1709. accepted. Asfeldt went himself with the officers to the mine, and told them he could not bear to let fo many brave men perish under the ruins of a place they had fo gallantly defended and gave them twenty-four hours to consider of it. But the governor being immoveable in his refolution, the mine was ordered the next day to be fired, which the centinels, pofted on the fide of the hill to give notice of it, perceiving, they made the appointed fignal. Upon which the governor, with feveral officers, walked to the parade, and ordered the guard to retire; which was no fooner done, but the mine was blown up, and with little or no noise made an opening in the rock on the very parade, of fome yards in length, and about three feet wide, into which the governor, lieutenant-colonel Thornicroft, major Vignoles, and other officers fell, and the opening inftantly closing upon them, they all perished, though their bodies were not entirely funk in. Notwithstanding this accident, lieutenant- colonel d'Albon of Syburg's regiment, being the surviving commander, refolved to hold out as long as he had any provifions; and, to make these laft the longer, he reduced his men to half allowance. By this time king Charles being informed, that the garrison was reduced to great extremities, a council of war was held at Barcelona, to confider of the moft proper means to relieve that place, the refult whereof was, that lieutenant-general Stanhope fhould imbark for Port-Mahon, to confer with Sir George Byng on that fubject. The general, being returned the 12th of March, N. S. to Barcelona, imbarked again, on the 18th, on board Sir Edward Whitaker, who was arrived there with three thousand five hundred men from Naples. These troops were ordered upon this expedition; and then, failing for Port-Mahon, they took there on board four hundred men more; and, on the 11th of April, failed for Alicant. But, a ftrong eafterly wind forcing them to anchor in the bay of Denia, the enemy fufpected their design, and made the neceffary preparations to prevent its execution. On the 15th the fleet arrived in fight of Alicant; but the weather continuing fo tempeftuous, that the fhips could not come near the fhore; and befides, don Pedro de Ronquillo had by that time affembled seven thousand men, caft up intrenchments, and erected batteries, to oppofe the landing of the confederate troops. However, fome men of war were ordered to get as near the shore as poffible, and fire upon the enemy's intrenchments, which they did with fome execution, but were much annoyed bo the enemy's batteries. The general and admi rals, rals, feeing the impoffibility of relieving the castle, refolved, 1709. in a council of war, to endeavour to fave fo brave a garrifon from being made prifoners of war; and accordingly general Stanhope fent a boat on fhore with a flag of truce, and an officer, with a letter for don Pedro de Ronquillo, offering to furrender the castle of Alicant upon honourable terms. This propofal being accepted, feveral articles were demanded, and most of them granted. Pursuant to the capitula tion, the garrison marched out, on the 18th of April, with two pieces of cannon, and all other marks of honour, imbarked on board the fleet, and were landed in Minorca to refresh themselves. General Stanhope having laid a defign to furprize Cadiz, either by means of a fecret correfpondence he had in the place, or merely upon the encouragement of the weakness of the garrifon, concerted measures for that purpose with Sir George Byng, on board whose squadron he imbarked at PortMahon with two regiments of foot; and, about the middle of Auguft, failed for Gibraltar. Here he expected to be joined by the forces, which, about the fame time, imbarked at Portsmouth on board a fquadron, commanded by rear-admiral Baker, confifting of one battalion of Scots guards, the regiments of foot of the lord Tyrawley, brigadier Whetham, colonel Gore, colonel Bowles, colonel Capel, colonel Munden, colonel Dormer, and the earl of Rochford's dragoons. But this fquadron being long detained on the coaft of England by contrary winds, fo that they did not make the coaft of Portugal till the beginning of October, the Spaniards, in the mean time, being apprehenfive of general Stanhope's defign, made detachments from Eftremadura for the fecurity of the coaft of Andalufia; and the feafon being too far advanced to undertake any thing on that fide, that ge neral returned to Port-Mahon, thence to Barcelona, and not long after failed for Italy, from whence he came over to England by the way of Germany and Holland. On the other hand, rear-admiral Baker having, on the 10th of October, fent a man of war to Lisbon for orders, lord Galway gave him directions to fail directly for Barcelona with the forces he had on board. The court of Portugal (who expected that these troops would have ftaid in that kingdom) having expoftulated with lord Galway about their being fent to Catalonia, he took that opportunity to complain of the ill provifion that was made for the fubfiftence and accommodation of the British regiments in Portugal: and said, that nevertheless, her Britannic majefty would N 2 take 1709. take care to recruit these forces, and, if the court of Portugal would be as diligent in raifing the men for fix regiments of dragoons in the pay of Great-Britain (which levies were at last resolved upon) the Portuguese army would then be in a condition to act offenfively. He