Section 18 of the Life of John Churchill, Duke of Malboro, by Louise Creighton. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain, recording by Pamela Nagami. Chapter 9. Rommelies, Part 1. By the 25th of April, 1706, Malboro was again at the Hague, where he was much annoyed at the backward state of the preparations for the next campaign. The Margrave of Baden, as usual, would not stir from his palace at Rostadt. The small remnant of the Imperial Army in Italy had been entirely defeated before Urgen could get together the troops which he was to lead to their relief. In Spain, the wonderful success of Lord Peterborough had led to new complications. He was more suited to cope with overwhelming difficulties than to command in times of prosperity. The court of the Archduke Charles was distracted by quarrels, and every post brought complaints of Peterborough's overbearing temper. Louis XIV, meanwhile, had been as active as usual, and his armies were ready to take the field in every quarter. A large army of French and Spaniards under Philip V was preparing to march against the Archduke Charles, whilst the Duke of Berwick kept the Portuguese at bay. Malboro heard nothing but dispiriting news. He had been so disgusted with the conduct of the Dutch deputies and generals in the last campaign, that he had made up his mind not to carry on the war in the Netherlands again, but to lead his army into Italy. Together with Urgen, the one colleague whom he could entirely trust, he hoped to win a victory as great as Blenheim. From Vienna, however, he was urgently begged to command on the Moselle. This was soon shown to be an impossibility as the German princes were not ready. Meanwhile, his Italian plan grew still more hopeless, where the troops of the various allies, especially the Danes and the Prussians, were so slow and arriving that he had not enough troops whom he could command unconditionally. The Dutch were as timid as ever at the thought of any distant operations, and some successes of Villar over the Margrave of Baden on the Upper Rhine so terrified them that they employed Malboro to give up all thought of Italy and stay to defend them. They promised, if he would do so, to free him from the control of the field deputies, either by allowing him to choose them himself or by giving them secret orders to obey him and everything. Malboro was obliged to yield, and with a heavy heart he gave up his favorite plan of a campaign in Italy. There seemed little prospect of doing anything in the Netherlands. The French were still securely entrenched in their camp behind the deal, and Malboro feared that this campaign would prove as ineffective as the last. But by a decided move he changed the face of affairs. He made preparations for the Siege of Nemours, and Villarrois received orders to risk a battle rather than let Nemours fall into the hands of the English. He therefore left his camp and marched upon Tiremon. Malboro sent pressing orders to collect his troops and full of joy at the prospect of a battle marched to meet the French. Villarrois was confident of victory. Judging by the events of the last campaign he thought himself superior as a general to his opponent, and he had under him the king's household troops, who were renowned as the best soldiers in France. Early on the morning of the 23rd of May he took up a strong position on Mont Saint-André, part of an elevated plain which forms the highest ground in Brabant. In it the Meaigne, the deal, and the great and little get take their rise, and as they flow but sluggishly they make the ground at their sources and along their banks marshy and wet. The plain is dotted with villages and small woods. Villarrois had posted almost his whole cavalry on his right between the Meaigne and the village of Rommelies, in front of a mound known as the Tomb of Automand. His center extended from Rommelies to Ophu, and his left from Ophu to Anderkirch, the whole presenting a concave shape. Mont Bourreux had intended to occupy the position of Mont Saint-André himself, but only on the morning of the 23rd had he got all his troops together, and heavy rains during the night made it difficult for the infantry to get on quickly. He pushed on over the lines of the enemy which he had destroyed the year before. The morning was foggy, and it was nearly noon before the two armies as the fog dispersed came in sight of one another. They each numbered about sixty thousand men, and Mont Bourreux who was now free to act as he liked, without asking permission of the deputies, determined to attack at once. He saw, in a moment, the weakness of the enemy's position. Their lines extended in a concave shape, whilst he occupied the middle of the circle, and so could bring his troops to bear upon any point in the battlefield quicker than could his opponents. The key of the position was the Tomb of Automand. If he could take this, he would command the whole field. His plan, therefore, was to make a feigned attack on the enemy's left, so as to disconcert their arrangements, and draw off attention from the right. Then he would attack Tavière, and press on to the Tomb of Automand. Orders were therefore given for the infantry which marched on Maul Bourreux's right to advance against Anderkirk. Vilrois at once drew some of his infantry from the center, and marched to its relief. Meanwhile a vigorous attack was made on Tavière, and Vilrois realized, too late, that it was on his right, not on his left, that the main effort of the enemy was to be made. He ordered reinforcements to march to Tavière, but it was taken before they could arrive. Tavière, once taken, over Kierk, charged the French cavalry, but these were the famous household troops made up in great part of young nobles who cared only for fame and were indifferent to safety. The Dutch cavalry was driven back, and Maul Bourreux hastened to the spot with fresh squadrons. In the confusion, whilst he was busy encouraging his troops, he was surrounded by some of the enemy who had recognized him. He was thrown from his horse, and was in great danger of being taken prisoner, till his aid to camp dismounted and gave him his horse. His equity advanced to hold the stirrup for him, and whilst he did so his head was shot off. But Maul Bourreux escaped alive, and though bruised by his fall, led on the charge himself. The troops were fired by his spirit, and before their vigorous attack the enemy gave way. The Danish and the Dutch troops charged at the same time, and the French were driven back round Rommelies, whilst the Allies gained the height of Ottomand. The day was lost. But Ville-Roi and the Elector still hoped to make a stand at Ofu. The whole field was in such confusion that they hoped to be able to form their broken troops before the Allies could assemble to attack them. Maul Bourreux however at once sent part of the English horse against them, and they were forced to evacuate Ofu. They retreated in good order, the Elector encouraging his troops by his own bravery. But a successful attack made by the English horse on the Bavarian and Spanish regiments so terrified the mass of the French army that they turned and fled, plunging through the great get in the wildest confusion. Their own baggage wagons broken down and overturned in the hurry hindered their flight, and immense numbers were taken prisoner, whilst all their baggage and most of their artillery fell into the enemy's hands. The battle had lasted only three hours and a half. But their pursuit lasted till two in the morning, up to the very walls of Louvain. Maul Bourreux and Overkirk halted at Meldert within two miles of Louvain, and from thence on the moral Maul Bourreux sent letters to the Duchess and Gadolphin with the joyful news. Having been, he writes, all Sunday, as well as last night on horseback, my head aches to that degree which I must refer you to the bearer. I shall only add that we beat them into so great a consternation that they abandoned all their cannon. At night in the marketplace of Louvain, Villeroix and the elector held an anxious consultation by torchlight. They decided that they could not hold the city, and fled on to Brussels, abandoning all the open places in the country to the enemy. In this great victory all the Allied troops distinguished themselves by their brave fighting. The French suffered from their overconfidence, and above all, from the superiority of Maul Bourreux's generalship. His great ability is shown most clearly by this battle. The victory was owing to no lucky chance, to no superiority of force, in an equally matched battle, Maul Bourreux by his wise arrangements, by his rapidity in seizing every opportunity as it occurred, by his constant presence and activity in every part of the field, had driven the enemy from a strong position, and scattered them in hopeless confusion. The fighting though severe had not lasted long, and the losses were not nearly so heavy as at Blenheim. In killed, wounded, and prisoners the French lost 15,000 men, whilst the Allies lost over 3,000. The results of this victory were surprising to Maul Bourreux himself. At Louvain he was received with joy, and thence led his army across the deal, which the French were too dispirited to defend. Brussels, Maline, and all the chief towns of Brabant opened their gates to him. He promised that their liberties should be observed, and entered Brussels in triumph on May 28th, 1706. Everywhere the inhabitants gladly threw off the yoke of France, and proclaimed with enthusiasm the Archduke Charles, King of Spain, and Overlord of the Netherlands. Gent, Bruges, Udenaerde, and the chief towns of Flanders followed the example of Brabant, and the French were obliged to desert the line of the Shelt and to fall back almost to their own frontier. It is not to be expressed, wrote Maul Bourreux to Gadolfin, the great success that his pleas got to give us by putting a consternation in the enemy's army, for they had not only a greater number than we, but all the best troops of France. Maul Bourreux next proceeded to besiege Antwerp, and here he expected a lengthened resistance. But the French troops within the city quarreled with the Spanish and Flemish part of the garrison who surrendered the town to Maul Bourreux, whilst the French were allowed to retire. Ostend was then besieged. It had a strong garrison, and the soldiers were full of courage, for they remembered that a hundred years before it had taken three years and a loss of eighty thousand men to reduce the city. But Maul Bourreux carried on the attack with such vigor that Ostend fell after a siege of nine days. Maul Bourreux then moved his camp to superintend the siege of Menant. This fortress was situated on the Lys, and was one of the masterpieces of Volban, the great French military engineer. In a desperate attack upon the fortifications, Maul Bourreux lost fourteen hundred men in two hours. But the garrison also suffered heavily, and after a siege of twenty-three days Menant fell. The Lys was the boundary between the Netherlands and France. Louis XIV, anxious at least to protect his frontier, summoned his ablest general Van Dom from Italy to command the army in the Netherlands. But Van Dom found the troops so dispirited that he did not dare to venture upon any decided action. Maul Bourreux was allowed to besiege without opposition Dendermonda, a town which he desired for the safety of his winter quarters. Dendermonda was considered perfectly safe from any enemy. It was so situated at the conflicts of the Scheldt and the Dender that the governor, by opening the sluices, could flood the surrounding country. They must have an army of ducks to take it, said Louis XIV. But the weather favoured them, and the city fell after a few days. That place, wrote Maul Bourreux, could never have been taken, but by the hand of God, which gave us seven weeks without any rain. The rain began the next day after we had possession. At, another strong town on the Dender, surrendered on October 4th after a siege of twelve days. Maul Bourreux would have liked to go on to the Siege of Mance, but was prevented by the timidity of the Dutch, and settled his army in winter quarters, some along the Dender, some in the different towns of Brabant. CHAPTER IX ROMELIES PART II On the news of the wonderful result of the Battle of Rommelies, the Emperor Joseph, with enthusiastic gratitude, had written to Maul Bourreux, appointing him in the name of the Archduke Charles, governor of Brabant. The post was both honourable and lucrative, and Maul Bourreux would gladly have accepted it. The English government also wished him to do so, but he soon found out that even his warmest friends amongst the Dutch would bitterly resent it. Success brought out all the selfish and jealous feelings of the