of Bristol

received assurances from the princes, who had troops in Bri- 1712.
tish pay, " That they would maintain them wholly at their ar
< own expence under prince Eugene's command, for one
6 month; and afterwards continue them in the service, and

pay half the charges, provided the emperor and the states
- would pay the other half.' To which the Dutch were ready
enough to consent.

In the mean time the bishop of Bristol executed his in. The bishop structions at Utrecht with the same punctuality as the duke

proposes a of Ormond in the army; and, a conference being held be- fufpenfion of tween the ministers of the allies, that prelate in a falemn arms. manner communicated to them the conceffion, which the queen ik. Of Eur. had prevailed on France to make to the allies, and proposed to them a suspension of arms for two months, in order to treat with the French, and, in a friendly manner, adjust the demands of all the confederates. None of the ministers there present having thought fit to return him an answer, all of them looking on one another with surprize, the bishop left them to consult together; upon which some of them spoke very severely againft the proposal. In the afternoon he was in conference with the rest of those ministers, and urged to them the necessity of a cessation of arms; but he found them unanimous in their answers, that they had no instructions about that matter, and must wait for fresh orders from their principals. The next day the plenipotentiaries of the allies met at the deputies of the states, and having concerted fome measures, most of them repaired afterwards to the Hague, to affist at the consultations, that were held in that place.

The duke of Savoy's ministers were so highly offended at
the report, which had been industriously spread, that their
master had agreed to a suspension of arms, and to the terms
of peace concerted between Great Britain and France, that
they publicly disowned it as false and scandalous, declaring,

that his royal highness, their master, would remain firm
in the grand alliance, being sensible, he had been imposed
upon by the infinuations of a certain minister.'

On Zinzendorf's
the other hand, count Zinzendorf, the first imperial pleni- memorial to
potentiary, on the 28th of June, N. S. presented to the the states
itates-general a memorial, which he called his ' sentiments Vol. VII.
• upon the affairs of the present conjuncture;' wherein hav-
ing shewed, the tendency of the queen of Great-Britain's

speech to her parliament, and touched upon the declara« tions of the duke of Ormond and the bishop of Bristol, " he insisted on the danger, that would result to the common

6 cause

M m 3

$

1712. cause from a ceffation of arms; commended their high

"mightinesses for approving what prince Eugene of Savoy

and their deputies had done in the army, and in particu- Jar their having furnished bread to the foreign troops in

English pay; exhorted them to persevere in these generous " and vigorous resolutions ; and, in order to maintain a

strict union among the allies, he proposed these five points : 1. That the alliance ought to be renewed, in order to com

pass these ends, the recovery of the Spanish monarchy to ? the house of Austria; the security of that state by a bar

rier in the Netherlands, and of their trade in Spain and o the West-Indies; the procuring a tariff with France; the ? performance of the treaties with the king of Portugal and ? duke of Savoy, with relation to the Spanish monarchy; as ? also tħose with the king of Pruffia, the elector Palatine, the

elector of Hanover, and all the other confederate princes; and that likewise for the security of the associated circles. 2. That all the allies should be invited to join in it. 3.

That it was necessary to form a plan of the war, so as it ! Inight be carried on with most success and least expence.

4. That they should come to some resolution about the war in the North, so as they might be sure of the affistance of the princes engaged in it, most of whom furnished troops against France. And, 5,'that, after these measures were concerted, representations should be made to the queen of Great-Britain, requesting her to perform her engagements, and to perfuade her, that it was the inten

tion of the other allies to maintain the common cause { with inviolable firmness ; and that they defired nothing to

much, as that she would be pleased to persist in what she ? had hitherto done so gloriously for that end. He after(wards assured the states, that the emperor would continue

to furnish 20,000 men in Savoy, 30,000 in Spain, 14,000 ? on the Rhine, 24,000 in the Netherlands, 8,000 in Lom{ bardy, 89009 in Naples, and 4,000 in Bavaria, in all

108,000 men: That he would furnish the third of four ? millions of crowns for the war in Catalonia. That he would endeayour to bring more of his troops into the field against France than hitherto, and do his utmost to engage the empire in general, and all the princes and

states in particular, to make new efforts.' An irruption Whilft these things passed in Holland, a remarkable acinto France. tion was performed in the beginning of the campaign, which Brodrick.

greatly alarmed the court of France. Prince Eugene of Savoy resolved to put Champagne and other countries under contribution; and the deputies of the states having approved

his resolution, he detached fifteen hundred horse, dragoons, 1712.
and huffars, under the command of major-general Grove an
stein, with orders to penetrate into France as far as possible.
Thote troops were detached with the utmost privacy from
the camp at Hafpre on the 10th of June. The next day
they met at night at Grouselle, within three leagues of
Neufchatel, on the river Aisne, which they passed the 12th,
and advanced at night to Suipe in Champagne. The 13th,
they passed the river Noire near St. Menehold. The next
day, they passed the Maese at Seneri, and got into Lorrain ;
and, the 15th, passed the Moselle at Pont-a-Mouson. The
16th, they came before Metz; and, the 17th, passed the
Saar, and retired leisurely towards Traarbach, carrying off
with them a vaft booty, and a great number of hostages for
the payment of the contributions, they had demanded from
the countries, through which they passed, amounting to
fome millions. They burnt several villages and little towns;
and at Metz, Grovestein sent a letter to the marquis de Re-
fuge, the governor, and another to the Intendant to sum-
mon them to send deputies to agree about contributions.

