of triumphs that have been sounded so high. Victories that bring honour to the arms, may bring shame to the councils of a nation. To win a battle, to take a town, is the glory of a commander and of an army. Of this glory we had a very large share. But the wisdom of a nation is to proportion the ends she proposes to her interest and her strength. Great Britain neither expected nor desired any thing beyond what she might have obtained, by adhering to the first principles of the grand alliance. But she was hurried into those of the new plan by the causes which I have already mentioned; by the prejudices and the rashness of party; by the influence which the successes of the arms of the confederates gave to our ministers, Godolphin and Marlborough; and by the popularity, if I may so speak, which they gave to the war itself. The people were unwilling to put an end to a contest that afforded so many occasions of public rejoicing, and so wide a range for national pride.

The English ministry, however, though thus lavish of the blood and treasure of the nation, in support of unnecessary foreign wars, were by no means negligent of its internal tranquillity and happiness. That UNION of England and Scotland under one legislature, which had, as we have seen, been often attempted in vain, was at last accomplished, after long and warm debates between the commissioners of the two kingdoms; and, in consequence of it, all disputes concerning the Scottish crown were fortunately prevented.

The principal articles in that famous treaty are to the following purport: "That the Two kingdoms of England and ScoTLAND shall be united into ONE by the name of GREAT BRITAIN:

"That the SUCCESSION to the united kingdom shall remain to the princess SOPHIA, dutchess dowager of HANOVER, and the heirs of her body, being Protestants:-And that all papists, and persons marrying papists, shall be excluded from, and for ever incapable to inherit the CROWN of GREAT Britain, or any part of the dominions thereunto belonging;

"That the whole people of GREAT BRITAIN shall be represented by ONE parliament, in which sixteen peers, and forty-five commoners, chosen for SCOTLAND, shall sit and vote;

"That the subjects of the united kingdom shall enjoy an entire freedom and intercourse of trade and navigation, and reciprocal communication of all other rights, privileges, and advantages, belonging to the subjects of either kingdom; "That the laws in regard to public right, policy, and civil government, shall be the same throughout the whole united kingdom; but that no alteration shall be made in the laws respecting private rights unless for the evident utility of the subjects residing in Scotland;

"That the rights and privileges of the ROYAL BOROUGHS in SCOTLAND shall not be affected by the UNION;

"That the COURT of SESSION, or COLLEGE of JUSTICE, with all the other courts of judicature in SCOTLAND, shall remain as constituted by the laws of that kingdom, and with the same authority and privileges as before the UNION; subject nevertheless to such regulations as may be made by the parliament of GREAT BRITAIN."

Besides these general and permanent articles, it was particularly stipulated, That the sum of three hundred and ninety-eight thousand pounds, granted by the English parliament, should be paid to Scotland, as an equivalent for that augmentation of the customs and excise, which was become necessary "for preserving an equality of trade throughout the united kingdom," and which would be applicable towards the payment of the public debt of England, contracted before the UNION; this sum to be applied, partly towards the extinc tion of the national debt of SCOTLAND, partly towards the indemnification of the adventurers in the AFRICAN and INDIAN or DARIEN COMPANY; and the residue, after the reimbursement of such individuals as might suffer by the reduction (or rather elevation) of the coin of SCOTLAND to the standard of ENGLAND, in encouraging fisheries and manufactures in that kingdom.(1)

(1) See De Foe's Hist. of the Union, where the articles are printed at large, with all the arguments for and against them.

Though this treaty, all circumstances considered, was neither dishonourable nor disadvantageous to Scotland, yet was it zealously opposed, not only by the adherents of the excluded family, whose particular interest it was to obstruct such a measure, but also by many independent members of the Scottish parliament, on principles of mere patriotism. Of those, the most firm and resolute was Andrew Fletcher, of Saulton; a man of a cultivated genius, of a warm temper, a lofty courage, a bold eloquence, and an incorruptible integrity. Finding all his efforts ineffectual to prevent the passing of the act of union, and believing it impossible that a majority of his countrymen could ever have been brought to consent to the annihilation of their ancient monarchy without the influence of English gold, he resolved to quit the kingdom, that he might not share in their reproach, by condescending so far as to live among them. On the day of his departure, his friends crowded around him, entreating him to stay. Even after his foot was in the stirrup, they continued their solicitations, anxiously crying, "Will you forsake your country?" He reverted his head, and darting on them a look of indignation, keenly replied, "It is only fit for the slaves that sold it!" then leaped into the saddle, and put spurs to his horse;(1) leaving the whole company struck with a momentary humiliation, and (blind to the extravagance of his conduct) at a loss which most to admire, the pride of his virtue or the elevation of his spirit.

