enabled the French "iLLs'th army, though unable to keep the field in Flanders against SjKiw. the Allies, to baffle all their best-concerted enterprises. Both parties, now fully awakened to the magnitude and importance of the contest, had made the greatest efforts to augment the armies. The English House of Com- mons, though they had reluctantly entered into the war, had warmed, as they generally do when in harness, as the struggle advanced, and voted liberal supplies for the ensuing year, both for the land and sea services. They voted ten thousand additional troops for the army, on condition that the States -General should prohibit all com- merce and correspondence with France and Spain. This stipulation was intended to put a stop to an underhand traffic which the Dutch, who were always intent on mer- cantile gain, carried on notwithstanding the war with these two hostile states, or permitted their subjects to engage in under the Dutch colours. Louis XIV., on his side now seriously alarmed, for his armies had been worsted both in Flanders, on the Rhine, and in Italy, and were now, for the first time, openly receding on all sides before their enemies, made immense efforts to augment his forces; and his armies, before they took the field in the ensuing campaign, were both stronger and better equipped than at the termination of the preceding one. Notwithstand- ing the prohibition of the treaty, the Dutch continued, 1 Hist. IL feeling of irritation, which terminated only with her life. Maryborough's inclination to support the Tories against the Whig party, which still had a majority in the Peers, was further evinced this session by the vigorous support which he gave to a bill increas- ing the disabilities of Dissenters, introduced into the Commons by St John, afterwards Lord Bolingbrokc ; but which, after passing that House, was finally l roxc, i. J 20.9,211, lost on a conference of the two Houses, from the -'1:1 Tin- refusal of the Commons to adopt the amendments of 45J." VV the Lords. 1 Marlborough soon after experienced a domestic cala- mity of the severest kind, which afforded an awful proof ciiamctcro how little the highest honours and most unbounded quis <>f in v ,. f ,1 Blamlf'ord, worldly success can secure any dispensation from the Maribo- ordinary lot of humanity. Although the Duchess had only son. borne him four daughters, who all survived, she had only had two sons, the youngest of whom, Charles, died at an early age. The eldest, the Marquis of Blandfordj was now r in his seventeenth year ; and although he did not evince the brilliant parts of his father, he was equally exempt from the violent pas- sions of his mother; and he exhibited a sweetness of temper, steadiness of conduct, and docility of dispo- sition, which justly endeared him to his family and friends, and rendered him in an especial manner a favourite with his preceptors. The great renown of his father had very naturally inspired him with the desire to enter the army; and Marlborough was too much gra- tified with this mark of spirit to refuse his request of a cornetcy of horse. But the Duchess naturally enough 120 THE LIFE OF CHAP, shrank from the idea of exposing her only son, and the IIL heir to his father's name and honours, to the hazards of 1703g a military life; and in lieu of it he was in the mean time sent to Cambridge. But how often does the course of events defeat the most earnestly desired objects of those who are affected by them ! The young Marquis entered Cambridge in November iiis iiincss 1702; and the letters to his father and mother, at that Feb. 20, ' time, evince the anxious solicitude which they felt for his health and improvement, and the amelioration in both respects which was taking place in the young nobleman. But on his return to Cambridge, in February 1703, after the Christmas holidays, he was seized with a malig- nant small-pox prevalent in that town, which, from the first, was attended with the most dangerous symptoms. The Duke and Duchess were in the utmost agony when intelligence arrived of their son's danger; and the letters of the former, in particular, evince a tenderness and parental love extremely striking in one whose mind was so much engrossed with public concerns.""" The Queen, too, evinced the utmost solicitude, and her letters on the occasion to the Duchess resemble rather those of an affectionate relative than those even of a benignant sove- " I am so troubled at the sad condition tins poor child seems to be in, that I know not what to do. I pray God to give you some comfort in this great affliction. If you think anything under heaven can be done, pray let me know it: or if you think my coming can lie of the least use, let ine know it. I beg that I may hear as often as possible, for I have no thought but what is at Cambridge." M u i-Umroiujlt, to tltc Dnclanx, 19th February 1703, 9 A.M., Thursday night. " I writ to you this morning, and was in hopes I should have heard again before this time, for I hope the doctors were with you early this morning. If we must bo so unhappy as to lose this poor child, 1 pray God to enable us both to behave ourselves with that resignation which we ought to do. If this uneasiness which I now lie under should hist long, I think I could not live. For God sake, if there be any hope of recovery, let me know it."- Marll.'jwjh to the Duchess, 19th February 1703, Thursday night. MARLBORO UG II. 1^1 reign."" Everything that the most tender solicitude CHAP. could pray for, or the utmost efforts of skill suggest, was _ tried, but tried in vain. The disease made such rapid 17 3 - progress that the unhappy father, who hurried to Cam- bridge within a few hours after he had written the last letter, arrived in time only to close the eyes of his beloved son, on the morning of Saturday, 20th February. His remains were interred in the chapel of King's College, with an appropriate inscription, expressive both of his amiable qualities and of the inconsolable grief of his parents. After it was all over, Maryborough evinced the constancy which, even in the most heart-rending bereave- ments, the firm will show, when the agony of the first moments is past; and, like the general whom Tacitus has immortalised, war was his chief consolation " Initio rcstatis Agricola domestic vulncrc ictus, filium amisit quern casum neque ut plerique fortium virorum ambi- . . . , . * Coxe, i. tiosc, iiequc per lamcnta rursus ac mccrorum muliebriter '2i8-2, i.'o. one of strategy, and 1703 promised the triumphs which ->::, m ... _ . IIP 11- i -I list. Mil. were realised on the same ground, and by following the HI. i-_7-i30. same plan, by Napoleon, in 1S05. 1 """ But if the plan of the campaign was ably conceived on the part of the French cabinet, it presented, from Phmsof , i ,- r T T. i Marlho- tlie multiplicity or its combinations, serious difficulties in rough to ... and it required, to insure success, a larger act it. force than w r as at their disposal. Attempted with inadequate forces or unskilful generals, it presented the greatest danger to the invading party, and, like all other daring operations in war, staked the campaign on a single throw r , in which decisive success or total ruin awaited the intrepid adventurer. Maryborough, by means of the secret information which he obtained from the French headquarters, had got full intelligence of it ; and its danger to the Allies, if it succeeded, struck him as much as the chances of great advantage to them, if it could be baffled. Louis had contemplated offensive operations in the Low Countries as well as in other quarters; and Marshal Villeroi, who had been transferred to the command there from Italy, where he had been * CArKFiGUE, Hist, dc Louis XIV., v. 208, 209. 126 THE LIFE OF CHAP, opposed to Prince Eugene, even flattered himself he IIL would be able to regain possession of the fortresses on 17 3 - the Mouse, before the Allies were in a condition to take the field. He had under his immediate command sixty- three battalions and one hundred and one squadrons, besides forty battalions and twenty-seven squadrons under the Marquis Bedmar, who was stationed between Antwerp, Ghent, and Bruges. These forces together were fully fifty-five thousand infantry and twenty thou- sand horse. Marlborougli's battalions were less numerous, but they were stronger than those of the enemy : he had fifty-nine battalions and one hundred and twenty- nine squadrons. With these, however , he meditated offensive operations of the most important kind. His design was to make a grand attack on Antwerp, and, after taking it, to reduce Ostend, which would have opened up a ready communication with England. By these means he hoped not only to gain a great immediate advantage both to the interests of Great Britain and the security of Holland, but also to prevent any considerable draft of troops on the part of the enemy to reinforce their armies in Germany. But he could not prevail on the States to oxe.i. adopt so vigorous a plan, and by them he was com- .' i --.MI. i.-t. do polled, much against his will, to begin his operations ' with the siege of Bonn, a considerable fortified town on the Lower Rhine. 1 Having been obliged to adopt this secondary plan of operations, Marlborongli set about its execution with his usual vigour and activity. He landed at the Hague on the 17th March; and having completed his arrange- ments there, he set out for Bonn at the head of forty battalions and sixty squadrons, with one hundred guns, leaving OVEUKIKK with the remainder of the army to MARYBOROUGH. 127 form a corps of observation between Liege and Bonn. CHAI This gallant general, in whom age had tempered with- in. out extinguishing the fire of youth, had recently been r ' (r '>- appointed second in command on the death of the Earl of Athlonc, who formerly enjoyed it. With such dili- gence did Maiiborough proceed that he reached the neighbourhood of Bonn on the 20th April ; but the Dutch authorities had been so dilatory in their preparations that it was not till the 3d May that the trenches could be opened. The Marquis Allegro, who commanded the garrison, which was 4500 strong, made a vigorous defence ; but such was the activity of Marlborough that the place did not hold out long. Three attacks, each conducted by twelve battalions, were directed against the works : Cohorn had the command of the artillery and engineers and the battering-guns, consisting of one hundred pieces, besides forty mortars. Such was the weight of fire, that practi- cable breaches were soon made in various parts of the defences. On the 9th, the fort situated on the other side of the Rhine was carried by storm ; and the Ma y 15 - batteries erected on it having enfiladed the works, Marib.i." M. Allegro beat the chamade on the 15th, and the mTt.Mii. garrison, which still consisted of 3600 men, was con- ["241,24!}'. ducted, in virtue of the capitulation, to Luxembourg. 1 As the possession of Bonn was of great moment to the Allies, by interrupting the communication up the vmeroi Rhine, and hindering the transmission of supplies by overklrk, water from the fortresses of Flanders to the theatre of ys^ronud. war in Germany, where the principal effort of the French was to be made, Villeroi made a great effort to raise the siege. As the activity of Maiiborough in collecting and moving his forces had forestalled him on the Rhine, the French marshal endeavoured to do this by threaten- 1:28 THE LIFE OF CHAP, ing Maastricht, after which lie proposed to turn short '" upon Liege, which he hoped would fall into his hands before Marlborough could return from the Rhine to its relief. With this view he broke up, on the night of the 9th May, from Montenacher, where his army, forty thousand strong, lay, and advanced to Tongres, which was invested on the 10th, and which, with two battalions, who defended themselves with extraordinary bravery during twenty-eight hours, was obliged to surrender on the llth. But the time thus gained, however dearly purchased, proved the salvation of Overkirk. Overjoyed with his success, the French marshal advanced imme- diately after towards Maastricht, which he expected would fall an easy prey ; but what was his surprise when, after a long and fatiguing night-march, he found himself at eight in the morning in front of Overkirk, strongly posted in a defensive position, his right rest- ing on Pctersorn, his left on Maastricht. The French leaders were much embarrassed by this unexpected oppo- sition ; but at length they resolved to make the attack, and moved forward their whole forces for that purpose. But when they arrived within cannon-shot they were so disconcerted by the firm countenance of Overkirk, and the skill with which he had disposed his guns, so as to command all the avenues by which his position could be approached, that they halted at three in the afternoon, L l , J and soon after retraced their steps towards Tongres, leaving the whole glory of defeating their enterprise to Overkirk, who, with no more than twenty-six battalions and sixty squadrons, had baffled two French marshals at the head of a force twofold more numerous. 1 Apprised of the dangers of his lieutenant, Marl- borongh, after the fall of Bonn, made all imaginable haste MARLBOROUGH. 129 back to Maastricht, and arrived there on the night of the CHAP. 18th. The cavalry came up on the 21st, and the infantry */ V some days afterwards. Finding himself now at the head J7 3 - 17 of a gallant army of fifty-nine battalions and a hundred Maribo- and twenty-nine squadrons, mustering about fifty-five desfgns thousand sabres and bayonets, securely based on the for- Antwerp tresses of the Mouse, he resolved to commence his long- ai meditated designs against Antwerp and Ostcnd. Though Villeroi's army was nominally superior to that of the confederates, as he had sixty-one battalions and a hundred and eighteen squadrons, yet it was numerically inferior to them from the weakness of his battalions ; and therefore he remained strictly on the defensive, and retired whenever there was any appearance of his being brought to action, Meanwhile, Marlborough's designs against Osteud were entirely frustrated by Cohorn, to whom the execution of them in that quarter was to be intrusted, obtaining the consent of the States, instead of besieging that important fortress, to make an incursion into West Flanders for the sake of levying contributions. This was accordingly done : the lines opposite Cohorn were forced, and the irruption made cupidity, both in the statesmen and the general, prevailing over considera- tions of military advantage and sound policy.* Dis- * " I am afraid the diversion M. Cohorn is gone to make in Flanders will not oblige them to make any great detachment, for his design is not on Ostcnd, as I desired, but to force their lines, by which he will settle a good deed of con- tribution, which those people like but too well ; for it is certain, if they had taken Ostend, it would have been of great use to the common cause, and they might easily have settled the contributions aftei'wards ; so that, had I been at the Hague, I am very confident they would have preferred the siege of Ostend before the forcing the lines. It is no wonder M. Cohorn is for forcing the lines, for, as he is governor of West Flanders, he has the tenth of all con- tributions. He has begged me to undertake nothing, but simply to keep as near to the French army as possible till his expedition is over." Harlborouyh to Godolphin, May 20/31, 1703 ; COXE, i. 240. VOL. I. I ISO THE LIFE OF CHAP, appointed, then, in his designs against Ostend which were of the utmost moment, as tending to open up a success. direct and easy communication from the seat of war to England Marlborough had no alternative but to prose- i Coxo. i. cute his vast object of an attack on Antwerp. This "i'i > ")H . Hisl~Mii. measure he accordingly undertook ; and it is the more Hist.de"' deserving of attention, as it led to the only serious impu- 2oij--_'i().' tation on the foresight of that consummate commander which all his campaigns afford. 1 Marlborough's plan for the reduction of Antwerp was based upon the co-operation of many different corps advancing from opposite directions a hazardous oncra- against . . Antwerp, tion at all times, but especially when the attack is made on and their . J partial a strong fortress in possession of a powerful enemy, occu- pying a central position between them. The magnitude of the risk was clearly evinced in the present instance, as it was afterwards in similar operations on a still greater scale, in January 1814, when Wellington directed simul- taneous attacks from different quarters on Marshal Soult, in the intrenched camp around Bayonnc.* According to Marlborough's plan of operations. General Spaar was to attack that part of the French lines which lay beyond the Scheldt, while Cohorn was to force that part which covered the territory of Hulst ; and a considerable force, consisting of twenty-one battalions and sixteen squad- rons, under Obdam, was to advance against Antwerp from the side of Bergen-op-Zoom, and, it was hoped, might make itself master of the lines which covered the fortress on that side. Marlborough himself, with the main army, was to threaten the French corps de bafaille, and enter their lines between Lcinc and Antwerp, and, in conjunction with Obdam, form the siege of that for- MARLBOEOUGII. 131 tress. In pursuance of that design, lie broke up on the CHAP. night of the 2Gth, and advanced so near the enemy that m ' they remained the whole night under arms. In the same 17 ; '- night Cohoru passed the Scheldt, and next morning he and Spaar made a combined attack on the part of the enemy's lines allotted to them, which proved entirely successful, though with the loss of twelve hundred men on the part of the confederates. The news of this suc- cess diffused the utmost satisfaction throughout Holland, the more especially as it was known that Obdam had 1 J i Rousset, advanced from Bergen-op-Zoom, and taken a position at Hist, de Eugene et Eckcren, a short distance to the north of Antwerp. Not Madb. H. a doubt was entertained that the next post would bring iii'st.dc the news of the fall, or at least investment, of Antwerp ; 2o-'jii.' but instead of that, it brought intelligence of a disaster '249-25-2. which diffused universal consternation. 1 The French marshals, seeing themselves threatened on so many sides by forces so considerable, resolved to take Defeat of J . . c M. Obdam advantage of their central position to crush the corps or at Eckeren the Allies which was most advanced ; and they did this with a secrecy and skill deserving of the highest admira- tion. Villeroi immediately detached Boufflers with thirty companies of grenadiers and thirty squadrons, which set out on the night of the 29th, and, marching all night, reached the headquarters of the Marquis Bedmar at 6 A.M. on the 30th. The combined force, above thirty thousand strong, without losing a minute, defiled through the northern gates of the city, and detaching corps before them, got possession of all the dikes and villages situated behind the Dutch, so as to cut them off from the roads not only to Fort Lille on the Scheldt, but to Bergen-op-Zoom. Marlborough, who anticipated such a movement on the part of his opponents, had the day 132 THE LIFE OF CHAP, before sent word to M. Obclain of the danger which was IIL approaching, with orders to send his heavy baggage back to 1703. Bergen-op-Zoom, to take as strong a position as he could, and, if the enemy advanced in force, to retire at once to that fortress.'" Obdara contented himself, however, with obeying the first part of the order, and neglected the second ; indeed, he was so far from apprehending any danger, or taking any steps to avert it, that he was for the first time apprised of the approach of the enemy in force by his second in command, who met their advanced guard in person. He immediately made the best dis- positions the urgency of the case would admit to repel the enemy, posting his troops behind hedges and across dikes ; but Boufflers speedily advanced with twenty battalions to assail his front, while a large body of Spaniards moved against his flank from the great dike of the Scheldt, from whence they had already reached fort St Philippe and the rear of the Dutch position. Seeing himself thus surrounded, Obdam abandoned himself to despair, and, attended only by thirty horse- men, made his escape, with the utmost difficulty, by iinst.de riding across the country. He himself brought the first 213-21,5. intelligence of the disaster to the Hairue, where he Hist, de Ku and form the siege of Huj, a fortress on Marib d ! ^ ia ^ r i yci '> SLX leagues above Liege, which gave much aun J an ce to the Dutch. The investment was completed ou the 13th August; and on the 26th the governor Rousset, 11. hoisted the white flag, and the garrison was conducted to Namur to be exchanged. 1 ( , 3 After this success, Maiiborough again, and in the Maribo- most pressing manner, unred the attack of the French rough aeam urges the Hues ; and in support of his views he laid before a great attack of the French council of war, held at Val Notre Dame, the very day lines, and J * |> prevented after Huy surrendered, a most able memorial, in which the by the J Dutch. advantages of that course are pointed out with a force and clearness which one would think it must have been impos- sible to resist."' In this proposal he was warmly supported * " Xous sommes postes sur un terrain uni d'cnviron deux licucs ct clcmie d'etendue; c'cst la qui les ligncs cnncmis sont Ics plus foibles; c'est la par consequence qu'il convient de les attaquer. Quand memo ils voudroicnt sc defendrc, ils sentiroient 1'impossibilite de nous resistor sur tons les points, voyant notre armec toute entire en ctat de so developpcr. Dans le cas ou ils se resoudroient a tenter la chance d'unc action generale, objet de nos vcoux depuis le commencement dc la campagnc, il faudra en saisir 1'occasion avec d'autant plus d'empressement quo not re superiorite sur cux cst plus grande quo jamais. L'cnncmi ayant la superiorite en Italic, ct dans 1'Empire, ct n'ctant infer! our en force qu'ici, tons les Allies out les yeux tournes sur nous : ils seroicnt fondes a blamer notrc conduitc, si nous no venous pas a leur secours. Le scul moycn cst de forcer I'ennemi a retircr dc lour ter- I'itoire une partic dc scs troupes, pour les faire passer de ce cote ce quo no pent avoir quo par manoeuvres hardies de notre part." Marlborouyh, ('////; -chill, Culls, Lm.tlci/, E,-nnsv:icl;&<:h.' British government to the efforts necessary for its suc- cessful prosecution. 1 But while a certain degree of success had thus attended "24. Disaster* on the operations of the Allies in Flanders, where the English the Upper . IAIII 1111 Khine and contingent acted, and Maiiboi'ougli had the command, affairs had assumed a very different aspect in Germany and Italy, where the principal efforts of Louis had been made. The French were there superior alike in the number and quality of their troops, and, in Germany at least, in the skill with which they were commanded. Early in June. Marshal Villars assumed the command of the French forces in Alsace, passed the Rhine at Strasburg on the IGth July, took Kchl, and though repulsed by the Prince of Baden at Stollhoffen, penetrated through the defiles of the Black Forest, and reached the Bavarian plains, where he joined the Elector of Bavaria. Meanwhile Marshal Tallard, who was left on the Rhine, took New Brisach on the 7th September, and invested Landau on the IGth of October. The Allies, under the Prince of MARLBOROUGII. 139 Hesse, attempted to raise the siege, but were defeated CHAP. with considerable loss ; and, soon after, Landau surren- IIL dered, thus terminating with disaster the campaign on 1703 - the Upper Rhine, which had made the French masters of two fortified passages over the Rhine. Still more considerable were the losses sustained in Bavaria. Marshal Villars commanded there, and, at the head of the French and Bavarians, defeated General Stirum, who headed the Imperialists, on the 20th September, on the plains of HOCIISTEDT, destined to be immortalised in the succeeding campaign by a still more glorious victory. On this occasion, the Imperialists lost 5000 men killed and wounded, and 7000 prisoners a disaster almost equalling that of Hohenlindeu, sustained by them at no great distance a century after. In December, Marshal Marsin, who had succeeded Villars in the command, made himself master of the important city of Augsburg, and in January 1704 the Bavarians got possession of Passau. Meanwhile, a formidable insurrection had broken out in Hungary, which so distracted the cabinet of Vienna that the capital seemed to be threatened by the combined forces of the French and Bavarians, after the fall of the latter fortress. The Austrians were evidently about to be assailed on the side where they had scarcely any defence, and the truth of the after words of u\. 425-703. Napoleon to be verified, that the true avenue to Vienna G^W! ' ' was through the valley of the Danube. 1 No event of importance took place in Italy during the campaign, Count Strahrembcrg, who commanded the Extreme Imperial forces, having with great ability forced the the^mph-e Duke de Vendome, who was at the head of a superior s'uccesse^. 6 body of French troops, to retire. But in Bavaria and on the Danube, it was evident that the Allies were 140 THE LIFE OF CHAP, overmatched ; and to the restoration of the balance in that quarter the anxious attention of the confederates 1703. was turned during the winter of 1703-4. The danger- ous state of the Emperor and the Empire awakened the greatest solicitude at the Hague, as well as unbounded terror at Vienna, from whence the most urgent repre- sentations were made on the necessity of reinforcements being sent from Maryborough to their support. But though this was agreed to by England and Holland, so straitened were the Dutch finances that they were wholly unable to form the necessary magazines to enable the Allies to commence operations. Maryborough, during the whole of January and February 1704, was inde- fatigable in his efforts to overcome these difficulties ; and the preparations having at length been completed, it was agreed by the States, according to a plan of the campaign laid down by Maiiborough, that he himself should proceed into Bavaria with the great body of the army under his command, and then, by a vigorous effort in concert with Prince Eugene, detach the Elector of Bavaria from the French alliance, and drive the armies which so seriously threatened Vienna beyond the Rhine. This bold project, which circumstances had now rendered absolutely necessary, was secretly concerted between Marlborough and Eugene, before it was submitted to the 1 Coxe, i. ;;o-_>. j!i:n v.l'li Jtia uiijiart'ud hand." Qucui Anne to Duchess of Murl- Iwjti'jh, July ~2\\, 1703 ; COXK, i. 273. MAKLBOROUCII. suancc of the concerted plan of operations against Austria, CHAP. had advanced to the frontiers of the Tyrol to surround m " and disarm a body of five thousand Piedmontcse, who 1 ' o:i - had been pushed forward to the same quarter to co-operate in the enterprise. This was done, with entire success, on the 3d October : the intelligence reached Turin on the Oct. ?>. o 5th, and next day Victor Amadous signed a treaty, offen- sive and defensive, with the Allies, in virtue of which he i Hill's was to receive the supreme command of the Allied forces Correspon- dence, i. in Italy, and to be supported by twenty thousand men 37-41. furnished by the Emperor, and eighty thousand crowns 'i^i-im. a-month provided by the maritime powers. 1 This important accession to their ranks was of great moment to the Allied powers, by breaking up for the The throne present the projected attack upon Austria, and depriving and the France of the command of those passes in the Alps which bestowed enabled them to pour at will their forces into Italy. It second"^' was followed immediately by important political steps pe ror. and change of measures on the part of the Allied powers. Having ascertained that the Bourbon government was very unpopular in many parts of the Peninsula, especially Catalonia, it was determined at once to enforce the claims of the Austrian family, and that the Archduke Charles, second son of the Emperor, should be proclaimed King of Spain and the Indies. This was done in order to get rid of the objection founded on the danger of uniting two such mighty crowns as those of the Empire and Spain on one head. The young prince was proclaimed with great pomp at Vienna on the llth October, and on the 19th Oct. n. of that month he quitted that capital, and proceeded to England, to put himself at the head of the armament preparing in its harbours to enforce his claims. He was received with royal honours by the Duke of Maiiborough 144 THE LIFE OP CHAP, at Diisseldorf on his road thither, to whom, as well as m - to the Duchess afterwards in England, he evinced the 17(K5 - utmost gratitude and respect. " I have just had the honour," said the Duke, " of putting your Majesty in possession of Limbourg." " I hope," replied Charles, " to be indebted to your valour for many more places ;" and, taking a sword richly set with diamonds from his side, he presented it to the Duke, with these words : " I am not ashamed to own that I am a poor prince, having no other inheritance than my cloak and my sword. My sword may be serviceable to your Grace ; and I hope you will not esteem it the less that I have worn it a- day. I hoped to present it to you at the head of that gallant army, with which you have performed such great actions." " It acquires," replied the Duke, " additional value in my eyes, because your .Majesty has condescended to wear it ; and it will always remind me of your just right to the Spanish crown, and of my obligation to hazard my 'J8o--Vi.' life, and all that is dear to me, to render you the greatest prince in Christendom." 1 Marlborough had soon an opportunity of putting his Dangers of professions to the test, for the state of affairs in Germany from the' was melancholy in the extreme. The accession of Por- Franceand tugal and Savoy to the Alliance had suspended, not averted the peril. The advantages of the last campaign had not only made the French masters of the passage of the Rhine, but it had opened to them an entrance into the heart of Germany. By the acquisition of Landau and New Brisach, they had secured the means of passing the former : by the alliance with Bavaria they became masters of the most important fortresses in the latter. The Elector of Bavaria had the command of the Danube from its source to the Austrian frontier : he had MARLBOROUGH. 145 in his hands Ulm, with a strong garrison, Ratisbon, CHAP. Augsburg, and ho had recently taken Passau and Lintz, _ L the keys of Upper Austria. The French armies only 1704> required to force the defiles of the Black Forest, occupied by some thousands of undisciplined peasants, to reach the Elector of Bavaria, who had fixed his headquarters in the neighbourhood of Ulm, where he was at the head of 45,000 men, whom recent victory had rendered doubly formidable. Louis XIV. had not been slow to take advantage of this auspicious state of affairs, and his generals were prepared, in the very outset of the cam- paign, to act with the utmost vigour. Besides the army in the Netherlands opposed to Maiiborough, Marshal Tallard, with 45,000 men, was posted on the Upper Rhine, ready to co-operate with the advanced body, of equal amount, resting on the Bavarian fortresses, and pour with their united force, 90,000 strong, down the valley of the Danube, where the Imperialists had neither fortresses nor any adequate force in the field to oppose them. For so entirely was the strength of Austria prostrated by the expenses of the contest, and the for- midable nature of the Hungarian insurrection which had acquired such strength that its leader, Prince 1 Coxe, i. Ragotski, was levying contributions to the very gates of 2.98-306. ' Vienna, and had driven his opponent, Schliek, back to Marib i. 267, 26,0. Presburg that they could not collect 20,000 men to 27:*! Hist. cover the western frontier of the Hereditary States, or 708-7-26. save the monarchy from ruin. 1 The measures of Marlborough, who had concerted the on whole plan of the campaign with Eugene, were calculated Measu to meet these most appalling dangers. He had influence rough'an enough with the British cabinet to obtain an addition a^t'the of 10,000 men to the English contingent, which raised d! VOL. i. K res 146 THE LIFE OF CHAP, the British native troops in the Low Countries to TI1 ' 30,000 men, and the force under his immediate com- 1704< mand to 50,000. He communicated the same impulse to the confederates, having persuaded the Dutch to take 4000 Wirtemberg troops into their pay, and grant a subsidy of 200,000 crowns to the Elector of Baden and the circle of Swabia, to enable their forces to take the field. More difficulty was experienced in getting the States to consent to the proposed measures for the liberation of Germany, as they involved a tem- porary abandonment of their own frontier ; but at length his great influence and engaging manners, joined to the evident peril of the Empire, procured a tardy acquiescence in all his proposals. It was agreed that the English general was to advance vigorously against Villeroi in the Low Countries, and force him cither to accept battle or retire to the Moselle or the Rhine. In either case, as success was not doubted, he was to cross over into Germany by the Electorate of Cologne, advance as rapidly as pos- sible into Bavaria, and either form a junction with Prince Eugene, who commanded the Imperial army in that quarter, or, by threatening the communications of the French army in Swabia, compel it to fall back to the Rhine. The great object was to save Vienna, and pre- vent the advance of the French into Hungary, where a few of their regiments might fan the insurrection, already so formidable, into an inextinguishable flame. This plan, by weakening the Allies in the Low Countries, might expose them, and especially the Dutch, to disadvantage in that quarter; but that was of little consequence. The vital point was in the valley of the Danube : it was there that the decisive blows were to be struck. Marl- borough, in resisting the French invasion, proceeded on MARLBOKOUQII. 147 exactly tlic same principles, and showed the same CHAP. decision of mind, as Napoleon in 179G, when he raised T "' the siege of Mantua to meet the Austrian armies under 17 4 ' Wurmscr descending from the Tyrol ; or SuwarrofF in 17.99, when lie raised that of Turin to march against Macdonald, advancing from southern Italy towards the fatal field of the Trcbbia. In all these measures he received the cordial support of his illustrious colleague, Prince Eugene, who was so far from envying his rival, or joining the clamour raised against him for the unsatisfac- tory issue of the last campaign, that he said, when the subject was mentioned, " I suspect, if Alexander the Great had been obliged to await the approbation of the . 1 ITist. de Dutch deputies before he executed his projects, his Marib.'i. conquests would not have been quite so rapid as they i.'soL'-sotT were." l Marlborough was extremely desponding as to the issue of the campaign ; but, like a good soldier, he prepared MaHi'o- to do his duty with vigour and alacrity. He began crolnL-c his march, with the great body of his forces on the 8th many, and May, and, crossing the Meuse at Maestricht, proceeded vLVwi^h with the utmost expedition towards the Rhine by Bed- jul^s? bourg and Kirpen, and arrived at Bonn on the 28th of the same month. Meanwhile the French were also powerfully reinforcing their army on the Danube. Ville- roi, with the French forces on the Meuse, retired before him towards the Moselle, and eluded all attempts to bring him to battle. Early in the same month, strong reinforcements of French troops joined the Elector of Bavaria, while Villeroi, with the army of Flanders, was hastening in the same direction. Marlborough having obtained intelligence of these great additions to the enemy's forces in the vital quarter, wrote to the States- 148 THE LIFE OF CHAP. General, that unless they promptly sent him succour, m - the Emperor would be entirely ruined.'" Meanwhile, 17W - however, relying chiefly on himself, he redoubled his activity and diligence. Continuing his march up the Rhine by Coblenz and Cassel, opposite Mayence, he crossed the Necker near Ladenbourg on the 3d June. From thence he pursued his march without intermission by Mundelsheirn, where Prince Eugene came across from his own army to meet him, and the two illustrious June s. generals had their first interview. The next day they marched to Heppach, where Marlborough reviewed the English cavalry, which alone, from the rapidity of the march, had yet come up. The Prince expressed his surprise to see the troops in such excellent condition, after their long and fatiguing inarch. " I have heard much/'' he observed, " of the English cavalry, and find it, indeed, to be the finest and best-appointed I have ever seen. Money, of which you have no want in Eng- land, can buy clothes and accoutrements ; but nothing can purchase the spirit which I see in the looks of your men. It is an earnest of victory." " My troops," replied Marlborough, " are always animated with zeal for the common cause ; but they are now inspired by your presence. To you we owe that spirit which awakens your admiration." Nor was he less courteous to the Prince of Baden, who joined them a few days afterwards. " I am come," said the Prince, " to meet the deliverer of the Empire : you will assist me in vindicating my * " Co matin j'ai appris par unc estafctto quo Ics cnncmis avaient joint 1'Elcctcur de Bavicre avcc 20,000 honimcs, ct quo M. de Yilleroi a passe l;i Mouse avcc la mcillcure partic de 1'ai'ince dcs Pays Has, ct qu'il poussait sa inarchc en toutc diligence vcrs la Moselle, dc sortc quo, sans im prompt s.ecours, 1'Empire court risque d'etre cntiercment abime." Marlbufoti.tjh the Empire. None but the weak in judgment can de- i Hare's preciate the merits of the Prince of Baden, who has Journal. not only preserved the Empire, but enlarged its boun- 337,338. daries." ! Notwithstanding this interchange of compliments, it was no easy matter to arrange the separate pretensions Difficulties of the three generals to the supreme command. No thecom- difficulty was experienced between Eugene and Marl- borough, who were both too great to feel the slightest jealousy of each other, and from the very first agreed, with the utmost cordiality, not only on the general plan of operations, but as to the mode in which the command was to be alternately exercised by them. They both, how- ever, encountered the greatest difficulty with the Prince of Baden, who insisted on his right as superior in rank, and could not by any effort be made to agree to what they both recommended, that he should take the direction of the army on the Rhine, and leave them the command of that on the Danube. It was even with the utmost difficulty that he could be brought to acquiesce in the proposal that the command, where they were, should be shared alternately between him and the English general. To this arrangement, however, he was at length brought to agree ; and Eugene, in consequence, to his own great regret, as well as that of Marlborough, set out for the army on the Rhine, leaving Marlborough and the Prince 337, ss'a. of Baden in command of that on the Danube. 1 The plan of operation concerted between Marlborough and Eugene was, that the latter, with his own corps reinforced by a Danube division, was to remain in obser- 150 THE LIFE OP CTIAP. ration on the Rhine, and observe and follow the motions IIL of Marshal Tallard, who commanded the French army, ^ 4 - forty thousand strong, in Alsace, while Marlborough, Difficulties united with the Prince of Baden, was to move against rough's the Elector of Bavaria, and attack him wherever he could injunction be met with. In carrying into execution this project, Princeof however, very serious difficulties had to be overcome. Marlborough's line of march lay by Great Heppach, through the long and narrow defile of Gieslingen, which, difficult at all times, was at that moment rendered doubly so by the heavy rains which had recently fallen and swelled the rivulets, which, descending from the hills on cither side, crossed the road often in perfect torrents. At this very moment, too, he received the most disquiet- ing accounts from Overkirk in his rear, with an urgent application from the States for the return of a large body of troops to aid in the covering of the Dutch frontier. With the same instinct, however, as to where the decisive point really lay, which Blucher afterwards showed when informed of the dangers of Thielman in his rear, when the thunder of Waterloo resounded in his front, Maryborough held straight on, and contenting himself with providing a large number of boats for the conveyance of troops down the Rhine, when required for the protection of Holland, struggled with great difficulty through the rugged defile. Such perseverance at length met with its reward ; the obstacles of the pass were .surmounted ; the junction with the Prince of Baden's | coxo, i. men was cifectcd ; and the English foot and artillery under ';''!_''.;" General Churchill having also come up in the finest order, Marlborotigli found himself at the head of a splendid army, consisting of ninety-six battalions, two hundred and two squadrons, and forty-eight guns, 1 mus- MABLBOBOUGH. 151 teriug sixty thousand combatants. With truth might lie CHAP. say that the measure thus adopted was the only one m ' which could save the Empire from ruin.' 55 ' 1704 - The French and Bavarian army, which consisted of eighty-eight battalions and one hundred and sixty Description r 11- tllU '"" squadrons, with ninety guns, forty mortars, and thirty trenched . . . 111 cani i' f pontoons, occupied a position calculated to cover Donau- Scheiieu- wortli as the pivot on which they rested. In front of it, and in a situation to secure the passage of the Danube at Donauworth, was posted on the north of that river General d'Arco, with 12,000 men, including 2500 horse, in a strong position on the height of Sen ELLEN- BERG. This is a hill of a conical form, with a flat sum- mit half a mile in diameter, overhanging the left bank of the Danube. The left rested on the covered way of Donauworth ; the right, following the line of the ground, was thrown back till it reached one of the branches of the Danube. Along the front facing the north, from which the enemy might be expected, ran an old ram- part, now mouldering in ruin, long before erected by Gustavus Adolphus during the thirty years' war, when i coxe, ;. his military genius had discerned the importance and mst.'de' strengthened the natural advantages of this post. 1 The 319'. central part of this old intrenchment alone was in a pos- * " I am very confident, without flattering myself, that this march was the only thing that was capable of saving us from ruin ; so that, whatever the success may be, I shall have the inward satisfaction of knowing that I have done all that was in my posvei', and that none can be angry with me for the undertaking, but such as wish ill to their country and religion; and with such I am not desirous of their friendship. You will easily believe that I act with all my heart and soul, since good success will, in all likelihood, give me the happiness of ending my days with you. Order Hodge to send me a draught of a stable for the lodge : as you set your heart on that place, J should wish all conveniences to be about it.'' jblarlboronyh to the Duchess, June 18/29, 170-1; CoxK,i. 347. 152 THE LIFE OF CHAP, ture of defence ; but the remainder was in a state of rapid IIL advancement, and in a day might be rendered impreg- 17 4 - nable. Opposite the centre stood a thick wood called the Borchberg ; on the right the position was open, but the left was a ravine, in the bottom of which a rivulet flowed. Resolved to attack the camp without delay, Marl- Marib'o- borough broke up from the ground where he had passed solves to" the night, at three in the morning of the 2d July, and arrived in sight of the Schellenberg, after a fatiguing march, at two in the afternoon, when the troops were halted. Marlborough, however, who advanced to recon- noitre in person at the head of a large body of horse, and came so near that he was saluted by a heavy fire from the works, no sooner perceived the preparations of the enemy than he resolved on an immediate attack. He saw not only a great number of workmen busied with the strengthening of the intrenchmcnt in front, but prepara- tions making for the formation of a camp, adequate to the reception of the whole remainder of the Elector's army on the right bank of the Danube, immediately behind the intrenched camp. At the same time he received intel- ligence that Tallard at Strasbourg was detaching a large body of men to the Elector's support, who might soon be expected. He gave orders in consequence for the troops, wearied as they were, to advance after a few hours' rest to the attack. The Prince of Baden, who was alarmed by i Faiken- the strength of the enemy's works, counselled delay ; but Bayem.808. Marlborough, pointing to the tents, which were already suVTifst. beginning to be pitched on the southern bank of the 1 \l 11 * siisi?. ' ' Danube, replied, " Either the enemy will escape, or will :;i!i-.v/J. have time to finish their works. In the latter case, the iv.' sis, 514. loss of every single hour will cost the loss of a thousand men." 1 MARLBOROUGII. 153 Anticipating an attack, Marlborough had selected a CHAP. choice body, composed of 130 picked men from each m ' battalion, amounting to GO 00 men, besides thirty J ^ 04 - squadrons of horse, which were followed by three regi- Commence- ments of Imperial grenadiers under Prince Louis. The attack on united force was 10,500 men ; but the remainder of the lenberg, 11 i July '2. army, though considerably in the rear, was prepared to advance in support. The French and Bavarian generals did not expect an attack, deeming it impossible that troops, fatigued by a long inarch on a sultry day, would be led to the assault after only a few hours' rest. When the increasing masses of the enemy, however, and their continued advance, left no doubt that an immediate attack was intended, d'Arco ordered the troops to desist from work and stand to their arms, and sent four batta- lions into Donauwb'rth, with orders to place them in the covered way of the fortress, so as to be able to protect the left of the position by a flanking fire ; a command which, unhappily for him, was not attended to, and led to important consequences on the fate of the day. In a few minutes after, the conflict besran at six in the "* O evening. As the thickness of the Borchberg precluded the possibility of penetrating through it, Marlborough directed his attack against the two flanks, the principal effort being made on the face stretching from the end of the wood to the covered way of the fortress. The troops marched forward in ordinary time and admirable array towards the works ; but when they arrived within range of grape, they were assailed by such a storm of shot, that i nist. de involuntarily the line wavered. In a few minutes General 317!, >,] '. Goor and the bravest officers were struck down, and the iv.'M4,5i5. whole fell back in confusion. 1 The Bavarians seeing this, 350^7. leapt out of their intrenchments with loud shouts, and 154- THE LIFE OF CHAP, pursued the broken assailants with the bayonet ; but they 1U ' in their turn were discomfited, when disordered by their 17U4< tumultuous rush, by a battalion of English guards, which kept its ground, and poured in so destructive a volley on their flank that they were thrown into confusion, and General Maffei, who commanded, drew them back within the works. Nothing daunted by this sturdy resistance, Marl- borough re-formed his men, and again led them to the attack ; but though he exposed his person with the utmost gallantry, and had several of his staff struck down around him, they were again repulsed with very heavy loss. A third attack shared the same fate, and the pursuit of the victorious Bavarians, who again issued from their works, was only checked by General Lumley, who hastened forward with his horse, and, by a headlong charge, arrested the progress of the pursuers. The spirit of the assailants was beginning to sink under these repeated repulses and the fearful carnage with which they were attended, when they were cheered by the sight of the Prince of Baden's men, the heads of whose columns now began to appear in sight, and immediately prepared to take a part in the action. They passed the Wernitz below Berg, and advancing against the unfinished O' on part of the works on the enemy's left between the fortress and the wood, easily dispersed two French battalions left in guard of that part of the position, and experienced but little loss from the other two battalions sent there in the beginning of the action, and which, instead of lining the covered way as they had been directed, kept up a distant and ineffectual fire from the summit of the rampart. They got within the lines, in consequence, with very little difliculty ; and as d'Arco hastily recalled part of the MARLBOHOUGH. 155 defenders from the centre to support the menaced quar- CHAP. ter, Marlborough, taking advantage of the momentary m ' confusion, led his men to a fourth attack, in which 17 4 - a dismounted regiment of dragoons took part with the foot-soldiers. The works were soon scaled, and the horse, pouring in at every opening they could find, pur- sued the fugitives, sword in hand, towards the Danube, with dreadful slaughter, where numbers were drowned in the attempt to cross over, as the bridge of Donau- worth was speedily clicked up by the fugitives. D'Arco most gallantly headed the rear-guard, and by his firm countenance enabled numbers to escape. The camp, witli baggage and equipage, fell into the hands of the vic- tors, with sixteen guns and thirteen standards. Their loss was very heavy, amounting to no less than 1500 killed and 4000 wounded almost entirely among the English, who bore the brunt of the conflict : but that of the enemy was still greater; for although the killed and wounded ; Hist. MH. in the action was not so irreat as that of the confede- coxe, i. o ,,._.,, , -, . -, . ooi , don. rates, as is otten the case when mtrenchments are stormed, Jiist. do vast numbers deserted after, and only 3000 could be 318-3-ii." collected round the French standards when the fugitives i. 33-2,335. regained their comrades to the south of the Danube. 1 This brilliant opening of the German campaign was soon followed by substantial results. It gave the Allies the Subsequent MK.Tl'- command of the bridge of Donauworth over the Danube Bavaria. a matter of very great moment, in a military point of view ; but its moral results were still more important, for it was a great advantage gained, at the outset of the campaign, to spread the idea that the Duke of Marl- borough and his sturdy islanders were invincible. A few days after Rain surrendered ; Aicha opened its gates ; and, following up his career of success, Marlborough 156 THE LIFE OF CHAP, advanced to within a league of Augsburg, under the cannon of which the Elector of Bavaria was placed with 1704 - the remnant of his forces, in a situation too strong to admit of its being forced. He here made several at- tempts to detach the Elector, who was now reduced to the greatest straits, from the French alliance; but that prince, relying on the great army, forty-five thousand strong, which Marshal Tallard was bringing up to his support from the Rhine, adhered with honourable fidelity to his engagements. Upon this Maryborough took post near Friedberg, in such a situation as to cut him off from all communication with his dominions, and ravaged the country with his light troops, levying contributions wherever they went, and burning the villages with savage ferocity as far as the gates of Munich. This proceed- ing was so contrary to the humane disposition of the English general, that it gave him the utmost pain to carry it into execution ; but the peremptory commands of the Allied powers, and the vital importance, if possible, of detaching the Elector from the French interest, left him no alternative.'"" The inhabitants and magistrates of towns made him magnificent offers in money if he would suspend the orders ; but he replied : " The troops of the Queen of England have not come into Bavaria to make money, but to compel the Elector to listen to reason/'' Three hundred towns or villages were consumed in this * " We sent this morning three thousand horse to the Elector's chief city of Munich, with orders to burn and destroy all the country about it. This is i~<) contrary to my nature, that nothing but absolute necessity could have obliged me to consent to it, for the poor people suffer for their master's am- bition. There having been no war in this country for above sixty years, the towns and villages are so clean that you would be pleased with them. My nature suffers when I see so many fine places burnt, and that must be burnt, if the Elector will not hinder it. I shall never be easy and happy till I am (juiet with you." Marllxji-rnirjk t:/tsf, July ,'50, 1701 ; Coxi:. i. 37.), '570. MARLBOROUGII. 157 savage warfare. Thus was avenged the barbarous CHAP. desolation of the Palatinate, thirty years before, by the In ' French army under the orders of Marshal Turenne. 1704 - Overcome by the cries of his suffering subjects, the Elector at length consented to enter into a negotiation, iiiist.de . . , ic- Marlb. i. which made some progress ; but the rapid approach or 334-341. Marshal Tallard with the French army through the 3GO-37-;. Black Forest caused him to break it off and hazard all iv! 546-560. on the fortune of war. 1 Unable to induce the Elector, by the barbarities . 3.0. unhappily at that time too frequent on all sides in war, Marsiiai cither to quit his intrenched camp under the cannon of jotns the Augsburg, or to abandon the French alliance, the English Bavaria, general undertook the siege of Ingolstadt, he himself, m/nes'to"" with the main body of the army, covering the siege, and { Prince Louis of Baden conducting the operations in the trenches. Upon this the Elector of Bavaria broke up from his strong position, and abandoning with heroic resolution his own country, marched to Biberach, where he effected his junction with Marshal Tallard, who, after having wasted five days in a fruitless attack on Villingen, and forded the Danube at Moeskirch, had en- tered the Bavarian plains between Ulm and Memmingen. Prince Eugene had followed his movements by a parallel march w r ith eighteen thousand men, and had reached Hochstedt, where he lay exposed to an attack from the united French and Bavarian armies, which lay between them. Eugene himself came across to Marlborough, to concert the means of junction and future operations ; but when he regained his own army, he found it was threatened with an immediate attack from the whole French forces. No sooner had he received intelligence of this, than Marlborough, on the 10th of August, sent 158 THE LIFE OF CHAP, the Duke of Wirtemburg with twenty-seven squadrons m ' of liorse to reinforce the prince, and early next morning 17 4 - detached General Churchill with twenty battalions across the Danube, to be in a situation to support him in case of need. He himself immediately after followed, and joined the Prince on the llth, -with his whole army, except the corps engaged in the siege of Ingolstadt. Every- thing now presaged decisive events. The Elector had boldly quitted Bavaria, leaving his whole dominions at the mercy of the enemy, except the fortified cities of Munich and Augsburg, and perilled his crown upon the issue of war at the French headquarters ; while Marl- 1 Coxe, i. borough and Eugene had united their forces, with a 9-0 '^}>i & C iHst.de determination to c;ive battle in the heart of Germany, in Marlh. i. . .... . 34i;-:i54. the enemy s territory, with their communications exposed iiist. Mil. J J : iv. 0-28-5.8. to the utmost hazard, under circumstances where deicat could be attended with nothing short of total ruin. 1 By the rapidity of his inarch, which had altogether Vemiome i s outstripped the slower movements of Marshal Villeroi, defeated in L L his attempt who was still in the neighbourhood of the Moselle, Marl- to penetrate through the borough had defeated one important part of the com- binations of the French king. But if Yendome, with the Italian army, had succeeded in penetrating through the Tyrol, and joining the French and Bavarian armies to the north of the Alps, their united forces would have greatly preponderated over those of M a rl borough and Eugene, and given them a decisive superiority for the whole remainder of the campaign. On this occasion, however, as subse- quently in the wars of 1805 and 1809, the courage and loyalty of the Tyrolcsc proved the salvation of the Aus- trian monarchy. These sturdy mountaineers flew to arms; every defile was disputed every castle required a sepa- rate sieirc. Accustomed to the use of arms from their MARLBOROUGH. earliest years, admirable marksmen, indefatigable in cn.\r. bearing fatigue, perfectly acquainted with the intricacies '_ of their rugged country, they opposed so formidable a 17 4 - resistance to the advance of the French troops, that all the skill and perseverance of Vcndome were unable to overcome them, lie got as far as Brixcn, but could not succeed in forcing the passage above that town, or sur- mounting the crest of the Brenner. Thus Marshal Tallard and the Elector of Bavaria were left alone to make head against Prince Eugene and the Duke of Marlborough : and the positions of the two armies, who were fully united on both sides, as well as the resolution of their respective commanders, presaged decisive events. As the enemy's position was strong, and their army known to be superior, several officers remonstrated with Marl- borough on the risk of hazarding a general engagement, especially in the heart of a hostile country, where they were masters of scarcely any fortresses, and defeat would iii^de* 1 " , Trill i i Louis XIV. be certain ruin. He heard them with attention, and -211, LMS. replied : " I know the danger ; yet a battle is absolutely iv!^.57-37*8. necessary, and I rely on the bravery and discipline of the 38(j. c> troops, which will make amends for our disadvantages." 1 In numerical amount, however, the French and Bava- 41. rians were decidedly superior to the Allies. Their army Forces on consisted of sixty thousand men, of whom nearly fort}"- and their ' five thousand were French troops, the very best which meri P ts. a ' the monarchy could produce, and they had ninety guns. Marlborough and Eugene, being much weakened by de- tachments in their rear, had only sixty-six battalions and a hundred and six squadrons, which, with the artillery, might be about fifty -six thousand combatants, with fifty-one guns. The forces on the opposite sides were thus nearly equal, in point of numerical amount ; but there was a wide THE LIFE OF CHAP, difference in their composition, and the artillery they IIL had at their command. Four-fifths of the French army 1704. were national troops, speaking the same language, ani- mated by the same feelings, accustomed to the same discipline, and the most of whom had been accustomed to act together. The Allies, on the other hand, were a motley assemblage, like Hannibal's at Caimse, * or Wel- lington's at Waterloo, composed of the troops of many different nations, speaking different languages, trained to different discipline, but recently assembled together, and under the orders of a stranger general, one of those haughty islanders, little in the general case inured to war, but whose cold or supercilious manners had so often caused jealousies to arise in the best-concerted confederacies. English, Prussians, Danes, Wirtemburgers, Dutch, Ha- noverians, and Hessians, were blended in such nearly equal proportions, that the arms of no one state could be said, by its numerical preponderance, to be entitled to the precedence. But the consummate address, splendid talents, and conciliatory manners of Marlbo- rough, as w r ell as the brilliant valour which the English auxiliary force had displayed on many occasions, had won for them the lead, as similar qualities had formerly 1 Hist. Mil. done for their fathers when in no greater force amon the * -,,(1 coxe, i'. confederates under Richard Coeur-de-Lion in the Holy deMarib.i. Wars. It was universally felt that upon them, as on journal'^ s the Tenth Legion of Caesar, or, afterwards, the Old Guard i. 408.' s ' of Xapoleon, the weight of the contest at the decisive moment would fall. 1 * " Kxcreitus rnixtus ex colluvione omnium gentium, quibus lion lex, non HIGH, non lingua conimunis ; alius habitus, alia vcstis, alia arma, alii virus, alia sacra." " An army made up of the dregs of all nations, which had no laws, customs, or language in common ; whose dress, habits, arms, rites, and reli- gion, were dissimilar." LIVY, xxviii. c. 12. MARLBOROUGIL 161 The array was divided into two corps-d'armee ; the first, commanded by the Duke in person, being by far the strongest, destined to bear the weight of the contest, and carry in front the enemy's position. These two corps, though co-operating, were at such a distance from each other that they were much in the situation of Napoleon's and Ney's corps at Bautzen. The second, under Prince Eugene, which consisted chiefly of cavalry, was much weaker in point of numerical amount, and was intended for a subordinate attack, to distract the enemy's attention from the principal onset in front under Maryborough.* With ordinary officers, or even eminent generals of a second order, a dangerous rivalry for the supreme command would unquestionably have CHAP. . IIL 1704> Division of * The Allied and French armies stood thus : ALLIES. FRENCH. I. Right Wing, EUGENE. I. Left Wing, MARSIN. Batt. Squad Men. Batt. Squad. Men. Prussians, Danes, Austrians, . 11 15 7 24 20,000 French, . . Bavarians, 29 50 13 37 18,000 12,000 Empire's, 35 18 74 II. Centre and left, MARLBORODGH. Batt. Squad English, . 14 14^ Dutch, . . 14 22 Men. II. Right and centre, TALLARD. Batt. Squad. Men. Hessians, Hanoverians, Danes, . . 7 7 13 25 22 J - 36,000 French, . . Guns, . . . 42 60 30,000 84 147 90 60,000 48 86 Total, . . Guns, . . 66 160 66 56,000 KAUSLEB, 107-108. MARL. Desp. i. 402-408, and Histoire Militaire, du Guerre de la Succession, iv. 557. The last work states the French and Bavarians at seventy-eight battalions and one hundred and forty-three squadrons ; but that is from not taking into view the battalions of which two were melted into one in consequence of their weakness. The estimate above given is that of Prince Eugene. Letter, 25th August 1704; Hist. Marl.iv. 589. VOL. I. L 162 THE LIFE OF CHAP, arisen, and added to the many seeds of division and I1L causes of weakness which already existed in so multi- 1704 - farious an array. But these great men were superior to all such petty jealousies. Each, conscious of powers to do great things, and proud of fame already acquired, was willing to yield what was necessary for the common good to the other. Each was more proud of his rival's reputation than his own more solicitous to give him an opportunity of augmenting it than to secure such an advantage to himself. They had no rivalry, save a noble emulation who should do most for the common cause in which they were jointly engaged. From the moment of their junction, it was agreed that they should take the command of the whole army day about; and so perfectly did their views on all points coincide, and so entirely did their noble hearts beat in unison, that during eight subsequent campaigns in which they for the most part acted together, there was never the slightest division between them, nor any interruption of the harmony with which the operations of the Allies were conducted. The records of human achievements can present few, if any, greater men ; but beyond all question they can exhibit none in whom so pure and generous a friendship existed, alike unbroken by the selfishness consequent on adverse, and the jealousies springing from prosperous, fortune. The French position was in places strong, and their French disposition for resistance at each point where they were dispositions, threatened by attack from the Allied forces, judicious ; dangers!" 