Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 4.djvu/102

88 Vaudemont, however, began to fortify his camp, and Villeroi's vanguard appearing at Dentreghem, he intrenched himself on both sides. Villeroi made sure, nevertheless, of a complete victory over him, having such a superiority of force, and he sent word to Louis that he would speedily hear of a victory. But Vaudemont, perceiving another body of French advancing from the Scheldt so as to inclose him, very adroitly drew back, and made a retreat, much admired by military judges, to Ghent. Villeroi, thus disappointed, appeared as if intending to invest Newport; but Vaudemont detached a strong force for its defence, and Villeroi turned aside and besieged Dyxmude, where general Ellenberg commanded with eight battalions of foot and a regiment of dragoons; and Deyuse, held by general O'Farrell. Both these officers shamefully capitulated in less than a couple of days, and O'Farrell almost before a shot was fired. Vaudemont sent to Villeroi, demanding the surrender of the garrison to him according to a cartel existing betwixt the belligerent powers; but he took no notice of it. No sooner, however, were Ellenberg and O'Farrell again released, than they were tried by court-martial for their dastardly conduct; Ellenberg being shot, and O'Farrell dismissed with infamy.

Villeroi, privately mortified at the cowardice of the duke of Maine, the natural son of Louis by the countess Montespan, who was learning the art of war under him, and who failed, through terror and confusion, to interrupt the retreat of Vaudemont, now marched on Brussels, to avenge on the innocent inhabitants the ravages of the English on the coast towns of France. Vaudemont, who, on the movement of Villeroi towards Brussels, had sent to William for reinforcements to prevent mischief to that city, advanced from Ghent and took post at Dighen. He proposed to occupy the plain betwixt Gigot and St. Pee; and William sent the earl of Athlone (Ginckel) and the count of Nassau, with thirty battalions of infantry and forty squadrons of horse, to a position betwixt Gemappe and Waterloo, and Vaudemont then posted himself betwixt Mountzey and the counterscarp of Ixel, having thus communication with Athlone and Nassau. These movements enabled the allies, who now occupied ground destined to a more famous conflict in our own time, to throw some forces into the city, but not to prevent the design of Villeroi, who sat down at Auderlek, and announced to the governor of Brussels that he had orders to bombard the town; that his royal master most reluctantly resorted to this ruinous expedient, but that the prince of Orange had committed cruel ravages on the French sea-ports, and, in order to prevent his continuance of such practices, he was compelled to retaliate; that he was the more reluctant to fire on the town, because he knew that the electress of Bavaria was in it; but that if the governor would let him know in what part of the town she resided, he would spare that.

This message, so exquisitely French, such an assumed excess of politeness, and such a wanton and unprovoked piece of real brutality, was answered by the elector of Bavaria, who informed Villeroi in what part of the town the electress was quartered, but very properly added that this was no town of the king of England on which to retaliate; that the only justifiable retaliation would be on English towns, but that he would inform the king of the message, and send an answer within twenty-four hours. But Villeroi's orders were to bombard the town, to create an ill-feeling betwixt William and the allies, on whom he had thus brought such a calamity, and he therefore directly opened fire on the place with red-hot balls and shells. The bombardment commenced on the evening of the 13th of August, and continued till the afternoon of the l5th. The city was in a blaze; no less than fifteen hundred houses were burnt down, together with six convents or churches, and many other public buildings. The lower town would have been totally destroyed, had not the inhabitants blown up many houses to cut off the communication of the flames. The noble Hotel de Ville, one of the finest buildings in Europe, and the scene of some striking historical events, was in great danger, and an immense property in Brussels lace and other valuable goods was destroyed. The electress, for whom the king expressed so much concern, miscarried through terror. What does not seem easily explicable, the allies seem to have looked on without making any attempt to interrupt this devastation.

In one respect, however, Villeroi's bombardment failed. It could not, as it was hoped, draw William from the siege of Namur. Villeroi, having done his will on the city, removed to Engheim, and then, evacuating several towns which the French had held for some time, he again advanced to Soignies, close upon William's army; but Vaudemont, having now joined Athlone at Gemappe, the two general, pitched their camp at Mazey, and kept watch on Villeroi.

William was all this time—except for a few days, when he was anxiously observing the French proceedings before Brussels—prosecuting the siege of Namur with a determined ardour which cost a terrible amount of human lives. The trenches had been first opened on the llth of July, and the batteries on both sides commenced a furious fire. This continued for a week, and on the 18th a storming party, headed by lord Cutts, consisting of five battalions of English, Scotch, and Dutch, attacked the works on the right of the counterscarp, supported by six English battalions under general Fitzpatrick, whilst nine thousand pioneers advanced on the left under general Salisch. Twelve hundred of the allies fell in this bloody action, whilst William, looking on in exultation, thought not of their destruction, but of the bulldog valour of the British soldiers, exclaiming to the elector of Bavaria, "See my brave English! See my brave English!" They drove in the enemy, though at a terrible sacrifice.

On the 27th the English and Scotch again assaulted the counterscarp under Ramsay and Hamilton, supported by the Dutch. They were received by a murderous fire, but rushed on with a courage incredible, and effected a lodgment on the covered way before the gate of St. Nicholas, and also on part of the counterscarp. Whilst this desperate struggle was going on, some persons were killed at William's very side in the trenches. William was always greatly displeased at people who were not soldiers exposing themselves, and had several times discovered his servants near the scene of action, and ordered them away; but to-day Mr. Godfrey, the deputy-governor of the Bank of England, who had come out to arrange the remittances for the army, appeared near him. William warned him away, saying, "As you are no adventurer in the trade