Dutch, and they looked out only for reaping advantages and new territory for themselves. As Maul Bourreux wrote, such is their temper, that when they have misfortunes they are desirous of peace upon any terms, and when we are blessed by God with success they are for turning it to their own advantage without any consideration how it may be liked by their friends and allies. At last it was agreed that a provisional government in the name of Charles should be established in the Netherlands and that the administration should be shared by Holland and England. In Italy the tide of war had at last turned, and in the midst of his own triumph Maul Bourreux was gladdened by the news of an equally brilliant success won by Prince Eugene. The campaign had opened dismally. The Duke of Savoy was so hard pressed that it was impossible for him to take any steps to relieve Turin, which was firmly enclosed on all sides by the enemy's lines. But when Vendôme was summoned to the Netherlands, the French army was left under the less able command of Villar and the Duke of Orléans. Prince Eugene had at last got together the troops with which he was coming to the aid of the Duke of Savoy. Through mountainous tracks which had been hitherto considered impassable by any army, he marched upon Turin. The Duke of Savoy were gained hope by his presence and together they attacked the French army, though it was stronger in numbers and entrenched in a secure position. The French were entirely routed and driven away from Turin on September 7, and Eugene and the Duke of Savoy entered the town in triumph. The French were driven from Piedmont and the beginning of the next year saw the whole of North Italy in the hands of the Allies. But the selfish aims of Austria produced difficulties here, as the selfish aims of Holland produced difficulties in the Netherlands. Austria thought only of securing her own possessions in Italy without considering the interests of the Duke of Savoy and the other Allies complained bitterly of the want of care shown by the Emperor for the common cause. Albera received the news of the victory of Turin with the greatest joy. It is impossible for me, he wrote to the Duchess, to express the joy it has given me, for I do not only esteem, but I really love that prince. The news from Spain was of a less pleasing kind. Louis XIV had determined to make a great effort to win back what had been lost in 1705, and Philip V led a large army to recover Bartholona, whilst the town was at the same time blockaded by a French fleet. It seemed as if it must be lost, for Peterborough had not sufficient forces to oppose the French. But just at the last moment an English fleet appeared in sight, and Philip was forced to raise the siege and retire to Madrid. Neither could he stay long in Madrid, but was forced to fly before the Confederate army from the west under Galway and the Portuguese general Daminas. It seemed as if at last Spain was rested from the Bourbon, and was safe in the hands of the Allies. But here the tide turned. Galway wished Charles to press forward at once and make his entry into Madrid, but Charles wanted to enter in state and said he must wait till his carriage was ready. This delay was fatal, for the inhabitants of Madrid were strongly in favour of Philip, and Galway soon found it impossible to hold the town for a king who could not trouble himself to come and take possession of it. He marched from Madrid to join the army of Charles, and Beric with the French army entered as he left it. Philip V was growing extremely popular amongst the Spaniards, and his misfortunes had made them still more zealous for his cause. Beric's army was swelled daily by new recruits, whilst the Allied army dwindled from sickness and desertion, and the Allies, though they had too few soldiers, had too many generals. There were constant disputes and jealousies between Galway, Daminas, Peterborough, and Charles and his Austrians. Peterborough was imperious and self-willed. He had no feelings of respect to curb his arrogant tongue and continually offended Charles by his violent speeches. Everyone wrote complaints to England and to Malbora, and the recall of Peterborough was urgently pressed. Peterborough himself was weary of a position which did not give him the authority he desired, and at last availed himself of a permission that had been given him when he left England to go on to Italy and collect supplies for the Duke of Savoy. The Allies in Spain thus lost their one really able general, whose brilliant qualities, however, were rendered comparatively useless by his arrogance and flightiness. The Allies retired before Beric into Valencia, where they took up their winter quarters. The old jealousies of the rival kingdoms made Aragón, Valencia, and Catalonia jealous for the cause of Charles, just because Castile favored Philip. On the Rhine the campaign had produced no results. The Margrave of Baden was sinking under a mortal disease, which increased his naturally stubborn and jealous temper. The French General Villar had hoped to signalize himself by some brilliant exploit, but his forces were so much weakened by the continual draft of troops to reinforce the army in the Netherlands that he was forced to content himself with remaining on the defensive. The prosperity of the Allies reached its highest point in this year, 1706. Louis XIV had suffered so severely on all sides, France was so terribly exhausted by the drain made upon it by the war, that he was led to make preliminary overtures of peace to the Dutch. The terms offered were the formation of a strong barrier in the Netherlands for the Dutch, the recognition of Queen Anne, the session of Spain, the Indies, and the Spanish Netherlands to the Archduke Charles, on condition that Milan and the two Sicilies should be formed into a kingdom for Philip and considerable commercial advantages to England and Holland. The Dutch were strongly inclined for peace, and these terms seemed to them all that could be desired. Malbara thought that the French asked for too much in Italy, and that Milan certainly could not be conceded to them. He was himself anxious to continue the war, as his enemy said, from his desire for the large income he received as Commander-in-Chief, but as he himself said repeatedly in his private, as well as his official letters, that he thought another successful campaign was necessary to procure a safe, honourable and lasting peace. He prevailed so far with Hensius and his other friends at the Hague that the proposal of France to open conferences for the negotiation of peace was rejected. Preparations were therefore made on all sides for the next campaign. By the light of after-events, it certainly seems as if the allies would have done wisely to conclude a peace on the terms offered by Louis XIV. Their affairs were never so prosperous again, and the terms they ultimately obtained after the enormous expenditure of men and money involved in several years more fighting are insignificant when compared with those now suggested. Whilst busy directing the campaign, Malbara had as usual been actively engaged in diplomatic matters. The English government was anxious to get from the foreign powers a guarantee of the Protestant succession. Negotiations for this purpose were first of all opened with the Dutch, and Malbara offered that in return England would promise to secure to the Dutch as safe a barrier as they could desire. This question of a barrier always excited the grasping spirit of the Dutch. Their demands were so exorbitant that the jealousy of Austria was aroused, for all that was taken to form a barrier for Holland must be taken from the Spanish Netherlands, the Dominions of the Archduke Charles, and after much weary correspondence which only served to inflame bitter feelings on all sides, nothing was settled. The Duke of Malbara reached London on his return from the Hague on the 18th November. He received the solemn thanks of both houses of parliament who lauded his exploits in the most enthusiastic terms. They spoke of Ramalese as a victory so great and glorious in its consequences and attended with such continued successes through the whole course of this year that no age can equal. The war was still so popular that the necessary supplies for the next campaign were voted without any opposition. As a substantial mark of the national gratitude the House of Lords petitioned the Queen to continue by active parliament Malbara's title and honors to his daughters and their heirs male as he had no son to inherit his name. It was also ordained at Malbara's special request that the manner of Woodstock and the House of Blenheim should always go with the title after the death of the Duchess on whom it had been settled for life. Further to celebrate the successes of the campaign a procession was arranged to convey the colors and standards taken at Ramalese from Whitehall to Guildhall. The procession passed through St. James's Park and the Queen appeared at one of the windows of the palace to do it honor. It was followed by the Duke himself and one of the royal coaches attended by a magnificent train of carriages filled with the foreign ministers and nobility. The streets were crowded by the enthusiastic people and followed by their joyful shouts Malbara pursued his way to Vintner's Hall where the mayor and common council entertained him at a magnificent banquet. End of Section 19. Section 20 of Life of John Churchill Duke of Malbara by Louise Creighton this Libra Box recording is in the public domain recording by Pamela Nagami. Chapter 10 Political Parties in England Part 1. During the last years the political views of Malbara and Gadolphin had been slowly changing. At the accession of Anne they were both looked upon as firm Tories and the fact that the war was supported by the Tories was mainly due to its being under the direction of a Tory general. But the war was in reality a wig war. It was the expression of the policy of William the Third. It was the exact reverse of all that the stewards had done and tended utterly to ruin the hope still cherished by the Jacobites as the most extreme Tories were called that the pretender might someday be called to the throne. At first the Tories were willing to support a wig war because it was carried on by a Tory general and the wigs were willing to submit patiently to their exclusion from all important offices because they saw that a Tory government was willing to carry on the war with vigor. But this state of things could not last. The government was soon forced to break with the most violent Tories. Rochester first and then Nottingham lost their places which were filled up by more moderate men. The government had to lean more and more upon the wigs for support in their policy. The extreme Tories lost no opportunity of attacking Malbara and Godolphin. Whilst on the other hand the wigs as was natural began to weary of being kept from all share in the government. Between the two parties Godolphin a man of no decision of character and with no firm convictions of his own was hopelessly harassed and perplexed. Whilst Malbara who cared little for party and only wished to be left free to carry on the war in his own way grew daily more indignant with party intrigue and more determined to carry on the government by means of moderate men without regard to party. The Duchess was entirely on the side of the wigs who courted her that she might use her influence in their favor. A perpetual busybody she mixed herself in everything and lost no opportunity of stirring up Godolphin and Malbara against the Tories and urging them to favor the wigs. She used her influence with Anne in the same way and in no measured terms urged the cause of the wigs on her royal mistress whom she was accustomed to rule at her pleasure. But she miscalculated the strength of Anne's obstinacy. Anne was a decided Tory and before all things attached to the Anglican church. Her great objection to the wigs was that they were too latitudinarian in their religious views and she was not to be bullied into bestowing her favor upon them. The more she resisted the more overbearing the Duchess became and there were times when it seemed as if the Queen was wearying of the violent tyranny which her favorite exerted over her. After the Battle of Blenheim the murmurs of the Tories were lost in the general enthusiasm of the nation. But when Parliament met in the end of 1704 the violent Tories found the means of secretly attacking the government by introducing a bill against occasional conformity. The object of this bill was to prevent dissenters from qualifying themselves to fill posts in the government by receiving the sacrament as prescribed by the Test Act according to the rights of the Anglican