11 but there was a fatal defect in the general conception of their plan. Marshal Tallard was on the right, resting on the Danube, which secured him from bciiii>r turned in o that quarter, having the village of BLENHEIM in his front, MAHLBOKOUG1I. 1C:{ which was strongly garrisoned by twenty-six battalions CHAP. and twelve squadrons, all native French troops ; and [ _ Marsin's flank on the left was secured by a range of J ' 04> rugged steeps, impassable for guns or cavalry, and which, therefore, rendered any serious attack impossible in that quarter. In the centre was the village of Oberglau, which was occupied by fourteen battalions, among whom were three Irish corps of celebrated veterans. The rivulets which ran along their whole front, and the marshy ground traversed only by a few roads, all of which were strongly occupied, rendered an attack in front dangerous to the assailants, and certain to be extremely bloody to them. But the weakness lay in the connecting line between the villages, which was kept up only by horse. The communication between Blenheim and Oberglau was formed of a screen con- sisting of eighty squadrons, in two lines, having two brigades of foot consisting of seven battalions in its centre, and it might have been foreseen that, if the enemy got through the marshes, they would not be able to keep their ground. The left, opposite Prince Eugene, was under the orders of Marshal Marsin, and consisted of thirty-eight battalions of infantry and fifty-five squadrons, consisting for the most part of Bavarians and Marshal Marsin's men, posted in front of the village of Lutzingen. Thus the French consisted of eighty-four battalions and a hundred and forty-seven squadrons, with ninety guns, and they mustered sixty thousand combatants, about five thousand more than the Allies, and with a great superiority of artillery. They were posted in a line strongly supported at each extremity, but weak in the centre, and with the wings, where the great body of the infantry was placed, at ]f)4 THE LIFE OF CHAP, such a distance from each other that, if the centre was IIL broken through, each ran the risk of being enveloped by ^o-i. the enemy, without the other being able to render any assistance. This danger as to the troops in Blenheim, the flower of their army, was much augmented by the circumstance that, if their centre was forced where it 1 Hist, de was formed of cavalry only, and the victors turned sharp sS'se-i round towards Blenheim, the horse would be driven 393, 6 394. headlong into the Danube, and the foot in that village Marib/Des! would run the hazard of being surrounded or pushed Miu'v!s89! into the river, which was not fordable, even for horse, in any part. 1 "' But though these circumstances would, to a far-seeing AndtdVan- general, have presaged serious disaster in the event of defeat, yet the position was strong in itself, and the French generals, long accustomed to victory, had some excuse for not having taken sufficiently into view the contingencies likely to occur in the event of defeat. Both the villages at the extremity of their line had been strengthened, not only with intrenchments hastily thrown up around them, thickly mounted with heavy cannon, but with barricades erected at all their principal entrances, formed of overturned carts, and all the furni- ture of the houses, which they had seized upon, as the insurgents did at Paris in 1830, for that purpose. The army stood upon a hill or gentle eminence, the guns from which commanded the whole plain by which alone it could be approached. This plain was low, and inter- sected by a rivulet which flows down by a gentle descent * The distribution of the troops here given docs not accord exactly with that previously set down on page 1G1 as the composition of Eugene and Marlborough's corps respectively, they being iti a certain degree intermingled in the line. MAKLBOROUGII. 165 to the Danube, and near Oberglau unites with t"\vo CHAP. other rivulets, whose united streams flow down past m - Blenheim into that river. These rivulets had bridges ] 7<)4. over them at the points where they flowed through villages; but they were difficult of passage at other J Co xe , i. c 11 -11 -11 T i 3G-389. points for cavalry and artillery, and, with the ditches Hist, de cut in the swampy meadows through which they flowed, SM-SGR. proved no small impediment to the advance of the Allied loi-ioa'."' army. 1 The Duke of Marlborough, before the action began, visited in person each important battery, in order to Disposition ascertain the range of the guns. The troops under his for the at-* 8 command were drawn up in four lines, the infantry being in front, and the cavalry behind, in each line. This arrangement was adopted in order that the foot-soldiers, who would get easiest through the streams, might form on the other side, and coyer the formation of the horse, who might be more impeded. The fire of cannon soon became very animated on both sides, and the infantry advanced to the edge of the rivulets with that cheerful air and confident step which is so often the forerunner of success. On Prince Eugene's side, however, the im- pediments proved serious : the beds of the rivulets were so broad that they required to be filled up with fascines before they could be passed by the guns ; and when they did get across, though they replied, it was without much effect ; while the French cannon thundered from the heights, which commanded the whole field. Two thou- sand men were struck down in all by the French cannon, which were much superior both in number and position, before the Allies got over the marshes. 2 At half-past i v . 585. ''' twelve, nevertheless, these difficulties were, by great ssll'sj.' efforts on the part of Prince Eugene and his wing. 166 THE LIFE OF CHAP, overcome, and he sent word to Marlborough that he was in. i ___ ready. 1704. During this interval divine service had been per- Maribo- formed at the head of every regiment and squadron in due! before the Allied army ; Marlborough himself had received began! ' the sacrament with great solemnity at midnight on the preceding day. So impressed was that great man with religious feelings at this momentous crisis, that, after the battle was over, he said " he had prayed to God more frequently, during its continuance, than all the chaplains of both armies put together, which served under his orders." He was seated on the ground, in the midst of his staff, eating a slender meal, when Eugene's aide-de- camp arrived. " Now, gentlemen, to your posts," said he, with the cheerful voice which betokened the confidence of victory, as he mounted his horse ; and his aides-de- camp galloped off in every direction to warn the troops to be ready. Instantly the soldiers everywhere stood to their arms, and the signal was given to advance. As Marlborough rode along the line a cannon-ball struck the ground near him, and covered him with earth. All around trembled for the safety of their beloved chief, but he calmly continued his survey as if nothing had happened. The rivulets and marshy ground in front of Blenheim and Unterglau were passed by the first line 1 iiist, ,! e without much difficulty, though the men were exposed to 3(;h-372.' a heavy fire of artillery from the French batteries ; and, i. the firm ground on the slope being reached, they advanced lilt', in the finest order to the attack the cavalry in front ';. having now defiled to a side, so as to let the English infantry take the lead. 1 The French did not expect, and were in a great measure unprepared for, an attack, when the heads of MARYBOROUGH. the Allied columns were seen advancing against them. Their generals had taken up the idea that the enemy were about to retire to Nordlingen, and as the morning was hazy, the skirmishers of Eugene were close upon Commt-nce- ' nient of the them before they were perceived."' Alarm guns were battle. then immediately fired, officers galloped off in every All s- |:! - direction, and Tallard and Marsin, hastily mounting their horses, did their utmost to put their troops in pro- per order. But no plan of defence had previously been arranged ; and the troops were hastily thrown into the nearest villages, or such as seemed destined to be first the object of attack. Seven-and-twenty battalions in all were crowded into Blenheim, against which the English column of grenadiers were seen to be steadily advancing. Thirty battalions were posted in and around Oberglau; and Lutzingcn was also strongly occupied, while eighteen French and Bavarian battalions were drawn up in an oblique line in the woods in its vicinity, on the extreme left of the cavalry. The guns w T crc judiciously posted along the front of the line, in situations the best calcu- lated to impede the enemy's advance; and, as they were greatly superior to the artillery of the Allies, they played i Hist. Mil. upon their advancing lines with very great effect. But coxe,i. there was the essential defect already noticed in the posi- 397'. ink tion, that its two keys, Blenheim and Oberglau, where 372, 373.' '' the main body of the infantry was posted, 1 were at si^V. such a distance from each other that neither their * " Cc 13, au point tlu jour les cnnemis ont battu la gencrale a 2 hcurcs, a 3 rassernblec. On les voit en bataillc a la tete tie leur camp, ct suivant les apparenccs Us marcheront aujoiml'hni. Le bruit tlu pays cst qu'ils vicnt a Nordlingen. Si ccla cst, ils nous laisscrout cntre Ic Danube ct eux, et par consequent ils auront tie la peine a soutenir les etablissemens qu'ils ont pris en Bavre." Marshal Tallard au Rol dc France, 13th August l^Oi, Campayncs de Tallard, ii. 140. 1GS THE LIFE OF CHAP, defenders nor their cannon could render any mutual IIL assistance ; while the long intervening space was filled J704 - up by a line of horse, for the most part unsupported by foot-soldiers, and incapable of resisting a vigorous attack from the united bodies of infantry and cavalry which were posted opposite them on the side of the enemy. Marlborough's eagle eye at once descried this glaring Attack'on defect in the enemy's distribution of his forces, and he Blenheim, i i T i /-^ which is prepared to turn it to the best account. Lord Cutts repulsed. .... - ,... c -r i 1-1 commanded the division or .British which advanced against Blenheim. General Rowe led the first line, consisting of five English battalions and four Hessians : they were supported by Lord Cutts, at the head of eleven battalions and fifteen squadrons. They were severely raked in moving up by four twenty-four pounders, which played with great vigour on the line ; but notwithstanding this they continued to advance, and reached the village. Rowe was within thirty yards of the palisades which the French had constructed at all the entrances of the village, when the enemy delivered their first fire of musketry- It was so close and well-directed that a great number of officers and men fell. But their comrades, nothing daunted, held bravely on ; and Rowe, moving straight forward, struck his sword on the pali- sades before he gave the word to fire. His order was to force an entrance with the bayonet : but the strength of the barriers, and the vast numerical superiority of the enemy in the village, rendered this impossible ; and the assailants, unable to advance, unwilling to retire, remained striving against the palisades, endeavouring to break them down by sheer strength, until half their number were struck down. Rowe himself fell badly MARLBOROUGH. 1G9 wounded at the foot of the pales, and his lieutenant- CHAP. colonel and major were killed in endeavouring to carry him off. At this critical moment some squadrons of i' 04 - French gens-d'armes charged their flank, threw the assailants into confusion, and took the colours of Howe's regiment which, however, were immediately regained by the Hessians, who advanced to its support. Lord Cutts, upon this, seeing fresh squadrons of cavalry pre- paring to charge, sent forward to Lumley, who com- manded the nearest Allied horse, for a reinforcement to cover his exposed flank, and five squadrons were imme- diately despatched across the Nebel to their support. They charged the enemy's horse gallantly, though Journal.' double their force, and drove them headlong back. But 403.'coxe~L 401, 402. fresh squadrons succeeded on the part of the French ; a iiist.de' murderous fire in flank, from the enclosures of Blenheim, 373-375.' mowed down great numbers, and the whole recoiled in ioV~ e disorder to the Allied lines. 1 The English general, foreseeing that this success e would be followed up by the enemy, and being satisfied crossing of that Blenheim was too strongly garrisoned to be carried by an assault of infantry unsupported by cavalry, resolved * to bring his whole cavalry across the Nebel, and make a general attack upon the weak part of the enemy's line between Blenheim and Oberglau. Midway between the two, on the centre of a bend of that stream towards the English position, was situated the village of Untcr- glau, which of course was first reached by the Allies. Marlborough sent forward Churchill with his division of infantry to attack that post ; but before he reached it the whole houses were in flames, having been set on fire by the French to retard the advance of the Allies. The brave troops, however, rushed forward through the 170 THE LIFE OF CHAP, conflagration, and having gained the bridge, which was m - of stone, soon began to deploy on the other side. No ] ' 04 - sooner did Marlborough see this than he gave orders for the whole cavalry to advance. They descended, headed by the English dragoons, rapidly and in good order, to the edge of the stream ; but the difficulties of the pas- sage were there greater than had been expected, as they had to cross the rivulet where it was divided, and the meadow between the branches was wet and very soft, and the streams themselves deep and muddy. However, by casting in fascines and boards, the bottom was at length rendered comparatively hard, and by great exer- tions the horses struggled through, though exposed all the while to a galling fire from the heavy guns posted around Blenheim. While this hazardous movement was going forward, Tallard, with inconceivable infatuation, abstained from attack, contenting himself with annoying the squadrons, as they successively got across, by the M fare's distant tire of his guns. The whole first line was over Journal. i M 4o-''' wT Before he gave orders to his cavalry to charge them, nl" m Apparently thinking that they would fall an easy prey. Co * c ':, They were still in disorder on the opposite bank, and iiut.de with their ranks yet unformed, when they were suddenly Marlb. i. J J J :!7.i, 37';. charged by the whole front line of the French cavalry, Kousset, ii. J J ' 101, 105. which bore down upon them in compact order and with Hying banners. 1 Formidable as this attack was, it was rendered still .10. Thc.-av.j.y more so by the heavy fire of cannon and musketry which with 't . . at the same time issued from the enclosures of Blenheim, and threw the whole nearest flank of the Allied horse into confusion. The second line, composed of the Danish and Hanoverian squadrons, however, was at length got across, and brought up by Marlborough to the MARLBOROUGIT. 171 support of the English dragoons ; and Churchill's men, CHAP. intermingled with the horse near Oberglau, threw in their volleys with great effect upon the advancing cavalry 1704 - of the enemy. It was only by their well-timed aid that a fatal rout was prevented before the horsemen could form on the opposite side. They could not, however, extend their succour far. Near Blenheim the dragoons were forced back in disorder to the very edge of the morass by the charges of French cavalry, aided by the terrible fire from the batteries at that village ; and it was only by great exertions, and constantly supporting the worsted squadrons by fresh troops as they were successively got across, that Marlborough succeeded in preventing an entire repulse in that quarter. As it was, a considerable number of the Allied horse were driven in disorder across the Ncbel. By constantly bringing fresh troops across, however, and judiciously mingling some foot regiments with his horse, Marlborough gradually gained ground, and at length his whole horse between Blenheim and Oberglau were got across, and formed in two lines on l Hare's T 1 the opposite side. But meanwhile a serious disaster had Marib. be.=. i T- i TT i i. 404,40.x occurred on the British right, where I rmce llolstem, cap. v.2i. with his Hanoverians, was directing the attack on 40,5. 'Hist. Oberglau ; and the presence of the commander-in-chicf .wi, ; j ./9.' was loudly called for, to prevent entire ruin in that iv. 597,593. quarter. 1 Prince Holstcin had no sooner crossed the stream, at - i the head of eleven battalions, and ere his men had Routcf time to form in good order on the opposite side, than he stem in the was charged with great vigour by the French infantry oiT in Oberglau, nine thousand strong, including the Irish brigade, who debouched with loud shouts out of the village. This brave body of veterans, who had become 172 THE LIFE OF CHAP, admirable troops from the superinducing of French "l'_ discipline and guidance on native Irish valour, charged 1704. w it}) suc jj vehemence, and threw in volleys so quick and well-directed, that the Prince's men were utterly routed, he himself taken prisoner, and the centre of the Allies entirely broken through. There was not a moment to be lost, for the communication with Prince Eugene and the right wing of the army was on the point of being cut off. But Marlborough was at hand to repair the disaster ; and he not only did so, but converted it into an advantage to his own side, which proved decisive. Galloping instantly to the spot, he led up in person some squadrons of British cavalry, closely followed by three battalions which had not been engaged. With the horse he charged the Irish, who, with the inconsi- derate ardour of their nation, were pursuing their advantage in disorder, and quickly threw them into confusion. The infantry he posted so advantageously i Coxe, ;. that their fire raked the column as it recoiled from the Hare's charge, and occasioned dreadful slaughter. The Irish Mwib?bea. were by this double attack driven back into Oberglau ; kausier, ' while some squadrons of French horse, whom Marshal Hist.de' Marsin sent up to their relief, were repelled by the fire 378*379! of a battery, which Marlborough brought forward from Margin's Wcilheim, and a powerful body of Imperial horse which counTiiibt he stationed on its flank. By this well-timed vigour 559! 5. crowded together in Blenheim, and compelled them to IH " surrender. 17 4 - Immense were the results of this transcendent victory. J co. The French army, lately so confident in its numbers Vast results J ' J of the vic- and prowess, retreated, " or rather fled," as Marlborough tory. says, through the Black Forest, abandoning the Elector of Bavaria and all the fortresses on the Danube to their fate. In the deepest dejection and the utmost disorder they reached the Rhine, scarce twelve thou- sand strong, on the 25th August, and immediately began defiling over by the bridge of Strasburg.* How different from the triumphant army, forty-five thousand strong, which, with drums beating and colours flying, had crossed at the same place six weeks before ! Marlbo- rough now raised the siege of Ingolstadt, and, having detached part of the force which had been thus engaged to besiege Ulm, drew near with the bulk of his army to the Rhine, which he passed near Philipsburg on the * The following letter, from an officer in the French army, paints the con- sternation which followed the battle of Blenheim : " Je vous dirai quo Mercredi 13 Aout il s'eu douue la plus sauglante bataille qu'on ait vue do memoire d'homme, ct dans laquelle nous avous etc entiere- nient defaits. M. de Tallard est blesse, et fait prisonuier avec beaucoup d'autres generaux; MM. de Surlaube et Blainville niorts; toute 1'iufanterio abiniee ou faitc prisonniere ; M. de Tavanes, colonel, le Comte de Verne, general de la cavalerie, et le Marquis dc Bellcfonde tues sur le place. M. de Montpcrou, autre general de la cavalerie, blesse. Xous courous a perdre halcine depuis deux jours, ct nous ne sommes arrives a Ulm (rendezvous au debris de 1'armee) que tout a Hieure, y ayant neuf bonnes heures dela au champ de bataille. Xous ctious derriere 1'iufauterie, qui a etc rcspousse six fois, et nous 1'avions toujours soutenue : clle est eiiticremcnt defaite, tous les officiers tues ou blesses, hors M. de Prcchcr, qui so porte aussi bieu que moi, qui ai fait comme beaucoup d'autres, les generaux nous dormant 1'example. Ce matin MM. de Courtebounc de Bourg, ct d'Huricieres sont echappes, s'etant sauves sur le chemin d'Ulm; cnfin toute I'armteest dans une consterna- tion terrible; nous avons perdus nos timbales et eteudards." Ltttre Originate dans CAPEFIGIUE, Histoire dc Louis XIV. \. 321. THE LIFE OF CHAP. 6th September, and advanced towards Landau, on the French side. Villeroi with the French army abandoned ] 7 04 - an intrenched camp on the banks of the Queicb, which he had constructed to cover the town. Marlborough followed, and made every effort to bring the 'French marshal to battle ; but in vain. He fell back first behind the Lauter, and then behind the Hotter, abandoning a rugged wooded country, one of the strongest in Europe, without firing a shot. The cannon of Blenheim still resounded in his ears. Ulm surrendered on the llth September, with 250 pieces of cannon and 1200 barrels of powder, which gave the Allies a solid foundation on the Danube, and effectually crushed the power of the 1 Hist. MIL Elector of Bavaria, who, isolated now in the midst of iv. G05-617. . . -ill i , i i , Hist, de Ins enemies, had no alternative but to abandon his donn- 401-467.' nious, and seek refuge in Brussels, where he arrived in the end of September. 1 Upon the 12th September, Landau was invested, Capture of Prince Louis, with twenty thousand men, forming the Traerbach, besieging force, and Eugene and Marlborough, with and conclu- , . 1 - . 1-1 sionofthe thirty thousand, the covering army, which took post at Cron-Weissemberg. Perceiving that this siege was likely to last some time, and anxious, before the conclu- sion of the campaign, to push his conquests as far as the Moselle, so that the next year might commence with the invasion of France, Marlborough determined to divide the covering force. Leaving Eugene, accordingly, with the larger portion in the lines, the English general set out with twelve thousand men on the 14th October. lie traversed a wild and inhospitable country covered witli wood, and both men and horses were sorely worn down by fatigue, when, on the 2Gth, he reached St Wcndal. At this place, which is eight leagues distant MARLBOROUGH. 185 from Troves, he received intelligence of the near approach CHAP. of ten thousand French troops, who were advancing to cover that important town. Not a moment was to be 1704> lost. Setting out, accordingly, on the morning of the 28th, Marlborough reached and occupied Troves upon the 29th, the garrison of three hundred men evacuating the citadel upon his approach, lie immediately col- lected six thousand peasants, whom he employed to restore the fortifications, and put the town in a posture of defence, and marched upon Traerbach, which was Oct..29. garrisoned by six hundred men. Here he was joined by twelve Dutch battalions from the Meusc, and, having formed the investment of the place, he left the Prince of Hesse to conduct the siege, which speedily ended in its surrender, and returned back with all haste to his old camp at Cron-Weissemberg. This whole expedition, which advanced the standards of the Allies to the Moselle, occupied only twenty-one days, and occasioned hardly the loss of a man. Its success gave Marlborough the highest satisfaction, as showing the French that their frontiers were not invulnerable/" Meanwhile, as the siege of Landau was found to require more time than had been anticipated, owing to the extraordinary diffi- culties experienced in getting up supplies and forage for the troops, Marlborough, leaving Eugene to conduct the siege, repaired to Hanover and Berlin to stimulate the Prussian and Hanoverian cabinets to greater exertions in the common cause ; and he succeeded, by his extra- ordinary address and conciliatory manners, in making arrangements for the addition of eight thousand Prussian * Writing to Godolphin upon this subject, lie says, " I reckon this cam- paign as well over, since the winter-quarters are settled on the Moselle, which I think will give France as much uneasiness as anything that has been done this summer." COSE, ii. 36. THE LIFE OF CHAP, troops to their valuable auxiliary force, to be added to III- the army of the Imperialists in Italy, which stood much iw. in need of reinforcement, as the Duke of Savoy had been reduced to the last extremity by the French, and only saved from utter ruin by extraordinary exertions of gallantry. The Electress of Bavaria, who had been left Regent of that state in the absence of the Elector in Flanders, had now no resource left but submission ; and a treaty was accordingly concluded in the beginning of November, by which she agreed to disband all her troops, and make peace with the Allies. The Hun- garian insurrection was suppressed ; Landau capitulated towards the end of November, its garrison of seven thousand having been reduced to three thousand six hundred, who were made prisoners ; and the campaign being now finished, the English general returned to the Hague and London to receive the honour due for 1 Ooxe, ii. . . 37-57. his past services, and urge their respective cabinets to the efforts necessary to turn them to good account. 1 Thus by the operations of one single campaign was its marvel- Bavaria crushed, Austria saved, and Germany delivered. b ' Marlborough's cross march from Flanders to the Danube had extricated the Imperialists from a state of the utmost peril, and elevated them at once to security, victory, and conquest. The decisive blow struck at Blenheim resounded through every part of Europe : it at once destroyed the vast fabric of power which it had taken Louis XIV., aided by the talents of Turcnne, and the genius of Vauban, so long to construct. Instead of proudly descending the valley of the Danube, and threatening Vienna, as Napoleon afterwards did in ISO.; and 180,9, the French were driven in the utmost disorder across the Rhine. The surrender of Tracrbach MAHL130110UGII. 187 and Landau gave the Allies a firm footing on the left CHAP. bank of that river. The submission of Bavaria deprived ] "' the French of that great outwork, of which they have 1/IM - always made such good use in their German wars ; the Hungarian insurrection, disappointed of the expected aid from the armies on the Rhine, was pacified. Prussia was induced by this great triumph to co-operate in a more efficient manner in the common cause she sent eight thousand men across the Alps, to aid the Duke of Savoy in defending his dominions ; the parsimony of the Dutch gave way before the joy of success ; and the Empire, delivered from invasion, was preparing to carry its victorious arms into the heart of France. Such achieve- ments require no comment they speak for themselves, and deservedly place Marlborough in the very highest rank of military commanders. The campaigns of Napo- leon exhibit no more decisive or important results. Honours and emoluments of every description were showered on the English hero for this glorious success. Honours He was created a prince of the Holy Roman Empire,""" besto^ed and a tract of land in Germany, at Mindelsheim, erected rough'. into a principality in his favour. His humanity to the wounded, alike of the enemy's army and his own, and his courtesy to the vanquished, were the theme of uni- * The holograph letter of the Emperor, announcing this honour, said, \vith equal truth and jxisticc " I am induced to assign to your highness a place among the princes of the Empire, in order that it may universally appear how much I acknowledge myself and the Empire to be indebted to the Queen of Great Britain, who sent her arms as far as Bavaria at a time when the affairs of the Empire, by the defection of the Bavarians to the French, most needed that assistance and support : And to your Grace, likewise, to whose prudence and courage, together with the bravery of the forces fighting under your command, the two victories lately granted by Providence to the Allies arc principally attributed, not only by the voice of fame, but by the general officers in my army who had their share in your labour and your glory." The Emperor Liopold to Marlboroityh, L'sth August 1704 ; JJesp. i. oUS. 188 THE LIFE OF CHAP, versal admiration. The coolness with which he gave IIL his orders in the hottest of the fire, and the admirable 1704. presence of mind with which he carried succour to every part of the field which required it, \vere admitted by all to have caused the triumph. On one occasion he met an officer flying at the head of his troop out of the reach of fire. " You are wrong," said Maiiborough, " you will not find the enemy there ; the enemy is on the other side." The officer turned with his troop and repulsed his pursuers. He had repeatedly been in imminent danger during the battle : on one occasion a cannon-ball grazed his horse, and wounded it badly ; on another he was covered with earth torn up at his feet by a twenty-four pounder. In company with Eugene he visited Marshal Tallard the day after the battle, offering every comfort and accommodation which it was in his power to bestow, and charming every heart by the great kindness of his manner. " I am sorry," said Maiiborough to Tallard, " that so great a catastrophe should have happened to a warrior for whom I entertain so high a respect." " On my part," answered Tallard, " I congratulate you upon having vanquished the best troops in the world." " Allow me," replied Maiiborough, " to believe that mine are the best in the world, since they have conquered those whom you regard as such." Among the prisoners was a common soldier, whose gallantry during the action had particularly attracted the notice of the English general. " Your master," said he to him, " would be 1 Hist. ,io invincible if he had many soldiers such as you." "My i-->:5. ' King," answered the soldier, " docs not want soldiers such as me, but a general such as you." 1 His reception at the courts of Berlin and Hanover resembled that of a sovereign prince ; the acclamations MARLBOROUCII. 189 of the people, in all the towns through which he passed, CHAP. rent the air ; at the Hague his influence was such that m ' he was regarded as the real Stadtholdcr. More sub- 1704> G4. stantial rewards awaited him in his own country. The His recep- tion at the munificence of the Queen and the gratitude of Parlia- courts of . . Berlin and ment conferred upon him the extensive Honour and Hanover, manor of Woodstock, long a royal palace, and once the sition of scene of the loves of Henry II. and the Fair Rosamond. By order of the Queen, not only was this noble estate settled on the Duke and his heirs, but the royal comp- troller commenced a magnificent palace for the Duke on a scale worthy of his services and England's gratitude. From this origin the superb palace of Blenheim has taken its rise, which, although not built in the purest taste, or after the most approved models, remains, and will long remain, a splendid monument of a nation's gratitude, and of the genius of Vanbrugh. But a yet more enduring monument was raised in the lines of the poet, which, even at this distance of time, are felt to be deserved : " 'Twas then great Marlborough's mighty soul was proved, That in the shock of charging hosts unmoved, Amidst confusion, horror, and despair, Examined all the dreadful scenes of war, In peaceful thought the field of death surveyed, To fainting squadrons sent the timely aid ; Inspired repulsed battalions to engage, And taught the doubtful battle where to rage. So when an angel, by Divine command With rising tempests shakes a guilty land Such as of late o'er pale Britannia past Calm and serene he drives the furious blast ; And pleased the Almighty's orders to perform, Rides in the whirlwind, and directs the storm." ADDISON. THE LIFE OF IV. CHAPTER IV. CAMPAIGN'S OF 17".) AND 170C. BATTLE OF RAMILIES AND CONQUEST OF FLAXDEKS. CIIAV. IT is remarkable tliat while the English people are the nation of all others recorded in history set on prac- tical objects, and the acquisition of ultimate benefit in return for present sacrifices, they are the one which, in tin'gtbS every age, has most frequently sacrificed or foregone the makcdur- fruits of the victorv, a ud suffered the greatest national able public . '_ . . . sacrifices, the most heroic public achievements, to remain without any lasting benefit to the country. There is no nation which has gained so many victories, there is none which has derived so little benefit from them. If a great success has been obtained, the people immediately expect that the contest is to be over, and remonstrate against any farther expense. If a glorious peace has been concluded, the cry for economy invariably becomes so strong, that such a reduction of the national arma- ments takes place that disaster is certain to be incurred on the next breaking out of hostilities, by which all its advantages are wclluigh lost. In periods of disaster, or under the influence of general terror, they have often made extraordinary and almost incredible efforts, and continued them for a very long time together ; but it has always been found impossible to get them to continue these efforts MARLBOROUGII. 191 when the peril obvious to every capacity is once over. The CHAP. moment that is the case, the cry for economy revives, and '_ the resistance to vigorous efforts becomes so great that 17 J - o o the whole advantages of previous successes are often sacrificed. The year which followed the battle of Blenheim * > afforded a memorable example of the truth of these Backward- . , _. i i i i ness of the observations. Notwithstanding the invaluable services Kngiish thus rendered by Maryborough, botli to the Emperor of in voting Germany and the Queen of Great Britain, he was far &l from experiencing from either potentate that liberal support for the future prosecution of the war which the inestimable opportunity now r placed in their hands, and the formidable power still at the disposal of the enemy, so loudly required. As usual, the English Parliament were exceedingly backward in voting supplies cither of men or money ; nor was the cabinet of Vienna or that of the Hague inclined to be more liberal in their exer- tions. Though the House of Commons agreed to give 4,670,000 for the service of the ensuing year, yet the land forces voted were only forty thousand men. The population of Great Britain and Ireland could not be at that period under ten millions, while France, with about twenty millions, had above two hundred thousand under arms. It is this excessive and invariable reluc- tance of the English Parliament ever to make those efforts at the commencement of a \var, which are neces- sary to turn to a good account the inherent bravery of / j its inhabitants, that is the cause of the long duration of our Continental contests, and of three-fourths of the national debt which now oppresses the empire, and, in its ultimate results, will endanger its existence. The national forces are, by the cry for economy and rcduc- 192 THE LIFE OP CHAP, tion which invariably is raised in peace, reduced to so Iv ' low an ebb that it is only by successive additions, made 1705. j n mail y different years, that they can be raised up to anything like the amount requisite for successful opera- tions. In the mean time, and before the requisite addi- tions can be made to the land and sea forces, disasters, sometimes serious and irreparable, are sustained on both elements. Thus disaster generally occurs in the com- mencement of every war ; or if, by the genius of any extraordinary commander, as by that of Maiiborough, unlooked-for success is achieved in the outset, the nation is unable to follow it up ; the very magnitude of the success prevents its continuance, the war languishes for want of the requisite support. The enemy gets time to recover from his consternation ; his danger stimulates him to greater exertions ; and many long years of war- fare, deeply chequered with disaster, and attended with enormous expense, are required to obviate the effects of previous undue pacific reduction. The cause of this singular peculiarity, which has in Causes of every age exercised so important an influence on English jarVecTn- affairs, is to be found in the combination in the national character of the democratic turn with mercantile in- terests and pursuits. If it be said that the prevalence of the democratic principle in Anglo-Saxon society is the cause of this peculiarity, and that popular bodies are invariably governed by present impressions, and incapable of foresight, we have the truth, but not the whole truth. The examples of the all -conquering Republic of Rome in ancient times, of the warlike can- tons of Switzerland or the terrible French democracy in modern, of the devouring American confederacy in our own davs, may convince us that democratic MARLBOEOUGH. 193 societies, in certain circumstances, are the most per- CHAP. maneutlj warlike of all states, and beyond all others dangerous, if their power is considerable, to all the 1705. countries in their vicinity. The true principle which explains the opposite effects of democracy in ruining some states and exalting others, in depriving some of all the fruit of their conquests, and causing others to advance in a steady career of aggressive aggrandisement, is to be found in the consideration of the invariable influence, in all circumstances, of self interest on the great majority of men in every rank, and under all varie- ties of human institutions. When the national spirit is warlike, and general advantage may be anticipated from the constant recurrence to hostilities, the Govern- ment is almost always secure of a cordial concurrence on the part of the majority in all measures, how costly soever, likely to secure success, and with it plunder, conquest, and rapine, on the first breaking out of war ; and the midtis utile helium becomes the most popular of all objects. But if the national disposition is pacific and it is to the paths of industry or the pur- suits of commerce that the majority look for the means of aggrandisement no consideration of public advan- tage will induce them to submit to present burdens, either to avert future disaster or follow up present success. And the working of these opposite principles may be seen even in the annals of England itself; for while in Europe, where their territory was limited, and commerce was the great source of individual advantage, nearly the whole fruit of victory has been constantly lost by subsequent parsimony ; in India, where the case was the reverse, and the spoils of a conquered territory held out the most brilliant prospects to individual ambition, VOL. I. N IV. 194 THE LIFE OF CHAP, the progress of British power has been unbroken, and a dominion has been acquired, equalled only by that for- merly won by the ancient conquerors of the world. How bitterly Maryborough felt this want of support, Bitter' sense on tlie part of the cabinets both of London and Vienna, borough en- which prevented him from following up the victory of tws^arai- Blenheim with the decisive operations against France disposition, which he would otherwise have undoubtedly commenced, is proved by various parts of his correspondence. On the 16th of December 1704, he wrote to Mr Secretary Harley " I am sorry to see nothing has been offered yet, nor any care taken by Parliament for recruiting the army, I mean chiefly the foot. It is of that conse- quence for an early campaign that without it we may run the hazard of losing, in a great measure, the fruits of the last; and, therefore, I pray leave to recommend it to you to advise with your friends, if any proper method can be thought of, that may be laid before the House immediately, without waiting my arrival." * Nor was the cabinet of Vienna, notwithstanding the immi- nent danger they had recently run, more active in making the necessary efforts to repair the losses of the campaign. " You cannot," says Marlborough, " say more to us of the supine negligence of the Court of Vienna, with reference to your affairs, than we are sensible of everywhere else ; and certainly if the Duke of Savoy's good conduct and bravery at Verue had not reduced the French to a very low ebb, the game must have been over before any help could come to you."f It is ever thus, especially with states such as Great Britain, in which the democratic element is so powerful as to * Maryborough to Mr Secretary Ilarleij, IGth Dec. 1704. Despatches, i. 556. t Marlivruuijh to Mr ll'dl at Turin, Cth Fob. \^ii. Despatches, \. 591. MARLBORO UGH. 195 imprint upon the measures of government that disregard CHAP. of the future, and aversion to present efforts or burdens, which invariably characterises the mass of mankind. 1705. If Marlborough had been adequately supported and strengthened after the decisive blow struck at Blenheim that is, if the governments of Vienna and London, with that of the Hague, had by a great and timely effort doubled his effective force when the French were broken and disheartened by defeat he would have inarched to Paris in the next campaign, and dictated peace to the Grand Monarque in his gorgeous halls of Versailles. It was short-sighted economy which entailed upon the Allied nations the costs and burdens of the next ten years of the War of the Succession, as it did the still greater costs and burdens of the Revolutionary contest, after the still more decisive successes of the Allies in the summer of 1793, when the iron frontier of the Netherlands had been entirely broken through, and their advanced posts, without any force to oppose them, were within a hundred and sixty miles of Paris. This parsimony of the Allied governments, and their invincible repugnance to the efforts and sacrifices which Reasons for could alone bring, and certainly would have brought, the the warTifto contest to an early and glorious issue, is the cause of the l\^, and subsequent conversion of the war into one of blockades Lathf lts and sieges, and of its being transferred to Flanders, F where its progress was necessarily slow, and its cost enormous, from the vast number of strongholds which required to be reduced at every stage of the Allied advance. It was said at the time, that, in attacking Flanders in that quarter, Marlborough took the bull by the horns ; that France on the side of the Rhine was far more vulnerable, and that the war was fixed in Flanders 196 THE LIFE OF CHAP, for the purpose of augmenting the profits of the generals 1V " employed, by protracting it. Subsequent writers, not 1705. reflecting on the difference of the circumstances, have observed the successful issue of the invasions of France from Switzerland and the Upper Rhine in 1814, and Flanders and the Lower Rhine in 1815, and concluded that a similar result would have attended a like bold invasion under Maryborough and Eugene. There never was a greater mistake. The great object of the war was to wrest Flanders from France. While the lilied standard floated on Brussels and Antwerp, the United Provinces were constantly in danger of being swallowed up; and there was no security for the independence of England, Holland, or any of the German states. If Marlborough and Eugene had had two hundred thou- sand effective men at their disposal, as Wellington and Blucher had in 1815, or three hundred thousand, as Schwartzenberg and Blucher had in 1814, and a hundred thousand only in their front, they might doubtless have left half their force behind them to blockade the fortresses, and with the other half marched direct to Paris. But as they never had more than eighty thousand on their muster-rolls, and could not bring more than sixty or seventy thousand effective men into the field, this bold and decisive course was impossible. The French army in their front was rarely inferior to theirs, often superior ; and how was it possible, in these circumstances, to venture on the perilous course of pushing on into the heart of the enemy's territory, leaving the frontier fortresses yet unsubdued in their rear r ( The disastrous issue of the Blenheim campaign to the French, even when supported by the friendly arms and all the fortresses of Bavaria, in the preceding year, had MARLBOROUGII. 197 shown what was the clanger of such a course. The still CHAP, more calamitous issue of the Moscow campaign to the IV ' army of Napoleon, demonstrated that even the greatest 1705 - military talents, and most enormous accumulation of Examples military force, afford no security against the incalculable nL^i danger of an undue advance beyond the base of military ^sc^nt" operations. The greatest generals of the last age, fruitful times- beyond all others in military talent, have acted on those principles, whenever they had not an overwhelming superiority of forces at their command. Wellington never invaded Spain till he was master of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajos ; nor France till he had subdued San Sebastian and Pampeluna. The first use which Napo- leon made of his victories at Montcnotte and Dcgo was to compel the Court of Turin to surrender all their fortresses in Piedmont ; of the victory of Marcugo, to force the Imperialists to abandon the whole strongholds of Lombardy as far as the Adigc. The possession of the single fortress of Mantua, in 179G, enabled the Austrians to arrest the course of Napoleon's victories, and gain time to assemble four different armies for the defence of the monarchy. The case of half a million of men, flushed by victory, and led by able and experienced leaders, assailing a single state, as they did in 1814 and 1815, is the exception, not the rule. Circumstances, therefore, of paramount importance and irresistible force, compelled Marlborough to fix the Extraordi- nar y T-M i 1 f i war in 1 landers, and convert it into one or sieges and of . . borough for blockades. In entering upon such a system of hostility keeping to- sure, and comparatively free from risk, but slow, and Alliance. extremely costly the Alliance ran the greatest risk of being shipwrecked, in consequence of the numerous dis- cords, jealousies, and separate interests, which, in the case 198 THE LIFE OF CHAP, of almost every coalition recorded in history, have proved IV " fatal to a great confederacy, if it does not obtain decisive 170.5. success at the outset, before these seeds of division have had time to come to maturity. With what admirable skill and incomparable address Marlborough kept together the unwieldy Alliance will hereafter appear. Never was a man so qualified by nature for such a task. He was courtesy and grace personified. It was a common saying at the time, that neither man nor woman could resist him. And he had need of all these conciliatory quali- ties, and of his whole extraordinary grace and suavity of manner ; for never was a commander, both abroad and at home, exposed throughout to so many and such serious difficulties, or so imperiously called on, at all times, to disarm domestic hostility, or invigorate foreign apathy, alike by unbroken success and unwearied address. It was hard to say whether his difficulties were greatest from the eclat of his triumphs, or from the disappoint- ments consequent on the jealousies which prevented his taking advantage of them. While intent only on his multifarious duties, as at once Extraonii- the coininander-in-cliief of the army and the head of the ticjeaiousy confederacy, Marlborough was assailed by the most waTex- ie inveterate hostility at home, which appeared only to increase with every victory which he gained. The usual attendants on uncxpectedgreatness envy, hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness were fast accumulating in his rear. The jealousy with which he was regarded was unbounded, and, if we had not seen at one time a similar hostility manifested against the Marlborough of our days, would seem incredible. Probably no man ever rose from private life to greatness, either in war, politics, or litera- ture, without experiencing more or less of this envenomed MAKLBOROUGH. 199 feeling, which no suavity or unobtrusiveness of manner CHAP. can obviate ; for these qualities, by increasing the esteem of the estimable, only augment the jealousy of the male- 1705< volent. Marlborough, not despite, but in consequence of his very greatness, became such an object of hostility to the Tories that, as he himself said, " life had become a G2-<;4. ' burden to him ;" and his great object was to obtain the rough to Queen's permission to retire into private life, at the time NOV. 23,' , . . . . . , 1704. Coxc, when his enemies asserted he was anxious only to prolong ii. 62. the war for advantage to himself. 1 "" This jealousy, the invariable attendant on self-created greatness, was much aggravated in Marlborough's case by Extraordi- the dark stain on his earlier career. Men were exas- "us]- of 1 " perated at seeing him exalted to the highest pitch of rough? worldly greatness, in consequence of the very change which seemed to them, and not without reason, as the extremity of worldly baseness. These feelings burst forth with peculiar vehemence during the march of the Allied army into Germany. The Tories complained that the troops were led on a distant and perilous expedition, and left exposed in the midst of their enemies; and that the general had exceeded his instructions, for his own private emolument. Threats were thrown out that, if * " Were the affairs of the Queen and Europe in such a condition that one might sleep quietly and safely in his own home, I had much rather that any one were at the head of affairs than myself; for parties are grown so very unreasonable that one ought not to expect any other than hardships, though without faults, when success is not with us." Marlborough to the Duchess, Cassel, Nov. 23, 1704; COXE, ii. 62. " By my letters from England, I find that zeal and success is only capable of protecting me from the malice of vil- lanous faction ; so that, if it were not for the great obligation which I owe to the Queen, nothing should persuade me era- more to stir out of England. We have news here that Landau and Traerbach are taken ; so that, thanks be to God, this campaign is ended to the greatest advantage to the Allies that has been for a long time, I long extremely to be with you and the children, so that you may be sure I shall lose no time when the wind is fair." Marl- borough to the Duchcts, Hanover, Dec. 2, 1704 ; COXE, ii. 63. 200 THE LIFE OF CHAP, unsuccessful, it should bring his head to the block. The 1_ storming of the Schcllenberg first broke in upon these 1703. pleasing illusions, and the victory of Blenheim dashed them to pieces. But though stunned, his enemies were not subdued ; and the} 7 contrived, from his very triumphs, to extract materials for fresh difficulties to throw in the hero's way. Though shamed into silence, for a time, by the roar of cannon, the glare of illuminations, and " the electric shock of a nation's gratitude," yet they ere long recovered their spirits, and turned all that had been done to the Duke's disadvantage. One set represented the victory gained as so decisive that it was high time now that the wars were ended, and the people allowed, in peace and quiet, to enjoy the fruit of their triumphs. Another and they were the more numerous diminished the success which had been gained, magnified the resources and perseverance of the enemy, and dwelt on the folly of continuing any longer a contest with a hydra which only became the more formidable after every wound which it received.* A third body and they were the most numerous of all, and met with the most willing auditors - took refuge from public achievement in private scandal, and circulated the most malignant falsehoods about the i GOXC, i. Duke's thirst for money, and his profligate prolongation in^t.ue of the war for his own advantage. In one particular 41-72.' alone they all concurred, and that was, in hatred at the v.'l ' object of their hostility, and total disregard of truth, in the desire to injure him. 1 * " The people you mention (the Tories) generally lessen the victory ; and, what is more strange to me, they will hardly ever believe any news that lessens France, but swallow up any to its advantage. One of these said not long ago, it was true a great many men were killed or taken, but that to the French king was no more than to take a bucket of water out of a river; and they seemed so possessed with what his flatterers say of his greatness, tJtat MARLBOROUGII. '201 Tlic same circumstance of necessity imprinted a CHAP. peculiar character upon the generalship of Marlborough, 1V ' as it has subsequently done on that of Wellington, and 17 5 - must ever do on the commander who is to head the caution cause forces of a great confederacy, especially if popular states enter into its composition. Caution and prudence, in on p ivia r ibo- such a situation, are not only important, but indispensable, military The jealousies of cabinets arc such, their interests are cc so frequently at variance, that nothing can keep the alliance together for any length of time, but either an unbroken career of success, or the presence of some universally felt and overwhelming danger. Such is the impatience of disaster or taxation, and such the fickle- ness of disposition in the people of every country, that they can never be brought to carry on a contest for any considerable time, not attended with immediate profit to themselves, if danger is not evident from its cessa- tion, or their imaginations are not excited by a constant series of triumphs. Both these difficulties existed in the case of Marlborough, for he was the general of a free state, which, unless in the excitement of victory, is con- stantly impatient of taxation, and the leader of the forces of an Alliance which it required all his address, and all the terrors of Louis XIV., to hinder every year from falling to pieces, from the jealousies and separate views of its members. With him, therefore, a prudent line of conduct was not only advisable, but indispensable. A single defeat would overturn the ministry in England, tlicy almost deem him omnipotent." Mr Unnieft to Marlborouyli, Aug. 5, 1704; COXE, ii. 42. " Sir Edward Seymour declared, in the language of a sportsman, that he and his friends would pounce upon the adventurous com- mander on his return as hounds pounce on a hare ; and threats were even thrown out that his rash expedition, if unsuccessful, would probably bring his head to the block." COXE, ii. 41. 202 THE LIFE OP CHAP, and dissolve the Alliance. Unbroken success was to him, 1V " as it afterwards was to Wellington, the condition of 1705. existence : it was by its influence alone that the contest could be maintained ; and the event proved that even this condition, which he constantly implemented, could not in the end insure a hearty continuance of it. And from this very success arose a new set of dangers ; for it took away the stimulus of fear, and brought into activity the usual selfishness of mankind, which leads every one to strive to throw the burden of efforts for the common cause on his neighbour. A striking proof of the action of these principles of strange fet- weakness in the Alliance, of which he was the head, ters which . theAiiiance occurred m the very next campaign. It might have been imposed on r ^ i T-> -111 his conduct expected that, after the march into JBavana had demon- strated the military genius of the Duke of Marlborough, and the battle of Blenheim had in so decisive a manner broken the enemy's power, the principal direction of military affairs would have been intrusted to that consum- mate commander ; and that the Allied cabinets, without presuming to interfere in the management of the cam- paigns, would have turned all their efforts to place at his disposal forces adequate to carry into execution the mighty designs which he meditated, and had shown himself so well qualified to carry into execution. It was quite the reverse. The Allied cabinets did nothing. They did worse than nothing they interfered only to do mis- chief. Their principal object after this appeared to be to cramp the efforts of this great general, to overrule his bold designs, to tie down his aspiring genius. Each looked only to his own separate objects, and nothing could make them see that these were to be gained only by promoting the general objects of the Alliance. MAKLBOROUGH. 203 Relieved from the danger of instant subjugation by the CHAP. victory of Blenheim, and the retreat of the French army across the Rhine, the German powers relapsed 1705 - into their usual state of supineness, lukewarmness, and indifference. The age and infirmities of the Emperor Leopold, who was in the most debilitated state, and the dangers of the Hungarian insurrection, paralysed all the efforts of the cabinet of Vienna. No efforts of Marl- borough could induce the Dutch either to enlarge their contingent, or even to render that already in the field fit for active service. The English force was not half of what the national strength was capable of sending forth. Parliament would not hear of anything like an adequate expenditure. Thus the golden opportunity, never likely to be regained, of profiting by the consternation of the enemy after the battle of Blenheim, and their weakness after forty thousand of their best troops had been lost J J Marlbo- to their armies, w r as allowed to pass away ; and the war rough to J , M. Pesters, W 7 as permitted to dwindle into one of posts and sieges, May 31, r 170,5. Desp. when, by a vigorous effort, it might have been concluded n. GO, 01. in the next campaign. 1 "* It was not thus with the French. The same causes 12. which had loosened the efforts of the confederates had vigorous efforts of inspired unwonted vigour into their councils. The the French Rhine was crossed by the Allies ; the French armies ment. * " C'est le retardcrnent de toutes les troupes Allemandcs qui derangent nos affaires. Je ne saurais mieux vous expliquer la situation ou nous sommes qu'en vous envoyant les deux lettres ci-jointes 1'une que je vieus de recevoir du Prince de Bade, et 1'autre la reponse que je lui fais. En vCrite, notre etat est plus a plaiudre que vous ne croyez ; mais je vous prie que cela n'aille pas outre. Nous pcrdons la plus belle occasion du monde manque dcs troupes qui devaicnl etre id il y a deja lonytemps. Pour le reste de 1'artillerie Hollandaise, et les provisions qui pcuvent arriver de Mayencc, vous les arreterez, s'il vous plait, pour quclques jours, jusques a ce que je vous en derive." Marlborovyh d. M. Pesters, Treves, 31 Mai, 1705 ; Despatches, ii. GO- 1. 204 THE LIFE OF CHAP, bad been burled with disgrace out of Germany ; the IV| territory of the Grand Monarque was threatened both 170.5. f rom ti lc gi(i e O f Alsace and Flanders; and a formidable insurrection in the Ceveimes distracted the force and threatened the peace of the kingdom. But against all these evils Louis made head. Never had the superior vigour and perseverance of the leaders of a monarchy over those of a confederacy been more clearly evinced. Marshal Villars had been employed, in the close of the preceding year, in appeasing the insurrection in the Cevennes, and his measures were at once so vigorous and conciliatory that before the end of the following winter the disturbances o were entirely at an end. In consequence of this, the forces employed in that quarter became disposable; and by this means, and the immense efforts made by the government over the whole kingdom, the armies on the frontier were so considerably augmented that Villeroi and the Elector of Bavaria took the field in the Low Countries at the head of seventy-five thousand men, while Marshal Mar- sin, on the Upper Rhine, covered Alsace with thirty thousand. Those armies were much larger than any which the Allies could bring against them ; for although it had been calculated that Marlborough was to be at the head of ninety thousand men on the Moselle on the 1st May, yet, from the dilatory conduct of the States- General and the German princes, in the beginning v. 5-7.' Hist, of June there were scarcely thirty thousand men col- (7-74? ' '' lectcd round his standards, all English, or in the pay of iHMil'. Great Britain ; and in Flanders, and on the Upper Rhine, the enemy's relative superiority was still greater. 1 The plan of the campaign of 1705, based on the supposition that these great forces were to be at his disposal, concerted between him and Prince Eugene, was MABLBOROUGII. 2()o iii the highest degree bold and decisive. It was fixed CHAP. that, early in spring, ninety thousand men should be assembled in the country between the Moselle and the !' 05 - Saar, and, after establishing their magazines and base Boi^pia of operations at Troves and Tracrbach, they should jJ^JJ penetrate, in two columns, into Lorraine ; that the SJCn column under Marlborough in person should advance j^ance along the course of the Moselle, and the other, under the Margrave of Baden, by the valley of the Saar, and that Saar-Louis should be invested before the French army had time to take the field. In this way the whole fortresses of Flanders would be avoided, and the war, carried into the enemy's territory, would assail France on the side where her iron barrier was most easily pierced through. But the slowness of the Dutch and backwardness of the Germans rendered this well-con- ceived plan abortive, and doomed the English general, for the whole of a campaign which promised such important advantages, to little else but difficulty, delay, and vexation. Marlborough's enthusiasm, great as it was, nearly sank under the repeated disappointments which he experienced at this juncture; and, guarded as he was, his chagrin exhaled in several bitter complaints in his confidential correspondence. The dilatory con- duct to give it no worse name of the Prince of Baden in particular excited his decided animadversion, insomuch that he wrote to the Emperor on the subject. But it was all in vain. Nothing could overcome the proverbial slowness of the Germans; and so tardy were their movements that even in the end of May, a fortnight after Marlborough had joined the army, a third of the foot-soldiers, and more than half the horse, which they were to have furnished, were still awanting. This 206 THE LIFE OF CHAP, rendered offensive operations at present hopeless ; and Marlborough had the mortification of beholding the O o 1705. enemy's army daily increasing, and their position ren- dered stronger, while his own received no augmentation. 1 Maribo- But, like a true patriot and man of perseverance, he did rough to , -I ' i T r- -I Godoiphin, not give way to despair when he found nearly all that 1705. Mari- had been promised him awanting; but, perceiving the count greater designs impracticable, from the want of all the Wroteslau, 1-1 i t June 8, means by which they could be carried into execution, ii. 85. ' P< prepared to make the most of the insufficient force which alone w r as at his disposal. 1 """ At length, some of the German reinforcements having Commence- arrived, Marlborough, on the 3d of June, though still rations early greatly inferior to the enemy, commenced operations. tL Moseiie, Such was the terror inspired by his name, and the tried valour of the English troops, that Villars although he had fifty-five thousand, and they only forty-two thousand as yet remained on the defensive, and soon retreated. Without firing a shot, he evacuated a strong woody country, which was occupied by Marlborough. Such was the strength of this position that Villars had said a few days before to his generals, " Here is a fine place * " I am very much disappointed by the very little number of troops they can from hence send to the Moselle. All that Prince Louis of Baden will promise is twenty battalions and forty squadrons ; but even of these I am only promised twelve battalions and twenty-eight squadrons, which are to be at Treves by the 10th of next month. This is so great a disappointment that I have written very pressiugly to the Emperor upon it." Marlborough to Godoiphin, Rastadt, May 11/22, 1705; COXE, ii. 104. "The army of Prince Louis is in so miserable a condition that he could not spare more than twelve battalions and twenty-eight squadrons by the 10th or 12th June. The troops of Prussia cannot be here much sooner, and the seven thousand Palatines in the English and Dutch pay are to be here by the 6th. By all this you will see we want a third of our foot, and almost half our horse, which makes it impossible for rne as yet to march." Marlborough to Godoiphin, May 16 27, 1705; COXE, ii. 108, 109. Even so late as the 8th June, Marlborough wrote" J'ai d'abord pris poste dans ce camp, oil je me trouve a portee IV. MARLBOROUGH. 20? to meet an enemy : the best ground in the world to fight CHAP. on a good opportunity." He evacuated it, however, and retired to a still stronger defensive position, extending from Haute Sirk on the right, to the Nevelle on the left, and communicating in the rear with Luxembourg, Thion- ville, and Saar-Louis. This position was so well chosen that it was hopeless to attempt to force it without heavy cannon; and Marlborough's had not yet arrived, from the failure of the German princes to furnish the draught- horses they had promised. For nine weary days he remained in front of the French position, counting the hours till the guns and reinforcements came up; but such was the tardiness of the German powers, and the universal inefficiency of the inferior princes and poten- tates, that they never made their appearance. The English general was still anxiously awaiting the pro- mised supplies, without which it was impossible to hazard 1 Coxe, ;;. . 1 13-118. an attack, when intelligence arrived from the right of so iiist.de O O * I 11 > 1 . 1 1111 f '" al 'lt>. 11. alarming a character as at once changed the theatre ol so 83. operations, and fixed him for the remainder of the H. 125. ' campaign in the plains of Flanders. 