happened on the coast of North-America, though the 'campaign in that quarter seemed big with the greatest 'revolutions. The British ministry, encouraged by the taking of Louisburgh, and the consequent conquest of the island of Cape-Breton, had projected the reduction of Quebec, the capital of Canada, or New-France, situated on the river St. Laurence, and accessible to ships of the greatest force. Intelligence to this purpose was accordingly sent to the governors of the English colonies in North-America, and a body of provincial troops was raised, in order to favour the attempt. Six regiments were prepared for embarkation at Portsmouth, and every thing seemed to promise success. But the sailing of the fleet and transports was postponed by unaccountable delays, till the season of action in those climates was past. A new direction was therefore given to the enterprise, that the armament might not seem altogether useless to the nation. A 'descent was made on the coast of France, in hopes of surprising port l'Orient, the repository of the stores belonging to the French East-India company. But this project also failed; though not without alarming the enemy, and shewing the possibility of hurting France in her very vitals, by means of such an armament, if well appointed and vigorously conducted. Lestock, who commanded the fleet, did not properly second the efforts of the army; which being beside destitute of heavy cannon, could make no impression on the place. The French miscarried in an enterprise of a similar nature, and of equal magnitude. A formidable armament was prepared at Brest for the recovery of Cape-Breton, and the reduction of the English settlement of Annapolis. It consisted of near forty ships of war, eleven of which were of the line; two artillery ships, and fifty-six transports, laden with provisions and military stores, and carrying three thousand five hundred land forces, and forty 4. Contin. of Rapin, vol. ix. Smollett, vol. xi. thousand thousand stand of small arms, for the use of the Canadians and Indians in the French interest, who were expected to co-operate with the troops. The fleet sailed in June, but did not reach the coast of Nova-Scotia till the beginning of September. A dreadful mortality prevailed on board the transports; and the whole fleet was attacked by furious and repeated storms, and either wrecked or dispersed. D'Anville, the admiral, made his way with a few ships to Quebec; while de la Jonquier, who commanded the land-forces, and had boasted that he would subdue all the English settlements on the continent of America, finding his men reduced to a handful, returned to France without attempting any things. The court of Versailles having discovered a seeming desire of peace, a congress was opened at Breda, toward the close of the campaign; but the French were so insolent in their demands, that the conferences were soon broken off, and all parties prepared for war with an increase of vigour and animosity. The states-general, who had hitherto acted a shamefully timid and disingenuous part, more hurtful than beneficial to the cause they pretended to aid, now became seriously sensible of their danger, and of the necessity of a closer alliance with the courts of London and Vienna, or of throwing themselves into the arms of France, resolved to take effectual measures for opposing the designs of that powerful and ambitious neighbour. With this view, they engaged to augment their quota of troops, in the Netherlands, to forty thousand: the king of Great-Britain agreed to furnish an equal number; and the empress-queen, supported by British money, promised to send sixty thousand Austrians to act in conjunction with them. Beside this grand army, intended to set bounds to the conquests of Lewis XV. an army of ninety thousand Austrians and Piedmontese, under the king of Sardinia, another sovereign in British pay, was to enter Provence, 5. Millot. Voltaire. while a smaller body should keep the king of Naples in awe. Nor was the house of Bourbon unprepared for such a competition. The king of France had ordered an army of one hundred and fifty thousand men to be assembled in the Netherlands; and in order to give greater firmness to this immense force, he renewed in the person of mareschal Saxe the title of mareschal de camp generale, which had been conferred on the famous Turenne, and which gave him a superiority over all the mareschals of France, and even princes of the blood. The Spanish army, under don Philip, in Savoy, was considerably augmented, and sixty thousand French troops were appointed to act in Provence. A final trial of strength seemed resolved on by all parties. The grand army of the confederates took the field, in three bodies, toward the end of March. The duke of Cumberland, with the British troops, HanoveA.D. 1747. rians, and Hessians, fixed