church and still continuing to frequent dissenting places of worship. This bill had been first brought into the house in 1703 and had then been warmly supported by the government as it was an entire accordance with the decidedly high church opinions of the Queen. In the House of Commons the Tories had a majority and the bill passed easily but was thrown out by the wid majority of the House of Lords. The same thing happened in the next session when the ardor of the government for the bill had decidedly cooled and in 1704 the bill was brought forward a third time in direct opposition to the wishes of the government. This time the extreme Tories wished to make victory certain. They tacked on to the bill against occasional conformity a bill granting the land tax. It was a rule of the House that the Lords could not amend a money bill. They must either accept or reject it as it stood. If therefore these two bills had gone up to the Lords tacked together the Lords would have been obliged either to accept the occasional conformity bill or to throw the government into extreme confusion by refusing the necessary supplies. This violent measure on the part of the extreme Tories or tackers as they were now called disgusted the moderate Tories who with hardly at their head combined with the wigs to throw out the bill. The occasional conformity bill alone easily passed the Commons but was once more thrown out by the Lords where even Malbara and Godolphin voted with the wigs against it. These proceedings completed the breach between Malbara and Godolphin and the extreme Tories. Malbara expressed it as his opinion that no quarter should be given to the tackers and Godolphin wrote to the Duchess although there must be no present resentment shown nor so much as threatened yet I assure you when the session is over I shall never think any man fit to continue in his employment who gave his vote for the tack. The three years during which the Parliament was then entitled to sit according to the Triennial Act were at an end and every effort was made by the government to prevent the tackers from being returned at the new election. Still Malbara not quite satisfied with the results wrote to the Queen from the Rhine July 27th, 1705. I find there are enough of the tackers in their adherents to stir everything that may be uneasy to your Majesty and the government to prevent which I think your Majesty should advise with the Lord Treasurer what encouragement may be proper to give the wigs that they may look upon it as their own concern early to beat down and oppose all proposals of that sort before they come to any height. He went on to beg the Queen to let nothing interfere with the confidence she put in Godolphin for he is the only man in England capable of giving such advice as may keep you out of the hands of both parties. Disgusted with the extreme Tories and beginning to lean more decidedly toward the wigs Malbara still clung to his hope of carrying on the government without placing it entirely in the hands of either party but the wigs were determined no longer to be kept out of office. They were a strong and compact body. At their head were five peers known as the Junto who kept them together and guided their policy. These were Summers, Wharton, Halifax, Oxford and Sunderland all men of distinguished ability and tried merit. Summers was perhaps the only one of the five who had any claims to real greatness. In an age when nearly every statesman changed his politics if it suited his interest as easily as he changed his clothes he had remained from purely patriotic motives a firm adherent of wig principles. He had made his way of life entirely by his own abilities and had first acquired notoriety by his able defense of the seven bishops in the reign of James II. He was a man of great culture and learning the friend and patron of Lacan Addison and master of all social graces. As a lawyer he was learned and acute his eloquence called forth general admiration and both in speaking and writing his style was terse, forcible and clear. No heat of party animosity could ruffle his calm dignity. No desire for personal advancement could make him untrue to his principles. To him the wigs looked up as their real leader and it may have been perhaps the influence of his wise and sober character that kept them from going the same lengths in intriguing and cabaling that the Tories did at that time. William III had at once recognized Summer's merit. He had made him Lord Chancellor and raised him to a peerage. He was the only one amongst the wigs whom William really trusted and liked. At Anne's accession he was excluded with the other wigs from the Privy Council but he showed no bitterness toward the government and continued to interest himself actively in politics giving his warm support to all measures that he thought for the good of his country. Swift, while still an adherent of the wigs, lauded Summer's in the warmest terms. He dedicated to him the tale of the tub and in his dedication says, there is no virtue either of a public or private life which some circumstances of your own have not often produced upon the stage of the world. Later on when he was using all his powers of invective against the wigs even he could not deny Summer's great abilities. He says, I allow him to have possessed all excellent qualifications except virtue. He had violent passions and hardly subdued them by his great prudence. Thomas, Lord Wharton, was a man of brilliant talents but of a dissolute and profligate character. His father had been a covenanter and he was brought up with all the strictness of the Puritans. From such surroundings the sudden plunge into the wild dissipation of London after the restoration loosened for him as it did for so many others, all moral ties. He became an open scoffer at religion and virtue, rippled and profane in his talk and shameless in his manner of life.  Careless of everything else he was at all times a consistent wig and was lauded by his party as having been one of the main instruments in bringing about the revolution. William III had rewarded his ear by giving him various offices but could never feel real sympathy for a man of his character. His exclusion from all share in the government after the accession of Anne drove him into violent opposition which was only slightly moderated by Summer's influence. He reviled his opponents in coarse and unmeasured language and was in his turn looked upon by the Tories as one of the most unprincipled and dangerous wigs. Swift says of him, he was the most universal villain that ever I knew. The wigs themselves could not look upon him as an altogether useful friend but spoke of him as a man who could do more good or harm than anyone else. Charles Montague, Lord Halifax. Though of good family, had as younger son of a younger son of the Earl of Manchester, begun life with no prospects and no resources but his own abilities. His rise had been surprisingly rapid. At the age of 30, directly after the revolution he obtained a seat in the House of Commons and soon distinguished himself by his great skill in debate. He devoted himself to the study of finance and at the age of 37 became First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer. He was the chief founder of the Bank of England and the new East India Company. He restored the currency and established paper credit. For some years he seemed to carry all before him. His influence and his popularity were unbounded. He was the leader of the majority and the most distinguished figure in the House of Commons. Himself a cultivated man and having won some slight fame in his youth by his poems, he was a patron and friend to men of letters, especially to Addison and Isaac Newton. In 1700, William made him Lord Halifax, the title having become extinct by the death of the great Trimmer. But his popularity was already on the wane. With all his intellect he had a weak head and his astonishing success had been too much for him. His vanity and self-sufficiency made him ludicrous and difficult to work with. The wits of the day made fun of the way in which he tried to make even his small person of importance by a majestic strut and imperious look. Later on when the wigs were no longer predominant, his restless vanity and ambition made his party doubtful of his trustworthiness. He could not patiently endure the exclusion from office like summers. End of Section 20. Section 21 of Life of John Churchill, Duke of Malvara by Louise Creighton. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain, recording by Pamela Nagami. Chapter 10, Political Parties in England, Part 2. Edward Russell, Earl of Orford, to a great extent owed the confidence which the Whig Party placed in him to the fact that he was the brother of the virtuous William Russell who had been so shamefully executed for his supposed complicity in the Rye House plot. He had begun life in the Duke of York's household and had there formed an early friendship with Malvara. He was skillful both as a naval commander and as a manager of naval affairs, but he was of a grasping and ambitious character and thought was not known till after his death had lost all claim to the confidence of the Whigs by his secret communications with James at Saint-Germain. He had one popularity by his victory off L'Aug and the Whigs believed that naval affairs could only prosper under his direction, but as a statesman he never gained distinction. These four men were the leaders of the Whig Party during the reign of William III. Sunderland, the youngest member of the Junto, had only risen to importance in Ansrein. He was in everything the follower of Summers, but he was wanting intact and moderation and the violence of his political opinions made Malvara decidedly unwilling to do anything for his promotion in spite of the close tie that bound them together. In the Duchess, however, Sunderland had a firm friend. She never wearied of pushing his claims and when Malvara and Gadolfin were obliged to lean more on the support of the Whigs, one of the most pressing demands of the Junto was that some post should be obtained for Sunderland, for as Malvara's son-in-law, he at least was entitled to advancement. But the Queen, besides her decided dislike to the Whigs, had a special dislike to Sunderland and all that could be obtained for him at first was an appointment as ambassador extraordinary to Vienna in 1705. When Sunderland returned from Vienna in 1706, no effort was spared to get him made Secretary of State in place of Sir Charles Hedges Atori. The Queen showed the greatest objection to the change. She had a horror of falling into the hands of the Whigs. She writes to Gadolfin, why for God's sake must I who have no interest, no end, no thought but for the good of my country be made so miserable as to be brought into the power of one set of men? And why may not I be trusted, since I mean nothing but what is equally for the good of all my subjects? There is another apprehension I have of Lord Sunderland being Secretary, which I think is a natural one, which proceeds from what I have heard of his temper. I am afraid he and I should not agree long together, finding by experience my humor and those that are of a warmer will often have misunderstandings. I conclude begging you to consider how to bring me out of my difficulties and never leave my service for Jesus Christ's sake, for this is a blow I cannot bear. But Gadolfin knew that the Whigs would not support the government unless Sunderland were made Secretary. They had waited long enough without any reward for their services. Without their support the war could not go on and Gadolfin did not cease to urge the Queen to give way. The Duchess interfered with her usual violence and pressed Sunderland's claims on the Queen in angry letters in which she forgot all decency until she thoroughly disgusted her. In one letter she says, upon recalling everything to my memory that may fill my heart with all that passion and tenderness I once had for Mrs. Morley, I do solemnly protest, I think I can no ways return what I owe her so well as by being honest and plain. As one mark of it, I desire you would reflect whether you have never heard that the greatest misfortunes that ever has happened to any of your family has not been occasioned by having ill advice and an obstinacy in their tempers. The Queen was strengthened in her resistance by Harley who managed by his insinuating behavior to retain the confidence of Malbora and Gadolfin whilst secretly intriguing against them in the government. The Wigs saw that he was the real cause of the opposition to their wishes and threatened to demand his dismissal from office. At last, after about three months constant discussion and correspondence on the