The governor answered him, that he had nothing to send
but fire and ball; and that, instead of contributions and hof.
tages, he would only send him fome guides, to conduct him
whither he deserved to go. Grovestein, being incensed at
this answer, caused about thirty or forty villages, and about
twenty castles or seats, to be burnt in sight of Metz, after
having plundered them, and retired safe with his booty; for,
Villars not being informed of this detachment till twenty-
four hours after they were marched, the troops, which he
fent after them, could not overtake them. It is impossible
to express the great surprize, this expedition caused in the
adjacent parts, and even in the suburbs of Paris; it being
reported, the detachment were advancing to that city.
The king himself was not thought safe at Versailles with his
usual guards; and therefore all the troops quartered in and
about Paris were ordered to repair immediately to the king's
palace. But Grovestein, making his retreat, foon put an
end to the alarm.

The French were resolved to revenge this excursion, and
intrusted major-general Pasteur, a famous Partizan, with
the execution of their design, which he managed with great
diligence and dispatch. For, though he had fifteen or six-
teen hundred men with him, the allies had not the least no-
tice of his march, till he was advanced farther than Bergen-
op Zoom, and had plundered Tortole an island belonging

Mi 4

to

1712. to Zealand, with the town of that name, and several other Any places. Thirty squadrons were detached from the confederate

army, and all the garrisons were drawn out, to intercept the enemy in their retreat. But Pasteur took so well his measures, that he returned safe to Namur with a great booty, and several

hostages for contributions. Prince Eu

The siege of Quesnoy being carried on with great vigour to give over and success, and the duke of Ormond foreseeing the reducthe liege of tion of that place might increase the hopes of the allies, and Quesnoy, obstruct the British measures for a general peace, fent to ac

quaint prince Eugene, " That his troops should continue in

the army, provided he would give over the siege of Quef? noy.' But the prince answered, " That, instead of re

linquishing the fiege, he would cause it to be prosecuted { with all imaginable vigour, and would let his grace be eye(, witness of another expedition, immediately after the taking , of that town.' From this time all correspondence ceased between the prince and the duke; and the prince perceiving that frequent expresses went between the duke and the French army, which might prove detrimental to the confederate cause, held private conferences with the other generals, in order to separate their forces from the English, and infinuated,That he should be glad if the English would march off, they being now only a burden to the Netherlands,

fince they had declared they would not fight against France. The auxili. These passages were not wholly unknown to the duke of áry, generals Ormond, who, on the 28th of June, N. S. sent his adju, go march. tant with a written order to the generals of the foreign

troops in British pay, commanding them to hold themselves and the forces under their command, in a readiness to march; but, excepting major-general Berner, who commanded four squadrons and one battalion of the troops of Holstein-Gottorp, and major-general Walef, colonel of a regiment of dragoons of the troops of Liege, who had the queen's commiflion, all those generals unanimously answered, as they had done before, That they could not follow him, nor .

feparate from prince Eugene, without express orders from their respective princes. Among the rest, the hereditary prince of Heffe-Cafiel bid the adjutant tell the duke, “ That

the Heftians defired' nothing more than to march, provided it were to fight the French ; and that he would wait upon the duke the next day, to give him his reasons for not

obeying his orders at that time.' Quesnoy

In the mean time the fiege of Quesnoy was prosecuted Brodrick. with such success, that on the ift of July, N. Ş. the confe

derates

surrendered,

.

derates stormed and carried the counterscarp in four places ; 1712.
and on the fourth, monfieur Labadie, the governor, surren-
dered the place, and the garrison prisoners of war, which
consisted of 2,662 private men; besides feveral persons of a
superior rank. The confederates put a good garrison into
the place, under major-general Ivoy; and all possible expe-
dition was used to repair the breaches, and level the works.

The earl of Strafford, soon after the prorogation of the Conferences
parliament, was again fent over to induce the states to ac- with the
cept the offers the French were making, and to consent to a ftates,
cellation of arms. Accordingly, at his arrival at the July 6a
Hagye (h), he defired they would name deputies to confer n. S.
with him about matters of the last importance, which he had
to lay before them. The states made a folemn deputation
from their own body, to whom the earl of Strafford pro-
posed a fufpenfion of arms for two months, and the enter-
ing into the negotiations for a peace upon the offers of
France. After a long conferences the deputies returned to
the assembly of the states, and made their report. The
bishop of Bristol being also come to the Hague, several con- July 8.
ferences were held, in all which there were great debates
about a cessation of arms, and the conditions, which France
might be brought to grant to the states, if they would treat
of a general peace. As to the cessation, the British mini. The result

of them
sters urged, that Dunkirk would be delivered up to the
English, as a security for the performance of what the
French had promised to which it was answered, “ That
“ there ought to be a security for the states, and other al-
“ lies, as well as for the English ;” and, to that purpose,
mention was made of Strasburg to the Germans; and Namur,
Charleroy, and Ypres to the Dutch. It was replied, that
Maubeuge and Condé might be put into the hands of the
ftates-general, But this was rejected, because it was sug-
gested in the other part of the debate, that the states should
surrender to the French Doway, Life, and Tournay. The
Dutch deputies being startled at this proposal, which, they
faid, was more in favour of France, than of the allies, the
British plenipotentiaries answered, “They hoped France

might be prevailed with to be contented with Lisle and
Doway, as an equivalent for Dunkirk; and, upon that
condition, to grant to the states the barrier, which they de-

(h) He came there in the midst the reason, he said, “They made of the rejoicings for the surren- ! a great noise for a paltry town.' der of Quesnoy, and, being told

manded