occupying that advantageous position. On which his grace wrote a warm expoftulatory letter to their high-mightineffes, complaining how much lefs he found his authority in Flanders, than when he had the honor of commanding their troops the last year in Germany. In confequence of this remonftrance, general Schlangenburg, to whofe advice the refractory conduct of the field-deputies was attributed, received his difmiffion from the fervice. The projects of the duke being thus defeated both in Germany and Flanders, he was obliged to content himself with the conqueft of the petty fortrefs of Sout Leuwe, fituated in a morass contiguous to the river Gheet, and Santvliet a place in Flanders of no great confequence. In the mean time the elector of Bavaria surprised and carried by a coup de main the town of Dieft-making the garrifon prifoners of war; and thus ended the campaign in the Netherlands. The operations on the Mofelle and the Rhine after the retreat of the duke of Marlborough, were of inconfiderable moment. M. Villars, on the one hand, made himself master of Croon Weiffenburg, and Homburg; which the prince of Baden, on the other, revenged by paffing the Rhine and forcing the posts of Drufenheim and Haguenau in Alface; which enabled the Germans to secure their quarters, during the winter, on the French fide of the Rhine. In the month of May this year, 1705, died the emperor Leopold, who had experienced, during his long reign, very frequent and wonderful viciffitudes of fortune. He was Succeeded by his fon Jofeph king of the Romans, who inherited, with the Imperial diadem, all his father's weakness, pride, bigotry, and hatred of heresy. The duke of Marlborough, with whom the new emperor declared himself defirous to confer, arrived at Vienna November 12, 1705, where he was received with the higheft diftinction, and invefted with the high dignity of a prince of the empire—the lordship of Mindelheim, in the Circle of Suabia, being erected erected into a principality, and affigned to him in reward of his great fervices. He then vifited the courts of Berlin and Hanover, as in the preceding year, and arrived in London on the 30th of December, 1705. Prince Eugene, who commanded this year in Italy, had to encounter with great difficulties from the congenial talents and fuperior force of his antagonist the duc de Vendome. A well-fought but indecifive engagement took place between these great generals at Cufano, where the prince had indeed the honor of keeping the field, but M. Vendome feemed to reap the fruit of the battle. Nice was reduced by the end of the year, and the duke of Savoy had now no confiderable places remaining to him but Coni and Turin; and his refolution to adhere to the grand alliance in defiance of fortune, feemed, to the aftonifhment of all who recollected his former verfatility, not only unshaken but dignified and heroic. The campaign in Portugal had an auspicious commencement for, the fiege and vigorous defence of Gibraltar caufing a great diverfion of the Spanish arms, afforded the Portuguese an opportunity of penetrating the Spanish frontier; and fomething of the fpirit of enterprise appeared notwithstanding the indifpofition of the king; during which the queen of England, dowager of Charles II. who had returned to Portugal foon after the Revolution, was entrufted with the Regency of the kingdom. The allied troops, under the conde das Galveas and the earl of Galway, taking the field in the month of April, 1705, reduced the towns of Alcantara and Albuquerque on the fide of Alentejo; and on that of Beira, the marquis das Minas befieged and captured the town of Salva-terra, and plundered and deftroyed Sarca, which was abandoned by the enemy at his approach; after which both armies during the summer heats went into quarters of refreshment. In the beginning of October the combined armies, again taking the field under the fame commanders, invefted with their joint forces the the city of Badajoz, the fiege of which was for fome time carried on with every appearance of fuccefs. But, on the 11th of October, a bomb, unfortunately falling on one of the batteries, blew up the magazine of powder, with feveral of the gunners. And as, according to the vulgar obfervation, misfortunes rarely come fingle, the earl of Galway, haftening to the spot to give the necessary directions, exposed himself to the fire of a fort, a random fhot from which struck off his right hand fomewhat above the wrift. The earl being compelled to quit the camp, the conduct of the fiege was entrusted to baron Fagel, the general of the Dutch troops. But in a short time marechal de Teffé appearing unexpectedly at the head of a confiderable body of forces, the confederates thought proper to raise the siege, not without fome degree of precipitation and loss. Towards the end of June, the English fleet, with a large reinforcement of troops on board, under the command of fir Cloudefley Shovel and the earl of Peterborough, had arrived at Lisbon; and the prince of Heffe, who on the