1705.

French, advanced to attack colonel Wills, who, the day before, had marched to St. Iftevan de Litera, with no more than four hundred foot and thirty dragoons. Upon the enemy's approach, colonel Wills drew out his small number, and attacked their advanced guard fo brifkly, that he beat them back to their body, and, purfuing them a league, obliged them to retire in confufion to Fons and Almana, At night, colonel Wills was joined by Connyngham and colonel Palm, with the rest of the troops, to the number in all of between eleven and twelve hundred men. The next morning, the chevalier d'Asfeldt advanced with his troops to attack the confederates, who thereupon drew out and pofted their foot on a hill, towards which the enemy's foot was marching. About eight o'clock they were fully engaged, and the enemy pufhed two companies of English grenadiers; but major Bufton marched up with fome platoons, and beat them back again; at which time Connyngham received a fhot through his belly, and was carried off. Colonel Wills having then the command, continued the fight till three in the afternoon; but, though the enemy employed a great part of their forces to drive the confede rates from the hill, yet they kept their ground with so much refolution, that the enemy thought fit to retreat again to Fons and Almana. The troops fought with extraordinary bravery on both fides, fo that the muzzles of their pieces met. The confederates had feveral officers, and about one hundred and fifty private men killed or wounded, but had no prisoners taken from them; whereas the enemy had four hundred men killed, and left behind them à lieutenantcolonel, and a lieutenant of dragoons, who were made pri- Connyngfoners. Colonel Wills continued till five on the field of battle, and then marched to Balaguer, where lieutenantgeneral Connyngham died, three days after, of his wounds. Upon the news of the fuccefs in Catalonia, the councils of Portugal were quite changed. That court had a better Bortugal. profpect than formerly of the reduction of Spain. The war Burnet. was now divided, which lay wholly upon them before; and the French party there had no longer the old pretence to excuse their counfels by, that it was not fit for them to en gage themselves too deep in that war, nor to provoke the Spaniards too much, and expofe themselves to revenge, if the allies fhould defpair and grow weary of the war, and recall their troops and fleets. But now, that they faw the war carried on fo far in the remoteft corner of Spain, which muft give a great diverfion to king Philip's forces, it seemed VOL. XVI. M

ham dics

of his

wounds.

The coun

cils of

1705.

Affairs at

fea

a much fafer, as well as it was an easier thing, to carry on the war with more vigour for the future. Upon this, all poffible affurances were given the earl of Galway, that things fhould be conducted hereafter fully to his fatisfaction; fo that by his difpatches to England it appeared, that he was thoroughly convinced of the fincerity of their intentions, of which he had been in great doubt, or rather despair.

1

Affairs at fea were more profperous this year than they had been formerly. In the beginning of the feafon, our cruifers took fo many of the French privateers, that we had fome thousands of their feamen in our hands; and we kept fuch a fquadron before Breft, that the French fleet did not think fit to venture out; and their Toulon fquadron had fuffered fo much in the action of the former years, that they either could not or would not venture out. By this means our navigation was fafe, and our trade profperous. Affairs in In Hungary matters went on very doubtfully. TransylHungary, vania was almoft intirely ruined. Ragotfki had great misfortunes there, as the court of Vienna published the progress of the new emperor's arms; but this was not to be much depended upon. They could not conceal, on the other hand, the great ravages which the malecontents made in other places; fo that Hungary continued to be a scene of confufion and plunder.

and in Poland.

This

Poland was in no better condition. King Auguftus's party continued firm to him, though his long stay in Saxony gave credit to a report fpread about, that he was refolved to abandon that kingdom, and to return to it no more. fummer paft over in motions and actions of no great confequence: what was gained in one place, was loft in another. Stanislaus procured himself to be crowned. The old cardinal, though fummoned to Rome, would not go thither. He fuffered himself to be forced to own Stanislaus, but died before his coronation; and that ceremony was performed by the bishop of Cujavia. The Mufcovites made as great ra vages in Lithuania, as they had formerly done in Livonia. The king of Sweden was in perpetual motion; but, tho' he endeavoured it much, he could not bring things to a decifive action. In the beginning of winter, king Auguftus, with two perfons only, broke through Poland in disguise, and got away to the Muscovite army, which was put under his command. The campaign went on all the winter-season, which confidering the extreme cold in thofe parts, was thought a thing impracticable before. In the fpring after,

Reinfchild,

Reinfchild, a Swedish general, fell upon the Saxon army, 1705. which was far fuperior to his in number; for he had not above ten thousand men, whereas the Saxons were about eighteen thousand; notwithstanding which, he gave them a total defeat, killed about seven thousand, and took eight thousand prifoners, and their camp-baggage and artillery. Numbers, upon fuch occafions, are often fwelled, but it is certain, this was an intire victory. The Swedes gave it out, that they had not loft a thousand men in the action . and yet even this great advantage was not like to put an end to the war, nor to the distractions, into which that miferable kingdom was caft. In it the world faw the mifchiefs of an elective government, especially when the electors have loft their virtue, and fet themselves to fale. The king of Sweden continued in an obftinate averfion to all terms of peace; his temper, courage, and his military conduct, were much commended; but he grew too favage, and was fo pofitive and peremptory in his refolutions, that no applications could foften him, and he would fcarce. admit them to be made. He was devout almost to enthufiafm; and he was feverely engaged in the Lutheran rigidnefs, almost equally against papifts and calvinifts; but his education was fo much neglected, that he had not an equal measure of knowledge to direct this zeal.

chofen in

Burnet.

