735 
FRA 
"‘People at our time of life, monfieur marefchal, are not 
fortunate.” 
The flattering profpedt in Italy in fome meafure pro- 
mifed to repair the difafters of Flanders ; Turin was in¬ 
verted by marefchal Fetiillade; and the liege was covered 
by the duke of Orleans, the nephew of Louis, but whole 
authority was controlled by the fuperior but fecret powers 
of marefchal Marfin. The city was already reduced to 
the laft diftrefs, when the befiegers were alarmed by the 
rapid approach of prince Eugene. In a long and painful 
march that celebrated commander had pierced the mod 
difficult defiles, had traverfed the rapid rtreams of the 
Adige and the Po, and effecting a junction with the duke 
of Savoy, now prefled forwards to the relief of the de- 
fponding capital. The duke of Orleans would have 
quitted his lines to have met and encountered the enemy ; 
this bold, but prudent propofal was over-ruled by mare¬ 
fchal Marfin ; the French awaited the attack in their 
entrenchments ; but their confidence was cxtinguiflied by 
the diffenfions of their generals ; prince Eugene and the 
duke of Savoy charged with rival ardour, and in lefs than 
two hours their efforts obtained a complete victory. The 
duke of Orleans was wounded ; marefchal Marfin killed ; 
the fcattered remnant of the vanquiflied troops directed 
their hafty rteps towards Pignerol ; and by the fate of one 
day the duchies of Milan, Mantua, and Piedmont, with 
the kingdom of Naples, were torn from the houfe of 
Bourbon. An advantage which had indeed been obtained 
by'the French in Mantua over the prince of Heffe, could 
but ill compenfate the difaftrous battle of Turin. The 
courtiers of Louis flood aghaft at the intelligence, and 
madame de Maintenon alone ventured to inform him that 
all Italy was occupied by his enemies. His grandfon 
Philip had been compelled to abandon precipitately the 
fiege of Barcelona ; Charles had entered in triumph, and 
been proclaimed at Madrid. But that prince fullered 
the moment of enterprife to elapfe ; and was in his turn 
reduced to evacuate the capital ; and fly before the arms 
of the duke of Berwick, natural fon to James II. of 
England. 
Louis, in 1707, humbled by repeated defeats, fued ar¬ 
dently for peace ; but the allies, elated by their victories, 
determined to purfue their advantage, and rejetled his 
propofals. Yet the war in Flanders was continued this 
campaign with little effeft ; the duke of Vendome, who 
commanded the French, remained upon the defenfive ; 
and the duke of Marlborough was difpatched into Saxony 
to conciliate the friendfhip of Charles XII. of Sweden. 
That monarch, young and -warlike, and ambitious of the 
fame of a conqueror, had already fpread his renown 
through the north. He had prefcribed laws to Denmark ; 
defeated the Ruffians and purfued, with implacable en¬ 
mity Augurtus king of Poland into his hereditary do¬ 
minions of Saxony. The confederates trembled left he 
rtiould turn his vidtorious arms againft the empire ; but 
Marlborough was equally fuccefsful in the cabinet as the 
field ; he gained the minifters of Charles'; and that mo¬ 
narch foon after repaffed the Oder, and diredled his march 
towards Mufcovy in fearch of new laurels. 
In Spain the duke of Berwick triumphed at Almanza 
over the forces of the confederates, and reftored the 
finking fortunes of Philip. In Germany marefchal Vil- 
lars palled the Rhine, preffed the Imperialifts, and even 
penetrated to the Danube. Yet he was prevented from 
improving his advantage by the recall of a confiderable 
part of his army to the defence of France itfelf, which 
was now attacked within its limits. The duke of Savoy 
and prince Eugene had forced the paffage of the Var, ad¬ 
vanced along the coaft of Provence, and incamped under 
the walls of Toulon. But the tardy motions of the Ger¬ 
mans, who were to have joined them, and the activity of 
the French, compelled them to abandon the enterprife ; 
and they retired, after having bombarded the town, and 
convinced Louis that his native dominions were not in¬ 
vulnerable. 
N C E. 