subject, the Queen was persuaded to give way. Gadolfin's frequent threats of resignation helped to make her comply and she was afraid lest the Wigs should turn their attacks on Harley to whom she clung as a moderate Tory and on whose opinions she had entire confidence. When Malbora returned from Holland after the successful campaign which had followed Ramali's and joined Gadolfin in his urgent entreaties that she would give way, Anne could no longer resist and on the 3rd of December, 1706, Sunderland's appointment to the Secretary's ship was announced and was followed by the introduction of several other less important Wigs into the government while several Wigs were promoted to the peerage. Harley was the only Tory of importance who retained his post and the violent Tories were all excluded from the Privy Council. Malbora and Gadolfin had attained at last to a composite government such as they had long desired. But whilst party intrigues seem to be absorbing all the energies of the English government, a question of far greater importance was at length being brought to a successful issue. One of the last acts of William III had been to send a message to the commons pressing upon them the immediate necessity of taking steps to bring about a union between Scotland and England. Commissioners for this purpose had been named early in Anne's reign but neither England nor Scotland showed much zeal in the matter and it was allowed to drop. But as time went on the urgent necessity for a union became daily clearer. Scottish affairs were much disturbed and what was more, the Scottish Parliament showed intentions of naming a different successor to Anne from the one appointed by the English Act of Settlement. Gadolfin was too timid and uncertain to adopt any vigorous measures and only seemed perplexed by the difficulty of the question. At last both Wigs and Tories combined to press upon him the necessity of appointing a new commission and in April 1706 31 commissioners from each side began their meetings. Chief amongst these commissioners in knowledge and intellect was Lord Summers and to him more than to any one man the work of the union is due. The other commissioners submitted to his powerful mind and little by little the difficult points were settled. When the commissioners had done their work the union had to be approved by the Houses of Parliament in both countries. In Scotland it met with a violent opposition but after some alterations was at last carried. Through the influence of the government and the Wigs who were determined to see an end of the question it was also carried in the English Parliament and finally on the 6th of March 1707 the Act of Union became law. Its chief provisions were that there should be one kingdom called Great Britain one Parliament to which Scotland was to send 45 members about one 12th of the whole number and one successor the electress of Hanover as decided in the English Act of Settlement. To the House of Lords Scotland was to send 16 peers elected out of her whole peerage. The establishment of a government which satisfied the Wigs and the final settlement of the Union seemed to promise to Goddolphin and Malbara some rest and freedom from party intrigue. But they were soon to discover how impossible it is to govern in England according to their favorite scheme of a coalition. It was their fearfulness of joining themselves entirely to one party lest they should lose influence or office by so doing which in the end proved so fatal to them. Malbara may have been sincere in his expressions of dislike to both political parties. We cannot wonder that the small intrigues in England disgusted and wearied him when his mind was fully enough occupied with the affairs of the Grand Alliance and the conduct of the war. But Goddolphin's entire want of any political principles his hesitating dealings first with one party and then with another cannot be excused in a man who was at the head of the government. To have joined cordially with the Wigs or to have remained true to the Tories and to the wishes of the Queen would have been not only a more dignified but in the end a more successful course of conduct. Harley's position in the government gave him abundant opportunity to intrigue in favor of the Tories. As Secretary of State for the Northern Department he had constant access to the Queen and whilst he still enjoyed the complete confidence of the Duke of Malbara was doing his utmost to inflame the Queen's irritation against the Duchess and against the Wigs. The Tories had another still more powerful friend and the Duchess a still more dangerous foe at court, a foe more over whom she had unwittingly been the means of introducing herself. A desire to lessen her own duties at court and at the same time to help a poor relation had led the Duchess to ask the Queen to make a cousin of hers, Abigail Hill, who was in needy circumstances, one of her bed-chamber women. She thought that Mrs. Hill, owing everything to her and being beside a person of very ordinary abilities could not possibly exert an influence at court hostile to hers. But the Queen was one of those women who liked to lean on someone and who had by nature a great amount of romantic tenderness for which she was compelled to find an object. She was wearied by the overbearing arrogance of the Duchess whom she had once so fondly loved and she found a great relief in the gentle, obsequious conduct of Mrs. Hill who was entirely without pretensions. Besides this Abigail shared the Queen's views in church matters and in politics. Clever enough to see in what ways the Duchess managed to make herself disagreeable to the Queen, she adopted quite opposite tactics. She tried to anticipate Anne's wishes, was humble and deferential in her manners and agreed with all the Queen's opinions. Related to the Duchess through her mother, Mrs. Hill was also related to Harley through her father and to him now she was of the greatest possible use. Through her he could impress all his views and wishes upon the Queen and by her means he could irritate the Queen more against the Duchess and through the Duchess against the Whigs. The Duchess, who in spite of all signs to the contrary, was entirely confident in her power over the Queen, was slow to believe that any new person and above all a creature so mean as her own dependent could usurp any of the Queen's favor. But at last it became impossible to doubt what was going on. The Duke who was informed of it whilst in Holland in June 1707 thought it would be easy to put a stop to it. If you are sure, he wrote to the Duchess, that Mrs. Hill does speak of business to the Queen, I should think you might speak to her with some caution which might do good for she certainly is grateful and will mind what you say. The Duchess spoke both to Mrs. Hill and the Queen without any caution, blaming the Queen with her usual violent language, both in conversation and in letters, for her confidence in Mrs. Hill. The Queen's letter, humble as her letters always were, shows clearly the real state of things. I give my dear Mrs. Freeman many thanks for her letter, but I have so often been unfortunate in what I have said to you that I think the less I say to your last letter the better. Therefore I shall only in the first place beg your pardon once more for what I said the other day, which I find you take ill, and say something in answer to your explanation of the suspicions you seem to have concerning your cousin Hill, who is very far from being an occasion of feeding Mrs. Morley in her passion, as you are pleased to call it. She never meddles with anything. I believe others that have been in her station in former times have been tattling and very impertinent, but she is not at all of that temper, I hope. Since in some part of your letter you seem to give credit to a thing because I said it was so, you will be as just in what I have said now about Hill, for I would not have anyone hardly thought of by my dear Mrs. Freeman for your poor, unfortunate, but ever-faithful Morley's notions or actions. Soon after the Duchess's wrath was still more excited by discovering that Mrs. Hill had been secretly married to Mr. Masham, a gentleman whose place in the royal household was also owing to her favour, and that the Queen had been present at the wedding. On hearing this, she at once rushed to the Queen and heaped upon her the most violent reproaches for having connived at this act of concealment. The Duchess had no idea of trying to win back her former favour by soft words, and her angry reproaches only made matters daily worse. Meanwhile the wigs were growing more and more indignant at the influence which Harley had with the Queen. Some ecclesiastical appointments made by the Queen entirely in the High Church interest without consulting Godolphin or Malbara also caused much irritation. The state of things tended to make the wigs distrustful of the good intentions of the two ministers, who themselves began to understand the intrigues of Harley, but did not venture to go against him for fear of offending the Queen. Malbara seems to have been at times anxious to act more vigorously. He writes to Godolphin, I can't but think there should be no time lost in speaking plainly to her Majesty in letting her know what you and I think is her interest. If she be of another opinion, I think you and I should honestly let her know that we shall not be able to carry on her business with success so that she might have time to take her measures with such as will be able to serve her. But though this letter was shown to the Queen, it produced no effect, for she evidently did not believe in their threats of resignation, and she answered by a letter in her usual tone of humble appeal to Malbara, justifying her conduct, and begging him always to speak freely to her. Malbara grew more and more disgusted with the whole matter. I am so weary of all this sort of management, he wrote to the Duchess, that I think it is the greatest folly in the world to think any struggling can do good when both sides have a mind to be angry. When I say this I know I must go on in the command I have here, as long as the war lasts, but I would have nothing to do anywhere else. The weeks indignation with the government at last led them to join with the extreme Tories in a plan for attacking it. In the session of Parliament, which began in October 1707, a violent speech was made by Wharton in the House of Lords on the Decay of Trade and against the conduct of naval affairs, which was specially intended to irritate Malbara by incriminating his brother Admiral Churchill. Rod Shester and the extreme Tories proceeded to attack the conduct of the war. Here Malbara defended himself with the dignity and an ability which carried conviction to all who heard him, so that Lord Summers moved a resolution which was unanimously carried that no peace could be reasonable or safe, either for her majesty or her allies, if Spain and the West Indies were suffered to continue in the power of the House of Bourbon. To separate the extreme Tories and the Whigs, the government once more drew near to the Whigs, and the Queen even was induced to make some concessions to gratify them from fear lest their attacks should be turned on Harley. Malbara was at last convinced that the coalition government could not stand. He hesitated a while, afraid of offending the Queen by urging the dismissal of Harley, but it became so clear to him that Harley was intriguing with a view of overthrowing the existing government and bringing back the Tories, that it was imperative to take some decisive step. Suspicions were also aroused that Harley had been involved in treacherous negotiations with France. Both Gadolphin and Malbara, who were now assured of the firm support of the Whigs, informed the Queen that they would no longer serve with Harley. She persisted in refusing to dismiss him, and when on the 9th February a cabinet council was summoned, neither Malbara nor Gadolphin appeared at it. Harley and the Queen affected to notice nothing, and Harley opened the business amidst uneasy murmurs from the other ministers, till the Duke of Somerset took advantage of a moment's silence to say, I do not see how we can deliberate when the Commander-in-Chief and the Lord Treasurer are absent. The Queen had to break up the meeting, and on the 11th February Harley resigned his office. He was doubtless influenced in so doing, by the thought that he was hardly strong enough then to formatory government himself, and that after a time he would be able, having entirely broken with Gadolphin and Malbara, to return to office with full power and the entire confidence of the Tories. With him retired Sinjin and some other Tories, and their places were filled