received affurances from the princes, who had troops in Bri- 547 1712. of Bristol In the mean time the bishop of Bristol executed his in- The bishop structions at Utrecht with the fame punctuality as the duke' proposes a of Ormond in the army; and, a conference being held be- fufpenfion of tween the minifters of the allies, that prelate in a folemn arms. manner communicated to them the conceffion, which the queen in. of Eur. July 27 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 furprize, the bishop left them to confult together; upon which fome of them fpoke very feverely against the propofal. In the afternoon he was in conference with the reft of thofe minifters, and urged to them the neceffity of a ceffation of arms; but he found them unanimous in their answers, that they had no inftructions about that matter, and muft wait for fresh orders from their principals. The next day the plenipotentiaries of the allies met at the deputies of the ftates, and having concerted fome measures, moft of them repaired afterwards to the Hague, to affift at the confultations, that were held in that place. The duke of Savoy's minifters were so highly offended at the report, which had been induftriously spread, that their master had agreed to a fuspension of arms, and to the terms of peace concerted between Great-Britain and France, that they publicly difowned it as false and fcandalous, declaring, that his royal highness, their mafter, would remain firm in the grand alliance, being fenfible, he had been impofed upon by the infinuations of a certain minifter.' On Zinzendorf's the other hand, count Zinzendorf, the firft imperial pleni- memorial to potentiary, on the 28th of June, N. S. prefented to the Lamberti. ftates-general a memorial, which he called his fentiments Vol. VII. upon the affairs of the prefent conjuncture;' wherein having fhewed, the tendency of the queen of Great-Britain's speech to her parliament, and touched upon the declarations of the duke of Ormond and the bishop of Bristol, he infifted on the danger, that would result to the common M m 3 • caufe the ftates. 1712. An irruption Brodrick. caufe from a ceffation of arms; commended their highmightineffes for approving what prince Eugene of Savoy and their deputies had done in the army, and in particular their having furnished bread to the foreign troops in English pay; exhorted them to persevere in these generous and vigorous refolutions; and, in order to maintain a strict union among the allies, he propofed these five points: 1. That the alliance ought to be renewed, in order to compafs these ends, the recovery of the Spanish monarchy to the house of Auftria; the fecurity of that ftate by a barrier in the Netherlands, and of their trade in Spain and < the Weft-Indics; 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 alfo thofe with the king of Pruffia, the elector Palatine, the elector of Hanover, and all the other confederate princes; and that likewife for the fecurity of the affociated circles. 2. That all the allies should be invited to join in it. 3. That it was neceflary to form a plan of the war, so as it might be carried on with moft fuccefs and leaft expence. 4. That they fhould come to fome refolution about the war in the North, fo as they might be fure of the affiftance of the princes engaged in it, most of whom furnished troops against France. And, 5, that, after these measures were concerted, reprefentations fhould be made to the queen of Great-Britain, requefting her to perform her engagements, and to perfuade her, that it was the intention of the other allies to maintain the common caufe with inviolable firmnefs; and that they defired nothing fo much, as that fhe would be pleased to perfift in what the had hitherto done fo glorioufly for that end. He afterwards affured the ftates, 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 Lombardy, 8,000 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 endeavour 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 ftates in particular, to make new efforts.' Whilft thefe things paffed in Holland, a remarkable acInto France. tion was performed in the beginning of the campaign, which greatly alarmed the court of France. Prince Eugene of Savoy refolved to put Champagne and other countries under contribution; and the deputies of the ftates having approved his refolution, he detached fifteen hundred horse, dragoons, and huffars, under the command of major-general Groveftein, with orders to penetrate into France as far as poffible. 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 Aifne, which they paffed the 12th, and advanced at night to Suipe in Champagne. The 13th, they paffed the river Noire near St. Menehold. The next day, they paffed the Maefe at Seneri, and got into Lorrain ; and, the 15th, paffed the Mofelle at Pont-a-Moufon. The 16th, they came before Metz; and, the 17th, passed the Saar, and retired leifurely towards Traarbach, carrying off with them a vast booty, and a great number of hoftages for the payment of the contributions, they had demanded from the countries, through which they paffed, amounting to fome millions. They burnt feveral villages and little towns; and at Metz, Groveftein fent a letter to the marquis de Refuge, the governor, and another to the Intendant to fummon them to send deputies to agree about contributions. The