men, the count de Ribeira, who commanded there in chief, made the neceffary difpofitions to defend the place to the laft extremity, and was fo well feconded by the officers and troops under him, that he obliged the marquis de Bay to raife the fiege. Notwithstanding this fuccefs, the expedition of the Spaniards had the effect defired by the courts of France and Great-Britain. For, the Portuguese finding they were like to be left by England, if they continued the war against Spain, the count de Tarouca, the Portuguese minifter at Utrecht, was prevailed upon by the bishop of Bristol to come into the queen's measures, and fign the fufpenfion of arms the 7th of November. He excused this proceeding to the minifters of the allies as a pure effect of neceffity. 1712. home. Thus ended the war in Portugal. As to the army in The forces in Spain, the latter end of September, brigadier Price, who Spain called commanded the English, received a letter by a trumpeter M. S. of the enemy, from Mr. fecretary St. John, with orders from the queen to leave immediately the army of count Staremberg, and march to the sea-fide near Barcelona, and there to wait the arrival of Sir John Jennings, who was to transport them to Port-Mahon. This furprifing news (fays the author of the manufcript account) caufed a great confternation among our confederates, and very much enraged the Catalans, who found, they were going to be forsaken by those they had most reason to truft. To prevent the effects of their refentment, and our being molested upon our march by the miquelets and other country people, the queen of Spain fent four perfons of distinction, to be as fafe-guards to us, and to take care we should be fupplied with provifions. We came to Barcelona and encamped by the feafide, on the very spot of ground where king Charles landed with the troops, when he befieged and took that city. Here we continued fome time before Sir John Jennings arrived. With him came over colonel Kane, with a commiffion to break Lepel's regiments, that they might fell their horses, and to see the men on board, with the regi ments of foot, and the train of artillery; which orders were executed in a very short time, and we were all carried to Port-Mahon. The duke of Hamilton (who had been made master of Duke Hathe ordnance, vacant by the death of earl Rivers) was ap milton ampointed ambassador extraordinary to the court of France. baffador to The choice of the duke for that ambaffy gave melancholy Burnet. speculations to those who thought him much in the preten der's France. 1712. der's intereft, and knew, that he was confidered, not only in Scotland, but likewife in England, as the head of his party. On the other hand the king of France named the duke d'Aumont, firft gentleman of his bed-chamber to go into England with the fame character of ambassador extraordinary: which was likewise agreeable to the pretender's friends, to whose interest he was openly attached. Conference between the ty. mond. All this while the duke of Ormond continued in his quarters in Ghent, where one of the Dutch field-deputies came to him the 7th of September, N. S. being fent by his duke of Or- collegues, to found him upon several points. He afked firft, mond and a Whether the English troops were to ftay at Ghent and Dutch depu- Bruges the winter, or how long? To which the duke anCond. of the fwered, He could not tell, but faw no appearance of their duke of Or being withdrawn as yet. He asked next, Whether the duke would confent to the States putting fome of their troops into Ghent, to take care of their convoys, and escorte them to their frontier garrifons? The duke faid, He thought himself obliged not to fuffer any troops, but thofe of the queen, to continue in the town. However he had no intention, by taking or keeping poffeffion of that place, to obstruct their convoys; and that the Dutch troops might ftill come to the counterfcarp of the town, and receive whatever was to be carried to the camp, as had been practised ever fince Ghent was in our hands. The deputy's next queftion was, Whether the duke would let part of the Dutch troops take their winter quarters in Bruges, as they had done ever fince the reduction of that place? The duke answered, He could not admit of any troops whatever, befides thofe of the queen, either in Ghent or Bruges, till he had her majesty's orders. The lord Bolingbroke highly applauded the duke's conduct on this occafion, and told him in a letter, That the queen had received fo much ill usage with refpect to the commerce of •her subjects in the Netherlands, and had fo much reason to expect more of the fame kind, that she was refolved to treat upon that head with those pawns in her hand.' But, upon recollection, the lord Bolingbroke, in a second letter, acquainted the duke, That the pofitive order, con⚫tained in his firft, was not fent to prevent the admission of other troops besides her majesty's, into Ghent and Bruges. That the queen was enough fatisfied, that his grace would take effectual care to preferve those cautionary places, which could alone fecure to her any tolerable conditions, with refpect to the Netherlands, in the terms C Sep. 9. O. S. • of of peace. But he confeffed he thought, it could be no ways unneceffaty to give his grace a very pofitive and clear order, in an affair, which might perhaps make a ⚫ great deal of noise.' The duke not only punctually obeyed the orders, which he received from England, but was also very forward in affifting the queen's new friends, the French, even at the expence of her old allies. For being informed of a defign, which the Dutch, from the late fuccefs of their enterprize upon fort Knocque, had been encouraged to form, for furprifing Newport or Furnes; and that the fortifying Dixmuyde was made ufe of as a pretence for drawing together a body of troops fufficient to put the defign into execution, the duke knew not, but the queen might think it for her fervice, that the defign fhould not fucceed, fince, if the Dutch were not suffered to take poffeffion of thofe garrifons, the queen would not only have a greater influence towards fettling the commerce of the Netherlands on a good foot, but would be able to fecure, what was of the higheft confequence at that