his head-quarters at Tilberg, in Dutch Brabant; the prince of Waldeck, with the troops of the states-general, was posted at Breda; and mareschal Bathiani assembled the Austrians and Bavarians in the neighbourhood of Venlo. The whole army, which amounted to an hundred and twenty thousand men, lay inactive for six weeks, exposed to the inclemency of the weather, and almost destitute of forage and provisions; while mareschal Saxe, sensible that the first care of a general is the health of his soldiers, kept his troops warm within their cantonements at Bruges, Antwerp, and Brussels, furnished with plenty of every thing, and under no necessity of encountering unavailing fatigues. This inactivity, which is said to have been occasioned by the negligence of the Dutch and Austrian commissioners, deprived the confederates of all the advantages they had promised themselves from an early campaign, beside damping the ardour of the troops, and weakening them by sickness. Meanwhile APRIL 16. Meanwhile mareschal Saxe, having settled with the French ministry the plan of operations, took the field at the head of a prodigious army; and immediately detached count Lowendahl, with twenty-seven thousand men, to invade Dutch Brabant. At the same time, the French minister at the Hague presented a memorial to the States, in the name of his master, notifying, that his most christian majesty, in thus entering the territories of the republic (a step to which he was forced by the necessity of war) had no design of coming to a rupture with their high mightinesses. He meant only to obviate the dangerous effect of the protection they afforded to the troops of the queen of Hungary and the king of England; that he had accordingly enjoined the commander of his troops to observe the strictest discipline, and on no account to offer any disturbance to the religion, government, or commerce of the republic. And he concluded with declaring, that he would consider the places and countries he should be obliged to take possession of for his own security, mere ly as a pledge, which he promised to restore, as soon as the United Provinces should give convincing proofs that they would no longer assist the enemies of his crown. While the states-general were deliberating on this memorial, which was chiefly intended to amuse the Dutch populace, Lowendahl made himself master of Sluys, Sandburg, Hulst, and many other fortified places ⚫ of no small importance; the confederates, though reinforced with seven thousand British troops, not daring to oppose his progress. They were obliged by their position to cover Breda and Boisleduc; and all their motions were jealously watched by mareschal Saxe, who covered Antwerp, and the other French conquests in the Low-Countries, with an hundred and twenty thousand men. Thus secure, Lowendahl pushed his con 6. Mem. de Saxe. quests quests in Dutch Brabant; and having taken possession of Axel and Terneuse, was making preparations for a descent upon Zealand, when a British squadron defeated his purpose, and a revolution in the government of Holland made a retreat necessary. Struck with consternation at the progress of the French arms, the inhabitants of the United Provinces, believing themselves betrayed by their rulers, clamoured loudly against the ministry of the republic. The friends of the prince of Orange did not neglect so favourable an opportunity of promoting his interest. They encouraged the discontents of the people; they exaggerated the public danger; they reminded their countrymen of the year 1672, when Louis XIV. was at the gates of Amsterdam, and the republic was saved by the election of a stadtholder. And they exhorted their fellow-citizens to turn their eyes on William Henry Frizo, the lineal descendant of those heroes, who had established the liberty and independency of the United Provinces; extolling his virtues and talents, his ability, generosity, justice, and unshaken love of his country. Inflamed by such representations, and their apparently desperate situation, the people rose in many places, and compelled their magistrates to declare the prince of Orange stadtholder; a dignity which had been laid aside since the death of William III. His popularity daily increased; and at last, after being elected by several particular provinces, he was appointed, in the general assembly of the states, "stadtholder, captain-general, and admiral in chief, of all the United Provinces." MAY 15. On that occasion, count Bentinck, who introduced the new stadtholder, addressed the states-general in the following words:-" I doubt not but the prince I have "the honour to present to you, will tread in the steps "of his glorious ancestors: will heartily concur with us "in delivering from danger the republic now invaded, and preserve us from the yoke of a treacherous and "deceitful |