1 * It was the rapid progress which Marshal Villeroi and d'entrcprendre la siege de Saar-Louis, si les troupes qui devaieut avoir etc ici il y a quelques jours m'avaient joint. Cependaut je n'ai pas jusques ici un seul homme qui ne soit a la soldo del'Angleterre ou de la Hollande. Les troupes de Bade ne peuvent arriver avant le 21 au plutot ; quelques-uns des Prussiens sont encore plus en arriere ; et pour les trois millc chevaux que les princes voisins devaient nous fournir, pour inener 1'artillerie et les muni- tions, et sans quoi il nous sera impossible d'agir, je n'en ai aucune nouvelle, nonobstant toutes mes instances. J'ai grand pour memo qu'il u'y ait a 1'heure memo que je vous ecris celle-ci, des resolutions en chemin de la Hayc, qui detruiront entierement tons nos projets de ce cote-ci. Cette situation me donne tant d'inquietude, que je ne saurais me dispenser de vous prior d'en vouloir faire part & sa Majeste Impfiriale." Marlborough au Comte de Wroteslau, Elft, 8 Juin, 1705. Despatches, ii. 85. * " Tous les mouvemens de Marlborough tcndcrent se rendre maitre de Thionvillo, et meme de Luxembourg. Le Prince de Bade, qui commaudoit THE LIFE OP CHAP, the Elector of Bavaria, at the head of sixty thousand Iv - men, were making in the heart of the Low Countries, 1705. which rendered this change necessary. General Over- It5 - , kirk was there intrusted witli the army intended to ouccesses of J overthl COVGl " Holland ; but it was greatly inferior to the enemy Allies in i n point of numerical amount, and still more so in the 1< landers. quality and composition of the troops of which it was made up. Aware of his superiority, and of the timid character of the government which was principally interested in that army, Villeroi pushed his advantages to the utmost. He advanced rapidly upon the Meuse, carried by assault the fortress of Huys, and, marching upon Liege, occupied the town without much resistance, and laid siege to the citadel. Overkirk, cautiously remaining within his lines before Maestricht, was unable even to keep the field. Marlborough was well aware of this danger ; but he had calculated, with reason, upon being able to obviate it by making such progress on the Moselle as would have compelled the French, instead of making offensive movements on the Meuse, to detach troops from thence to reinforce Villars, and cover Thion- ville and Luxembourg. But as the failure of the German princes to complete their contingents rendered this hope abortive, real danger threatened the United Provinces."" I'armec dc 1'Empire, lui avait promis de lo joindrc pour 1'cxecution d'un si beau projct ; les cercles, princes, et etats voisins avaient promis de fournir a, temps les munitions et I'artillcrie neccssairc : ratds pcrsonnene tint parole suns quo Ton pent penetrcr la raisou. Au moment ou Ton voulut 1'cxecutcr, rien, 110 so trouva pert, ct dans un grand conscil dc guerre, qui dura trois jours, personne no voulut seconder le general Anglais, qui fut ainsi oblige d'aban- donncr le dcssein le mieux concerto, et reconduire son armcc en Flandre, ou les deputes des Etats-Ceneraux le rappeloicnt aprcs quelques semaines, pour arretcr dcs progres quo pouvaicnt etrc fatalc a lour republiquc.''' KOUSSKT, ii. 125. * " Tlie French are attacking Huys, and will soon be before Liege. These movements have spread such a panic in Holland that 1 am apprehensive lest MABLBOROUQH. 200 The utmost alarm seized upon all classes. They already CHAP. in imagination saw Louis XIV. a second time at the gates O D of Amsterdam. Courier after courier was despatched to 170; '- Marlborough soliciting relief in the most urgent terms ; and it was hinted that, if effectual protection were not immediately given, Holland would be under the necessity of negotiating for a separate peace. There was not a moment to be lost : the Dutch were now as hard pressed as the Austrians had been in the preceding year, and in * Kousset, greater alarm than the Emperor was before the battle r'oxe,"ii. . . . 11!)- 121. of Blenheim. A cross-march like that into Bavaria Hist, de' could alone reinstate affairs. Without a moment's 88-85.' " hesitation Marlborouh took his determination. 1 On the 17th June, without communicating his designs to any one, or even without saying a word of the alarm- Sudden ing intelligence he had received, he ordered the whole Maribo- aruiy to be under arms at midnight, and setting out thefrreUe shortly after, he marched, without intermission, eighteen miles to the rear. Having thus gained a march upon the enemy, so as to avoid the risk of being pursued or harassed in his retreat, he left General d'Aubach with eleven battalions and twelve squadrons to cover the important magazines at Treves and Saarbruck, with orders to defend them to the last extremity ; and the States should adopt resolutions that will mar our designs on this side, which must be attributed to the delay in the arrival of the German troops. Had they joined me in time, the enemy must have made a considerable detachment from the Netherland to this quarter." Marlborough to Prince E ugenc, June 11,1705; COXE, ii. 119. "If I had known beforehand what I must endure by relying on the people of this country, no reasons would have induced me to have undertaken this campaign. 1 will, by the help of God, do my best, and then I must submit to what may happen. But it is impossible to be cadet and not complain, when there is all the probability imaginable of a glorious campaign, to see all put in doubt from the negligence of princes, whose interest it is to help us with all they have." ^larlborouyh to the Duchess, June 16, 1705 ; COXE, ii. 121. VOL. I. 210 THE LIFE OF CHAP. IV. 1705. 1 Coxe, ii. 120-1'JX Mem. de Villars, i. 336-875. Hare's Journal. Hist, de Marlb. ii. 85-87. Rousset, ii. 125. 17. The disas- ters of the German troops in the circle of Treves ren- der the de- sign abor- tive. himself, with the remainder of the army, about thirty thousand strong, marched rapidly in the direction of Maestricht. He was in hopes of being able, like the Consul Nero, in the memorable cross-march from Apulia to the Metaurus, in Roman story, to surprise the French with his own army united to that of Overkirk, before they were aware of his approach ; but in this he was disappointed. Villeroi got notice of his movement, and instantly raising the siege of the citadel of Liege, with- drew, though still superior in number to the united forces of the enemy, within the shelter of the lines he had prepared and fortified with great care on the Meuse. Marlborough, who had crossed that river near Yiset, and effected his junction with Overkirk at Haneffe on the 2d July, instantly attacked Huys, which, invested on the 6th, surrendered on the llth July. But the satisfaction derived from having thus arrested the pro- gress of the enemy in Flanders, and wrested from him the only conquest of the campaign, soon received a bitter alloy. Like Frederick in his marvellous campaigns, and Napoleon in his later years, the successes he gained in person were often overbalanced by the disasters sustained through the blunders or treachery of his lieutenants. 1 Hardly had Huys opened its gates, when advices were received that d'Aubach, instead of obeying his orders, and defending the magazines at Treves and Saarbruck to the last extremity, had fled on the first appearance of a weak French detachment, and burnt the whole stores which it had cost so much time and money to collect. This was a severe blow to Marlborough, for it at once rendered impracticable the offensive move- ment into Lorraine, on which his heart was so set, and from which he had anticipated such important results. MAKLBOKOUG1I. 211 It was no longer possible to carry the war into the CHAP. enemy's territory, or turn the whole fortresses of the Iv ' enemy in Flanders. The tardiness of the German i705 - powers in the first instance, the terrors of the Dutch, and the misconduct of d'Aubach in the last, had caused that ably-conceived design entirely to miscarry/" Great was the mortification of the English general at this signal disappointment of his most warmly-cherished hopes ; it even went so far that he had thoughts of resigning his command. It not only blasted all his projects, but gave such increased vigour to his enemies in England that he at one time had actually resolved to carry this intention into execution.! But he soon recovered his native vigour of mind, and instead of abandoning himself to despair, he set about, like the King of Prussia in after times, the * Rousset, preparation of a stroke which should reinstate his affairs Coxe, i;. 124-127 by the terror with which it inspired the enemy, and the mst.de demonstration of inexhaustible resources it afforded in 87-89.' " himself. 1 * " Par ces contretemps nos projcts de ce cote-ci sont evanouis, au nioins pour le present; et j'espere qu'Elle me fera la justice de croire quo j'ai fait tout ce qui a dependu de rnoi pour les faire reussir. Si je pouvais avoir 1'honneur d'entretenir V. A. pour une seule heure, je lui dirai bien des choses par ou Elle verrait combieu je suis a plaindre. J'avais 94 escadrons et 72 bataillous, tous a la solde de I'Augletcrre et de la Hollands ; de sorte que, si on m'avait seconde, nous aurions eu une des plus glorieuses campagues qu'on pouvait souhaiter. Apres un tel traitment, V. A., jc suis sure, ne m'aurait pas blame si j'avais pris la resolution de ne jamais plus serrir, commc je ue ferai pas aussi, je vous assure, apres cette canipagne, a nioins que de pouvoir prendre des mesures avec 1'Empereur sur lesquclles je pourrais eii- tierement me fier." Marlborougli a Eugene, 21 Juin, 1705 ; Despatches, ii. 125. ) " They write to me from England that the tackers and all their friends are glad of the disappointments I meet with, saying, that if I had success this year like the last, the Constitution of England would be ruined. This vile enormous faction of theirs vexes me so much that I hope the Queen will, after this campaign, allow me to retire, and end my days in praying for her prosperity and making my peace with God."- 3Iarlborough to the Duchess, June 13/24, 1705; COXE, ii. 127. 212 THE LIFE OF CHAP. The position taken up by the Elector of Bavaria and Marshal Villeroi, when Marlborough's cross-march forced 1705 - them to defensive measures, was so strong that it was re- Position garded as impregnable ; and in truth it was so to a front v7iie P rof by Attack. With its right resting on Marche-aux-Dames, on the Meuse, it passed by Gerbise to Waseigne, on the Me- haigne, and from thence stretching to the Little Gliect, followed its left bank to Leau ; from Leau it descended the course of the Great Gheet to its junction with the Demer, and wound along the latter stream as far as Aerschot, from whence a series of field-works connected it with the strong and important fortress of Antwerp. This line was long, and of course liable to be broken through at various points ; but such was the skill with which every vulnerable part had been strengthened and fortified, by the French engineers, that it was no easy matter to say where an impression could be made. Wherever a marsh or a stream intervened, the most skilful use had been made of it ; while forts and redoubts, plentifully mounted with heavy cannon, both commanded all the approaches to the lines, and formed so many points d'appui to the defenders in case of disaster. Such a position, defended by 70,000 men, directed by able generals, might well be deemed impregnable. Villeroi had 119 battalions and 1GO squadrons the largest army the French had shown in the field during the war. Success appeared hopeless ; but Marlborough, with an inferior force, resolved to attempt it. He was at the head of 72 battalions and 94 squadrons, mustering 36,000 foot and 14,000 horse ; and with them lie determined to assail the enemy in their strong position. In doing so, however, he had difficulties more formidable to overcome than even the resistance of the enemy in front : the timidity of the MARLBOROUGII. 213 authorities at the Hague, and the nervousness under CHAP. responsibility of the generals of the United Provinces, were more to be dreaded then Villeroi's redoubts. It Wo. required all the consummate address of the English general, aided by the able co-operation of General Over- kirk, to obtain liberty from the Dutch authorities to engage in any offensive undertaking. At length, how- ever, after infinite difficulty, a council of war at head- quarters agreed to support any measure which might be deemed advisable ; and Marlborough instantly set about putting his design in execution. In doing so, however, he was obliged to exert his wonted secresy and address. He communicated his design to Overkirk alone, on whose patriotism and fidelity, as well as courage and skill, he could entirely rely ; and that officer willingly engaged to J coxe, H. take, and actually took, the whole Dutch force with him iiist.'do on the expedition on which he was to be sent, in order to 91-96.' "' prevent its generals from thwarting the design in con- aiw. ' templation. 1 The better to conceal the real point of attack, he gave out that a march to the Moselle was to be imme- His able diately undertaken ; and, to give a colour to the report, oven-each the corps which had been employed in the siege of Iluys was not brought forward to the front. At the same time Overkirk with the whole Dutch troops was detached to the Allied left, across the Mehaigne, towards Bourdiue, and Marlborough followed with a considerable force, ostensibly to support him. So completely was Yilleroi imposed upon, that he drew large reinforce- ments from the centre to his extreme right; and soon forty thousand men were grouped round the sources of the Little Ghect in that quarter. By this means the middle of his line was seriously weakened ; and Marl- 214 THE LIFE OF CHAP, borough instantly assembled, with every imaginable IV- precaution to avoid discovery, all his disposable forces 17U5 - to attack that, now the most vulnerable part of the lines. The corps hitherto stationed on the Meuse was silently brought up to the front ; Marlborough put himself at the head of his own English arid German troops, whom he had carried with him from the Moselle ; and at Juiyi-. eight at night, on the 17th July, the whole began to march, all profoundly ignorant of the service on which they were to be engaged. Each trooper was ordered to carry a truss of hay at his saddle-bow, as if a long inarch was in contemplation. At the same instant on which the columns under Marlborough's orders com- menced their march, Overkirk repassed the Mehaigne on the left, and, concealed by darkness, fell into the general line of the advance of the Allied troops. No i Coxo, ii. fascines or gabions had been brought along to fill up 137, i:'>a. . Hist.de' the ditch, for fear of exciting alarm in the lines. 95* r 9G. "' The trusses of hay alone were trusted to for that pur- TTi^fr Mil iv.51-53.' pose, as equally effectual, and less likely to awaken suspicion. 1 At four in the morning, the heads of the columns, 20. Entire sue- wholly unperccivcd, \vere in front of the French works, cess of the . i i f it i i attack on and, covered by a thick too:, traversed the morass winch V* H . "> * "- line?. covered them, stormed Nccrwinden and Ncer-Hespcn, carried the village and bridge of Elixheim and the castle of Wange, passed the Little Gheet despite its steep banks, and, rushing forward with a swift pace, crossed the ditch on the trusses of hay, and in three massy columns scaled the rampart, and broke into the enemy's works. Hitherto entire success had attended this admirably planned attack ; but the alarm was now given : a fresh corps of fifteen thousand men, including thirty squadrons of MARLBOROUGH. 215 horse, chiefly Bavarians, under M. d'Allegre, hastily CHAP. assembled, and a heavy fire was opened upon the Allies, Iv " now distinctly visible in the morning light, from a com- i'U- 5 - manding battery. Upon this, Marlborough put himself at the head of Lmnlcy's English horse, and, charging vigorously, succeeded, though not till he had sustained one repulse, in breaking through the line thus hastily formed. The Bavarian horse were enveloped, and, but for the extreme firmness displayed by the French infantry in the line, would infallibly have been made prisoners. In this charge the Duke narrowly escaped with his life, in a personal conflict with a Bavarian officer. The Allies now crowded in in great numbers, and the French, panic-struck, fled on all sides, abandoning the whole centre of their intrcnchments to the bold assailants. Villeroi, who had become aware, from the retreat of Overkirk in his front, that some attack was in contem- plation, but was ignorant where the tempest was to fall, remained all night under arms. At length, attracted 1 Hist. Mil. O t J t 4 111 PI TIT p . . iv. 5o, 54. by the heavy fare, he approached the scene or action in Coxe.ii. . . . , . . 138-140. the centre, only in time to see that the position was Hist, de broken through, and the lines no longer tenable. He drew 96-99.' off his whole troops accordingly, and fell back across the ii. 120. ' Great Gheet towards the Dyle. 1 It was part of the design of the Duke to have inter- 21. ccpted the line of retreat of the French, and prevented obstinacy them from reaching the Dyle, to which they were tend- wardness of ing ; but such was the obstinacy and slowness of the preventa Dutch generals that nothing could persuade them to dctory. 6 make any further exertion, and, in defiance of the orders and remonstrances alike of Marlborough and Overkirk, they pitched their tents and refused to take any part in the pursuit. The consequence was, that Villeroi 216 THE LIFE OF CHAP. IV. 1705. collected his scattered forces, crossed the Dyle in haste, over which he had prudently prepared two bridges, which were broken down as soon as his troops had passed, and took up new ground, about eighteen miles in the rear, with his left sheltered by the cannon of Louvaiu. But, though the disobedience and obstinacy of the Dutch thus intercepted Marlborough in the career of victory, and rendered his success much less complete than it otherwise would have been, a mighty blow had yet been struck, reflecting the highest credit on the skill and reso- lution of the English general. The famous lines, on which the French had been labouring for months, had been broken through and carried during a nocturnal conflict of a few hours ; they had lost all their redoubts, and the cannon, eighteen in number, with which they were armed ; M. d'Allegre, with twelve hundred prisoners and seven standards, had been taken ; and the army which lately besieged Liege and threatened Maestricht was now driven back, defeated and discouraged, to seek refuge under the cannon of Louvain. The impression i Hist. MSI. produced over Europe by this great achievement, accord- ingly, was very great, for it demonstrated the futility of the boasted French method of defence ; and in a medal struck off for the occasion it was compared to the battle of Blenheim. 1 Overkirk, who had so ably co-operated with Marlbo- The Dutch rough in this glorious victory, had the magnanimity as well as candour, in his despatch to the States-General, iv. 54, 5,5. Coxe, ii. 140-149. Hist, de Marlb. ii 104-1 00'. deputies continue bition. 01 ' 1 ' " to ascribe the success which had been gained entirely to the skill and courage of the English general.""" But the * " It is a justice I owe to the Duke of Marlborough to state, that the honour of the enterprise, executed with so much skill and courage, is en- tirely due to him." Overkirk to States-General, ll'th July 1705; COXL, ii. 151. MARLBOROUGII. 217 other Dutch generals, who had interrupted his career of CHAP. success, had the malignity to charge the consequences of IV ' their own misconduct on his head, and even carried their 1705> effrontery so far as to accuse him of supincness in not following up his success, and cutting off the enemy's retreat to the Dyle, when it was themselves who had refused to obey his orders to do so. Success in such an enterprise was extremely probable during the confusion of the enemy's retreat behind the Dyle, on the 18th, when the Dutch generals, by refusing to co-operate, had rendered it impossible : subsequent to that it could not be attempted. Rains of extraordinary severity fell from the 19th to the 23d July, which rendered all offensive operations impracticable, by flooding the meadows through which the advance required to be made, and gave Villeroi time, of which he ably availed himself, to strengthen his ] Coxe, ii. J 151-1.53. position covered by the Dyle to such a degree as to ren- uist. do J J Marlb. ii. der it no longer assailable with any prospect of success. 107-110. J J l . Hist. Mil. The precious moment, when the enemy might have been iv.so'-oy. driven from it in the first tumult of success, had been lost. 1 * The subsequent success in the Flemish campaign by no means corresponded to its brilliant commencement, which mars * all the .sub- The jealousy of the Dutch ruined everything. This sequent ope - J . J . . i rations of gave rise to recriminations and jealousies which ren- the cam- dcred it impracticable, even for the great abilities and consummate address of Marlborough, to effect any- thing of importance with the heterogeneous array with * " The great rains we have had all Tuesday and Wednesday nights have drowned all the meadows by which we were to have marched to have gone across the Dyle. The French were then in such a consternation, that, if we could have marched yesterday morning, as was intended, I believe they could not have opposed our passage ; nor do I think they intend it. But most of our Dutch generals arc of another opinion." Marlborough to d'u do Ipli'ui ; COXE, ii. 152. 218 THE LIFE OF CHAP, the nominal command of which he was invested. The n ' English general despatched his adjutant-general, Baron 1705. Hompesch, to represent to the States-General the impos- sibility of going on longer with such a divided responsi- bility ; but, though they listened to his representations, nothing could induce them to put their troops under the direct orders of the Commander-in-chief. They still had " field deputies," as they were called, who were invested with the entire direction of the Dutch forces ; and as they were civilians, wholly unacquainted with military affairs, they had recourse on every occasion to the same factious generals who already had done so much mischief to the common cause. In vain Marlbo- rough repeatedly endeavoured, as he himself said, " to cheat them into victory," by getting their consent to measures of which they did not see the bearing, calcu- lated to achieve that object. Their timid jealous spirit interposed on every occasion to mar important opera- tions, and the corps they commanded was too consider- able to admit of these operations being undertaken with- out their co-operation. After nine days' watching the enemy across the Dylc, Marlborough proposed to cross !Coxo, ii. the river near Louvain, and attack their position; the iiiVt.de' Dutch deputies interposed their negative, to Marlbo- 113,114.' rough's infinite mortification, and, in his own words, "it spoiled the whole campaign." 1 "" Worn out with these delays, Marlborough at length resolved at all hazards to pass the river, trusting that * " On Wednesday it was unanimously resolved we should pass the Dyle, but that afternoon there fell so much rain as rendered it impracticable ; but the fair weather this morning made me determine to attempt it. Upon this the deputies held a council with all the generals of Ovcrkirk's army, who have unanimously retracted their opinions, and declared the passage of the river too dangerous, which resolution, in my opinion, trill ruin the irJwle MARLBOROUGII. 219 the Dutch, when they saw the conflict once seriously CHAP. engaged, would not desert him. But in this he was IV ' mistaken. The deputies of the United Provinces not 17or> - only failed to execute the part assigned them in the The jf ) 4 utch combined enterprise, but sent information of his designs tre; * ch r - to ously dc- tO the enemy. The consequence was, Villcroi was on ^ h .!- his guard. All the Duke's demonstrations could not draw his attention from his left, where the real attack was intended ; but nevertheless he pushed on the English and Germans under his orders, who forced the passage opposite to them in the most gallant style. At Corbeck, five hundred grenadiers, forming the advanced guard of the Duke of Wirtemberg's corps, under cover of forty pieces of cannon, constructed a temporary bridge, and crossed the Dyle with very little opposition ; and at Neer Ische, General Heukelom not only led over the whole of his foot, nine thousand strong, but drove three brigades of the enemy out of the village. But when the Duke ordered the Dutch generals to support these attacks, they refused to move their men. Schlangenberg, in particular, made himself very conspicuous by his obstinate and shameful opposition. The consequence was that this attack, as well planned and likely to succeed as the famous forcing of the lines a fortnight before, proved abortive ; and Marlborough, burning with indignation, was obliged to recall his troops when on the high road to victory, and when the river had been crossed without the loss of a hundred men. campaign. They have, at the same time, proposed to me to attack the French on their left ; but I know they will let that fall also, as soon as they see the ground. It is very mortifying to meet more obstruction from friends than from enemies; but that is now the case with me : yet I dare not show my resentment for fear of alarming the Dutch." Marlborovgh to Godolphin, 29th July 1705; COXE, ii. 158. 220 THE LIFE OP CHAP. So general was the indignation at this shameful return IV ' on the part of the Dutch generals to Marlborough for all the services he had rendered to their country, that it drew forth the strongest expressions from one of his ablest but most determined opponents in after times. Lord Bolingbroke, whom he had shortly before intro- duced to office as secretary-at-war, wrote to him at this juncture : " It was very melancholy to find the malice of Schlangenberg, the fears of Dopf, and the ignorance of the deputies, to mention no more, prevail so to disap- point your Grace, to their prejudice as well as ours. We 154-10U r J r J Hist. Mil. hope the Dutch have agreed to what your Grace desires iv. 60, O'l. r J Hist, de of them, without which the war becomes a jest to our Marlb.ii. . r 7 -77 7-7 114-no'. enemies, and can end in nothing out an ill peace, which is certain ruin to us" 1 * Still the English general was not discouraged. His Maribo- public spirit and patriotism prevailed over his just feelings radons 8 on 6 " of resentment. Finding it impossible to prevail on the the field of -rx , i i , i Waterloo. Dutch deputies, who, in every sense, were so many viceroys over him, to agree to any attempt to force the passage of the Dyle, he resolved to turn it. For this purpose the army, previously provided with six clays' bread for every man, and forage for the horses, was put August 14. in motion on the 14th August ; and, defiling to the left, he directed it in three columns towards the sources of that river. The march was rapid, as the Duke had informa- tion that strong reinforcements, detached from the army at Alsace, would join Villeroi on the 18th. The troops soon came to ground subsequently immortalised in English story. On the 16th they reached Genappe, where, on 17th June 1815, the Life Guards under Lord Anglcsca defeated the French lancers ; on the day following the * Boliitybroke to Marlboroujh, August Ifi, 1705; COXE, ii. IC'O. MAKLBOJIOUGII. 221 enemy retired from the Dyle to a new position behind CHAP. the Ische, their right resting on the forest of Soignics, _ 1_ their left covered by the Dylc. In this position they 1705 - rested, covering Brussels, and the Allied headquarters were moved to Braine la Lcude, directly in their front. On the 17th August a skirmish took place on the plain in front of WATEHLOO ; and the alarm being given, the Duke hastened to the spot, and rode over the field where * coxc.n. Wellington and Napoleon contended a hundred and ten Hist. MH. years afterwards. The French upon this retired into the iiist. de ' forest of Soignics, and rested in rear of Waterloo for the no-rii.' niht. 1 "" The slightest glance at the map must be sufficient to show that, by this cross-march to Genappe and Water- immense loo, Marlborough had gained an immense advantage timsgalned over the enemy. He had interposed between them and rough* 1 who France. He had relinquished for the time, it is true, the French. his own base of operations, and was out of communica- tion with his magazines ; but he had provided for this by taking six days' provisions for the army with him ; and he could now force the French either to fight or to abandon Brussels, and retire towards Antwerp the Allies being between them and France. Still clinging to their fortified lines on the Dyle, and desirous of cover- ing Brussels, they withdrew their centre behind the Ische, and had only occupied the wood of Soignies with their right wing ; while the Allies covered all the open * " Le lendemain, lorsqu'on vit quo Ics ennernis s'approchaicnt do la foret de Soigniep, on rcnforccr lo corps do M. Grimaldi de neuf autros bataillons; on envoya en meme terns a Waterloo, pour tenir la tete de la cliaussee qui mcnait a Bruxelles, six escadrous de dragons, aux ordres du Sieur Jacob dit Pasteur, de sorte qu'il avait dans cette partie dix-huit escadrons et dix-huit bataillons en etat d'empechcr qu'on no s'approchait de Bruxelles. D'ailleurs, 1'arinee n'etoit cloignec de cctte villc quo de deux lieues et deinic, ct on y communiquait par la foret dc Soignies." Hist. Mil. iv. 68. 222 THE LIFE OF CHAP, country from Genappc to Frisckennont and Braiiie la Leude, "with their advanced posts pushed up to La Haje i' - 5 - Sainte and Mont St Jean. The Allies now occupied the ground afterwards covered by Napoleon's army ; the forest of Soignies and approaches to Brussels were guarded by the French. Incalculable were the results of a victory gained in such a position : it was by success gained over an army of half the size so placed that Napoleon, a century after, established his power in so surprising a manner at Mareugo, and that Eugene overthrew the French power under the walls of Turin in the very same year. Fully aware of his advantage, Maiiborough, on the 18th August, anxiously reconnoitred the ground ; and, finding the front practicable for the passage of troops, moved up his men in three columns to the attack. The bag- gage was sent to Wavre ; the Allied columns traversed at right angles the line of march by which Blucher advanced to the support of Wellington on the 18th June 1815. Had Marlborough's orders been executed, it is pro- Madbo- bable he would have gained a victory which, from the rough pre- . . . . pares to at- relative position of the two armies, could not but have French at been decisive ; and possibly the 18th August, 1705, Waterloo, . i , August 113. might have become as celebrated in history as the 18th June 1815. His columns traversed in safety the forest which lies between the Lalme and the Ische, and debouched into the plain formed by the latter river. Overkirk, to whom he showed the ground at Over-Ische which he had destined for the scene of attack, perfectly concurred in the expedience of it, and orders were given to bring the artillery forward to commence a cannonade. By the malice or negligence of Schlangenberg, however, / O O O O' who had again violated his express instructions, and per- MARLBOROUGH. 223 mitted the baggage to intermingle with the artillery-train, CHAP. the guns had not arrived, and sonic hours were lost before they could be pushed up. During this interval, however, i^j. Marlborough was not idle: in person he advanced, at the head of a body of cavalry, and discovered four practic- able points of attack at Ovcr-Ische, near Ilolberg, between these two villages, and at Neer-Ischc. In his survey he approached so near the enemy that they directed their guns upon him. " These gentlemen," observed he, smiling and pointing to a weak part of the line, " do not choose to have this spot too narrowly inspected." At length, but not till noon, the guns were brought forward, and the troops being in line, Marlborough rode along the front to give his last orders. The English and Germans were in the highest spirits, anticipating certain victory from the relative position of the armies. Joy beamed from every couii- i cvxe, ii. tenauce ; the meanest soldier saw the immense advan- Hist, do' tage which had been gained the French fighting i2p-i'J2. 1 ' \vith their faces to Paris, the Allies with theirs to iv. 1 73-75." Brussels. 1 But again the Dutch deputies and generals interposed, alleging that the enemy was too strongly posted to be But f s again attacked with any prospect of success. " Gentlemen," thri>utch by said Marlborough to the circle of generals which sur- deputles- rounded him, " I have reconnoitred the ground, and made dispositions for an attack. I am convinced that conscientiously, and as men of honour, we cannot now retire without an action. Should we neglect this oppor- tunity, we must be responsible before God and man. You see the confusion which pervades the ranks of the enemy, and their embarrassment at our manoeuvres. I leave you to judge whether we should attack to-day, 224- THE LIFE OF CEIAP. or wait till to-morrow. It is indeed late ; but you must IV- consider that, by throwing up intrenchments during the 1705. night, the enemy will render their position far more difficult to force." A murmur of disapprobation was immediately heard among the Dutch generals, and Schlangenberg replied " Since I have been led to this place, without any previous communication of the design, I will give no other opinion but that the passage at Over-Ische is impracticable. However, I am ready to obey the orders I may receive." " I am happy," said the Duke, " to have under my command an officer of your courage and skill; and I flatter myself that, in a situa- tion that requires instant decision, you will start no difficul- ties." " Murder and massacre," replied Schlangenberg. Marlborough, upon this, offered him two English for every Dutch battalion ; but this too the Dutchman refused, on the plea that he did not understand English. Upon this the Duke offered to give him German regi- ments ; but even this was declined, upon the pretence that the attack would be too hazardous. Marlborough, upon this, turned to the deputies and said, " I disdain to send troops to dangers which I will not myself encounter. / will lead them where the peril is most imminent. I adjure you, gentlemen ! for the love of God and your country, do not let us neglect so favour- able an opportunity." But it was all in vain ; and instead of acting, the Dutch deputies and generals spent three hours in debating, until night came on and it was too late to attempt anything. During this period of ' COXP, ii. painful suspense, Marlborough was observed standing n'ist. de by in an agony of impatience. "Let us act," said he J!M >;;.'' again and again, "and not deliberate; the enemy will have time to fortify themselves. 1 March, and victory is MAHLBOROUGII. 225 secure." Nothing would do : the Dutch generals were CHAP. immovable. Such was Maiiborough's chagrin at this disappointment that he said, on retiring from the field, 17 ;> - " I am at this moment ten years older than I was four days ago." Next day, as Maiiborough had foreseen, the enemy had strengthened their position with field-works ; so Murii.o- that it was utterly hopeless to attempt getting the obi^-.u.. Dutch to agree to an attack which had then become advantages. hazardous, though it was not so the evening before. The case was now irremediable. The six days' bread which had been provided was on the point of being exhausted, and a protracted campaign without commu- nication with the magazines was impracticable. With a heavy heart, therefore, the English general remeasurcd his steps by Wavre and Corbais to the ground he had left, took post between Bossut and Meldert on the banks of the Demer, and gave orders for destroying the lines of Lean, which he had carried with so much ability. His vexation was increased afterwards, by finding that the consternation of the French had been such on the 18th August, when he was so urgent to attack them, that they intended only to have made a show of resist- ance, to gain time for their baggage and heavy guns being removed to Brussels. To all appearance Marl- borough, if he had not been so shamefully thwarted, would have signalised the forest of Soignies by a victory as decisive as that of Blenheim, and realised the tri- umphant entrance into Brussels which Napoleon antici- pated from his attack on Wellington on the same ground 1 co.\-c, n. J70, 171. a hundred and ten years afterwards. 1 Lord Aversham nist.de . 1 -I r Marlb. ii. expressed no more than the truth when he said alter- 1-2;;, rj4. wards, in Parliament, in reference to these events " We VOL. i. P 226 THE LIFE OF CHAP, had an opportunity of ending the war by a decisive blow, L but the Dutch tied the Duke of Marlborough's hands, 1/0o> and would not permit him to take advantage of it." Nothing further, of any moment, was done in this so. * Complaints campaign, except capturing Leau and levelling the Duu-h enemy's lines on the Gheet. Marlborough wrote a against Mari LO- formal letter to the States, in which he regretted the rough. opportunity that had been lost, which General Over- kirk had coincided with him in thinking promised a great and glorious victory ; and he added, " My heart is so full that I cannot forbear representing to your High Mightinesses, on this occasion, that I find my authority here to be much less than when I had the honour to command your troops in Germany/' The counter-memorial which the Dutch generals transmitted at the same time contains a curious picture of their idea of the subordination and direction of an army, and fur- nishes a key to the jealousy which had proved so fatal to the common cause. They complained that the Duke of Marlborough, " without holding a council of war, made two or three marches for the execution of some design formed by It is Grace; and we cannot conceal from your High Mightinesses that all the generals of * " Vers rnidi toute nutre armec ctait rangee en bataille ; ct apres avoir visitc avcc M. Ovcrkirk les quatre postes que jo voulais attaqucr, jo mo fiattais dejfi, avcc la boiite ct la superiorite de notres troupes, de pouvoir bientot felicitcr vos Hautcs Puissances d'unc nouvelle vietoirc ; mais lorsqu'il no s'agissait plus que d'attaquer, on n'a pas juge a propos de le faire. Je suis siir quo les deputes de votres Hautes Puissances vous construiront dcs raisons qu'on Icur allegnait de part et d'autrc, ct qu'ils rcndront justice a M. Over- kirk, en vous informant qu'il voyait avec moi que 1'oceasion ctait trop belle pour la laisser echapper. Je me suis poiirtant soumis, quoique avcc beau- coup do regret. J'ai (c cce.r iiavre. Je ne saurois m'empeclicr dc rcpresentcr que je me trouve iyi avec beaucoup nioins d'autoritc cjue quand j'avois 1'honneur de commander vos troupes 1'anuec derniere en Allcmaguc." Marlh. .< Etats-Gen&raux, 19th August 1705 ; Hist, de MarV>., ii. ]20, l'J7. MAHLBOKOUGH. '227 our army think it very strange that they should not have the least notice of the said marches" '* It lias been already mentioned, that Marlborough, like every other 1705 - good general, kept his designs to himself, from the impossibility of otherwise keeping them from the enemy ; * coxe.ii. and that he had the additional motive for this reserve, mst.de" in the case of the Dutch deputies and generals, of being i-j desirous " to cheat them into victory." ] Chagrined by disappointment, and fully convinced, as Wellington was after his campaign with Cuesta and the Vexation n i rn i an< ^ ma " Spaniards at lalavera, that it was in vain to attempt nanimous anything further in the face of such impediments thrown Maribo- iu his way by the Allies, Marlborough retired, in the beginning of September, to Tirlemont, the mineral waters of. which had been recommended to him; and in the end of October the troops on both sides went into winter- quarters. His health there rapidly revived, less from the effect of the waters, than the assurances he received, from every part of Europe, of admiration at his conduct, and indignation at the factious opposition by which he had been thwarted. His vexation at the conduct of the Dutch at this time was strongly expressed in private letters to his intimate friends ; t but, though he exerted himself to the utmost during the suspension of opera- * Dutch Generals' Mern. ; COXE, ii. 174. + " Several prisoners whom we have taken, as well as the deserters, assure us that they should have made no other defence but such as might have given them time to draw off their army to Brussels, where their baggage was already gone. By this you may imagine how I am vexed, seeing very plainly I am joined with people who will never do anything." Marlborough to Godolphin, August 24, 1705. "I wish the Queen all the happiness imagin- able ; biit really my spirits is so broke that whenever I can get from this employment I must live quietly or die." Marlborouyh to Godolphin, Tirle- mont, September 2, 1705 ; COXE, ii. 185. " M. Overkirk et moi avons d'abord cte reconnaitre les postcs quo nous voulions attaquer, et 1'armee ctant rangce en battaillc sur le niidi, nous avions 228 THE LIFE OF tions in the field, both by memorials to his own govern- ment and representations to the Dutch rulers, to get 1705> the direction of the army put upon a better footing, yet he had magnanimity and patriotism enough to sacrifice his private feelings to the public good. Instead of attempting, therefore, to inflame the resentment of the English cabinet at the conduct of the Dutch generals, he strove only to moderate it; and prevailed on them to suspend the sending of a formal remonstrance, which they had prepared, to the States-General, till the effect of his own private representations in that quarter was first ascertained. Even in the official account of the affair, which was published in the London Gazette, the conduct of the Duke was represented in much less favourable colours than it really deserved. The result proved that he had judged wisely, and his disinterested conduct met with its deserved reward. Although, in the first instance, the enemies of Maiiborough in England, and the opponents of the war in Holland, were strongly excited, and raised a chorus of complaints against his conduct, they were ere long overpowered by the obvious facts of the case, and the general voice of the generous and disinterested throughout Europe. The patriotic party, both in England and at the Hague, was strongly roused in his favour: the factious accusations of the tout d' cspe'rcr, avec la benediction du ciel, vu notre superiorite, et la bonte dcs troupes, unc heurcuse journec ; inais MM. les Deputes do 1'Etat, ayant voulu consulter lours geueraux, et les trouvant de different sentiment d'avcc M. Overkirket moi, ilsn'ont pas voulu consentir a passer outre. De sortc quo tout notrc dcsscin, apres 1'avoir mcne" jusque la, ii eclioue, ct nous avons rebrousse chcmin pour allot' commence!' la demolition dcs Lignes, ct prcndrc Loan. Vous pouvcz bicn eroirc, Monsieur, quo jc suis au desespoir d'etre oblige d'essuycr encore ec contretemps; mais jc vois bicn qu'il no fnut plus songcr a agir offensivcuicnt avee ces Messieurs, puisqu' ils no veulent rien risqiter, quand memo ils out tout 1'avantago dc lour e^te." Marlborijti.ijh . MARLBOHOUQII. 22.9 English Tories, like those of the Whigs a century after OHAI> against Wellington, were silenced; the States-General were compelled, by the public indignation, to withdraw from their commands the generals who had thwarted his measures : Schlangenbcrg was dismissed and never again employed, his Roman Catholic creed and jealousy of Marlborough having rendered his co-operation hopeless; and without endangering the union of the two powers, iiiist.de the factious selfish men, who had perilled the object j^ 1 , \}>"\; of their alliance, were for ever deprived of the means 174.1 77.' of doing mischief. 1 * But while the danger was thus abated in one quarter, it only became more serious in another. The Dutch jealousies had been protected, and hindered from breaking off Lt of vVn" from the Alliance, only by endangering the fidelity of German ' the Austrians, and it had now become indispensable, at r v all hazards, to do something to appease their jealousies. The Imperial cabinet, in addition to the war in Italy, on the Upper Rhine, and in the Low Countries, had become involved in serious hostilities in Hungary, which still continued, notwithstanding all the efforts of Marl- borough to appease the insurrection; and they felt the difficulty, or rather impossibility, of maintaining the contest at once in so many different quarters. The cross- march of Marlborough from the Moselle to Flanders, however loudly called for by the danger and necessities of the States, had been viewed with a jealous eye by the Emperor, as tending to lead the war away from the * '' I have reason to believe that Schlangciiberg has resolved to give all the hindrance in his power to whatever should be proposed ; so that you may see how the common cause is likely to prosper, when it is in the power of a Roman Catholic of his temper to hinder whatever may be designed. This makes it impossible for me to serve with those people." Marlborough to (rodolphin, Aug. 27, 1705; COXE, ii. 177. 230 THE LIFE OF CHAP, side of Lorraine, with which the German interests were IV ' wound up; and his demands were loud and frequent, i7(io. now tj iat t j lc interests of the Dutch were sufficiently provided for, that the Duke should return with the English contingent to this, the proper theatre of offen- sive operations. But Marlborough's experience had taught him that as little reliance was to be placed on the co-operation of the Margrave of Baden, and the lesser German powers, as on that of the Dutch; and he felt that it was altogether in vain to attempt another campaign either in Germany or Flanders, unless some more effectual measures were taken to appease the jea- lousies, and secure the co-operation, of this discordant i Coxe, ii. alliance than had hitherto been adopted. With this Hist.de view, after having arranged matters to his satisfaction 133,134.' at the Hague, and after Schlangenberg had been i.o-rJ. ' removed from the command, he repaired to Vienna in November, and thence soon after to Berlin. 1 Never was his presence at both courts more necessary, Great dan- for affairs, especially in Italy, had become wellnigh des- in itaiy." " pcratc ; and the two cabinets, instead of being roused by the common danger to greater efforts, were intent only, as is generally the case in such circumstances, on mutual recrimination. All the talents of Prince Eugene had not been able to counterbalance the great prepon- derance of the French force on the Italian plains. Louis XIV. had no less than 112 battalions and 118 squadrons to the south of the Alps* a force much greater than any which the confederates could oppose to him ; and in consequence the Duke of Savoy had been reduced to the last extremity. The heroic defence of Verruc, which de- tained the French eight months before its walls, had alone averted the catastrophe during the winter of 1704-5; MARLBOROUGH. 231 but its brave garrison had at length exhausted all their CHAP. means of defence, and, after blowing up the fortifications, IV ' had been obliged to abandon the place. The Duke of 1705 - Savoy, with his little army, retired to Chiasso to cover his capital, and was only saved from ruin by the arrival of the eight thousand Prussians whom Marlborough had procured for him from the cabinet of Berlin. This great addition so reinforced the Imperialists under Prince Eugene that he descended from the Trentine A]ps, where he had been compelled to take refuge, and, advancing towards the Adda with a view to forcing the passage of that river, encountered the enemy under Vendome at Cassano, where a desperate battle ensued, in which both parties claimed the victory. The advantage, however, was obviously with the French, as they foiled Eugene's design of crossing the river, and pushing on to Piedmont, and forced him to fall back to a strong position in the mountains between the Adda and the Lake of Garda. But although, by his threatening position there, he sus- pended the fate of the Duke of Savoy, and to a certain degree held the French in check, yet his own situation was extremely hazardous ; and nothing but his great abilities, and the terror of his name, enabled the Imperialists to maintain their footing at all in Italy. Eugene himself, in letters to Marlborough, represented his condition as all but desperate ; and, to complete the misfortunes of the Allies, discord, the usual attendant on misfortune, broke out between the Duke of Savoy and Stahremberg, icoxe.ii. who commanded the Austrian forces in his army ; and 203.' Hist, the two courts, espousing their respective sides of the iim,m quarrel, were all but in a state of open rupture. 1 '" * " The first thing we stand in need of is money, so necessary to carry on the war with vigour and effect. Had I not been so warmly pressed to for- 232 THE LIFE OF CHAP. Affairs in Spain, though more brilliant in appearance, '_ were in reality fraught with scarcely less danger. In 1705. pursuance of Marlborough's advice, an expedition having Capture of six thousand men on board, under the command of Lord by Lord Galway, sailed from Lisbon in September, and, after rough. touching at Gibraltar, where they were reinforced by three regiments more, landed in Catalonia on the 22d of that mouth, and appeared before the strong city of Barcelona, where the Archduke Charles had many partisans. To besiege so powerful a fortress with no greater force than was without the walls might seem a hopeless attempt ; but a hero accomplished that which no military talent, directed by ordinary military rules, could have effected. LORD PETERBOROUGH, whose roman- tic and chivalrous character, as well as consummate skill, peculiarly qualified him for the exploit, surprised Fort Monjuich, which commanded Barcelona, in the night of the 4th October, and its capture was speedily followed by the surrender of the city.* This brilliant exploit was ward succours to Piedmont, I could have profited by my success to secure the necessary posts for maintaining my footing in Italy. But when we daily I'cceivc letters upon letters, stating that all is lost if succours do not arrive, and that all Italy clamours for peace, we must hazard much to effect a junc- tion, or draw the enemy to an engagement. The latter expedient succeeded; but at this advanced season my army is ruined, the horses worn out, no sure footing in the country, and the enemy reassembling their forces in my front. The remedy is difficult, but must be found. The Venetians threaten to declare war against us if we do not quit their territory; the princes of Italy join in tliis declaration, and are inclined to form a league for their common defence." Euyciic to Marlborough, Oct. 1705 ; COXE, ii. 251. * " I can now give you joy upon taking Barcelona, which is effected. I can modestly say such an attempt was never made by such a handful of men. "We have taken in three days the castle of Monjuich, sword in hand, that resisted thirty thousand men for three months. There were five hundred men in it. We marched with one thousand men thirteen hours, and, with scaling-ladders, took a place upon a rock much stronger than Portsmouth, and had but eight hundred men, two hundred having lost us in the night." - 7,, Y/ l'(itrlx>i-(jinjli l<> his Lady, October G, 170.) ; COXK, ii. 207. MARLBORO UGH. 233 followed by the triumphant entry of Charles into Barcc- CHAP. lona, where he was proclaimed King of Spain amidst the 1V " acclamations of the inhabitants. The inhabitants of i7-. Barcelona were immediately enrolled and disciplined ; six native regiments were formed, and the authority of the Archduke was recognised in the greater part of Catalonia, Thus the Imperial family was at length established on a solid footing in the east of Spain, and the rival kings unfurled their respective banners in the Peninsula. Yet was this success, brilliant as it was, not unattended with risk, and it augmented rather than diminished the difficulty which Marlborough experienced in laying down the plan of these distant operations ; for his nephew, the Duke of Berwick, natural son of James II., who commanded the French and Spanish army on the Portuguese frontier, was more than a match for the Earl of Galway, to whom he was opposed, and baffled every enterprise in that quarter ; and, from the central position of the Bourbon power at Madrid, he was enabled to direct at pleasure their forces against either side, which -207--'io. ' had no means of communicating with each other. 1 The direction of these distant and hazardous wars, as well as that of his own army, fell on the Duke of Marl- Extraor'ai borough, in addition to the still more arduous task of onLribo stifling the jealousies of the various cabinets which formed Biasing the Alliance ; and never was a more difficult duty imposed ousiitVt on a human being. Marlborough's extraordinary address and powers of persuasion did not desert him, however, on this critical occasion. Then was strongly exemplified the truth of Chesterfield's remark, that manner had not less weight than matter in procuring him success ; and that he was elevated to greatness as much on the wings of the Graces as by the strength of Minerva. Such was the 23i THE LIFE OF CHAP, fame which preceded him, that his journey resembled IV- rather the triumphant cavalcade of a sovereign prince 'i" ' 5 - than the march of an ordinary general. All ranks vied with each other in doing him homage. Great as were the difficulties which attended the holding together the Grand Alliance, they all yielded to the magic of his name and the fascination of his manner. At Bernsberg he suc- ceeded in obtaining from the Elector a promise for the increase of his contingent, and leave for sending it into Italy, where its co-operation was required ; at Frankfort he overcame, by persuasion and address, the difficulties of the Margrave of Baden ; and at Vienna he was mag- nificently received, and soon acquired unbounded credit with the Emperor. " Heir," said the young Emperor, " to my father's throne, I inherit all his gratitude towards the conqueror of Blenheim. Your Higlmess's services to the common cause in general, and my family in parti- cular, can never be erased from my memory, nor ever be forgotten by my family or posterity." Besides being raised to the rank of a prince of the Empire, with the most flattering assurances of esteem, he was feted by the nobles, who vied with each other in demonstrations of respect to the illustrious conqueror of Blenheim. Dur- ing his short sojourn of a fortnight there, he succeeded in allaying the suspicions and quieting the apprehensions of the Emperor, which no other man could have done ; and also in dissipating the irritation which had arisen between the court of Vienna and that of Turin. Having achieved these great objects, and arranged the plan of the 1 Coxo, ii. next campaign, he raised, on his own credit, a loan from 'JO}J-2.'). jii.-t"i(- the bankers, for the Imperial court, of 100,000 crowns, as i33-i;b." well as secured the promise of another of 250,000, which he afterwards obtained in London. 1 These subsi- MARYBOROUGH. 235 dies enabled the cabinet of Vienna to send the necessary CHAP. supplies to Prince Eugene, of which he stood so much in A ' need ; and having accomplished these important objects, 1 ' 05 - Marlborough set out for Berlin, where his presence was not less necessary to stimulate the exertions and appease the complaints of the King of Prussia. He arrived there on the 30th November, and on the 36. same evening had an audience of the King, to whose AmiatBe lin an(1 strange and capricious temper lie so completely accom- Hanover. modated himself that he allayed all his discontents, and brought him over completely to his views. He prevailed on the monarch to renew the treaty for the furnish- ing of eight thousand men to aid the common cause in Italy, which he had threatened to withdraw from Prince Eugene, and to repair the chasms in their ranks produced by the campaign. He succeeded also in getting him to revoke the orders which had been issued for the return of the troops from Italy, where their removal Avould have proved of essential detriment. This concession, in the words of the prime-minister who announced it, was granted " as a mark of respect to the Queen, and of particular friendship to the Duke." From Berlin he proceeded, loaded with honours and presents, to Hano- ver, where jealousies of a different kind, but not less dangerous, had arisen in consequence of the apprehen- sions there entertained that the Whigs were endea- vouring to thwart the eventual succession of the house of Hanover to the throne of England. Here also Marl- borough's address succeeded in overcoming all difficul- ties; and, after a sojourn of only a few days, he departed in the highest favour both with the Elector and his mother. From thence he hastened to the Hague, where he remained a fortnight, and succeeded in a great degree 236 THE LIFE OF CIIAT-. in removing those difficulties, and smoothing down those jealousies, which had proved so injurious to the common 1 ~< W >- cause in the preceding campaign. He prevailed on the Dutch to reject separate offers of accommodation, which had been recently before made them by the French government, and to send ten thousand German troops in their pay to reinforce Prince Eugene in Italy. Having thus put all things on as favourable a footing as could be hoped for on the Continent, he embarked for England in the beginning of January 1706, having overcome greater difficulties, and obtained greater advantages, in the course of this winter campaign, and with divided allies, than he ever did during a summer campaign with a united force against the enemy. Yet, even when thus beneficially employed for the common cause, his absence was seriously felt in the army. " In the Duke's absence," says an eyewitness, " we were a body without a soul. The French having laid down a little of their Coxc, H. lines and rail-bridges over the Natha, for the convenience ~AW. "ii'ist. of forage, W T C were in perpetual alarm, as if an inferior i?i3 have been expected that they would consent to hazard Mari- their forces in an expedition to so distant a quarter, not borough's great ditfi- immediately connected with their interests. The rcscnt- culties in arranging men t of the Elector of Hanover at the conduct of Queen military operations. Anne had become so excessive that lie positively refused to let his contingent march. The Danes and Hessians excused themselves on various pretences from moving their troops to the south ; and the Emperor, instead of contri- buting anything to the war in Flanders, was urgent that succour should be sent to him, and that the English general should in person take the command on the Moselle. It was with the utmost difficulty, and only by his great per- sonal influence and address, that he prevailed on the States-General to allow ten thousand men to march to reinforce Eugene, where, as will appear in the sequel, they rendered the most essential service. Marlborougli was thus reduced to the English troops, and those in the pay of Holland but they amounted to nearly sixty thousand men ; and, on the 19th May, he set out from the Hague to take the command of this force, which lay in front of the old French frontier on the river Dylc. Marshal Villeroi had there collected sixty-two thousand men ; so that the two armies, in point of numerical strength, were very nearly equal. But the English general had gained an immense advantage from the terrors which some successes gained by Marshal Villars at this time, on the Upper Rhine, inspired, which induced the States- V-"* >>'' General to give Marlborougli the choice of his ficld- deputies, which rendered him, for the first time, really . . J master of his actions, and the battle of Ramilies was the consequence. 1 MAKLBOBOUGH. 241 The English general had established a secret corrc- CITAP. spondence with one Pasquini, an inhabitant of Namur, through whose agency, and that of some other citizens 170G - of the town who were inclined to the Imperial interest, p orc c g j * on he hoped to be able to make himself master of that ^je^ 08 ' important fortress. To facilitate that attempt, and have Fkndcrs - troops at hand ready to take advantage of any opening that might be afforded them in that quarter, he moved from Tongrcs towards Tirlcmont, directing his march by the sources of the Little Gheet. Determined to cover Namur, and knowing that the Hanoverians and Hessians were absent, Villcroi marched out of his lines on the Dyle, in order to stop the advance of the Allies, and give battle in the open field. On the 20th May, the English and Dutch forces effected their junction at Bilsen ; and on the day following the Danish contingent arrived, Marl- borough having, by great exertions, persuaded them to come up from the Rhine, upon receiving a guarantee for their pay from the Dutch government. This raised his force to seventy-three battalions and a hundred and twenty-three squadrons. The French had seventy-four battalions, and a hundred and twenty-eight squadrons. But they had a much greater advantage in the homogene- ous quality of their troops, who were all of one country; while the forces of the confederates were drawn from three different nations, speaking different languages, and many of whom had never acted in the field together. Cadogan, with six hundred horse, formed the vanguard of Marlbo- roudi's army: and at daybreak on the 22d he discovered a iiist.do , J , . , , Marlb. ii. the enemy s army grouped m dense masses in the strong 154, 155. camp of Mont St Andre. 1 As their position stretched :?;w, 340. directly across the Allied line of march, a battle was vi. 30-32.' unavoidable; and Maryborough was no sooner informed VOL. I. Q 24-2 THE LIFE OF CHAP, of it than with a joyous heart he prepared for the 1V - conflict.* iroG. >pi lc ground occupied by the enemy, and which has Position of become so famous by the battle of RAMILIES which fol- ItRamUiU lowed, was on the summit of an elevated plateau forming 2J> the highest ground in Brabant, immediately above the two sources of the Little Gheet. The elevated ground above is varied by gentle undulations, interspersed with garden grounds, and dotted with coppice woods. From it the two Gheets, the Mehaigne, and the Dyle, take their rise, and flow in different directions, so that it is the highest surface in the whole country. The descents from the summit of the plateau to the Great Gheet are steep and abrupt ; but the other rivers rise in marshes and mosses, which are very wet, and in some places im- passable. Marlborough was well aware of the strength of the position on the summit of this eminence, and he had used all the despatch in his power to reach it before the enemy ; but Villeroi had less ground to go over, and had his troops in battle-array on the summit before the Eng- lish appeared in sight. The position occupied by the French ran along the front of a curve facing inwards, and overhanging the sources of the Little Gheet. The troops were posted on the crest of the ridge above the marshes, having the village of Autre Eglise in front of the extreme left, and the villages of Offuz and Ramilies opposite their centre. The extreme right stood on the high grounds which overhang the Mehaigne, along the course of which, at a short distance, and nearly parallel to its banks, runs the * The composition and strength of the two armies was as follow* : A i, 7, IKS. MK.V. ons Battali Squadrons, Gun-:, K At. -1,1:1;, 7 00,000 Fni'.N'cu. MKV. Battalions, Squadrons, Guns, MABLBOROUOII. 243 old chaussee, which, after the lapse of more than a CHAP. thousand years, still retains the name of Queen Brunc- lv ' hault. The right wing occupied the intermediate space, 170G - and rested on the Mehaignc; and the village of Taviercs, on the banks of that river, was garrisoned by a large body of foot-soldiers. The infantry were drawn up in two lines, the villages in their front being strongly occupied by separate detachments of foot. In Kamilies alone twenty battalions were posted. The great bulk of the horse was also arranged in two lines on the right, across the chaussee of Brunehault, along which part of the Allied columns was expected to advance. On the highest point of the ridge thus occupied by the French, but immediately behind the extreme right and the mass of their cavalry, and in a position commanding the ^HLst.Mii. whole field of battle, the tomb or barrow of the ancient Kausier,' German hero Ottomond was situated. This position, it ox'e,ii.' was evident, would become the object of a desperate Hist. . they and the Swiss were speedily cut to pieces, and 345, 340. hurled back in confusion on the French horse, who were vi. 35-37.' advancing to their support. 1 Following up his success, Overkirk next charged the first line of advancing French cavalry with the first line Repulse of of the Allied horse ; and such was the vigour of his onset andimmi- that the enemy were broken and thrown back. But the of Madbo!* second line of French and Bavarian horse, among whom hasfeulngTo were the splendid Maisou du Roi, or horse-guards, of the 1S rt 246 THE LIFE OF CRAP. French monarchy, soon came up, and assailing Overkirk's IV - men when they were disordered by success, and little I70 ' j - expecting another struggle, overthrew them without difficulty, drove them back in great confusion, and almost entirely restored the battle in that quarter. In this charge the French Guards, who fought with the most determined valour, particularly distinguished them- selves. The danger was very great ; for the chances were that the victorious French horse, having cleared the open ground of their opponents, would wheel about and attack in rear the twelve battalions who were warmly eno-ao-cd with the attack on Ramilies. Maryborough o o t-J instantly saw the danger, and, putting himself at the head of seventeen squadrons at hand, led them on him- self to arrest the progress of the victorious horse ; while, at the same time, he sent orders for every disposable sabre to come up from his right with the utmost expedi- tion. Twenty squadrons were there in reserve ; they instantly wheeled threes about, and galloped off to the support of their leader. The moment was critical, and nothing but the admirable intrepidity and presence of mind of the English general could have retrieved the Allied affairs. As he was leading on this reserve witli his wonted gallantry, and under a dreadful fire from the French batteries on the heights behind Ramilics. the troops wavered under the severity of the fire, and Marl- borough was recognised by some French troopers, with whom lie had formerly served in the time of Charles II., who made a sudden rush at him. They had wellnigh made him prisoner, for they succeeded in surrounding him before his men could come up to the rescue ; but he extricated himself from the throng of assailants by fighting his way out, like the knights of old, sword in hand. 1 lie ncxfc MAPxLBOKOUGIT. 