1810.] 
the whole Empire, and overrun the Mi- 
Janese. Sardinia and Spainhad declared 
against us. I vain I representéd to the 
Empire till I was tired, drat the aggression 
of France ought to make it declare in our 
favour: three electors protested against 
such declaration, alleging that this inva- 
sion concerned only the head of the Em- 
pire; that it was ouly a passage through 
for the purpose of attacking Austria, and 
that France bad promised to restore all 
she had taken as soon as the emperor 
should dissolve his connection with the 
elector of Saxony. 
1734.—l arrived on the 25th of April 
at Heilbron. On the 97th I reviewed 
the army a few leagues from Philipsburg. 
I still shed tears of joy, tenderness, and 
gratitude, whenever I recollect how I was 
received with repeated shouts of ** Long 
live our father!” and ‘thousands of hats 
thrown into the air. ‘The old compa- 
nions of my campaigns in Hungary, Italy, 
Flanders, and Bavaria, crowded to em= 
brace the tops of my boots; they sur- 
rounded me, einbraced my. horse, and 
even pulled me down with their caresses, 
This moment was certainly the mest de- 
licious of my life; but it was embittered 
by the reflection that i had only 35,000 
men, that the enemy had 80,000, and 
announced his determination to march 
to Vienna, I conducted them into the 
lines of Ettlingen; but these were cal- 
culated for 100,000 men, and I had no 
Jnclination to repeat the affair of Denain, 
J abandoned them, but I made so many 
marches and countermarches, and played 
off so many stratagems, that I prevented 
Berwick from penetrating into the inte- 
rior of the country. He had nothing 
else to do than to lay siege to Philips- 
burg. This was what L wanted, in order 
to gain time. His head was there car- 
ried off by a cannon-ball, eight days 
after the opening of the trenches. I 
was envious on this occasion, and it was 
for the first time in my life. I was dis- 
appointed in this plan, as well as iu that 
of attacking the French in their lines, 
I thought I had discovered a place badly 
fortified, and with a smal! quantity of ar- 
tillery ; they had neglected it because it 
was cyvered by a morass which I had 
been told was passable, but which I 
found it impossible to get across, for I 
went myself to reconnoitre it: one cannot 
implicitly rely on any report. This has 
been my practice all my life; I have 
found the benefit of it, as well as of con- 
stantly having a pencil in my pocket, to 
write down in au officer’s tablets the order 
which I give him to carry, — 
1 
ALemours of Prince Eugene, of Savoy. 
La Valheres, 
339 
I had received some Hessian, Hano- 
verian, and Prussian, reinforcements : 
among whom I distinguished the prince 
royal,* who appeared a young man of in- 
finite promise. D’Asfeld has surpassed 
himself. Never did Isee any thing so 
strong; for itstance, his ditches, or trous 
des loups, were conical, and superior to 
‘ those of Condé at Arras : it was from this 
reconnoitring that I formed my opinion 
of the young prince whom I have just 
mentioned. When I resolved to fight, 1 
never assembled a council of war; but 
this time I was sure that every one would 
be of my opinion. 1 determined to cross 
the Rhine, andito reecross it higher up to 
attack D’Asfeld, 
destined $000 cavalry and 10,006 Swiss, 
This devil of a fellow had all his wits 
about him, and at length took Philips- . 
burg, in spite of my cannonade of his 
camp, in which I acted the Grand. Vizier 
of Belgrade, for my batteries and para- 
pets were elevated to fre down upon‘it, 
and the water, besides, was still more 
terrible than the fire, I relied more 
upon the effect of the one than of the 
other, 
every thing. Richelieu, whom I had known 
a Sybarite so delicate and voluptuous, 
the young courtiers, the Duras, and the 
were metamorphosed. 
They only wanta leader. D?’Asfeld was 
a rigid Spartan, and set'a good example ; 
and before him Berwick held them awe. 
They threw upthe trenches in boats, and 
endured every hardship with unequalled 
patience. i never had any, for my part, 
under mental sufferings. The first that 
had attacked the other would have been 
beaten, and had that been my lot, the | 
French might have gone to Vienna, for 
there was no fortified place on the way, 
or upon the flanks: and the elector of 
Bavaria, who had subject of complaint, 
only waited for this to declare against 
Austria, whose haughtiness or awkwards ' 
ness made it friends no where. We 
should have lost the few we had. There 
was no Sobieski to save the capital; I 
should have retired within the lines which 
I constructed in 17053; but meanwhile 
Te Deum would have been sung at Ver- 
sailles, and in the chapels of some of my 
enemies at Vienna. People there at 
length became sensible of the justice of 
ny reasons against the war, for they 
then perceived the inferiority of our 
means with which the barkers and fire- 
brands of society cannot be acquainted. 
Philipsburg being taken, I retired to 
* Afterwards the great Frederic. 
ny 
For this seryice [ had 
But what a nation! capable of © 
