SECTION II.-THE WAR WITH FRANCE, 1689 to 1697. 1.-THE CAMPAIGNS OF 1690, 1691, 1692. General war in Europe. Walcourt 29. Operations in 1689 and 1690.-The grand alliance which was formed against France by the States-General, the Empire, Spain, and England, after the devastation of the Palatinate (1689) plunged the whole of Europe into war, from Greece to the Pyrenees. The Turks, in alliance with France, kept the Emperor fully employed; but, on the other hand, the French were held in check in Catalonia by the peasantry; the Duke of Lorraine drove them beyond the Rhine and captured Metz; while between the Sambre and the Meuse, an allied force under Marlborough and the Prince of Waldeck, Battles of gave them a sharp defeat at Walcourt (5th Aug. 1689). and Fleurus. These successes, however, were wholly eclipsed by the utter rout of Waldeck's army at Fleurus, on the 1st July, 1690, in which the allies lost 6,000 men, besides 10,000 prisoners. This great disaster, immediately following the naval defeat off Beachy Head, caused immense alarm in London; a victorious French army lay not far from the Straits of Dover; a French fleet rode triumphant in the Channel; there was not an English ship which could intercept their passage; and the King was in Ireland with the greater part of the regular troops. "It may be doubted," observes Macaulay, "whether our country ever passed through a more alarming crisis." The patriotic spirit of the nation rose to the height of the emergency, and the dread of invasion was speedily changed to general rejoicing, when the news spread of the Battle of the Boyne. When Tourville made that descent on Devonshire which has already been noticed, the population of the neighbouring counties rose en masse, and compelled him to make a speedy retreat to his ships. The greatest danger which threatened the great confederacy of which William was the head, arose from the constant jealousies and bickerings of the confederates themselves. Congress at While their representatives were wrangling and disputing and fall at a Congress at the Hague, as to the number of troops of Mons. and supplies each State should furnish, the important town the Hague of Mons was suffered to capitulate to the French (20th April, D CHAP. I. 1690). The spirit of the Jacobites therefore revived, Preston's plot was still occupying the attention of the English government, other conspiracies were also on foot, and the final issue of the Revolution again seemed as doubtful as ever.* 30. Marlborough's Conspiracy.-In the beginning of the year 1691 the Earl of Marlborough began a correspondence with King James, expressing contrition for his past conduct, and offering to make amends, by furnishing full information concerning the strength of the English army, and the plan of, the approaching campaign. Both of these promises were fulfilled. He was joined in this dastardly conspiracy by Godolphin, First Commissioner of the Treasury, and Admiral Russell, Treasurer of the Navy, the latter of whom gave the assurance that on the first favourable opportunity he would render the same service with the fleet that General Monk had once performed with the army. Unsuspicious of these traitorous practices, William repaired to Holland (May, 1691) and entrusted Marlborough with the collection of all the English forces in Flanders, and the formation of a camp near Brussels. This trust gave the Earl the fullest opportunity of carrying out another promise he had made to James, namely, to desert at the head of his troops. But when that Prince claimed the instant performance of his promise, Marlborough evaded the demand, and William presently arrived at the camp and assumed the chief command. No important action took place, but hostilities in other parts of Europe were carried on witn vigour, and the Turks were defeated by Louis of Baden in the great battle of Salankamen on the Danube (19th August, 1691). 31. During the Parliamentary Session of 1691-92.-On the 22nd of October, 1691, William opened Parliament, and further supplies were granted. But some dissatisfaction was expressed with the salaries of the public officials, which had gone on increasing, although the effects of the war had diminished the incomes of all other men. A motion to remedy this abuse was lost, because it proposed to fix the salaries of all officials at a given sum, irrespective of their duties and position. Some bills on important matters, such as the rearrangement of the Indian Trade and the East Indian Company, and the regulation of trials for high treason, met with the same fate. A second bill for fixing the salaries of the judges, and thereby making them independent, was carried through both Houses, but rejected by the royal veto. Another matter which occupied the attention of Parliament was * Macaulay, VI., 61-66. Coxe's Marlborough I., 31. Coxe's House of Austria, II. 454 1692 the investigation of a charge of treason brought by Fuller's William Fuller against many persons of high considera- Plot. tion. He accused them of having signed an address to the French King for the restoration of James. But it was soon discovered that he was a rank impostor, and that he had been tutored by Titus Oates, who was then living in Whitehall. He was accordingly sentenced to fine, imprisonment, and the pillory. The session closed on the 29th of February, 1692, and was succeeded by some important changes in Court and Cabinet. Rochester, the Queen's maternal uncle, was sworn of the Privy Council; Pembroke was made Lord Privy Seal, Sir John Lowther went to the Admiralty, and was succeeded in the Treasury by Sir Edward Seymour, a strong Tory; and Charles Montague, a rising Whig, was also placed on the Treasury Commission. Court. In the meantime, Marlborough had been dismissed from office, and forbidden the Court. His correspondence with St. Ger- Marlborough main's still continued, and during the late session, he had dismissed inspired the Jacobites with the hope, that James might be from the restored, by working upon the general hatred of the Dutch, and William's unpopularity. But he played too long with James's emissaries, and they began to suspect the sincerity of his overtures. They therefore disclosed his schemes to Portland, which led to his dismissal (10th January, 1692). The ill-feeling which had existed between the Queen and her sister the Princess Anne, ever since the Revolution, came to an open rupture arter this, and the Princess withdrew from the Court, with her friends the Churchills. * 32. The Battle of La Hogue.