2i7 tried to leap a ditch, but his horse fell in the attempt ; CHAP. and, when mounting another horse given him by his 1V ' aide-de-camp Captain Molesworth, Colonel Bingfield, 170tj - his equerry, who held the stirrup, had his head carried off by a cannon-ball. The imminent danger of their beloved general, however, revived the spirit of the troops. Re-forming with great celerity, they again returned with desperate resolution to the charge. In this emergency, when nothing was as yet decided, the twenty fresh squadrons which Maiiborough had so The twenty f i IT i squadrons opportunely called up iroin the Allied right were seen ordered up galloping at full speed, but still in regular order, on the nghtrJtore plain behind this desperate conflict. Halting directly in rear of the spot where the horse on both sides were so vehemently engaged, they wheeled into line, and advanced in close order and admirable array, to the support of the Duke, who was now hard pressed by the French Guards. At the same time the Danish squadron, led by their brave commander the Duke of Wirtembcrg, debouched between the morass of Mehaigne and the right flank of the household troops, and assailed them with loud cries in flank ; while the Prince of Hesse-Cassel, with the Dutch Guards and Obdani's dragoons, dashed round their rear towards Ramilics. Encouraged by these powerful reinforcements, the whole Allied cavalry re-formed, and, led by Maiiborough in person, swept forward in three lines, with loud shouts, to the attack of the now intimidated and disheartened French, who no i T i i-i > l Kausler, longer withstood the onset, but, turning their horses 7<>7, ro. heads, fled with precipitation. The low grounds between vs. 35. ' Ramilics and the old chaussee were quickly passed, and Marib.ii. the victorious horse, pressing up the slope on the opposite ii. 348. ' side, ere long reached the summit of the plateau. 1 The 248 THE LIFE OF CHAP, tomb of Ottomond, the highest point, and visible from 1V- the whole field of battle, was soon seen resplendent with sabres and cuirasses, amidst a throng of horse ; and deafening shouts, heard over the whole extent of both armies, announced that the crowning point and key of the whole position had been gained. But Yilleroi was an able and determined general, and 47. . . viiicroi's his soldiers fought with the inherent bravery of the restore the French nation. His Lieutenant-General, M. do Gassior, which are said to him at this time : " All is lost, if you do not change fui. c< your order of battle ; withdraw the troops from your left to strengthen your right ; bring up your reserves ; In a few moments you will have no resource." But it was too late ; there was no time to make these disposi- tions. The contest, however, though virtually decided, was not yet over. A fierce fight was raging around Ramilies, where the garrison of twenty French batta- lions opposed a stout resistance to Schultz's grenadiers. By degrees, however, the latter gained ground ; two Swiss battalions, which had Ions; and rcsolutclv held o J their ground, were at length forced back into the village, and some of the nearest houses fell into the hands of the Allies. Upon this the whole rushed forward, and drove the enemy in a mass out towards the high grounds in the rear. The Marquis MafFei, however, rallied two regi- ments of Cologne Guards, in a hollow way leading up from the village to the plateau, and opposed so vigorous a resistance that he not only checked the pursuit but regained part of the village ; and the French Guards, consisting of thirteen squadrons, supported by a brigade of cavalry, made several noble charges, which in part broke the Allied columns in pursuit. But these gallant ellbrts, being unsupported by any reserve, could not MA11LBOROUGH. 249 permanently re-establish affairs. The victorious horse CHAP. were in their turn charged in flank and rear by the Allied lv ' reserves when disordered by success, and driven back with 17% - great loss; and Marlborough, whose eye was everywhere, ordered up twenty battalions which had been stationed in reserve behind the centre, and speedily cleared the . l Maffei, village. Maffei, with his gallant troops, being charged Mem. 347. i i i i Kausler, in Hank by the victorious horse at the very time that 7. coxe, he was driven out of the village by the infantry, was n'ikde made prisoner, and almost all his men were taken or 102, iba.' destroyed. 1 The victory was now decided on the British left and centre, where alone the real attack had been made. The enemy, But so vehement had been the onset, so desperate the thro" into passage of arms which had taken place, that though the endeavour battle had lasted little more than three hours, the victors were in nearly as great disorder as the vanquished. Horse, foot, and artillery, were everywhere blended together in confusion, more especially between Ramilies and the Mehaigne, and thence up to the tomb of Ottomond, in consequence of the various charges of all arms which so rapidly succeeded each other on the same narrow space. Marlborough seeing this, and before attempting anything more, halted his troops on the ground where they stood, which, in the left and centre, had been occupied by the enemy at the commencement of the action. Villeroi skilfully availed himself of this breath- ing-time to endeavour to re-form his broken troops, and to take up a new line from Geest-a-Gerompont, on his right, through Offuz to Autrc Eglisc, still held by its vi. 35,' se. * original garrison, on his left. 2 But in making the retro- 34^50. grade movement, so as to get his men into this oblique sn/aii"* position, he was even more impeded and thrown into 250 THE LIFE OF CHAP, disorder, by the baggage-waggons and dismounted guns 1V " on the heights, than the Allies had been on the plain 170G - below ; and an important hollow way, by which the greater part of the army had to retire, became wholly blocked up by overturned carriages, and quite impassable for cannon or cavalry. On observing this, Marlborough resolved to give the 49. GenerVi ad- enemy no time to rally, but, again sounding the charge, Aiiie?, ' ordered infantry and cavalry to advance. A strong which com- , -. i i / 1 T i ^ i i pietes the column passed the morass in which the Little Gheet takes its rise, directing their steps towards Offuz ; but the enemy, panic-struck as at Waterloo by the general advance of the victors, gave way on all sides. Offuz was abandoned without a shot being fired ; the cavalry pursued the fugitives with headlong fury, and the plateau of Mont St Andre was soon covered with the flying enemy. The troops in observation on the right, seeing the victory gained on the left and centre, of their own accord joined in the pursuit, and soon made themselves masters of Autre Eglisc and the heights behind it. The Spanish and Bavarian horse-guards made a gallant attempt to stem the flood of disaster, but without attaining their object. This only led to their own destruction. General Wood and Colonel Wyndham, at the head of the English horse-guards, charged them, and they were immediately cut to pieces. A regiment of foot which had surrendered broke its ranks to plunder, and was cut to pieces. The rout now became universal, and all resistance ceased. Fifty squadrons of horse, seeing the road blocked up, dispersed, and in wild confusion fled across the fields as hard as their horses could carry them. It was with the utmost difficulty that Villcroi succeeded in holding together a few squadrons, who kept their ranks till night- MARLBOROUGH. fall. All order and thought of resistance then ceased. CHAP. In frightful confusion, a disorganised mass of horse and foot, abandoning their guns, streamed over the plateau, J < 0(j '- poured headlong, on the other side, down the banks of the Great Ghcct, and fled towards Louvain, which they reached in the most dreadful disorder at two o'clock in ] Mem. de the morning. The British horse, under Lord Orkney, Mattel, ''4.') ''nO did not draw bridle from the pursuit till they reached (We, ii. the neighbourhood of that fortress ; havinir, besides iiist. e to hare none during the irholc campaign ; and I think we may make such work of it as may give the Queen the glory of making a safe and honourable peace, for the blessing of God is certainly with us." Marlborough to Lord Godolphln, May 27, 1700; COXE, ii. 3G5. f " I shall attend the Queen at the Thanksgiving on Thursday next : I assure you I shall do it, from every vein within me, having scarce anything else to support my head or heart. The animosity and inveteracy one has to strtif/'/fc u'/uiust is unimaginable, not to mention the difficulty of obtaining tilings to be done that are reasonable, or of satisfying people with reason wlicn they are done." Godol^/lunto Marlborouyh, May 24, 170G. MAULBOHOUGII. 255 for the goodness of God is so very great, that, if He had CHAP. suffered us to be beaten, the liberties of all the Allies 1V ' had been lost/' * 170(; - The French, after this terrible defeat, retired in the deepest dejection towards French Flanders, leaving Retmitof arrisons in the principal fortresses which still held out f r0 m Fian- for them. Marlborough made his triumphant entry universal into Brussels in great pomp on the 28th May, amidst libation. the acclamations of the inhabitants. The Three Estates of Brabant, assembled there, acknowledged Charles III. for their sovereign, and received, in return, a guarantee from the English government and the States-General that the joyeuse entree, the Magna Charta of Flanders, should be faithfully observed. " Everywhere," says Marlborough, " the joy was great at being delivered from the insolence and exactions of the French." The victory of Ramilies produced no less effect on the northern courts, whose jealousies and lukewarmness had hitherto proved so pernicious to the common cause. The King of Prussia, who had hitherto kept aloof, and suspended the march of his troops, now, on the media- tion of Marlborough, became reconciled to the Emperor and the States-General; and the Elector of Hanover, forgetting his apprehensions about the English succes- sion, was among the foremost to offer his congratu- ^C -^:"- lations. and make a tender of his forces to the now Hist, de Marlb. n. triumphant cause. It is seldom that the prosperous J 77-170. want friends. 1 The Dutch, upon the submission of Brabant, were anxious to levy contributions in it as a conquered country, for the purpose of relieving themselves of part of the expenses of the war; and Godolphin, actuated * Marllonu'jh to the Duchess, May 1G. 27, 1706; COXE, ii. 3GG. 256 THE LIFE OF CHAP. IV 7 . 1706. 54. Magnani- mous wis- dom of Marlbo- rough in protecting the Flem- ings from oppression. 1 Coxe, ii. ;w7-;;7-'. Kousset, ii. _'];}. Hist, de Maril). ii. 179, 180. by the same short-sighted views, was eager to replenish the English exchequer from the same source. But Marl- borough, like Wellington in after days, had magnanimity and wisdom enough to see the folly, as well as injustice, of thus alienating infant allies at the moment of their conversion; and he combated the project so successfully that it was abandoned.""" At the same time he pre- served the strictest discipline on the part of his troops, and took every imaginable precaution to secure the affections and allay the apprehensions of the inhabitants of the ceded provinces. t The good effects of this wise and conciliator}' policy were soon apparent. As in the south of France, in Soult's words in after days, " Every peasant wished to be under their protection/' Without firing a shot, the Allies gained greater advantages during the remainder of the campaign than they could have done by a series of bloody sieges, and the sacrifice of thirty thousand men. 1 * Duke of Marlborough to 3fr Secretary Ifarh'i/, June 14, 170G. f " Attcndu qu'il a plaise ii Dicu d'accordcr aux arnies dcs Allies une victoire sur les troupes Francaises, qui nous a ouvert 1'entree dcs Pays Bas Espagnoles, nous sommes resolu de proteger ccs provinces, ct d'en maintcnir les habitaus en qualite de sujets fideles de sa Majcstc dans la possession paisable dc leurs bicns quclconqucs. Xous dcfcndons, en consequence, a tons officicrs ct soldats dc notre armee dc causer Ic moindre donimagc aux habitans : Icur enjoignant, au contraire, de lour dormer toute 1'assistauce qu'ils dciaandcront ; declarant, en outre, quc tout soldat qui scroit surpris volant, pillant, ou portant quclqiic autre domniagcaux dits habitans, dans leurs maisons, bcstiaux, incubles, ou d'autres cffets, sera sur le champs punl de mart : ct pour repriuicr les maraudeurs autant quo faire se pout, et obligor les officicrs de tcnir la main a 1'observation de la plus exactc discipline, nous declarons quc tuiit corps on. regiment, au quel apparticndront les soldats transgrcsseurs do uos ordrcs, sera touu d'eudcmnir los dits habitants de toutes les pertcs qu'ils auront souffortcs, et cc sans autre forme de procedure ni autre preuvc quc la surpris en flagrant delit cles dits soldats, qui, commc il a etc dit ei-dessus, seront punis dc niort sans miseri- Mn\u."M7:!. anticipations were not to be realised; 1 and before he sank into the grave the hero was destined to * dlariborougJi to I>HC!ICFS of Marlborouyli, May 151, 1700. MARLBOROUGH. 259 drain to the dregs the cup of envy, jealousy, and ingra- CHAP. titude. His first step of moment, after consolidating these important conquests, and preventing the cupidity of the siege and I'll- capture of Dutch from forcing contributions from the inhabitants, Ostend. which would only have endangered his conquests before they were well secured, was to undertake the siege of Ostend, the most considerable place in Flanders which still held out for the French interest. This place, cele- brated for its great strength and the long siege of three years which it had stood against the Spanish under Spinola, when it occasioned a loss of eighty thousand men to the besiegers, was expected to make a very pro- tracted resistance ; but such was the terror now inspired by Marlborough's name that it was reduced much sooner than had been anticipated. Every preparation had been made for a vigorous defence. It was garrisoned by six thousand men, plentifully supplied with ammunition and provisions. But all was unavailing. A British fleet of nine ships of the line lay off the harbour, and a formidable besieging-train was brought up from Antwerp and Brus- sels. To cover the siege, Marlborough took post at Roussellaer, Overkirk, in the first instance, made an attack, with forty battalions and thirty squadrons, against Nieuport, and reduced the fort of Nieuendeiin, which commanded one of the dikes leading to that fortress ; but the opening of the sluices prevented any further opera- tions in that quarter, and all the forces were directed against Ostend. Trenches were opened on the 28th June : the counterscarp was blown in on the 6th July ; 1 Hist, de 1 J Marlb. ii. a vigorous bombardment from the batteries and the fleet i!3-i95. spread terror through the citizens ; l and the day follow- 379-381! ing, the besieged, after a fruitless sally, capitulated, and 260 THE LIFE OF CHAP, the Flemish part of the garrison entered the service of IV ' the Allies. The garrison was five thousand strong when 1706 - it surrendered ; two ships of the line were taken in the harbour ; and the total loss of the besiegers was only five hundred men. Menin was next besieged ; but it made a more pro- Commence- tracted resistance. Its great strength consisted in the siege of means which the governor of the fortress possessed of it s 8 great flooding at will the flat and extensive plains in which it is situated. Its fortifications had always been reckoned as one of the most perfect of Vauban's masterpieces ; the garrison was ample ; and the governor, who was a man of resolution, was encouraged to make a vigorous resistance, by assurances of succour made to him by the French government. Its possession would give great advantages to the Allies, as it enabled them, as from a central posi- tion, to threaten alike Lille, Tournay, and Ypres, three of the great frontier fortresses of France. It was to be expected, therefore, that great exertions would be made to prevent its fall : nor were means awanting for this purpose ; for Louis XIV. had made the utmost efforts to repair the consequences of the disaster at Ramilies. Marshal Marsin had been detached from the Rhine with eighteen battalions and fourteen squadrons ; and, in addition to that, thirty battalions and forty squadrons were marching from Alsace. These great reinforcements, with the addition of nine battalions which were in the lines on the Dyle when the battle of Ramilies was fought, would, when all assembled, have raised the French army to one hundred and ten battalions and one hundred and forty squadrons or above ninety thousand men ; whereas Marlborough, after employing thirty-two battalions and forty squadrons in the siege, could only spare for the MAltLBOKOUGH. 261 covering array about seventy-two battalions and eighty CHAP. squadrons, not containing fifty thousand. The numerical superiority, therefore, was very great on the side of the 1?06 - enemy, especially when the Allies were divided by the necessity of carrying on the siege ; and Villeroi, who had lost the confidence of his men, had been replaced by one of the best generals in the French service, the .Duke de Vendome, already illustrious by his recent victory over the Imperialists in Italy. He openly avowed his intention to raise the siege, and, as if with that view, he approached the covering army closely. But Marlborough persevered in his design ; for, to use his own words, " the Elector of Bavaria says he is promised a hundred and ten battalions, and they are certainly stronger in horse than we. But even if i-4.*HiL they had greater numbers, I neither think it is their H? 20^20.5. interest nor their inclination to venture a battle ; for vi.'Vs-ss.' our men are in heart, and theirs are cowed." 1 * The place was invested on the 30th July, and soon after the heavy artillery of the besiegers arrived from it is at" Ghent ; but considerable difficulties were experienced in rief by*g- the first instance in bringing the siege equipage up to 22! *' the trenches, in consequence of the inundations which the governor had let loose. At length, however, a drought having set in in the beginning of August, these obstacles were overcome, the approaches were rapidly pushed forward, and on the 9th August the besiegers' fire opened, while Marlborough took post at Helchin to cover the siege. On the 18th, the fire of the breaching batteries had been so effectual that it was deemed practicable to make an assault on the covered- way ; and as a determined resistance was anticipated, * Marlborough to Secretary Hurley, Helchin, 9th August 1706 ; Desp. iii. 69. 262 THE LIFE OF CHAP, the Duke repaired to the spot to superintend the IV< attack. At seven in the evening, the signal was given iroG. by the explosion of two mines, and the troops, with the English in front, rushed to the assault. They soon cut down the palisades, and, throwing their grenades before them, ere long got into the covered-way ; but they were there exposed to a dreadful fire from two ravelins which enfiladed it. For two hours they bore it without flinch- ing, labouring hard to erect barricades so as to get under cover ; but this was not accomplished before fourteen hundred of the brave assailants had been struck down. The success, though so dearly purchased, was decisive. The establishment of the besiegers in this important lodgment, in the heart, as it were, of their works, so distressed the enemy that on the 22d they hoisted the white flag, and capitulated on the following day, though still four thousand three hundred strong. Fifty-five bronze and ten iron guns were found in the place, with eleven hundred double barrels of powder, and immense stores of provisions. Among the guns were four bearing the arms of England, taken at the battle of Neerwinde, the recovery of which gave the greatest joy to the soldiers. The besiegers lost three thousand men in this arduous siege. The reduction of this strong and celebrated for- i Marii.o- tress gave the most unbounded satisfaction to the Allies, rough to Duke of as it not only materially strengthened the barrier against Savoy, L'oth J . J Aug. 1706. France, and in a manner gave them an entrance into its Marlb.Des, . . iii. 101. territory, but, having taken place in presence of the Coxe, in. 5-7. in. st. Duke do Vendome and his powerful army, drawn to- do Marlb. 1 J ' ii. L'O.-,, -JOG. gcthcr from all quarters with such diligence to raise the vi. (JO-IDG, siege, it afforded the strongest proof of the superiority they had now acquired over their enemy in the field. 1 Upon the fall of Menin, Vendome, who was now as MAIILBOROUGII. 2G3 well convinced as his predecessor, Villeroi, of the impos- CHAP. sibility of meeting the Allies in the open field, collected IV ' his troops, and took up a position behind the Lys and 17(}(i - the Dyle, in order to cover Lille, against which he sup- siege ami posed the intentions of Marlborough were next to be d^rmonde, directed. But the Duke had another object in view ; ' for he immediately moved the besieging force to Dender- monde, still keeping post himself with his covering army at Ilclchin, so as to bar the access to that fortress. Being situated on the banks of the Scheldt, it was so o completely within the power of the governor to hinder the approaches of the besiegers, by letting out the waters, that the King of France who had himself been foiled before that fortress, by its inundations, in a former case said, on hearing they had commenced its siege, " They must have an army of ducks to take it." An extraordinary drought at this period, however, which lasted seven weeks, had so lowered the Scheldt and canals that the approaches were pushed with great celerity, and on the 5th Septem- ber the garrison surrendered at discretion. Marlborough wrote to Godolphin on this occasion " The taking of Dendermonde, making the garrison prisoners of war, was more than could have been expected ; but I saw they l Marlbo- were in a consternation. That place could never have rough to been taken but by the hand of God, which gave us seven Sept. 4, weeks without rain. The rain began the day after we m. s-io. f . , . . . Hist. Mil. had taken possession, and continued without intermission vi. ioe-126. for the three next days." ] Ath was the next object of attack. This small but strong fortress was of great importance, as lying on the And of Ath, direct road from Mons to Brussels by Halle ; and, in dudes the consequence of that circumstance, it was rendered a for- oTtTbef"'. tress of the first order when the barrier of strongholds, 264 THE LIFE OF CHAP, insanely demolished by Joseph II. before the war of the IV ' Revolution, was restored by the Allies, under the direc- 17 6 - tion of Wellington, after its termination. Maryborough intrusted the direction of the attack to Overkirk, while he himself occupied, with the covering army, the position of Leuze. Ven dome's army was so much discouraged that he did not venture to disturb the operations of Marlborough ; but retiring behind the Scheldt, between Conde and Mortagne, contented himself with throwing strong garrisons into Mons and Charleroi, which he apprehended would be the next objects of attack. The operations of the besiegers against Ath were pushed with great vigour till the 4th October, when the garrison, eight hundred strong, all that remained out of two thousand, who manned the works when the siege began, surrendered as prisoners of war. Marlborough was very urgent after this success to undertake the siege of Mons, which would have completed the conquest of Brabant and Flanders, and which would then have been an easy acquisition, though, in a subsequent campaign, it was only taken after the terrible battle of Malplaquet and the loss of twenty thousand men. Vendome fully expected that i Hist, de this siege would be next undertaken, and he was in no 2iv/i6.' condition to interrupt it ; but Marlborough could not ]o-Ti'. m ' persuade the Dutch authorities to furnish him with the vi. is i26-i28. requisite stores. 1 * After a parade of his army in the open field near Cambron, in the hope of drawing * " If the Dutch can furnish ammunition for the siege of Mons we shall undertake it, for, if the weather continues fair, we shall have it much cheaper this year than the next, when they have had time to recruit their army. The taking of that town would be a very great advantage to us for the opening of next campaign, which we must make if we would bring France to such a peace as will give us quiet hereafter." Marlborouyh to Godolphin, October 1 i. 1700; CO.XK, iii. 1-1. MARLBOROUGII. 265 Vendome, who boasted of having 140 battalions and CHAP. 180 squadrons at his command, to a battle, in which he IV ' was disappointed, Marlborough resigned the command 170(i - to Ovcrkirk, put the army into winter-quarters, and hastened to Brussels, to commence the arduous duty of endeavouring to compose the jealousies and secure the union of the discordant powers of the Alliance/" Marlborough was received in the most splendid manner, and with unbounded demonstrations of joy, at splendid Brussels, not only by the inconstant populace, but by of C M P aribo- the deputies of the three Estates of Brabant, which were BrTssets, assembled there in regular and permanent sovereignty. resuulTof Well might they lavish their demonstrations of respect p a ! g n a . m " and gratitude on the English general ; for never in modern times had more important or glorious events signalised a successful campaign. In five months the power of France had been so completely broken, and the towering temper of its inhabitants so lowered, that their best general, at the head of above a hundred thou- sand men, did not venture to measure swords with the Allies, who were only masters of two- thirds of their numerical strength in the field. By the effects of a single victory, the whole of Brabant and Flanders, studded with the strongest fortresses in Europe each of which in for- mer wars had required months, some years, for their reduction had been gained to the Allied arms. Between those taken on the field of Ramilies, and subsequently in the besieged fortresses, above twenty thousand men * " M. dc Vendome tells his officers he has 140 battalions and 180 squadrons, and that, if my Lord Marlborough gives him an opportunity, he will pay him a visit before this campaign ends. I believe he has neither will nor power to do it, which we shall sec quickly, for we are now camped in so open a country that, if he marches to us, we cannot refuse fighting." Marlborouyh to Lord Godolphiii, October 14, 1706 ; COXK, iii. 14. 266 THE LIFE OF CHAP, had been made prisoners, and twice that number lost to IV - the enemy by the sword, sickness, and desertion. France 1706. now made head against the Allies in Flanders only by drawing together her forces from all other quarters, and starving the war in Italy and on the Rhine, besides straining every nerve in the interior. This state of almost frenzied exertion could not last. Already the effects of Marlborough's triumph at the commencement of the campaign had appeared, in the total defeat of the French in their lines before Turin, by Prince Eugene, on the 18th September, and their expulsion from Italy. It was the reinforcements procured for him, and withheld from his opponents, by Maiiborough, which obtained for icoxe, iii. the Prince this glorious victory, at which the English n^t. ', 1700 ; COXK, iii. 20, 21. ' " Your Highness will not, I am sure, be displeased to hear by the Jlaron de Hondorf of the signal advantage which the arms of His Majesty and his Allies have gained over the enemy. Yun hare had for/real a hand tit It, that you must permit me to thank you again." L'l/.t/cnc to MarlboroiiyJt, Sep- tember 7, 170U ; Coxr., iii. 20. MARLBOROUGH. 271 before him on both banks of the latter river ; by a circui- CHAP. tons march of sixty leagues he gained the Pass of Stra- detta in time to anticipate the arrival of the enemy in 1700-. force there; advanced across the plain of Piedmont, encountered and defeated the Austrians at Marcngo a victory ere long followed by the convention of Alessan- dria, which gave him the entire command of Italy. Victory, in both cases, was gained by an inferior force, which, being skilfully applied to the decisive point where the enemy's communication with the Peninsula was maintained, at once cut it asunder. It was like a stab in the jugular artery, or a blow on the spinal marrow. History is not useless when it traces such great and i Dumas- decisive consequences to the successive application by EvTnem! 8 great generals of the same simple and elementary prin- 362-36!). ciples. 1 If the campaign of Eugene in Italy, in 1706, affords a parallel complete in every part to the triumph of Affairs of Marengo, a century after, by the application of the katsingof same principles, that in Spain in the same year affords Barcelona , as remarkable a contrast to those of Wellington in the ofti^Anlcs Peninsula, in consequence of the application of different to ones. The campaign in the outset presented the most encouraging prospects. Charles had thrown himself into Barcelona, where he was ere long besieged by a formidable army of French and Spaniards ; while Lord Peterborough, in the mountains in their rear, did his utmost to raise the siege, and organise a force capable of meeting the enemy in the field. But notwith- standing all his heroism and his ability, he was unable seriously to interrupt the operations of the besiegers, and the fortress was only preserved by the heroic reso- lution of Charles, who declared his determination to 272 THE LIFE OF CHAP, bury himself under the ruins of the last bastion, rather 1V - than surrender. He was induced to prolong his defence, 1706. w itli such firmness, in the hope of obtaining succour from the British fleet, which was hourly expected. At length, on June 9th, the long-looked-for sails appeared in the bay : nine ships of the line, with ample stores and supplies, approached the walls ; and the besiegers were struck with such consternation by this event that they precipitately raised the siege, abandoning a hun- dred and ten pieces of heavy artillery, and all the stores and siege equipage, and retreated in disorder towards Madrid. Lord Peterborough was immediately sent to organise a force in Valencia ; and Lord Galway, who commanded the United British and Portuguese army j Hist. Mil. on the frontier of Leon, and who had advanced without vi. 784-7^5. . . foxe, molestation as far as the bridge or Almarez, eucou- TJj f C Spain, c. raged by this great advantage, continued his march, and l T t~i O J O 14. Coxe, i - r -I i i i IT Marih. ii. entered Madrid without opposition, on the 26th June, .,-., _) j **- iii. 25-27.' (O. S.), when the Austrian Archduke was proclaimed King of Spain and the Indies. 1 But these brilliant prospects were soon overcast, and Subsequent disaster long-continued and irremediable followed the andios S s 'of aurora which rose in such splendid colours. Peter- borough, who, with all his great heroic qualities, was not without a large intermixture of eccentricity and irrita- bility, soon experienced the evils of that slowness in action, boasting in words, and jealousy of foreigners, which has ever characterised the Spanish character, of which Wellington in after time so grievously complained, and which, in spite of his consummate judgment and admirable temper, so often marred his best-laid plans, and all but ruined the cause of independence in the Peninsula. Lord Galway experienced a lukewarm MAKLBOROUGH. 273 reception at Madrid. No representations could induce CHAP. the inhabitants of the capital or the Castiles to do any- thing ; and even in Catalonia and Valencia, where his 170(i - cause was more popular, the exertions of the people were so languid that, when he did approach the capital, Charles, instead of the army thirty thousand strong, which was expected, made his appearance at Guada- laxara with only four thousand foot and one thou- sand horse. In this little camp discord and jealousies broke out with such violence that Lord Peterborough, whose military talents M'ere alone equal to the crisis, resigned his command, and accepted a minor commission to levy troops for the service of the Duke of Savoy. On the other hand, the inhabitants of Andalusia and the two Castiles were zealous for the Bourbon cause, and raised forces for them with great alacrity ; and the Duke of Berwick, who commanded them, displayed in the conduct of the war those great abilities which he and his uncle Marlborough had inherited, each through the mother, from their common ancestor, Sir Francis Drake. The result was what might have been expected when jealousy and disunion prevailed on one side, and vigour and unanimity characterised the other. Lord Galway was forced to evacuate Madrid, and retire towards the Portuguese frontier ; Charles fell back to the borders of Valencia ; and Berwick, having regained Madrid, and restored the communication with Andalusia, was able to open the next campaign in the most advantageous cir- i Hist. MIL cum stances, in a central position, between two separate m. 29-3' and disunited enemies. 1 Affairs wore an equally unpromising aspect in the end of the campaign on the Upper Rhine. The talents of Marshal Villars were there more than a match for the VOL. 1. S 274 THE LIFE OF CHAP. Margrave of Baden, to whom he was opposed, who was sinking under a mortal disease, which brought him to an IV. 170G - untimely end in the beginning of January 1707. He 4 6K - , was at the head of seventy battalions, and one hundred L ntoward s ^ teof and ten squadrons, mustering thirty-five thousand corn- affairs on >t the Upper batants in so surprising a manner had the forces of Rhine. France sprung up and multiplied with the necessities of circumstances in this gigantic war. This force was greatly superior to that of the Margrave of Baden, in consequence of which the fortress of Hagueuau, with a garrison of three thousand men, was taken by Villars early in the campaign. But the French marshal was soon after weakened by large draughts to reinforce the army of Villcroi, defeated by Maryborough, and that of Italy, threatened by Eugene, and this tide of success was soon arrested. The Imperialists, however, were not less weakened by the large draughts made by the Emperor, to enable him to make head against the Hungarian v_/ O insurgents, who still continued their interminable hosti- lities, and threatened Vienna itself by the incursions of their armed partisans. Thus the war languished, and degenerated into a campaign of marches and positions on the Upper Rhine, in which, however, the French had so i Hist. Mil. vi. 415-435. much the advantage that it was evident that, if Villars 'h, '-2-1. ' was considerably reinforced, the affairs of the Imperialists would speedily become desperate in that quarter. 1 No adequate idea can be formed of the greatness of immense Mai'lborougli's capacity, or the overwhelming load of ofMwibo! cares with which he was oppressed, if the other contests respondenco which, in addition to his own, he was obliged to carry on, campaigns, arc not taken into consideration. It was not merely his own campaigns, often of the most active kind, which lie was called on to direct ; he was at the same time charged MAKLBOHOUGH. 275 with the almost entire direction of those in every other CHAP. quarter, and constantly appealed to whenever a difficulty occurred. At the very moment when his blood was 1706 - heated by combat, and he was obliged to be ten or twelve hours a-day on horseback with his own troops, he was compelled to steal half the night to carry on his multiplied correspondence with the Allied generals or cabinets in every part of Europe. Such was the weight of his authority, the avidity for his direction, that not only was he intrusted with the general design of every campaign, alike in Germany, Italy, Spain, and Flanders, but the details of their execution were constantly sub- mitted to him ; and, what was much more vexatious, he was continually called on to adjust by his authority, or heal by his urbanity, the quarrels of the generals, and discord of the cabinets to whom their direction was intrusted. His correspondence affords ample evidence of this. Appeals were made to Marlborough at every time, and from every side : from the Imperial ministers against the inactivity of the Margrave of Baden ; from, the Margrave against the imbecility of the Imperial cabi- net ; from Lord Peterborough against the jealousy and tardiness of the Spaniards at the court of the Archduke Charles ; from them against the irritability and eccentricity of the English general ; from the Hungarian insurgents against the exactions and cruelty of the Imperial govern- ment ; from them against the restless and rebellious spirit with which the Magyars in every age have been animated. The confidence universally reposed, not only in his wisdom and justice, but in his conciliatory manners and Universal .,.,, ,-, -, r ,1 T confidence irresistible address, was the cause ot tins extraordinary in his wis- load of important cares with which, in addition to probity. the direction of his own army, he was daily over- 276 THE LIFE OF CHAP, whelmed. From Eugene alone he was assailed by IV - no appeals, except for such addition to his forces as 170G. might put him in a condition to measure his strength with the enemy. Their ideas were so identical, their rninds so entirely cast in the same mould, their military knowledge and capacity so much alike, that it invariably happened that what the one of his own accord did, was precisely what the other of his own accord would have recommended. Nor was it enough that foreign affairs of such overwhelming magnitude daily oppressed the English general ; he had in addition the divisions of the cabinet at home to heal, and the deadly animosity of faction, increasing with every triumph which he won, to appease. No warrior of modern times, not even except- ing Wellington, had such a mass of affairs, both civil and military, to conduct at the same time, and none ever got through them with such consummate ability. The cor- respondence of the Emperor Napoleon alone, since the days of Caesar, will bear a comparison with it ; but although nothing could exceed the energy and capacity of the French Emperor, there was this difference, and it was a vital one, between his position and that of Marl- borough Napoleon commanded, after he attained to greatness, everywhere as a master : he directed his generals with equal authority on the Danube and the Tagus, and dictated to cabinets at Vienna or St Peters- burg nearly as effectively as at St Cloud ; but Marl- borough had not even the uncontrolled direction of his 1 Coxe, in. own army, and beyond it had no influence but what had been extorted by exploits or won by condescension. 1 But if Marlborough's difficulties as the real head of the Grand Alliance were great, those of Louis XIV. were still greater ; and the discouragement, both at MARLBOBOUGH. 277 Versailles and over all France, had now become such CHAP. that it had become next to impossible any longer to '_ continue the contest. The successes on the Upper Rhine, the balanced issue of the campaign in Spain, Terro ' r ; t afforded no adequate compensation for the disasters in 2SSS Piedmont and Flanders : by the first, Italy had been lost ; by the second, France itself was menaced. The recovery of the Flemish fortresses, by the consequences of the battle of Ramilies, had deprived the monarchy of the immense advantage, both for offensive and defensive operations, which it had hitherto enjoyed during the war. It had done more ; it had rolled it over to the enemy. Securely based on Ostend, Dendermonde, Ghent, and Ath, the confederates were in a condition to open the next campaign by the siege of Mons, Tournay, Lisle, and the frontier fortresses of France, after the reduction of which nothing remained capable of arresting their march to Paris. In Flanders they had taken, indeed, the bull by the horns ; but, having seized them, they had got the entire command of the animal. France, it was true, had made astonishing efforts, unparalleled in this or any other war. But its strength appeared to be now exhausted : the very magnitude of its exertions precluded their con- tinuance. After five years of continued effort, deeply chequered by disaster, Louis XIV. found himself stript of all his conquests, shorn of his external influence, and compelled to maintain at once, on the frontiers of Ger- many, Flanders, Spain, and Italy, a contest from his own resources with the forces of all Europe. The treasury \vas exhausted ; the people, oppressed with taxes, and stript of their sons to feed the ranks of war, loudly clamoured for peace ; in vain had a forced paper cur- rency been tried to restore the public credit ; and the 278 THE LIFE OF CHAP, soldiers, discouraged by repeated defeats, and dissatisfied n ' with their commanders, no longer approached the enemy 1706. b u t w itli a secret presentiment of disaster. Paris was in the utmost consternation. Every family of distinction mourned a son lost, or a prisoner in the hands of the enemy ; the multitude of mourning dresses threw a gloom over the public fetes, and caused them to be discon- tinued. Though calm in appearance, as all men of powerful minds are in disaster, Louis was profoundly affected. His haughty spirit, long accustomed to pro- sperity, supported with difficulty the weight of adversity ; the war, and all its concerns, was a forbidden subject at court ; a melancholy gloom pervaded the halls of Ver- sailles ; and frequent bleedings of the monarch himself 1 Hist, de attested both the violence of his internal agitation, and 217. the dread which his physicians entertained of still greater dangers. 1 Overcome by so many calamities, the firm spirit of His over- Louis was at length shaken, and he was prevailed on to tures for L sue for peace. His proposals were addressed to the States-General with whom he entertained a secret hope of being able to conclude a separate accommodation by the Marquis Allegre, and in letters by the Elector of Bavaria to the Duke of Marlborough and Dutch com- mander-iu-chief, and their commissioners with the army. With honourable fidelity to their engagements, however, the Dutch government immediately communicated them to their Allies, and a congress on the subject was held of all the Allied ministers at the Hague on the 2.9th of November. The Elector observed in his letter to Marlborough, " His Most Christian Majesty having observed with concern that all attempts hitherto made by private channels to bring about an accommodation MAKLBOKOUGH. 279 have failed of effect, and been regarded as attempts to CHAP. disunite the Allies, has resolved to proceed in the most public manner, and, renouncing all secret negotiations, 1701;. to propose general conferences, which may lead to the re-establishment of the peace of Europe." Marlborough replied : " Her Majesty, to whom I have communicated your letter, commands me to assure your Electoral Highness that she learns with pleasure the pacific inten- tions of the King ; that if she has hitherto resolved to continue the war, it M r as only in the hope that it might lead to the conclusion of a solid and durable peace ; and that nothing would gratify her so much as to be able, in concert with her Allies, to arrive at an accom- modation, which might relieve her from the necessity of being obliged to resume her arms at no distant interval. But while Her Majesty is ready to concur with them in everything which is just and reasonable, she is equally determined to enter into no separate negotiation ; and Bavaria^ she does not wish to disguise her opinion that the pro- rough,oct. posed opening of general conferences, without a distinct and Mari- previous announcement on the part of His Most Chris- wm^ov. tiau Majesty of the basis on which they are to pro- iiik'de'' ceecl, is not likely to lead to the desired result ; and in 220-224!!" this opinion the States-General concur." 1 The reason of this proposal of general conferences on the part of the French sovereign, and the declination of Reason's of them, unless a basis was previously agreed on, by Marl- rough'tcon- borough and the British government, was this. All men are not Marlboroughs or Eugenes : the really great alone can witness success without envy, or achieve it without selfishness. In the base herd of ignoble men who profited by the efforts of these great leaders, the malignant passions were rapidly gaining strength by the 280 THE LIFE OF CHAP, very magnitude of the triumphs. The removal of danger IV - was producing its usual effect of reviving jealousy among 1706. the Allies. Conquest was spreading its invariable discord by inciting cupidity in the distribution of its fruits. The confederates exhibited an instance of the inherent weak- ness so often observed in alliances, and which Wellington, in the bitterness of his heart, once said also characterised the English army that of being " equally liable to be dissolved by victory or defeat/' It M'as hard to say whether France or the Allies were most endangered by the victories of Ramilies and Turin, so numerous and serious were the jealousies which immediately broke out among them. No sooner had Eugene's success delivered the Austrian government from all apprehensions in Italy, and reinstated Victor Amadous on the throne which he was on the point of losing, than the old ani- mosity between their cabinets and generals broke out to such a degree that it became next to impossible to get them to agree to any joint measures ; and it required all 38.5-394."' the address of Marlborough to prevent the Alliance from being dissolved by the very completeness of its success. 1 Nor were these divisions confined to Italy. In office of the Flanders also they had appeared soon after the battle of government " TIT of the Ne- Ramilies, when the Emperor J oscph, on the part or the therlands . . , . declined by King of Spam, to whom it pertained, as a natural mark rough. of gratitude to the general who had delivered his people from their oppressors, as well as from a regard to his own interests, appointed Marlborough to the general command as viceroy of the Netherlands. The English general was highly gratified by this mark of confidence and gratitude ; and the appointment was cordially approved of by Queen Anne and the English cabinet, who, without hesitation, authorised Marlborough to IV. MARLBOROUGH. 281 accept tlie proffered dignity. But the Dutch, who had CHAP. already begun to conceive projects of ambition by an accession of territory to themselves on the side of Flan- ders, evinced such dislike to this appointment, as tend- ing to throw the administration of the Netherlands entirely into the hands of the English and Austrians, that Marlborough had the magnanimity to solicit per- mission to decline an honour which threatened to breed disunion in the Alliance.*"" This conduct was as disin- terested as it was patriotic ; for the emoluments of the government, thus refused from a desire for the public 390-40:5. ' good, were no less than 60,000 a-year. 1 f Although, however, Marlborough thus renounced this * " This appointment by the Emperor has given some uneasiness in Holland, by thinking that the Emperor has a mind to put the power in this country into the Queen's hands, in order that they may have nothing to do with it. If I should find the same thing by the Pensionary, and that nothing can cure this jealousy but my desiring to be excused from accepting this commission, I hope the Queen will allow of it ; for the advantage and honour I have by this commission is very insignificant in comparison of the fatal consequences that might be if it should cause a jealousy between the tivo nations. And though the appointments of this government are sixty thousand pounds a-year, I shall with pleasure excuse myself, since I am convinced it is for her service, if the States should not make it their request, which they are very far from doing." Maryborough to Godolphui, July 1 12, 1706 ; COXE, iii. 391-393. " I send yon copies of what I have received from Vienna, and I write this to beg of you to do me the justice to believe firmly that I shall take no step in this matter but what shall be by the advice of the States ; for I prefer infinitely their friendship before any interest of my own ; for I thank God and the Queen I have no need or desire of being richer, but have a very great ambi- tion of doing everything that can be for the public good ; and as for the fron- tier, which is absolutely necessary for your security, you know my opinion of it." Marlboromjh to the Petitionary Jlcinsius, July 3, 1706 ; Ibid. iii. 392. f " Mr Hope has probably written to your High Mightinesses that, with the permission of the Queen, I am firmly resolved not to charge myself in any manner with the commission with which His Most Catholic Majesty has been pleased to honour me. This ought to convince their High Mightinesses how much I have their interest and peculiar satisfaction at heart, as well as that of the common cause." Marlborough to the States-General, July 10, 1706; COXE, ii. 305. 282 THE LIFE OP CHAP, splendid appointment, the court of Vienna were not IV " equally tractable. It evinced the utmost jealousy at the no longer disguised desire of the Dutch to gain jeaJus'ies an accession of territory, and the barrier of which they uutih, ami were so passionately desirous, at the expense of the Zntii Austrian Netherlands. The project also got wind, and Maribo- f the Catholic inhabitants of Brabant, whom difference of rough. religion and old-established national rivalry had long alienated from the Dutch, were so much alarmed at the prospect of being transferred to their hated Protestant neighbours, that the proposal at once cooled their ardour in the cause of the Alliance, and M~ent far to sow the seeds of irrepressible dissension among them. The Emperor, therefore, again pressed the appointment on Marlborough ; but from the same lofty motives he con- tinued to decline, professing a willingness, at the same time, to give the Emperor privately every assistance in his power in the exercise of the new government, so that the Emperor was obliged to give a reluctant consent. Notwithstanding this refusal, the jealousy of the Dutch was such that, on the revival of a report that the appointment had been actually conferred on the Duke of Marlborough, they were thrown into such a ferment that in the public congress the Pensionary could not avoid exclaiming in the presence of the English ambas- sador, " Mon Dieu ! est-il possible qu'on voudrait faire ce pas sans notre participation ? " The English government, on the other hand, made no attempt to ' Mr step- conceal their indignation at the selfish conduct of the boiouuh, Dutch in thus opposing a deserved reward to the hero '1707. ' who had saved them from so much danger, and a mea- 407. ' sure calculated to be of such essential service to the general interests of the Alliance, 1 and did not scruple to MARLBOROUGH. 283 ascribe it to the secret influence of the French party, CHAP. which might be expected to produce still more disastrous n ' results in future times.* 170G - The French government were soon informed of this jealousy, and of the open desire of the Dutch for an opening of accession of territory on the side of Flanders, at the secret^egV expensc of Austria ; and they took advantage of it, tween'the early in the summer of 1706, to open a secret negotia- the French. tion with the States-General for the conclusion of a separate peace with that republic. The basis of this accommodation was to be a renunciation by the Duke of Anjou of his claim to the crown of Spain, upon receiving an equivalent in Italy : he offered to recognise Anne as Queen of England, and professed the utmost readiness to secure for the Dutch, at the expense of Austria, that barrier in the Netherlands to which he conceived them to be so well entitled. These proposals elated the Dutch government to such a degree that they began to take a high hand, and assume a dictatorial tone at the Hague ; and it was the secret belief that they would, if matters came to extremities, be supported by France in this exorbitant demand for a slice of Austria, that made them resist so strenuously the government of the Low Countries being placed in such firm and vigorous hands as those of Marlborough. * " I Lave received yours of the 6th July, and I must not disown to you that it both surprised and troubled me very much. It is amazing that, after so much done for their advantage, and even for their safety, the States can have been capable of such behaviour. Those of the French faction must have seen their advantage upon this occasion to fill them with jealousy of your having, and consequently of England's having, too much power ; and if this be at the bottom, we shall soon see that argument made use of on other occasions as well as this. But your prudence and good temper will, I trust, get the better of all this folly and perverseness." Godolphin to Marlborough, July 4/15, 1706; COXE, ii. 3.0-1. 284 THE LIFE OF CHAP. Matters had, therefore, come to such a pass in October Iv ' and November 1706, that Godolphin regarded the state [7 r> - of affairs as desperate, and thought that the Alliance was on the point of being dissolved. * It was the know- ledge he possessed of these secret intrigues and open jealousies which made Marlborough exert himself to prevent any conferences being opened until this basis was first admitted by France, well knowing that they would give an entrance to the point of the wedge which the skill of Louis and the address of his ministers would soon drive home, to the entire splitting asunder of the Grand Alliance. The Dutch now openly aspired not merely to obtaining a barrier for themselves in the Netherlands, but to the complete sovereignty and posses- sion of that noble country, which of right appertained to Austria. Thus was Maiiborough's usual winter cam- paign with the confederates rendered more difficult on this than it had been on any preceding occasion ; for he had now to contend with the consequences of his own success, and allay the jealousies, and stifle the cupidity 1 Coxe, ii. . . 393-399. which had sprung up in the prospect of that magnificent spoil which he himself had laid at the feet of the Allies. 1 But in this dangerous crisis, Maryborough's great Maribo- diplomatic ability, consummate address, and thorough dress ob- devotion to the common good, stood him in as good nevaicfthe stead as his military talents had done him in the pre- ceding campaign with Villeroi and Vendoine. In the beginning of November he repaired to the Hague, and * " Lord Seniors has shown me a long letter which ho has had from the Pensionary, very intent upon settling the barrier. The inclinations of the JJutch are so violent and plain, that I am of opinion nothing will be able to prevent their taking effect but our being as plain with them upon the same subject, and threatening to publish to the whole world the terms for which they solicit." Lord Godot phiii to Marlborour/h, Oct. 24, 170G; COXE, iii. 7-4. MARLBORO UGII. 285 though he found the Dutch, in the first instance, so CHAP. extravagant in their ideas of the barrier they were to 1V ' obtain, that lie despaired of effecting any settlement of the differences between them and the Emperor ;* yet he at length succeeded, though with very great difficulty, in appeasing, for the time, the jealousies between them and the cabinet of Vienna, and also in obtaining a public renewal of the Alliance for the prosecution of the war. The delicate and disputed matter of the government of the Austrian Low Countries was adjusted by a compro- mise, in virtue of which the government was to be in reality shared by England and Holland, although, to gratify the natives, it was conducted in the name and under the authority of Charles III., King of Spain. The publication of this treaty diffused the utmost satis- faction among the ministers of the Allied powers assem- bled at the Hague ; and this was further increased by a negotiation which had been pending for some months between Marlborough and the Elector of Bavaria, for a separate treaty with that prince, who had become dis- gusted with the .French Alliance, though this negotiation was subsequently broken off. The proposals for confer- ences by Louis came to nothing, as he would not specify any basis on which it should be rested. But all Marl- borough's efforts failed to accomplish any adjustment of the disputed matter of the barrier on which the Dutch * " My inclinations will lead me to stay as little as possible at the Hague, though the Pensionary tells me I must stay to finish the succession treaty and their barrier, which, should I stay the whole winter, I am very confident would not be brought to perfection. For they arc of so many minds, and are all so very extravagant about their barrier, that I despair of doing any- thing good till they are more reasonable, which they will not be till they see that they have it not in their power to dispose of the whole Low Countries at their will and pleasure, in which the French flatter them." Marlborougk to Godolpliin, Oct. 2,0, 1706; COXE, iii. 79. 286 THE LIFE OF CHAP, were so obstinately set ; and even his noble and disin- IV- terested declinin of the overnment of the Netherlands 17 6 - failed in giving him influence enough to overcome their o o o selfish thirst for aggrandisement. Finding them equally unreasonable and intractable on that subject, he deemed i Coxe, ii. 398-401; himself fortunate when he obtained the adjourning of the 17-52.' question, by the consent of all concerned, till the con- clusion of a general peace. 1 "" After the adjustment of this delicate and perilous His return negotiation, Marlborough returned to England, where andspien- ' he was received with transports of exultation by all tion'there. classes. He was conducted iii one of the royal carriages, amidst a splendid procession of all the nobility of the kingdom, to Temple Bar, where he was received by the city authorities, who feasted him in the most magnificent manner at Vintners' Hall. Thanks were voted to him by botli Houses of Parliament ; and when he took his seat in the House of Peers, the Lord Keeper addressed him in these just and appropriate terms : " What your Grace has performed in this last campaign has far exceeded all hopes, even of such as were most affection- ate and partial to their country's interest and glory. The advantages you have gained against the enemy arc of such a nature, so conspicuous in themselves, so un- * " I was in hopes that my declining the honour the King of Spain had done me would have given me so much power with the States as that I might be able to hinder them from doing themselves and the common cause very great hurt. But such is their temper that, when they have misfortunes, they arc desirous of peace upon any terms ; and when, by the blessing of God, they have success, they arc for turning it to their own advantage, with- out any consideration how it may be liked by their friends and allies. You will see by the enclosed letter I have this day writ to the Pensioner, that, if they cannot be brought to change their resolution of the 19th ult., they will create so great a jealousy in this country that they shall be under the govern- ment of the Dutch, that it would turn very much to the advantage of the French." M arlboruwjh to God'jl^lun, July 1-1.25, 170G; COXE, ii. 398. MARLBORO UGH. 287 doubtedly owing to your courage and conduct, so sensibly CHAP. and universally beneficial to the whole confederacy, that v ' to attempt to adorn them with the colouring of words 17W - would be vain and inexcusable. Therefore I decline it, the rather because 1 should certainly offend that great modesty which alone can and does add lustre to your actions, and which in your Grace's example has success- fully withstood as great trials as that virtue has met with in any instance whatsoever." The House of Commons passed a similar resolution ; and, the better to testify the national gratitude, an annuity of 5000 a-year, charged upon the Post Office, w r as settled upon the Duke and Duchess, and their descendants, male or female ; and his dukedom, which stood limited to heirs- male, was extended also to heirs-female, " in order," as it was finely expressed, " that England might never be without a title which might recall the remembrance of 134-144. so much glory/' 1 So much glory, however, produced its usual effect in engendering jealousy in little minds. The Whigs had Jealousy . against him grown envious ot that illustrious pillar or their party ; arises among they were tired of hearing him called the Just. Both whigsand /-<<-iii> i ^ r 1 1 11 i i p Tories, but Godolphm and Marlborough became the objects ol ho prevails excessive jealousy to their own party ; and this, com- a bined with the rancour of the Tories, who could never forgive his desertion of his early patron, the Duke of York, had wellnigh proved fatal to him when at the very zenith of his usefulness and popularity. Intrigue was rife at St James's. Serious causes of division w r ere not awanting, nor topics on which faction could raise a clamour, and under which selfishness could conceal its designs. Matters were approaching a crisis between the old Tories and the party which had introduced the 288 THE LIFE OF CHAP, new dynasty. The Act of Union with Scotland, in pro- n ' moting which Maryborough took a very active 'part, 1706 - both consolidated the power of Great Britain, and was of great eventual service to both ends of the island, and established the Protestant succession in both kingdoms."* Parties were strangely intermixed and disjointed. Some of the moderate Tories were in power ; many ambitious Whigs were out of it. Neither party stood on great public principles, a sure sign of instability in the national councils. Harley's intrigues had become serious, and the prime-minister, Godolphin, had threat- ened to resign. The Duchess of Marlborough's influence at court had visibly declined ; she had even been a long time without seeing her Majesty. In this alarming juncture of domestic affairs, the presence of Marlborough produced its usual pacifying and benign influence. In a long interview which he had with the Queen on his first private audience, he settled all differences ; Godol- phin was persuaded to withdraw his resignation ; the cabinet was reconstructed on a new and harmonious basis ; Harley and Bolingbroke were the only Tories of any note who remained in power ; and these new perils H2-L4. ' to the prosecution of the war, and the cause of European independence, were removed. 1 The beginning of the year 1707 witnessed the expiry Death and of a distinguished w r arrior, at first a rival of Marlbo- of Prince rough, but latterly eclipsed by his glory- Prince Louis Baden. of Baden, who died at Rastadt on the 4th January 1707. He was born at Paris on the 8th April 1655, * '' Madam, the truth is, that the heads of one party have declared against you and your government, as far as it is possible without going into open rebellion. Xo\v, should your Majesty disoblige the others, how is it possible to obtain near five millions for carrying on the war, without which all is im- doue." M engagement. Like Hannibal, his heroic qualities had inspired a multifarious army colluvies omnium gen- tium with one homogeneous spirit, and rendered them subject to his discipline, faithful to his standard, obedient to his will. But in some particulars his private char- acter was still more exceptionable, for it was stained by the vices as well as adorned witli the virtues of the savage disposition. Like his great predecessor on the theatre of glory, Alexander the Great, though not habi- tually cruel, he was stern, vindictive, and implacable ; his temper was irritable, his anger violent. He was pro- digal of the blood, reckless of the fortunes, of his subjects; and supposing in all the same thirst for renown which he felt in himself, he called upon them for sacrifices, both in men and money, far beyond what either their strength could bear or their patience tolerate. The resistance he met with in his demands soured his temper and rendered it vindictive, and his government was sullied by acts of atrocious barbarity, at which humanity shudders, and which must ever leave an indelible blot on his memory. Louis XIV., in his distress, was naturally anxious to gain the support of an ally so powerful as the Swedish Efforts' of monarch, who was now at Dresden at the head of fifty- to win him three thousand veteran soldiers, ready to fall on the rear of Marlborough's army, then threatening the defensive barrier of France in the Low Countries. Every effort, accordingly, was made to gain Charles over to the French interest. The ancient alliance of France with Sweden, their mutual cause of complaint against the Emperor, the glories of Gustavus Adolphus and the Thirty Years' 293 THE LIFE OF CHAP. War, in which their armies had fought side by side, were held forth to dazzle his imagination or convince his judg- 1 '' '- inent. The Swedish monarch appeared ready to yield to these efforts. He brought forward various real or imaginary grounds of complaint against the German powers, for infractions of the constitution of the Empire, of which he put himself forth as the guarantee, in the capacity of heir to the crown and fame of Gustavus Adolplms, and like him the bulwark of the Protestant faith. He demanded reparation also from Austria for sundry insults alleged to have been offered to the Swedish crown or subjects. These various subjects of complaint were sedulously inflamed by the French agents; and the weight of their arguments was not a little increased by the knowledge of the fact that they were authorised to tions pour offer to Count Piper, the prime-minister of Charles, Recoup 300,000 livres (12,000) to quicken his movements in Fapers'W favour of the cabinet of Versailles, besides bribes in ];>fj C'oxe iii. bo. ' proportion to the subordinate ministers of the court of Sweden. 