We, after this, marched towards Mons; and, in our march, passed over the very grounds on which the battle of Seneff had been fought three years before. It was with no little pleasure, that I re-surveyed a place, that had once been of so much danger to me; and where my memory and fancy now repeated back all those observations I had then made under some unavoidable confusion. Young as I was, both in years and experience, from my own reflections, and the sentiments of others, after the fight was over, methought I saw visibly before me the well-ordered disposition of the prince of Conde; the inexpressible difficulties which the prince of Orange had to encounter with; while at the same moment I could not omit to repay my debt to the memory of my first patron, sir Walter Vane, who there losing his life, left me a solitary wanderer to the wide world of fortune. But these thoughts soon gave place to new objects, which every hour presented themselves in our continued march to Enghien, a place famous for the finest gardens in Flanders, near which we encamped on the very same ground which the French chose some years after at the battle of Steenkirk; of which I shall speak in its proper place. Here the prince of Orange left our army, as we afterwards found, to pass into England; where he married the princess Mary, daughter of the duke of York. And after his departure, that campaign ended without anything further material. Now began the year 1678, famous for the peace, and no less remarkable for an action previous to it, which has not failed to employ the talents of men, variously, as they stood affected. Our army, under the prince of Orange, lay encamped at Soignies, where it was whispered that the peace was concluded. Notwithstanding which, two days after, being Sunday the 17th day of August, the army was drawn out, as most others as well as myself apprehended, in order to a feux de joye; but in lieu of that, we found our march ordered towards St. Dennis, where the duke of Luxemburg lay, as he imagined, safe in inaccessible intrenchments. About three o'clock our army arrived there, when we received orders to make the attack. It began with a most vigorous spirit, that promised no less than the success which ensued. The three English and three Scotch regiments, under the command of the ever renowned earl of Ossory, together with the prince of Orange's guards, made their attack at a place called the Château; where the French took their refuge among a parcel of hop-poles; but their resource was as weak as their defence, and they were soon beaten out with a very great slaughter. It was here that a French officer having his pistol directed at the breast of the prince, monsieur D'Auverquerque interposed, and shot the officer dead upon the spot. The fight lasted from three in the afternoon till nine at night, when, growing dark, the duke of Luxemburg forsook his intrenchments, into which we marched next morning. And to see the sudden change of things! that very spot of ground, where nothing but fire and fury appeared the day before, the next saw solaced with the proclamation of a peace. About an hour before the attack began, the duke of Monmouth arrived in the army, being kindly received by the prince of Orange, bravely fighting by his side all that day. The woods, and the unevenness of the ground, rendered the cavalry almost useless; yet I saw a standard among some others, which was taken from the enemy, being richly embroidered with gold and silver, bearing the sun in the zodiac, with these haughty words, Nihil obstabit eunte. On the news of this unexpected victory, the States of Holland sent to congratulate the prince; and to testify how much they valued his preservation, they presented monsieur D'Auverquerque, who had so bravely rescued him, with a sword, whose handle was. of massy gold, set with diamonds. I forgot to mention that this gentleman received a shot on his head at the battle of Seneff; and truly, in all actions, which were many, he nobly distinguished himself by his bravery. He was father of this present earl of Grantham. The names of the English officers which I knew to be killed in this action. Captain Richardson, Captain Fisher, Captain Pemfield, Ensign Colvile. With several others, whose names I have forgot. Lieutenant-colonel Babington, who began the attack by beating the French out of the hop-garden, was taken prisoner. Colonel Hales, who was a long time governor of Chelsea College, being then a captain, received a shot on his leg, of which he went lame to his dying day. The war thus ended by the peace of Nimeguen, the regiment in which I served was appointed to lie in garrison at the Grave. We lay there near four years, our soldiers being mostly employed about the fortifications. It was here, and by that means, that I imbibed the rudiments of fortification, and the practical part of an engineer, which in my more advanced years was of no small service to me. Nevertheless, in the year 1684, our regiment received orders to march to Haren, near Brussels; where, with other forces, we encamped, till we heard that Luxemburg, invaded by the French, in a time of the profoundest peace, had surrendered to them. Then we decamped, and marched to Mechlin; where we lay in the field till near November. Not that there was any war proclaimed, but as not knowing whether those who had committed such acts of hostility in time of peace, might not take it in their heads to proceed yet further. In November we marched into that town, where count Nivelle was governor: the marquis de Grana, at the same time, governing the Netherlands in the jurisdiction of Spain. Nothing of any moment happened after this, till the death of king Charles II. The summer after which, the three English and three Scotch regiments received orders to pass over into England, upon the occasion of Monmouth's rebellion; where, upon our arrival, we received orders to encamp on Hounslow Heath. But that rebellion being soon stifled, and king James having no further need of us, those regiments were ordered to return again to Holland, into the proper service of those who paid them. Though I am no stiff adherer to the doctrine of predestination, yet to the full assurance of a providence I never could fail to adhere. Thence came it, that my natural desire to serve my own native country prevailed upon me to quit the service of another, though its neighbour and ally. Events are not always to direct the judgment; and therefore whether I did best in following these fondling dictates of nature, I shall neither question nor determine. However, it was not long after my arrival in England before I had a commission given me by king James, to be a lieutenant in a new-raised regiment under the command of colonel Tufton, brother to the earl of Thanet. Under this commission I sojourned out two peaceable campaigns on Hounslow Heath, where I was an eyewitness of one mock siege of Buda: after which our regiment was ordered to Berwick, where I remained till the Revolution. King James having abdicated the throne, and the prince of Orange accepting the administration, all commissions were ordered to be renewed in his name. The officers of our regiment, as well as others, severally took out theirs accordingly; a very few excepted, of which number was our colonel, who refusing a compliance, his commission was given to sir James Lesley. The prince of Orange presently after was declared and proclaimed king, and his princess queen, with a conjunctive power. Upon which our regiment was ordered into Scotland, where affairs appeared under a face of disquietude. We had our quarters at Leith, till the time the castle of Edinburgh, then under the command of the duke of Gordon, had surrendered. After which, pursuant to fresh orders, we marched to Inverness, a place of no great strength, and as little beauty; though yet I think I may say, without the least danger of an hyperbole, that it is as pleasant as most places in that country. Here we lay two long winters, perpetually harassed upon parties, and hunting of somewhat wilder than their wildest game, namely, the Highlanders, who were, if not as nimblefooted, yet fully as hard to be found. But general Mackay having received orders to build a fort at Inverlochy, our regiment, among others, was commanded to that service. The two regiments appointed on the same duty, with some few dragoons, were already on their march, which having joined, we marched together through Louquebar. This sure is the wildest country in the Highlands, if not in the world. I did not see one house in all our march; and their economy, if I may call it such, is much the same with that of the Arabs or Tartars. Huts, or cabins of trees and trash, are their places of habitation, in which they dwell till their half-horned cattle have devoured the grass, and then remove, staying nowhere longer than that convenience invites them. In this march, or rather, if you please, most dismal peregrination, we could but very rarely go two on a breast, and oftener, like geese in a string, one after |