Having given fuch a view of the ftate of Europe this fum- A parliamer, as may ferve to fhew the proceedings in every part ment of it, we shall now return to England. The election of the members of the house of commons was managed with England. zeal and induftry on both fides. The clergy took great pains to infufe into all people tragical apprehenfions of the danger the church was in. The univerfities were inflamed with this, and took all poffible means to spread it over the nation with much vehemence. The danger of the church of England grew to be the word as given in an army. Men were known as they answered it. None carried this higher than the jacobites, though they had made a fchifm in the church. At laft, even the papifts, both at home and abroad, feemed to be disturbed with the fears which the danger of our church put them under; and this was fupported by the Paris gazette, though of that the party feemed afhamed. Books were writ and difperfed over the nation with great industry, to poffefs all people with the apprehenfions that the church was to be given up, that the bishops were betraying it, and that the court would fell it to the diffenters. Now it was, that the memorial of the church

M 2

1705.

church of England, penned by fome zealous churchmen, was printed and fpread abroad, fetting forth her melancholy fituation and diftrefs (a). They alfo hoped, that this campaign, proving lefs profperous, than had been expected, might

'fuch defigns, and that no man can heartily embrace one, without having favourable thoughts of the other. Nor can we blame them; for, if any man is perfuaded (as many of our fectaries avow themselves to be) that the ⚫difcipline and worship of the church of England are an abomination, his confcience will readily fuggeft to him, that he ought to do his utmott to purge the land from fuch abomination; and upon this

(a) This pamphlet was com poted by Dr. Drake the phyfician, and others, and humbly offered to the confideration of all true lovers of our church and conflitution. In it was the following paffage: Thofe, that ⚫ look no deeper than the furface of things, are apt to conclude, without hesitation, that the church of England is in a very flourishing condition. Its dignities and preferiments make a very good fhew, and the patronage of the queen feems to promife a continu-pretence has the church been ance of profperity. But, for ail this fine complexion and fair weather, there is an hectic fever lurking in the very bowels of it, which, if not timely cured, will infect all the humours, and at length deftroy the very being of it. The nation has a long time ⚫ abounded with fectaries, who, in the preceding century, violently overturned both church and ftate, tho' their own extravagance and confufion, through a fpecial providence, contributed more than human, wildom to the ⚫re establishment of them. The fons of thofe men yet remain, and inherit, many of them, the principles of their fathers. It would therefore be no very uncharitablefuppofition,without any other argument. to imagine them heirs of their defigns likewife; for it is eafy to demonftrate, that fuch principles lend naturally to

once already fubverted, tho' raifed again by God in a 'miraculous manner. In thofe days a thorough reformation,, ⚫ root and branch, was the cry of all the pulpits, the Shibboleth of the party. If, fince the church recovered its anci⚫ent luftre and authority, they have been more filent, and in appearance more moderate, it is not that they are better tempered or affected, but that, fubmitting to the neceffity of the times, they have diffembled their intentions better: Yet fome overt-attempts here, and the whole courfe of their proceedings in Scotland during thefe two laft reigns, fuf. ficiently fhew us what treatment we might expect, if they had the power. But these people, tho' they may have the will, have not the power alone to endanger the church. The diflenters are not yet 'confiderable enough for their ⚫ numbers

6

might put the nation into ill humour, which might furnifh them with fome advantages. In oppofition to all this, the court acted with fuch caution and coldness, that the w.igs.

numbers (however they boast of them) wealth, or quality, to bring about any great change in the conftitution of church or state. And our church is too ftrong to be shaken, but thro' the treachery or fupine 'negligence of its own mem-' ⚫bers, or those, at least, that 'pretend to be fuch; and, as fuch, palm themselves frequently upon their country and church, to the irreparable damage of both. The fad<den death of the late king difappointed, mortified, and humbled the diffenters and their abettors, the whigs, fo exceffively, that they were 'ready to have thrown a blank "to the church, and would have taken a general indemnity, with an exclufion from all public trust and office. They, who not a month before, "breathed nothing but defiance, ' and infulted the church, and' 'treated the princefs with the

bufed, by an extraordinary⚫ fubmiffion. But when, con'trary to these fears, they found. the head of the church, and, after her example, the members of it too, inclined not only to forgive, but to forget. past injuries, and that, instead of punishment, they met not with fo much as a rebuke or reproach, but comfortable fpeeches and kind affurances from the queen herself, and good countenance from fome of her prime minifters, their fpirits were elated in an inftant; the fpirit of humility and pacification vanished; their former infolence and prefumption returned upon them in full force; and they began to challenge and provoke the church as boldly as ever. Thus far the hillory of their carriage towards the church is public and recent, < as likewife the advances, that dejection of mind, this fweet-have been made in their fa

moft fcandalous indignities and rudeft calumnies, were ⚫ in an inftant grown the most dutiful fubjects, the most af⚫fectionate friends, and the moft peaceable, meek, chriftian-fpirited people in the univerfe. They preached no.. thing but charity, peace, and love, forgiveness of injuries, • oblivion of wrongs, and the ⚫utter abolition and extin&i

on of parties and factions for ever. So very good and gracious can men in fear be! But whence this humility and

M 3

'vour,

1705.