1 Marlborough very naturally felt extremely uneasy at Measures this negotiation, which he soon discovered by secret roiigh'to information, as well as from the undisguised reluctance his efforts, of the German powers to furnish the contingents which they were bound to supply for the ensuing campaign. Indeed, it could hardly be expected that the Northern powers in the Empire should send their chief disposable forces to swell Marlborough's army beyond the Rhine, when so warlike a monarch, at the head of fifty thousand men, was in the centre of the Empire, with his intentions as yet undeclared, and exposed to the influence of every imaginable seduction. General Grumbkow, an adroit and intelligent diplomatist, who had been sent by the MARLBOKOUGH. 209 King of Prussia on a mission to the Allied headquarters, CHAP. was accordingly despatched to Dresden, to endeavour to v ' ascertain the real intentions of the Swedish monarch. ^ 7 - lie was not long of discovering that Charles had assumed an angry tone towards the confederates only in order to extract favourable terms of accommodation from them, and that Muscovy was the real object on which the King's heart was set. The despatches which the general transmitted to Marlborough convey a curious and highly interesting picture of Charles and the Swedish court iso-io'i. and army at this important juncture. 1 * The negotiation * " Count Piper, aide-de-camp to Charles XII., said, ' We made war on Poland only to subsist ; our design in Saxony is only to terminate the war; but for the Muscovite, he shall pay les pots cassecs, and we will treat the Czar in a manner which posterity will hardly believe.' I secretly wished that already he was in the heart of Muscovy. After dinner he conveyed me to headquarters, and introduced me to his Majesty. He asked me whence I came, and where I had served. I replied, and mentioned my good fortune in having served three campaigns under your Highness. He questioned me much, particularly concerning your Highness and the English troops ; and you may readily believe that I delineated my hero in the most lively and natural colours. Among other particulars, he asked me if your Highness yourself led the troops to the charge. I replied, that, as all the troops were animated with the same ardour for fighting, that was not necessary ; but that you were everywhere, and always in the hottest of the action, and gave your orders with that coolness which excites general admiration. I then related to him that you had been thrown from your horse, the death of vour aide-de-camp Borefield, and many other things. He took great pleaure in this recital, and made me repeat the same thing twice. I also said that your Highness always spoke of his Majesty with esteem and admiration, and ardently desired to pay you his respects. He observed, ' That is not likelv ; but I should be delighted to see a general of whom I have heard so much.' They intend vigorously to attack the Muscovites, and expect to dethrone the Czar, compelling him to discharge all his foreign officers, and pay several millions as an indemnity. Should he refuse such conditions, the King is resolved to exterminate the Muscovites, and make their country a desert. God grant he may persist in this decision, rather than demand the restitution, as some assert, of the Protestant churches in Silesia ! The Swedes in general are modest, but do not scruple to declare themselves invincible when the King is at their head."- General Gnunlkou' to Maryborough, January 11 and 31, 1707 ; COXE, iii. 150-101. 300 THE LIFE OF CHAP, went on for some time with varying success ; but at length matters were brought to a crisis, by the King of 1707. Sweden declaring that he would treat with none but Marlborough in person. This immediately led to the English general repairing 8. visit of to the court of Charles XII. at Dresden. lie left the Marlbo- rousrh to Hague on the 20th April accordingly; and after visit- rluirles at . i " Dresdei:. ing Hanover on the way, where, as usual, there were some jealousies to appease, arrived at the Swedish camp of AH-Ranstadt on the 28th. The Duke drove imme- diately to the headquarters of Count Piper, from whom he received the most flattering assurance of the gratifica- tion which the Swedish monarch had felt at his arrival. He was shortly after introduced to the monarch, to whom he delivered a letter from the Queen of England, and at the same time addressed him in the following flattering terms : " I present to your Majesty a letter, not from the Chancery, but from the heart of the Queen my mistress, and written with her own hand. Had not her sex prevented it, she would have crossed the sea to see a prince admired by the whole universe. I am in this particular more happy than the Queen, and I wish I could serve some campaigns under so great a general as your Majesty, that I mi^ht learn what I vet want to / J / J j know in the art of war."'- This adroit compliment, from a commander so great 9. HU address and justly celebrated, produced an immediate effect on with that the Swedish monarch, who was passionately desirous of military glory. His satisfaction was visible in his coun- tenance, and he returned a gracious answer in these MARLBOEOUGH. 301 terms : " The Queen of Great Britain's letter and your CHAP. person are both very acceptable to me, and 1 shall _J^_ always have the utmost regard for the interposition of l ^ 7 - her Britannic Majesty and the interests of the Grand Alliance. It is much against my will that I have been obliged to give umbrage to any of the parties engaged in it. I have had just cause to come into this country with my troops ; but you may assure the Queen, my sister, that my design is to depart from hence as soon as I have obtained the satisfaction I demand, but not till then. However, I shall do nothing that can tend to the prejudice of the common cause in general, or of the Protestant religion, of which I shall always glory to be a zealous protector." This favourable answer was im- mediately followed by an invitation to dine with the King, who placed him at his right hand, and honoured him with the most flattering attention. So great was the general anxiety to see the two heroes together, who had filled the world with their renown, that when they went to dinner it was found necessary to place three regiments around the place, to preserve order and keep off the crowd. In the course of the evening the con- versation turned chiefly on military matters, in which Marlborough exerted himself with such, skill and suc- cess that he obtained another long private audience of Charles ; and before his departure that monarch even L cw, iii. exceeded his views, by declaring that there could be no Hist, de" security for the peace of Europe till France was reduced 254, -255.' to the rank she held at the date of the treaty of West- 1-2-2-129' phalia. 1 Though the address and abilities of Marlborough, however, had thus removed the chief danger to be apprehended from the presence of the Swedish monarch 302 THE LIFE OF CHAP, at Dresden, yet other matters of great delicacy remained behind for adjustment, requiring all his prudence and 1 ^- skill to bring to a satisfactory issue. Not the least of Singular these difficulties arose from the zeal of the King of Shh? Sweden for the protection of the Protestant religion, and roS!'/ re- l" s desire to revive and secure the privileges granted to f u c s e lif ~ tne German Protestants by the treaty of Westphalia. As Marlborougli justly apprehended that the court of Vienna might take umbrage at these demands, and so be diverted from the objects of the Grand Alliance, he exerted himself to the utmost to convince his Majesty that the great object in the mean time, even as regarded the Protestant faith, was to humble the French monarch, who had shown himself its inveterate enemy by the atrocious persecutions consequent on the revocation of the Edict of Nantes ; and that, if this were once done, the Emperor would be unable to prevent the insertion of the requisite stipulations in favour of the Reformed faith in the general treaty of peace which would follow. Charles was convinced by these argu- ments, which, in truth, were well founded, and even went so far as to propose a secret convention with Eng- land for the promotion of the Protestant interest a proposal most embarrassing at the moment when Great Britain was in close alliance with the Emperor, which J Coxe, iii. i75-iaj. Marlborougli contrived to elude with admirable dex- terity. 1 Another matter of great delicacy was the conduct to His satis- be observed towards the dethroned King of Poland, Augustus, wlio was also at Dresden, and of course viewed the close intimacy between Marlborougli and his formidable enemy Charles with the utmost jealousy. Puit here, also, the diplomatic address of the English MARLBOHOUGH. 303 general overcame all difficulties ; for by skilfully taking CHAP. advantage of the pecuniary embarrassments into which the king had fallen after his territories had been ravaged i<<- and exhausted by the Swedish forces, and by engaging that the Emperor should take a large part of the Polish forces into his pay, he succeeded at once in gaining over the dethroned monarch, and securing a considerable body of fresh troops for the service of the Allies. By these means, aided by judiciously bestowing on Count Piper and the chief Swedish ministers considerable pen- sions, which were paid in advance, Marlborougli suc- ceeded in entirely allaying the storm that had threat- ened his rear. He closely watched the countenance of the Swedish monarch, when politics were under discus- sion ; and observed with pleasure that he appeared calm and unmoved when Louis XIV. was mentioned, but became animated with kindled eyes and flushing cheek when the C/ar was named. In one of his visits also he found the hero wrapt in contemplation of the map of Russia. He accordingly left the Saxon capital, after a residence of ten davs, and arrived at the Hague . /, ! Coxe, Hi. after having been only eighteen days absent, and con- i/.o-is--'. i i i i ft Voltaire, ducted difficult negotiations with tour kings, perfectly sieciedc r- -\ f rio^i'i Louis XIV confident in the pacific intentions ot the Swedish uion- ;;. \'ii. vie arch, and having fully divined the intended direction of xn.,ii5! his forces towards Moscow. 1 The brilliant success with which this delicate and important negotiation had been concluded, naturally Renewed induced a hope that vigorous operations would be InVprom^ undertaken by the Allied powers, and that the great th^Aiiied successes of the preceding campaign would be so far pcni improved as to compel the court of France to submit to such terms as the peace of Europe and the inde- S(H THE LIFE OF CHAP, pendencc of the adjoining states required. The result, however, was quite the reverse, and Marlborough had 1707. again the indescribable mortification of seeing month after month of the summer of 1/07 glide away, without a single measure conducive to the success of the common cause, or worthy of the real strength of the Allied powers, having been attempted. They had all relapsed into their former and fatal jealousies and procrastina- tion. The Dutch, notwithstanding the inestimable ser- vices which Marlborough had rendered to their republic, had again become distrustful, and not only authorised, but expressly enjoined, their field-deputies to thwart and mar all his operations. They made no secret of their resolution, that, their interests being now secured, the blood and treasure of the United Provinces should no longer be expended on enterprises in which the Emperor or the Queen of England were alone concerned. In truth, their own security being provided for by the victory of Ramilies and reduction of so many of the barrier fortresses, they were determined to prevent any further success on the part of the Allied powers, lest it should interfere with their favourite project of securing a barrier for themselves out of the fortresses in the Austrian Netherlands, and lead to the establishment of a monarchy in their close vicinity, the enemy of their faith, and more formidable to their independence than even that of Louis XIV. They made it an invariable rule, accordingly, to interfere when any aggressive move- ment was in contemplation. Even when the Duke, in the course of his skilful marches and countermarches, 171. i!i>t. had gained the opportunity for which he longed, of flu Miirlb. ii. . . jfji -_'(;.;. bringing the enemy to an engagement on terms approach- ing to an equality, 1 they never failed to interpose with MARLBOKOUGII. .'305 their fatal negative, and prevent anything being at- CHAP. tempted. The campaign of 1707 commenced in Spain, and it 1707 - was the magnitude of the disaster sustained there which Defo ^ 3 of explains great part of its untoward issue in every quar- ^ Afman/a ter. Early in March, Lord Gahvay took the field with iu Spain - Dos Miuas, who commanded the Spanish force ; and supposing themselves, though erroneously, as it turned out, to be superior to the enemy, moved forward from Valencia towards Madrid. After a fruitless attempt to reduce Villena, they descended from the mountain range which separates Valencia from New Castile, and advanced in the plain against the army of the Duke of Berwick, which lay around ALMANZA. That accom- plished general, who had inherited from his mother the military genius of the Marlborough family, no sooner became aware of their approach than he sent his bag- gage into Almanza, His army consisted of fifty-two battalions and sixty-two squadrons, mustering twenty- four thousand infantry and eight thousand horse a force somewhat greater, especially in cavalry, to that which the Allies could bring against him, as they had fifty battalions and seventy squadrons, which only in- cluded seven thousand cavalry in all thirty-one thou- sand combatants. Aware of his superiority in horse, Berwick permitted the enemy to approach without any molestation. As they were advancing in full view in four lines, and good order, he traversed the lines of his own army, and briefly addressed the men, telling the 111 i , , J Mem. de Spaniards that he expected now to see them give proofs DucdeBer- of that valour for which their nation was so famous ; 80-82. and to the French, that he trusted to their bravery and las. 6 ' ' courage, and needed say no more. 1 He placed his u 306 THE LIFE OF CHAP, infantry, supported by the artillery, in the centre ; the cavalry on the flanks intending to avail himself 1707. of his superiority in that arm by outflanking and enveloping the enemy with it after the battle was engaged. Lord Galway advanced himself at the head of the 14. Total nvi< : k- s severe loss in their retreat, across a ravine in their rear, jj3^84."' from the French dragoons, whom Berwick led in person. 1 While this success was gained on the right, affairs Process of were more balanced in the centre and left. The French the battle in , . , - , i i /-i i M the centre brigades of Orleans and the Crown there easily over- 1 1 ft threw some Spanish regiments which were opposed to them ; but having advanced too far in pursuit, they were taken in flank by a Dutch brigade, which had MARLBOltOUGH. 307 routed some Spanish new levies opposed to it, and CHAP. completely broken. So great was the tumult that the French brigades fled in disorder almost to the walls of i<'- Almanza ; and the Chevalier d'Arfeld, seeing the panic spreading, with great presence of mind declared that it was only a feigned retreat they were making, and that it was done by the orders of the Duke of Berwick. Meanwhile that great general, seeing the rout in his centre, rapidly moved some regiments of horse from the second line of his right, who charged the Dutch in flank, and drove them back with such vigour that it was only by bringing up the English regiments of Hill and Lord Markkert that their retreat to their own position w r as covered. On the French left, at this moment, the French cavalry charged a large body of Portuguese horse, who were opposed to them ; and no sooner did the latter see the glitter of the enemy's sabres than they turned about and fled,"" leaving several regiments of i Berwick's Portuguese infantry uncovered, who were speedily en- so^sc"' veloped by the victorious horse, and cut to pieces, i&T' 111 ' bravely resisting to the last man. 1 Meanwhile the English, on their left, not only kept their ground, but had vigorously repulsed a grand charge victory de- of sixteen squadrons of horse which Berwick directed poTnTs^or against them. But the shameful conduct of the Portu- 4 guese horse on the right soon left them exposed to fatal odds. Berwick quickly drew nine battalions, chiefly French, from the centre and left, to oppose the English battalions of Southwell, Blonde, Wade, Stewart, and * The Portuguese horse did exactly the same thing at Magalahonda on llth August 1812, ill the course of Wellington's advance to Madrid, after the battle of Salamanca ; while, on many occasions during the Peninsular war, the Portuguese infantry rivalled the heroism of their fathers at Almanza. See ALISON'S Europe, c. 82, 86. 308 THE LIFE OF CHAP. Montjoie, which had been advanced from their second line, and, supported by the victorious horse, were driv- 1707. iutr before them the whole of Berwick's right. At the c o same time he brought up some fresh squadrons which had not yet engaged ; and the whole uniting, made a desperate charge on both flanks of the victorious Eng- lish, while the broken battalions and squadrons in their front re-formed and renewed the conflict. Assailed, then, at once in front and on both flanks, this band of heroes were arrested in their course the cavalry was driven back, and the infantry exposed to dreadful discharges ; and by the fierce onsets of horse on both flanks they were at length broken, and almost entirely destroyed or made prisoners. Resistance now ceased on all sides, and no- thing remained but to collect the trophies. Thirteen bat- talions, which had taken refuge in a wood, laid down their arms in a body ; five more were taken during the action. Lord Galway, who acted with great gallantry, was severely wounded by two sabre-cuts : the whole artillery of the Allies, consisting of twenty-four pieces, was taken, with a hundred and twenty standards, eight hundred officers, and six thousand private soldiers. Above five thousand men were killed or wounded; and so great was the desertion after its close that Galway could only i Berwick's collect six thousand men, of whom three thousand five ^lem. ii. 87-9. hundred were cavalry, with which he retreated into the C'oxe, iii. 193, if4. mountains towards Tortosa. The Spanish general, Lord (-ial- way -soui- Miuas, lost all his baggage : his mistress, dressed as an cial Des. i =O Aprir_7. Amazon, was killed at his side. This great victory 1707. Coxe, & J iii. I'M. only cost the French two thousand men, killed and wounded. 1 It is a very remarkable circumstance, with how small a force several of the most decisive actions recorded in rce MARLBOKOUG1I. ,'309 history have been obtained. Ten thousand Greeks at CHAP. Marathon saved infant Europe from Asiatic subjugation ; twenty-four thousand legionary soldiers at Pharsalia 17 7 - gave a master to the Roman world ; fifteen thousand Sma n 7 f o English at Cressy and Agincourt all but overturned the ^^veS kingdom of France ; thirty thousand Imperialists, under ^c^won." Eugene, at Turin, broke the power of France in Italy, and for the next century subjected it to the Austrian sway ; thirty thousand French, under Napoleon, at Marengo, restored it to the rule of the Tricolor flag ; fifteen thousand Americans, at Saratoga, laid the foun- dation of North American independence ; the charge of fifteen hundred English, at Carabobo, when the armies on either side were only seven thousand strong, for ever severed South America from the Castilian monarchy. Not less decisive than any of these memorable battles, that of Almariza fixed the crown of Spain permanently on the heads of the Bourbon family, and in its ultimate effects determined the great War of the Succession in favour of France. The consequences of the disaster were even more fatal than had been foreboded. Before a month had elapsed, the Bourbon commanders had recovered all the provinces of Valencia, Murcia, and Aragon, with the exception of the fortresses of Lcrida and Tortosa, and the maritime strongholds of Dcnia and Alicante. The authority of the Archduke Charles was reduced to the single province of Catalonia, where he could scarcely muster ten thousand soldiers. Worse than all, such disunion and animosities broke out among the Allied generals in the Peninsula, in consequence of this disaster, as rendered all co-operation among them in future impossible. Lord Galway, finding his situ- ation insupportable, and being openly at variance with 310 THE LIFE OF CHAP. Charles, resigned the command, and said, in common O * with all the generals in his army, that it was hopeless 17 7 - to attempt anything further in Spain."" His words might pass for a transcript of those afterwards used by Moore during the Corunna retreat, and Wellington after the battle of Talavera ; so indelible is national character, and so impracticable, jealous, and unreason- able the disposition of the Spaniards, when any foreign interposition is attempted. England has good cause to be proud of this great disaster, and, as in the triumphs of Washington, to glory in the successes obtained against herself ; for in both cases they were won by English valour and ability. The battle of Almanza, in which the Duke of Berwick displayed alternately the capacity of a commander and the courage of a hero, was won by an English general, to whom had descended from his O O * father the hereditary courage of the Stuart race, and from his mother the hereditary military genius which made the Duke of Maryborough invincible, and had been derived by both from their common ancestor, Sir Francis Drake. And even against his great capacity the battle would have been gained by the native valour of the Anglo- 1 Lord Gai- Saxon race, if the Peninsular troops had at all emulated way's l)es. April 27, the steadiness of the five English regiments of foot, who 1707. Coxe, .... in. ]%-ia9. were constantly victorious, till the flight of the Portu- guese horse at length consigned them to destruction. 1 The circumstance which rendered this victory so deci- sive was the same as that which had previously caused the shock at Blenheim to be so fatal to France. In both * " I am under deep concern to be obliged to tell your lordship we were entirely defeated. Both our wings were broken, and let ill the enemy's horse, which surrounded our foot, so that none could get off. I cannot but look upon the affairs of Spain as lost by this disaster : our foot, which was our main strength, being gone, and the horse we have left chiefly Portuguese, MAELBOROUGII. 311 cases it was the cavalry which won the day ; and it was CHAP. the imprudent intermixture of regiments of foot in line with the horse, or immediately in their rear, which occa- J7U ^ sioned the disaster. No formation can be more danger- Ca j c !! ; fthe ous, especially where, as at Almanza, a superior force of "f 3 ^"^ 6 . cavalry is to be encountered, and the ground is favour- aster - able for the acting of that arm. Everything comes then to depend on the success of the horse ; for, if they are defeated, the regiments of foot in line are speedily out- flanked, surrounded, and cut to pieces. Their exposed flanks can make no resistance whatever to the victorious squadrons by whom, in a few minutes, they arc doubled up, forced back upon each other, and reduced to a help- less multitude, jammed together, which has no means of escaping the sabre but by surrender. The destruction of the nine French battalions, after the grand cavalry charge near Oberglau, and the subsequent surrender of twenty- seven battalions in Blenheim, were the exact counter- part of the enveloping and destroying of five battalions in line at Almanza, and the subsequent surrender of thirteen in the wood in its rear. Both were owing to the same vicious disposition of mingling infantry in line with, and opposed to a superior body of cavalry. The only way to avoid these perils, when infantry and cavalry are intended to act together, or in succession, in w ay in , i , . , . (. -, -which these opposition to a large mass ol horse, which is often the disasters , . p are to ' je case, is to arrange the infantry in squares, two in front avoided. and one behind, between them, as in a chess-board, so that the enemy's horse, if they sweep away the cavalry, which is not good at all. All the generals here are of opinion that we cannot continue in this kingdom ; so I have desired Sir George Byng to take on board again the recruits he had just landed at Alicante, and to call there and at Denia for our sick and wounded, which I have sent to Tortosa." Lord Gal- way to Lord Sunderland, Alegre, April 27, 1707 ; COXE, iii. 196, 197. 312 THE LIFE OF CHAP, may find themselves in a square, from the three sides of which a destructive fire opens upon their disordered 17 7 - ranks ; or to station a strong body of horse immediately behind the menaced or weak part of the infantry, so that, if the enemy's cavalry break through, they may be immediately charged, when in the tumult of success, by a fresh and compact body of horse, which seldom fails to repulse them with very heavy loss. The first method was practised with success by the Archduke Charles on the second day at Aspcrn, in repelling the formidable irruption of Bessieres' dragoons, which, but for it, would have pierced the centre, and by Wellington in resisting the terrible cavalry charges on the centre at Waterloo. The second was the invariable practice of the Allies in the war of 1813 and 1814, and was the chief means by which they parried the formidable onsets of cavalry which had been fatal to them on so many other occasions. They did this, in particular, with the very best effect, i Alison^ on the second day at Leipsic, when the red Cossacks of 44, p 67;'c. the Guard repulsed Kellerman's dragoons, which had sagas'; ' broken their centre, and at Eylau, when a similar irrup- 18. ' " tion was defeated, after great early success, by a charge of the Cossacks of the Don on Napoleon's cuirassiers. 1 This terrible disaster in Spain was the more sensibly DifrrVsiun felt by Madborough, that, from the course which the triansto" 8 cabinet of Vienna had pursued in Italy, there were no means at hand for alleviating or repairing the disaster. The victory of Eugene at Turin in the year preceding had given the Imperialists the command of Italy ; but, by so doing, it had diminished rather than increased the resources which they could render available to support the war in other quarters. Like the Dutch, they were set on objects of separate aggrandisement; and the MARLBORO UGH. 313 triumph of Turin had opened the avenue to the grati- CHAP. fication of this ambition to the south, as that of Ramilies v ' had done to the States-General to the north of the 1707> Alps. No sooner had the convention of March 13th made the Imperialists masters of the whole fortresses in March 13. the north of Italy than this determination became apparent. By that treaty the whole French garrisons were permitted to withdraw with their arms and artillery unmolested into France ; and the Imperial troops, instead of following them, or taking part in the contest in Spain, were either stationed in garrison in the sur- rendered fortresses, or sent on a very different destination. By a secret article of the treaty of 13th March, it was provided that a neutrality should obtain between the Austrian and French forces in Italy ; and, taking advan- tage of this lull, Count Daun was despatched with nine thousand men to effect the reduction of Naples, and seat the Austrian dynasty on its throne. This was easily accomplished, and almost without resistance ; for the Bourbon dynasty was extremely unpopular at that period in the kingdom of the two Sicilies, and the Austrian finances, which stood much in need of it, were recruited vii. 75-87! ' by contributions levied on the whole southern part of m e ' ' the peninsula. 1 But the effect of this great dispersion of the Im- perial force over the whole of Italy necessarily was, that which'pre- the disposable troops in the north, where the decisive cours being point really lay, were extremely weakened; and this south of le not only rendered it impossible to send any succours, which otherwise would have been easy, across the bay of Lyons to Catalonia, but so weakened the Imperial forces there as to cause the expedition against Toulon to fail, which, as will immediately appear, had a most pernicious 314* THE LIFE OF CHAP, effect on the general prospects of the war. This false step on the part of the Imperial cabinet, which was J707> undertaken in the face of the most urgent representations on the part both of Maryborough and the British govern- ment,"" was as advantageous to France as it was adverse to the general interests of the Alliance, for, by relieving Louis of apprehensions or anxiety on the side of Italy, it enabled him to concentrate all his efforts on feeding the war in Spain, around Toulon, and on the Rhine, and mainly contributed to the continued disasters experienced in those quarters. It was the exact counterpart of the expedition to Naples, under Championnet in 1798, ordered from similar predatory motives by the French Directory, which Napoleon so vehemently opposed, and which, in the first instance successful, induced, by weak- i Coxe, iii. ening the Republican force at the decisive point on the 199-'2Ul. HistiVii. MinciOj the victories of Suwarroff, and expulsion of Alison's ' their arms in the year following from the whole Italian F 25, 99.' peninsula. So true it is that every generation is in- structed by its own and none by its predecessor's errors. 1 The bad effects of this eccentric expedition on the 22. Forcing of part of the Imperial forces speedily appeared on the stoihoffen, Rhine. Relieved by the convention of March 13th of tion o7 the all need of feeding the war in Italy, and reinforced by the Paiati- all the garrisons sent home from the fortresses in Lom- May'24. bardy, Louis was enabled to reinforce his army on the Upper Rhine to such a degree as enabled Marshal * " The Emperor liad consented to spare part of his forces for the inva- sion of Provence ; yet, instead of prosecuting that design with a vigour which might counterbalance the disasters in Spain, his principal attention seemed absorbed in his plans for the acquisition of Naples. In vain Maryborough and the British cabinet represented the danger and impolicy of this ill-timed enterprise. The Imperial court pursued their object with a perseverance which seemed to acquire strength from opposition."- COXE, iii. 201. MARLBOROUGH. 315 Villars to commence offensive operations, which were CHAP. attended with entire success. His army amounted to v ' sixty-six battalions and a hundred and eight squadrons, 1/u/ ' with sixty-four guns, mustering forty thousand com- batants a force greatly superior to that of the Allies under the Margrave of Bareuth, successor of the Prince of Baden, which was opposed to him. Their confidence was mainly rested on the strength of the lines of Stol- hoffen, which the Prince of Baden had strengthened with the utmost care, and which he regarded as an impregnable barrier against the invasion of his heredi- tary states. But the event showed that this confidence had been entirely misplaced. Having collected his forces, and skilfully disposed them for the proposed operation, Villars suddenly crossed the Rhine on a bridge of boats at Neuburg and the island of Marquisat, on May 22d, and the next day carried these celebrated lines with such ease that the victory could scarcely be called a battle. Deprived now r of the shelter on which they had relied, the confederates retired in precipitation through the defiles of the Black Forest, abandoning the Palatinate to its fate, which was immediately overrun and cruelly ravaged with fire and sword by the French, in revenge of the devastation of the Electorate of Bavaria, three years before, by the armies of Eugene and Marlborough. 1 vsiiars to Such was the terror produced in Germany that no Rastadt, May 25, attempt was made to defend the passes of the Black 1707. Hist. Forest ; and the French light-horse penetrated through if6-2oo!_ them as far as Hochstedt, the scene of their alternate 215, 215! triumph and disgrace. 1 Marlborough and Eugene, whose ideas were entirely in unison, and who had concocted all their measures for the campaign, reckoned upon counterbalancing these 316 THE LIFE OF CHAP, misfortunes in Spain and on the Rhine, by vigorous operations in Flanders and in the south of France. In 17 '- pursuance of this design, Marlborough, whose forces piaifofthe were k es t i ]1 nau dj an d were ready to commence opera- campaign in tions, was to endeavour to bring the enemy to a general Flanders, J a ?M de M fe ' ns action in Flanders, where, though his troops were not of Marlbo- o Eu g e h ne nd numer i ca % superior to the enemy, success might confi- dently be anticipated from the superior genius of the general, and the confident spirit of the soldiers. On the other hand, Eugene was to lead a united army of Ger- mans and Piedmontese, estimated at forty thousand men, across the Maritime Alps into the south of France, and lay siege to Toulon, the fortifications of which were in a very bad state, and which, it was hoped, with its great fleet and noble harbour, would easily fall into the hands of the invaders. By the success of such an enterprise a triple object would be gained security would be obtained for the Duke of Savoy and the Austrian pos- sessions in Italy, by fixing the attention of the French on the defence of their own dominions : they would be prevented, by the danger of Toulon, from sending reinforcements to their army in Spain ; the capture of the fleet would add greatly to the naval power of England ; and the Great Nation would at length be taught that war could be made to recoil upon their own frontiers, and their people compelled to feel, in their own persons, a part of the miseries which they had so long inflicted with impunity upon others. This design was based on just principles, and ably conceived as much icoxe, iii. go as, for similar reasons, that of the English against 2(1.",, 204. in=t.de Antwerp was in 1S09. 1 Both failed, not from any Marlli. ii. . . J iw-i-2iJ7. defect in the original plan, but from the inadequacy of the force employed, and the neglect to take advantage MARLBOROUGH. 3l7 of the first moment of alarm to push the attack on the CHAP. beleagured city when it offered a fair chance of success. v ' Maryborough, in pursuance of these designs, established his headquarters, with his army, at Conderlecht, in 0p{ J*gof Brabant, on the 21st May, having previously written ^ g ^" a letter, which showed how clearly he foresaw the ^ y ld 2 e " disastrous consequences which would ensue from the Austrian expedition against Naples.'"" He there found the combined forces assembled, consisting of 97 bat- talions, and 164 squadrons, mustering 68,000 comba- tants. Those of the enemy were more considerable : it amounted to 123 battalions and 187 squadrons, and numbered 60,000 infantry and 18,000 horse. Nothing but the vast exertions of Louis, and the unity of action in the French monarchy, could have enabled him, in this the sixth year of the war, to produce forces so vast at all points. Encouraged by the superiority of their troops in number, Vendoine and the Elector of Bavaria, who commanded the French, quitted their intrenched camp, and advanced to Sombreuf, establishing themselves in a line a league and a half in length, stretching from the Castle of Ligny, on the right, through Fleurus to Sombreuf on the left. Marlborough had his headquarters at Soignies, and his army occupied the whole field of Waterloo. Everything now presaged great events; and, by a most extraordinary coincidence, the armies about to engage were respectively of the same strength, and * " I have seen by letters from Vienna, that the enterprise against Xaples is persisted in, notwithstanding all the remonstrances made against it to the Imperial cabinet. Such a spirit of distrust and jealousy prevails that they will not weigh their true interest, and that the best reasons are urged on them in vain. I will repair to the army on Saturday : they assure me that the enemy is willing to give battle ; this is what we especially desire : their troops may surpass ours in number, but they cannot equal them in good- ness." Maryborough to Lord Manchester; Hist, de Marlb.,ii. 266. 318 THE LIFE OF CHAP, occupied the same ground, as those of Napoleon and v - Wellington did a hundred and eight years afterwards.* 1707. Lignj, Quatre-Bras, Fleurus names immortalised in subsequent story seemed about to become the theatre of great events. Eager to engage, Maiiborough, according to his usual custom, advanced with twelve squadrons to reconnoitre the ground ; and his report, with that of the other officers, was so favourable that he obtained a reluc- tant consent from the Dutch deputies to fight. Overjoyed at this permission, which was the more prized from being so rarely accorded, Marlborough sent forward a detachment to occupy the pass of Ronquieres, by "which the army required to pass to meet the enemy ; but unfortunately they found it already in the hands of the enemy, and brought back a report that it could not be forced without serious loss. This intelligence spread such a panic among the Dutch deputies that they insisted on a fresh council of war being called, by which it was determined not to fight, but retire i Maribo- to their former position, in order to cover Brussels and Godoiphin, Louvain. Marlborough was deeply chagrined at this reso- 1707. c'oxe, lutioii ; but, with his usual tact and discretion, he ceased to Hi7t.de" ' combat a determination which he knew to be immovable, '2>;fi. 'iiist. and with a heavy heart withdrew to his former position ; 25-28. "' while Vendome carefully fortified his camp, and established himself in a formidable manner in the neighbourhood. 1 ! * Wellington at Waterloo had 67,800 men; Napoleon, 80,000. ALISON'S Europe, c. xeiv. j; 8. f " Since my last, the French have not only drawn as many troops as pos- sible out of their garrisons to make themselves stronger than we, but they Lave also abandoned their lines, so that we had it in our power to attack any of their towns. But as we could not have our cannon in less than a fort- night, and we had not troops enough to make a siege and cover it, we thought it best to make this march in order to hinder the further designs of the French. But I am of the opinion not to venture a battle, unless we have the advantage on our side. This caution of mine is absolutely necessary ; for MARLBOROUGH. 319 The Dutch deputies were induced to take this deci- CHAP. V. sive step, which entirely altered the events expected in the campaign, in consequence of positive orders from 1/07 - their government to consent to nothing which should secret Vea- bring on a general battle without a certainty of success, conduct' of The consequence of this determination was, that the on'thia'oe- whole summer passed away in a species of armed truce, Cl or a series of manoeuvres too insignificant to entitle them to the name of a campaign.""' Vendome, who com- manded the French, though at the head of a gallant army above eighty thousand strong, had too much respect for his formidable antagonist to hazard any offensive operations, or run the risk of a pitched battle, unless in defence of his own territory. On the other hand, Marlborough, harassed by the incessant opposition of the Dutch deputies, and yet not strong enough to under- take any operation of importance without the support of their troops, was reduced to merely nominal or defen- sive efforts. The secret of this ruinous system, which was at the time the subject of loud complaints, and appeared wholly inexplicable, is now fully revealed by the published despatches. The Dutch were absolutely instead of coming to their camp, I would have marched yesterday to Nivclle; but the deputies would not consent to it, telling me very plainly they would not consent to it, fearing it would bring on a battle. So that, unless I can convince the Pensioner I am not for hazarding but when we have an advan- tage, they will give such orders to their deputies that I shall not have it in my power to do any good if an advantage should offer itself; besides, the news from the Rhine will, I fear, make the Dutch persist in this opinion of not venturing." Marlborouyk to Godolpldn, May 27, 1707 ; COXE, iii. 209. * " I cannot venture unless I am certain of success ; for the inclinations in Holland are so strong for peace, that, if we had the least disadvantage, it would make them act very extravagant. I must own every country we have had to do with acts, in my opinion, so contrary to the general good, that it makes me quite weary of serving. The Emperor is in the wrong in almost everything he does.'' Marlborouyli to Godot/thin, June 27, 1707; COXE, iii. 261. 320 THE LIFE OF CHAP, set on getting an accession of territory, and a strong line of barrier towns to be set apart for them out of the ^t* 7 - Austrian Netherlands ; and as the Emperor, not un- naturally, objected to being thus shorn of his territories, as the return for his efforts in favour of European inde- pendence, they resolved to thwart all the measures of the Allied generals, in the hope that, in the end, they would in this manner prevail in their demands with the Allied cabinets." They were strengthened in their resolution to persist in this selfish and isolated policy, by the disaster of Almanza, and the irruption of Marshal Yillars into the Palatinate, for that awakened their terrors as to the ultimate issue of the war ; and the opinion become general among them, that the only safe course for the republic was to secure what they had gained, and risk nothing by remaining strictly on the defensive in the Low Countries. Marlborough, as well he might, was most indignant at having his hands in this manner tied by men incapable of judging of his mea- sures, and entirely actuated by selfish considerations. " In the army," said he, " there is all the desire imairiii- 1 VI IV. * rough to the able to venture their lives for the public good ; but all June is' other people on this side of the water are so very wise, iii. 213. ' that I am afraid they will bring us at last to a bad peace. 1 For myself, I am old, and shall not live to see * Despatches, iii. 142-207. So much were the Dutch alienated from the common cause at this time, and set on acquisitions of their own, that they beheld with undisguised satisfaction the battle of Almanza, and the other disasters in Spain, as likely to render the Emperor more tractable in con- sidering their proceedings in Flanders. " The States," says Marlborough, " received the news of this fatal stroke with less concern than I expected. This blow has made so little impression in the great towns in this country, that the yenerality of the people hare shown tatiffm'tion at it rather than otherwise, which I attribute mainly to the aversion to the present govern- ment." Marlborough to GoJclphhi, May 13, 170" ; COXK, iii. '204. MAKLBOROUQH. tlie misfortunes that must happen to Christendom if the CHAP. French be suffered to '- Emperor ; and he did not cordially co-operate in its execution. His great object was to spare the Imperial troops, whom he regarded, with reason, as the main stay of the monarchy. Meanwhile the French government made the most herculean efforts to collect troops to raise the siege. From all quarters they converged to the menaced point. Roussillon, the interior, the army of the Rhine, and that of Flanders, were made to contri- bute their quota ; and by the middle of August, Marshal Tisse's army was swelled by seventy fresh battalions, which raised his force to forty thousand men. The progress of the siege in the interim had not been consider- able, and the force at Eugene's disposal was evidently unequal to bringing it to a successful issue, and covering it against so large a force. He wisely, therefore, raised the siege on the 21st, having previously embarked all his heavy artillery and stores on board the fleet ; and after a toilsome march of ten days, reached the Var on the 14th September, and recrossed the Col di Tende i Kugene without molestation from the enemy. But, as was the to Maribo- case with the English at Walcheren a century after, he so, ! 707. s lost nearly half of his army in this ill-fated expedition, 342. ' Hist. ,.,.',, , 1-1 11^'''- v "- which might have been crowned with entire success had 1-212- 1.52. it been prosecuted with vigour in the outset. 1 While fortune was thus declaring against the Allies in the south of France, Marlborough was actively engaged ,326 THE LIFE OF CHAP, in adjusting a fresh set of difficulties of the most serious kind, -which had arisen between the Emperor and the 1707. King of Sweden. The accommodation brought about ,, , 31 :. J cuitics with D rcsc l eu had not been of long duration. Fresh demands, the K ingot Sweden, after his departure, were made by the haughty con- queror, which were urged in a tone that not unnaturally excited the utmost indignation at the Imperial court. Charles now required the Emperor to ratify, without delay, the election of the Prince of Holstein as Bishop of Lubeck ; and demanded an immediate discharge of all claims against Sweden for failing to furnish its quota of troops for its provinces in the Empire, as well as an entire exemption during the remainder of his war with Russia. He insisted also on the sequestration of the county of Hadelen, and subsistence for the Swedish troops daring their passage through Silesia ; and claimed for the Pro- testants of Silesia the free exercise of their religion. To enforce the latter demand, he sent four regiments of horse, who established themselves in free quarters in the i f ' ( t > x e , n i . LM.VJ-JU. Silesian villages, under pretence of securing for them the undisturbed enjoyment of their faith. 1 Such was the indignation excited at Vienna, from the A treaty is arrogant tone in which they were advanced, that the adjusted, Emperor had all but sone into a wild project of form in 2; August 12. 1 ^ . an alliance with the Czar Peter, and restoring Stanislaus to the throne of Poland, in order to put a bridle in the mouth of the haughty conqueror. With some difficulty, Marlborough succeeded in diverting him from this extra- vagant design, which would at once have broken up the (jlrand Alliance ; and by his unwearied efforts and con- summate address, which were cordially responded to by Count Xinzcndorf, who conducted the negotiations on MARL BO ROUGH. o27 tlie part of Austria, the difficulties were at length over- CHAP. come, the wounded feelings on each side soothed, and a treaty was finally concluded on 1/1 2 September, which put I7 7 - an end to the long-agitated differences of the two courts. By it the principal objects for which Charles had con- tended were secured to him : he obtained the bishopric of Lubeck for his nominee, got a guarantee from the British and Dutch governments for the renunciation of Prince Charles to the succession in the house of Hoi- stein, and a solemn pledge from the Emperor for liberty of conscience to the Silesian Protestants. Highly gra- tified by this triumph, and duly grateful to the English general, who had mainly contributed to its being gained, Charles at length set out from Dresden to prosecute, as Marlborough had foreseen, his long-cherished designs against Russia ; and on the 25th September his army passed the Oder on its march to the Vistula. Thus was this great danger dissipated, and a conflict, which threat- ened the very existence of the Grand Alliance, averted ; for such was the terror excited by Charles that, as long- as the thunder-cloud overhung Dresden, the whole efforts of Austria and the lesser German powers were paralysed. So great was the alarm at Vienna, that, when the Pope's nuncio made some remonstrances against the number of churches (above a hundred) which were _ _ i i -\r 1 Voltaire- Ceded to the Protestants, the Emperor replied " You vie de are very fortunate that the King of Sweden did not XIL, us. propose to me to become a Lutheran ; for, if he had Mark ii. 8'J. Coxe wished it, I don't know but what I should have done fii.~2i9->i so." 1 Having got quit of this dangerous neighbour, and brought to a successful issue this delicate and important negotiation, Marlborough was extremely anxious to 328 THE LIFE OF CHAP, achieve something important in Flanders, which might _ in some degree counterbalance the disasters in Spain, 1707. Germany, and the south of France. 'With this view, Operations as soon as ^ ie was informed of the detaching of thir- in Flanders. ^ eeu battalions from Vendomc's army to the south of France, he broke up from his camp at Meldorp, where lie had remained inactive for six weeks, and, crossing the Dyle at St Joris Wert, marched all night, and reached Genappc on the morning of August 11. His object was to attack Vendome in his camp at Gomblours ; but no sooner did that able commander receive intelligence of his approach than he withdrew from his position, and retreated to SenefF, in the direction of Mons. Marl- borough followed him closely ; and, as it was evident the French were making for their intrenched camp, fortified with great care in the neighbourhood of Cambron, he made the greatest exertions to overtake them before they reached it. With this view, he detached Count Tilly, with forty squadrons and five thousand grenadiers, on the morning of the 14th August, with orders to move across the space between the two armies, and fall on the enemy's rear-guard. But the French commanders were so anxious to avoid an action that they decamped, without sound of drum or trumpet, the evening before, and, by marching all night, gained such a start of the Allies that they reached their intrenched camp, in front of Mons, without molestation, though consider- ably weakened by desertion, and with the troops dread- fully fatigued by the forced marches during four davs and two nights which they had undergone. Two thou- sand of the deserters entered the Allied service. Heavy rains succeeding immediately after, which continued without interruption for a fortnight, rendered further MARLBOROUGH. 320 operations impossible. But although, by this precipitate CHAP. retreat, Marlborough was foiled in his design of bringing _ the enemy to a general action, the spirits of his army 17 '- and Allies were much raised by his advance, and the evident disinclination of the French to meet him in the 2 Maribo. rough to field ; and Prince Eugene, who lost no opportunity of GodoipWn, lauding the achievements of his illustrious rival, justly 1707. Coxe, ~ 7 \J / ty 1 ( observed, it proved what he would have achieved early Hist.de in the campaign, had he not been restrained by the 277, 'J7. timidity of the Dutch deputies. 1 ""' The weather having at length cleared up, Marlborough made a fresh movement in advance, and, on September 1, Maribo- crossed the Dender, and established his headquarters at advanc a | s aln Ath, directly on the high road to Mons. The enemy, French re - howevcr, fell back towards the Scheldt, whither they sept.V were followed by the English general, who, having passed that river, advanced by the tongue of land which lies between it and the Lys, and established his headquarters at Hclchin. As this bold movement threatened the enemy's communications, they lost no time in also crossing the Scheldt, and withdrew into their lines formed behind the Marque, stretching from Pont-a-Tressin to Lille, and l Maribo- imder cover of the cannon of the latter fortress. This Godoiphin, camp was extremely strong; and as Maiiborough's 1707. c'oxe, heavy artillery was in the rear, and the advanced season Hist, de of the year precluded the possibility of bringing it up 2110, -28i. "i f i Hist. Mil. before the rains began, nothing further Avas attempted \-ii. 49, 5.5. during the campaign. 1 * " What your Highness has done, since you had the power of marching against the enemy, evidently proves that this campaign would have been as glorious as the last, if you had not been restrained by the great circumspec- tion of the Dutch deputies, who, ignorant of our profession, follow the opinion of their generals, who know nothing but defensive warfare." Eugene to MarJborougJi. Aug. 19, 1707; COXE, iii. 318. 330 THE LIFE OF CHAP. Maiiborough led his army into winter-quarters in the end of October, and Vendome did the same ; the weather 1 '' ~- being so thoroughly broken as to render it impossible to Marnfo ^ ee P ^ 1G ^ c ^- ^ G repaired first to Frankfort, wliere he rough doses met t ] ie Elector of Hanover, and then to the Hairuc, the cam- paign, and w here h e exerted himself to inspire a better feeling in the returns to England, Dutch government, and to get Eugene appointed to the supreme command in Spain- a project which afforded the only feasible prospect of retrieving affairs in the Peninsula, and which, if adopted, might have changed the fate and ultimate issue of the war. Neither the Emperor nor the court of Madrid, however, would consent to this arrangement : the former, because he feared to lose that great general in Italy ; the latter, because they feared to gain him in Spain. Maiiborough, meanwhile, embarked for England on the 7th November, where his presence had now become indispensably necessary for arresting the progress of public discontent, ^coxo,iii. fanned as it was by court and parliamentary intrigues, Hist, de and threatening to prove immediately fatal to his own Marl!., ii. l nil. < 2!!4--_'7. influence and ascendency, as well as to the best interests of England. 1 The oriidn of these intrigues is to be found not W. ^' Causes of merely in the asperity of party feeling, which at that the reaction . . i i -11 uuain.-.t time, owing to the recent .Revolution, prevailed to a degree never before paralleled in English history, and the peculiar obloquy to which Maiiborough was exposed, owing to the part he had taken in that transaction, but to other causes of a general nature, which, more or less in every age, have exercised an important influence in English history. Notwithstanding the powerful elements of popular administration which from the earliest times have been at work in this country, the English are at MAUL UO ROUGH. bottom a loyal and orderly people. Fidelity to their CHAP sovereigns is linked in their minds with obedience to their God ; their prayers seldom cease to be at once for 17 7 - their king and country. It was a rare combination of circumstances which, for a brief space during the reign of Charles L, brought the sacred names of King and Parliament into collision ; and the universal grief which followed the death of that unhappy monarch, and the transports of joy which attended the Restoration, showed how deep were the foundations of loyalty in the English heart. The tyrannical conduct of James II., and his undisguised attempt to re-establish the Romish faith in his dominions, had for a time united all parties against him, and made them all feel the necessity of his expul- sion. But when the deed was done, and the danger was removed when the monarch was in exile, and a new dynasty on the throne the minds of men began to return to their original dispositions. Old feelings revived, former associations regained their sway, time softened J 1 Boling- ammosities, misfortune banished fear, and many who broke State of had been foremost in the dethronement of the former Parties. . , . i Works, iii. monarch, in secret mourned over their triumph, now that i-.^, i-i- he was in exile and distress. 1 In addition to these generous and therefore honourable feelings, there were others springing more immediately change in from the selfish affections, but the influence of M'hich ofiroVem- was not, on that account, the less likely to be in (he long Revolution. run powerful in their operation. It never had been intended, at least by the great body of those who united in bringing about the Revolution, to make any change either in the structure or administration of the govern- ment. What they designed was to restore and secure the government, ecclesiastical and civil, on its old and 332 THE LIFE OF CHAP, true foundations. " Whatever might happen," says v " Bolingbroke, " to the King, there was no room to suspect any change in the constitution." 1 But with whatever intentions it may be set about, no established government can be overturned, without inducing a very great alter- ation in the subsequent administration of public affairs. The new dynasty rests not merely on a different party, but different principles from the old one : new passions are awakened, new interests created, new classes brought into political power. This was immediately felt on the Revolution. The principle of the former Government had been loyalty : that being destroyed, the principle of the new one was interest. The legitimate monarchs had rested mainly on the faith of the cavaliers, landed pro- prietors, and rural inhabitants. The dynasty brought in by the Revolution stood on the support of the moneyed power and the citizens of towns. They could not be expected to have the " unbought loyalty" which was felt by the rural population; nor could a new dynasty reckon on awakening, in a few years, such feelings, which are in general the bequest of centuries. They were actuated mainly by self-interest ; and it was to be gratified chiefly, if not entirely, by promoting pecuniary profit. This was perfectly understood by the new Government. To attach men to the new order of things by the strong bond of individual ambition became the great object of administration; and this was accomplished in a way, and to an extent, which ere long excited the most serious alarm through the country. AVilliam brought with him from Holland, where ex- perience had long made them known, a perfect acquain- . tancc with the principles on which, in republican states, the influential classes arc to be attached to the irovern- MARLB0110UGII. W3 ment. He was aware that self-interest is all-powerful CHAP. in the long run with mankind, in whatever rank or sta- ' v ' tion ; but that, in republican states, money, as the sole 17 7 - power, is omnipotent. He knew also the wonderful, and, except to the Dutch, then unknown influence of industry, in creating capital, as well as the power of the borrowing system in eliciting it. On these two foundations the new Government was built up. Exten- sive and costly wars were undertaken, both to uphold the new dynasty and to maintain the balance of power in Europe. The ambition of Louis XIV., and his atro- cious persecution of the Protestant religion, served at once to furnish too good a ground for these contests, and to inflame the national feelings to carry them on. But, in their prosecution, the great change made by the Revolution was immediately seen. The old want of money which had been felt as so sore an evil from the earliest times, and so often interrupted the career of success, and rendered abortive the greatest victories, was no longer experienced. Loans to an immense extent were contracted every year ; the national debt, which had been 664,000 at the lie volution, was already nearly 50,000,000 sterling. The taxes annually raised had increased from 2,000,000, their extent when James was dethroned, to above 5,000,000. This prodigious increase not only formed a material addition to the public burdens, but inspired the most dismal apprehensions as to the ultimate, and, as it was then thought, not remote absorption of the whole property of the nation into the hands of the public creditors. Men could see no hope of salvation under a system which had augmented the national debt eighty-fold in twenty years. The large addition which these loans brought ;334 THE LIFE OF CHAP, to the national resources had given the Government a v. anT favour- vast increase of patronage, of which they made an 17u - r - unsparing use, for securing their influence in the con- stituencies, and maintaining a majority in the House of Commons. Every office, from the premiership to the lowest excise appointment, was bestowed as the reward of political support, and could be obtained in no other way ; and to such extent was actual corruption carried 1 Doling- . . . . 1 _ . broke on on in the constituencies, that the public mind was gene- O f Parties rally debauched, and patriots of all parties mourned in in. 204-297. secret over the unbounded deluge of selfishness which had overspread the nation since the Revolution. 1 In addition to these powerful causes of general dis- Liabii'ityof content, which were all visited on Marlborough's head as an important agent in bringing about the Revolution, and the visible and acknowledged head of the war party, there were others in operation, which, at all times and in all courts, but especially under a female reign, are likely to produce important public results. It is a mis- take to say that coquetry or the love of admiration are the greatest foibles of the female character. They arc commonly considered to be so, because they arc the ones which occasion most distress and vexation to men ; but whoever has attended to woman, cither in the trans- actions of business, or the affairs of the heart, must be aware that liability to change is the principal weakness to which they arc subject : inconsistency is their cjreal defect. It is not so much that they assume at any one time what they do not feel, as that they feel quite dif- ferently at one time from what they did at another. They are, in many cases, sincere at all times, but consistent at none. This defect is the more irremediable, that it arises from the excess and undue influence of the very MAKLBOKOUGII. 3.'}") qualities of the heart which render them so charming, CHAI-. and quality them best for the most important functions v " they arc destined to discharge in the world. It arises 1707 - at bottom from the instinct which prompts them to leave all, and cleave to a husband ; it springs from the intensity of the feelings, which softens the anguish of the first separation, and lays the foundation of another home, with which all their interests and happiness in future life arc to be wound up. But though this liability to new impressions is a for- tunate and often blessed circumstance, if the destiny its dangers in a queen. and inevitable fate of woman in private life is con- sidered, it becomes a serious, often a fatal defect, when they are removed from what is, perhaps, after all, their proper sphere, and called on to discharge great and important functions in business or public life. Firmness and steadiness of character are then the first requisites for lasting utility or success ; and it is very rarely that these qualities are found to exist in those women who are elevated by their rank above control, and exposed by their power to all the influences of the most attrac- tive of the other sex. Thence the common remark, justi- fied by every page of history, that the reigns of queens exhibit in general little more than the successive influence of different favourites, with most of which changes the national policy undergoes a total alteration. It is rare, indeed, to find a queen who can separate the one from the other, and bestow her smiles successively on a Lei- cester and an Essex, while in matters of state she is permanently ruled by a Cecil. In general, the policy follows and varies with the inclination. Queen Elizabeth did not solve this difficulty when she wittily observed, in answer to one of her courtiers who remarked on the THE LIFE OF superior lustre and felicity of female reigns above those of men " It is no wonder it is so, for queens are 1707. governed by men, and kings by women." That is no doubt very often the case ; but she forgot to add, what is equally true, that the favourites who govern queens are in general, whatever their attractions may be, neither the most estimable nor superior of their sex ; and that, although that is often the case with the mistresses of kings, yet their influence is, in general, not so vividly manifested in affairs of state, or the general direction of the national policy. That Queen Anne was sincerely attached both to the 41. Queen Duke and Duclicss of Marlborough, and had the utmost Anne'searly .. 