734 
FRANCE. 
* 
St. Germain’s bis unfortunate and inglorious life. The 
importunities of madame de Maintenon prevailed upon 
Louis, though he had acknowledged king William’s title 
by the peace of Ryfwick, to proclaim the fon of the de- 
ceafed prince as James TIL The enmity of William was 
ftimulated by this wanton infult ; and England, that had 
hitherto regarded war with averfton, prepared to vindicate 
by aims her infulted fovereign. The difcernment of 
William improved the enthufiafm of his people ; he con¬ 
certed the triple alliance in 1701, between the empire, the 
united provinces, and England, and haftened by his pre¬ 
fence and diligence their formidable preparations. But 
thefe inceffant efforts exhaufted the king of England, 
who dying in 1702, his fucceffor queen Anne immediately 
difpatched the earl of Marlborough to the Hague, to af- 
fure her allies that The would adopt and fupport the en¬ 
gagements of her predeceffor. That nobleman was foon 
after appointed to the chief command of the allied army, 
and difplayed that military (kill which he acquired under 
the marefchal Turenne ; Boufflers, to whom Louis had 
entrufted his grandfon the duke of Burgundy to train to 
war, was confounded by the rapid and complicated move¬ 
ments of his adverfary. He evacuated Guelderland, re¬ 
tired under the walls of Liege, and finally fought Ihelter 
in Brabant ; while Venlo, Ruremonde, and Liege, were, 
in 1702, fucce(lively reduced by the arms of Marlborough. 
In Italy prince Eugene, by a daring and well-concerted 
march, had furprifed Cremona, and taken marefchal Vil- 
leroi prifoner ; after an obftinate conflict he was expelled 
again the town; buffered fome lofs at Santa Vittoria; 
and in tfie battle of Luzara was encountered by the duke 
of Vendome. That prince, in whom martial addivity 
and indolence were wonderfully blended, was dirt ingui died 
by talents worthy the grandfon of Henry IV. and though 
in the battle of Luzara the lofs on both fides was nearly 
equal, yet Vendofme claimed the advantage, and main¬ 
tained it by the reduddion of Luzara and Guaftalla. But 
on the banks of the Rhine a more decifive viddory was 
obtained over prince Louis of Baden by the marefchal 
Villars ; and foon after in the plains of Hochftet in con¬ 
cert with the eleddor of Bavaria, he charged and routed 
the imperial general count Sty rum ; three thoufand of the 
imperialifts were left dead on the field, four thoufand 
were taken prifoners with their cannon and baggage ; 
while marefchal Tallard, near Spires, engaged and de¬ 
feated the prince of Heffe. Yet in the midft of this fuc- 
cefs France was alarmed and mortified by the defertion 
of the duke of Savoy, who obtained from the emperor 
the promife of Montferrat, Mantua, Valencia, and the 
countries between the Po and the Tanaro. At the fame 
time the enemies of the houfe of Bourbon were increafed 
by the declaration of Peter II. of Portugal, who acknow¬ 
ledged the archduke Charles as fovereign of Spain. 
The duke of Marlborough, in 1703, with frelh in- 
ftruddions from queen Anne, had returned to Flanders, 
polfeifed himfelf of Bonn the refidence of the eledtor of 
Cologn, retaken Huy and Limbourg, and made himfelf 
inafter of the Lower Rhine ; marefchal Villeroi, re¬ 
deemed from captivity, in vain endeavoured to check his 
ardour, and oppofe his fuccefsful career. To fuccour 
the emperor, oppreffed by the joint forces of France and 
the eledtor of Bavaria, Marlborough rapidly marched 
into the heart of Germany, and traverfing the Rhine, 
the Maine, and the Necker, was met at Mindelfheim by 
prince Eugene, who had quitted Italy to affume the com¬ 
mand of the imperialifts on the banks of the Danube. 
