.502 
GERMANY. 
ihe pope would, in all probability, bave been effeftu- 
ally humbled ; but, after feme time, the affair funk 
into oblivion. 
Meanwhile Bavaria groaned under the moll cruel and 
tyrannical oppreilions. A treaty had been concluded 
between the eledfrefs and the imperialilts, by which all 
adfs of hoftility on both lides were to ceafe ; the eledtor 
was to be regarded merely as a general of Louis XIV. 
at the head of a French army ; the Bavarians were to 
be confirmed in all their privileges ; and the revenues 
of Munich and its dependencies were to remain un¬ 
touched, as conflituting the fupport of the princefs and 
the eledforal family. But the Auftrian forces had no 
looner taken poileirion of the country, than the eledforal 
palace was flripped of all its rich furniture ; the nobi- 
lity and people were opprelfed with exorbitant contri¬ 
butions ; many individuals were imprifoned, upon fuf- 
picion of concealing their property ; and even the 
tombs were violated in quelf of hidden treafure. Loud 
complaints were confequcntly made to the imperial 
commilfaries, and crowds of fufferers poured out their 
grievances in the moll pathetic manner : but tliey were 
treated with brutal neglect; and the aggrelfors endea¬ 
voured to juffify their proceedings, by charging the 
Bavarians v/ith a dangerous confpiracy. 
After tiiefc flagrant acts of injuitice had for fome 
time been committed with impunity, count de Lowen- 
flein, governor of the province, publiflied an edidt, en¬ 
joining all tile young men, from the age of eighteen to 
thirty.five, to appear at certain places, in order to be 
draughted for recruits to the regiments in Hungary and 
Italy. The peafants, alarmed at this ordinance, endea¬ 
voured to elude compliance by a temporary conceal¬ 
ment ; but this evafion was conlfrued into an adt of re¬ 
bellion, and all the gaols in Bavaria were crowded with 
unfortunate wretches, who had been dragged out of 
churches, monafleries, and other places of refuge ; 
while their houfes were pillaged, and their homes de- 
ilroyed. DiflraCfed by thefe calamities, and rendered 
defperate by the prelFure of extreme want, the fufferers 
at length refolved to unite for their own defence, and 
join the Bohemian malcontents againft their common 
enemy. This plan being reduced to execution, an army 
of twenty thoul'and men took the field, and made them- 
felves mailers of I'everal important places ; but, finding 
it impollible to make a long relillance againll regular 
troops, tliey laid down their arms, upon alfurances of a 
general amneffy. The Auftrian faith, however, w'as 
loon violated ; and the unhappy leaders of the infur- 
reflion w'ere treated with the moll lavage barbarffy. 
At this time the eleCfrefs, who had been to vifit her 
mother the queen of Poland, demanded leave to return 
to her dominions; but jult as Ihe arrived on the fron¬ 
tiers, Ihe was prohibited from purfuing her journey, 
and deprived of the poor fatisfablion of mingling lier 
tears with thole of her faithful fubjeCfs. 
In the mean time Jofeph, in 1706, having conftrained 
the aulic council to proferibe the eleijfors of Bavaria 
and Cologne, convened a numerous allembly to witnefs 
the ceremonial of their dil'grace. Being feated in his 
imperial throne, he caufed the aits to be recited by 
which Leopold liad invefled the proferibed princes with 
the electoral dignity: he then tore them in pieces, 
dallied them on the ground, and diredted the heralds at 
arms to throw them into the (Ireet. The decree of the 
aulic council was then publicly proclaimed in all the 
principal llreets of Vienna; a price was let upon the 
head of the eletfor of Bavaria; and the fame meafure 
would have been taken agaiiik the elector of Cologne, 
liad not his ecclefiallical charadter exempted him from 
fuch feverity. d'hele rigorous proceedings, however, 
were llrongly reprobated by leveral of the German 
princes, and many of them expreiTed great aftoiiHhment 
at the emperor’s conduct. 