by Whigs, though was yet no other member of the Janto but Sunderland was given a share on the government. The Whigs demanded that Somers should be made President of the council. Things went on as before. The Queen refused obstinately to give way, and the Whigs blamed Malbara and Gadolphin for her refusal. The state of things was complicated still further by the quarrels between the Duchess and the Queen, which daily increased in violence, and made the position of Malbara and Gadolphin very difficult. The Duchess continually charged the Queen with listening to no one but Mrs. Mashem, and with still having communications with Harley, and all this naturally only increased the Queen's dislike to the Whigs, and led her to cling more than ever to Mrs. Mashem. Malbara and Gadolphin as usual threatened to resign if Somers were not admitted into the government, but these threats were no more sincere than they had been before, and produced no effect upon the Queen. The Whigs grew more and more angry, and threatened the government with serious opposition. In the parliamentary elections in 1708, they exerted themselves to the utmost to obtain the return of Whig members. Sunderland even made use of the influence he possessed as member of the government to obtain the return in Scotland of members hostile to the government, and by this disloyal conduct deeply offended the Queen. But the Whigs at last discovered a means of influencing the Queen. They threatened to invite to England the heir apparent, the elector of Hanover, a proposal to which she had the strongest objection, and once more began their attacks upon the Admiralty, which were particularly painful to the Queen, as her husband, Prince George, was at its head. The Queen felt all the more bitterly the attacks against Prince George because he was then dangerously ill. Fearful lest his last moments should be disturbed, she declared herself ready to give way to the wishes of the Whigs in order that they might leave off their attacks on the Admiralty. The Prince died on the 29th of October, 1709, and shortly afterwards Lord Summers was appointed President of the Council, Lord Wharton, Vice-Roy of Ireland, and Lord Orford, Head of the Admiralty. At last the Whigs were in full possession of power, though the feelings of the Queen were more hostile to them than ever. And of section 21. Section 22 of Life of John Churchill, Duke of Malboro by Louise Creighton. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain, recording by Pamela Nagami. Chapter 11, A Year of Disappointment, Part 1. The affairs of the Great Alliance had given Malboro many opportunities of showing his talents as a diplomatist. In the beginning of 1707, a new call was made upon him. Since 1700, the northern nations of Europe had been engaged in a war for supremacy, which at length threatened to influence the general course of affairs in Europe. The ability of Gustavus Adolphus had made Sweden the chief nation of the North. She now owned Livonia, Estonia, and most of the territory round Obaltic, and her power was watched with jealous anxiety by her neighbors. When in 1697, Charles XII came to the throne at the age of 15, it was thought that there was a good chance of stripping Sweden of some of her provinces during the minority of her king. Charles XII was famous for his mad pranks and his wild hunting feats.  Peter the Great was then Tsar of Russia. His aim was to make Russia a European and a maritime power, though when he came to the throne he possessed no port in his dominions but archangel. He wished to rest the provinces of Estonia and Kurland from Sweden and made a secret league with Augustus, king of Saxony in Poland, and the king of Denmark against Sweden. The Swedes were terrified and the council recommended conciliatory measures in the face of so many enemies, but Charles XII, who had hitherto taken no interest in state affairs exclaimed passionately, I am resolved never to begin an unjust war nor to finish a just one except by the destruction of my enemies. Immediate preparations were made to meet the attacks of his foes and one by one they were defeated before they had time to combine. Charles XII showed himself a born soldier in an age when rulers in general surrounded themselves with ridiculous etiquette and wasted their money on their own personal luxuries. He lived the simple frugal life of a common soldier and shared all the privations of his men. Whilst he endeared himself to them in this way he was strict and severe as a commander and enforced the most rigid discipline in his camp. Prayers were always offered up twice a day and on the field of battle no soldier durst leave his ranks or spoil the dead till permission was given. But Charles XII was more of a knight-errant than a statesman or a general. He could fight well and make his men fight well but he did not know how to take such measures as would make his kingdom prosperous nor how to plan his campaigns with wise forethought so as to lead to the final overthrow of his enemies. He was no match for Peter the Great who had a distinct object in view which he pursued steadily in spite of all obstacles. Charles XII did not realize that Peter was his one really formidable enemy. He was content with entirely defeating the Russian army at Narva in 1700 and instead of pursuing his advantage turned aside to crush King Augustus of Poland. He spent years in Poland fighting with Augustus and setting up a new king, Stanislav in his stead whilst Peter was organizing his armies and laying the foundations of his new capital on Swedish soil. At last in 1706 Charles XII followed Augustus into Saxony and established his camp at Althrandstadt near Leipzig. All eyes in Europe were turned upon the northern hero who before he was 20 years old had waged successful war against so many enemies. Louis XIV ventured to hope that he might win him over to fight on his side against the Allies. French envoys were sent to the Swedish camp with flattering tales to please the vanity of the young king and it did not seem as if it would be difficult to gain him over for he already had many grievances against Austria and was fired with ambition to become like his ancestor Gustavus Adolphus, the arbiter of the destinies of Europe. Malbara saw the danger and employed oppression, General Grumbachau, to discover the sentiments of Charles XII. Grumbachau wrote to Malbara in an interesting account of his doings at Althrandstadt. He dwelt particularly on the wretched fare provided at the tables of the king and his chief minister Count Pieper and was struck by the way in which they swallowed their food in haste and silence. He said, the Swedes in general are modest but do not scruple to declare themselves invincible when the king is at their head. Charles XII expressed a great wish to see Malbara and the Allies who were terrified lest he should conclude an alliance with France urged Malbara to visit him in person. He started for the continent in April, 1707 and after settling matters at the Hague continued his journey to Saxony visiting Hanover and the electoral family on the way. On his first introduction to Charles XII he greeted him with most flattering words. Had not her sex prevented it, he said, the queen my mistress would have crossed the sea to see a prince admired by the whole universe. I am in this particular more happy than the queen and I wish I could serve some campaigns under so great a general as your Majesty that I might learn what I yet want to know in the art of war. Malbara stayed two days at Alteranstadt and had several interviews with the king and his principal ministers and generals. His ready tongue and flattering words produced a great effect upon Charles XII whilst he himself was much struck by the force and simplicity of the young king. They discussed at length the affairs of Europe and the grievances of Charles XII against Austria and Malbara succeeded in disposing the king favorably towards the interests of the Grand Alliance. To make matters doubly sure he gave pensions in the queen's name to Count Pieper and other leading Swedes most of whom were already in receipt of French gold but doubtless felt no hesitation in taking all they could get. Louis XIV kept his paid agents and spies at every court in Europe and few statesmen in those days were above taking a bribe. Malbara saw at the Swedish camp Stanislav, the newly made king of Poland and visited Augustus, elector of Saxony, the dethroned king at Leipzig and had to use all his tact not to compromise himself or his government with these rival monarchs. Before returning he paid a visit to the king of Prussia to keep Frederick in good temper. This journey, he writes to his wife, has given me the advantage of seeing four kings, three of whom I had never seen. They seemed to be all very different in their kinds. If I was obliged to make a choice it should be the youngest, which is the king of Sweden. When Charles XII felt that he had settled affairs in Germany to his satisfaction he turned against his last remaining foe, Peter the Great. Peter had spent the interval in strengthening himself to meet Charles and Charles XII, brave soldier though he was, proved no match for Peter. He penetrated into Russia but his campaign was ill-planned and in the battle of Pultava, 1709. His veteran army was destroyed, the power of Peter was established whilst Sweden lost its external dominions and shrunk back once more into its former limits. Malbara went back to the Hague having spent only 18 days on his journey, a marvelously short time in those days of difficult traveling. Bad news greeted him on his return. A great battle had been fought in Spain at Almanza on April 25th and the forces of the Allies had been completely defeated by the French under the Duke of Berwick. Lord Galway, the English general, wrote that he looked upon the affairs of Spain as completely lost by this disaster. The Allies were driven back from all the country which they had conquered and could only with difficulty maintain themselves in Catalonia. In Germany, too, the Allies met with severe reverse. The Margrave of Baton had died in the beginning of the year. He was a learned, if not a brilliant general and had with care and skill fortified and maintained the lines of Stolhoffen as a barrier between France and Baden. His successor as general of the German army, the Margrave of Bayreuth, who had been chosen more for his rank than for his ability, suffered villar to break through the lines on May 22nd and penetrate as far as Hochstadt, laying waste the country on his way. In all these misfortunes, appeal was at once made to Malbara. He succeeded in getting the elector of Hanover made general of the German army instead of the Margrave of Bayreuth, and he planned an enterprise against Toulon, the French port in Provence, which might cause a diversion of the French forces favorable to the affairs of the Allies in Spain. Prince Eugène and the Duke of Savoy were to lead an army over the Alps de Toulon, which was at the same time to be attacked by an English fleet. The French possessed their immense magazines and stores, and the fortifications had been allowed to fall into dilapidation, so that Malbara hoped it would be an easy prize and that its capture would strike a blow at the French power which might bring the war to a speedy end. It was not easy to persuade the emperor to agree to this enterprise against Toulon. He cared little for the general cause of the Allies and was only anxious in the tangled state of affairs to secure his own safety and get as much for himself as he could. The subjugation of Naples was now the aim of his ambition. That he might accomplish this, he refused reinforcements to his brother, Charles, in Spain, and only after much persuasion allowed a portion of his army under Eugène to join in the attack on Toulon. He did not refuse entirely the demands of England and Holland, but he delayed the departure of the expedition, and meanwhile Louis XIV found out what was going on. He sent Marshal Tessay to defend Toulon, who found that there was much to be done, for Toulon was not a fortress, but rather a garden. It was surrounded with large country houses, orchards, and convents, all of which had to be destroyed, and 4,000 peasants with the sailors from the fleet were employed night and day in erecting the necessary fortifications. They toiled so hard that the works were already far advanced when Prince Eugène and the Duke of Savoy came in sight on the 26th of July. Still the Allied troops were in good spirits and encouraged by the appearance of the English fleet at the mouth of the harbor were eager to attack the town. Unfortunately, there was much jealousy between Prince Eugène and the Duke of Savoy. It looks as if the Duke had only been half-hearted in the scheme. They could not agree upon prompt measures, and the troops were disappointed by hearing that instead of trying to take the town by assault, they were to resort to the wearisome alternative of a siege. All the wasted time was made good use of by the French, and Marshal Tessay's army was daily reinforced. The Allies suffered from sickness and want of supplies, and at last their position became so hopeless that there remained nothing for them but retreat. Fortunately they were not pursued by the French, and Prince Eugène, on his way back, succeeded in taking Sousa, which secured the approach to Turin. End of section 22. Section 23 of Life of John Churchill, Duke of Malboro by Louise Creighton. