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avoid an action, he knows how to force you to it. I saw this phrase in his justificatory letter, which he printed on his return to Paris. Cadogan went to Oudenarde; and, in a few hours, threw a bridge across the Scheldt. "It is still time," said Vendome to the Duke of Burgurdy, ", to countermand your march, and to attack, with the troops we have here, that part of the enemy's army which has passed the river." The Duke hesitated; stopped on the height of Garves; lost time; wished to turn back; sent twenty squadrons to dispute the passage; recalled them; and finally said, "Let us march to Ghent. "" It is now too late, " said Vendome; 6. you cannot move at present; in half an hour you will have the enemy upon your hands. "-" Why did you stop me, then?" said the Duke of Burgundy-"In the hope that you would attack immediately," replied he; but there is Cadogan already master of the village of Hurne with six battalions. Let us draw up at least as well as we can. " Rantzaw began the attack. He overthrew a column of cavalry, and would have been defeated in his turn, but for the electoral prince of Hanover, who, in the charge, had his horse killed under him. Grimaldi ordered a charge too early, and unskilfully. “What are you doing?" cried Vendone, who came up at full speed: yea are wrong. "" The Duke of Burgundy has ordered it," replic he-"Ah! the Duke is angry at having been contradicted, and only thinks of contradicting others. " Vendome wished the left to charge. "What are you doing?" said the Duke of Burgundy; "I forbid it: there is a ravine, and an impassable marsh." One may imagine the anger of Vendome, who had passed over the ground a moment before. Without this misunderstanding, we should perhaps have been beaten; for our cavalry was more than half an hour in order of battle before the infantry could join. For this reason, I abandoned the village of Hurne, to send the battalions to support the squadrons on the right wing. Eut the Duke of Argyle can.c up, with all possible speed, at the head of the English infantry : -afterwards the Dutch, though much more slowly. Now,' said I to Marlborough, we are at last ready to fight." It was six o'clock in the evening, on the 11th of July; so that we had still three hours of daylight. I was on the right, at the head of the Prussians. Some battalions turned their backs, on being attacked with unexampled fury. They ralited, and repaired their fault; and we regained the ground we had lest. The battle then began along the whole of the line. The sight was superb: it was one sheet of fire. Our artillery produced a vast effect. That of the French, by the uncertainty which prevailed in their army, from the disunion of the commanders, was very ill posted, and did little execution. With us it was very different: we loved and esteemed each other. Eva Marshal Ouverkerke, venerable for his age and services, an od friend of mine and Marlborough, obeyed us, and fought ardently,

6.6

As a proof of our good harmony-affairs were going uch the right, where I commanded. Marlborough perceived it, and sent me a reinforcement of eighteen battalions, without which I could

scaly

scarcely have supported myself. I then advanced, and made the first line give way; but I found, at the head of the second, Vendome on foot, with pike in hand, encouraging his soldiers. He made so vigorous a resistance, that I should never have succeeded, but for Natzmer, who, at the head of the Prussian gendarmes, pierced, broke the enemy, and gave me a complete victory.-Marlborough purchased his success more dearly on the left, where he attacked in front. While Ouverkerke dislodged the enemy from the hedges and villages, Nassau, Fries and Oxenstiern pushed their infantry beyond the defiles, but were roughly handled by the household troops, who came to its assistance. I now returned my obligation to the Duke. I sent Tilly, who, making a great circuit, took the brave household troops in the rear, when they had almost snatched the victory from ns; but at length it was decided. The darkness of the night hindered our pursuit, and suggested to me a method of increasing the number of prisoners. I sent drums to different places, with orders to beat the French retreat; and I placed my French refugee officers to call, on all sides, Herc, Picardy!Here, Champagne !—Here, Piedmont! The French soldiers flocked in, and I made a good harvest of them: we took seven thousand in all.'

We meet with a most singular avowal, on occasion of an interview with his mother, after this battle, and with a secret anecdote of that lady.