1-1 i i friendship reliance on the judgment and capacity or the former, as for .Marl- . . . . ^ . - borough, well as an enthusiastic friendship for the latter, is placed beyond a doubt. Not only does her correspondence, now published in Coxe, for a long course of years evince the warmest affection and confidence, but her acts at that time evinced the depth and sincerity of her feel- ings ; and it is acts even more than words which lay bare the human heart. She was generous and munifi- cent in the highest degree, at a time when her own pecuniary resources were far from considerable, not only to Marlborough and his lady, but to their daughters ; and her letters to them breathe so much the air of a romantic boarding-school attachment, that one might be tempted to believe it would share in its fleeting cha- racter, were its durability not proved by a long course of decisive acts through life. The Princess who, with an income of only .10,000 a-year, could press a gift of 10, 000 on each of Maryborough's daughters at their marriage, and actually give .3000 when they declined the larger sum, cannot be accused of insincerity; for all MAKLBOKOUGII. oo7 dissimulation and acting flics off at once and invariably CHAP. before the money test. We must seek for an explanation of the well-known 17 7 - change in the Queen's sentiments towards Marl borough, Reaiduse and the important changes in national policy to which alienation it gave rise, therefore, in other causes than any insin- borough* 1 cerity or weakness in her original attachment. These causes were some of a general, some of a private nature. Jircd up in communion with the Church of England, and retaining through life a sincere veneration for that establishment, Anne's private feelings and inclinations led her more to the High Church and monarchical, than to the Low Church and democratic party. Though far from being, like her father and brother, a Roman Catho- lic, she was still farther from being a Puritan ; and she had her full share of those high Royalist feelings and principles which naturally, and perhaps inevitably, spring up in the breasts of all who are born in these exalted stations. Nothing but her steady attachment to the Church of England, and well-founded abhorrence of that of Rome, from an experience of its effects, had led her to separate from James at the Revolution ; and when the succession opened to her upon the death of William, it was not without great reluctance and very serious misgivings that she accepted the throne. Those doubts and difficulties adhered to her through life ; and it was only by the austere and unbending character of James, which increased rather than diminished with adversity, and led him to refuse all attempts at a com- promise, that she was prevented from entering into an arrangement which should secure the crown, at her demise, to his son, the lineal heir. Marlborough's prominent position, as the head of the VOL. I. Y 338 THE LIFE OF CHAP, party which brought about the Revolution, and the deeds past forgiveness then committed by him, to the entire 1707. ru j n O f tnc reigning family, naturally threw him in public The Queen's life into connection with the leaders of the Whig party, the Tories, who had been its main authors; and the Duchess was Duchess'sto warmly attached to its principles. This arose inevitably from her position. She was well aware that her husband had sinned past redemption in the estimation of the Jacobites, and that not only would his influence and position be lost, but his head would be placed in the utmost danger, by a restoration of the exiled family. Her influence, therefore and it was very great at first was all exerted at court to secure the promotion only, especially to offices round the palace, of persons whose Whig principles were beyond a doubt. But the Queen's secret inclination led her more strongly to the Tory and High Church party ; and although, as a matter of neces- sity, her cabinet was chiefly composed of Whigs, yet there was always an intermixture of Tories among them; and in clerical appointments, her preference of the latter party was, from the first, very conspicuous. Thus the Queen and the Duchess, although they began on terms of the greatest confidence and intimacy, yet were in reality swayed by opposite sets of principles ; and this divergence necessarily brought them into collision in cases of appointments in the Church or about the palace, when a selection required to be made of a person belonging to one or the other party. Such, was the suavity of Marlborough's manner, his influence with women, and the judgment and prudence with which that influence was exercised, that, had he continued in England at the head of the cabinet after the war began, it is probable that the dissension between success in war. MARLBOROUGH. 339 the Queen and the Duchess would never have assumed CHAP. a serious aspect, and the change which proved so fatal to the interest of the Grand Alliance never taken place. l7 " 7 ' 44 But his departure to take the command of the Allied wind/was , , -11 -i i i increased by army, and long absence at its head, contributed, in the Maribo- most essential manner, to widen the breach between semLand them. It was hard to say whether his absence or his victories contributed most to alienate them from each other. The character of the Duchess irritable, proud, and ambitious could not stand the elevation which the prodigious victories and unbounded influence of her husband had given him. She had none of the temper, wisdom, and moderation, which led him to conceal all consciousness of that greatness, and, by letting none feel its force, rendered his sway irresistible over all. On the contrary, her arrogance, both of manner and conduct, increased with every triumph which he won : she openly aspired to the entire direction at court, and considered herself as slighted if she did not possess the same in- fluence within the precincts of the palace, and in dis- posing of its appointments, as her husband did at the head of the armies. This change always became more conspicuous after ^ I arl borough's departure for the seat of war in spring ; and so rapid was the progress of dis- sension between the illustrious women during his absence, that it required all his address and temper to adjust matters between them in winter on his return, and leave them on terms of tolerable friendship when he again departed for the Continent in the early part of the following year. These causes of dissension, which perhaps were un- avoidable in the circumstances in which both w r ere placed, were much aggravated by the tendency to 3-10 THE LIFE OF CHAP, inconsistency of thought, and favouritism to individuals, which was so conspicuous in the Queen. She had not 170 ~- sufficient strength of mind to regulate her public conduct Vacillation by fixed principle, nor steadiness enough to make the memory of the absent prevail over the arts of the present sistency in 16 Queen> in private life. That she should have been offended with the ambition and arrogance of the Duchess, who aspired to be a sort of female prime-minister, and, in a manner, supersede the sovereign, was natural and excusable ; but, unfortunately, she permitted these causes of feminine jea- lousy to interfere with the estimation in which she held her former favourite's husband, and, to gratify a wretched court intrigue, to be content to lose all the fruits of his glorious victories. Not content with dismissing the Duchess from her intimacy, she banished Marlborough from her councils, and threw herself into the arms of his political opponents, whose leading principle of action was to undo everything that he had done a principle which they too successfully carried into effect. In acting in this manner in affairs of state, and in opposi- tion to so great a man as Marlborough, the Queen showed that she was subject to the two greatest weaknesses of her sex that of being governed in con- duct by persons, not principles; and that of yielding, in the choice of her favourites, to the influence of successive attachments, instead of remaining steady to one last- ing preference, founded in reason and justified by char- acter. The decline in the influence of the Duchess at court was very visible, so early as the autumn of 1706, when ITT r -11 the thunder ol Kamilies was still ringing in the cars or . . . *" *" the nation. 1 Jic immediate cause or dissension was the struggle for the appointment of a secretary of state MARLBORO UGH. 341 in room of Sir Charles Hedges. Being son-in-law to CHAP. o o Marlborougli, the Duchess cordially went along with v ' the Whigs in the support of the Earl of Suuderland, 17 7- who had made himself an active partisan of that party ; but Marlborotigh had good sense enough to see that he was not fitted for such an appointment, and to resist at first all the importunity of the Duchess in his behalf. lie suffered himself, at length, however, to be persuaded by Godolphin, who, finding the Whigs determined on gaining their point, declared his resolution of resigning rather than that it should be refused. Fearful of losing a valuable and faithful servant, the Queen tried a com- promise, and offered to make Sunderland a privy coun- cillor, with an office of higher emolument than that of secretary of state, but which would not, like it, entitle him to constant access to her presence. This, however, was not what the Whigs desired ; and, accordingly, they made Sunderland decline the offer. This decision much 1 Coxe, Hi. 84-109. irritated both the Queen and the Duchess ; and it so Maribo- distrcssed Marlborougli that he declared he was weary Duchess, of the public service, and that vexation had made his 1707." hair turn grey. 1 The Queen, who very naturally was most anxious to effect a compromise which might prevent a break-up in Dissension her cabinet, and occasion the retirement of so valuable a deriand's servant as Lord Godolphin, accordingly again and again menT pressed the inferior situation on Lord Sunderland. The Duchess, on the other hand, was not less eager in urging his appointment as secretary of state on the Queen, and preferred her request with an ardour and vehemence which were not a little displeasing to the royal mind. The Queen showed her sense of this in her manner ; and the letters of the Duchess evince 342 THE LIFE OF CHAP, clearly bow rapidly the breach was widening between them.""" An angry correspondence, if conducted by J707. those who are not masters of their temper, and seriously attached to each other, is much more likely than personal collision to produce lasting alienation ; for explanations are impossible at a distance, and mis- understandings, which a word or a look might have cleared up, are dwelt upon in absence till imagination acquires all the force of reality, and reconciliation becomes impossible. This clearly appeared in the let- ters which passed between the Queen and the Duchess in regard to this appointment, which, beginning at first in kindness, gradually evince angry feelings, and letters in at Icngtli terminate in mutual recriminations, which 110*119.' showed that they were permanently alienated from each other. 1 From the eagerness with which the Duchess urged Seeret'iea- and the Queen resisted this appointment, it might easily keennesVo e f be divined what in truth was the case that vital inte- oifthis' 111 ' 3 ' rests were at stake in it ; and that it was not mere fond- ness for her son-in-law on the part of the former, nor personal dislike on that of the latter, which occasioned the breach. Lord Sunderland was personally obnoxious to the Queen, in consequence of the active part which he had taken in the House of Peers, in opposition to his own father-in-law, in resisting the settlement of 50,000 on her during the reign of William. This she regarded, * " Your Majesty's great indifference and contempt, in taking no notice of my last letter, did not so much surprise me as to hear my Lord Treasurer say you had complained much of it, which makes me presume to give you this trouble to repeat what was the whole aim of the letter. It was to show your Majesty why I had not waited upon you, believing you were uneasy, and might fear I had some private concern for Lord Sundcrlaud. I therefore thought it necessary to assure your Majesty that I had none so MARYBOROUGH. not without reason, as an uncalled-for piece of spite on CHAP. his part, which was the more unpardonable, as she had been in a manner the architect of Marlborough's fortune, 1(07 - and had acted in the most generous manner to his own wife, Lady Sunderland, on whom she had settled 10,000 on her marriage. The Duchess was well aware of the ground of aversion to Lord Sunderland, and she could not but feel its justice ; because she had herself shared to the very full, and loudly expressed, the Queen's indigna- tion on that occasion. There must have been a very powerful motive, therefore, which induced so able a woman and experienced a courtier to run the risk of an estrangement by urging this appointment on the Queen ; and that reason was this The strong Tory partialities of her Majesty, which had clearly appeared in several recent clerical appoint- Dread of J ... the Tories ments, were no secret to those in her intimate circle, and was the rea- son, accordingly the cabinet had always, in conformity with her wishes, contained a certain number of Tories, and been in some degree of a mixed character. Harley and St John, who afterwards became the principal instru- ments of his fall, had been introduced into the Govern- ment by Maryborough himself. But although the mixed composition of the cabinet did very well as long as the AVhigs had a clear majority, and the inclinations of the Queen were felt to be entirely with them, the case was very different when the security of this majority was great as for your service, and to see my Lord Treasurer so mortified at the necessity of quitting it, or being the ruin of that and himself together. Your Majesty, to carry on your government, must have men that neither herd u-ilk your enoiiiciS nor are in themselves insignificant. I pray God Almighty, with as much earnestness as I should do at the last day for the saving of my soul, that Mrs and Mr Morley might see their errors." Duchess of Mctrlborough to Queen Anne, Aug. 30, 1706; COXE, iii. 112. 344 THE LIFE OF CHAP, threatened, and the secret partialities of her Majesty v ' had become more than suspected. It then became a 17 7 - matter of great importance to secure even a single vote in the cabinet ; and, above all, possession of an office which necessarily brought its holder into daily personal contact with the sovereign, became absolutely vital. The Whigs dreaded above everything the possible introduction of a secretary of state, who might take advantage of his constant opportunities of private con- ference to fortify the Queen in her Tory and High Church partialities. The importance of this personal intercourse has always been strongly felt, and, in many of the most important crises of English history, has determined the composition of the cabinet, and with it the destinies of the country. The Duchess of Marl- borough was brought into collision with the Queen, from the same causes which induced the Whigs, in 1810, to refuse the ministry, because they were not allowed the appointment of three household offices, and this led to the continuance of the war, the battle of Waterloo, and the peace of Paris. Finding her own efforts to secure the appointment of Maribo- her Whig son-in-law ineffectual, the Duchess brought up the g Duciiess her husband to her support ; and he addressed several the^ppomt- letters to her Majesty on the subject, which are very valuable, not only as containing the best summary extant of the reasons which induced the Whigs to insist on this appointment, but also as exhibiting a clear view of the causes which really brought Maiiborough into collision with the throne, and ultimately brought about his fall. In one of the last of these he observes, " The Lord Treasurer assures me that any other measures but those he has proposed must ruin your business, and MARLBOROUGH. oblige him to quit his staff, which would be a great CHAP. trouble to him, and I am afraid will have the fatal con- v " sequence of put tin rj you into the hands of a party, which 17 7 - God only knows how you would then be able to get out of it. It is true your reign has been so manifestly blessed by God, that one might reasonably think you might govern without making use of the heads of cither party, but as it might ease yourself. This might be practicable if both parties sought your favour, as in reason and duty they ought. But, Madam, the truth is, that the heads of one party have declared against you and your government, as far as it is possible without going into rebellion. Now, should your Majesty dis- oblige the others, how is it possible to obtain near five millions for carrying on the war with vigour, without which all is undone 1 Your Majesty has had so much knowledge and experience yourself of the capacity and integrity of the Lord Treasurer, that you cannot but know you may safely rely upon his advice ; and : Marii, - if there be any opinions different from this, your Queen Majesty will allow me to say, they neither know r so t>4, 1706. ' much of these matters, nor can they judge so well of us. ' them/' 1 Notwithstanding the urgency of this appeal, and the strength of the arguments as well as weight of the names The Queen by which it was supported, the Queen still held out ; out, and and Marlborough, in despair of success, wrote to the rough stm Duchess, " If the letter I sent you has no effect with ley and st the Queen, I shall conclude that God intends that way to punish us for our faults ; for I think what you have written to her on 13th September cannot be answered/' The Duchess had several interviews with the Queen on the subject, but still she protracted her final decision, 34-6 THE LIFE OF CHAP, proposing one expedient after another to avert the much- dreaded appointment. 1 These interviews gave rise to 1707 - altercations which were conducted with warmth oil both rough to sides, and terminated in mutual alienation/"" It became Anne" Oct. evident, from her unwonted firmness on this occasion, COM, Hi', that she was powerfully backed bj some persons of weight in the Government ; and the suspicions of the Duchess and leading Whigs were turned towards Ilarley and St John, the ablest of the Tory party, as the real actors in the movement which was going forward. Although the event showed that these suspicions were well founded, yet such was the power of address and dissimulation which these two able men possessed, and so entire the confidence with which they had inspired Marlboro ugh and Godolphin, by whom they had been 2 Coxe, iii. . iL'4-i2. brought into power, that nothing could shake their con- fidence in their fidelity. 2 It is not surprising that this confidence on their part, o'.2. views and in Harley and St John, was so firm, for nothing at this language of." 11 .... .. iiarley and period could exceed the strength and apparent sincerity St John at . . , this period, or their proiessions oi attachment to the Queens govern- ment, and to Marlborough and Godolphin in particular. The tone they took was that of general loyalty and * "I told her I knew very well all Mrs Freeman's [Duchess's] complaints from having lost Mrs Morley's [Queen's] kindness unjustly, and her telling her truths which other people would not; to which she said, us she had done forty times, how could she show me any more kindness than she did, when she would never come near her ? I said she had tried that several times, and always found it the same thing. Upon that she said Mrs Freeman would grow warm sometimes, and then she herself could not help being warmer than she ought to be, but that she was always ready to be easy with Mr Freeman. I said I hoped she would then be so, for that I would die with all my soul to have them two as they used to be. She then said she would send a letter for you, and so she did last night ; but you will see by her letter to Lord Marlborough that she still leans to expedients." Gudvlphin to I) tic/tam of Marlljorou'ih, October 30, 1706; COXE, iii. 121. V. MARLBOROUGH. 347 devotion to her Majesty, the deepest gratitude and CHAP. attachment to these two noblemen, and equal dislike at the violence and animosity of either party. It was impossible to foresee, it could not have been credited, that, with these professions in their mouths, they were in reality secretly organising a cabal which was one day to overturn their benefactors.* Marlborough was the less inclined to break with such able men as he knew both llarley and St John to be, that he was well aware his difficulties were not with the Tories only ; but that many of the Whigs, envious of his fame and jealous of his power, were disposed to join in the chorus of abuse with which, for party purposes, he was assailed. In truth, some of the blackest calumnies with which he was persecuted came from the envious tongues of his own party, who could forgive neither his extraordinary rise nor his unbroken success. And while he met with these malicious inventions of his own party, he could not be insensible to the elegant flattery of St John and Harley, which was couched in the beautiful language of which ' I have no thoughts but for the Queen's service and your Lordship's ; I have no inclination to any one more than another : I have no animosity to any. But I think I should not do the duty of a public servant to your Lord- ship, if I did not tell you what you may hear, if you please, from people of undoubted credit, Whigs themselves, that all that has been done has not obliged the party : whether it has their pretended leaders, will be shown hereafter. I hope your Lordship will rescue us from the violence of either party; and I cannot forbear saying, I know no difference between a mad Whig and a mad Tory ; and as for the inveteracy of either party ' Iliacos infra muros peccatur et extra." " There is no need of going back two years, nor scarce four months, to hear the most inveterate malicious tilings said by their leaders against the Queen, my Lord Duke, and your Lordahip, that tonyue could utter, besides what the last parliament could produce from their undertakings ; and this is so notori- ous that it is very common to match one malicious story from a Tory with another from a Whig.'' Harley to Godolphin, Xov. 16, 1706 ; SOMEEYILLE'S Queen Anne, 622. 34-S THE LIFE OF CHAP, they were such thorough masters, and had every appear- ance of sincerity and candour.* But while the generous spirit of Maryborough, occupied with great objects, and at a distance from the scene of intrigue, refused to credit any surmises as to the fidelity of his favourite proteges, the more experienced eye of Godolphin had already discerned the real authors of all the difficulties which prevailed, and he had recently warned his confiding colleague that they were no longer to be trusted.! Matters were in this state, still undecided, and with the Queen postponing any decision, when Marlborough * " I heartily wish your Grace a prosperous voyage and speedy arrival here, where I am sure you will find such a disposition to do everything that is reasonable, as I never remember formerly. I doubt not but your Grace's true sense and superior genius will dispel all those clouds that hang about us, and show the true path to a leading settlement clear of the narrow princi- ples and practices of the heads of both factions." IJurlcij to Godolpliin, Xov. 12/23, 1706; COXE, iii. 126. " There are some restless spirits who are foolishly imagined to be the heads of a party who make much noise, and have no real strength, that expect the Queen, crowned with success abroad, and governing without blemish at home, should court them at the expense of her own authority, and support her administration by the same shifts that a vile and profligate one can only be kept up with. We have had some instances of late how they would use their power, and your Grace cannot but know that, in the distri- bution of employment, they have insisted on the scum of their own party. I am too well acquainted with your Grace's goodness to suspect you will not pardon me saying so much, since I have no interest or view but the Queen's service and my gratitude and duty to you, who have tied me to be for ever, my Lord, your Grace's most devoted, faithful, humble friend." St John to Marlboroiiijh, Xov. 12 23, 170G; COXE, iii. 127. f- "Lady Marlborough told me this morning, and promised to write to you, that Mr Harley, Mr St John, and one or two more of your particular friends, were underhand endeavouring to bring all the difficulties they could think of upon the public business in the next session, and spoke of it to me as taking it for granted it was what I must have heard of before. Whatever be their motive, the thing is destructive and pernicious. I have had a long letter this very day full of professions of being guided in these measures, as in all others, by you and me; but at the same time, 1 doubt so much smoke could not come without some fire." Godolphin tu Marlborouyh, October 18, 20, 170'j; Coxi:, iii. ]29. MARYBOROUGH. 849 returned from the Continent, on the IGth November. His CHAP. presence produced its usual effect in stilling animosities v ' and overcoming resistance. He came back surrounded 170( - . r :'.. by a halo of glory. The victory of Ramilies, the delivery Maribo- of Brabant, rendered him all-powerful. lie was too great fluence at to be overlooked, too fascinating to be resisted. Fearful ries through of provoking farther animosity on the part of the Whigs, m'eut 1 .' 1 ' ' and possibly directing their hostility against Harley or St John, whom she anxiously wished to retain in her service, the Queen gave a reluctant consent to the removal of Sir Charles Hedges, and the appointment of Lord Sunderland in his room as Secretary of State. This important step was immediately followed by several important promotions in the Whig party. Lord Wharton and Lord Cholmondeley were made earls ; Sir Thomas Pelham and Mr Cowper, barons ; Sir James Montagu, brother of" Lord Halifax, Solicitor-General. As Prior, the poet, was removed from the office of Commissioner of Trade, Marlborough procured for him a pension, and soothed his chagrin by every demonstration of personal regard a kindness which the poet afterwards repaid with the blackest ingratitude. At the same time, the chiefs of the Tory party the Duke of Buckingham, the Earls of Nottingham, Rochester, and Jersey, Lord GoM'n, and Sir George Rooke -were removed from the Privy Council. The administration was now in the main Whig Harlev and St John were the only '. J i Coxe, iii. Tories of note who retained any office under Govern- i3-_>, is;;. ment. 1 Although, however, this great victory had been gained, and the united efforts of Godolphin, Marlborough, and the Duchess, supported by the whole strength of the Whig party, had prevailed over the sovereign, yet their 350 THE LIFE OF CHAP, power bad received a severe shock ; and it was thence- !_ forward rested at court on a very insecure basis. Like 1/0/ - all persons of a weak character, Queen Anne was Continued extremely jealous of any apparent encroachments on her theQueen authority ; and, while in reality entirely governed by the towards the f , . . i -i i i i^ i lories. favourites around her, she dreaded nothing so much as to appear to be guided by their influence. To a sovereign of this disposition, nothing is so grating as to be openly compelled to recede before a party, and give public proof before all the world that the real power in the adminis- tration of affairs has been taken out of the royal hands. Having, after a violent and protracted resistance, been overthrown by the Whigs in this contest, Anne took refuge in secret cabal. She no longer resisted the dominant party in public : she surrendered the whole offices of state to their disposal ; but she lent in pri- vate a ready ear to the insinuations of their enemies, and eagerly credited the observations which Harley and St John were too skilful not to make, and which had too much foundation in truth, that she had become a mere puppet in the hands of the Whig nobilitj 7 , and that Marlborough and Godolphin were the real sove- reigns of England. These representations produced the more impression that they were in themselves, in a great degree, well founded, and made by St John, whose situation as Secretary at War gave him frequent access to her person, and enforced by all the ability which he and Harley possessed in so eminent a degree. When these feelings had once taken root in the royal breast, the very greatness of Marlborough, and the magnitude of his public services, became the most powerful instruments in working out his ruin, for they tended to augment jealousy at a power which was now regarded as over- MARLBOROUGH. 351 shadowing the throne. Queen Anne came, from the same CHAP. jealousy at a party by whom the Crown was restrained, v ' to be actuated by the same feeling which afterwards 17 7 - came to actuate George III. in his great contest with the Whigs on the India Bill in 1 784, when Lord Thurlow i Alison's said, " If this bill passes, nothing remains but to take ix"3G'. c ' the crown from the King's head, and place it on that of 2^25^' Mr Fox." 1 The secret inclinations of the Queen, though they no longer appeared in affairs of state, became ere long con- which V spicuous in one particular. Zealously attached to High eceiesiaati- Church principles, she was anxious to fill the ecclesiasti- mental! ar cal dignities with persons of congenial sentiments, and to exclude those of ordinary principles, whom she regarded as little better than infidels ; and having surrendered, contrary to her inclination, the whole political power into the hands of her public advisers, she thought she was entitled to consult her own wishes and the advice of her secret confidants in the disposal of ecclesiastical preferments. Two instances of this disposition, which revealed the existence of a secret influence, occurred in the course of the year 1708. The Queen refused to nominate Dr Potter to the situation of Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford, though strongly recommended by Marlborough himself; and, instead, appointed Dr Trow- bridge, who was a zealous adherent of the High Church party. And when the two sees of Exeter and Chester became vacant in the close of 1706, without making her intentions known to any of her ministers, she secretly promised them to Sir William Dawes and Dr Blackall, two zealous Tories, on whom they were afterwards con- ferred. To evade the remonstrances of Marlborough, she concealed her intentions till he had sailed for the 352 THE LIFE OF CHAP. Continent in the spring of 1707. The Duke was soon v after involved in a personal altercation with Lord l ^ 07 - Halifax, a leading Whig, who, not content with the lucrative situation of Auditor of Exchequer, which he i Lord Hall- . . . , . fax to the already held, openly aspired to that of loint plenipo- Duchessof . f , i . P i f , i Mariby- tcntiarj tor the coDclusiou or a general peace, lor which 28, 1707. ' Marlborough well knew lie was wholly disqualified. He '248--25J.' therefore, in preference, recommended Lord Townsend, who soon after received the appointment. 1 These evident proofs of decline in their influence at 5G jealousy of court gave tlic greatest dissatisfaction to the leaders of a g linst" g the Whig party, the more especially as they occurred rough and at a time when, from their recent victory in the appoint- ment of Lord Sunderland, they expected to have the whole disposal of the patronage of all offices, both in Church and State. Ignorant of the secret influence which had in reality undermined that of Marlborotigh and Godolphin themselves in the breast of their sove- reign, they visited all these disappointments on their heads, and openly charged them with being unfaithful to the interests of their part}', and aiming at establishing, by a union with the Tories, a despotic power in their own persons, which might enable them to rule without the support cither of the Crown or the people. When once the disappointed feelings of the Whigs took this direction in the breast of the leaders of their party, all Maiiborough's greatness augmented the virulence of their feelings against him. His very victories, which had so signally augmented the glory and advanced the interests of his country, became the greatest eyesore in their sight ; for they tended to make him indepen- dent of them, and enable him to rule for the general good of his country, not the advancement of their own MAltLBOKOUGH. party in particular. And thus, by a curious but not CHAP. unnatural combination of circumstances, working upon the universal selfishness of human nature, the very 17 7 - decline of Marlborough's influence at court tended to alienate him from his own party ; and he became distrusted at once by his sovereign and his political . 1 Coxe, iii. supporters, from the very magnitude of the services he 249--_\)i. had rendered to them both, and to his country. 1 Matters were in this untoward state at court, when the Queen's breach with the Duchess of Marlborough Rise of AL; was widened, and she was supplanted by a new favourite and her ' about the royal person, and, what is very remarkable, tor/ " in consequence of the growing ascendency of a person recommended by the Duchess herself. Worn out with the incessant fatigue of attendance on the royal person, which devolved on her from her situation of Mistress of the Robes, but which had become a very irksome duty since the favour of the Queen had begun to decline, the Duchess had recommended a poor relative of her own, named Abigail Hill, to relieve her of part of that laborious duty."" This young lady, who possessed considerable talents, and a strong relish for intrigue and elevation, had been educated in High Church and Tory principles, and she had not been long about the royal person before she began to acquire an influence over the Queen, who, like most of the sovereigns raised to a throne by a successful revolution, was in secret attached to those monarchical * Abigail Hill was the daughter of an eminent Turkey merchant, who having become bankrupt, 1 was glad to enter the sci Chafford, in Kent, from kindness of the Duchess. with the warmest cxprcs greatest benefactress. It obligation. See COXE, iii. VOL. 1. s family was reduced to such straits that Abigail -ice of Lady Revcrs, wife of Sir John Eevers of vhicli humble situation she was raised by the Her letters in the Marlborough Papers arc filled ous of gratitude to the Duchess, her first and vill appear in the sequel how she returned the 30, note. 354 THE LIFE OF CHAP, principles which they never desire to see in abeyance except when it is for their own elevation. She had 17 7 - been bred up in the school of adversity an education which, beyond all others, qualifies for making the most of the sunshine of prosperity. Haiiey, w T hose ambition and spirit of intrigue were at least equal to her own, was not slow in perceiving the new source of influence thus opened up in the royal household, and a close alliance was soon established between them. These matters are not beneath the dignity of history ; they are the secret agencies on which its most important changes sometimes depend. Abigail Hill soon after bestOM-ed her hand on Mr Masham, who had also been placed in the Queen's household by the Duchess, and, under the name of MKS MASIIAM, became the principal instrument in Marlborough's fall, and the main cause of the fruit of the glorious victories of the English general i Coxe, iii. f 2.53-254. being lost by the treaty of Utrecht. 1 Though the ascendency of Mrs Masham, and the Her great treacherous part she was playing to her benefactress, had long been evident to others, yet the Duchess of Marlborough unaccountably continued blind to it. She could not believe that the creature of her bounty had joined in the league against her, any more than her hus- band could credit the treachery of Harlcy and St John, whom he had raised from the dust. Her marriage, how- ever, opened the eyes of the Duchess; and soon after, the promotion of Dawcs and Blackall, both avowed Tories, and not free from the imputation of Jacobitism, to the Episcopal bench, in opposition to the recommendation of Marlborough and Godolphin, gave convincing proof that their influence at court, in the disposal even of the highest offices, had been supplanted by that of the new MAULUOHOUGH. 355 favourite. The consequences were highly prejudicial to <-HAP. Marlborough. The Whigs, who were not fully aware v ' of this secret influence, who had long distrusted him on 1/07 - account of his former connection with James II., and envied him on account of his great services to the country, and the reputation he had so long enjoyed at court, now joined the Tories in bitter enmity against him. He was charged with protracting the war for his own private purposes ; and the man who had refused the government of the Netherlands, and 60,000 a-year, lest his accept- ance should breed jealousies in the Alliance, was accused of checking the career of victory from sordid motives connected with the profits of the war. His brother, Admiral Churchill, who had adhered to the Tory prin- ciples of his family, and had imprudently censured Lord Galway and the conduct of the war in Spain, was prose- cuted by Halifax and the Whigs on the charge of neglect of duty ; and the intercession of the Duke, though made in humble terms, was not so much as honoured with a reply. The consequences of this decline of court favour were soon apparent : recruits and supplies were forwarded to the army with a very scanty hand ; the military plans and proposals of the Duke were cither overruled, or subjected to a rigid and often inimical exa- mination ; and that division of responsibility and weak- ening of power became apparent, which is so often, in ,..,' .,. . IP l Coxe, iii. political as well as military transactions, the forerunner -25 7-259. of disaster. 1 It would have required no ordinary prudence and address on the part of the Duchess, who was constantly imprudent at court, and exposed in person to these mortifications, the' Duchess i.l.i i at this crisis. to have kept her ground against so many concurring causes of alienation ; and, unfortunately for Marlborough, 356 THE LIFE OF CHAP, and the general interests of Europe, these were precisely the qualities in which, with all her abilities, that very 1707. remarkable woman was awanting. Instead of endea- vouring to regain her influence by increased kindness of conduct and suavity of manners, she did just the reverse ; and, yielding to the impulse of passion, rather than the dictates of wisdom, widened the breach by continual reproaches to the Queen, which were the more hard to bear that they were felt to be in a great degree well founded. On the first intelligence of Abigail Hill's mar- riage to Mr Masham, which at once revealed the secret influence under which she had fallen, the Duchess burst into the royal presence, and, in the most bitter terms, reproached her with forwarding a union, and concealing a secret, which so nearly concerned her relations and dependants. An angry correspondence ensued, which, as usual, made matters worse :"" and although, through Godolphin's interposition, an interview between the Duchess and Mrs Masham was brought about, it led to no reconciliation. In acting in this zealous but intem- perate manner, even though she had reason and justice on her side, the Duchess evinced an entire ignorance of human nature. The transition is easy from love to 1 C'oxe, iii. 2.58--2f)0. hatred : for, strange as it may appear, these two violent Duchess of . i ii i Muribo- passions are nearly allied, or rather easily turn into each Letters. other. It is indifference which is the real antidote to both. 1 The sunbeam of love rarely turns into the moon- * " I give my dear Mrs Freeman [Duchess] many thanks for her letter, which I received this morning, as I must always do for everything that comes from her, not doubting but what you say is sincerely meant in kindness to me. Uut I have so often been unfortunate in what I have said to you, that I think the less I say to your last letter the better : therefore, I shall only, in the first place, beg your pardon once more lor what I said the other day, which 1 find you take ill, and sav some- thing in answer to the suspicions you seem to have concerning your MARLBOROUGH. 357 light of friendship. Affection may sometimes be recalled CHAP. by prudence, or rcwon by generosity, but it never yet v ' was reconquered by violence, or resumed by complaint; 1/07 - and the only effect of bewailing that which has been lost is to prevent its ever being regained. Marlborough and Godolphin in this crisis remained b . GO. long, and, as it now appears to us, unaccountably blind Dignified but unwise to the dangers which threatened them. And when at conduct of 1111 11 Godolphin length, by the repeated and urgent representations of and Mari- 1 T\ 11- i i 1-1 borough at the Duchess, their eyes were opened to the danger which this crisis. threatened them, they acted rather a lofty and patriotic than a wise and sagacious part. They persisted in their endeavours to continue the policy which they had so long pursued, and which appears in numberless passages of the correspondence of both, of ruling without being swayed by either party, and deserving well of the sove- reign, and obtaining the confidence of the nation by attending only to the public good, without yielding to the demands of the keen party on either side. In pursuance of this system, they neither acted cordially with the Whigs in taking measures to extinguish the rising cabal, nor did they fall in with the secret wishes of the Queen, and unite with the Tories. They per- sisted in keeping Harley and St John in the Govern- ment, although they were the very leaders of the intrigue against them, and Marlborough even went so far as to advise Godolphin to carry Harley with him a decisive cousin Hill, who is very far from being an occasion of feeding Mrs Morley [Queen] in her passion, as you are pleased to call it, she never meddling with anything. I believe others that hare been in he/' station, in former times, hare been tattling, and very impertinent; but she is not at all of that temper ; and as for the company she keeps, it is with her as most other people : their lot in the world makes them move with some out of civility rather than choice.'' Queen Anne to Duchess of Ufarlhorovtjh, July 18, 1707 ; COXF., iii. 259. 858 THE LIFE OF CHAP, proof that they wished to govern independent of party.* v " It is hard to say whether such a project, or the 1707. Duchess's hope of regaining her influence over the 1 Coxe, iii. 1 . t i '26Z--2GG. Queen by petulance and complaints, evinces the most ignorance of human nature. 1 The theory of governing by the promotion of merit Reason's of without distinction of party, and of being regulated only by the public good, sounds well, and has often capti- vated the most noble and generous of men. But it has never yet succeeded in practice ; and every government attempted on such a basis has speedily gone to pieces on the first serious crisis. The reason is, that it runs directly contrary to the prevailing selfishness of human nature. The public weal, in every one's mouth, is in the hearts of a mere fraction of mankind, whose numbers are much too inconsiderable to form a government. Indi- vidual interest is the ruling principle of the vast majority in every rank ; and as no government can long exist without the support of the majority, the foundations of power must always be laid in the interests of some great class of society, or party, in the state. The vast majority of men, in secret, conscious that they have no chance of promotion on the score of merit, dread nothing so much as a government based on the claims of ability, irrespective of party. Aristocratic families wisli to have talent on their side, but they wish to have it in a proper state of subordination to themselves, and entirely devoted * " That which gives me the greatest trouble is what you say concerning the Queen ; for if Mrs Morley's prejudice in favour of some people is so unalterable, and that she will be disposing of the preferments now vacant to such as will tear to pieces her friends and servants, that must create distrac- tion, lint you know my opinion was, and still is, that yju oiiyht to take trit/t yiju. Mr Xec/v ' in the world. Every man practically acquainted with public affairs must have observed that projects of amelioration calculated for the general good, irrespective of party or class interest, excite very little attention, and generally fail, not so much from the strength of the opposition they meet with, as the feebleness of the sup- port they receive. It is measures calculated for party or class elevation that alone either receive cordial sup- port or encounter formidable opposition. A government based, like that of Godolphin and Maryborough, on the general good, irrespective of factions, may be an object of admiration to posterity, which is beyond the interests of the moment ; but it is sure to lose the confidence of the present, which is entirely governed by it ; and, in public lauded by all, it will be in reality supported by none. Matters were in this untoward state at the court of G-. St James's, with the sovereign coerced, the Whigs Vehement jealous, the Tories caballing, when Maryborough in the agaiZt middle of November returned from the Hague to Lou- rough both don. The outcry immediately became absolutely stun- Parliament. ning, and it was hard to say whether the Whigs or the Tories were most active in promoting it. The failure before Toulon, the disasters in Spain, the nullity of the campaign in Flanders, were made the subject of the your duty, and God's will be done. For my own part, I see in almost every country they act so extremely against their own interest, that I fear we deserve to be punished. I will endeavour to serve to the best of my under- standing, and then submit with much resignation to the pleasure of God, whose mercies I am very sensible of. I hope and beg you will take a proper time of letting the Queen know my heart and firm resolution, as soon as the war is at an end, to be master of myself, that I may have time and quiet to reconcile myself to God." Marlborough to GodolpJiiii, iii. 265, 26iJ. 360 THE LIFE OF CHAP, most acrimonious complaints both in and out of Parlia- ment. Then was seen the general and ineradicable 1707. selfishness of human nature, and the tendency of great- ness to excite jealousy, of obligations conferred to breed ingratitude. For " Envy docs merit, as its shade, pursue, And, like the shade, confess the substance true." Everything was imputed to Marlborough ; all the dis- comfitures which had been experienced were visited on his devoted head. It was his neglect which occasioned the disaster of Almanza ; it was his advice which prompted the calamitous invasion of Provence ; it was his cupidity which protracted the war in the Nether- lands. Lord Peterborough augmented the general excitement by the most exaggerated statement of his own brilliant exploits, and of the wrongs some real, some imaginary which he had experienced, lie even offered to return to Spain and serve under Lord Galway till that monarchy was finally rescued from the Bourbons. " We should give the Queen," said he, " nineteen shil- lings in the pound, rather than make peace on any other terms." Lord Rochester even went so far in the House 1 Pad. Hist, of Peers as to propose that they should draft fifteen or Dec. 1.9, 1707 ; and twcntv thousand men from Flanders, reducing the war C*/ o oxe, iv. .. . I'll i, 11. merely to one or defence in that quarter, and with them reinforce the army in Catalonia. 1 It was easy to see, from the acrimony of these debates, that, although the disasters of the present year were . .. ,.. , . i p i the subject ol complaint, it was the triumphs ol the pre- drafting ceding which formed the real subject of vexation ; and men from - 111*1 irni > i Fhmders. that, although Almanza and I onion were m men s mouths, Blenheim and Ramilies were the real injuries which they could not forgive. Marlborough was too good a public MARLBOROUOH. 361 servant to reveal the real cause of the nullity of the CHAP. campaign in the Netherlands, or to endanger the Alliance with Holland, by disclosing the factious conduct of its deputies ; but he remonstrated strongly, and in the most conclusive manner, against the proposal to weaken the army in Flanders, in order to reinforce that in Spain. " The first reason," he observed, " which induces me to object to this proposal is, that in Spain most of the enemy's strong places may be kept with one battalion in each ; whereas the strong fortresses in Brabant, which T have reduced, require twenty times that number for their preservation : secondly, if our army in the Netherlands be weakened, and the French gain any considerable advantage there, the discontented party in Holland, who arc not a few, and who bear with impatience the great charges of the war, will not fail to cry aloud for peace. Although it is improper to disclose secret projects in so numerous an assembly, because the enemy will not fail to be informed of them, yet I am authorised by the Queen to gratify your lordships, by the assurance that measures have been already concerted with the Emperor for forming an army of forty thousand men, under the command of the Duke of Savoy, and of sending succours to King Charles in Spain. It is also to be hoped that Prince Eugene may be induced to take the command in Spain, in which case the Germans will gladly follow him. The only difficulty which may be objected to this scheme is the usual tardiness of the court of Vienna ; and it must be admitted, that, if the seven thousand recruits which the Emperor promised for Piedmont had arrived in time, the enterprise against Toulon would probably have been attended with success. But I dare engage my word that, for the future, his Imperial Majesty will 362 CHAP, punctually perform his promises." These explanations were deemed so satisfactory that the opposition died 1 <"<>" away: even Rochester observed "Had we known sooner how well all things had been managed, this debate might have been spared ;" and the debate terminated in a resolution, which was unanimously adopted " That no peace could be reasonable or safe, either for her Majesty or her Allies, if Spain and the West Indies were suffered to remain in the power of the house of Dec. i<>, " ' Bourbon ;" and a recommendation to the Queen to send iv. 11-15. ' succours to the army in Spain, and request them from the Emperor for those in Piedmont and on the Rhine. 1 This unanimity on the subject of the war was the circum- prelude to a change in the administration, than which stances . \yhichocca- none was more reluctantly acquiesced in or deeply sioned a sus- -urii i ' mi i ^ rii picionof regretted by Marlborough. Ihis was the downfall of Secretary Harley. An abhorrence of party connection, a just dread of the rapacious and grasping disposition of the Whigs, who would be satisfied with nothing less than an entire monopoly of all the offices of State, respect and gratitude to the Queen, to whom he was known to be eminently acceptable, as well as a high sense of his own integrity and abilities, had rendered Marl borough as well as Godolphin hitherto blind to the notorious intrigues of this able and ambitious man at court, as well as reluctant to disturb the peace of the administration by any proposal for his dismissal. They had even gone so far as to have, at his own request, an interview with Harley, in which he laboured to convince them of his fidelity, and for a time succeeded. But soon after, a discovery was made of a secret and treasonable correspondence carried on by one (Jregg, a clerk in the office of Harley, with Cliamil- lard, the French secretary of state. In consequence of MAHLBOROTJOII. this discovery, Gregg was arrested on the 30th Dcccm- CHAP. ber, and brought to trial, when he was conyicted on his v ' own confession. About the same time, it was discovered that two smugglers, Valliere and Bern, whom Ilarlcy had employed to procure intelligence from Calais and *" ! Coxo, iv. Boulogne, had profited by the information they had -21, _>_>! received to convey it to the enemy. 1 Although these revelations did not directly implicate llarley in privity with these treasonable practices, and Godoipinn although Gregg, who was long respited with a view to Hariey. extract from him a fuller confession, persisted to the very last, and in a solemn dying declaration, in exculpating him from any participation in his guilt, yet these concurring circumstances contributed to strengthen the accusations of the Whigs, and violently agitated the public mind. Their suspicions were increased, and their enmity much enhanced, by the discovery that Hariey had appealed to the Duke of Buckingham to bring about a coalition between the leading men of both parties, and had urged the Queen, in conjunction with Mrs Masham, to send messages to the leading Tories, calling on them to join her in emancipating the Crown from the arrogant domination of the Whigs. Reports of the approaching formation of a new ministry were industriously circulated, and increased the general excitement. These circum- stances convinced Godolphin of his danger, and he took his determination. Before the end of January 1708, the Attorney-General communicated to llarley the intelli- gence that he had fallen under the displeasure of the Lord Treasurer. lie immediately appealed to Marlborough as his friend and patron, who accorded to him a private interview, in which he recounted all the circumstances on which their suspicions were founded. llarley endea- 364 THE LIFE OF CHAP, voured to exculpate himself, in a long and laboured letter to Godolphin ; but the brief and cutting reply of the 1/08. Lord Treasurer showed that reconciliation had become hopeless : " I have received your letter, and am very iRardwicke J J Papers. sorry for what has happened to lose the good opinion I Somer- . . vine's had so much inclination to have of you ; but I cannot Anne, 628. help seeing nor believing the evidence of my senses. I am very far from having deserved it of you. God forgive you." l Matters were now evidently approaching a crisis, and Godoiphin as the Queen continued firm in support of Harley, and and Marl- . x A borough the report of a new administration became more current, threaten to . . . resign. the vv lugs saw that a decisive step had become necessary. They therefore had a meeting, and conveyed to Marl- borough an assurance of their cordial and zealous sup- port ; and, to evince their resolution of pushing to the utmost their hostility to Haiiey, they appointed a committee of seven Whig lords to examine Gregg and the two smugglers, in order, if possible, to elicit something from them which might implicate the Secretary. Still, however, the Queen stood firm, and Marlborough upon that gave proof of the firmness as well as consistency of his character. He had often said that he would stand or fall with Godolphin ; and now was the time to put it to the test. He wrote, accordingly, a firm but respectful letter to the Queen, in which, after declaring his convic- tion that Harley had been concerned in treasonable practices, and recapitulating the vain endeavours he had made to convince her Majesty of that melancholy truth, he declared that neither Godolphin nor he would longer act with him, and that, so long as she continued him in office, lie must consider himself as forced out of it. 1 * MARLBORO UGH. 365 Even this alarming announcement did not shake the CHAP. firmness of the Queen, who, to the hereditary obstinacy N ' of the Stuart race, united a full share of the exalted ideas of the royal prerogative, which, unhappily for them, The Queen were equally inherent in their blood, and had brought yields, and IT 1 * her grandfather Charles I. to the block. She continued dismissed. Hurley in office, accordingly ; and made the utmost exertions, in private interviews, to dissuade Maryborough from his purpose. He remained equally firm, however, repeating his determination, amidst earnest protestations of his loyalty and devotion to her Majesty, to stand or fall with Godolphin. Still the Queen held out; and at a Cabinet Council, summoned on the 9th February, Harley took his seat in presence of the sovereign, Godolphin and Maryborough being absent. Great consternation pervaded the Cabinet, and for some time nothing was said ; but at length the Duke of Somerset rose and observed "' I do not see how we can deliberate when the Lord Treasurer and the Commander-in-Chief are absent." No one gainsaid the observation, which evidently conveyed the sense of the great majority of the meeting. Harley turned pale, but said nothing. The vince your Majesty's mind, I have not been able to give you any such impres- sions of Mr Secretary Harley to Lord Treasurer and myself, but that your Majesty is pleased to countenance and to support him, to the ruin of your business at home ; I am very much afraid it will be attended with the sorrow and amazement of all Europe, as soon as the noise of it gets abroad. And I find myself obliged to have so much regard to my own honour and reputa- tion, as not to be every day made a sacrifice to falsehood and treachery, but most humbly to acquaint your Majesty that no consideration can make me serve any longer with that man. And I beseech your Majesty to look upon me, from this moment, as f67 gone cordially along with the Whigs in both struggles ; CHAP. both Houses of Parliament had supported them in their __^ efforts to crush their opponents ; the Queen, to all 1 < 0!i - appearance, was in fetters, from which she had no means, during the remainder of her life, of escaping. Yet from these very events may be dated the commencement of a series of causes and effects which, in their ultimate results, overturned the Whig government, occasioned the downfall of Maryborough's power, robbed the nation of the whole fruit of his glorious victories, at the moment of its utmost distress re-established the tottering throne of Louis XIV., and forfeited the main objects of the war by confirming the crown of Spain to the house of Bourbon ! So often in real life, as well as in the imagination of the poet, docs ambition overvault itself, and fall down on the other side. However much, at particular times, and under the influence of the excitement produced by causes which inherent 1 .,.., , loyalty and heat the nation in the pursuit or political power, the aversion to English people may for a short period be alienated from the English ,. . , . ririi'iii people the their sovereigns, there is a fund or loyalty in the depths cause of of their bosoms which ere long recovers its influence, and makes itself felt in an unmistakable manner by their rulers. When these feelings of reviving devotion to the throne are combined with the equally strong aversion of the nation to long-continued and heavy taxation, it seldom fails ere long to produce a tempest which no government, how strongly soever founded in aristocratic support, is capable of withstanding. The remaining years of Maryborough's life at home exhibit nothing but the increasing force and at length irresistible weight of these circumstances. The Crown had been openly and publicly constrained, on two important occasions, by the 368 THE LIFE OF CHAP. Whig nobility ; a ministry imposed upon it contrary to the declared and earnest wishes of the sovereign ; and a 17 8 - burdensome war continued, as they thought, for no other reason but to gratify the ambition or augment the pro- fits of its military head. Writers of talent, adequate to make the most of these popular topics, were not awanting on the Tory side : St John and Swift had powers equal to the popularising of less popular ones ; and the event, equally with the resurrection of the nation against aristo- cratic domination when attempted against George III. in 1784, proves how perilous is such a system of coer- cion, and how short-lived may be the power of its authors. Wounded alike in her pride and her feelings by the The Queen open restraint thus repeatedly placed by the Whig mied by' ministry on her inclinations, Queen Anne took refuge in ancuirs private and secret partialities. She made no open resist- ance to her ministers ; she submitted to everything which they chose to dictate ; she acquiesced in all their appointments of their adherents to every office under Government. But she was irrevocably alienated from them ; she yielded only to dire necessity ; in secret she was already devising the means of their destruction. Dismissed from her councils by the strength of his poli- tical opponents, Harlcy was only on that account the more confirmed in her confidence; Mrs Mashain became the confidante of her sorrows, and St John and the disgraced secretary the chiefs of a secret cabinet council, S / by the advice of which the whole subsequent measures of the sovereign were directed. As the apprehensions of the Whigs with regard to this secret influence were excessive, her interviews with Ilarley and St John were conducted with the utmost precaution to avoid observa- tion ; it was like the stolen meetings of a husband with MARLBOROUGII. oG9 a favourite mistress, which he is desirous of keeping from CHAP. the knowledge of a jealous wife. These stolen inter- v " views, however, could not escape the Argus eyes of the 17 a< Duchess of Marlborough, who thus expressed herself regarding them. " To enjoy," says her Grace, " in privacy the gossip, for it could not be called society, of Mrs Masham, and the flattery of Ilarlcy, she staid all the sultry season of 1708, even when the Prince was J . J Conduct panting for breath, in that small house she had formerly of Duchess purchased at Windsor, which though hot as an oven was rough, 2-2-2. then said to be cool, because from the Park such persons son's Life . . - T f Duchess, as Mrs Masham had a mind to bring to her Majesty a. 150. could be let in privately from the garden." 1 The credit of the Whig party and of Marlborough, which had been shaken in the estimation of a consider- Defeat of able part of the nation by this open coercion of the cier's at- .... . _ , tempted in- sovereign, was much raised in the spring or 1708, by vaskmof the success of the measures which they adopted to screen the country from an invasion from France, and all the horrors of a civil conflict. Desirous of retaliating upon England the insult which the Allied armies had inflicted O upon France by the invasion of Provence, Louis XIV. now made serious preparations for the invasion of Great Britain, with the avowed object of re-establishing the Chevalier of St George, the heir of James II., on the throne from which that unhappy monarch had been expelled. The court of St Germains had received secret assurances of support from the Duke of Hamilton, and a large part of the Scotch nobility, who had promised to bring thirty thousand men into the field as soon as their sovereign landed in Scotland. The Pretender left St Germains after taking an affectionate leave of Louis XIV., with 250,000 in Louis d'ors, VOL. i. 2 A 370 THE LIFE OF CHAP, and large supplies of arms and ammunition, with which he arrived at Dunkirk, where a squadron was prepared 17081 for his reception. But the energy of the Government was equal to the emergency. Under Marlborough's able direction, to whom, as commander-in-chief, the defensive measures were intrusted, everything was soon put in a train to avert the threatened danger. Scotland was the scene where an outbreak was to be apprehended, and accordingly all the disposable forces of the empire, including ten battalions brought over from Flanders, were quickly sent to that country. The habeas corpus act was suspended. Edinburgh Castle was strongly garrisoned, and the British squadron so skilfully disposed in the North Seas, that, when the Chevalier with a French squadron put to sea, he was so closely watched that, after vainly attempting to land, both in the Firth of Forth and the neighbourhood of Inverness, he was obliged to return to Dunkirk. This auspicious event entirely restored Marlborough's credit with the nation, ] Berwick's and dispelled every remnant of suspicion with which the loi-jo?.' Whi;s regarded him in relation to the exiled family : Coxe, iv. * ' si-4 1'. and though his influence with the court was secretly European . History, undermined, his power, to outward appearance, was Lock'hart unbounded. He resumed in consequence the command of ii-1-m' the army in the beginning of April 1708, with authority as paramount as he had enjoyed on any former occasion. 1 Although, however, the Duke was, to outward appcar- Dcsign'of ance, entirely reinstated in favour, yet it could not escape of Maribo- the vigilant eye of female jealousy that the royal favour retire from M~as irrecoverably lost. A few days before Ilarley's dismissal, the Duchess waited on the Queen ; and after the usual complaints of the loss of her regard, she added, " As Lord M aiiborough is now about to be forced MARLBOHOUGH. 371 from your service, I cannot in honour remain longer at CHAP. Court/' The Queen was moved by this announcement : her old friendship for the companion of her youth for a 17 8 - time revived ; and she repeatedly said, with much apparent kindness, " You and I must never part." She even went so far as to say, that, if the Duchess should feel herself obliged to retire, she would transfer her offices to two of her daughters a promise which, after Harley's dismissal, she renewed in writing. But this reconciliation was in appearance only, not in reality. The seeds of division were irrevocably sown between them. The Duchess found her situation at Court so uncomfortable, from the continued presence and obvious influence of Mrs Masham, that at the end of March, when Marlborough set out for Holland, she wrote to the Queen, announcing her retirement to the country, at the same time reminding her of the promise given in favour of her daughters."" After this the Queen and the Duchess never met except on state occasions, when it could not be avoided; and when they did it was in sullen silence, or with mutual and angry reproaches or ironical . i Thomp- apologies. Mrs Thompson, who, in her entertaining life son's Lite of the Duchess, of the Duchess, recounts those female jars, says that " it 153. . . Conduct, is one peculiarity of her sex that affection, once with- '-'22-254. , J . . Coxe, iv. drawn, cannot by reasoning, persuasion, or even couces- 42-45. sion, be renewed." 