That some of the evils foretold by the Scottish patriots at the union have since overtaken their countrymen, cannot be denied; particularly the accumulation of taxes, in consequence of the growth of the English national debt, which then amounted only to about twenty millions, and the multiplication of the herd of insolent revenue officers. Yet have the Scots, from that era, enjoyed more happiness, as a people, and risen to more wealth and consequence, as individuals, than they could possibly have attained in their disunited state.

Nor has England reason to complain of the union. Instead of turbulent neighbours, she has gained, by communicating her privileges to the Scots, hardy soldiers to fight her battles, and industrious workmen in every branch of manufacture. She has secured for ever the undivided sovereignty of Great Britain, and the liberties of Englishmen, against the usurpations of foreign or domestic ambition, by making the conservation of that sovereignty, and those liberties, the common interest of all the brave and free subjects of the UNITED KINGDOM.

LETTER XXII.

The general View of Europe continued, from the Refusal of the Offers of Peace made by France, in 1706, to the Conferences held at Gertruydenberg, in 1710.

LEWIS XIV., finding all his offers of peace rejected with disdain by the confederates, prepared himself to brave, once more, that storm which he could not dispel. In order to supply the want of money, he issued bills upon the mint, to a very large amount, in imitation of the exchequer bills circulated by the English government; but, by refusing to take those bills in payment of the taxes, he threw them into such discredit, that, after every expedient to raise their value had been tried, they remained at a discount of more than fifty per cent. He was therefore obliged, on the failure of this desperate resource, which augmented the distress of his people at the same time that it weakened their confidence in the crown, to continue the practice of burthensome loans, and to anticipate the royal revenue.(2)

But Lewis, notwithstanding these disadvantages, was enabled to make very considerable preparations for opposing the efforts of his victorious enemies.

(1) This anecdote the author had from the late Patrick, lord Elibank
(2) Voltaire, Siècle, chap. xxviii. Finances.

He extended a ne of militia along the coasts of the channel, and the shores of the Mediterranean: he formed an army in Flanders, under the duke de Vendome; another was collected by mareschal Villars, in the neighbourhood of Strasburg; a body of men was ordered to assemble in Navarre, a second in Roussillon; and large reinforcements were sent to the army of the duke of Berwick in Spain.(1) These reinforcements were partly furnished in consequence of fresh, but not unexpected, disasters in Italy. The French troops, to the number of fifteen thousand, being obliged to evacuate Lombardy, by a capitulation signed in the beginning of March, were despatched to the assistance of Philip V. Modena and Milan surrendered successively to the allies: the whole kingdom of Naples was reduced; and the few places in the dominions of the duke of Savoy, that were still held by French or Spanish garrisons, fell one by one before the close of the campaign.(2)

The fortune of the war was very different in Spain. There the allies, more through their own misconduct than the strength of the enemy, received a dreadful overthrow. Charles III., pretending that Catalonia was in danger, separated himself, with a large detachment, from the principal army, commanded by the earl of Galway and the marquis de las Minas; who, having exhausted all their provisions in Valencia, attempted to penetrate into New Castile. With this view they passed the river Xucar, and marched towards Almanza. The duke of Berwick, who was just arrived at that place, hesitated not a moment to give them battle. Ignorant of the succours he had received, the confederates eagerly advanced to the charge, flushed with former victories, and animated with hopes of new success. The action soon became general, and the field was obstinately disputed. The English and Dutch infantry penetrated through the centre of the enemy, and proceeded as far as the walls of Almanza. Meantime, the French and Spanish cavalry, on the right wing, twice broke the horse of the allies, and were as often repulsed by their foot, under cover of which the horse rallied. In order to overcome this difficulty, the duke of Berwick ordered a body of infantry to advance to the assistance of his cavalry on the right. A vigorous charge was given, by both horse and foot at the same time. The left wing of the allies was totally routed: and their right, which had hitherto maintained its ground, being flanked by the right of the enemy, was broken and dispersed ; while their gallant infantry in the centre, where they had carried every thing before them, in attempting to retreat, on seeing the defeat of their two wings, were surrounded by the enemy's cavalry, and almost all cut to pieces.(3)