The joy of revenge mingled a little with that of our victory: she was pleased to see the King humbled, who had quitted her for another woman in her youth, and had banished her in her old age. It is singular, that, when advanced in years, she married the Duke d'Ursel, without taking his name. This was unknown to every one. It could neither be a marriage of conscience or of convenience, but probably of idleness ard ennui. We could not help rallying a little on the former devices of the amorous monarch, and his Place des Victoires. p. 82.

Next comes a most spirited description of the taking of Lisle, with many expressions of esteem and pity for Vendome, who urged the Duke of Burgundy, without effect, to attack the besieging armics. The Prince mentions, on this occasion, the story of an attempt to poison him, by a piece of paper enclosed, in a letter, and comments on it with the most gallant spirit. I am per ́ suaded,' says he, that it was untrue; because, at Versailles, they were too generous, and, at Vienna, too devout.'

We omit the brilliant, and even gay picture of the taking of the Citadel, to introduce one of the conversations (peculiar to this book) with Maréchal Boufflers, after its surrender. Prince Eugene said to him,

"If you could have been both within the place and without, at the same time, M. le Maréchal, and if there had been no other princes in France than M. de Vendome, whom I name as such from y love of Henry IV., I should never have taken Lille." Do

you believe in good luck, in making war?" "said he; "I see nothing in you but good management. "" If my management has sometimes succeeded," replied I," it was partly because I had the good fortune to be opposed by bad generals; and that is good luck." "The only kind of bad luck which I will allow," said the Maréchal," is the want of opportunity but a beaten general is always in the wrong, without some extraordinary accident; such as an order misunderstood, or the death of the messenger: he may then have some excuse; but there can be none for a general who is surprised and defeated. The ignorant alone make war a game of chance; and they are caught in the end. Charles XII. is not one of them; and I see, by the news which I received this morning, that, while we are speaking, he is playing very deep.'

In 1709, we find the Prince and Marlborough endeavouring to draw Villars from a strong position, by laying siege to Tournay; but in vain. Let us go and take Mons,' said I to Marlborough; 'perhaps this devilish fellow will tire of being so prudent.' The arrival of the troops of Tournay, however, decided our heroes to attack the French; and gave them the victory of Malplaquet, which has been so much discussed by the French military writers. We have the uncommon satisfaction of comparing the accounts given of this action by the opposing generals themselves, by referring to the Memoirs of Maréchal Villars, written also by himself, and published at Paris in 1785. They agree in the principal facts; but, while Prince Eugene tells us, that he finished the battle by turning the enemy's centre after the defeat of the wings, the Maréchal informs us, that had not himself and Albergotti been carried off the field wounded, and two generals killed, the Prince would have been taken in flank and defeated, during this manoeuvre. But the French officer, who commanded on the right, durst not take upon himself the important movement of quitting his entrenchments, to attack the allies. During the sieges which followed this victory, the Duke of Marlborough proposed to attack Villars, in his position of covering Arras. 'I will wager,' said Prince Eugene, that you will find nothing can be done. But let us reconnoitre him.' When the Duke had satisfied himself, he said It is so-let us go on taking towns.' But this brilliant career was soon to terminate, by the secession of England from the alliance,-an event, of which the illustrious author gives the following most improbable account.

Tallard, more dangerous in peace than in war, whom I should not have left prisoner in England, if I could have suspected that he would obtain credit there, made the Tories triumph, and crushed the Whigs. His attentions to Miss Masham, the Queen's new favourite, in place of the Dutchess of Marlborough; his address in society; his presents of burgundy and champagne to Right Honourable Mem

VOL. XVII. NO. 33.

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bers of Parliament, who admired them, changed the face of affairs in Europe!'

We believe that there has feldom been lefs purity or principle in English statefmen, than during the greater part of the glorious reign of Queen Anne; but we look upon this story as one of the common blunders of foreign politicians in judging of English affairs. Indeed, the illustrious author, who had certainly more means of seduction than the captive Tallard, afterwards admits, that he found this expedient for changing the face of Europe not very fuccefsful. He could not get the war renewed, nor Marlborough replaced, though he came to England on purpofe; where, as he fays himfelf, Je careffais beaucoup les gens en place. Je fis aufli des prefens: car on achete beaucoup en Angleterre.'