M. Villars, being apprifed of thefe circumftances. 
determined to ufe his utmofl endeavours for reftaring, 
the affairs of the eledtors. Having advanced by rapid 
saarches along the Sar, he compelled the prince of Ba¬ 
den to retire precipitately toward Drufenheim ; and thd 
imperialilts were driven from place to place, without 
the credit of ifriking a'fingle blow, or making the lead: 
refinance. The French commander availed himfelf of 
this general conlleniation, to gain polfeffion of feveral 
fortrelfes between the rivers Moter and Spirebach, and 
to recover Haguenau from the enemy. About the fame 
time, the Hungarian malcontents, having forced the 
intrenchments of Guy de Staremberg, made an irrup¬ 
tion into Aullria, and concerted a fcheme for feizing 
the emperor as he was hunting in the foreft of Eber- 
dorf: but this projedl mifearried. 
The affairs t)f the impcrialifls in Italy, in 1707, were 
not more fortunate ; the French, under M. Berwick, 
had gained fuch a decided fuperiority, that they a6hi- 
ally meditated the conqueft of all Piedmont, while 
prince Eugene found it equally impradticable to ani¬ 
mate the councils or quicken the meafiires of the court 
of Vienna. At length, however, the fum of twenty- 
five thoufand pounds llerling was borrowed from the 
Englifli ; and Eugene repaired with a numerous army 
to Turin, at the very moment that the capital was on 
the verge of deftruClion. This was indeed a moft ex¬ 
traordinary exertion ; and the rapidity with which he 
recovered all the recent conquefts, will tranfmit his me¬ 
mory with glory to the latefl poftcrity: but the duke 
of Marlborough rivalled his fame at the battle of Ra- 
milies, in which Villeroy was utterly defeated, with the 
lols of his cannon, baggage, and a prodigious number 
of men, who were either killed or taken prifoners.— 
See thefe interelling events more copioufiy narrated, 
under the article England, vol.vi. p. 702-707. 
The long duration of a war in which all Europe had 
fome concern entirely drained the provinces of money, 
and incapacitated them from furnilhing the ufual fup- 
plies. But the Imperial and Britilh courts, and the 
States General, were not yet fatiated with conqueft. 
The circles of the Upper and Lower Rhine, with thole 
of Swabia and Franconia, complained of the imprafti- 
cability of defending the frontiers, unlefs the ftipulated 
forces were regularly levied; and it was therefore re¬ 
folved, that an army of forty thoufand men Ihould be 
raifed for this purpofe. Magazines were alfo ordered 
to be ereiSted at Philiplburg ; Landau was to be well for¬ 
tified and garrifoned ; and recruits were to be lent off 
with the greateft expedition, to complete all the impe¬ 
rial regiments in Savoy. At the fame time, llie em¬ 
peror ceded Valencia and Alexandria, with their de¬ 
pendencies, to Vidlor Amadeus duke of Savoy, and in- 
vefted the archduke with the duchy of Milan. 
Upon the demile of Louis prince of Baden, the com¬ 
mand of the imperial army on the Rhine was given to 
the margrave of Brandenburg Bareith; but as his 
troops did not exceed tw'enty thoufand men, and moft 
of thefe were newdy levied and indifferently armed, it 
appeared impofiible to refill the fuperior force of M. Vil- 
lars, and to defend the lines at Stolhoffen, which co¬ 
vered the territory of Baden Dourlach, and extended 
to the impaffable mountains of the Black Forefl. Vil- 
lars was perfeCfly acquainted with the Hate of the im¬ 
perial army, and amufed them with feveral feints and 
falfe attacks, while he was alfembling twenty battalions 
and forty-five fquadrons, under the count de Broglio, 
at Lauterberg. Filling fixty boats with grenadiers, he 
haftened to the ifle of Newberg, whence he chafed the 
imperialills, after a fhort relillance; and, on his pre¬ 
paring to attack the lines, the margrave retired with 
the utmoll precipitation, leaving tlie enemy in poireflion 
of all tlie llrong works of Stolhoffen, together with the 
tents, artillery, baggage, and ammunition. Villars con- 
fequently became mailer of the whole marquilate of 
Baden, and foon afterward penetrated into the duchy of 
Wirtem- 
