Villars to retire, and leave Cambray exposed to a siege. He accordingly communicated his intentions to the duke of Ormond. And the hesitation of the English general to return a positive answer, confirmed that penetrating genius in the suspicions he had for some time entertained, that the duke had orders not to act offensively'. Filled with indignation at a discovery so fatal to his own glory, as well as to the common cause of the confederates, the prince of Savoy made known his unhappy situation to the Dutch field-deputies, and to the imperial minister at Utrecht. The states immediately sent instructions to their ambassador at the court of London to remonstrate on the subject. And the purport of those instructions was no sooner known, than a motion was made in the house of commons, for presenting an address to her majesty, "that speedy orders might be given to her general in Flanders, to prosecute the war with the utmost vigour, in conjunction with her allies, as the best means to obtain a safe and honourable peace "." A motion to the same effect was made in the house of lords; but the ministry having now a decided majority in both houses, these salutary motions were rejected with some degree of disdain, and the remonstrances of the Dutch ambassador were disregarded. Ormond continued inactive.

Nothing can place the ignominy of this cruel inaction, and the shameful duplicity of the British ministry, in a stronger light, than a letter which the states afterward sent to queen Anne. "It is impossible," say they, "but we should be surprised and afflicted, by two declarations we have lately received from your majesty; the first, by the duke of Ormond, your general, that he could undertake nothing without new orders from you; the other by the bishop of Bristol, your plenipotentiary to the congress at Utrecht, that, perceiving we did not answer, as we ought, the proposals which you had made to us, and that we would not act in concert with your minister on the subject of peace, you would take did not look upon yourmeasures apart; and that your self to be now under any engagements with us." In regard to the first, they add, "Have we not just reason to be surprised, after the assurance which your majesty had given us by your letters, by your ministers, and lastly, by your general, the duke of Ormond, of your intentions that your troops should be ordered to act with their usual vigour, when we find a stop put by an

you

1 Burnet, book vii. Gen. Hist. of Europe, 1712.

2 Journals, May 28, 1712.

order in your majesty's name, without our knowledge, and certainly without the knowledge of your other allies, to the operations of the confederate army ?-the finest and strongest, perhaps, which has been in the field during the whole course of the war; and this after they had marched, according to the resolution taken in concert with your majesty's general, almost up to the enemy, with a great superiority both as to number and goodness of troops, and animated with a noble courage and zeal to acquit themselves bravely!-We are sorry to see so fine an opportunity lost, to the extraordinary prejudice of the common cause of the high allies.

"Nor can we forbear telling your majesty," they continue, "that the declaration made by the bishop of Bristol, at Utrecht, has no less surprised us than that of the duke of Ormond in the army. All the proposals hitherto made to us, on the subject of peace, were couched in very general terms. In some of the last conferences, it is true, your majesty's ministers desired to know whether ours were furnished with a full power, and authorized to draw up a PLAN for the PEACE. But it had been just, before such a thing was demanded of us, that they had communicated the result of the negotiations so long treated of between your majesty's ministers and those of the enemy; or, at least, they should have told us your majesty's thoughts, on a matter which we ought to have adjusted in concert. Yet had that plan related only to your majesty's interest and ours, we should perhaps have been in the wrong not to have acceded immediately to it; but as the plan in question concerned the interest of all the allies, and of almost all Europe, we had very strong apprehensions that the particular negotiations between your majesty's ministers and those of France, and the readiness with which we consented to the congress at Utrecht, might have given his imperial majesty, and the other allies, ground to entertain prejudicial thoughts, as if it had been the intention of your majesty and of us, to abandon the grand alliance and the common cause, by which they might have been pushed on to separate measures. We thought these reasons strong enough to justify our conduct to your majesty on this head; and as we had nowise engaged to enter with your majesty into a concert to draw up a plan of peace, without the participation of the other members of the grand alliance, the backwardness we have shown to that proposal carnot be considered as a contravention of OUR engagements; and, therefore, cannot serve to disengage your majesty from yours, with respect to us. In truth, if for such a cause, between potentates united by the

strongest and strictest ties of alliance, interest, and religion, any of those potentates could quit their engagements, and disengage themselves from all their obligations, there is no tie among men that might not be broken, and we know of no engagements that could be relied on in time to come '."

There would certainly have been more frankness and dignity (though not more honesty), and even more advantage, in boldly concluding at once a separate treaty with France, than in betraying the common cause by such double dealing. This St. John, who was himself deeply concerned in that "double dealing," very candidly acknowledges. France, says he, would have granted more to Great Britain for peace, than for a suspension of hostilities; and the allies, seeing no possibility of altering the measures of queen Anne, would neither have attempted to disturb her counsels in hopes of inducing her to continue the war, nor have prosecuted it themselves with that intemperate ardour which proved the cause of their subsequent misfortunes. "Better conditions would have been obtained for the whole confederacy;" and the British ministry, it may be added, instead of the accumulated infamy of treachery, would only have merited the reproach of being guilty of a flagrant violation of public faith.

