616 



BRITAIN. 



Britain. 



Spanish 

 succession. 



1701. 



Death of 

 the late 

 king. 



Nov. 1702. 



Death of 

 William. 



His charac- 

 ter. 



who joined the Swedish squadron, and bombarded 

 Copenhagen, to which the Danish fleet had retired. 



The repose of Europe was again disturbed by the 

 disputed succession to the Spanish monarchy. His 

 Catholic majesty having, by his last will, bequeathed 

 his whole monarchy to the second son of the Dau- 

 phin of France, the views of William, who had 

 brought Louis himself to accede to the partition 

 treaty, was wholly thwarted by the bequest of the 

 Spanish monarch, and by Louis's acceptance of it. 

 After some negotiations at the Hague had succeeded 

 to William's remonstrances with Louis on his ac- 

 ceptance of the Spanish testament, it was evident 

 that England and the States would speedily be obli- 

 ged, by force of arms, to maintain the partition treaty, 

 or submit to see the Spanish monarchy become a de- 

 pendency of France. The Emperor of Germany 

 soon became an ally to the new confederacy against 

 France, and a treaty was concluded between the 

 three powers to procure a satisfaction to the emperor 

 in the Spanish succession, and sufficient security for 

 the commerce and dominions of his allies. 



Amidst these negotiations, the late King James 

 died at St Germains ; he was comforted in his last 

 moments by the promises of Louis to protect his 

 son as the lawful monarch of England ; but in the 

 year before, the English parliament, by a resolu- 

 tion of greater effect, had debarred him from all 

 hopes of the throne, by declaring the Princess So- 

 phia Duchess Dowager of Hanover, and her heirs, 

 the next in succession to the Princess Anne. 



William, who was the soul of every confederacy 

 against Franca, used to retire to his country seat at 

 Loo in Holland, where he had leisure and tranquilli- 

 ty to mature his councils, and draw the plans of his 

 campaigns. In the last year of his life, he returned 

 from this retirement to the troublesome government 

 of England, where, however, he found the parlia- 

 ment amidst abundance of quarrels and complaints, 

 ready to second him in the active measures which he 

 had projected. In the mean time, his constitution, 

 feeble from his untimely birth, and oppressed by the 

 cares and fatigues of government, sunk under a com- 

 plication of disorders ; but the immediate cause of his 

 death was a fall from his horse in one of his excur- 

 sions from Hampton Court, by which his collar- 

 bone was broken. He languished above a fortnight 

 under an aguish fever, and expired in the 52d year 

 of his age of an inflammation in his lungs. His per- 

 son was of the middle size, ill-shaped, and ungrace- 

 ful, except on horse-back: his nose was aquiline; 

 but the harsh features of his countenance, which was 

 pale and solemn, were enlightened by the piercing 

 lustre of his eye. His manners were silent, cold, and 

 reserved ; unfavourable impressions were sooner made 

 on his mind than effaced from it ; but his resentment 

 never descended to the meanness of personal revenge. 

 From a neglected education, he was insensible to the 

 finer arts, and impatient, perhaps, of the minute de- 

 tails of public office ; but his virtues were severe and 

 exalted ; his mind was ever intent on great designs ; 

 he had a sound judgment in weighing events, an in- 

 vention fertile in resources, calmness in battle and 

 danger. fortitude, fidelity, ai.d above all, an attach- 

 ment to public liberty. If any abatement is to be 

 4 



made from this illustrious character, it is in the go- 

 vernment of Scotland that the most exceptionable 

 part of his conduct appears; but there he was obli- 

 ged to confide in statesmen, trained up in the abuses 

 of bad government, who betrayed him into arbitrary 

 exertions of power. And, even in Scotland, amidst 

 the conspiracies of the Jacobites, not a single person 

 perished on the scaffold, nor was there a noble fa- 

 mily ruined by forfeitures during his reign. 



The importance of William's life was evinced by 

 the joy that diffused itself through France at the 

 news of his death : They could hardly restrain their 

 joy within the bounds of decorum ; and there were 

 public rejoicings in Paris. When it was known in 

 Holland, the States immediately assembled ; for some 

 time the deputies gazed at each other in silent fear 

 and astonishment : They then sighed, wept, and in- 

 terchanged embraces and vows, that they would act 

 with unanimity, and expend their dearest blood in 

 defence of their country. 



William was succeeded by the Princess Annp, who Access! 

 had married George Prince of Denmark. She as- of the! 

 cended the throne in the thirty-eighth year of her cess * 

 age, to the general satisfaction of all parties. She 

 had been taught by her relations of the Clarendon 

 family to favour the Tories ; but the influence which 

 the Countess of Marlborough, whuse husband head- 

 ed the opposite faction, prevailed against Rochester, 

 and those who opposed the war with France. When 

 the privy council had therefore assembled and deli- 

 berated, the queen declared her intention of conti- 

 nuing warlike preparations, and abiding the cause of 

 her allies. Her promise was confirmed by the arri- 

 val of the Earl of Marlborough as ambassador to 

 the States, who inspirited the Dutch, and concerted 

 the operations of the campaign. By agreement, war \v ar 

 was declared against France, in one day, at Vienna, cUim 

 London, and the Hague. Marlborough, who had ag^'i 

 been named by the queen commander of the forces Fran 

 both abroad and at home, was chosen by the allies 

 generalissimo of the whole army. An indefatigable 

 warrior in the camp, and a skilful politician in the 

 court, he became the most fatal enemy to France 

 that England had produced since the days of Cressy 

 and Agincourt. He had learnt the art of war under 

 Turenne, in whose army he was known by the name 

 of the handsome Englishman, and, from his early dis- 

 plays of skill and gallantry, Turenne himself had 

 predicted his greatness. To this general was oppo- 

 sed, on the side of France, the Duke of Burgundy, 

 grandson of the king : a youth more fitted to grace S 

 a court than to conduct an army, but who was sup- of the 

 ported by the talents of the Marshal Boufflers, his of Mi 

 second in command. In the first campaign Marlbo- r 

 rough repaired to the camp of the allies at Nimeguen, 

 where he found himself at the head of 60,000 men. 

 By motions at once bold and sagacious, he obliged 

 the French to retire before him, without their da- 

 ring to hazard a pitched battle ; drove them out of 

 Spanish Guelderland ; and, having concluded the 

 campaign by taking Liege, returned to reap his ho- ted a i 

 nours in London, where he was thanked by the 

 House of Commons, and created a duke by the 

 queen. 



The national arms were less successful by sea. Sir 



