offer him one: he said, "Let us go together, and reconnoitre the ground between the Deule and the Marck." After we had examined it, he said, "I have no occasion for one, I shall only move my camp nearer to your's." Vendome proposed not to lose a day, but instantly attack the army of observation, and the besieging force. "I cannot," said the duke of Burgundy, "I have sent a courier to my grandfather to enquire his pleasure." Conferences were held at Versailles, and the king sent his booby Chamillard to his grandson's camp; he went up with him into the steeple of the village of Sedin, to view our two armies, and he decided against giving us battle. I cannot conceive how Vendome could forbear running mad; another, with less zeal, would have sent every thing to the devil; and he, a better grandson of a king of France than the other, took the trouble the day before, to go so close to Marlborough's position to reconnoitre, that he was grazed by a cannon-ball. 1 had returned to Marlborough's camp to be his volunteer, if he had been attacked. But (while I think of it) a Chamillard, that is, in one word, a young prince of no character, and an old king who had lost his, were quite sufficient to fill Vendome's heart with rage. He was obliged by them to retreat, as if he had been beaten. I continued the siege, sure of not being interrupted, and took the redoubt of the gate of Flanders, and some others; but after three hour's fighting for one of the most essential, I was driven back and pursued to my trenches. I scarcely stirred from them, having the king of Poland and all my young princes at my side, for it was necessary to set an example and to give orders. I ordered two assaults to facilitate the taking of the covered way; always repulsed, but a horrible carnage. Five thousand English sent me by Marlborough to repair my losses, performed wonders, but were thrown into disorder. We heard the cry of Vive le Roi et Boufflers! I said a few words in English to those brave fellows who rallied round me; I led them back into the fire; but a ball below the left eye knocked me down senseless. Every body thought me dead, and so did I too. They found a dung-cart, in which I was conveyed to my quarters; first my life, and then my sight, was despaired of. I recovered both. The ball had struck me obliquely. Here was another unsuccessful attack; out of 5000 men not 1500 returned, and 1200 work men were there killed. Being prevented for some time by my wound from interfering in any thing, I left the command of the siege to Marlborough, who delivered his to Ouverkerke. He effected a lodgment in a tenaillon on the left, but a mine baffled the assault and the assailants. Marlborough countermined some of them, and took all possible pains to spare me trouble on my return. He obliged to eat in public in order to cheer my army, and returned to his own. The Chevalier de Luxembourg deceived me by introducing ammunition, of which the besieged were in great want; and a captain, named Dubois, deceived me by swimming with a note from Boufflers to the duke of Burgundy, informing him, that though the trenches had been opened forty days, I was not yet completely master of any of the works. "Nevertheless, Monseigneur," added he, "I cannot hold out beyond the 15th or 20th of October." I was in want of powder. A single. letter from Marlborough to his friend, Queen Anne, occasioned a quantity to be sent me, with fourteen battalions, by the fleet of vice-admiral Byng, who landed them at Ostend. Every body is acquainted with the stupidity of Lamotte, who not only suffered this convoy to reach me, but got a sound drubbing for his whole corps that was intended to prevent it. Being completely recovered from my wound, I was night and day at the works, which Boufflers, also present every where, was incessantly interrupting or annoying. I bethought me of a stratagem to give frequent alarms for several nights, at a half moon, with a view to attack it afterwards in open day, being persuaded that the wearied soldiers would take that time for repose. This scheme succeeded. I ordered an assault upon a salient angle, and that succeeded. I directed the co vered way to be attacked, and again succeeded. I thence made a breach in the curtain, and enlarged another in a bastion; and when I was at length working at the descent of the ditch, the mar shal, who had every day invented some new artifice, sometimes tin-boxes, at others earthen pots filled with grenades, and done all that valour and science could suggest, offered to capitulate on the 22d of September: without mentioning any conditions, I promised to sign such as he should propose to me. "This, M. la le Marechal," so I wrote to him, "is to show you my perfect regard for your person, and I am sure that a brave man like you will not abuse it. I congratulate you on your excellent defence." My council of war, which I summoned out of politeness, objected to the article that the citadel should not be attacked on the side next the town. I yielded, having my plan in my head, and wrote to Boufflers: "Certain reasons, M. le Marechal, prevent me from signing this article, but I give you my word of honour to observe it. I hope in six weeks to give you fresh proofs of my admiration." Boufflers retired into the citadel, and I entered the city with Marlborough, the king of Poland, the landgrave of Hesse, &c. In the morning we went to church, and at night to the play, and all the business of the capitulation being finished on the 29th of October, I the same day ordered the trenches to be opened before the citadel. Before I proceed to this siege, I ought to relate a circumstance that happened to me during that of the city. A clerk of the post-office wrote to the secretary of general Dopf, desiring him to