The tranfient fttccefs of the laft campaign fomewhat 
revived the fpirits of the king of France; and in 1708 he 
determined to make one more exertion in favour of the 
exiled branch of Stuart. Seventy tranfports, with fix 
thoufand troops, convoyed by eight men of war, failed 
from Dunkirk ; but the courts of Britain were protefted 
by her numerous fleet ; the vigilance of her officers were 
already alarmed; the adherents of James were fecured 
anddifarmed; and the French, after a fruitlefs attempt 
to land in Scotland, efteemed themfelves happy in fafely 
regaining Dunkirk. Flanders promifed a fairer harveft ; 
and the forces of France, commanded by Vendome, were 
animated by the pretence of the duke of Burgundy, eldeft 
fon of the dauphin. The inhabitants of Ghent and 
Bruges, corrupted by the gold of Louis, opened their 
gates. But the hopes of the French were blarted by 
the approach of Marlborough ; on the banks of the 
Scheld they were attacked by that general, who had af- 
fedteda junction with prince Eugene ; thebattleof Oude- 
narde was long, obftinate, and bloody ; night parted the 
combatants; the French were rather preffed than van- 
quifhed ; but the troops of Louis, from fucceffive defeats, 
had loft all confidence, and they difperfed under cover of 
the night; Lille, defended by marefc-hal Boufflers in per- 
fon, and fortified by the confummate fkili of Vauban, was 
neverthelefs reduced by the confederates; Ghent and 
Bruges were again recovered; and the eledtor of Bavaria 
was compelled to retire from the walls of Bruffels. 
In Spain, Germany, and Italy, a languid and defultory 
war was carried on ; in the former indeed the ftrong at¬ 
tachment of the Caftilians to Philip became every day 
more evident; but in the latter the duke of Savoy eluded 
the vigilance of Villars, and rendered himfelf mailer of 
Exilles and Feneftrelles ; the Britilh fleet reduced the 
iflands of Sardinia and Minorca; and the difficulties and 
dangers of Louis increafed on every fide. The taking of 
Lille had opened a road to the very gates of Paris ; that 
proud metropolis was infulted and alarmed by the preda¬ 
tory incurfions of the enemy ; and a prince who had car¬ 
ried his arms a few years before to the banks of the 
Danube, the Tagus, and the Po, now even doubted 
whether he could remain in his capital with fafety. The 
defpair of the nation was completed by the feverity of 
the winter; the olive-trees throughout the fouth of 
France were deftroyed, the grain was cut off, and the 
profpedt of impending famine threw a deeper gloom over 
the calamities of war. Accuftomed to profperity, Louis 
with poignant fubmiflion bowed beneath his adverfe for¬ 
tune, and inftrudled his minifter Torcy to open at the 
Hague a negociation for peace. 
But though the king of France, in 1709, agreed to yield 
the whole Spanilh monarchy to the houfe of Auftria; to 
cede Furnes, Ypres, Tournay, Lille, &c. as a barrier to 
Holland ; to own the title of queen Anne to the Britilh 
throne ; and to remove the pretender from France ; yet 
thefe conceffions appeared infufficient ; and the allies de¬ 
manded that the king (hould aflift in driving his grandfon 
from the throne of Spain ; Louis nobly rejected the igno¬ 
minious condition, and added, “ Since I mud make war, 
I had rather it lhould be againft my enemies than my 
children.” 
The internal mifery of France in 1709, fwelled her 
army from the fields of indultry, and the wretched huf- 
bandman fought in the profeflion of arms that fubfiftence 
which he could no langerextortfrom the earth. Marefchal 
Villars was recalled from Italy toaffume the command of 
an army formidable from its numbers and defpair. In the 
neighbourhood of Malplaquet he diligently fortified a 
camp naturally ftrong; Marlborough and Eugene, ani¬ 
mated by the capture of Tournay, rulhed to the attack. 
The battle was difputed with an obrtinacy hardly to be 
equalled even in thefe fanguinary annals ; the allies were 
frequently repulfed, and as frequently returned to the 
charge; Villars himfelf was wounded, and Boufflers,who 
fucceeded to the command, at length withdrew his troops 
from 