governor answered him, that he had nothing to send but fire and ball; and that, inftead of contributions and hoftages, he would only fend him fome guides, to conduct him whither he deserved to go. Groveftein, being incensed at this answer, caused about thirty or forty villages, and about twenty caftles or feats, to be burnt in fight of Metz, after having plundered them, and retired fafe with his booty; for, Villars not being informed of this detachment till twentyfour hours after they were marched, the troops, which he fent after them, could not overtake them. It is impoffible to exprefs the great furprize, this expedition caused in the adjacent parts, and even in the fuburbs of Paris; it being reported, the detachment were advancing to that city. The king himself was not thought fafe at Verfailles 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 Groveftein, making his retreat, foon put an end to the alarm. The French were refolved to revenge this excurfion, and intrufted major-general Pafteur, a famous Partizan, with the execution of their defign, which he managed with great diligence and dispatch. For, though he had fifteen or fixteen hundred men with him, the allies had not the leaft notice of his march, till he was advanced farther than Bergenop-Zoom, and had plundered Tortole an island belonging 1712. 1712. Prince Eugene refuses to give over the fiege of Quefnoy, to Zealand, with the town of that name, and several other places. Thirty fquadrons were detached from the confederate army, and all the garrisons were drawn out, to intercept the enemy in their retreat. But Pasteur took fo well his measures, that he returned safe to Namur with a great booty, and several hoftages for contributions. The fiege of Quefnoy being carried on with great vigour and fuccefs, and the duke of Ormond forefeeing the reduction of that place might increase the hopes of the allies, and obstruct the British measures for a general peace, fent to acquaint prince Eugene, That his troops fhould continue in the army, provided he would give over the fiege of Quefnoy.' But the prince answered, That, inftead of relinquishing 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 correfpondence ceased between the prince and the duke; and the prince perceiving that frequent expreffes went between the duke and the French army, which might prove detrimental to the confederate caufe, held private conferences with the other generals, in order to feparate 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- Thefe paffages were not wholly unknown to the duke of ary generals Ormond, who, on the 28th of June, N. S. fent his adju refuse again to 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 fquadrons and one battalion of the troops of Holftein-Gottorp, and major-general Walef, colonel of a regiment of dragoons of the troops of Liege, who had the queen's commiflion, all thofe generals unanimously answered, as they had done before, That they could not follow him, nor !feparate from prince Eugene, without exprefs orders from their respective princes. Among the reft, the hereditary prince of Heffe-Cafiel bid the adjutant tell the duke, That the Heffians 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.' Quefnoy furrendered. Brodrick. In the mean time the fiege of Quefnoy was profecuted with fuch fuccefs, that on the 1ft of July, N. S. the confe 1 derates derates ftormed and carried the counterfcarp in four places; and on the fourth, monfieur Labadie, the governor, furrendered the place, and the garrifon prifoners of war, which confifted of 2,662 private men; befides feveral perfons of a fuperior rank. The confederates put a good garrison into the place, under major-general Ivoy; and all poffible expedition was used to repair the breaches, and level the works. 1712. ftates. The earl of Strafford, foon 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 ceflation of arms. Accordingly, at his arrival at the July 6 Hague (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 ftates made a folemn deputation from their own body, to whom the earl of Strafford proposed a fufpenfion of arms for two months, and the entering into the negotiations for a peace upon the offers of France. After a long conference, the deputies returned to the affembly of the ftates, and made their report. The bishop of Bristol being alfo come to the Hague, feveral con- July 8. ferences were held, in all which there were great debates about a ceffation of arms, and the conditions, which France might be brought to grant to the ftates, if they would treat of a general peace. As to the ceffation, the British mini- The refult of them fters urged, that Dunkirk would be delivered up to the English, as a fecurity for the performance of what the French had promised; to which it was anfwered, "That "there ought to be a fecurity for the ftates, and other al lies, as well as for the English ;" and, to that purpose, mention was made of Strafburg 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 fuggefted in the other part of the debate, that the ftates should furrender to the French Doway, Lifle, and Tournay. The Dutch deputies being ftartled at this propofal, 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 Lifle and Doway, as an equivalent for Dunkirk; and, upon that f condition, to grant to the ftates the barrier, which they de |