deliver to me two letters, one from the Hague, and the other I know not whence. I opened the latter, and found nothing but a greasy paper. Persuaded, as I still am, that it was a mistake, or something of no consequence, which I might perhaps have been able to read had I taken the trouble to hold the paper to the fire, I threw it away. Somebody picked it up, and it was said that a dog about whose neck it was tied, died poisoned in the space of twenty-four hours. What makes me think this untrue, is, that at Versailles they were too generous, and at Vienna too religious, for such a trick. The ninth day the besieged made a vigorous sortie. The Prince of Brunswick, who repulsed it, received a wound from a musket-ball in the head. The eleventh, a still more vigorous sortie of the Chevalier de Luxembourg, who drove my troops from the branches of the trenches, and made us fall back to St. Catherine's. An excellent officer of my staff had his head shot off by a cannonball by my side. The enemy lost a great number of men before he returned to the citadel. I caused every thing to be repaired. I was now suddenly obliged to aban. don the siege, leaving the direction of it to prince Alexander of Würtemberg. The elector of Bavaria was engaged in MONTHLY MAG. No. 204. that of Brussels. Marlborough and I made him raise it after a pretty battle, and some excellent well-combined man. œuvres, of which he had all the honor, for I could not pass the Scheldt where I wanted. The elector of Bavaria was somewhat ashamed. The French princes would have been so too, had not their joy on returning to Versailles prevented them. I went back to the siege; but what a change! The marshal had taken advantage of my absence to drive the besiegers from the first covered way, of which I had left them in possession. After regaining it, as well as the other posts that had been abandoned, I wrote as follows to the brave Boufflers: " The French army has retired, M. le Marechal, toward Tournay, the elector of Bavaria to Namur, and the princes to their courts. Spare yourself and your brave garrison; I will again sign whatever you please.' His answer was: "There is yet no oc. casion to be in a hurry. Permit me to defend myself as long as I can. I have still enough left to do to render myself more worthy of the esteem of the man whom I respect above all others." I gave orders for the assault of the second covered way. The king of France apparently anticipated this, for he wrote to the marshal to surrender. Notwithstanding his repugnance to such a step, he was on the point of obeying, when, in a note which the duke of Burgundy had subjoined to the king's letter, he read; "I know from a certain quarter, that they want to make you a prisoner of war." I know not where he picked up this information; but that prince, respectable as he was in peace, could neither say nor do any but foolish things in war. This note however produced some im pression for a moment. Generals, soldiers, and all, swore rather to perish in the breach. Bouflers wept for joy, as I have been told; and when on the point of embracing this alternative, he recollected my note, which got the better of the duke of Burgundy's; and after the trenches had been opened four months before the city and citadel, he sent me on the 8th of December, all the articles that he wished me to, sign, which I did without any restriction. I went very soon with the prince of Orange to pay him a visit, and in truth to do homage to his merit. I cordially embraced him, and accepted an invitation to supper; "on condition," said I, "that it be that of a famished citadel, to see what you 2 I may may eat without an express order from the king." Roasted horse-flesh was set before us; the epicures in my suite were far from relishing the joke, but were ,quickly consoled by the arrival of provisions from the city, on which we made an excellent repast. The following day I gave him as good a dinner as I could, at my abbey, where he paid me a visit. We were very merry and communicative. We talked of war, politics, and Louis XIV. On the latter subject I was highly amused with the flatteries of the states-general, who think ing themselves very cunning, were in hopes by these means to dispose him to peace, of which they were ardently desirous. I durst not he alone a moment with the marshal, lest idle stories should be circulated respecting us; and one or the other might appear suspicious to our courts, where people are always sure to have good friends, who are never asleep. After manifesting my consideration for the illustrious vanquished, whenever we were together at the play, and when we went abroad in the streets, where I observed that he was universally adored, I caused him and his brave garrison to be conducted to Douay, with a large escort and all possible honors. After retaking Ghent and Bruges, Marlborough and I put our troops in winter-quarters, and went for a month to Brussels; but my mother was no longer there. 