1 Certain it is that, in this instance at * " Madam, Upon Lord Marlborough going into Holland, I believe your Majesty will be neither surprised nor displeased to hear I am gone into the country, since, by your very hard and uncommon usage of me, you have convinced all sorts of people, as well as myself, that nothing could be so uneasy to you as my near attendance. Upon this account, I think it not improper, at my going into the country, if your Majesty think fit to dispose of my employments, according to the solemn assurances you have given to me, you shall meet with all the submission and acknowledgments imaginable." Du.chenf <>f M'p.i-lboroiHjli to Queen Anne, 31st March 1708 ; COXE, iv. 45. CHAP, least, it never was renewed; and that the mutual coldness and irritation which succeeded, added not a little to the 1708. difficulties of Marlborough and Godolphin, and had no inconsiderable share in producing their fall. What greatly aggravated the vexation which the Flagrant Duchess experienced, from these crosses and mortifica- onvirs U( ' tions, was the reflection that they almost all proceeded and aii her from the ascendency of a family which she herself had theVCLss raised from the dust. Not only Abigail Hill herself rough. owed her whole elevation to her kindness, but all her family were the creatures of her bounty, or fed by her hands. The Duchess procured for her mother the situa- tion of bedchamber-woman to the Princess of Denmark, and a pension of 200 a-year for her younger sister. All her brothers were provided with situations by her influence ; and her husband, Mr Masham, owed his elevation entirely to her kindness : he was first made a page, then an equerry, and at last a groom of the cham- ber, to the Prince, at her request. There can be no doubt that the selfish dispositions rapidly grow and flourish in the warm atmosphere of a court, where so many glitter- ing objects of ambition present themselves to draw them forth ; but it is to be feared that this ungrateful conduct, on the part of Mrs Masham, was but a specimen of the ordinary and average disposition of human nature in that respect. Gratitude is one of the first of the generous affections, and, unhappily, it is perhaps the rarest. It is easier to find one who will confer a kindness, than one who will either acknowledge or feel it. By the selfish, the most generous acts arc received as a matter of course ; in most cases, the conferring of benefits excites only a secret feeling of animosity against the giver. The reason is, that it mortifies the self-love of the receiver. The V. MARYBOROUGH. 373 conferring a kindness is attended with the opposite feel- CHAP. ing ; it in secret gratifies self-love, because it implies a superiority, at least in worldly advantages, over the person benefited by the bounty. To overcome this feeling, and acknowledge a kindness, is perhaps the greatest effort of a generous mind, because it implies the greatest oblivion of the selfish dispositions ; and xon 1 * Life ";. . ft f landless, nothing is more certain than that none feel gratitude H. M-DI. for kindness except those M'ho, in similar circumstances, 219-224.' would be capable of conferring it. 1 From the preceding detail of the causes which alien- ated the Queen from the Duke and Duchess of Marl- The grasp- borough, and paved the way for the fall of the Whig tion of the ministry, and an entire change in the foreign policy of the reai wa England, it may be judged how erroneous and superficial change! is the idea commonly entertained, that it was the result merely of female partiality, and brought about by a bed- chamber intrigue. That they were the ultimate agents in the change, and, to outward appearance, its immediate precursors, is indeed true. But they were very far from being the real causes. If we would discover these, we must look for them in the previous arrogant domination and grasping disposition of the whole Whig party, of which the Duchess of Maiiborough was the faithful representative. Not content with having the majority in the cabinet, the control of the palace, and the disposal of all the civil and military offices in the kingdom, they aspired to nothing less than exclusive monopoly, and aimed incessantly at rooting out every one but their own certain adherents in every department of the state. They would not allow the Queen the appointment of her own maids of honour, far less of her bishops or secretaries of state. They made no allowance for individual partiality, 374 THE LIFE OF CHAP, female preference, or domestic peace ; but were in an agony of apprehension, and considered themselves 1708. seriously slighted, if every office, from the highest to the lowest, was not exclusively appropriated to their nominees. It is not likely that any sovereign, except an absolute fool, would long submit, save from necessity, to such dictation ; least of all was it to be expected in one who inherited the obstinacy and high ideas of prerogative which characterised the Stuart race. It was the forcing of Sunderl and on her which made the Queen cling to Harley the arrogance of the Duchess of Marlborougk which paved the way for the influence of Mrs Masham. Maryborough and Godolphin's favourite system of it wastiie governing for the public good, without reference to whichocca- party, and steering clear of the extremes on either side, griping '" which led them so long to retain St John and Harley, in the 1 " the able leaders of the Tories, in the cabinet, could not long be carried on when their chief supporters belonged to such a party. It alienated their friends more than it conciliated their enemies, because it thwarted the selfish dispositions of the first, and did not adequately gratify the selfish hopes of the last. We are not to ascribe this extraordinary thirst for aggrandisement, and the exclusive enjoyment of office, to any peculiar selfish- ness of the Whigs beyond other men : it arose from the necessities of their situation ; it was the consequence of previous political crimes. How necessary soever the Re- volution undoubtedly was, to free the nation from Romish tyranny and consequent ruin, it could not be disguised that it had been brought about, on the part of many at least, by treachery and treason. No established govern- ment can be violently overthrown by any other means. The Whig leaders, and none more than Marlborough, MARLBOROUGH. 375 stood foremost in tlicsc crimes ; for they had deserted CHAP. their sovereign while holding office under him. It was v " a secret consciousness of this which impelled Halifax, Somers, and the Duchess of Marlborough, into a series of such grasping measures : they anticipated from a change of ministry not merely the ruin of their ascen- dency as a party, but the punishment of themselves as individuals. They were haunted by the same perpetual dread of a reaction as the Jacobins of France were of a counter-revolution ; and deemed it as necessary to their own safety that every office in the state should be filled by their adherents, as Robespierre and Murat did that two hundred thousand heads should fall. Thence their arrogance, their exclusive system, their ambition, their fall. Another proof, among the many which his- tory furnishes, that there is a moral government of the world, not less in the affairs of nations than in those of private life ; that the instruments by which Providence brings it about are the acts of free agents ; and that the chief means by which punishment is at last brought down upon the guilty parties is the system which they themselves pursue to avert it. 576 THE LIFE OF CHAPTER VI. CAMPAIGN OF 1708. SURPRISE OF GHENT AND BRUGES BY THE FRE.VCH. BATTLE OF OUDENARDE. SIEGE AND FALL OF LILLE. RECOVERY OF GHENT AXD BRUGES BY MARL-BOROUGH. CHAP. THE narrow escape which Marlborough had made from VI ' political shipwreck at the close of the preceding year, 1/08 - and the certainty that, with the accession of a new Motive's ministry to the direction of affairs in Great Britain, its disced Marl- foreign policy would be entirely changed, a peace con- desTiSn 10 eluded, and all the objects for which he had so strenu- paign e . ca " ously contended be lost, rendered him doubly anxious to signalise the next campaign by some brilliant exploits. Although there could be no doubt that envy of his great achievements was the real cause of the hostility with which he was surrounded at home, and Blenheim and llamilies the real eyesores to the opposite faction, yet their stalking-horse was the failures and unsatisfac- tory issue of the preceding campaign. It was this which augmented the clamour for peace, and envenomed the shafts which were directed against himself. His situation had now become so critical that continued success in the field had become the condition, not merely of influence abroad, but of political existence at home ; and it was evident that any considerable reverse, or even another nugatory campaign in Flanders, would in MARLBOROUGII. 377 all probability not only dissolve the Grand Alliance, CHAP. and defeat all the objects of the war, but place a new _1_ administration at the head of affairs in Great Britain, 17 8 - and possibly seat another dynasty on the throne. Everything announced a more important campaign than the preceding had proved in the Low Countries, vigorous 1 J . preparations Encouraged by the little progress which the Allies had made b y J . . Luis *IV". made in the former campaign, Louis XIV. had been for the cam- paign in the induced to make the most vigorous efforts to accumulate LOW coun- a preponderating force, and re-establish his affairs in that quarter. Vendome's army had, by great exertion, been raised to a hundred thousand men, including the detached force under M. de la Mothe ; and at the same time secret communications were opened with a con- siderable portion of the inhabitants in some of the frontier fortresses of Brabant, in order to induce them, on the first favourable opportunity, to surrender their strongholds to the French arms. The unpopularity of the Dutch authorities in those towns, the enormous pecuniary exactions to which their inhabitants were exposed, and the open pretensions which they put forth of wresting them from the Emperor, and delivering them over at a general peace to the hated rule of Protestant Holland, rendered those advances peculiarly acceptable. Vendome's instructions were to act on the offensive, though in a cautious manner ; to push forward in order to take advantage of these favourable dispositions, and endeavour to regain the important ground which had been lost during the panic that had followed the battle of Ramilies. The Duke of Berwick had been recalled from Spain, where the contest appeared to be virtually decided in favour of the Bourbon dynasty, and appointed to the command, under the Elector of Bavaria, of the 378 THE LIFE OF CHAP, army on the Lower Rhine., thirty-five thousand strong, L where he was opposed to Prince Eugene, who com- 1708 - manded the Imperialists in that quarter, of nearly equal force. The nominal command of the army in the Netherlands was bestowed on the Duke of Burgundy ; i Berwick's but the Duke of Vendomc was second in command, and Mem. 11. iiist. Mil. intrusted with the real direction. With him also were viii. _!-(>'. Hist.de the Duke de Berri, the Pretender, who bore the modest Marlb. ii. 3]o,3ii. title of the Chevalier of St George, and the flower of the French nobility. 1 On their side the Allies had not been idle ; and pre- Prepak- parations had been made for transferring the weight of forces o/ the the contest to the Low Countries. The war in Italy Allies in , -ill i Flanders, being in a man ii ci* terminated by the entire expulsion of the French from that peninsula, and by the secret convention for a kind of suspension of active operations in that quarter, Prince Eugene had been brought to the theatre of real hostilities on the northern frontier of France. He and Marlborough met at the Hague on the 12th April, and the two heroes immediately and cordially concerted the plan of their operations. Marl- borough on every occasion gave him the precedence ; and the most perfect unanimity prevailed in their deli- berations. It was agreed between them that two great armies should be formed one in Brabant under the former, and the other on the Moselle under the latter ; that the Elector of Hanover should act on the defensive on the Rhine ; that Eugene should join the English general, and that with their united force they should compel the French general to accept battle. This well-conceived plan having met with the usual resistance on the part of the Allied powers, M arlborough, accompanied by Prince Eugene, was com- MA11LBOROUGII. 37D pclled to repair in person to Hanover, to smooth over CHAP. the objections of its Elector. Meanwhile the dissensions VL and difficulties of the cabinet in London increased to i7<). such a degree, that he had scarcely quitted England when he was urged by Godolphiu, and the majority of his own party, to return, as the only means of saving them from shipwreck. Marlborough, however, with that patriotic spirit which ever distinguished him, and not less than his splendid abilities formed so honourable a feature in his character, refused to leave the seat of 1 Hist, de war, and left his political friends to shift for themselves Marib. n. Jill. Coxe, as they best could. Having obtained a promise from iv. 54-GO. i Marlbo- Eugene that he would meet him before the month rough to /->ti i ITT Godolphin, expired, he joined the army at Ghent on the 9th May May BIS, J . , , -r, ..,,... 170'li. Coxe, 1708, and on the same day reviewed the British division iv. 74, 75. stationed in that city. 1 In addition to the domestic reasons which led him to wish for an opportunity to signalise the next campaign The Dutch by some decisive action, reasons of an equally pressing f 7ase P a- s kind existed from the temper and disposition of the prin- K cipal parties in Holland. No sooner had Marlborough arrived there, than he was assailed by representations from the leading men of the country as to the necessity of concluding a peace, with open declarations that, if this was not done by the Allies jointly, the States would be under the necessity of making a separate accommodation. * These statements were the more * " The town of Amsterdam, which has always been the most zealous for the carrying on of the war with vigour,, has pressed me ill two confer- ences by their Burgomaster and Pensioner for the making steps towards a peace, which I think not for the honour or interest of your character. I have reason to believe that this change of theirs does not proceed from the apprehensions they have of France, but from what passed in England last winter, and from the continued intelligence they have of your Majesty being 380 THE LIFE OF CHAP, worthy of attention that they came from the town of L Amsterdam, and the government which had hitherto 1/08 - been most zealous for the prosecution of the war. The reason of this was very apparent. They were no strangers to the change going on in England, and the influence which Ilarley and Mrs Masham had obtained in the secret councils of the Queen ; and they were in consequence apprehensive of the downfall of Marl- borough's power, and with it of the whole fabric of the Grand Alliance. In such an event they well knew their ruin would be certain, from being singly exposed to the blows and the vengeance of the King of France. To avert such a calamity, they were desirous, while it was 1 Marlbo- . ., , rough to yet in their power, to come to terms ol accommodation ; Anne, May and if it could not be done in concert with their allies, Coxe,i\'.75. they were determined to conclude a separate peace for themselves. 1 An event soon occurred which showed how wide- 5 Vendo'mc's spread were the intrigues of the French in the Flemish aid m a en " towns, how insecure was the foundation on which the Autwcn-p. authority of the Allies rested there, and how little might expose the Dutch to the whole calamities which they were so anxious to avert by a general pacification. An accidental circumstance led to the discovery of a letter May 23. put into the post-office of Ghent, containing the whole particulars of a plan for admitting the French troops into the citadel of Antwerp. Veudome, at the same time, made a forward movement from Mons, to take advantage of these attempts ; but Marlborough was on resolved to change hands and parties. They being sensible of the fatal consequences this may have in the next parliament is the true reason of their being earnest to have propositions of peace made this campaign." Jlarl- ioroiKjlt to Quern Anne, May 0, 1708; COXK, iv. 75. MAHLBOROUGH. 381 his guard, and both frustrated the intended rising in Ant- CHAP. werp, and, by taking post in advance of Halle, between M ' Tubise and Hcrfelingen, barred the way against the 17 8 - attempted advance of the French army. Disconcerted by the failure of this enterprise, Vendome moved to Soignics at the head of a hundred thousand men, where he halted at the distance of three leagues from the Allied armies. A great and decisive action was confidently expected in both armies ; as, although Marlborough could not muster above seventy thousand combatants, it was well known he would not shun a battle, although he was not as yet sufficiently strong to assume the offen- sive. Vendome, however, declined attacking the Allies where they stood, and, filing to the right to Braine-le- Leude, close to the field of Waterloo, again halted in a position threatening at once both Louvain and Brussels. Moving parallel to him, but still keeping on the defen- sive, Marlborough retired to Anderleet. No sooner had May '25. he arrived there, than intelligence was received of a farther movement to the right on the part of the French general, which indicated an intention to make Louvain the object of attack. Without losing an instant, Marl- borough marched on that very night with the utmost expedition, amidst torrents of rain, to Pare, where he 1 Marib. 1 V i IT- i r> l^ es - i v> 4& established himself in a position covering that fortress, mst.de of such strength that Vendome, finding himself antici- 315-317.' pated in his movements, fell back to Braine-le-Leude viii. 13-26. without firing a shot. 1 Though, however, Marlborough had in this manner foiled the movement of the French general, he had expe- Continued rienced a sensible reverse, and it had become evident ^noTtii that he was not in a condition to undertake offensive powers" operations until the arrival of Eugene's army from the 382 THE LIFE OF CHAP. Moselle raised his force nearer to an equality with VI ' the preponderating masses of the enemy, headed as these 1708. were by so a jj} e a general as Vendome. During the retreat, he had lost nearly five hundred men by deser- tion ; and the near approach of the French army in such strength had both increased the clamour in Holland for an immediate peace, and augmented the hopes of the numerous party in the Flemish towns, who had become disgusted with the exactions of the Dutch, and longed for a restoration of the Spanish government as the only means of avoiding them. These circumstances, which were well known to Marlborough, made him most anxious for an opportunity of striking some decisive blow, before matters became irremediable. The usual delays, how- ever, of the German powers, long prevented this object being attained. For about a month Marlborough was on this account retained in a state of forced inactivity, during which period he bitterly complained, " that the slowness of the German powers was such as to threaten the worst consequences." At length, however, the pressing repre- sentations of the English general, seconded by the earnest entreaties of Prince Eugene, overcame the tardiness of the Imperial Electors, and the army of the Moselle began its march towards Brabant. But the Prince was too Des/iv.' far distant to bring up his troops to the theatre of Hist. Mil. active operations before decisive events had taken place ; Coxe" iv^ and, fortunately for the glory of England, to Marl- i _'!.' borough alone and to his army belongs the honour of one of the most decisive victories recorded in its annals. 1 Encouraged by his superiority of numbers, and the assurances of support he received from the malcontents in the Flemish towns, Vendome, who was an able and enterprising general, put in execution, in the beginning MARLB0110UGH. 383 of July, a design which lie had long meditated for the CHAP. purpose of expelling the Allies from Brabant. This NI ' was, by a sudden irruption to make himself master of 170f! - Ghent, with several of the citizens of which he had v e]1(1 ',; ne < s established a secret correspondence. That city com- aidYrising inanded the course of the Scheldt and the Lys, and lay ^Bruges in the very centre of Marl borough's water communica- tions ; and as the fortifications of Oudenarde were in a very dilapidated state, it was reasonable to suppose that its reduction would speedily follow. The latter fortress was a stronghold of the very highest importance, as it was the connecting link for the defence of Flanders and Brabant ; and when it was occupied by the Allies, they could advance towards Lille, interpose between France and Ghent, and cut off the entire communications of a hostile army with their own country. Its reduction, therefore, formed an essential part of the French general's design. The capture of these fortresses would at once break up Marlborough's communications, and sever the connecting link between Flanders and Brabant, so as to compel the English army to fall back to Antwerp and the line of the Scheldt, and thus deprive them of the whole fruits of the victory of Ramilies. Such was the i coxe, ;\-. 16 I''" able and well-conceived design of the French general, nisi MII. which promised the most brilliant results; and which, Hist.de against a general less wary and able than Marlborough, 316,317.' would unquestionably have obtained them. 1 Vendome executed the first part of this design with ^ vigour and success. On the evening of the 4th of July He makes he suddenly broke up from Braine-le-Leude, and march- ter of Ghent ing rapidly all night, advanced towards Halle and ' Tubisc, despatching, at the same time, parties towards such towns in that quarter as had maintained a corre- THE LIFE OF CHAP, spoiulence with him. One of these parties, consisting !_ of two thousand grenadiers and two thousand horse, 1708. imc ] cl - J\L Cherambault, by the connivance of the watch, by whom they were admitted within the gates without firing a shot, made itself master of Ghent. M. la Taille, the high bailiff of Ghent, assembled the citizens, and, producing a pardon for the defection, signed by the Elector of Bavaria, readily persuaded them to declare for France ; and the small garrison, of three hundred men, was speedily shut up in the citadel. At the same time, Bruges was surrendered to another party under the Count dc la Mothe ; the small but important fort of Plassendael was carried by storm, and a detachment sent to recover Ghent found the gates shut by the inha- bitants, who had now openly joined the enemy, and invested the Allied garrison in the citadel. Maribo- rousrh no sooner heard of this movement than he followed o with his army ; but he arrived in the neighbourhood of Tubise in time only to witness the passage of the enemy over the Senne, near that place. Giving orders to his troops to prepare for battle, he put himself in motion at one next morning, intending to bring the enemy to an July <>. immediate action. The activity of Vendome, however, baffled his design. He made his men, weary as they 1 coxe, iv. were, march all night, and cross the Dcnder at several i i> 7 r'u ijist. Mii. points, breaking down the bridges behind them, and took iiist.~de" ' post between Alort and Oerdegun ; and the Allies only 6W, ;ii<"' arrived in time to make three hundred prisoners from the rearguard. 1 Scarcely had they recovered from this disappoint- ment, when intelligence arrived of the surprise of Ghent and Bruges ; while, at the same time, the ferment in Brussels, owing to the near approach of the French to MAHLBOKOUGII. 38,5 that capital, became so great, that there was every ui.u>. reason to apprehend a similar disaster, from the dis- Nl ' affection of some of its inhabitants. The most serious 170!i - apprehensions also were entertained for Oudenardc, the ^ &r] ^. garrison being feeble, the works dilapidated, and the !^ 1 i ' t s place of such paramount importance, as cutting off from ^ Cllles o Oudenarde the Allies all communication with Morion and Courtray. a g :unsta J coup-de- Maiiborough's measures at this crisis were prompt and """" decided. He took part himself at Asclic to cover Brussels, and despatched instant orders to Lord Chandos, who commanded at Ath, to collect all the detachments he could from the garrisons in the neighbourhood, and throw himself into Oudenarde ; and with such diligence were these orders executed, that that fortress was secured against a coup-de-main before the French outposts under M. Cherambault, on the 9th July, appeared before it. Vcndome, however, felt himself strong enough to under- 1 IIi s ;-. de take its sieire in form, and he was positively ordered by Marib. H. ,'i () 3*21 Louis XIV. to commence the blockade in the mean time. Hist. MH. viii. 29, :50. lie drew his army round it; the investment was completed i^ouis xiv. PI i -11 rui ^ uc l ^ on the evening of the 9th, and a tram of heavy artillery Bourgoyne, was ordered from Tournay to commence the siege, while iroa _ i'i>i. il. 3-_>v/_>4. to fall back in order to regain the connection with Coxe, iv. i:*r-i:w. their own countrv, and to abandon the whole cntcr- Ilist. Mil. . . viii. ;, ;u. prise, which they had commenced with such prospects of success. 1 Vendume was extremely disconcerted at this able ]-2. J Vendome movement, and immediately ordered his troops to fall moves off, _ followed by back upon Gavre, situated on the Scheldt below Oiide- the Allies, July 11. narde, where he had resolved to cross that river. >.o sooner was this design made manifest than Marlborough followed with all his forces, with the double design of raising the investment of Oudenarde, and, if possible, forcing the enemy to give battle, under the disadvantage of doing so in a retreat. Anxious to improve their advantage, the Allied generals marched with the utmost expedition, hoping to come up with the enemy when their columns and baggage were close upon the Scheldt, or at least while they were in the very act of crossing that river. Colonel Cadogan, with a strong advanced guard, was pushed forward by daybreak on the 1 1 th, MARLBOROUG1I. 389 towards the Scheldt, which he reached by eleven. CHAP. Having immediately thrown bridges over it at a point ^' between Oudcnarde and Gavre, he crossed with the 17 c - conceivc it possible that a great army could march five gundy and leagues in a country much enclosed and intersected, pass a great river, and fight a battle in the same day. In truth, the vigour and celerity of Cadogan had been such as surpassed all the bounds of calculation. Irresolution and contradictory orders appeared in all their move- ments. At first the Duke of Burgundy advanced twenty squadrons to dispute the passage of the Scheldt with the enemy, and soon after withdrew and moved forward in the direction of Ghent. The most violent altercation prevailed at the French headquarters. " It is too late, my lord/' said Vendume, " to continue our march towards Ghent : in half an hour we shall have the enemy on our hands ; the heads of their columns are already in sight : we must either attack them instantly, or hasten our march, to keep the start we have of them." " In halting," answered the Duke of Burgundy, " I only yielded to your pressing solicitations." " The great evil," replied Vendome, " is, that instead of halting the troops behind the Scheldt, we have moved on into an enclosed country, intersected with hedges, thick set with copses and villages, where the troops must of necessity uiist. do combat separately, and to all appearance with disad- 3-j', sis'. vantage." 1 The result of these altercations was, that uoT' 1 contradictory orders were given, and the hesitations and * The above description of the field of Oudenarde is mainly taken from COXE, iv. 134, 135 ; but the author, from personal inspection of the field, can attest its accuracy. 392 THE LTFE OF CHAP, fears of the commanders became apparent to and dis- %1 " couraged the whole army. 1708. It was not thus with Eugene and Marlborough, who Preliminary were not only perfectly united in council, but equally iboth enti prompt and decided in their measures. As fast as cap e tui-o'of the Allies got across the Scheldt, Marlborough formed advanced 011 them along the high grounds stretching from Beverc to Moreghem mill, with their right resting on the Scheldt. Vendome's men extended across the plain, from the hill of Asper on the left to AVarreghem on the right. A considerable body of cavalry and infantry lay in front of their position in Eynes, of which they had retained possession after repulsing Cadogan's horse. No sooner had the English general got a sufficient number of troops up than he ordered that gallant officer to advance and retake the village, which was held by Pfiffer with seven battalions. Four English battalions under Sabine attacked in front, crossing the rivulet near Eynes ; while the horse, making a circuit higher up, descended on the enemy's rear, while the conflict was warmly going on in front. The consequence was, that the village was carried with great loss to the enemy : three entire battalions were surrounded and made prisoners, four others routed and dispersed, twelve standards taken, and eight squadrons were cut to pieces in striving to make their way across the steep and tangled banks of the Norken. This sharp blow convinced the French leaders that a general action was unavoidable ; and though, from the vigour with which it had been struck, there remained little hope of overpowering the Allied advanced guard before the main body came up, yet they resolved, contrary to the opinion of Vendome, who had become seriously alarmed, 1 to persist in the attack, and MARLBOROUQH. S9-'] risk all on the issue of a general engagement. In this brilliant affair the Electoral Prince of Hanover, after- wards George II., distinguished himself by charging in person at the head of a squadron. It was four in the afternoon when the French com- menced the action in good earnest. The forces of the KOIVCS on both silk's, contending parties were nearly equal, with a slight and com- , incnrcnicnt superiority on the part of the French: they had 85,000, ofthei.uttie. Marlborough 80,000 men.'" The Duke of Burgundy, who had a joint command with Vcndomc, ordered General Grimaldi to lead sixteen squadrons across the Norkcn, apparently with the view of feeling his way preparatory to a general attack. That general set out to do so; but when, after passing that stream, and arriving on the margin of the rivulet of Dicpenbeck, he saw the Prussian cavalry already formed on the other side, he fell back to the small plain near the mill of Roycghem. Vendome, meanwhile, directed his left to advance, deeming that the most favourable side for an attack; but the Duke of Burgundy, who nominally had the supreme command, and who was jealous of Vcndmne's reputation, countermanded this order, alleg- ing that an impassable morass separated the two armies in that quarter. These contradictory orders produced indecision in the French lines, and Marlborough, divining its cause, instantly took advantage of it. Judging with reason that the real attack of the enemy would be made on his left by their right, on his own left wing, in front of the castle of Bcvere, he ordered up the twelve bat- FRENCH. ME.V. Battalions, 1-21 ~) c< 1 mo f S5/IOO Squadrons, 198 ) * The forces stood as follows : 39-4 THE LIFE OF CHAP, talions of foot under Caclogan from Hucrne and Eynes, which they occupied, to Groenvelde and Heiieliem to 1708. reinforce the left. In the mean time lie lined all the woods and hedges around these posts, and between them and the Norken, with light troops. Maiiborough him- self, at the head of the Prussian horse, advanced by Huerne, and took post on the right flank of the little viii. 35. M. plain of Diepenbeck, where it was evident that the heat d'Artaignan a Louis' of the action would ensue. A column of twenty British XIV., July * n, i7f|H. battalions, witli four guns, was stationed under Argyle sue. Mail- near Schaerken, which proved of the most essential borough to Count service in the ensuing struggle. Few pieces of artillery pi P er > Jul y . , . , , .... r i i,5,i7u8. were brought up on either side, the rapidity of the Marlb. Des. <. i i i i iv. ii5. movements or both having outstripped the slow pace at Coxe.iv. . . . L 144, 145. which those ponderous implements or destruction were then conveyed. 1 Hardly were these defensive arrangements completed, Briiiiuiit when tlic tempest was upon them. The whole French success of . . . , . . . the French right wmg, consisting or thirty battalions, embracing the French and Swiss guards, and the flower of their army, crossed the Norken, debouched from the woods and hedges near Groenvelde, and, attacking four battalions stationed there, quickly compelled them to retreat. Advancing then in the open plain by echelon, the right in front, along the downward bed of the rivulet of Diepenbeck, they followed up their advantage with the utmost vigour. The action ran like a running fire along the course of this stream ; the French constantly pressing on and outflanking the Allies, till they com- pletely turned their left, and made themselves masters of the hamlets of Barwaen and Banlancy. Their advance entirely uncovered the Allied left. Already the cries of victory were heard in the French riirht, which advanced MARLBOKOUG1I. 395 in good order through the tangled and broken ground CHAP. around those villages, with a rapid and well-sustained . '_ fire issuing from its ranks. So great was the advantage 17 8 - gained that the Duke of Burgundy and the French generals deemed the battle won. In truth, it was near being so, for this success exposed the Allies to 1 Kauslcr, imminent danger. In their rear was the Scheldt, How- < 14 -.. K( J" S - set, 11. 2o2. ing lazily, in a deep and impassable current, through ^' e yj- marshy meadows, crossed only bv a few bridges, over a'Artaignan > J ;'i Louis which retreat would be impossible in presence of a xiv^juiy victorious enemy ; and the defeat already sustained by Hist. Mil. the left exposed them to the danger of being cut oil' from, iiist. de the friendly ramparts of Oudenarde, their only resource 333-:$:3->. in that direction. 1 This alarming success of the French attracted the . . . . is. immediate attention of the vigilant English general. Operations He instantly hastened in person to the scene of danger on the right, on the left, where the Dutch and Hanoverians were, despatching Eugene to take the command on the right, where the British troops, whose valour the Prince had often observed and praised, were posted. Marlborough then directed Count Lottum, with his twenty battalions, to extend his right to support Eugene, so that the Imperial general had now sixty battalions under his orders, while Marlborough had only twenty left in the centre. This reinforcement came up just in time, for the Prince was at first assailed by such superior numbers that he was wellnigh overwhelmed. Cadogan's men, under his orders, had been driven, after a stout resist- ance, out of the wooded coverts which they occupied near Ilcrlehcm, and were retiring somewhat in disorder over the plain in its front. Reinforced, however, by the twenty battalions under Lottum, Eugene again advanced THE LIFE OF CHAP, in good order, and broke the first line of the enemy. w " General Natzmer, at the head of the Prussian cuirassiers, ^ 8 - took advantage of their disorder, and charged headlong through the second line of the enemy's left, so as to reach the little plain near the chapel of Roycghem. But here their career was stopped by a line of the French horse-guards in reserve, while a dreadful fire of musketry streamed out of every hedgerow and copse with which the plain was environed. Never in modern war had a more severe fire been experienced : and though there i Coxe, iv. . ... 14<;, U7. were few pieces of artillery on either side, the roar of the Kausler, J 717, 7i. musketry resounded to the distance of many leagues '_>:>->, 125:1 around. The effect of this dreadful fire from invisible Hist, de , Marib. ii. enemies was soon seen on the Prussian cuirassiers. Half 335, 3.'5(). . M. d'Ar- the men were speedily stretched on the plain ; the Louis xiv. remainder recoiled in disorder, and Natzmer himself J7<>H. Hist, with difficulty escaped, by leaping over a broad ditch, 38?! " while the French household troops were thundering in pursuit. 1 While Eugene was thus combating with various success ]y. And of on the right, Marlborough had a more arduous conflict AT 11 roiioii on to maintain on the left. Placing himself at the head of the left the Dutch and Hanoverian battalions, which were with difficulty maintaining their ground against the advancing line and increasing vehemence of the enemy, the English general led them again to the attack. P>ut it is no easy matter to make the French recede from the enthu- siasm of victory to the hesitation which precedes defeat. They opposed a most desperate resistance to this onset. The ground on which the hostile lines met was so broken that the battle in that quarter turned almost into a series of partial conflicts, and even personal encounters. Every bridge, every ditch, every wood, every hamlet, every MARLBOltOUGH. o!)7 enclosure, was obstinately contested ; and so incessant CHAP. was the roll of musketry, and so intermingled did the hostile lines become, that the field, seen from a distance, 170i! - appeared an unbroken line of lire. A warmer fire, a more desperate series of combats, was never witnessed in modern warfare : it was in great part conducted hand to hand, like the battles of antiquity, of which Livy and Homer have left such graphic descriptions. The cavalry could not act from the multitude of hedges and copses which intersected the theatre of conflict ; breast to breast, knee to knee, bayonet to bayonet, they maintained the fight on both sides with the most desperate resolution. If the resistance, however, was obstinate, the attack was 1 Co\ e , iv. 14(5, 1J7. no less vigorous : and at length the enthusiastic ardour n^t. d O O A t 1 1 i 11 I'lii i T i fi/^i Al an b.ii. or the trench yielded to the steady valour or the Ger- :o--r>7. mans. Gradually they were driven back, literally at viii.3,37. the bayonet's point ; and at length, recoiling at every 25-2,\>o8. ' point, they yielded all the ground they had won at the 7i. commencement of the action. 1 Banlancy and Barwaen were soon regained, but not 20. without the most desperate resistance ; for not only did Decisive the enemy obstinately contest every field and enclosure, byMari- n but in their fury they set fire to such of the houses as against the could no longer be maintained. Despite all these obstacles, however, the English general fairly drove them back, at the musket's point, from one enclosure to another, till they readied the hamlet of Diepcnbeck, where the resistance proved so violent that he was com- pelled to pause. His vigilant eye, however, ere long- observed that the hill of Oyckc, which flanked the enemy's extreme right, was unoccupied. Conceiving that their right might be turned by this eminence, he directed Ovcrkirk, with the reserve cavalry and twenty Dutch and 398 THE LIFE OF CHAP. Danish battalions, to occupy it. The veteran general VL executed this important, and, as it proved, decisive 1708. movement, with his wonted alacrity and spirit. The narrow defiles by which alone the enemy could be reached were speedily passed by the Danish cavalry, headed by Ovcrkivk in person, who, despite his age and infirmities, displayed the spirit of a gallant officer of twenty-five. The infantry followed him at double-quick time ; and soon the effect of this felicitous movement became apparent. The wooded dells round the castle of Bevere soon rang with musketry ; the enemy, forced out i Kausler 71.5, 716. of them, were driven over the shoulder of the Boser- i4(i, 147'. cauter ; which being soon passed, the mill of Oycke, and Rousset, ii. i , . . . . 1-1 i i 'jo-_>, 2.5:5. the plateau behind it, were immediately occupied by the Danish and Dutch battalions. 1 Arrived on the summit, Overkirk made his men bring Vigourwith up their left shoulders, so as to wheel inwards, and form which it was . . , , , . . . executed by a vast semicircle round the right wing ol the rrench, who entire- which, far advanced beyond the centre, was now thrown them. s back, and grouped into the little plain of Diepenbcck. Observing the effect of this movement, Maiiborough directed Overkirk to press forward his left still farther, so as to seize the passes of Mullein and the mill of Roy- eghcm, by which the communication between the enemy's right and centre was maintained. This order was executed with vigour and success by the Prince of Orange and General Oxensticrn. The progress of the extreme Allied left round the rear of the French right was observed by the frequent flashes of their musketry, rendered visible by the approach of night, on the heights above Mullein, to which they began to descend, driving the enemy before them with loud cheers, which re-echoed over the whole field of battle. The victory was now MARLBOROUGH. :J99 gained. The Allies, in a vast semicircle, pressed on all sides CH.U-. on the retreating French, who were huddled together in o y o inextricable confusion in the centre, Hcflucnt from all 170!) - quarters, enveloped on every side, the whole French right was hurled together, in wild confusion, into the plain of Diepenbcck, where seven regiments of horse, which made a noble effort to stem the flood of disaster, were all cut to pieces or taken, while the gendarmerie l Coxe, ;%-. 148, 14.'). tl cheval, the finest horse in the French service, suf- Rousset,*ii. fercd not less severely from the charge of the Danish MihviH.37. cavalry. 1 Seeing his right wing on the verge of destruction, Vendome made a gallant effort to rescue it. Dis- ciaiiantimt mounting from his horse, he led the infantry of his left efforts^ near Mullein, to the aid of their devoted comrades. a rrestthe But the thick and frequent enclosures broke their array ; the soldiers were dismayed by the loud shouts of victory from their right ; and when they emerged from the en- closures, and approached the plain of Diepcnbeck, the firm countenance of the British horse, drawn up on its edge, and the sturdy array of their infantry under Eugene, which advanced to meet them, rendered the effort abortive. Meanwhile darkness set in, though the battle still raged on all sides. The frequent flashes of the musketry on the heights around, intermingled with the shouts of the victors, showed but too clearly how nearly the extremity of danger was approaching to the whole French army. So completely were they envel- oped that the advanced guard of the right under Eugene, and of the left under the Prince of Orange, met on the heights in the French rear, when they exchanged several volleys ; and it was only after great exertions had been made by the respective commanders that their VI. 400 THE LIFE OF CHAP, error was discovered, and a stop was put to such useless butchery. To prevent a repetition of such disasters, orders were given to the whole troops to halt where they stood ; and to this precaution many owed their safety, as it was impossible in the darkness to distinguish friend from foe. But it enabled great part of the centre and left of the French to escape unobserved, which, had daylight continued for two hours longer, would have been all taken or destroyed. Their gallant right was left to its fate ; while Eugene, by directing the drums of his regiments to beat the French assemblee, made great numbers of their left and centre prisoners. Some thousands of the right, by slipping unobserved to the westward, near the castle of Bevere, made their way in 1 Marlbo- roughto a confused body, in the interval between the Allied left Count Piper, .inly aric l centre, towards France ; but the greater part of that Dcs.iv.ii5. wiiif were killed or taken. A'endome, with charactcr- Dukeof . Benvicky istic presence of mind, formed a rearguard or a few Mem. ii. 1-. - i i i i Coxe,iv. battalions and twenty-five squadrons, with which he Hist.de covered the retreat of the centre and left ; but the 338, r'f).' remainder of those parts of the army fell into total 253." &e ' confusion, and fled headlong in wild disorder towards Ghent. 1 Such was the battle of Oudenarde, one of the most O*} Results of obstinately contested and glorious victories recorded in the battle. t]ic ^.j^jj aima i s? allc | j n ^{^ { t j s h al . c i to say whether the palm of valour was to be yielded to the victors or the vanquished. \Vc have the authority of Marlbo- ro ugh for the assertion, that, " if he had had two hours more of daylight, the French army would have been irretrievably routed, great part of it killed or taken, and the war terminated on that day.""' As it was, the M.rrUxjfwjh n M. Ik TttaugiiCt l.kli July 170S. D^ t >. iv. Ill . MARLBORO UGH. 401 effects of the blow which had been struck were pro- cn.\r. digious, and entirely altered the character and fate of the campaign. The French lost six thousand men in 170!! - killed and wounded, besides nine thousand prisoners, including seven hundred officers, and one hundred stand- ards wrested from them in fair fight. Their total loss, including deserters, was fully twenty thousand men. The Allies were weakened by five thousand men ; for the French were superior in number, and fought well, having been defeated solely by the superior gencral- i ^ r i IT ' 11- 1 Hist.de ship or the Allied commanders ; '" and their position Marib. n. was so strong that Marlborough confessed he never iv. 1,5-2. would have hazarded an attack upon it, were it not Mem.ii. TJ. , . 11- 111 Marlbo- that it appeared at that juncture absolutely necessary rough to to re-establish the affairs of the Grand Alliance, and Juiy2^, m> discomfit his enemies at home, even more formidable iv. iw. than in the field. l f No sooner did daylight appear than forty squadrons were detached towards Ghent, in pursuit of the enemy ; while Marlborough himself, with characteristic humanity, * Desp. iv. 111. Berwick himself states the prisoners at nine thousand. - " Je trouvai a Tournay force debris de 1'armee : par la revue, qui en fut faite, le nombre so montoit, tant a, Tournay qu' a Lille ct Ypres, a iieuf mille et quelques soldats ; les cnnemis nous avoieut fait pareil nombre des prisonuiers." BERWICK'S Mcmoires, ii. 12; MARLBOROUGII, ii. 12; Marlborouyh to the Duchess, July 16, 1708; COXE, iv. 157. t " I must ever acknowledge the goodness of God in the success he has been pleased to give us ; for I believe Lord Stair will tell you they were in as strong a post as is possible to be found; but you know when I left Eng- land I was positively resolved to endeavour, by all means, a battle, thinking nothing else would make the Queen's business go on well. This reason alone made me venture the battle yesterday, otherwise I did give them too much advantage : but the good of the Queen and my country shall always be pre- ferred by me before any personal concern ; for I am very sensible, if I had miscarried, I should have been blamed. I hope I have given such a blow to their foot that they will not be able to fight any more this year. My head aches so terribly that I must say no more." Marlborough to Godolphin, July 12,1708; COXE, iv. 153. VOL. I. 2 C 402 THE LIFE OF CHAP, visited the field of battle, doing his utmost to assuage VL the sufferings and provide for the cure of the numerous 1708. wounded, alike friend and foe, who encumbered its ur'uu'of bloody expanse. The spectacle which presented itself the en and n nemy, was afflicting in the extreme : war, divested of all its uman- P om P an d circumstance, exhibited only its sufferings and its woe. Among several thousand corpses of all nations, from Gibraltar to the Baltic, lay a prodi- gious number of wounded and mutilated, enveloped in carnage and surrounded by the wreck of war. The groans of the wounded, their piteous cries for water, the shrieks of the horses, maddened with pain, presented a scene of unequalled horror and anguish. By Marlborough's orders the utmost efforts were made to assuage the sufferings of the wounded, and to bestow on all, whether friend or foe, every care and relief which circumstances rendered possible. To the officers of the enemy he gave all the money from his private funds which was at his disposal. The agonies of suffering nature were thus in many cases soothed, and numbers were snatched from a lingering and painful death to acknowledge the beneficence and bless the name of their conqueror. While Marlborough was engaged in these pious cares, Eugene hastened to Brus- sels, where he revisited, for the first time since lie had left France, his aged mother, the Countess of Soissous. He departed from her a youth exiled from his country, disappointed in his hopes, seeking his fortune at the sword's point in foreign lands. He returned to her arms a conqueror, crowned with laurels, the general of vast armies, the deliverer of kingdoms, threatening the very existence of the haughty monarch who had driven him from his dominions. He himself has told us, that " the MAltLBOROUGII. 403 fortnight he spent with her was the happiest of his CHAP. life" so much do the joys springing from the natural affections exceed all which human greatness can 170!! - i f confer. How much do the events of real life outstrip isi. Mem. all that romance has figured, or would venture to us. g portray ! l Meanwhile Maryborough despatched Count Lottum with thirty battalions and fifty squadrons to possess Capture of himself of the lines which the enemy had constructed line?, and between Ypres and Warneton, which that officer did Benvick with vigour and success, making five hundred prisoners, dome, and This w r as the more fortunate, as, at the moment they army with" were taken, the Duke of Berwick, with the French rough, army from the Moselle, was hastening up, and had exhorted the garrisons of the forts to defend the lines to the last extremity. At the same time the corresponding Allied army, commanded by Eugene, arrived at Brussels, so that both sides were largely reinforced. Berwick's corps, which consisted of thirty-four battalions and fifty-five squadrons, was so considerable that its junc- tion would raise Vcndome's army again to a hundred thousand men. That able general meanwhile took post in a camp which he strongly fortified, situated behind the canal of Bruges, in the vicinity of Ghent, and com- manding the navigation both of the Scheldt and the Maribo- Lys. He rightly judged that, as long as he was there GofoipWn, at the head of such a force, the Allies would not venture 1708. c'oxe, to advance into France though it lay entirely open to Berwick's ' their incursions, Marlborough. being between him and iofT' ' Paris. 2 The event of this battle demonstrated on what just principles of strategy Maryborough's measures had been founded, and of what vital importance his cross-march, 404 THE LIFE OF CHAP, so as to throw himself on the enemy's communications, M ' had proved. By having passed Vendome, interposed 1708< between him and France, and compelled him to fight Greafre- ^itli his back to Antwerp and his face to Paris, the battieof hc English general had gained the immense advantage of from e the' le ' throwing him, in the event of defeat, into a corner of hig e been av " Flanders, and leaving the French frontier, and all its theism g rea t fortresses, alike exposed to the incursion or open tbS to tne attacks of the enemy. It is true, Vendonie, by having obtained possession of Ghent and Bruges, had procured for himself a point d'appui in the enemy's territory, and a secure refuge, for a time at least, in case of disaster ; and there, accordingly, he had thrown him- self with the bulk of his forces, after the disaster of Oudenarde. But by so doing, and leaving Maiiborough between him and Lille, he entirely abandoned both his communications and the protection of the French fron- tier, and left the English general at perfect liberty to pursue any project of insult or aggression to its territory which might be deemed expedient. Nothing now could prevent the junction of Eugene's army with that of Marlborough, which, accordingly, was effected at Brus- sels on the 25th July ; and although the corresponding accession of Berwick's force to Vendome might be expected, yet even this reinforcement to an army wcak- i Coxe, iv. ened by full twenty thousand men by the late battle, 1 (i(), 1(>3. . Hist. and foresight in execution, characterised all Marl- MarfbJ- borough's enterprises, was precisely what Wellington IdvfcVto and Blucher did a century after, in advancing from parTsis the same country, and, although its dangers were anlnt'is ' much greater, would have been perhaps attended with i similar success. But it was rejected. Eugene and the remainder of the council considered the design too hazardous, while Vendome with so great an army lay intrenched in their rear, and threatening their communi- cations.! It was resolved, therefore, to commence the invasion of the territory of the Grand Monarque, by the siege of the great frontier fortress of LILLE, the strongest and most important place in French Flanders, and the possession of which would give the Allies a solid footing * " Conscious of the panic which prevailed in France, and aware that some brilliant enterprise was requisite to prevent the Dutch from listening to separate overtures for peace, Marlborough proposed to meet at Lille, and penetrate by the northern frontier into the heart of France. An expedition fitted out in England was to co-operate on the coast. But the design of penetrating direct into France seemed too bold even to Eugene, and, of course, encountered strong opposition from a government so timid and vacillating as that of Holland." COXE, iv. 165. f- " From what I hear from the States, it is plain they think enough is done for peace, and I am afraid they will not willingly give their consent for the marching their army into France, which certainty, if it succeeded, would put a happy end to the war. I have acquainted Prince Eugene with the earnest desire we, have for our marchiny into France. He thinks it impracti- cable till we have Lille for a place d'armes and magazine ; and then he thinks we may make a very great inroad, but not be able to winter, though we might be helped by the fleet, unless we were masters of some fortified town. The letter I send you from M. Buys was written before they knew of the loss of Tortosa, by which you may be sure their inclinations for peace will increase. I am assured that, if this action (Oudenardc) had not happened, some proposal of peace was to have been made towards the end of August." Marlborough to Godolpldn, July 26, 1708 ; COXE, iv. 167. 406 THE LIFE OF CHAP, in the enemy's territory. This, however, was a most M " formidable undertaking ; for not only was the place 17 8 - itself, the masterpiece of Yauban, of great strength, but the citadel within its walls was still stronger, and it was garrisoned by Marshal Boufflers, one of the st. ablest officers in the French service, with fifteen thou- i d i?350,1j5i. sand choice troops, and every requisite for a vigorous defence. 1 On the other hand, Vendome, at the head of above a Advantages hundred thousand men, including Berwick's army, the dime's po- junction of which with his own could not be prevented, avieVto h lay in an impregnable camp covered by the canal of the"5e|e! ng Bruges, which he had fortified with the utmost care and expedition, between Ghent and Bruges, ready to inter- rupt or raise the siege. His position there hampered Marlborough extremely in bringing forward the requisite equipage for so great an undertaking, by interrupting the whole water-navigation of the country, which was the only practicable mode of conveyance. Vendome was fully aware of the advantages of this position. " We must not think/' said he, " of confining our- selves in the lines of Ypres, but strengthen ourselves in a position where we can provide for the subsistence and security of the army, save Ghent and Bruges, deprive the Allies of the navigation of the Scheldt, and keep the Dutch in a continual alarm." The Duke of Burgundy acquiesced in these reasons, and Marlborough was fully * Maribo- aware of their force. Nevertheless it was resolved to Godoipiiin, undertake the enterprise, sanguine hopes being enter- 170"!;. coxe, tained that, rather than sec so important a fortress as ifist^d'e ' ' Lille fall, Vendome would leave his intrenched camp, Marili. ii. . . . p ..... 34G. and give the Allies an opportunity ol bringing him again to buttle in the open field and on equal terms. 2 MAKLBOROUGH. 407 No sooner was the undertaking resolved on than the CHAP. most vigorous measures were adopted for carrying it into u ' execution. The obstacles which presented themselves, I70y - OO however, were great indeed, and proved even more for- p rep lra- midable than had been at first anticipated. Every gun, Ames for" every waggon, every round of ammunition, required to th be transported almost all the way by land-carriage from Holland ; and Brussels, the nearest depot for ordinary and military stores for the Allies, was situated twenty- five leagues off. Then was felt in its full force the immense loss sustained by the Allies in the interruption of the water-communications of the army, up the Scheldt and through the canals of Brabant, by the capture of Ghent and Bruges. Sixteen thousand horses were requisite to transport the train which brought these stores, partly from Maastricht, partly from Holland ; and when in a line of march, it stretched over fifteen miles. Prince Eugene, with fifty-three battalions and ninety squadrons, covered the vast moving mass Marl- borough himself being ready, at a moment's notice, in his camp near Menin, to support him, if necessary. Between these two great men there existed then, as ever, the most entire cordiality.* Their measures were all taken in concord, and with such ability that, though Vendome with eighty thousand men lay on one flank of the line of march, which extended over above seventy miles, and Berwick with thirty thousand on the other, * " I need not tell you how much I desire the nation may be at last eased of a burdensome war, by an honourable peace ; and 110 one can judge better than yourself of the sincerity of my wishes to enjoy a little retirement at a place you have contributed in a great measure to make so desirable. I thank you for your good wishes to myself on this occasion. / dare say, Prince Eugene and I shall never differ about our laurels." Marlborough to Mr Travcrs, July 30, 1708. 408 THE LIFE OF CHAP, not a gun was taken, nor a carriage lost ; and the whole VI ' arrived in safety on the 12th of August at the camp at 1708. Helchin, whither Marlborough had gone to meet it. So marvellous were the arrangements made for the safe conduct of this important convoy, and so entire their success, that they excited the admiration of the French, and in no slight degree augmented the alarm of their generals, who had hitherto treated the idea of Lille being besieged with perfect derision. " How was it possible to believe," exclaims the French annalist Feuquieres, " that it was in the power of the enemy to convey to Lille all that was necessary for the siege and supplies of the army, to conduct there all the artillery and implements essential for such an undertaking ; and that those immense burdens should be transported by laud over a line of twenty-three leagues, under the eyes of an army of eighty thousand men, lying on the eres'lnn. flank of the prodigious convoy which extended over Cox'e^iv. ' five leagues of road ! Nevertheless all that was done 21G-219 Hist.de without a shot being fired, or a chariot unharnessed. 357' 358.' Posterity will scarcely believe it ; nevertheless it was the simple truth." 1 Meanwhile both parties, with the view of distracting 30 vemiome their opponents, and occasioning alarm in the cabinet cursiona which directed its opponent's movements, made formi- teild, r and B ~ dable incursions into each other's territory, which by this "and isTand. singular combination of circumstances lay entirely open to such inroads. On the French side, Vcndomc, from his impregnable camp behind the canal of Bruges, attacked on the 19th July a fort between Ghent and the Sas de Gand, which was carried after a gallant resist- ance by its little garrison of two hundred men, who were all cut to pieces or made prisoners. On the 28th MARLBOROUQH. 409 a French detachment took possession of Fort Albert CHAP. near Ostend ; and on the same day a corps consisting of VI ' seven thousand men destroyed the lines of defence erected 170B - by the Allies between the Scheldt and Iscndyck, carried the fort of Aul, and burnt the magazines of Beirvlich. Pursuing his advantages, the same officer penetrated into the island of Cadsand at the mouth of the Scheldt, which had not been visited by an enemy for a hundred years, and burnt several villages and above eighty private houses. These successes were of no great moment in themselves, but they might become so from l Hist. do M 1> the alarm which they spread in Holland, and the infill- 359, 300.' ence they might have in inducing its timorous govern- 2.5.Ciiik' AT '1 ment to make a separate peace, and withdraw altogether 42,43"' from the Grand Alliance. 1 These slight advantages, how r ever, gained in the rear of the French army, were more than counterbalanced by which'are i T 11 i avenged by the corresponding incursions made at the same time by Maribo- Marlborough's light troops into the French territory. cu^dnV" He despatched Count Tilly with twelve battalions, fifty u squadrons, and a thousand grenadiers, into Artois to levy contributions. He met eight hundred horsemen near Jens, whom he attacked and speedily defeated. The fugitives fled to Jens, where there were fourteen hundred infantry ; but they, deeming themselves unable to encounter forces so considerable, abandoned that post and withdrew into the interior. The alarm spread far and wide. The whole inhabitants of the towns and villages on the frontier, seized with a universal panic, were to be seen crowding along the roads with their cattle and most pre- cious effects in a state of the utmost consternation. Count Tilly regained the camp at Helchin on the 3d August, having been ten days engaged in his expedition, 410 THE LIFE OF CHAP, during which he had spread terror far and near, and VL wounded Louis XIV. in the most sensitive part, by 1708. showing his subjects that the territory of the Great it Hi , s , t- " Nation was not invulnerable, and that its inhabitants Marlb. 11. 355, 356 might be made to feel in their own persons a portion of Hist. Mil. x viu.47,48. the miseries they had so long inflicted on their neigh- bours. 1 oo Meanwhile the most vigorous measures were adopted Boufflers by the French for the defence of Lille, now evidently takes the J J command at menaced with a siege. Marshal Boufflers, the governor parationsfor of West Flanders, who had solicited and obtained the its defence. . post of honour, threw himself into the fortress on the 29th July with some reinforcements, which raised the garrison, of sixteen battalions of infantry, three regiments of cavalry, and eight hundred invalids, to fifteen thou- sand combatants. He immediately set about the most vigorous measures of defence, and communicated his own energy not only to the garrison, but to the inhabitants of the place. This celebrated place, constructed by Vauban, upon which that great man had exhausted all his genius, and Louis XIV. a large part of his treasures, was in the best possible state for sustaining a siege, and amply pro- vided with every requisite for a protracted resistance. The plan of defence had been formed by Vauban the year previous, before his death, and its execution intrusted to his nephew, M. Antoine de Vauban, engineer-in-chief, the inheritor at once of his name and his glory. The Marquis de Surville, the Marquis de Ferzeliere, and M. Lalande, were liberated from the Bastile, at their own B Hist. MM. request, to share in the dangers of the defence. Mar- Hist. 4 de 49 ' shal Boufflers, by the vigour of his measures, soon showed Mil '' u ' how worthy he was of his command. 2 Palisades, fascines, and gabions were made with the utmost rapidity, mines MARYBOROUGH. 411 run under the covered-way, the works strengthened in CHAP. the few places where they appeared to require support, and shelter provided in all the corners of the covered- 170B - way which were in part exposed to the enemy's fire. The great celebrity of Lille as the chief frontier town of France, and the masterpiece of the greatest engineer Great c'on- who had appeared in Europe, as well as the fame of the mUstrious generals who were intrusted with its attack and defence, on a both ls attracted the most illustrious princes and warriors of nc'sTthc*' Europe to the scene of action. King Augustus, the bl dethroned sovereign of Poland, accompanied by the Landgrave of Hesse, arrived on the 19th July at Marl- borough's headquarters. The former was here joined by his natural son, afterwards so celebrated as Marshal Saxe, then a boy of twelve years of age, who set out from Dresden secretly on foot, and joined the army alone, notwithstanding all the vigilance of his guardians. Here also Munich and Schwerin, afterwards so celebrated under Frederick in the Seven Years' War, made their first essay in a species of warfare of all others the most exciting and dangerous ; and here the Elector of Hanover repaired to add to the laurels already earned by him on the field of Oudenarde, and witness the 2i6? xe h?st. military prowess of the nation over which he was one iitsrh '' day destined to reign. 