His farewell to the Duke of Ormond, on his withdrawing the English troops, was feverely ironical. "Well, Sir,' faid I, I fhall contrive to do without your eighteen thousand men.'-' I must march them,' faid the Duke, to take poffeffion of Dunkirk, which the French are to put into my hands. '-' I congratulate the two nations,' faid I, on this operation, which does equal honour to both. '

We now arrive at the decifive action of Denain, in which these two extraordinary men, Eugene and Villars, perfonal friends, yet active public enemies, were to ftruggle for the fate of France. Eugene fpeaks of the refolution which has been attributed to Louis, of perifhing at the head of his nobility, in cafe of the fall of Landrecy; but he mentions it with doubts.

The Dutch deputies had a grand magazine at Marchiennes, which Eugene wifhed to remove to Quefnoi. They opposed him, from motives of economy. This made him exclaim, one day, with an oath, when the conquefts of Alexander were mentioned He had no Dutch deputies in his army!'

In defcribing the action of Denain, there is a furprising coincidence between the accounts of Eugene and Villars; but there is fo much fimplicity and moderation in that given by the Prince, that we cannot forbear tranflating it completely.

I have spoken of my vexation at having the magazines, on which the continuance of the siege depended, left at Marchiennes. Two leagues in extent were too much for the Dutch corps; though, without the defection of the English, they might have been defended. Now, observe a proof of the talents of Villars, and a sort of fault which I must impute to myself. To conceal a movement of his left to the Scheldt, with the greatest secrecy and celerity, he drew my attention, with his right, to Landrecy, as if he meant to attack the lines of contravallation. He threw back, at once, the right upon his left wing, which, during the night, had easily made bridges, because the Scheldt is not wide there. The two wings, united, advanced, unknown to the Earl

of

of Albemarle, who tried, in vain, with his cavalry, to repulse those who had passed. At the first cannon shots, I marched to support him, with a large detachment of dragoons, on full trot, to make them dismount, if necessary, followed by my infantry in a quick march. The cowardice of the Dutch rendered my attempt fruitless. Had they only held out half an hour, in the post of Denain, I should have come up in time. I had always calculated thus, at the worst, supposing that I had been deceived by Villars's manœuvres I found only eight hundred men, and three or four generals, drowned in the Scheldt, and all those who had been surprized in the entrenchments, killed without resistance. Albemarle, and all the princes and generals in the Dutch service, were made prisoners, in trying to rally their troops. I frequently take myself to task for that day's battle, as severely as possible. I think, if I had placed twenty battalions more in the lines, which would have been necessary to protect them, Villars, who would then have been stronger than me, would have beaten me. Without the lines, posted as I was, I could provide for every thing Could i suppose, that the difference of an hour, at the utmost, would be decisive of my glory, of the war, and of the safety of France? The artillery, with which the lines were bristled, ought alone to have given me time to advance. In place of being well served, it was weakly abandoned along with the intrenchments. My two faults were, that I did not laugh at the remonstrances of the deputies, on the subject of Marchiennes, and that I confided so important a post to their troops, the flower of which had fallen at Malplaquet. '

At last, we find Eugene and Villars employed in the negocia tions for peace, at Raftadt. Out of many curious notes of converfations, we fhall only felect the following, as strongly characteristic of the Prince, and as very remarkable in the concluding hint.

"You will be angry with me for what I am now going to say, ' said Villars. "Do you know the foolish story which has been told, to account for the loss of the battle of Denain ?”—“ Let me hear it," said I; "it will amuse me."" Well, it was said that you had a mistress at Marchiennes, a very handsome Italian dancer; and that you had troops in the post, only to guard you in your nightly visits. "I laughed with him a good deal at this story It would have been rather too late for me to have caught this foolish fever, called love. I had better have taken it at Venice, or Vienna, when we were young. "You attended to ladies, I remember, but it was without loving, or being loved by them; for they like a Frenchman only by way of fashion."" Nay, that often happens to us in France, too, "" replied he ; "it is a fashion there too-even an employment-when we have nothing else to do: indeed, it is almost necessary to save our credit. Consider what they have said of M. de Vendome, and of Catinat." ." P. 121.

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