FRANCE. 
from the walls of Landreci; while Villars reduced Douay 
and Quefnoi, pofleffed himfelf in the latter of the mili¬ 
tary (tores of the allies, and terminated the campaign of 
1712 by the redubtion of the important townof Bouchain. 
The preliminaries which had been figned between the 
courts of Paris and London, wjsre fucceeded, in 1713, by 
open conferences for peace at Utrecht; thefe were quicken¬ 
ed by the late brilliant and rapid fuccefles of Villars ; the 
emperor, and fomeof the independent princes of Germany, 
(till maintained an haughty and fullen referve, and refufed 
to (heath the fword. But Great Britain, Holland, Pruflia, 
Portugal, and Savoy, acquiefced in the terms propofed, 
and figned feparate treaties of peace. By thefe, Philip V. 
was acknowledged king of Spain, but at the fame time he 
folemnly renounced all pretenfions to the crown of France ; 
Louis, for the other branches of the houfe of Bourbon, 
difavowed all right to the future fucceflion of any part 
of the Spanifh territories, and every precaution was 
taken to feparate for ever thofe kindred thrones. The 
king of Franceconfented to guaranty the crown of Britain 
to the proteftant line of the houfe of Hanover, to demoli (h 
the fortifications of Dunkirk, and to yield acrofs the 
Atlantic, Newfoundland, Hudfon’s Bay, and Acadia, as 
a compenfation to the Englifii for the expences of the 
■war. He promifed to fequelter into the hands of Holland, 
for the houfe of Auftria, all that France, or her allies, 
pofleffed in the Spanifh Netherlands at the conclufion of 
the treaty of Ryfwick ; he confented to allow the title of 
king of Pruflia to the debtor of Brandenburg, and to 
cede to him the town of Guelders, with part of Spanifh 
Guelderland ; with Portugal, all places that had been 
taken on either fide were mutually reftored ; to the duke 
of Savoy was given the iftand of Sicily, with the title of 
king ; he was alfo fecured in the fucceflion of the Spanifh 
monarchy, in cafe of failure in Philip king of Spain and 
his pofterity ; and in exchange for the valley of Barcelo- 
netta and its dependencies, he obtained the reflitution of 
the duchy of Savoy, the county of Nice, and all the 
country along the Alps towards Piedmont. 
By the conceflions Louis difarmed the rage of his mod 
formidable enemies, and refcued his kingdom from the 
deftrubtion that impended over it; amidft misfortune and 
defeat he eftablifhed his grandfonon the throne of Spain, 
whofe pretenfions had firft excited the hoflile confederacy 
of Europe ; and he was now left to turn his whole force 
againfl the emperor Charles VI. who, deferted and alone, 
hill nouriflied the flames of war. From the Schelde 
marefchal Villars rapidly directed his fleps towards the 
Rhine ; he made himfelf mafter of Spires and Worms, 
took Landau, pierced the lines which prince Eugene had 
ordered to be drawn from Brifgau, and, laftly, inverted 
and reduced Friburg, the capital of Upper Auftria. His 
approach awakened Charles from the delufive idea that he 
had entertained of his own fuperiority ; and he now panted 
for that repofe which he fo lately rejected. At Radftadt 
marefchal Villars and the prince Eugene, who had been 
fo often oppofed to each other in the field, were now op- 
pofed in the cabinet. Both difplayed that franknefs of 
charabterand generofity for which they were diftinguifhed ; 
and defpifing the intrigues of courts, they foon adjufted 
the different pretenfions of their fovereigns. Louis yielded 
to the emperor the fort of Keil, the city of Friburg, and 
#ld Brifac, with its dependencies ; but he retained 
Strafbourgh and Landau, the fovereignty of Alface, and 
procured his allies, the debtors of Cologn and Bavaria, to 
be reinftated in their former dominions. 
It is remarkable that the domeftic mifery of Louis had 
almoft conftantly kept pace with the political calamities 
of his reign ; his court, the fplendourand magnificent en¬ 
tertainments of which had excited the envy and admira¬ 
tion of Europe, had long been imprefled with a deep and 
fettled gloom. The paflion of the king for madame de 
Maintenon, and the addrefs of that celebrated lady, who 
Hill kept alive his hopes, without gratifying his defires, 
had induced him to confent to a private marriage. A 
Vol, VII. .No,464. 