time, a free communication between her troops, which were im Ghent, Bruges, and Dunkirk. He therefore, in a letter of October the 21ft, acquainted the secretary with this affair, and left his lordship to judge of the importance of it, and the use, that was to be made of it. But, if the queen thought it moft for her service to prevent it, he was humbly of opinion, fome means fhould be found out to give advice of it to the marshal de Villars, who might poffibly think, we owed him that good office, in requital of fome informations, his lordship knew had been fent by the marshal, with a defign to ferve her majesty and the nation. The queen was of the fame opinion concerning the use to be made of the intelligence mentioned in this letter; but, the campaign being by this time at an end, the duke asked and readily obtained leave to return to England; and, having taken a view of Dunkirk, embarked there, landed at Dover the first of November, arrived in London the next day, and on the fourth waited on the queen at Windfor, where he met with a moft gracious reception (d). (d) Burnet fays, our army continued this winter about Ghent and Bruges; and we kept a fort of garrifon in Dunkirk: but that was fo ill fupplied with An artillery and ammunition, that And, 1712. 1712. Duke Hamilton and killed in a duel. An accident happened about this time, which the minif ters laid hold of, to improve a private animofity, if not into a confpiracy against the government, at least into a party lord Mohun quarrel. A law-fuit, which for about eleven years had been depending between the duke of Hamilton and the lord Mohun, had created a great animofity between these two noblemen; so that, on the 13th of November, at a meeting at Mr. Orlebar's, a master in Chancery's chambers in the rolls, the duke having reflected on Mr. Whiteworth (father of lord Whiteworth, late ambaffador to the czar) who was examined as a witness on the lord Mohun's fide, faying, He had neither truth nor justice in him; the lord Mohun thought himself obliged to vindicate that gentleman, which he did, by faying, He had as much as his grace. The duke having made no reply, all feemed to end amicably; for they both continued in the fame place above half an hour, and, at parting, the duke, going out firft, made a low bow to the lord Mohun, who, in like manner, returned his civility; fo that none of the perfons there present fufpected any consequence from what had paffed. But, the next day, general Maccartney went twice to the duke of Hamilton's house, with a challenge to him from the lord Mohun; and, in the evening, the duke, accompanied by colonel John Hamilton, went to meet general Maccartney at the Rose-Tavern, and was a few minutes in private with him; whilft the lord Mohun and the colonel were in feparate rooms, Mr. Maccartney went feveral times between the duke and lord Mohun; from which, and other circumstances, his enemies took occafion to give out, that he had rather inflamed, than endeavoured to compofe the quarrel. But all that can be fairly conjectured is, that the time and place of the duel were there fixed and agreed on. The lord Mohun and general Maccartney lay that night at the Bagnio in Long-Acre; and, on Sunday the 15th of November, about seven o'clock in the morning, went in a hackney-coach to the lodge in Hyde-park, where being foon after met by the duke of Hamilton, and his fecond colonel Hamilton, they all leaped over a ditch, into a place called the nursery. Lord Mohun would not have had the feconds engage; but the duke infifted, that Mr. Maccart And, during that time, they bury their dead in, though by a mortality that raged there fome thousands died. Burnet, II. 615. ney ney should have a fhare in the dance; from whence the general's enemies ftrengthened their fuggeftion, that he had been the inftigator of the duel. All having drawn, the two principals made fuch violent and defperate paffes at each other, being rather intent to give than to parry thrusts, that they foon fell down, both mortally wounded; fo that the lord Mohun died on the spot; and the duke, as his fervants were carrying him to his coach (e). The two feconds did not fight at all, as one of the witneffes depofed, or fought with fuch caution that colonel Hamilton received only a small wound in the inftep, which, he faid, happened by his own fword, as he was parrying down a full pass, that Maccartney made at him (f). : (e) Burnet, on this occafion, fays: I will add no character of him I am forry I cannot fay fo much good of him as I could wish, and I had too much kindnefs for him, to fay any evil without neceffity. Nor fhall I make any reflections on the deplorable effect of those unchriftian and barbarous maxims, which have prevailed fo univerfally, that there is little hope left of seeing them rooted out of the minds of men; the false notions of honour and courage being too ftrong, to be weighed down by prudent or religious confiderations. Burnet, II. 612. (f) The high-church men and the Jacobites were so fenfibly touched with the lofs of one of their principal champions, that they charged this unfortunate duel on the whole Whig party; fuggefting, That, 'having tried all other methods in vain, they returned to their 'expedient of murder, and em ployed treachery and violence ' at once. That their general [the duke of Marlborough] fet the example of party duels, which was only to give VOL. VI. The them a fanction; and deputed that infamous meffenger of his challenge to be the gene'ral bully of the faction. That 'the present lord treasurer had almoft miraculously escaped ⚫ their last engine of affaffination [meaning the band-box.] That the bravo, Maccartney, who depended for his support on 'the lord Mohun, was forced to keep up his patron's courage with wine, till within a very few hours of their meeting in the field and that the mortal wound, which the duke ' received, after his adversary was run through the heart, 'could not be given by any but : Maccartney. This laft accufation being like to lay an indelible odium on the Whigs, great induftry, and indeed all indirect means were used to propagate the belief of it. In order to that, colonel Hamilton depofed before the privy-council, That, feeing lord Mohun 1712. Examiner. |