1710, • the reftitution of Spain and the Indies; and, in short, that France had no other view, than to fow and create jealou defire to retard the operations of the campaign, but on their ' own part threatened what mighty things they would do upon the Rhine and in Spain; and, to intimidate them the more, marshal Villars condefcended to the mean artifice of writing to the French minifters, from ⚫ time to time, letters filled with the groffeft gafconade, what a brave army he had; how defirous they were to come to an engagement; and that, if the • allies had a mind to a battle, they should meet with no intrenchments, but fhould find ⚫ him ready to receive them in an open plain. These poor tricks they fancied would pass upon the Dutch deputies; but they · were too well known to be be⚫lieved; and the event fhewed 6 fy, knew, were taking the most ⚫ effectual means to make the re⚫duction of Spain impoffible, while they were treating of terms for the furrender of it. But nothing can discover more < plainly the infincerity of France, ⚫ than what happened after these ⚫ conferences were ended. Two days after their plenipotentia'ries were gone, the duke of Anjou received a confiderable 'difgrace at Almanara; and, in about three weeks after that, his army was intirely defeated at Saragoffa, beyond a poffibi→ lity of maintaining his ground, or recovering his affairs, without the affistance of France. Here was now a fair occafion for the French king to fhew himself; his language had been all along, that he could not be active to dethrone his grandfon, but would confent absolutely to abandon him, if that ⚫ would procure a peace. The ⚫ allies cannot take his bare word: his minifters make the moft folemn proteftations in his name, and give repeated af• furances of this in the most exprefs words, and complain heavily, that they are not believed. Now, in less than a month ⚫ after the conferences were ended, there happens the best opportunity in the world for the king to fhew his great fincerity: the obftruction to a peace is the evacuation of Spain. Let now the king but keep his word, and be paffive only, and the thing will do itfelf: the allies cannot fail of Spain, if the king does not fupport heim was fought with; and al- fy and difunion among the allies.' As to the complaint of 710. the plenipotentiaries relating to their perfons, the pretended his grandfon against them. • What part now does the king take? does he fend to the allies, that he will abandon his < grandfon in earnest, if that • will content them? nothing like it; he balances, indeed, ⚫ for fome time what to do, and holds frequent councils: but < for what? not becaufe he was in any doubt, whether he fhould act agreeably to his word, or fhew he is fincere ; ⚫ for that I have already obferved ⚫ he could not be; he muft de<ceive either us, or the Spaniards. All the debate therefore was, which he fhould do: At firft their affairs feemed to be in fo defperate a condition, as to ⚫ be beyond retrieve; and that 6 6 all the fupport he could give ⚫ his grandfon would be infigni<ficant; and therefore there were fome thoughts of making a < virtue of neceffity, and to procure a peace to France by abandoning Spain; fince, if he did not abandon it, it must be loft. And, had the action of Saragoffa happened a month fooner, it is very likely it had proved fo, for the hands of the French were too full of other work to fend any con"fiderable force to Spain, till the campaign was in other parts, Savoy particularly, drawing to an end. After many confultations, it is refolved to make ⚫ the utmost efforts to fupport the duke of Anjou, nowithstanding all their pretences to leave him to himself, or rather to perfuade him to quit a kingdom, which, without their help, 6 6 . contempt all the world fees he could not have kept. What fuccefs this 'affiftance, that has been given him, has had, I need not tell you; nor what further mif'chief the common caufe is like 6 to fuffer from it. It is a great 'pity the conference did not laft one month longer, which would have put the French under a neceffity of keeping their word, or in the most infamous manner breaking it, to fupport a caufe they had fo often, and 'with fo much feeming earneftnefs, promifed to renounce. As it is, there is but one excufe ❝ for them, which those, I am arguing against, had rather 'fhould not be made; and that is, to plead, that the cafe is altered: affairs are not in the fame condition they were in, ⚫ when they made thofe promifes. They have a political obfervatory at Paris, where the marquis de Torcy and the French minifters frequently examine what appearances there are in the heavens of all the countries in war with them; and according to these they take their measures of war and peace; and it is by this they justify their affifting the duke of Anjou. What paffed in Spain, the 20th of Auguft, they thought fufficiently balanced by what happened to the northweft of them the 19th. What preceded that phænomenon, and has fince followed it, has determined the French not on ly to fupport the duke of Anjou, but to defift for the prefent from all further offers of 1710. contempt of their character, the publication and abufive libels, the opening of their letters, the hindering the making any vifits to them and their lodging, as if they had been in a kind of prison; the ftates obferved, that, pursuant to the agreement, the plenipotentiaries came without any character, for which reafon no ceremonial was obferved on either fide: but that all manner of confideration was had for their birth, quality, and merit. That libels were feverely forbidden in Holland, and the authors and printers liable to punishment. That none of the many couriers, the French plenipotentiaries had received and dispatched, had been stopped; nor were any of the letters, which they fent by the ordinary poft, intercepted. That no perfon was ever hindered from going to them; nor was any order given to take notice who vifited them. Fut as, in all frontier towns, it is the custom, that none enter, unless they declare who they are, both at the gate and to the governor; it ought not to be thought ftrange, nor ought exceptions to be taken, if this custom were not difcontinued during the stay of the French minifters at Gertruydenberg. And, in the last place, they could not call a kind of prifon the