him

second line was brought up to sustain them: the horse turned their backs, and the infantry was totally routed. In a word, the confederates were obliged to retire with precipitation, leaving their cannon, and about eight thousand men killed or wounded on the field of battle. The duke of Schomberg having been denied the post which was his due, insisted upon fighting at the head of the troops maintained by the king of Great Britain, who were posted in the centre, and behaved with great gallantry under the eye of their commander. When the left wing was defeated, the count de los Torres desired he would take upon the command, and retreat with the infantry and the right wing but he refused to act without the order of his highness, and said, things were come to such a pass, that they must either conquer or die. He continued to animate his men with his voice and example, until he received a shot in the thigh. His valet seeing him fall, ran to his assistance, and called for quarter, but was killed by the enemy before he could be understood. The duke being taken at the same instant, was afterwards dismissed upon his parole, and in a few days died at Turin, universally lamented on account of his great and amiable qualities. The earl of Warwick and Holland, who accompanied him as a volunteer, shared his fate in being wounded and taken prisoner: but he soon recovered his health and liberty. This victory was as substantial as that of Landen, and almost as dear in the purchase; for the confederates made an obstinate defence, and yielded solely to superior number. The duke of Savoy retreated to Moncalier, and threw a reinforcement into Coni, which Catinat would not venture to besiege, so severely had he been handled in the battle. He therefore contented himself with laying the country under contribution, reinforcing the garrisons of Casal, Pignerol, and Susa, and making preparations for repassing the mountains. The news of the victory no sooner reached Paris, than Lewis despatched M. de Chanlais to Turin, with proposals for detaching the dukeof Savoy from the interest of the allies; and the pope, who was now become a partisan of France, supported the negotiation with his whole influence: but the French king

had not yet touched upon the right string. The duke continued deaf to all his addresses.

§ XXIII. France had been alike successful in her intrigues at the courts of Rome and Constantinople. The visir at the Porte had been converted into a pensionary and creature of Lewis; but the war in which the Turks had been so long and unsuccessfully engaged rendered him so odious to the people, that the grand seignior deposed him, in order to appease their clamours. The English and Dutch ambassadors at Constantinople forthwith renewed their mediation for a peace with the emperor; but the terms they proposed were still rejected with disdain. In the mean time general Heusler, who commanded the Imperialists in Transylvania, reduced the fortresses of Jeno and Villaguswar. In the beginning of July the duc de Croy assumed the chief command of the German army, passed the Danube and the Saave, and invested Belgrade. The siege was carried on for some time with great vigour : but, at length, abandoned at the approach of the visir, who obliged the Imperialists to repass the Saave, and sent out parties which made incursions into Upper Hungary. The power of France had never been so conspicuous as at this juncture, when she maintained a formidable navy at sea, and four great armies in different parts of Europe. Exclusive of the operations in Flanders, Germany, and Piedmont, the count de Noailles invested Roses in Catalonia, about the latter end of May, while at the same time it was blocked up by the French fleet, under the command of the count d'Etrées. In a few days the place was surrendered by capitulation, and the castle of Ampurias met with the same fate. The Spanish power was reduced to such a degree, that Noailles might have proceeded in his conquests without interruption, had not he been obliged to detach part of his army to reinforce Catinat in Piedmont.

§ XXIV. Nothing could be more inglorious for the English than their operations by sea in the course of this summer. The king had ordered the admirals to use all possible despatch in equipping the fleets, that they might block up the enemy in their own ports, and protect the commerce, which had suffered severely from the French privateers. They were, however, so dilatory in their pro

ceedings, that the squadrons of the enemy sailed from their harbours before the English fleet could put to sea. About the middle of May it was assembled at St. Helens, and took on board five regiments, intended for a descent on Brest; but this enterprise was never attempted. When the English and Dutch squadrons joined so as to form a very numerous fleet, the public expected they would undertake some expedition of importance: but the admirals were divided in opinion, nor did their orders warrant their executing any scheme of consequence. Killigrew and Delaval did not escape the suspicion of being disaffected to the service and France was said to have maintained a secret correspondence with the malcontents in England. Lewis had made surprising efforts to repair the damage which his navy had sustained. He had purchased several large vessels, and converted them into ships of war: he had laid an embargo on all the shipping of his kingdom, until his squadrons were manned; he had made a grand naval promotion to encourage the officers and seamen; and this expedient produced a wonderful spirit of activity and emulation. In the month of May his fleet sailed to the Mediterranean, in three squadrons, consisting of seventyone capital ships, besides bombketches, fireships, and tenders.