737 
fiftula, in the mean time, with which the king had been 
attacked, fpread a general alarm; and though the furgi. 
cal operation was fuccefsfully performed, yet he ever after 
led a more ferious and retired life, and chiefly devoted his 
hours to the converfation of madame de Maintenon, whofe 
influence over his mind increafed with his years. But 
while he was opprefled by a long and bloody war, and in 
which he was almoft invariably unfortunate, he was doom¬ 
ed to experience the fevered pangs of domeftic affliction. 
The death of his only fon, which happened in 1711; of 
the duke of Burgundy, the duchefs his wife, and their 
eldeft fon, all fwept away within a few months, and laid 
in the fame grave; the only furviving child at the point 
of death ; thefe private woes added tothofeof the public, 
mark the clofe of the reign of the illuftrious Louis XIV. 
as an era of calamity; and a wretched people awaited in 
filence to behold the former fplendour of their monarch 
extinguiflied by the dark cloud of mifery which obfcured 
his fetting fun. 
From this gloomy pibture they were relieved by the 
general peace of 1714; but one mortification ftill remained 
to embitter the laft hours of the king of France. He had 
enlarged the canal of Mardyke, and formed an harbour 
there, which was thought already equal to that of Dun- 
kirk. The earl of Stair, ambafiador from England, re- 
monftrated againft this evafion of the treaty of Utrecht in 
the ftrongeft terms, and Louis relubtantly confented to 
abolifh the works. 
The Catalans ftill refufed to ftibmit to the authority of 
Philip V. of Spain ; bold and hardy, they flattered t,M?m- 
felves with the delufive hope of erebting a republic in 
that fruitful country ; and Louis, who during the latter 
part of the war, had not been able to fupport his grand- 
ion, now fitted out an armament for his afliftance. A 
fquadron of French (hips blocked up the harbour, and 
marefchal Berwick, with a confiderable army, inverted 
Barcelona by land. The inhabitants defended themfelve* 
with a courage that bordered on enthufiafm ; the priefts 
and monks ran to arms, and mounted the trendies as if it 
had been a religious war; but the queen of England, 
faithful to the treaty fhe had concluded, refufed.their 
fupplications for afliftance; the aflailants at length pene¬ 
trated into the town ; and the befieged, after having de¬ 
fended ftreet after ftreet, were overpowered by the num¬ 
ber of their enemies. The clemency of Philip granted 
to them their lives and eftates ; but their important pri¬ 
vileges were for ever abolifhed ; and the fpirit of that 
daring people, who, as Tacitus happily expreffes it, 
“ only feemed to live when engaged in war,” was finally 
broken. 
Queen Anne had lately expired in England, and the 
life of Louis alfo drew near its end. At the age of 
feventy-feven that vanity and ambition which had agi¬ 
tated Iris years of manhood, were now nearly extinguilh- 
ed. He coldly liftened to the felicitations of the unfor¬ 
tunate pretender, who afpired to afeend the throne of his 
filler, already filled by the elebtor of Hanover. To the 
importunities of that prince he granted a fmall fupply of 
money, and a veffel fitted out in the name of an indivi¬ 
dual ; but while that enterprife hung in fufpence, Louis 
himfelf was, in 1715, feized with a difeafe which foon 
brought him to the grave. In his laft hours he difplayed 
a greatnefs of l'oul worthy of his elevated fituation. 
44 Why do you weep, (laid he to his domeftics,) did you 
think me immortal ?” The fortitude with which he be¬ 
held his end, was diverted of that glare of oftentarion 
which had tinlelled the reft of his life ; he had the cou¬ 
rage even to acknowledge his errors ; and his advice to 
his infant fucceffor was to avoid that falfe glory which he 
himfelf had vainly fought in war, and to confider the hap- 
pinels of his people as the'principal objebt of his govern, 
ment. To madame de Maintenon he left no fixed fti- 
pend, and contented himfelf with recommending her to 
the care of the duke of Orleans : (lie immediately retired 
to St. Cyr, which had been founded st her perfuafion for 
9 JB the 