Villars had in the interim been recalled to wage an in¬ 
glorious war in the mountains of the Cevennes againft 
the unhappy proteflants, whom the perfecution of Louis 
had forced into a revolt; and the principal army of 
France was entrufted to marefchal Tallard ; the lines of 
the eledtor of Bavaria, near Donawert, had been forced 
by Marlborough with confiderable lofs ; but the junction 
of Tallard infpired that prince with frefh confidence ; it 
was determined to rifle the fate of the war on a decifive 
battle, and the French and Bavarians with fuperior num¬ 
bers advanced to attack the confederates, who had joined 
the prince of Baden ; but the plains of Hochftet, which 
had fo lately witneffed the triumph of Villars, were ren¬ 
dered memorable by the defeat of Tallard. That gene¬ 
ral was vanquifhed by the fuperior (kill of his adverfary ; 
he himfelf was taken prifoner, with fourteen thoufand of 
the braveft troops of France; lurnlve thoufand perifhed 
by the fword, or were precipitated into the rapid flream 
of the Danube; and of an army of fixty thoufand men, 
fcarcely twenty thoufand could be collected from its 
fhattered remains. 
The battle of Hochflet, fought in 1704, better known 
in England by the name of Blenheim, expofed to the ra¬ 
vages of the viddors the eleddorateof Bavaria ; and Louis 
once more fummoned the marefchal Villars to the feene 
of his former glory ; an accommodation had reftored the- 
inhabitants of the Cevennes to their allegiance ; and the 
condudt of Villars proved himfelf an adverfary worthy 
of Marlborough. Fie occupied a ftrong camp, added on 
the defenfive, and by his prudent meafures compelled 
the duke to relinquilh his defign of penetrating into 
France by the courfe of the Mofelle. The Bates, in the 
mean time, anxious for their frontier, prevailed on the 
duke of Marlborough to return to Flanders; and Ville¬ 
roi, who had taken Huy, and was preparing to invert 
Leige, abandoned the enterprife on the intelligence of his 
approach. Huy was again compelled to furrender to the 
confederates ; and the lines of Villeroi were immediately 
after forced. That general croffed the Geete and Dyle 
with precipitation; but the ftrong ground he judicioufly 
occupied prevented the allies from improving their ad¬ 
vantage, and he Biortly after reftored his reputation by 
the reduction of Dieft. 
The numerous armies of the empire on the banks of the 
Rhine were baffled by the fkill of Villars; and in Italy 
the duke of Vendome inceffantly prefled prince Eugene 
and the duke of Savoy, fought the bloody blit indecifive 
battle of Caffano, gained that of Cafflnato, and even me¬ 
naced Turin with the horrors of a fiege. But in Spain 
the allies, who had proclaimed the archduke Charles 
king, obtained, in 1705, the mod rapid andffplendid ad¬ 
vantages; the earl of Peterborough poffeffed himfelf of 
Barcelona ; all Catalonia ranged itfelf under the banners 
of the houfe of Auftria; while Gibraltar, which the 
year before had been wrefted by the Englifh from Philip, 
fecure in her native ftrength, defied the vain and feeble 
efforts of the marefchal de Teffe. Yet Louis had reaped 
fome fatisfaddion from the gallantry of his natural fon the 
count of Touloufe, who, with the French fleet, engaged 
with honour and without lofs that of England. But 
this was the laft effort of marine greatnefs ; the numerous 
enterprifes of the king of France had exhaufted his trea- 
fures, and his navy was gradually futfered to fink into 
that (date of infignificance from whence he had raifed it. 
Even the death of the emperor abated not the ardour of 
the confederates, and his fon Jofeph fucceeded to his 
throne and defigns. 
The campaign in Flanders opened in 1706, with events 
the mod difaftrous to France. The command there was 
ftill entrufted to the marefchal Villeroi; and that genera), 
impatient of glory, but unendowed with talents to ac¬ 
quire it, rejected the advice of his officers, and deter¬ 
mined to hazard a decifive engagement againft the allies. 
Near the village of Ramillies, France was in one fatal 
day vanquilhed by the injudicious difpofition of her own, 
and the confummate fkill of the Englilh, commander. 
In the addion and purfuit twenty thoufand men were 
flaughtered or taken prifoners; Antwerp, Bruffels, Oftend, 
Menin, and the greateft part of Spanifti Flanders, were 
fucceflively the prey of the viddor. The court of Louis 
was filled with confternation and difmay : but the mo¬ 
narch himfelf ftill preferved his magnanimity ; inftead of 
reproaching, lie endeavoured to confole the unfortunate 
Villeroi; and to his expreflions of concern, replied, 
“ People 