town, which they pitched upon for their refidence, and which they preferred to Antwerp, a large and noble city. On the 7th of Auguft, the lord Townshend delivered to the ftates-general a memorial, wherein he acquainted them, that the queen intirely approved their refolution, in anfwer to the letter of the French plenipotentiaries, and all the fteps they had taken during the late negotiations; giving them, at the fame time, fresh affurances of her majefty's firm refolution to prosecute the war with all poffible vigour, till the enemy was brought to accept fuch terms of peace, as might fecure the tranquility of the chriftian world. Campaign in Hift. of Eur. By this time the confederate armies, under prince Eugene and the duke of Marlborough, had made a confiderable progrefs in Flanders. On the 14th of April, the earl of Albemarle, governor of Tournay, in concert with lieutenantgeneral Cadogan, caufed the caftle of Mortagne to be attacked, which was executed with fo much fuccefs, that the garrifen, confifting of a captain, four fubalterns, five ferjeants, and fixty-five private men, furrendered prifoners of war. But the next morning the enemy retook that poft with peace, by which we are as there feems no remedy for it, but what is worfe than the difeafe, an ill peace.' about about fixty men. The earl, refolving to be mafter of it again, made a fecond attack with fix hundred men of the garrifon of Tournay; and though the French garrifon, which confifted of two hundred grenadiers, were affifted by twelve or fifteen galliots from Čondé; yet the confederate troops, being fupported by a detachment from the body of count Feltz, and favoured by the cannon, which they had planted on the heights of Munde, the enemy were obliged again to furrender prifoners of war. The allies, confidering the great conveniency and advantageous fituation of that poft, left there two hundred men, and four pieces of cannon. 1710. The French had all the winter been ftrengthening their lines for covering Doway, and other frontier-towns, and boasted they were impregnable; but not being able to fupply their troops with provifions, and especially forage for their horfe, the two confederate generals, with count Tilly and monfieur de Claerbergen, one of the ftates deputies, made all the neceffary difpofitions for advancing towards the enemy's lines and the army began their march in two columns April, 20. the right commanded by the duke of Marlborough to Ponta-Vendin, and the reft by prince Eugene to Pont-Oby on the Deule. This march was fo well contrived, and fo fudden, that notwithstanding the great preparations, which the French had made for fortifying and defending their lines ; the chevalier de Luxemburg, being for that purpose incamped with about four thousand men near St. Amand, and the marshal de Montefquiou, having affembled about forty battalions, and fixty fquadrons, near Lens, and Bethune; yet the prince of Wirtemberg, and lieutenant-general Cadogan, with a detachment of fifteen battalions and fifty fquadrons from the duke of Marlborough's column, entered thofe lines at Pont-a-Vendin, without any opposition. The few troops they had there, for the defence of that poft, retired without firing a gun; and the battalions and fquadrons, pofted near Lens and Bethune, made likewife their retreat, partly towards Arras, and partly towards Doway. The allies having laid bridges over the Scarpe, the prince of Heffe Caffel was detached with twelve fquadrons to fall upon their rear; but they broke down fo many bridges, and retired fo faft that he could not put his defigns into execution, and only took a few prifoners. The army under the April 22. duke of Marlborough paffed the Scarpe, incamping his right near Vitri, and his left at Gouy; the extremity of his left at Gouleffin. The army under prince Eugene remaiued on $ 3 the 1710. the other fide of the river to invest Doway, the fiege of which was refolved upon; and for that purpofe lieutenant-general Cadogan marched to take post at Pont-a-Rache, and other detachments were made to open a communication over the lower Scarpe with Lifle and Tournay. The enemy quitted St. Amand, Marchienne, and the abbey of Hafnon below Doway; and their army retired towards Cambray, upon the news that the confederates had paffed the Scarpe at Vitri This opened the way to Doway, which was immediately invefted. Doway befieged and taken. On the 8th of May, eight hundred men were detached from prince Eugene's army to attack the caftle of Pignonville near Fort-Scarpe, which would have disturbed the befiegers in their approaches; and after an hour's refiftance, the garrifon, confifting of about one hundred men furrendered prifoners of war. At the fame time the neceffary preparations for the attack of Doway being made, forty battalions were appointed for that fervice, under the command of the prince of Anhalt-Deffau, and the prince of NaffauFriefland, both generals of foot. And, on the 4th at night, the trenches were opened with fo much precaution and regularity, that the men were covered before they were perceived from the town; fo that all the fire, which the enemy then made, proved ineffectual. The fiege was carried on in the usual methods till the 7th; when about ten at night the befieged, to the number of one thousand foot (most grenadiers) and two hundred dragoons, made a vigorous falley, under the command of the duke of Mortemar, against the left attack, commanded by the prince Naffau; put the workmen into great diforder, and levelled fome paces of the parallel. Colonel Sutton's regiment fuffered very much, being the first, that fupported the workmen ; but, Maccartney's and fome other regiments coming up to their relief, the enemy were repulfed with confiderable lofs, and purfued to their counterfcarp. The beficgers had above three hundred men killed or wounded upon this occafion, and among the latter, licutenant-colonel Gledhil, who was taken prifoner. By this time the enemy's troops began to affemble in different bodies near Bethune, Bapaume, Arras, Cambray, Landeci, and behind the river Somme; and, marshal Villers, whom the French court had appointed to command their forces in the Netherlands, being arrived at Peronne on the 14th of May, the confederate generals received advice, that he defigned to país the Scheld, between Bouchain and Denain, |