No victory was ever more complete than that gained by the duke of Berwick at Almanza. Five thousand of the confederates were slain, and near ten thousand made prisoners. Among the latter were six major-generals, as many brigadiers, twenty colonels, and a proportional number of inferior officers, said to amount to eight hundred. All the artillery of the vanquished, most of their baggage, with one hundred and twenty colours and standards, fell into the hands of the victors. (4) Las Minas, who was run through the arm, and who had seen his mistress, fighting in the habit of an Amazon, killed by his side, escaped to Xativa; and the earl of Galway, who had received two cuts in the face, stopped not his flight till he arrived at Tortosa, near the mouth of the Ebro.(5) The duke of Orleans, who assumed the command of the French army the day after the battle of Almanza, did not neglect the opportunity which fortune and the abilities of the duke of Berwick had procured him, of retrieving the affairs of his family in Spain. He reduced the city, and recovered the whole kingdom of Valencia: he directed his march into Arragon, and reduced Saragossa and Lerida under the dominion of Philip V. before the close of the campaign; while Charles III. either loitered in Catalonia, or made unimportant excursions towards the frontiers of Roussillon.(6)

(1) Contin. Hist. de France, par P. Daniel. Berwick's Mem. vol. i. (2) Id. ibid. Voltaire, Siècle, chap. xx. (3) Duke of Berwick's Mem. vol. i. Burnet, book vii. (4) Id. ibid. (5) Hist. Gen. d'Espagne. Mod. Univ. Hist. vol. vii. fol. edit. (6) Duke of Berwick, ubi sup. "I must not here omit," says this intelligent observer of mankind, "a singular circumstance. The count de la Puebla, who commanded in Saragossa, made the inhabitants

The affairs of the confederates did not wear a more favourable aspect in Germany. The continuance of the rebellion in Hungary, combined with the habitual inactivity of the court of Vienna, and the sluggishness of the German princes, had almost exposed the empire to calamities as great as those from which it was relieved by the battle of Blenheim. The margrave of Bareith, who had succeeded to the command of the imperialists on the death of the prince of Baden, was in no condition, in the early part of the campaign, to oppose the French, under mareschal Villars; who, having passed the Rhine at Strasburg, forced the lines of the Germans at Stolhoffen, laid the dutchy of Wurtemberg under contribution, entered Suabia, and penetrated to the Danube.(1)

But the superiority of the French. in the heart of Germany, was not the only danger which the empire had now to fear. Charles XII., who had remained in Saxony during the winter, found some plausible pretences for quarrelling with the court of Vienna; and although all reasonable satisfaction was given him, on the subject of his complaints, he continued to urge them with an obstinacy suitable to his character. From complaints he proceeded to demands; requiring that the Protestants in Silesia should be indulged with the free exercise of their religion, according to the treaty of Westphalia; that his imperial majesty should relinquish all pretensions to the quota which the king of Sweden was bound to furnish, by the tenure on which he possessed his Gerinan dominions; and that the whole Swedish army, in its return through Silesia into Poland, should be maintained at the charge of the court of Vienna.(2)

The queen of England, though sensible the emperor was not in a situation to refuse those imperious demands, was afraid that the pride of Joseph might overcome his attention to the interests of the allies. (3) She, therefore, ordered the duke of Marlborough, who was no less a statesman and a courtier than a general, to repair to Saxony, and attempt to sooth the king of Sweden. When the duke arrived in the Swedish camp, at Alt-Ranstadt, where he was received with the respect due to his character, he paid Charles many handsome compliments, to which no answer was returned, but which had, notwithstanding, perhaps, the desired effect. He went even so far as to tell the northern conqueror, that he should esteem it a peculiar happiness, could he have an opportunity of learning, under so great a commander, those parts of the military science which he did not yet understand. And having acquired, by a long course of experience, the art of diving into the characters of men, and of reading their most secret thoughts in their looks and gestures, he soon discovered the inclinations and views of the king of Sweden. In the pleasure with which he talked of the victories of the allies, Marlborough perceived his aversion against France; while the kindling of his eye at the name of the czar, and a map of Russia lying upon his table, made this profound politician intimately acquainted with the future designs of Charles. He therefore took leave, without making him any proposals; sensible that his disputes with the emperor could be easily accommodated, as all his demands would be granted.(4) England and Holland accordingly guaranteed the promises of the court of Vienna; and the czar having entered Poland, the king of Sweden repassed the Oder, in quest of new victories, and in hopes of soon returning to hold the balance of Europe.

believe, that the reports raised concerning a new army coming from Navarre were false, and even that the camp, which appeared, was nothing more than a phantom formed by magic art. In this persuasion, the clergy went in procession upon the ramparts; and from that eminent situation, after a number of prayers, exorcised the pretended spectres that were in sight!-It is not a little surprising," adds he, "that the people could be so credulous as to adopt such an idea. But they were soon undeceived by the hussars of the army of the duke of Orleans; who, having briskly pursued to the gates of the city a party of the count de la Puebla's cavalry, cut off some of their heads!" Mem. vol. i.