During the altercation and suspense occasioned by the inactivity of the duke of Ormond, prince Eugene laid siege to Quesnoy; and, in order to encourage the confederates, and astonish the enemy, by a bold enterprise, he privately gave orders to major-general Grovestein, to penetrate into France with fifteen hundred horse, dragoons and hussars. This officer passed the Maese, the Moselle, and the Saar; levied contributions as far as the gates of Metz; spread consternation even to Versailles; and after ravaging the country, and carrying off a rich booty, together with a number of hostages, retired leisurely July 4. toward Traerbach. Meanwhile the siege of Quesnoy N. S. was prosecuted with such vigour, that the place was taken almost by assault, and the garrison surrendered prisoners of war".

These successes greatly elevated the spirits of the Dutch and Imperialists, depressed by the inactivity of the duke of Ormond; but when, instead of an order to co-operate with them against

1 Printed Letter, preserved in many periodical publications, and particularly in the Monthly Mercury, for June 1712.

2 Bolingbroke's Sketch of the Hist. and State of Europe.

3 Burnet, book vii.—Gen. Hist. of Europe, 1712.

the common enemy, which they daily expected, he made known to them a cessation of arms between France and England, their former dejection returned. Their hopes, however, in some measure revived, when they understood that the foreign troops in the pay of Great Britain refused to obey his command. This refusal reduced the duke to a state of the utmost perplexity, and threw the British ministry into no small consternation. They had not only lost the confidence of the allies, but had fallen under the distrust of the court of Versailles. The king of France therefore thought proper to suspend his mandate for the delivery of Dunkirk, until “ all the troops in the pay of Great Britain should quit the army of the confederates." But, when positive orders were sent to the duke of Ormond, to "separate the British forces from those of the allies," and assurances given to the French monarch, by the express command of Anne, that the confederates should receive no more of her money, the scruples of Louis were quieted. The duke fulfilled his instructions by retiring toward Ghent with the British troops, and Dunkirk was delivered to Brigadier Hill'.

The British forces had distinguished themselves in a remarkable manner, during the whole course of this celebrated war, and in almost every battle had given the turn to victory. Their example had perhaps been of yet greater service than their efforts, though these were transcendently heroic. Prince Eugene, however, to show the allies that he was still able to pursue his conquests, notwithstanding the withdrawing of so gallant a body of men, formed the siege of Landrecy. Villars received orders to attempt its relief. The French general accordingly put his army in motion, as if he intended to give battle to the main body of the confederates; but, after making a feint of advancing toward their right, he turned suddenly off to the left, and marching all night, attacked unexpectedly a corps of twelve July 24. thousand men, stationed at Denain, under the earl of Albemarle, in order to favour the passage of the convoys from Marchiennes. About two thousand five hundred of the earl's men were slain or drowned; and above two thousand, with their commander, fell into the hands of the victors 2.

Prince Eugene, who was marching to the assistance of Albemarle, had the mortification to arrive, when his aid could be of no use to his friends. In a fit of despair, he ordered the bridges

Gen. Hist. of Europe, 1712.-De Torcy, tome ii.

2 Relation sent by the earl of Albemarle to the states, and other papers in the Monthly Mercury, for July, August, and September, 1712.

on the Scheldt, near Denain, to be attacked, and wantonly threw away the lives of a thousand men; for, even if the bridges had been abandoned to him, he would not have been able to cross the river, in the face of the French army'. He failed, however, in the attempt. Yet would he have continued the siege of Landrecy, and might perhaps have become master of the place, notwithstanding this check; but the field-deputies of the states obliged him to relinquish the enterprise, and retire to Mons. Meanwhile Villars having taken Marchiennes (where valuable stores were deposited), and being now uncontrolled master of the field, reduced successively Douay, Quesnoy, and Bouchain. These conquests closed the operations in the Netherlands; and no enterprise of consequence was undertaken during the campaign, in any other quarter.

The court of Versailles was highly elated, by a success so unexpected and extraordinary. Nor was the joy of the British ministry, at the change of affairs in Flanders, less sincere, though less public. They were sensible that the body of the confederates, unless lost to all sense of prudence, would no longer attempt to continue the war, should Great Britain desert the grand alliance; and consequently the Whigs, their political enemies, already humbled, would become still less formidable. A.D. In this conjecture they were not deceived. The eyes of 1713. the Dutch, who had most to apprehend, were first opened to their own perilous situation, and to the necessity of renewing the conferences at Utrecht, which had been for some time interrupted. Instead of prescribing terms to the house of Bourbon, they now acceded to the plan of pacification settled between Great Britain and France. Their example was followed by the duke of Savoy, and the king of Portugal. And the emperor, though resolute to continue the war, finding himself unable to support any military operations in Spain, agreed to the evacuation of Catalonia; and, by that measure, indirectly acknowledged the title of Philip3.

During these approaches toward a general pacification, Anne was eagerly solicited by the Jacobites to take some step in favour of the pretender. To quiet the fears of the English nation, excited by his connexion with France, he had left St. Germain's in the preceding summer, and now resided at Bar, in the territories of the duke of Lorrain. And although the queen's jealousy of her

1 Mem. of the duke of Berwick, vol. ii.

2 Gen. Hist. of Europe, 1712. 3 Gen. Hist. of Europe, 1713.-Duke of Berwick, vol. ii.