1709-January 9th, we set out for the Hague. It was nothing but a series of honours and festivities; presents for Marlborough, and fire-works for me. But I prevented a magnificent exhibition, by requesting the states-general to give the money it was to have cost to their brave soldiers, whom I had caused to be crippled; and the 20th of January I set off for Vienna, to report and ask for farther orders. if the de I was directed to make peace, enemy would comply with all' my mands. I returned on the 8th of April to the Hague, where I found the plenipotentiaries of the king of France. Fa inine, a winter more severe than had ever been known, want of men and mo. ney, made him wish for peace; but the vanquished forget that they are such, as soon as they enter upon negociation, They mistake obstinacy for firmness, and, at last get more soundly beaten than before. One hundred thousand men were again under Marlborough's command and mine in the Low Countries; and the same num- Without wishing to avoid one, for he was morally and physically brave, he took an extremely advantageous position: this was one of his great talents; he wanted very little to be a perfect war. rior. With reinforcements, which poured in to us on all sides, we were stronger than be, but there was no possibility of attacking him where he was. To oblige him to quit his position, we resolved to besiege Tournay. The trenches were opened on the 7th of July, the white flag was hoisted on the 28th, and on the 21st of August, after the most terrible subterraneous war that I ever witnessed, (for in twenty-six days, the besieged sprung thirty-eight mines,) the citadel surrendered. Villars never stirred. "Let us go and take Mons," said I to Marlborough; "perhaps this devil of a fellow will tire of being so prudent." Madame de Maintenou did not give him credit for so much prudence as he pos sessed, though she was very fond of him; for she permitted Louis XIV. to send marshal Boufflers to assist him. Certain enemies of Villars, at Versailles, hoped to give him disgust; but I have already proved, that brave men agree together, and love and esteem each other. The two marshals would gladly bave saved Mons without risking a battle; we stood upon ceremony to know which party should oblige the other to give it. As soon as our troops from Tournay had ar rived: "Let us lose no time,” said I; and in spite of 120,000 men, woods, lages, boles, triple entrenck a hundred pieces of cannon and one day." The deputies of Holland, and some faint-hearted generals, objected, remon strated, and tired me. It was of no use to tell them that the excellent veteran French soldiers were killed in the six or seven battles which Marlborough and I had gained; and though I well knew that young ones are formed but too expedi tiously, an advantage in which they are superior to all other nations, we deternined upon the battle of Malplaquet. The 11th of September a thick tog concealed our dispositions from the mar shals; shals; we dispelled it at eight in the morning, by a general discharge of all our artillery. This military music was succeeded by that of hautboys, drums, fifes, and trumpets, with which I treated both armies. We then saw Villars proceeding through all the ranks. As the French can never hear enough of their king; My friends," said he to them, as I have been told, "the king commands me to fight: are you not very glad of it?" He was answered with shouts of, Vive le Roi et M. de Villars! I attacked the wood of Sars without shouting. I rallied the English guards, who, at the beginning, were scattered; some from too much courage, and others from a contrary reason: my German battalions supported them. We had nevertheless been overwhelmed, had not the duke of Argyle, who boldly clumbed the parapet of the entrenchment, made me master of the wood. All this procured me a ball behind the ear; and on account of the quantity of blood which I lost, all those about me advised me to have the wound dressed." If I am beaten," I replied, "it will not be worth while; and if the French are, I shall have plenty of time for that." What could I have done better than to seek death, after all the responsibility which I had again taken upon myself on this occasion? I beg pardon for this digression and personality; but one cannot help being a man, To endeavour to repair faults committed, is, I acknowledge, more noble; but to survive one's glory is dreadful. My business on the right going on well, I wished to decide that of the duke on the left, which proceeded but slowly. To no purpose the prince of Orange had planted a standard on the third entrenchment; almost the whole Dutch corps was extended on the ground, killed or wounded. For six hours Marlborough was engaged with the centre and the left, without any decisive advantage. My cavalry, which I sent to his succour, was overthrown on the way by the king's household troops, who were in their turn routed by a bat tery which took them in flank., At length Marlborough had gained ground without me; so that it was easy for me to turn the centre of the enemy's army which had been left unsupported in consequence of the defeat of the wings. Boufflers readered the same service to Villars as I did to Marlborough, and when he be held him fall from his horse, dangerously wounded below the knee, and the victory snatched from them, he thought of nothing but how to make the best re treat in the best possible order. I think it is not too much to estimate the loss of both armies at 40 000 men: those who were not killed, had died of fatigue. I gave some rest to the remains of my troops, buried all I could, and then marched to Mons. into There were but 5,000 men in that place. I opened the trenches on the 25th of September, and on the 22d of October, being on the point of assaulting the horn-work of Bertamont, Grunaldi capitulated. Our troops went winter quarters; and I, being obliged to post about without intermission, proceeded with Marlborough to the Hague, to coax the states-general, who were ready to abandon our cause. I advised them to say at the conferences of Gertruidenberg, that they would_not_hear of peace unless it were general. I was sure of queen Anne, because I was sure of Marlborough; he seconded me admirably. I went to report to the emperor." I submitted to him a sketch of the state of Europe, of which I could see that his cabinet had not the least idea. I stated the inclination which I observed in several powers to forsake us. At a distance from danger, people are courageous. I was told that I should make a glorious campaign. I replied, that I had lost more men than could be given me; but yet I would try what I could do. 1711.