added, that the forces on board rear-admiral Baker would be of far greater service in Catalonia, even with respect to Portugal itself, by giving a strong diverfion to the enemy; which argument had certainly great weight in it; for the Portuguese were fenfible, that general Stanhope's bare coming to Gibraltar with two regiments, had occafioned the weakening of the Spanifh forces in Eftremadura, and difabled them from undertaking any thing on that fide, in the autumn campaign. The king defeat. . The rejoicings made at the court of Madrid, upon the eafy and inconfiderable victory gained by the marquis de Bay in Eftremadura, and on the birth of a second fon to king Philip, were foon damped, both by the death of that young prince, and their misfortunes on the frontiers of Catalonia. For general Staremberg, after he received the reinforcements from Italy, having paffed the Segra without oppofition, made himself mafter of Balaguer, and took nine hundred men prifoners; the marfhal de Bezons having refused to fecond the Condé d'Aguilar, who was for attacking the allies. Upon notice of thefe tranfactions, king Philip thought it neceffary to leave Madrid, and go to the army. When he came there, Bezons justified himself, by producing the French king's orders for avoiding all engagements. King Philip feemed much mortified at this, and not thinking it advifeable to attempt the attacking of Staremberg, in his advantageous poft near Balaguer, returned to Madrid, where cardinal Portocarrero died fome days before, to the great regret of that prince, and his partizans. Not long after, Staremberg, having put a ftrong garrison into Balaguer, repassed the Segra, and fo both armies went into winter quarters. This fummer brought a catastrophe on the affairs of the of Sweden's king of Sweden. He refolved to invade Muscovy, and inJuly 1. N.S. gaged himself so far in the Ukrain, that there was no poffibility of his retreating, or of having reinforcements brought to him. He engaged a great body of Coffacks to join him, who were eafily drawn to revolt from the czar. He met with great misfortunes in the end of the former year; but nothing could divert him from his defigns against Muscovy. He pafled the Nieper, and befieged Pultoway. The czar marched to raife the fiege, with an army much fuperior to the Swedes; but the king of Sweden refolved to venture on a battle, a battle, in which he received fuch a total defeat, that he 1709. loft his camp, his artillery, and baggage. A great part of his army got off, but being clofely purfued by the Muscovites, and having neither bread nor ammunition, they were all made prisoners of war. The king himself, with a fmall He flies into number about him, paffed the Nieper, and got into the Turkey. Turkish dominions, and fettled at Bender, a town in Moldavia. Upon this great reverse of his affairs, king Auguftus pretended, that the refignation of the crown of Poland was extorted from him by force, and that it was not in his power to refign the crown, by which he was tied to the republic of Poland, without their confent. He marched therefore into Poland, and Stanislaus was not able to make any resistance, but continued under the protection of the Swedes, waiting for another reverfe of fortune. A project was formed to engage the kings of Denmark and Pruffia, with king Auguftus and the czar, to attack the Swedes in fo many different places, that the extravagant humour of their king was like now to draw a heavy storm upon them, if England and the states-general, with the court of Vienna, had not crushed all this, and entered into a guaranty, for preferving the peace of the empire, and by confequence of the Swedish dominions in Germany (c). (c) Burnet fays, this fudden, and, as it seemed, total reverse of all the defigns of the king of Sweden, who had been for many years the terror of all his neighbours, made me write to Dr. Robinson, who had lived above thirty years in that court, and is now bishop of Bristol, for a particular character of that king. I fhall fet it down in his own words: He is now in the twentyeighth year of his age, tall and flender, ftoops a little, and in his walking difcovers, though in no great degree, the effect of breaking his thigh-bone about eight years ago: he is of a very vigorous and healthy conftitution, takes a pleasure in enduring the greatest fatigues, and The is little curious about his repofe: N 3 heard 1709. Denmark. The king of Denmark spent a great part of this fummer in a very expenfive courfe of travelling through the courts Affairs in of Germany and Italy; and it was believed that he intended to go to Rome, where great preparations were making for giving him a fplendid reception; for it was given out, that he intended to change his religion. But whether these reports were altogether groundlefs, or whether, being fo commonly believed, was like to produce fome disorders in his own kingdom, is not certainly known; but thus much is certain, that he ftopped at Florence, and went no farther, but returned home, and, upon the king of Sweden's misfortunes, entered into measures to attack Sweden with king Auguftus, who had called a diet in Poland, in which he was acknowledged their king, and all things were fettled there according to his wifhes. The king of Denmark, upon his return home, fent army over the Sound to heard very patiently; yet he re- own fupreme power. Thefe an Sa them) that he came to have less Schonen, |