-French preparations for the long meditated invasion of England, were now almost complete, and the death of Louvois, Louis XIV's. Prime Minister, who had been constantly opposed to such a scheme, removed the chief obstacle in the way of James's designs being carried into execution. A large fleet of men of war and transports, was assembled in the port of La Hogue (April, 1692), in the neighbourhood of which, King James was surrounded by a considerable army, ready to embark. At this dangerous crisis, one Robert Young, a Protestant Young's clergyman, from Ireland, gave out that he had discovered the existence of an association, for the restoration of James, and that the document relative thereto, had been signed by Marlborough, Cornbury, Salisbury, Sancroft, and Sprat bishop of Rochester. The informer had forged the autographs of these * Macaulay, VI., 163-173; Coxe's Marlborough, I., 33-35. Plot. CHAP. I. men; but public excitement was so intense at the prospect of invasion, and there were so many rumours of traitors in the country, that several avowed Jacobites, as well as the persons accused, were put under arrest. Marlborough was sent to the Tower on the 5th of May. the English fleet. On this same day, Admiral Russell set sail from the Downs in search of the French fleet. He was joined off Beachy Head by Rear Admirals Carter and Rooke, whose squadrons had been watching the French ports; and also by a portion of the Dutch fleet under Van Almond. These combined forces comprised more than 90 sail of the line, and between 30,000 and 40,000 seamen - the mightiest armament that had appeared in the Channel since the Spanish Armada. The Jacobitism in public, however, had little faith in the fidelity of this great fleet; for it was known to contain a strong Jacobite party, and that the Admiral himself was in league with James. But in the meantime, that foolish Prince had, with his usual imprudence, injured his own cause by the issue of a Declaration so full of threats against his enemies, the chief of whom were mentioned by name, that Russell plainly told King James's messenger, he would fight the French fleet, even if that Prince himself should be on board. On the 19th of May, Russell discovered the enemy off Cape Barfleur, bearing down upon him full sail. Tourville, who had only 63 ships, was not aware that Russell had effected a junction with the Dutch; he had, however, been peremptorily ordered not to decline a battle, and he counted upon numerous desertions from the English to compensate for his inferiority. But it soon became plain that the English, from the Admiral downwards, were resolved to do their duty. To vindicate their honour, the commanders urged their men with a zeal that made them invincible; and although one half of the fleet was kept inactive by an unfavourable wind, after five hours' hard fighting the enemy began to give way. Then the wind changed; the whole force of the allies was brought together; and the French flew in every direction to their own shores. About twenty of their smallest ships got away round Cape La Hogue, through the dangerous Race of Alderney; others escaped into Cherbourg, but were hotly pursued by Sir Ralph Delaval, and burned to ashes. The Admiral himself with 13 men-of-war sought refuge in the bay of La Hogue, and drew up his vessels into shallow water, close to the head quarters of James's army, and under the protection of Forts Lisset and St. English sailors true to their colours. 1692 conduct of Vaast. In this strong position, they were attacked by Vice Brilliant Admiral Rooke, with a flotilla of sloops, fireships and boats Rooke. (23rd and 24th May), and every ship in the harbour destroyed, James and the French commanders looking on in helpless despondency. This brilliant achievement terminated the great battle of La Hogue, which raged for five days (19th-24th May, during which the French lost sixteen men-of-war, eight of them being three-deckers. In acknowledgment of this great victory, Queen Mary publicly declared in her husband's name, that the royal palace at Greenwich begun by Charles II., should be completed and reserved as a retreat for seamen, disabled in the service of their country* stratagem 33. The Fall of Namur and Battle of Steinkirk.-When the news of La Hogue reached Louis XIV., that monarch was engaged in the siege of Namur, which capitulated on the 30th of June; William being unable to relieve the place, because Luxembourg, with an overwhelming force, occupied a strong position between him and the lines of the besiegers. The capture of this strong fortress, which had never before surrendered to an enemy, was the last and most splendid military exploit achieved by Louis in person; and he returned to Versailles in triumph. His departure did not suspend operations, and on the 3rd of August, the allies brought the French under Luxembourg to a general action near Steinkirk. Millevoix, chief musician and private secretary to the Elector of Bavaria, had been discovered to be a spy in the service William's of the French. To turn his treachery to account, he to surprise was forced to write, at dictation, a letter of false intelli- Luxembourg gence, in which Luxembourg was informed that the English would advance towards the French the next day, to forage, and that a detachment of infantry and artillery would be at hand to protect the foragers. The marshal trusting in this information, retired to rest; but meanwhile, the whole force of the allies advanced upon his position, and put one brigade to flight. Under an ordinary general, the French would probably have fled in wild disorder; but Luxembourg was a man whose faculties were braced and stimulated by danger. He quickly It is defeated roused his slumbering soldiers and placed them in position; marshal's and as the progress of the assailants was obstructed by promptitude. several fences and ditches, there was a short delay, which gave him ample time to arrange his plans. The assailants thus lost Macaulay, VI., 224-233. at Steinkirk. by that |