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain, recording by Pamela Nagami. Chapter 11. A Year of Disappointment, Part 2. The failure of this expedition from which Malboro and the English government had hoped so much was a bitter disappointment. It showed clearly the difficulty of getting the different members of the Alliance to work cordially together, as the court of Vienna and the Duke of Savoy had no other objects in view but their own advantage. Prince Eugène in anger declared his intention of never serving again with the Duke of Savoy. Meanwhile, the Austrian expedition into Naples had been entirely successful. The Neapolitan's received them with joy and gladly renounced their allegiance to Philip V. Italy was thus entirely lost to the Bourbon. But this was not really a misfortune to Louis XIV. Having no longer to keep an army in Italy, he was able to reinforce his armies in other places and save some expense. Malboro hoped to signalize the campaign of 1707 by some important victory in the Netherlands. But Van Dome, the French general who opposed him, received strict orders not to risk a battle. Malboro changed his camp several times and did his utmost to force the French to fight but in vain. The summer, too, was very wet and the heavy rains impeded the movements of the troops, whilst the Dutch deputies, frightened by the defeat at Almanza, were more obstructive than ever. The whole campaign brought nothing but disappointment whilst party struggles at home and the difficulty of managing the affairs of the Allies made Malboro long for rest. Lord Peterborough, who had been recalled from his command in Spain, had been spending his time in traveling all over Europe from one court to another, discussing public affairs and making proposals for which he had no authority. He at last reached Malboro's camp at Swanye in August and disturbed him much by a ceaseless flow of talk about his grievances. He writes to the Duchess, the ill weather hinders me from going abroad so that Lord Peterborough has the opportunity of very long conversations. What is said one day the next destroys so that I have asked him to put his thoughts in writing. Peterborough at last went on to England to demand justification for the indignity which had been offered him in his recall from Spain. As the season went on, Malboro saw that nothing could be done that year. All that now remained was to prepare for the next campaign. Meanwhile, the Dutch were growing weary of the war. Upon them and upon England all the expense fell and they began to speak of peace. In England too there was an increasing party that clamored against the war and accused Malboro of continuing it for his own advantage. In reality no one longed for peace more ardently than he did as can be seen continually in his private letters to his wife. But he wished it to be a sure peace and he believed that the time for that had not yet come. He was thoroughly worn out. I have no heart or spirits left, he writes in October and even then he might not return to rest in England but had to travel off to Frankfurt to arrange the plan of the next campaign with the elector of Hanover and Count Ratislaus, the Austrian minister. He hoped to arrange that Prince Eugène should command in Spain and was so much vexed at the difficulties thrown in the way of his scheme that he wrote to Godolphin saying that he was inclined if this did not succeed to throw up his command altogether. For he adds, if things go on as I think they will, both in England and Holland, nothing shall prevail with me to lose that reputation I have hazarded for this war. But the emperor would not hear of sending Prince Eugène so far off and wished to employ him in Germany. No definite plans for the next campaign could be made at Frankfurt or at the Hague with the Count Ratislaus followed Malbara. Malbara was not able to go back to England till the beginning of November 1707. He found party struggles raging bitterly and great discontent with the course of the war. A new misfortune had spread general mourning over England. As the English fleet was returning from Toulon under the command of Sir Cloudsley Shovel it was overtaken by a storm off the Silly Isles. The Admiral's ship struck the Gilston Rock and sank with all on board. Two other great ships which followed also struck the Rock and sank. Of the crews of these three ships only one man escaped. Sir Cloudsley Shovel had begun life as a cabin boy and had risen entirely by his own merits to be one of the first naval commanders of his day when he was drowned at the age of 57. We have already seen how the attitude of the Tories with regard to the war compelled Malbara and Godolphin at this time to make common cause with the Whigs and give up all hope of governing without the aid of party. The government was still further strengthened by events which occurred in the beginning of 1708. Louis XIV who never lost sight of anything which might weaken the Allies and who had watched the growing discontent of the Tories thought that the time had come for striking a blow in favor of James Edward the Pretender, son of James II. He knew that there was much discontent in Scotland and tried to foment it by his agents whose reports led him to believe that the greater part of the Scottish nation would rise in arms in favor of James Edward. Five men of war were fitted out at Dunkirk to take James Edward over to Scotland. He was then barely 20 years old but an able French officer was sent with him to direct the expedition. Abundance of gold and silver plate, gay liveries and all the finery necessary for a splendid court was given him by his royal patron. Everything had been kept profoundly secret but at the last moment the Pretender fell ill of the measles and the expedition could not start until he had recovered. The delay gave the English who heard of their danger from Holland time to prepare to meet it. Fortunately Malboro was still in England and he had once made preparations for getting over troops from Holland. The Houses of Parliament put aside all considerations of party and voted addresses to the Queen displaying the most zealous loyalty. Many Jacobites were arrested and the whole attitude of the country showed that for the time at least the Pretender had little reason to hope for support in England. An English fleet was sent to watch the movements of the French expedition which was awaiting at Dunkirk the favorable moment to sail for Scotland but a gale having driven the English from their station the French were able to start. They reached the Firth of Forth in safety but saw no signs of the preparations which their Scottish friends had promised to make to meet them and they were soon terrified by the appearance of the English fleet in their pursuit. It was hopeless to think of landing in the face of an enemy who largely outnumbered them and they determined to sail around the north of Scotland to Inverness where the Highland clans were supposed to be strongly in favor of the cause of the stewards but contrary winds drove them out to sea and they were battered about helplessly for a month when they managed to get back to Dunkirk. The expedition had proved a disastrous failure. It had done nothing but increase the hatred of the English people to Louis XIV and deepen their confidence in Malbara and Gadolfin. Louis XIV was much disappointed. He had hoped to weaken his enemies for the next campaign but was obliged to prepare to meet them with unbroken front. End of section 23. Section 24 of Life of John Churchill, Duke of Malbara by Louise Creighton. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain, recording by Pamela Nagami. CHAPTER XII AUDENARDE, PART I As soon as all danger of invasion was over, Malbara started for the Hague where he met Prince Eugene to arrange the plan of the next campaign. The Emperor had definitely refused to allow Prince Eugene to go to Spain, but promised to send some troops there under Count Starnberg. Eugene was to command an army which was to be got together to act on the Moselle, whilst the Elector of Hanover was to command the German army on the Rhine. But though this was to be the plan of the campaign as publicly stated, Eugene and Malbara came to a private agreement that Eugene was to lead his army to combine with Malbara's that they might strike a decisive blow in the Netherlands. It was easy for Eugene and Malbara who knew no jealousy of one another to work together, but it was another matter to get the other allies to fall in with their plans. Each year there was the same difficulty in prevailing on the different German princes to supply the troops they had promised. Each year they made new demands before they could be persuaded to give their aid. Prince Eugene, who was, like Malbara, an able diplomatist as well as a great general and who possessed the entire confidence of the Austrian court, started from the Hague to visit the courts of the different allies and by persuasion and promises to hasten their preparations. He made Malbara promise to meet him at Hanover to soothe the jealous temper of the Elector who did not at all like the idea that a new German army was to be formed on the Moselle. For he feared lest greater fame should follow the deeds of Eugene's army than of his own. He was pacified, however, by the fair words of Eugene and Malbara, but they did not dare to tell him what was their real plan for the campaign. Their stay at Hanover was very short. Eugene went on to Vienna to hasten the assembling of the troops. Malbara returned to the Hague and then went to join his army near Brussels. The Duchess and Godolphan hoped that after his meeting with Eugène at the Hague he would come back to England for a short while. They were vexed that he went to Hanover instead. They wanted his aid in their party difficulties at home and did not seem to see that he had enough on his mind already. Malbara's answers to their quarrelous letters show his utter weariness of all these feuds and his earnest desire for a little peace and rest. But nothing is of importance to him compared with the love of his wife. All this I could bear, he writes to her, if I could be so happy as to gain your love and esteem for however unhappy my passion and temper may make you when I have time to recollect I never have any thought but what is full of kindness for you. Once or twice he says that if he only can do something great for the Queen's cause in this campaign he would like to retire, that he might enjoy a little rest with his wife and be sometimes with his children. His thoughts run upon the magnificent house that was preparing for them at Blenheim and he finds time to look after the making of hangings for it in Brussels. He writes to the Duchess, I have been to see the hangings of your apartment and mine as much as our done of them I think are very fine. I should be glad at your leisure that you would direct Van Brat to finish the breaks between the windows and the great cabinet with looking glass for I have resolved to furnish the rooms with the finest hangings I can get. The preparations for the campaign were not getting on as quickly as Malbara had hoped. He writes, the general backwardness of the Germans is extremely discouraging and again I would not willingly blame Prince Eugene but his arrival at the Moselle will be 10 days after his promise. The French who had only themselves to depend upon and who had not to wait for troublesome allies had already assembled a formidable army under Van Dom. With him was sent the Duke of Burgundy, Louis the 14th's grandson and heir and the pretender. The presence of the Duke of Burgundy in the army was assigned they intended to do great things, the fame of which might cast glory upon the royal prince. The way in which the Dutch had administered the government of the Spanish Netherlands since their conquest by Malbara had caused much discontent among the population. The French knew this and determined to make use of it. Van Dom misled Malbara by marching as if to attack Louvain and