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XXV. In the beginning of June, the English and Dutch fleets sailed down the channel. On the sixth, sir George Rooke was detached to the Straits with a squadron of three-and-twenty ships, as convoy to the Mediterranean trade. The grand fleet returned to Torbay, while he pursued his voyage, having under his protection about four hundred merchant ships belonging to England, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Hamburgh, and Flanders. On the sixteenth, his scouts discovered part of the French fleet, under Cape St. Vincent: next day their whole navy appeared, to the amount of eighty sail. Sixteen of these plied up to the English squadron, while the vice-admiral of the white stood off to sea, to intercept the ships under convoy. Sir George Rooke, by the advice of the Dutch viceadmiral Vandergoes, resolved, if possible, to avoid an engagement, which could only tend to their absolute ruin. He forthwith sent orders to the small ships that were near

the land, to put into the neighbouring ports of Faro, St. Lucar, and Cadiz, while he himself stood off with an easy sail for the protection of the rest. About six in the evening ten sail of the enemy came up with two Dutch ships of war, commanded by the captains Schrijver and Vander Poel, who seeing no possibility of escaping, tacked in shore; and, thus drawing the French after them, helped to save the rest of the fleet. When attacked they made a most desperate defence, but at last were overpowered by numbers and taken. An English ship of war and a rich pinnace were burned; nine-and-twenty merchant vessels were taken, and about fifty destroyed by the counts de Tourville and D'Etrées. Seven of the largest Smyrna ships fell into the hands of M. de Coetlegon, and four he sunk in the bay of Gibraltar. The value of the loss sustained on this occasion amounted to one million sterling. Meanwhile Rooke stood off with a fresh gale, and on the nineteenth sent home the Lark ship of war with the news of his misfortune; then he bore away for the Madeiras, where having taken in wood and water, he set sail for Ireland, and on the third day of August arrived at Cork, with fifty sail, including ships of war and trading vessels. detached captain Fairborne to Kinsale, with all his squadron, except six ships of the line, with which, in pursuance of orders, he joined the great fleet then cruising in the chops of the channel. On the twenty-fifth day of August, they returned to St. Helens, and the four regiments were landed. On the nineteenth day of September, fifteen Dutch ships of the line, and two frigates, set sail for Holland; and twenty-six sail, with seven fireships, were assigned as guardships during the winter.

He

§ XXVI. The French admirals, instead of pursuing Rooke, to Madeira, made an unsuccessful attempt upon Cadiz, and bombarded Gibraltar, where the merchants sunk their ships, that they might not fall into the hands of the enemy. Then they sailed along the coast of Spain, destroyed some English and Dutch vessels at Malaga, Alicant, and other places; and returned in triumph to Toulon. About this period, sir Francis Wheeler returned to England with his squadron, from an unfortunate expedition in the West Indies. In conjunction with colonel

Codrington, governor of, the leeward islands, he made unsuccessful attempts upon the islands of Martinique and Dominique. Then he sailed to Boston in New England, with a view to concert an expedition against Quebec, which was judged impracticable. He afterwards steered for Placentia in Newfoundland, which he would have attacked without hesitation; but the design was rejected by a majority of voices in the council of war. Thus disappointed, he set sail for England; and arrived at Portsmouth in a very shattered condition, the greater part of his men having died in the course of this voyage.

§ XXVII. In November another effort was made to annoy the enemy. Commodore Benbow sailed with a squadron of twelve capital ships, four bombketches, and ten brigantines, to the coast of St. Maloes, and anchoring within half a mile of the town, cannonaded and bombarded it for three days successively. Then his men landed on an island, where they burned a convent. On the nineteenth they took the advantage of a dark night, a fresh gale, and a strong tide, to send in a fireship of a particular contrivance, stiled the Infernal, in order to burn the town: but she struck upon a rock before she arrived at the place, and the engineer was obliged to set her on fire, and retreat. She continued burning for some time, and at last blew up, with such an explosion as shook the whole town like an earthquake, unroofed three hundred houses, and broke all the glass and earthenware for three leagues round. A capstan that weighed two hundred pounds was transported into the place, and falling upon a house, levelled it to the ground: the greatest part of the wall towards the sea tumbled down; and the inhabitants were overwhelmed with consternation: so that a small number of troops might have taken possession without resistance; but there was not a soldier on board. Nevertheless, the sailors took and demolished Quince Fort, and did considerable damage to the town of St. Maloes, which had been a nest of privateers that infested the English commerce. Though this attempt was executed with great spirit, and some success, the clamours of the people became louder and louder. They scrupled not to say, that the counsels of the nation were betrayed; and their suspicions arose even to the