appeal to the French nation ftated the preliminaries infisted upon by the allies. "I order you," fays the most chriftian king in his circular letter to the archbishops and bishops of his kingdom," to acquaint my people within the extent of your government, that they fhould enjoy peace, if it had been in my power, as it was in my will, to procure them a good they wish for with reason; but which must be obtained by new efforts, fince the immenfe conditions I would have granted are useless towards the restoring of the public tranquillity." This had a powerful effect upon that great and high-fpirited people, who declared their readiness to fuffer all, and to facrifice all, rather than fubmit to fuch ignominy. Even in England the impression made was very vifible. It feemed unnatural, and contrary to every feeling of humanity, to compel the king of France to become a party in dethroning a prince of his own blood. All perfons of moderation and reflection faw clearly, from the terms now offered and refused, that the war was in future to be continued merely to gratify the immeasurable ambition of the houfe of Auftria; and that, exclufive of the flagrant injustice of forcing on the Spaniards a sovereign who was the object of the national abhorrence, the policy of the measure was in prefent circumftances extremely doubtful. For, the power of France being fo greatly reduced, while the grandeur of the Imperial family was elevated in the fame proportion, no lefs danger was to be apprehended from transferring Spain and the Indies to the house of Auftria than by leaving them in poffeffion of a prince of the houfe of Bourbon. From this æra the unpopularity of the war and of the existing whig administration may undoubtedly be dated. The tories faw and improved the advantage thus impoliticly afforded them :* and, to the honor of the people Vide Swift's Conduct of the Allies-a tract of great importance, as containing an excellent and admirable fummary of the tory arguments against the war. people of England, no fooner were they convinced of the injuftice of the war than it became the subject of general reprobation. There may," fays lord chancellor Clarendon," be better earth, better air, and a warmer fun. in other countries; but England is an inclosure of the best people in the world, when they are well informed and inftructed." All negotiation being now at an end, the campaign in Flanders was opened in June, 1709, by the fiege of Tournay, which furrendered at difcretion, after a long and obstinate resistance. The allies next prepared to attack the city of Mons. But the French army, now commanded by marechal Villars, posting themselves behind the woods of La Merte and Tanieres, in the neighborhood of Malplaquet, in order to obftruct this defign; the duke of Marlborough and prince Eugene formed a refolution to attack the French general in his camp, which, naturally strong, he had fortified with redoubts behind redoubts and entrenchments behind entrenchments, with fuch diligence and skill as to make it apparently inacceffible. After an obftinate, fierce and bloody engagement, however, the lines were forced; but not till 30,000 men were left dead upon the field---a horrid facrifice to the infatiable demon of war. Marechal Villars, after a fignal difplay of fkill and valor, was wounded, and compelled to retire from the scene of action but marechal Boufflers, fecond in command, made an excellent retreat; and the lofs of the victors was little lefs than that of the vanquished. The victory, however, was crowned by the taking of Mons; after which both armies went into winter-quarters. The elector of Hanover again took upon him the com mand of the army upon the Rhine; but count Merci, being detached with a confiderable body of troops to make an incurfion into Franche Comté, was repulfed with lofs by M. Harcourt, who conducted the oppofite army and the remaining operations of the campaign were entirely defenfive. A difpute A difpute arifing between the courts of Vienna and Turin refpecting the promised ceffion of fome diftricts of the Milanese to the latter, the duke of Savoy refused to take the field this year in person; and his general, count Thaun, after fome feeble efforts to penetrate into the French territory, repaffed the Alps, and marched back to Piedmont about the end of September. The Spanish and Portuguese armies on the frontier of Portugal were prepared for action early in the spring; and the marquis das Minas, contrary to the advice of the earl of Galway, determining to pafs the Coya in face of the enemy commanded by the marquis de Bay, was defeated with lofs-the British infantry, as usual, fighting heroically, and being abandoned as ufual by the Portuguese cavalry. The earl of Galway, as brave as unfortunate, had a horfe fhot under him, and very narrowly escaped being taken. This able general afterwards chose his posts along the Guadiana, to the banks of which he retreated, so judicioufly that