Malbara fixed his camp at Terbank immediately outside it. Then the French suddenly broke up their camp and marched toward the shelter. Bodies of troops were detached and sent against Ghent and Bruges where the inhabitants already in correspondence with the French let them into the town and enabled them to overpower the garrison. Malbara as soon as he heard of the march of the French army broke up his camp and followed them the day after they had started. He soon heard that he was too late to say Bruges and Ghent. Alarm spread throughout the country in the army and attack against Brussels was feared. Malbara saw that the only thing to be done was to risk a battle without awaiting the arrival of Prince Eugene's troops. Eugene had been pushing on with the utmost haste and thinking that a battle was imminent came on alone without his army. He reached Malbara's camp soon after the capture of Ghent and Bruges was known. Malbara greeted him joyfully. I am not without hopes of congratulating Your Highness on a great victory, he said, for my troops will be animated by the presence of so distinguished a commander. The French had determined next to attack Audenarda and Malbara managed to send reinforcements there which entered the town in safety. It was an anxious moment and with fatigue and anxiety Malbara fell ill. His doctor pressed him to leave the camp but he refused and from his tent gave orders for the movements of the army. The enemy was proceeding to invest Audenarda and wished to occupy a strong camp at Lassine on the Dender but Malbara was too quick for them. He sent on a corps under General Cadogan to occupy Lassine and followed with his army marching day and night. They reached Lassine in time to see the French army appearing just too late upon the heights. Malbara had thus managed to place himself between them and their own frontier. They withdrew disappointed to cross the shell that govred and sheltered themselves in a strong position behind the river as they were obliged to give up hopes of investing Audenarda. Malbara's next plan was to cross the shell a little higher up than the French to place themselves between them and Audenarda and if possible force them to give battle. It was a bold scheme for the army had to march 15 miles before it could be brought face to face with the enemy. Cadogan was once more sent on to prepare bridges for crossing the shell. He left Lassine at dawn on the 11th July 1708 and the whole army followed at eight o'clock. Whilst Cadogan was preparing, the French were crossing the river lower down at Gave without the smallest suspicion that the enemy were so near. By noon Cadogan's bridges were ready and leaving some of his troops to guard them, he passed over with the rest to reconnoiter. The country to the north of Audenarda in which the French were taking up their position is fertile and richly cultivated, watered by many tributaries from the shell and covered with villages and windmills. Its whole surface is undulating, rising at times into bolder hills which are called coutures. Cadogan observed some foraging parties of the French about the villages of Aina and Herna and sent his cavalry to attack them. He drove them back and took several prisoners. The French now learned the nearness of the allies and a large body of troops was sent against Cadogan. He might have been annihilated, but fortunately at that moment the cavalry of the main allied army was seen crossing the bridges. Malbra, who knew how near the French were, had been alarmed for the safety of Cadogan. He pressed forward with Eugène at the head of the Prussian dragoons, urging them to full gallop in his haste. The French, when they saw them on the bridges, thought the whole army was at hand and fell back. The experienced eye of Van Dom could see from the clouds of dust in the distance that the main body of the army was some way behind and that there was still time for attack. But the French army was divided amongst itself. The cultivated and religious duke of Burgundy was too disgusted with the coarse and profane character of Van Dom to be able to appreciate his military genius. He preferred listening to other advisors and Van Dom was hampered on all sides. Now, when it would have been advisable to await the allies near the spot where they would cross the river and attack them if possible before they could form, the duke of Burgundy insisted upon withdrawing to a strong position on the heights on the other side of the little river Norcan. Precious time was wasted by indecision and Malbra knew how to use his enemy's mistakes. He and Prince Eugene actively superintended the crossing of the river. Some of the cavalry were sent over throughout Nardet to save time and the left column was able to form in front of the little village of Beverin. Cadogan with the advanced guard was not idle. By some mistake, a body of French troops had been posted in an advanced position at Aina where they could get no support from the main army. Cadogan advanced, attacked them and drove them back over the Norcan. This repulse filled the main body of the French army with desire to fight. Van Dom saw that if they remained quiet, the enemy, weary from a 15 miles march, would not dare to attack them and they might retire in the night. But the duke of Burgundy and the chief officers were too impatient to listen to anything and the moment seemed favorable. It was already four in the afternoon and the allies had not yet formed after crossing the river. The duke of Burgundy would not take advice from Van Dom even as to the position of the troops and an hour was wasted in useless marching. This gave the allies time to form. Malbara judged that the enemy meant first to attack with their right, a small body of troops which were posted in the hedges round Hohenfeldt. He rapidly ordered other troops to advance to support them. He then made his final arrangements. Out of compliment, he gave Eugène the command of the right which consisted of by far the larger part of the army, mostly English troops and himself commanded in the center. The fighting began round Hohenfeldt as he expected. The enemy attacked before reinforcements had arrived but the English fought bravely and held their ground till help came and they were able to attack the enemy's center. The troops divided by the rivulets and hedges fought in small bodies, struggling for each inch of ground and the roar of the muskets never ceased. End of section 24. Section 25 of Life of John Churchill duke of Malbara by Louise Creighton. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Pamela Nagami. Chapter 12. Audenard de Part 2. Eugène II had attacked and broken the enemy's front and the Prussian general Natsmer made a bold charge upon the second line whilst the enemy was still in disorder. He pressed on till the heavy fire of the French who were sheltered on every side behind the hedges mowed down his soldiers. The fighting was so close that he himself received several saber-cuts and lost half his men. Malbara meanwhile pressing onward slowly noticed that the enemy had neglected to occupy the high ground above their right. He saw that it might be possible to turn their right and this task he entrusted to the aged Dutch general Overkirk. Overkirk was not afraid of a hard task. He led his troops on rapidly and took up a position in front of the mill of Ojke. Then Malbara sent a message begging them to attack the enemy in the rear and the young Prince of Orange rushed down with the infantry from the height upon the French. Some Danish cavalry supported him and they fell upon the famous household cavalry of the French. Darkness was gathering and the French were dismayed to find themselves thus attacked at their rear. Their dragoons fought bravely hoping to save the infantry but were cut to pieces themselves and the greater part of seven regiments were either killed or taken. Eugène and Malbara too had managed to press on so that the French were hemmed in on all sides. Von Dom got off his horse and putting himself at the head of the infantry made a last attempt to save the army. But he could do nothing. The men had lost heart. They remembered Malbara's former victories and saw that that day he would add another to the number. The broken ground made any vigorous joint action impossible and as night drew on the French were more and more closely surrounded by the enemy. At length, the right of Eugène and the left of the Prince of Orange met and mistaking one another for enemies continued their fire till the vigorous exertions of the generals at last stopped this struggle between friends. At nine it was found necessary to bid the troops halt as they stood since they could no longer tell friend from foe. In the darkness the French managed to escape. Some slipped to the gap in the ranks of the allies near Bevren and fled to the French frontier. Eugène managed to take many prisoners by ordering his drummers to beat the French retreat and getting some refugee French officers to sound the French rallying words. The right wing of the French was destroyed but the left might still have retired in good order had the Duke of Burgundy and the generals listened to Van Dom. But panic had spread through the army. Van Dom could find none to listen to him and had to give the word of retreat. A confused flight toward Ghent began at once and only with the greatest difficulty could Van Dom keep a few troops together to cover the retreat. The allies waited on the battlefield till morning dawn and then Malbara sent troops to pursue the retreating French whilst he employed others to search out the wounded who were still alive amongst the heaps of dead on the battlefield. The French lost 15,000 killed, wounded and prisoners in this battle. The loss of the allies was 3,000. Malbara's letters to England do not show the same exaltation as after his former victories. Ill health and the thought of party troubles at home oppressed him. He only hoped that the victory might serve to make the government more popular. He riced a good dolphin by Lord Stair. I must never acknowledge the goodness of God and the success he was pleased to give us for I believe Lord Stair will tell you they were in as strong a post as is possible to be found. But you know when I left England I was positively resolved to endeavor by all means to win a battle, thinking nothing else would make the Queen's business go unwell. This reason only made me venture the battle yesterday. Otherwise I did give them too much advantage. But the good of the Queen in my country shall always be preferred by me before any personal concern, for I am very sensible if I had miscarried I should have been blamed. I hope I have given such a blow to their foot that they will not be able to fight any more this year. My head aches so terribly that I must say no more. In another letter he deplores that they had not two more hours of daylight, in which case they might have put an end to the war. After the battle no time was wasted in idleness by the Allies. Prince Eugene went to meet his army which was at last drawing near to Brussels. The Duke of Barak was known to be marching from the Moselle to reinforce the French and Malburra was anxious to be ready to meet him. He managed therefore to break through the lines which the enemy had made to cover the country between the Lease and the Shelte just before Barak came up. He then fixed his headquarters at Warwick and spread his army out along the Lease. The French frontier now lay open before him and he was anxious to press forward into the very heart of France. Whilst at the same time an expedition was to sail from England to act on the French coast. But this scheme was thought far too bold by the Dutch and even by Prince Eugene. It was thought that first some of the great French border fortresses should be taken and arrangements were made to besiege Lille. Malburra was much hampered by the difficulty of getting artillery. The French holding Ghent commanded both the Lease and the Shelte which joined at Ghent and so artillery could not be sent by water to the Allies from Holland. It was impossible to recapture Ghent for the French army was encamped in an impregnable position behind the canal which goes from Ghent to Bruges. They showed no desire to risk another battle and felt confident that owing to the want of artillery the Allies would be able to do nothing further that year. On the other hand, most extravagant expectations were cherished in England as to the consequences of the Battle of Audenarde. People could not understand Malburra's difficulties and he spoke bitterly in his letters of the way in which fault was found saying that he saw he would be blamed if impossibilities were not done. When it became known that the Allies intended to besiege Lille the French treated the idea with scorn. The town had been taken by Louis XIV in 1667 and Vaubein had fortified it with extensive works. Vaubein was dead but he had himself drawn up a scheme for the defense of Lille which he had left to his nephew, a skillful engineer, who now hastened to superintend the defense. Marshal Boufflet, the governor of French Flanders had the command of troops amounting to nearly 15,000 who were to defend the town. The siege did indeed seem an enterprise of tremendous difficulty. More especially as the position of the French Army near Ghent prevented any communication with Holland by water. Artillery and ammunition had been collected for the Allies at Brussels which would have to be brought them by land through a country full of hostile troops. All the skill of Malburra and Eugène was exerted to protect the convoy whilst the French were equally anxious to attack and destroy it. The train of cannon and ammunition, 15 miles in length, left Brussels on the 6th of August and Eugène followed with his army to protect it whilst Malburra sent troops as far as out and out of it to meet it. So perfect were the arrangements that though Barrick hovered about with an army impatient to attack it, he found it impossible to do so. The convoy arrived in safety without the loss of a single wagon. The French themselves were amazed at the skill of their enemies. End of Section 25 Section 26 of Life of John Churchill Duke of Malburra by Louise Creighton. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Pamela Nagami. Chapter 12, Audenarda, Part 3. Lille was now regularly invested. Prince Eugène was to direct the siege while Malburra commanded the covering army at Hellschon. Here he could protect the convoys of stores which came from Holland and could make it more difficult for Barrick who was near Mons with his army to join Vendome who still stayed near Ghent. All Europe watched the siege with intense interest. Many people came to the camp of the Allies that they might see for themselves the wonderful things that Malburra and Eugène were doing. Some of the military geniuses of the next generation here took lessons from the two great generals. Little Maurice, the natural son of Augustus, the derthroned king of Poland, then a boy of 12, escaped from his tutor at Dresden and ran away on foot to join his father who had gone to Eugène's camp. The boy grew up to be himself a famous general as Marshal Saxa. Eugène opened the attack on the night of the 22nd of August, 1708. Malburra at the same time crossed the Shelt with his army and advanced a little nearer to Lille. Vendome was determined to relieve Lille by a battle. He meant first to join Barrick and then with an army considerably superior to that of the Allies to oblige them to raise the siege. After some delay, the two French generals broke up their camps and joining together at Le Signe crossed the Shelt at Torgne and advanced to the south of Lille. Malburra had marched to meet them and had taken up a strong position near Peronne hoping for a battle which he thought might end the war. Vendome was eager to attack him in the face of all difficulties but Barrick was more cautious and they waited while a messenger was sent to Versailles for instructions. Orders came back to fight but after a heavy cannonade they withdrew judging Malburra's position impregnable. Again a messenger was sent to Versailles and again orders came back to risk a battle but it was now too late. It was clear that Lille could not be relieved by a battle and the French withdrew hoping to make the position of the Allies untenable by intercepting their stores. Meanwhile the siege was progressing but slowly and Malburra writes that when after the French army had withdrawn he was again able to visit it it gave him the spleen to find things in such a bad way. He complained much of the manner in which the engineers had managed affairs and was horrified to find how nearly the stores of powder which had been thought would be enough to take both the town and the citadel were exhausted. His remonstrances filled the besiegers with more energy. A terrible attack was made on the 20th of September led by Prince Eugene in person who exposed himself with the utmost bravery and cheered on the retreating soldiers when they were driven back by the terrible fire from within. Two thousand of the Allied troops were slaughtered in this attack but they succeeded in establishing themselves in a more advanced position. Prince Eugene himself was wounded by a spent musket ball which graced his forehead and knocked off his hat. The wound was not dangerous but when Malburra visited him the next day he persuaded Eugene to stay quiet till it was quite cured and promised meanwhile to direct the siege himself. He had to ride daily backwards and forwards between his own camp and the siege so that as he writes, with the fixation of its going so ill I am almost dead. He found the stores of ammunition even lower than he had supposed for the engineers had deceived Eugene as to the amount and there was only enough left for four days. The enemy were masters of the communications with Brussels and Ostend was the only place from which it would be possible to draw supplies. The troops which under General Earl had been ordered to make a dissent upon the French coast had failed to do anything and now an obedience to Marlborough's wishes landed at Ostend that Earl might watch over the sending of supplies to the army. A large convoy started from Ostend on September 27th. Von Dom sent a considerable force to attack it but Marlborough made the most careful preparations for its defense and sent various bodies of troops to watch over its progress. The French trusting in superior numbers determined to intercept it in the wood of Vynendala through which it had to pass. But the English general Webb so cleverly posted his men among the trees in the brushwood that the French on opening the attack were assailed with a terrible fire. After Thrice trying to advance they fled in terror and no threats could persuade them to advance again though their numbers were superior. They were beginning to look upon the English as invincible and had lost their old confidence in themselves. The convoy reached Lille in safety to the great relief of Marlborough and Eugène. Webb and Cadogan wrote Marlborough to Cadolphan have on this occasion as they will always do behaved themselves extremely well. Unfortunately this success of Webb gave rise to a great deal of party animosity. By some mistake the London Gazette in giving an account of the battle spoke of its successful result as being due to Cadogan, not Webb. Webb was a Tory and his friends thought this mistake was Marlborough's doing. Webb left the army in disgust and though Marlborough in his letters to England did his utmost to rectify the mistake and warmly recommended Webb for promotion the Tory still made it a matter for complaint against him. The stores of powder in Lille itself were getting low and the French made a desperate effort to send more into the town. A body of dragoons carrying bags of powder tried to force their way through the lines of the Allies. The attempt was discovered and the alarm given they were attacked and some 60 of them were blown up with the shots striking their powder bags. The rest in terror threw away their powder and fled. Only about 300 got into Lille. Though the news stores enabled the siege to proceed with vigor the advance was but slow. In England people began to grow impatient. A contemporary letter says, we have had a tedious expectation of the success of the siege of Lille. The country people begin to think there is no such thing and say the newspapers talk of it to make people bear paying taxes a year longer. Malbara's letters were full of the difficulties of obtaining bread for his army and fodder for the horses. The difficulty of obtaining ammunition increased for the French opened the sluices and laid a great part of the country between Ostend and Lille under water. The Allies had to resort to new expedience. The powder was packed in skins and carried part of the way in flat-bottom boats and part by carriages mounted on high wheels. Cadogan with great spirit and energy protected the convoys and beat back the numberless attacks of the enemy. The Allies had at this time a sad loss in the death of the brave old Dutch general over Kierch who died at Malbara's camp at Rotslaar at the age of 67, worn out with his many fatigues and exertions. Malbara begged the Queen to bestow a pension upon his son as a reward for his services. Vendome now tried by fitting out boats to prevent the convoy of ammunition on the canals. The French also succeeded in taking Le Fang, an important post of the Allies between Ostend and Lille and capturing a large quantity of powder. But at that very moment success at last crowned the endeavors of the Allies. The besiegers had pressed closely round Lille. They had taken one by one, all the external works. Their artillery was mounted upon the outworks and under a tremendous fire they prepared for the final assault. Then on the 22nd October, Boufflé beat a parley and the terms of surrender were discussed.  After a siege of 60 days, the Allies entered the city and Boufflé and the garrison were allowed to retire into the citadel to which the Allies laid siege. Divided councils had prevented the French from making any vigorous attempt to raise the siege. What Vendome proposed, Barak opposed and so nothing was done. Orders now came from Versailles not to risk a battle. But the French were busy drawing more troops from the Rhine under the Elector of Bavaria who determined to besiege Brussels and take it before Malbara could come to its defense. He hoped to terrify the governor into instant submission but he held firm and sent repeated messengers to Malbara telling him of his danger. To get at Brussels, Malbara had to cross the Schelt, the whole line of which had been fortified. To cross this broad and deep river with its steep banks seemed an impossible feat in the face of the fortified posts of the enemy. But Malbara managed to lull them into security by making them believe that he was going to encamp near Menon till the citadel of Lille was taken. Meanwhile he silently prepared to cross the Schelt in three places. The enemy was quite unprepared and a thick fog hid the approach of the Allies till the last moment. Eugène was present to aid in the operations. The French round Audenarde were driven back, the Allies crossed in safety and met together on the heights above Audenarde. Then Eugène went back to the siege of the citadel. The Elector of Bavaria was so terrified when he heard that Malbara had crossed the Schelt that he raised the siege of Brussels at once and retired precipitately, not waiting even to carry off his wounded or his cannon. On the 9th of December, 1708, the citadel of Lille at last capitulated. The garrison was allowed to march out with all the honors of war. At last the long and difficult siege which had seen such splendid instances of valor on both sides came to an end. It had cost the Allies 14,000 men and the garrison had lost 8,000. Vufle and his gallant soldiers were at the end living upon horse flesh in the citadel. The winter had now set in. The French were deeply discouraged by the severe losses they had met with and Louis XIV, thinking that the Allies would attempt nothing more that year, ordered his generals to strengthen the garrisons of Ghent and Bruges and settle their troops into winter quarters, much to Vendômes' disgust, who chafed under these orders and longed to be allowed to do something to retrieve his fame. Maulborough was determined to capture Ghent and Bruges before returning to England and steps were at once taken to besiege Ghent, though the frost was so severe that at first it was impossible to dig the trenches. The frost was followed by a fog and Maulborough, who was then in his 59th year, suffered greatly from the cold and exposure in the trenches. On January 2nd, the town surrendered and the garrison marched out with full honors of war past Maulborough and Eugène and the staff. The file was so long that the march lasted from 10 in the morning till 6 in the evening. Immediately afterwards, the French evacuated Bruges, Paschandel and Le Fing and the Allies were once more masters of Brabant. Whilst Maulborough and Eugène had won these glorious successes in the Netherlands, nothing important had been done elsewhere. The Allies had some trifling successes in Spain. In Germany, the elector of Hanover had done nothing but had sulked in angry jealousy at seeing the March of Eugène's army to the Netherlands and the great things that had been done in consequence. End of section 26.