relief of Gibraltar had repaired also to that metropolis, giving to the archduke, styling himself king Charles III. the most pofitive affurances of the favorable difpofition of Catalonia and Valencia, and being strongly seconded by the earl of Peterborough, a man of great but eccentric talents, who was actuated by the spirit of wild and romantic adventure, the archduke declared his refolution to try his fortune in that part of Spain. The whole armament, having on board nineteen battalions of infantry and 1300 horfe, with a good train of artillery, arrived in the bay of Barcelona August 22, 1705, where a landing was affected amid the acclamation of the Catalans. A determination was taken in a council of war, immediately to lay fiege to the city of Barcelona, though defended by a numerous garrifon, and the force of the allies was to appearance utterly inadequate to fo hazardous an enterprife. But the principal dependance was on the known difaffection of the inhabitants to the existing exifting government. Deferters came daily from the town, who brought them much useful intelligence: the moft important article was, that fort Monjuic, a castle of great ftrength, fituated on the heights which in a great measure commanded the town, was very ill guarded, under the idea that it was in no danger of attack. A refolution was immediately taken to attempt it by a coup de main. The prince of Heffe and the earl of Peterborough, putting themselves at the head of a chofen body of troops, after a nocturnal and circuitous march attained to the fummit of the hill at break of day, September the 7th. At the first onset the prince of Heffe, an officer of extraordinary military skill and gallantry, fell mortally wounded. But the earl continued the affault with little prospect of success, till, the magazine of powder by fome accident fuddenly blowing up, the governor in confternation furrendered the fort. The city was now attacked with great advantage and increase of vigor on the part of the befiegers; and on the 9th of October the governor, don Francifco de Velafco, consented to capitulate; and the garrifon was allowed to march out with all the honors of war. : No fooner was the furrender of Barcelona known, than the whole province of Catalonia, the town of Roses excepted, declared in favor of king Charles III. The kingdom of Valencia, including its capital of the fame name, rapidly followed the example of Catalonia; Alicant alone retaining its allegiance to king Philip and the victors stood aftonished at their own extraordinary and unexpected fuccefs. But the conde de las Torres, a Spanish officer of great merit, entering Valencia at the head of a confiderable army, the kingdom feemed in danger of being loft as quickly as it was won. The earl of Peterborough, marching to its relief with a very inferior force, raised the fiege of St. Mattheo in eight days from his departure from Barcelona, though above thirty leagues diftant, distinguishing himself by a feries of the most daring and heroic actions; and after after surmounting innumerable difficulties, and sustaining incredible fatigues, he at length made a triumphant entry into Valencia. The new parliament met at Westminster October the 25, 1705. Of 513 members, 457 were present at the choice of a Speaker. The court declared for Mr. Smith, who had occupied the poft of chancellor of the exchequer in the late reign, a man of excellent understanding, of confiderable parliamentary talents, and of great integrity and moderation. The tories, now in avowed oppofition to court, nominated Mr. Bromley, member for the university of Oxford. On the divifion, Mr. Smith carried it by 250 to 207 voices-fo that it clearly appeared, to the great joy of the nation in general, that a whig parliament was elected. Some months previous to the meeting of the new parliament, the duke of Buckingham was difmissed from his office of lord-privy-feal, which was conferred upon the duke of Newcastle; and more recently the great feal was taken from fir Nathan Wright, lord-keeper, and given under the fame appellation to William Cowper, foon after created lord Cowper-a lawyer very eminent in his profession, an eloquent and graceful orator, and zealously attached to the whig principles of 1688. The fpeech from the throne, afcribed to the new lord-keeper, was much admired, and breathed the genuine fpirit of liberty as modified by the opinions and prejudices of the times. The queen declared her perfuafion that the two houses were convinced of the neceflity of profecuting the juft war in which they were engaged. She declared, "that nothing could be more evident than that, if the French king continued master of the Spanish monarchy, the balance of power in Europe would be utterly deftroyed-and fhe affirmed there was great ground to hope that, by the blefling of GOD, a good foundation was laid for its restoration to the house of Auftria. She avowed her intention of appointing commiffioners to treat of a union between the two kingdoms, agreeably to the 1 |