the marquis de Bay could make no advantage of his victory. On the eastern fide, the town and castle of Alicant furrendered to the Spaniards, after a long and moft pertinacious defence. The enemy, who had formed the blockade early in the month of December, 1708, finding all other means ineffectual, refolved to blow up the rock on which the castle stands; and a mine being excavated with immenfe labor was filled with 1500 barrels of powder. The chevalier D'Asfeldt, who directed the operations of the fiege, generously reluctant to carry his purpose into execution, fummoned the governor, colonel Syburg, to furrender, and at the fame time permitted him to fend out two of his officers to view the condition of the mine. This produced no change in the refolution of the governor; and, the fignal being next day made for firing the mine, he walked. with feveral officers to the parade, and ordered the guard to retire which was no fooner done but the mine was blown blown up, and with little or no noife made, on the very parade, an opening in the rock of fome yards in length and about three feet wide, into which the governor and divers other officers fell: and, the opening inftantly clofing upon them, they all perished. Notwithstanding this horrid catastrophe, colonel D'Albon, upon whom the command de- volved, refused to capitulate. Great admiration being excited by fo extraordinary defence, a council of war was held at Barcelona, in order to concert effectual measures for their relief: and general Stanhope in perfon undertook the command of an armament destined for that purpose ; but the weather proved fo tempeftuous that the troops could not difembark. At length, provifions failing, and the garrison being reduced to extremity, general Stanhope fent a flag of truce to the Spanish commander, offering to furrender the castle of Alicant upon honorable terms; which were granted without hesitation, and the garrifon marched out, on the 18th of April, 1709, with two pieces of cannon and all the honors of war, and were immediately embarked for Minorca, and distributed into quarters of refreshment. On the frontier of Catalonia marechal Staremberg paffed the Segra, and captured the town of Balaguer-the garrifon being made prifoners of war: after which exploit he contented himself with acting upon the defensive, and by his vigilance and skill he prevented the enemy from gaining, with all their fuperiority of force, any advantage over him. The autumn of this year was distinguished by the total defeat of the king of Sweden by the czar at Pultowa. Refolving to invade Mufcovy, he had engaged himself. so far in the Ukraine that there was no poffibility remaining of retreat. He therefore, relying upon his fortune, paffed the Nieper, and invefted the important fortress of Pultowa. The czar marched at the head of a far fuperior army to raife the fiège. The king of Sweden nevertheless determined to rifque a battle; but he foon found that he had not now to to contend with the undisciplined rabble of Narva. The czar, by unwearied affiduity and perseverance, had converted his boors into foldiers. There was alfo no mean difplay of generalship on the part of the Ruffians; and in the end the Swedes were compelled to quit the field with the loss of their camp, artillery and baggage. Being closely pursued, the whole army, having neither bread nor ammunition, found themselves reduced to the dreadful neceffity of furrendering as prifoners of war. The king of Sweden himfelf, with a few followers, paffing the Nieper, took refuge in the Turkish dominions, fixing his refidence at Bender. Upon this great reverse of his affairs, king Auguftus, declaring his renunciation of the crown forced and void, returned to Poland; which his rival Stanislaus was in no lefs hafte to abandon, finding himself utterly unable to make any effectual refiftance. The kings of Denmark and Pruffia embraced this apparently-favorable opportunity to renew the war against Sweden. But the Danes, passing over the Sound to Schoenen, March 1710, were unexpectedly attacked and entirely defeated by the Swedish militia; and leaving behind them their horses, provifions and baggage, the remainder of their army embarked precipitately for Elfinore. After the termination of the campaign in the Netherlands, the French court renewed, in a covert manner, their overtures for peace; and applied, through the mediation of M. Petkum, resident from the duke of Holstein at the Hague, that paffes might be granted for fome ministers from France to come to Holland and renew the conferences; or otherwife, that M. Petkum fhould be permitted to go to France in order to concert fome expedient that might facilitate the fame general purpose. The first the states refufed, but they confented that Petkum fhould go to France; which he did the latter end of November. While thefe negotiations were carrying on, king Philip published a manifefto, wherein he protefted against all that should be |