-Joseph I. was attacked with the small-pox. There were no good physicians at Vienna. They sent to Lintz for one. The pustules came out in such abundance, that I thought him out of danger. On setting out for the Low Countries, I wanted to take leave of him; he sent me word that I had but too much exposed my life for him already, and that he wanted it elsewhere than for the small-pox. I insisted no farther, and set off on the 16th of April. Three days afterwards I was informed of his death, occasioned by the ignorance of the faculty of Upper and Lower Austria, who disputed all night about the means of relieving an inflammation of the bowels, with which the emperor was afflicted. I sincerely regretted this prince, aged thirty-three; the first since Charles V. who possessed genius, and was not superstitious; and I determined to serve him even after his death. I hurried to almost all the electors to dispose them to ensure the imperial crown to his brother, and then went to solicit the Dutch Datch to continue their credit in money and friendship to Charles II. king of Spain, who became the emperor Charles VI. The protestants did not fail to publish that the court of Rome, which had suffered some humiliations from Joseph I. had bribed his physicians; but no credit should be given to defamatory libels, and to the authors of private anecdotes, as they are called. It has long been the fashion to assert that great personages die of poison. Tallard, more dangerous in peace than in war, whom I would not have left prisoner in England could I have suspected that he would there acquire any influence, enabled the Tories to triumph, and crush the Whigs. His assiduous attention to Mis. Marsham, the queen's new favourite instead of the duchess of Marlborough, his insinuating manners, and his presents of Burgundy and Champagne to Right Honorable members of parliament, who were amateurs of those wines, changed the aspect of European affairs. Marlborough was playing his last game in the Low Countries. He found means to finish his military career there with glory; he forced the French lines behind the Senzée, and took the city of Bou chain. On the disgrace of the duchess, a thousand faults were discovered in him. Ilis pride was denominated insolence, and his rather too great economy was branded with the name of peculation and extortion. His friends, as may be supposed, behaved like friends; and that is saving sufficient. He was recalled: to me this was a thunderbolt. The French assembled on the Rhine: I sent Vehlen with a strong detachment from the Low Countries, and leaving the Hague on the 19th of July, I collected as expeditiously as possible, all the troops I could at Frankfurt, and took so good a position in a camp near Mihlberg, as to cause to be held, and to cover the election to the imperial crown, which would have been Jost had I received a check. The French durst not disturb it; this was for me a campaign of prudence rather than of glory. Queen Anne threw off all restraint. She had given an unfavourable reception to the Dutch ambassador, and had forbidden Gallas, the imperial minister, her court; assigning as a reason certain expressions which he had employed respecting her. Charles VI. ordered me to make amends for the awkwardness of Gallas, if he had been guilty of any, and to regain the court of St. James's. Had I acted, as my good cousin Victor Amedæus would have done in my place, I should have cried out against Marlbo rough still more loudly than his enemies, and have refused to see him. But from policy itself, persons of narrow minds ought to counterfeit feeling. Their de signs are too easily seen through. They are despised and miss their object. Gratitude, esteem, the partnership in so many military operations, and pity for a person in disgrace, caused me to throw myself with emotion into Marlborough's arms. Besides, on such occasions, the heart proves victorious. The people, who followed me every where from the moment I set foot in London, perceived it, and liked me the better for this: while the Opposition, and the honest part of the court, esteemed me the more. In one way or other, all was over for Austria. I coaxed the people in power a good deal. I made presents; for buying is very common in England. I offered to procure the recal of Gallas. I delivered a memorial on this subject, and requested the queen to take other bases at the congress of Utrecht, where her plenipotentiaries already were, that the emperor might be enabled to send his thither. I received so vague a reply, that had the court of Vienna believed me, they would not have reckoned at all upon the feeble succour of the duke of Ormond, who set out to command the English, as successor to the duke of Marlborough, and I should not have lost the battle of Denain. This happened in the following manner: Notwithstanding my distinguished reception from the queen, who, at my departure, presented me with her portrait, I went and told the states-general that we had now nobody on whom we could rely but themselves; and passing through Utrecht to make my observations, I found the tone of the French so altered, so elevated, that I was more certain than ever of the truth of what I had announced. On my arrival at the abbey of Anchin, where I assembled my army, amounting to upwards of 100,000 men, Ormond came and made me the fairest promises, and had the goodness to consent to my passing the Scheldt below Bouchain. But after feigning to agree to the siege of Quesnoi, he first strove to dissuade me from that step, and then, without reserve, refused to concur in it. I said to him: "Well sir, I will do without your eighteen thou sand |