1 Never since the siege of Troy had such a body of chiefs and heroes been collected round the Avails of a Greatness beleaguered city ; and Marlborough wielded a power prise? e " greater than ever had been at the command of the King of Men. It was no wonder that such an assemblage had met together, to witness the , deeds of arms on either side ; for the great fame of the Allied commanders had drawn the whole disposable force of France and Spain 412 THE LIFE OF CHAP, to one point ; and the might of Southern was to be VL tested against that of Northern Europe around the 1708. walls of a single city, under the command of the most renowned leaders on either side which Europe had yet beheld. On the part of the Allies, the army of the Lower Rhine, united to that of Flanders, was under the orders of Marlborough and Eugene, commanders second to none in the annals of military glory, and they were assembled to besiege Lille, the great frontier fortress and chief bulwark of France. On that of France and Spain, the fortress was garrisoned by a body forming in itself an army, under the orders of the veteran hero. Marshal Boufflers ; the plan of defence, laid down by i Hist. Mil. Vauban, was intrusted to the able direction of his viii. O'G, 67. 1 1 TT 1 A Coxe, iv. nephew : and two great armies, under \ endome and oj(j 'ill. ' . Hist, de' Berwick, the best generals of France, mustering between 370', 371!' them a hundred and ten thousand combatants, lay on either side to interrupt the siege. 1 So skilfully were the measures of Marlborough and Measures of Eugene taken, that, when the convoy first set out from anTBer- 6 Brussels, the French generals were at a loss whether it Ten-uptYire was Lille or Mons which was threatened. They could prevent the not be brought to believe that a measure so audacious as the siege of the former fortress was seriously in con- templation. Berwick, who lay encamped, with thirty- four battalions and sixty-three squadrons, around Douai, advanced with his whole army to Mortagne, while eighteen thousand men, detached from the main army, between Ghent and Bruges, were pushed forward to Molle, directly on the flank of the line of march of the huge convoy, to interrupt its progress. But so admirably were the measures of the Allied commanders taken that the French generals did not venture to give it MAltLBOROUGII. 413 any molestation. The convoy set out, consisting of five CHAP. thousand carriages, from Brussels on the morning of the VJ< 6th August ; and so prodigious was its extent, that, when 1 ' 08 - the head of the train halted at Soignies for the night, the rear had not yet left Brussels, thirteen miles off. From thence it proceeded to Ath, still on the road to Mons, where it arrived in safety, under the protection of Eugene, who, with twenty-five battalions and thirty squadrons, kept constantly on its flank. To support him, Marl- borough detached the Prince of Wiirtemberg, with thirty squadrons, to Oudenarde, with orders to act under Eugene ; and at the same time sent General Wood, with thirty squadrons, to keep in check the troops at Ghent, and the Prince of Orange, with thirty-one battalions, to Marquette, on the Lower Dyle, to restrain the garrison of Lille ; while he himself, with the main body, repaired to the vicinity of Helchin, where the artillery had already arrived. The convoy reached the camp around Lille, in perfect safety, on the 13th August, to the infinite joy of the whole army ; and on the day following the place was invested. The French could scarcely believe their own eyes when they beheld this audacious enterprise crowned with entire success. The sagacious mind of Berwick had early penetrated Marlborough's design, and he had proposed to Vendome, as the only means of preventing it, to unite their armies, and interpose in a body between Brussels and Lille ; but the latter would l Hist, dc . . . . i , , Marlb. ii. not agree to it, conceiving it might bring on a general 357, 358. action, and that the siege of Lille was too dangerous an '2iv22o'. enterprise to be ever attempted by such experienced vm. 66,67. commanders. l " ? * " II paraitra, sans doutc, surprenant quc Ics cnncmis, apres avoir tire du fond de la Hollande ct rasscmble a Bruxcllcs 1'immense quantite d'artilleric 414 THE LIFE OF CHAP. Prince Eugene was intrusted with the conduct of the _ L siege, while Maiiborough commanded the covering army. 1708. ^\ ie p r i uce commenced the investment of the place on Commence- the 13th August, while Mai'lborough remained at Hel- ^ e e ge,and e chin, taking measures for the protection of the convoys, theVoTer - which were incessantly coming up from Brussels. At Au^sTIs. length the whole (eighty-one) arrived in safety in the camp before Lille, amounting to one hundred and twenty heavy guns, forty mortars, twenty howitzers, and four hundred ammunition waggons. Eugene's army for the siege consisted of fifty-three battalions and ninety squa- drons, in all about forty thousand men. Maiiborough 's covering force was sixty-nine battalions and one hundred and forty squadrons, numbering nearly sixty thousand men. The Duke's position at Helchin was so well chosen that not only did it effectually cover the siege, i Hist, de and facilitate the arrival of convoys from Ath, Brus- Marlb. ii. . SGI;, 367. sels, and Oudenarde, but it prevented the junction of Coxe, iv. . . . A 220,221. Berwick, who lay around Douai, with Vendome, who Rousset, ii. .,.,.. 225. was still in his intrenched camp between Ghent and Bruges. 1 To facilitate the operations of the besiegers, six bridges were thrown over the Scheldt, and a little army of pioneers, ten thousand strong, was collected to form the lines of ct de munitions, neccssairc pour un siege aussi important, soicnt parvenus ii fairc arriver jusqu'it Menin, sans le secours dcs rivieres dont nous tcnions les passages, et sans avoir rencontre aucun obstacle, quoique leur convoi, compose de cinq mille voitures, cut a. passer ontrc nos deux annecs, ct cut plusicurs rivieres ii traverscr. II n'etoit pas moins ctonnant quo lesennernis, quoiqu' avec des arm6es formidablcs, ne pouvant sc flatter d'etre superieura aux forces quo nous pouvions rassemblcr, osassent entreprcndrc uu siege aussi important quo celui do Lille, la plus forte place du Pays Bas, bicn fuurnie des troupes ct de munitions, et qui pouvait etrc secourue par deux armees composecs de 1'elite des troupes dc France." General PELET, Jliatolrc Mdituii'c . (jttLi'i'c dc la Succession, viii. 67. MAltLBOROUGH. 415 circuinvallation and contravallation for attack within CHAP. and defence without. Never since the memorable camp u " traced out and fortified by Ciesar, round the walls of l ^ W] - Alesia, had works on so gigantic a scale been constructed, commence- They were fifteen feet wide and nine deep, and extended ^egc.and' over a circuit of nine miles. The park of artillery was ["" clmp, f placed with its right at the bridge of Marquette, and its July 14> left at la Marque. On the 18th August, every battalion received orders to furnish a thousand fascines and gabions for the use of the engineers, and on the day following the engineers examined the ground between Lille and Warneck to determine the position of the batteries and approaches. Meanwhile the besieged kept up a heavy fire with their great guns on the nearest posts of the besiegers, in the course of which a four-and-twenty pound ball carried off the head of the valet of the Prince of Orange, as he was dressing his master in a room of the village of Lambercost. Boufflers' men were still encamped on the glacis of the fortress, to extend the range of which he cut down the whole beautiful avenues on the espla- nade ; and he even pushed his advanced posts so as to annoy the advanced posts of the besiegers. Of the fifty battalions employed in the siege, ten were directed to be constantly in the trenches ; and, for their guidance, i iiist. de J . Marlb. ii. a set of regulations was drawn up by Marlborough and ZM-SI?. Eugene, which are justly considered as a model on the 222,22.% ,,.,,.,. , , Houssct, ii. subject, and which the military reader, who may one day -Joc-L'58. be charged with similar duties, would do well to study. 1 "* Impatient to commence operations, Eugene opened the trenches on the evening of the 23d August, although the lines of circumvallation were not yet entirely finished. Two points of attack were selected, one on the north, * Appendix, No. 1. 416 THE LIFE OF CHAI>. near the gate of St Andrew ; the other on the left, near L the gate of the Madeleine, on the opposite side of the 1708. Dyle, which flows through the town. At daybreak on Commence- the morning of the 24th, the cannonade commenced. ^ege,and ie Prince Eugene with his own hand fired the first gun on timu^AMg. the right, the Prince of Orange on the left. Animated by such example, the works proceeded with great rapidity. The second parallel, begun on the night of the 24th, being soon finished, a tremendous fire was opened on the morning of the 25th, from forty-four twenty-four pounders, which soon seriously injured the nearest works of the place, around the Chapel of the Madeleine, near the gate of the same name. The chapel was carried in the night by assault, though with a loss of two hundred men to the assailants. The fire on both sides now became terrible. The fete of St Louis was cele- brated in Lille by an incessant discharge of cannon and bombs, which was continued through the night, and illuminated the whole heavens ; and the firmament was streaked by the continual passage of burning projectiles which crossed each other in the air, and carried death or conflagration wherever they fell. During this awful scene, four hundred French silently issued from the works, in the dark, and suddenly assaulted the Chapel of the Madeleine, which was only garrisoned by two hun- i Rousset, dred Dutch, and carried it after an obstinate resistance. liistTde" ' ' So expeditious were the assailants that the post was Sii"' carried, the works levelled, and the enemy withdrawn, 225/^1 before the Prince of Orange, with reinforcements, arrived at the menaced point. 1 Vcndome was now seriously alarmed for the issue of an enterprise which, in the outset, he had treated with perfect ridicule, lie accordingly sent orders to Berwick MARLBOKOUCII. 417 to join him, in order, with their united force, to advance CHAP. and raise the siege. To prevent the junction of their two armies, Marl borough crossed the Scheldt at Pottcs, 17on - and threw himself upon the line of communication which Ath .'^ c united them. But Vendomc and Berwick, being deter- *|- v^"!',- mined to effect a junction, marched by circuitous routes ^l".!^' towards one another. Vendome, setting out from Bruges, raisetlie ' siege, crossed the Scheldt at Ninovc, whilst Berwick advanced Se i )t; - - from Mons through llcrine. They united on the 30th, on the plain between Grammont and Lcssines, and on the 2d September advanced towards Lille by Orchies and the opening between the Marque and the Dyle, with one hundred and forty battalions and two hundred and fifty squadrons, mustering one hundred and ten thousand combatants, besides twenty thousand left, under Count de la Motte, to cover Ghent and Bruges. But Marl- borough had no fears for the result, and ardently longed for a general action, which he hoped would one way or other conclude the war. " If we have a second action," says he, " and God blesses our just cause, this, in all likelihood, will be our last campaign ; for I think they would not venture a battle, but are resolved to submit to any condition if the success be on our side : and if they get the better, they will think themselves masters ; so that, if there should be an action, it is like to be the last this war. If God continues on our side, we have i Maribo- nothing to fear, our troops being good, though not so Gofoiphin, numerous as theirs. I dare say, before half the troops iToTcoxe, have fought, success will declare, I trust in God, on our iVist.de"' side ; and then I may have what I earnestly u'is/t for 386*387!!" quiet ." l No sooner was Marlborough informed of the junction of Yendume and Berwick than, anticipating the direction VOL. i. 2 D 418 THE LIFE OF CHAP, they would follow, and the point at which they would VI ' endeavour to penetrate through to raise the siege, he 1708. repassed the Scheldt, marched parallel to the enemy, Marito- an( l arrived on the 4th September at a position pre- s U tf Ven- T i lls ly selected, having his right at Noyelles, near the Bewick 11 D J lc ' an(1 nis lcft at I'cronnc, on the Marque. So to^alseth^ con ' ec tly had he divined the designs of the able generals sie = e - to whom he was opposed, that, within two hours after he had taken up his ground, the united French army appeared in his front. They were in great strength. Modern Europe had never seen so imposing an army, for a hundred and ten thousand men, preceded by two hundred pieces of cannon, advanced to raise the siege in the finest order. Marlborough had not seventy thousand "Marlb. J DCS. iv. to resist the attack. Notwithstanding their great supe- SMl-'-'fil). . . ,., Hist, de riority of forces, the enemy, however, did not venture to Marlb. ii. . J . 384-3H7. attack, and the two armies remained watching each other 227, 2-2U. for the next fortnight, without any movement being- attempted on either side. 1 The secret cause of this inactivity, when so great an Division of issue as the fate of Lille was at stake, is to be found, the com- mand and not in the strength merely of the position taken by dread of re- J J sponsibiiity Marlborough to cover the siege, or the halo of glory French with which he was surrounded, but in the divided com- command- ersocca- maud of the 1 reii ch army, and the dread of rcsponsi- sioned their .,,.,. failure. bility with which its generals were both penetrated, from the cautious nature of the orders received from the cabinet of Versailles. Had either Vcudome or Berwick been separately and exclusively vested with the command, it is probable they would have ventured a battle, and not permitted the Allies to take Lille in presence of a hundred and ten thousand men, without firing a shot for its relief. But the two commanders were jealous of each MARLBOROUGTT. 419 other, and severally thwarted what the other proposed, CHAP. for fear of seeming to have lost the lead. The son of '_ James II., a marshal of France, and the conqueror of 1708 - Almanza, was unwilling to obey the grandson of Henry IV., which Vendome was; while the latter, esteeming his superiority sufficiently established, was hurt by an injunc- tion which he deemed unnecessary, as implying a doubt of his supremacy, of Louis XIV. to Berwick to obey his orders. This jealousy between the chiefs was attended with the very worst effects upon the operations of their united armies, and afforded a striking contrast to the perfect unanimity which prevailed between Eugene and Marl borough. As soon as they arrived in front of Marl- borough's position, Vendome, who had allowed all the convoys to pass, now proposed that an immediate attack should be made on the covering army ; but to this Ber- wick objected, alleging with reason that the plain be- tween them and Marlborough was so intersected by hedges, that they could not get the columns through them till the pioneers had cut the requisite passages. In this dilemma, recourse was had to Versailles for orders, and Louis sent back directions that the attack should be made, and despatched the minister at war, M. Chamillard, to the spot to explain his views. He arrived accordingly on the 9th, and the French army, one hundred and ten Mem./ced? thousand strong, was brought up to within a quarter of lie! Viist. a league of the Allied position. Every one in both ii.as.o, :w,). armies fully expected the greatest battle which modern vili. 90-97. Europe had yet seen, on the morrow. 1 Nevertheless it came to nothing : there was no action. The French retired without firing a shot ; and this memorable instance adds another to the numer- ous examples in which boldness prevails over irreso- 420 THE LIFE OF CHAP, lution a single over a divided responsibility. The VI> interval which the French generals consumed in corre- 1708. spending with Versailles, and opening up the approaches, Mu-ibo- was sedulously employed by Maiiborough in streugthen- trelfches his ^* s position. A considerable part of the besieging whk-hv n f rce > y c t without stripping any of the trenches, was domede- detached by Eugene on the 4th, which brought twenty- clines to J J attack. s j x battalions and seventy-two squadrons to join Marl- borough making their united force above eighty-five thousand men and with these battle was offered by the Allies, who remained all day on the 5th in order of fight- ing in the open field. " I have always encamped in the open field," said Marlborough ; " it does not become a victorious army to act differently." But as so large a detachment from the besieging force seriously impeded the progress of the siege, and the French remained cautiously within their camp, he began on the 6th to throw up in- trenchments ; and they made such rapid progress that, on the evening of the same day, he was enabled to send back Eugene's foot, and the following night all his horse, with two thousand of his own infantry, to resume the labours of the siege. His intrcnchmcnts, by the night of the Sth, were quite complete. They extended from Noyelles on the right to Frctin on the left, on a marsh which adjoins the Marque. The front, which was a league in length, con- sisted of field redoubts faced by a ditch twelve feet wide and six deep, with an earthen parapet four feet high; and in the centre, the village of Enticrs was strongly occupied as a sort of advanced work. Behind this formidable bul- wark the army was drawn up in two lines, supported by cavalry, with the cannon on the works in front. Such was its strength, and so admirably had the position been chosen to cover the siege, that although the orders of the MARLBORO UGII. 421 King of France wore quite positive to hazard a battle CHAP. rather than allow Lille to fall, yet when Chamillard, VL accompanied by Vendomc and Berwick, and the other 17U8 - generals, reconnoitred the position, it was their unanimous opinion that it was impregnable, and that it was better to let Lille be taken than run the hazard of an attack. A despatch to this effect accordingly was sent off on the 10th i Berwick's -IT -n . . . . 111 Mem. 120'. to V ersailles, requesting permission to retire; and the only iiist.de hostilities which took place was a cannonade of the works 384-305.' around Enticrs the most exposed part of the line vat. 94, Vs. which did not even damage the earthen parapet. 1 * The resolution to decline attacking the Allied position being once taken, the best course would have been to The French have retired immediately, and taken advantage of their retireV- united strength to intercept, at least, any further convoys de a nardc, u that might be coming up to the besiegers' camp ; but ugust here, again, the division of command and want of a supreme head marred the operations of the French. The King's orders being quite precise to risk a battle, M. Chamillard did not feel himself at liberty to withdraw the army till the return of the courier from Versailles * " Lcs cnnemis nous ont abandonne tons Ics defiles, pour venir sur eux: s'ils y etaient postt's, il n'aurait pas etc possible de les y forcer. Us ont un village au centre, qu'ils ont accomrnode, et travaillcut depuis hier a retrancher Ics cndroits ou Ton pourrait le plus facilcnicnt aborder leur camp. Je me crois oblige a vous parler francherneut, n'ayant d'autre objet quo le service du Roi. Quand nos troupes seraient aussi vigoureiises que jc les ai vues 1'autre guerre, il ne seruit pas pratieable d'attaqucr un ennerni aussi fort du moins quo nous, poste, retranche, et dont Ics flancs sout converts, et qu'on ue pcut deporter; mais avec vine mfanterie dcjii rebutee et des bataillous peu nom- breux, on courrait risque uon sculenient d'etre repousse, inais d'etre nieine ensuite culbute totalement. II cst triste de voir prendrc Lille ; mais il est encore plus triste deperdre 1'unique armee qui nousreste, ou qui puisse arre- ter 1'ennemi apres la pertc de Lille. S'il y avait apparencc a reussir, on pourrait hazarder ; mais je vous avoue qui je ne puis augurer rien de bon, si Ton se de- termine a attaquer les enuemis ou ils sont." Jlarvnchal Bel-wick a M. de Chamillard, 6th Sept., 1708 ; Hist. Mil. viii. 90, 91. 422 THE LIFE OF CHAP, gave liberty to do so. Meanwhile two important VI ' convoys from Brussels were approaching the besiegers' W Q - camp, and it was proposed to attack them ; but Chamillard declined to give his consent, alleging as a reason, " that the King wished they should think of nothing but a battle." We have the authority of Ber- wick for the assertion, that, if these convoys had been intercepted, the siege would have failed."" At length the courier from Versailles having arrived on the 14th 1 Berwick's . , . . . i . -, , Mem. 126, with permission to retire, the army broke up on the 15th borough to in four great columns, and moved in the direction of 8ept?7, m ' Oudenarde, apparently with the design of preventing iv. 2:54. " ' the passage of any further convoys for the use of the viii.97,98. besiegers ; and they gave out they would take that fortress before the Allies took Lille. 1 Seeing that the French generals would not attack 44. Maribol them, Maiiborough and Eugene were clear to become prevented the assailants in their turn, and warmly pressed an inland *~ immediate attack on the French camp. They urged enemj* '" with truth that their position was extremely bad, hav- ing their flanks uncovered, and not depth of ground sufficient to throw up intrenchments. Berwick has recorded his opinion, that, if this design had been carried into effect, they would have been utterly routed, and pro- bably the war ended on that day.f But here, as usual, the Dutch deputies interposed, alleging that, as Lille * " II ctoit indubitable quo sans do nouvcaux sccours, Ics enncmis rnanqucraicnt do tout quo do pouvoir sc rcndre maitres dc Lille. Pen- dant notrc scjour a Pont-a-Marcy, deux couvois vcnus dc Bruxclles pas- scrent tranquillement, quoiquc nous fussions iuformus do lour depart : ct parccqu'on nous disait qu'il n'etois pas question dc Tcmpt'cher, et quo Ic Koi nc voulait pas quo Ton songcat a autrc chose qu' a combattre Ics enncmis." Memoires de Berwick, 126, 127 edit. Petitot. t " Lc l)uc dc Marlborough ct Ic Prince Eugiinc, voyant la mauvaise position dc notrc arrncc, voulaicnt a touto force pendant la unit abbattrc MARLBOROUGII. 42;] would now evidently fall without a battle, it was inex- CHAP. pedicnt to risk one. With the utmost reluctance, there- fore, Maryborough was obliged to allow the French to 170!i - retire unmolested, and the opportunity of terminating the war at a single blow to pass. On this occasion Eugene again said, " If Ciesar or Alexander had had the Dutch deputies by their side, their conquests would have been less rapid." Accordingly, when the French retired on the loth in four columns to Bac-a-Bern, and thence on the day following across the Scheldt, and took J c .\c, iv. 2,'J'J '2'.'>li a position from Pottos to Aubert La Trinite, Marlborough Hist. Je contented himself with following them on the 19th, and, -m. Mem. occupying a new position, with the left at Leers, and 1-27. the right at Treffry, still barring all access to Lille. 1 Although, however, the advantage gained by the Allied generals, by this retreat of the French army, w r as increasing immense, Marlborough was under great disquietude at ofMaribo- i i rm 11 rough's po- thc progress ot the siege. I he position chosen by the sition. French generals beyond the Scheldt at once threatened Brussels, Oudcnarde, and Menin, and effectually inter- rupted all communication of the Allies with those towns in which their principal magazines and reserve stores were placed. Ycndome had dispersed his army so skil- fully that the whole could be concentrated in six hours, so that all idea of reopening the communication with the supplies in the rear, except by raising the siege and Icurs retraiichements pour nous attaqucr: mais par bonhcur Ics deputes tics Etats - Ge aeraux ny roulitrcnt jamais conwntir, allcguant quc puis- qu'ils so parvicnt prcndrc Lille nans combattrc, il nc fallait mcttrc I'atllure au hazard, surtout sc trouvant .si cloignccs do chcz cux, quo la retraitc, en cas do inalhcur, scroit tres difficile. Jo suis persuade quc si cc projct cut execute, nous aurions etc battus a platto couture, d'autant quc nos flancs ctoicut ducouvcrts, et que nous n'avions pas asscz dc fond ct de terrain pour nous pouvoir remucr." Me moires dc Benrick, 127. 424 THE LIFE OF CHAP, fighting a battle with the whole army, was out of the w> question. So far advanced were the Allies into the i. the French was to let the assailants with little resistance into the covered-way, and then mow them down with J7ou. grape-shot from the rampart. When the troops were defiling out of the trenches, a tremendous fire was kept up by the breaching batteries ; but when the rush began, it suddenly ceased, and they got without much difficulty into the covered-way, which they found stript of defend- ers. No sooner, however, was it filled with the besiegers, than a fire was suddenly opened upon them from the rampart, which in a few minutes struck down eight hundred of their number ; and in the midst of this scene of horror two mines were sprung, which blew the living, dead, and wounded alike into the air. At most points the assailants were driven out of the covered-way ; but in two places viz., the covered-way of the tenaillon and of the hornwork they succeeded in maintaining them- selves, and on the day following got under cover. By u-iist. .' annalist of the siege, " the bravest of the brave men aovjci'."" whose courage only increased with every peril which they encountered." ] This terrible assault began at half-past six on the Secomi'tcr- evening of the 20 th September, when it was just sauit.'which becoming dark. It extended over about a third of the succeeds, external works of the place, and was led by the British troops. " Never," says the French annalist, " did the French and the English contend in a more resolute and glorious manner." The besieged in the outworks assaulted * " It is impossible for rnc to express the uneasiness I suffer for the ill- conduct of the engineers at this siege, where 1 think everything goes wrong. It would be a cruel thing if, after what obliged the enemy to quit all thoughts of relieving the place by force, which they have done by repassing the Scheldt, we should fail of taking it by the ignorance of our engineers and the want of MARLBOHOUGH. 427 were powerfully supported by the fire from the rampart, CHAP. from the whole edge of which there streamed forth an o incessant fire of grape and musketry, which told with 1 ' li - fatal effect on the dense masses of the assailants, which were clearly visible from the bright light of the discharges. Three times the troops recoiled from the dreadful car- nage, and three times, resolute not to be outdone, they returned to the assault. On the fourth occasion, Eugene, ' O J almost desperate of success, himself led them on. " Recol- lect," said he, " Hochstedt, Ramilies, and Oudenarde." Hardly were the words spoken, when he was struck on the forehead by a ball, which grazed him above the left eye, as he was advancing between the Prince of Orange and the Prince of Hesse. His hat had just before been struck off by a grape-shot. " That was a fortunate stroke," said the hero. The roar of the artillery and incessant clang of the musketry exceeded the loudest thunder, and the streams of fire which issued from the works resembled the most vehement irruption of Vesu- vius. At length, after a terrible struggle of two hours' duration, the Allies succeeded in establishing themselves on the right, in the angle of the left demi-bastion of the tenaillon, and on the place cTarmes on the covered-way opposite the great breach. This advantage was very important, but it was purchased at a most severe loss, n-iist. y ng army rendered the obtaining any additional supplies from Brussels or Holland out of the question. In this dilemma, the English general had recourse to the only resource which remained, which was, to endeavour to get up supplies from England by way of Ostcnd. For- tunately, an expedition, of considerable magnitude, lay in the Downs at that time, which had been collected to excite an alarm on the coast of Normandy. Godolphin intended to have sent it to Portugal ; but, upon Marl- borough's urgent representation how much it was required for the siege of Lille, it was despatched to Ostcnd. It arrived there, to the number of fourteen battalions, with an abundant supply of ammunition, on 23d September ; and Marlborough immediately detached fifteen thousand men from his covering army to protect the passage of the convoy, and he himself transferred his J 1 Hist, cle headquarters to Lannoy, to be nearer the scene of action, MiHi,.ii. . . 4-7- Co\o, so as to be able to lend further assistance in the event iv. 247-2451. of its proving necessary. 1 On the 27th September the convoy departed from Niotiport, crossed the canal of Nicuport at Leffingen, Movements and directed its course by Stype, to defile through the sides before wood of WYXENDALE. Every imaginable precaution was taken to secure the passage. Cadogan, with twelve battalions and twenty-six squadrons, was posted at 432 THE LIFE OF CHAP. Hoglilede, to protect the passage in the rear from Tourout VI " to the camp ; and General Webb, who commanded the 1708. troops and convoy coming up from Ostend, was to coyer the front menaced by the enemy. He sent out parties in every direction to gain intelligence, and sixteen hun- dred infantry to Oudenberg. On their side the French were not idle ; and Vendume detached M. de la Mothe, with twenty thousand men, from the camp at Bruges, early on the morning of the 28th, to intercept the con- voy. At five in the evening of the 28th they arrived in sight of the Allies, under Webb, who were advancing slowly, encumbered with seven hundred chariots laden with stores and ammunition. Webb, who was a very skilful and experienced officer, immediately drew up his little army, which did not exceed eight thousand men, including three hundred horse, in the woods and brush- wood which on either side shut in the defile of Wyneu- dale. Cadogau's men, who were in communication with Webb, were in the rear, protecting the march of the convoy. The issue was momentous : the fate of Lille, ("ieMarib. ii. probably of the campaign, depended on Webb's main- iiis't.Mii. taining his ground, at the entrance of the defile of ... ,,,.) O C 103. Wynendale, till Cadogan had escorted the convoy past the dangerous ground. 1 W 7 ebb had disposed his men very skilfully in two lines, Action'of with his little body of horse in the rear, on either side Wyriendale, . TIT i 11 t 1-1 rm and passage or theroad leading through the deiile. Ihey were so of the con- 111 i i 111 i i concealed by the wood and bushes, that their position and small numbers were alike concealed from the enemy. M. de la Mothe advanced with great confidence, never doubting that, with his great superiority of force, he would rout his opponents, penetrate through and capture the convoy. But he little knew the men with whom he MAULBOllOUGH. 433 had to deal. The French commenced the attack on the CHAP. English right ; but they were suddenly received, when u ' they arrived within a hundred yards of the troops posted 170!! - in the thickets, with so warm a fire, that their whole left wing fell back in confusion on the centre. The French general was not disconcerted by this repulse, but brought up his cavalry, with which he renewed the attack. By this time, however, the fire had opened from all parts of the Allied position, and was so close and well-directed that the horsemen too were hurled back on the foot, who were thrown into irrecoverable confu- sion. Whole companies fell at once under the discharges of an invisible enemy, whose balls fell from the cool hands of the marksmen with unerring effect on their crowded ranks : the cavalry stumbled over the bodies of the foot-soldiers who had fallen, and the heaps of dead horses soon rendered all efforts to re-form the troops unavailing. After a bloody combat of two hours' dura- tion, the French fell back at all points in utter confusion. Cadogan, who came up with some squadrons during the action, offered to charge the fugitives ; but Webb, con- tented with the advantage he had gained, wisely kept them in hand, and dissuaded the pursuit. The success was decisive. During the action, the convoy defiled in safety in the rear, got past the whole endangered part of the road, and arrived the same evening at Rousselau. Next day it was safely lodged in the walls of Mcnin, and on the 30th September passed in triumph through niist. de c . Marlb. ii. Eugene s camp, where it was received with enthusiastic 4:5-2, -m. ' . -11 IIist - Mil - acclamations. In this glorious action, eight thousand viii. i<>:>, 1 1 1 IT"!! T '"'' (- OX6 English troops defeated twenty thousand .trench, and iv._'.>i,2;W inflicted on them a loss of four thousand killed and -JoV^s. ' wounded. 1 VOL. i. 2 E THE LIFE OF CHAP. Encouraged by this success, and replenished by the XI " stores received, the labours of the siege were resumed 1708. ^jj-h redoubled activity. On the 30th September the Prop's of sa P was run on t ne r ig n k> along the whole extent of the after'tTe 6 covered-way of the half-moon, and vast quantities of arrival of turf were cut to fill up the ditch. On the 3d October a the convoy, October 3. g ran( j assault was prepared, on the tenaillon on the left, at mid-day, experience having proved the truth of Van- ban's opinion that, contrary to what might be expected, an assault in the daylight is less hazardous them one in the dark* A sergeant and twelve grenadiers were to lead the forlorn hope ; and, on the signal of their reaching the summit of the breach, the remainder, a thousand strong, were to follow to the assault. The affair was conducted with equal skill and valour. A Scotch sergeant mounted first silently to the summit of the breach in the half-moon : his twelve followers found the guards asleep in the interior of the work. The assaulting column, seeing their comrades on the breach, rushed forward with such vigour that the garrison of the half-moon, panic-struck, threw themselves over the ramparts into the w r et ditches, and great numbers perished. From the summit of the rampart, however, the garrison soon per- ceived the surprise which had taken place, and opened a fire of such severity upon the assailants, who filled the work, and who were entirely exposed, that in a few * " En 1677 Valenciennes avait etc attaquee et prise en plcin jour. Jusqu'a la on avait cru que les attaques devaicnt se faire do nuit, pour marcher sans etre apercus et cpargncr le sang des soldats. ' Vous le menagercz bicn davant- agc,' disait Vauban, contre 1'avis du cinq mareschaux dc France et de Louvois. ' Quand on combat dc jour, sans confusion et tmnulto, sans craindre qu' une partie de nos gens tire sur 1'autre ; d'ailleurs nous surprendrons 1'enneiiu extcnnue des fatigues d'xinc veillc. La nuit fuvorise les laches, et pendant le jour 1'eoil du chef excite la valeur." llistoirc de ILurlborouyk, ii. 438, note. MARLBOROUGH. 435 minutes two hundred were struck down. Panic-struck CHAP. by such a carnage, which they had no means of shunning, the troops were hurrying out of the work, when they 17(m - were stopped by a Prussian colonel, who, though wounded in four places, retained sufficient strength to keep the men in the work they had gained, till their comrades, by bringing up fascines and gabions, got them under cover. On the following night the assailants, by a sudden attack, established themselves on the salient angle of the counterscarp, directly opposite the great * pes.jv. breach, though with a very heavy loss. Throughout this Hist.de J J Marlb. ii. memorable siege not one step was advanced, nor out- w.>, 4-to. i i i i t" t 11 Coxe, iv. work gained, without a struggle winch did equal honour 'r.G, -2,57. to the constancy of the besieged and the heroism of the '-'GO. besiegers. 1 But although the progress of the besiegers was slow r , it was unceasing ; and it was evident that, if their New expe- , , . , dient of progress was not interrupted, it must ultimately prove vendome's successful. As a last resource, Vendome opened the counter de- sluices, and inundated the country to the very borders of borough's. the dike, so as to intercept Marlborough's communication with Ostend, and prevent the arrival of stores from it. But the English general defeated this device by bringing the stores up in flat-bottomed boats from Ostend to Leffinghen, and thence conveying them in carriages, mounted on very high wheels, to the camp. Cadogan greatly distinguished himself in this difficult service. At this juncture Vendome succeeded in surprising the important post of Leffinghen, and thus cut off the last link which united the besiegers with Ostend and their depots. Twelve hundred of the Allied troops, the most of them in a state of intoxication, were slain or made prisoners on this occasion. But this advantage came too 436 THE LIFE OP CHAP, late to avert the stroke of fate. The siege continued to advance ; and fifty-five heavy guns thundered from ws. the counterscarp on the breaches, while thirty-six nior- October _'-'. tars swept all the works which commanded them. Thirty thousand pieces of turf were cut, and immense numbers of gabions and fascines were prepared to fill up the ditch. Finding himself unable to withstand the assault which was now hourly expected, Boufflers, on the 22d October, beat a parley, and capitulated, having sustained, with unparalleled resolution, a siege of sixty days, of which thirty were with open trenches. Eugene was filled with admiration at his gallant de- fence, and therefore granted the French general and his brave garrison the most honourable terms. When i i) e? . ; v . '_'7i. '-MaVi- the articles of capitulation were placed before him, borough to _ -. i i i i Godoiphin, Eugene took the pen and signed them without reading. J7<*8. Coxe, " Marshal Boufflers." said he, " can demand nothing j v 0(;3 094 Hist. Mil. 'that he should not ask, nor I grant/' 5 The gates were 117. Hist, surrendered on the 23d, and the remainder of the iv. 44*9, 450. garrison, still five thousand strong, retired into the citadel, where they prolonged their defence for six weeks more. 1 The fall of the external walls of Lille did not termi- siegeofthe iiate the struggle for that important fortress. Marshal Liiie, and Bouffici's still held the citadel, a stronghold in itself Vendome equal to most fortresses of the first order. No sooner, Mussels, however, were the Allies in possession of the town than the attack on the citadel commenced with all the vigour which the exhausted state of the magazines would permit. Detached parties were sent into France, which, by levy- ing contributions to a great extent, not only replenished the stores of the Allies, but depressed the spirits of the French, by making them feel, in a manner not to be misunderstood, that the war had at length approached MARLBOHOUGH. 437 their own doors. To divert, if possible, Marlborough CHAP. from his enterprise, the Elector of Bavaria, who had recently returned from the Rhine, was detached by 170!J - Vendomc with fifteen thousand men against Brussels ; while he himself remained in his intrenched camp on the Scheldt, barring the road from Lille to that city, so as to stop the communication, and be ready to profit by any advantage afforded by the measures which the English general might make for its relief. The governor of Brussels, M. Paschal, who had seven thousand men under his orders, rejected the summons to surrender, and > iiist. de prepared for a vigorous defence ; and meanwhile Marl- 467-469. 1 ' borough prepared for its relief, by one of those brilliant sTaJzrl.' strokes which, in so peculiar a manner, characterise his soT^m"' campaigns. 1 Giving out that he was going to separate his army into winter-quarters, he despatched the field-artillery Mariho- towards Menin, and he himself set out with his staff in S march' rather an ostentatious manner for Courtray. But no feats ;t. ce " sooner had he lulled the vigilance of the enemy by these steps, than, Avhecling suddenly round, he advanced with the bulk of his forces towards the Scheldt, and directed them against that part of the French general's lines where he knew them to be weakest. The army, upon seeing these movements, anticipated on the following day the bloodiest battle they had yet had during the war. But the skill of the English general rendered resistance hope- less, and he gained his object with wonderfully little loss. The passage of the river was rapidly effected at three points ; and the French corps stationed at Oudenarde were vigorously assailed and driven back on Grammont, with the loss of twelve hundred men, so as to leave the road uncovered, and divert the attention of the enemy, 438 THE LIFE OF CHAP, who deemed this the menaced point. Thus they left VL the communication with Brussels unimpeded. Having 1708 - thus cleared the way, Marlborough sent back Eugene to resume the siege of the citadel of Lille ; while he him- self, with the greater part of his forces, proceeded on to Brussels, to raise the siege, which was immediately done, Marlborough entering the town in triumph on the 29th November. The Elector of Bavaria was too happy to iDes.iv. escape, leaving his guns and wounded behind ; and the 362 Marl- borough to citadel of Lille at length, despairing of succour, capitu- Mr Secre- tary Boyle, lated on the llth December. Thus was this memorable Dec. 17, 1708. Hist, campaign terminated by the capture of the strongest de Marlb. L . * J ii. 472, 473. frontier fortress of France, under the eyes of its best general and most powerful army. 1 The siege of Lille, one of the most memorable that Losses sus- ever occurred in modern Europe, was at the same time tained on both sides one of the most bloody. The trench garrison, consist- during the . siege. ing or fifteen thousand men when it commenced, and subsequently reinforced by the eighteen hundred horse- men who came in with the powder, was reduced to five thousand when Marshal Boufflers retired into the citadel, and to four thousand five hundred when that last strong- hold surrendered. Nothing can demonstrate more clearly the desperate nature of the defence, and the ability and firmness with which it was conducted by that gallant chief and the French engineers. But heavy as their losses were, they were yet outdone by the casualties of the besiegers. They lost 3632 killed, and 8322 wounded Rousset, in all 1 1,854 besides 7000 who perished from sickness ii. %'fi. ni,t. de during the autumnal months. Great as this loss was, it Marlb. ii. -, . . 4.58. iiist. was yet well worth incurring, for the immense advantage Al ']-''" ^ 122. of securing the reduction of this noble fortress, and obtaining a solid footing in the French territory. 2 Pos- MARLBOKOUGH. 439 scsscd of this great stronghold, the Allies were in a con- CRAP. dition to push their advantages into the heart of France, and make Louis XIV. tremble in his halls at Versailles. i<"os. His weakness was now made manifest in the eyes of all the world, his first fortress and chief bulwark had been wrested from him in the presence of his last army, under the direction of his ablest general. If the conquest of Lille exhibited a noble instance of constancy on both sides, and illustrated not less the ComteJy . , - , . , ,. . and mutual courage or the vanquished than the resolution ol the vie- compii- .. -IT meuts after tors, not less admirable was the courtesy and politeness thecapitu- which the redoubtable antagonists displayed towards each other when the contest was over. Louis XIV. set the example of a noble spirit in adversity by writing a holograph letter to Marshal Boufflers, when shut up in the citadel, in which he exhorted him not to prolong a defence, already so glorious, to the last extremity, but to preserve by a capitulation the remains of a garrison which had deserved so well of their country. It was on that authority that the garrison capitulated, though not before they had blown away nearly their last flask of powder in their defence. For long they had sub- sisted only on horse-flesh. On the day when the citadel capitulated, Prince Eugene and the Prince of Orange went to pay their respects to Marshal Boufflers, who kept them to supper. The first course consisted of the roasted horse-flesh on which he, as well as the rest of the garrison, had so long subsisted " in order,'' as he him- self said, " that they might be regaled with the same dishes on which they had long lived in the fortress ;" the second consisted of every delicacy and luxury which could be obtained in the city. The next day Marshal Boufflers and his staff dined with Prince Eugene, who 440 THE LIFE OF CHAP, with delicate generosity overwhelmed them with compli- '_ ments on their gallant defence. "I congratulate myself," 1708. sa ij Eugene, " on having taken Lille ; but I should iHist.de have preferred having defended it as you have done. Marlb. ii. . . J 48i. My enterprise was too rash m the conception to be glorious in the execution." 1 As soon as the crisis was over, by the fall of Lille, 61. .... Maribo- Marlboroush resumed his original design of marching rough's anxious direct into France, and, if possible, bringing the enemy ter France to a general battle. He had now obtained the base fail of Liiie. which Eugene justly considered essential for such an operation, and was firmly convinced that, if attended with success, it would have the effect of attaining the object on which of all others he was most set that of obtaining an early, honourable, and lasting peace. He earnestly pressed this project, accordingly, both on his own and the Dutch government at this time, and made it a particular article in his instructions to Sir Richard Temple, the British plenipotentiary at the Hague, and repeatedly and strongly enforced it in his subsequent letters. He also imparted his resolution to keep the field till they had effected the reduction of Ghent and Bruges, the possession of which was necessary for the security of their quarters in Brabant."* While these * " As soon as we have the citadel, we shall then be more at liberty to act against the enemy : and I do assure you that our intentions are to do all that lies in our power to bring them to action. If God blesses ns with further success before we go into winter-quarters, there is no doubt of having a good peace ; but if all things remain as they now are, the only way of having a speedy and good peace is to augment the troops, so that we may enter France the next campaign with a good superiority, and that the fleet may be assist- ing to us, which, with the assistance of God Almighty, is what will in all like- lihood bring this troublesome war to a happy end; which is. T believe, more wished for by your humble servant than by any other body living." Murlljfji-'ni'jk tv (vxl(j!i>hin, Nov. 6, 170S; COXK, iv. I'lii:. MARLBOROUGH. 441 vigorous and decisive measures, calculated at once to CHAP. terminate the war, were in contemplation at the Allied headquarters, disunion and irresolution prevailed at those W- of the French. What was proposed by the one was invariably opposed by the other ; appeals were con- stantly made to Louis at Versailles ; and to such a pitch did the dissension at length arise, that Berwick was removed to the command of the army on the Rhine; l Berwick's and Charaillard, in the beginning of November, was sent 141. Hist. 11-1111 i f W\\. viii. to the rrench headquarters with instructions to confine \-I~A-\-IO. I.-,.. f. i i Coxe, iv. hostilities to a war or posts, and avoid a general ms-i^o. battle. 1 The fall of the citadel of Lille did not terminate this memorable campaign. Maryborough, like Ciesar, deemed Maribo- nothing done while anything remained to do Nihil covers re " actum crcdens, dum quid superesset agendum. Though 2,1709. a ' his troops were exhausted by marching and fighting almost without intermission for five months, and he him- self was labouring under severe illness in consequence of his fatigues, he resolved in the depth of winter to make an attempt for the recovery of Ghent, the loss of which in the early part of the campaign had been the subject of such deep mortification. The enemy, after the citadel of Lille capitulated, had naturally broken up their army into cantonments, under the belief that the campaign was concluded ; but Marlborougli suddenly collected his forces, and drew round Ghent on the 18th December. Eugene formed the covering force with the corps lately employed in the reduction of Lille. The garrison was very strong, consisting of no less than thirty-five battalions and nineteen squadrons, mustering eighteen thousand combatants. The governor had been instructed by Veudome to defend this important strong- 442 THE LIFE OF CHAP, hold to the last extremity;""" but he was inadequately u ' supplied with provisions and forage, and the result 1708. signally belied the expectations formed of his resistance. The approaches were vigorously pushed. A hundred and fifty cannon and mortars were quickly brought around the city by the adjoining canals. On the 24th, the trenches were opened ; on the 25th, a sortie was repulsed ; on the 28th December, the fire began with great vigour from the breaching and mortar batteries ; and at noon the governor sent a flag of truce, offering to capitulate if not relieved before the 2d January. This i Maribo- Avas agreed to : and on the latter day, as no friendly rough to ' . i , . i Duke de force approached, the garrison opened their gates and Mole, Dec. . 10, 1708. marched out, in such strength that they were defiling D. i ~ j es.iv.^15- . . . -II 346. coxe, incessantly from ten in the morning till seven at night ! Hist, de The loss of this great and important fortress gave the Mavlb. ii. . _, A T i i 481-488. utmost vexation to the rreucli government. " M. de la rough to Mr Mothe said that he was driven to it from the want of Boyie/Jan. lead to make bullets ; but I say/' said Marshal Villars, Des.'iv.'m "he had lead enough to serve him to the end of the world, since all the churches were covered with it." 1 Bruges immediately followed this example : the And Bru- garrison capitulated, and the town again hoisted the ciu.i'es the Austrian flag. The minor forts of Plassendael and campaign, . , 111 and again Lemnglicn were immediately evacuated by the enemy. government With such expedition were these important operations theiiands. conducted, that, before Vendome could even assemble a force adequate to interrupt the besiegers' operations, * " Quoiqu' cllc no soit pas forte en clle memo, Gand ne pent etre atiaquee quo par dcs cndroits difficiles et etroits ; vons avez des troupes suffisantes pour vendre chore cctte complete aux Allies, s'ils persistent dans leur des- s-ein. Yous avex des ofiiciers cajnible de vous seconder : vous avez cu le inallieur de eoiumauder a Ostendo que I'enneini a rcduitc en pen de jours ; ot do n'avoir pas reussi dans le combat de Wynondalo : il cst de votre interet MAKLBOHOUGH. 443 both towns were taken, and the French were entirely CTTAP. dispossessed of all the important strongholds they hud gained in the early part of the campaign in the heart of 17()1! - Brabant. Having closed his labours with these glorious successes, Marlborough put the army into winter-quar- ters, now rendered secure, on the Flemish frontiers, and himself repaired to the Hague to resume his usual con- test with the timidity and selfishness of the Dutch Allies. Thus had Marlborough the glory, in one cam- paign, of defeating in a pitched battle the best general and most powerful army possessed by France, and capturing its strongest frontier fortress, the masterpiece of Vauban, under the eyes of one hundred and twenty thousand men assembled from all quarters for its relief. He put the keystone at the same time into this arch of glory, by again declining the magnificent offer of the government of the Low Countries, with its appointment 'Hist. . ii. 487. * " You will find me, my Prince, always ready to renew the patent for the government of the Low Countries, formerly sent to you, and to extend it for your life." King Charles to Marlborough, August 8, 1708 ; COXE, iv. 24.5. 444 THE LIFE OF CHAP, wrote a private and confidential letter to his nephew, 1_ the Duke of Berwick, representing, what was undoubtedly 1708. true, that France was exhausted and could no longer maintain the contest, and urging him to use his influ- ence, which was very great, with Louis XIV., to induce him to accede to the terms of the Allies, and conclude a general peace." 7 ' Marlborough's anxiety on that subject was extreme : there is scarcely a letter to the Duchess during that year in which his anxiety for an honourable pacification, and rest from his labours at home, is not strongly and most earnestly expressed.! Doubtless he did not wish a peace to be concluded, which might abandon * " Pendant quo j'dtois au Saulsoy, dans lo mois de Novembre, je recus secreterneut uno Icttrc du Due de Marlborough, qui me inarquait qui la conjuncture presentc etoit tres pro-pro pour entamev une negotiation de paix ; qu'il fallait en a faire la proposition aux deputes des Etats-Gene'raux, au Prince Eugene et a lui Marlborough : qu'ils ne manqueraient pas de la lui conirnuniquer, et qu'il feroit tout de son micux pour la faire accepter. Rien ne pouvait etre plus avantageux quo cet avis du Due de Marlborough ; cela nous ouvrait une porte honorable pour finir une guerre ouereuse. J'en parlai a Monseigueur le Due de Bourgoyne, et a M. de Chamillard, qui envoya aussitot uu courier au Roi, pour recevoir ses ordres sur la reponse. Le Roi les envoya a M. de Chamillard, qui par un cxces de politique s'etoit imagine quo cette proposition de Marlborough lie provenait quo de la mau- vaise situation ou so trouvait 1'armee des Allies. J'avouc que ce raisonne- ment me passait ; et par la maniere dont Marlborough m'avoit ecrit, j'etois persuade que la peur n'y avoit aucune part, mais seulement 1'envie de finir une guerre dont toute 1'Europe commeucait a se lasser. II u'y avoit aucune apparence de rnauvaise foi daus tout ce qu'il me maudoit, et il ne s'etoit addresse a moi que dans la vue de faire passer la negotiation par mes mains, croyant que cela pourroit m'etre utile. M. de Chamillard me dicta la reponse quo je devois faire, ct je la trouvai si extraordinaire que je 1'en- voyai en Franeais, afin que la Due de Marlborough put voir qu'elle ne venait pas de moi." Me moires du Marcschal dc Berwick, 133, 1,39, torn. Ixvi. Collec- tion do Petitot. f " Our passage of the Scheldt, and relief of Brussels, has encouraged me to take measures for the siege of Ghent, though the season is so far advanced that I tremble every day for fear of ill weather. If we take Ghent, I think we shall have a certaiitf// of a rjood jjeace, which is cvcri/ day More a/id more H- i.i/nd for I,;/ me." MarUxn-owjh to tie Duchess, Dec. G, 1703 ; COXE, iv. 232. MAHLBOHOUGH. 445 the whole objects of the war, and cause all the sacrifices CHAP. of the nation to go for nothing. But such a one as vr - might secure the independence of Europe and the Pro- iron. testant succession in Great Britain was the object of his most anxious solicitude : a feeling the more honourable, that it pervaded the breast of a warrior at the very summit of military glory, and whom war had elevated to the pinnacle of worldly grandeur. While Marlborough was thus enhancing his military laurels by his efforts to mingle them with the olive Death and branch, one of his bravest and noblest companions in Marsha!' arms was removed from this earthly scene. On the 18th October, Marshal Overkirk expired at Rousselau in the 67th year of his age, esteemed alike by the army with which he had fought and the enemy which he had combated. He was nobly descended, though the bar sinister stained the birth of one of his ancestors. His father was the fruit of the loves of Maurice, son of William, Prince of Nassau, and the Lady of Mechlin. Overkirk was worthy of his descent from a hero whom Henry IV., who knew him well, called the greatest captain in the world. Like William the Conqueror, Overkirk showed that the spirit of a hero can sometimes be transmitted in other channels than those sanctioned by the church. He had signalised himself in thirty cam- paigns. At the terrible battle of St Denis in Flanders, he saved the life of William, fifth Stadtholder of Hol- land. The victories of Ramilies and Oudenarde were in no small degree owing to the zeal and ability with which he followed out the views, and the courage with which he executed the orders, of Marlborough and Eugene. Simple in his manners, loyal in his heart, patriotic in his feelings, generous in his affections, alike 446 THE LIFE OF CHAP, without envy and without guile, he merited, if any man VL ever did, the appellation of " le Chevalier sans peur et 1708> sans reproche" While Marlborough was surrounded at home by nameless contemporaries with jealousy and envy, he, the partner of his glory, was inspired with the utmost admiration for his great qualities, and proved himself the ablest supporter of his measures. Though i Hist, de enfeebled by his labours, he preserved the vigour of his 482^483.' mind to the very last, and sank at last into the grave with a serenity worthy of the days of his glory. 1 Such was the memorable campaign of 1708 one of Glorious re- tlic most glorious in the military annals of England, and suits of the 1--I1 T r- i campaign, the one in which the extraordinary capacity ot the abiiit/of British general perhaps shone forth with the brightest rough. lustre. The vigour and talent of Venclome, joined to the secret communication which he had with those dis- affected to the Austrian government in Ghent and Bruges, procured for him, in the commencement of the campaign, a great, and what, if opposed by less ability, might have proved a decisive advantage. By the acqui- sition of these towns, he gained the immense advantage of obtaining the entire command of the water-communi- cation of Brabant, and establishing himself in a solid manner in the heart of the enemy's territory. The entire expulsion of the Allies from Austrian Flanders seemed the unavoidable result of such a success, by so enter- prising a general, at the head of a hundred thousand combatants. But Marlborough was not discouraged ; on the contrary, he built on the enemy's early successes a course of manoeuvres, which in the end wrested all his conquests from him, and inflicted a scries of disasters greater than could possibly have been anticipated from a campaign of unbroken success. MAKLBOHOUGH. 447 Boldly assuming the lead, he struck such a blow at CHAP. Oudenarde as resounded from one end of Europe to the other, infused a terror into the enemy from which they 1/IJ|! ' never recovered during the remainder of the campaign, in s ii,'i ( i paralysed Vendome in the midst of his success, and ',',!;" ur^, reduced him from a vigorous offensive to a painful ordinary 1 " defensive struggle. While the cabinet of Versailles were Lme. dreaming of expelling the Allies from Flanders, and detaching Holland, partly by intrigue, partly by force of arms, from the coalition, he boldly entered the territory of the Grand Monarque, laid siege to his chief frontier fortress, and captured it in sight of his greatest army commanded by his best general. In vain was the water- communication of the Netherlands interrupted by the enemy's possession of Ghent and Bruges ; with incre- dible activity he got together, and with matchless skill conducted to the besiegers' lines before Lille, a huge convoy, fifteen miles long, drawn by sixteen thousand horses, in the very teeth of Vendome, at the head of a hundred and twenty thousand men. Lille captured, Ghent and Bruges recovered, the Allied standards solidly planted on the walls of the strongest fortress of France, terminated a campaign in which the British, overmatched and surrounded by lukewarm or disaffected friends, had wellnigh lost at the outset, by foreign treachery, all the fruits of the victory of Ramilies. The siege of Lille is one of the most memorable and interesting of which history has preserved mention. Like Great issue those of Troy and Carthage in ancient, of Malta and the siege of i-ii 1 " Jerusalem in modern times, it was not merely the theatre of contest between rival powers, but of struggle between contending principles and rival faiths. The great con- test between the Romish Church and the Reformation 448 THE LIFE OF CHAP, issued, as all sucli schisms in belief must in the end do, '_ in a terrible war : Louis was the head of the ancient, 17 8 - Maryborough the champion of the new faith ; the circum- stance of the Spanish succession was but an accident, which brought into the field forces on cither side pre- viously arrayed under these opposite banners. It was the great division of men's minds which drew them forth in such strength into the field of war. The war itself was brought to a point at the siege of Lille ; the great deeds of Marlborough and Eugene had drawn to their standards nearly the whole forces of the Alliance ; the danger of France had compelled Louis to array round the army of Flanders nearly the whole strength of the monarchy. The war everywhere else languished ; in Flanders alone it was pursued with fearful energy : all Europe looked on in suspense at the battle-field, where Marlborough and Eugene contended with Vendome and Berwick where the conqueror of Blenheim measured swords with the hero of Almanza. The strife of opinion, the war of independence, were alike brought to an issue in that memorable contest ; and Marlborough, so far as military success could, had brought it to a glorious ter- mination. But at this moment domestic faction stepped in to thwart the efforts of patriotism ; and his subse- quent life is but- the record of the efforts of selfish ambi- tion to wrest from the hero the laurels, from the nation the fruits, of victory. APPENDIX. CHAPTER VI. NOTE A, p. 415. REGULATIONS OF MARLBOROUGH AND EUGENE FOR THE SIEGE OF LILLE. " FIFTY battalions shall bo constantly employed in the siege, of whom ten shall always be in the trenches. The Imperialists, the Palatines, and the Hessians shall each take two days successively ; the English, Dutch, and auxiliaries, shall then take three days each in their turn. The battalions employed in the trenches shall not be called on to fur- nish workmen, but this shall be done by those who are not : the Impe- rialists, with the Palatines, numbering ten battalions, shall first man the trenches, with a lieutenant-general, two major-generals, and four thousand labourers, who shall be sent back in the morning in order that they may have time to rest. The trenches shall in general be relieved at four o'clock in the evening, in order that the officers may have daylight sufficient to visit the works, and see what reqxiires to be done during the night. The attacks and particular actions shall be made by the grenadiers and detachments from the w T holc army. If it becomes necessary to post some battalions at the tail of the trench, the one shall be made use of which is nearest at hand. According to the nature of the ground, they shall place behind the breastworks at the tail of the trench a reserve of cavalry on the right or left, or aside, as the officer in command of the trench may deem most expedient. The major of the trench is to be responsible for the furnishing of everything necessary for his service ; and he shall inform the general in command who visits the trench of anything which he may require to push on the works according to the plans of the directors and engineers. The direc- tors of the approaches shall prepare in the morning the supplies which 2F 450 APPENDIX. they require for the evening : the major of the trench shall be informed of it in good time, and even before the trench is relieved, in order that he may have full time to have everything ready and in hand. The fascines and gabions shall be brought to the entry of the trench by the commissary of fascines, who shall be furnished with at least a hundred chariots to bring away the others : the fascines shall be carried to the head of the trench by the labourers. The colonels and officers of artil- lery shall be charged with the formation of the batteries, after having learned from the directors of the approaches what works arc to be attacked, whether to batter the defences or to batter in breach. The miners shall be made use of for the sap, while waiting until they are attached to the works ; the labourers commanded by two lieutenant- colonels and two majors, having under them a captain, lieutenant, ensign, and four sergeants for every hundred and fifty men. The major- generals who are to relieve the trenches shall enter them in the morn- ing with the majors of regiments, in order to examine the condition and situation of the posts, and form the battalions who are to occupy them. The officers of the trench shall do all that the directors demand of them : if it is a pressing attack they shall execute it on the instant, first inform- ing the general of the trench ; but if it is not an affair of so pressing a nature, the officers and directors shall previously inform the general of their intention. " EUGENE. " MARLBOROUGII." " A general," says the French annalist of the siege, " who takes such precautions is almost sure of victory ; woe to those who have such an enemy to combat !" See Histoire dc Marllorough, ii. 372-374. I:ND OF VOL. i. I-IUNTKI) l;V WIM.FAM lil.ACKU < Ml It AND SOXS, 1C DI N IH'TU: II. DC SOUTi A 001 393 356 9 TAPLOW COURT. F CI 39 Libr.