(1) Barre, Hist. d'Allemagne, tom. x. Burnet, book vii.

(2) Contin. Puffend. lib. vii.

(3) The emperor, it appears, was by no means so haughty as the queen imagined; for, when the pope complained of his restoring the churches to the Protestants, he facetiously replied, "Had the king of Sweden proposed that I should become a Lutheran myself, I know not what might have been the consequence." Mem. de Brandenburg, tom. i.

(4) " These particulars," says Voltaire, "I had from the dutchess of Marlborough." Hist. Ch. XII liv. iii.

In Flanders, no event of any importance happened during this campaign, nor any thing memorable at sea. The duke de Vendome prudently avoided an action, and made his movements with so much judgment, that Marlborough found no opportunity of attacking him to advantage.(1). The naval operations were chiefly confined to the siege of Toulon.

The reduction of the Spanish dominions in Italy, and the capitulation signed at the beginning of the campaign, in consequence of which the French army abandoned Lombardy, having left prince Eugene and the duke of Savoy perfectly disengaged, a plan was formed by them, in conjunction with the maritime powers, for invading France from that quarter, and of reducing Toulon or Marseilles; an enterprise which, if attended with success, it was hoped would put a final close to the war. The prince and the duke, after having for some time amused the enemy, by a feint upon Dauphiny, in order to conceal their real design, accordingly turned off towards the shore of the Mediterranean; forced the passage of the river Var; proceeded along the coast of Provence; and arrived, by a long and difficult march, before Toulon, while sir Cloudesly Shovel, with a formidable fleet, attended their motions, supplied the army with necessaries, and blocked up the town by sea.(2)

Unfortunately for the allies, only two hours before prince Eugene appeared with the van of the imperialists, the French had found means to throw eight thousand men into Toulon. They had taken possession of all the eminences that commanded the city; and the confederates, in attempting to gain these, were either repulsed with great slaughter, or obliged to acquire and maintain them at a still greater expense of blood. Discouraged by circumstances so adverse, by the bad condition of their army, the want of concert in their operations, and apprehensive of being surrounded by a superior force, as the French were in motion on every side, the duke of Savoy and prince Eugene judged it prudent to abandon their enterprise, though sensible that the hopes and fears of all Europe hung suspended on its issue.(3) But this expedition, though finally unsuccessful, was extremely detrimental to France. The confederates, in their passage and return through Provence, ruined a vast extent of country. And the detachments drawn from the army of mareschal Villars, in order to succour Toulon, obliged him to relinquish all his high projects in Germany, and to repass the Rhine, instead of advancing beyond the Danube.(4)

The failure of the attempt upon Toulon, however, the inactive campaign in Flanders, and the misfortunes of the confederates in Spain, furnished the enemies of the duke of Marlborough and of the lord treasurer Godolphin with plausible pretexts for discrediting their measures; and intrigues were formed for overturning their administration. These intrigues were chiefly conducted by Mr. Secretary Harley, who had acquired a very considerable share of the queen's confidence, by flattering her political prejudices; and who, in order to strengthen his own interest, had secured the support of Mrs. Masham, a new female favourite, who had partly supplanted the dutchess of Marl-· borough in the affections of the queen ;(5) or rather in that ascendant, though she did not usurp the same absolute dominion, which the dutchess had established over the mind of her timid mistress.

Apprized of the scheme that was formed for their ruin, Marlborough and Godolphin complained of Harley's intrigues to the queen; and not meeting with a satisfactory answer, they both threatened to resign their places, and absented themselves from the cabinet council. The council was struck with consternation. Even the secretary shrunk from the load that was ready to fall on his shoulders. And the queen, from fear, not regard, recalled her ministers, and dismissed Harley, whose fortune his friend St. John, secretary at war, and others, chose to follow, by resigning their places; yet not without hopes of having it one day in their power to govern the councils of their sovereign, by fostering her affection for the excluded branch of her family,

(1) Burnet, book vii.

(3) Burnet, book vii. Voltaire, ubi sup.

(5) Burnet, book vii.

(2) Id. ibid. Voltaire, Siècle, chap. xx (4) Barre. Burnet. Voltaire.