Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 4.djvu/232

218 their gates. Ostend, Menin, Dendermonde, and Aeth, made some resistance, but successively surrendered and acknowledged king Charles. The delighted emperor and king Charles offered to make Marlborough governor of Flanders, which he willingly accepted, but was compelled to relinquish the honour by the indomitable jealousy of the Dutch. At the beginning of November Marlborough sent his army into winter quarters—the English at Ghent, the Danes at Bruges, and the Germans along the river Demer, and betook himself to the Hague, to hold consultations on the plan of the next campaign, and to receive some proposals from the French court, which, however, ended in nothing.

As to the French king, he was now reaping the just fruits of his lawless ambition. The prestige of victory had abandoned his arms. The days of Turenne and Luxembourg were over, and nothing but news of one disaster and overthrow after another poured into the proud Versailles. He is said to have received Villeroi without a reproach, but it is difficult to conceive a more refinedly keen one than lay in the remark with which he accosted him "Monsieur Maréchal, you and I are too old to be fortunate."

On the heels of Ramilles came the tidings of a still less expected defeat in Savoy. The duke de Vendöme was recalled from Piedmont after the defeat of Ramillies to supersede Villeroi, and the duke of Orleans, under the direction of marshal de Marsin, was sent to Piedmont, with orders to besiege Turin. This siege was carried on through the summer; and when the duke of Savoy had refused all offers of accommodation made by France, the duke de Feuillade, having completed his lines of circumvallation, made the last offer of courtesy to the impassive duke of Savoy. This was a presentation of passports sent by a trumpet for the duchess and children, that they might retire to a place of safety before the storming commenced. The duke replied that he had no intention of removing his family, whereupon the marshal Feuillade began the assault in earnest, and fired red hot balls into the city. The effect was so alarming that the duchess soon quitted the place with her children, and after many difficulties and dangers reached Genoa. The duke himself was compelled to quit his capital and join hia cavalry; but even there he was pursued from place to place by the French under count D'Aubeterre. The prospects of the duke were now most unmitigatedly gloomy. He could only escape the activity of the enemy, who were in number overwhelming, by constant vigilance, and his capital was apparently approaching its fate. The defences were ruined, the ammunition of the besieged began to fail, and there was no expectation of relief except from prince Eugene. That appeared a very remote one, for the duke de Vendöme, before quitting Italy, had taken every care to secure all the fords of the Adige, the Mincio, and the Oglio, and thrown out such lines and intrenchments betwixt Eugene and the capital as appeared quite certain to prevent his succouring the city. Eugene was beyond the Adigo, and knew the formidable obstacles in his way; but, at the call of the distressed duke, he forced his way in the face of every opposition, crossed river after river, threaded his way between the lines, and at length formed a junction with the duke of Savoy. After this union they advanced undauntedly on Turin, and reached its vicinity on the 13th of August. They crossed the Po between Montcalier and Cavignan, and on the 5th of September captured a convoy of eight hundred loaded mules. They then crossed the Doria, and encamped with their right wing on that river, and the left on the Stura. The intrenchments of the enemy had the convent of the Capuchins, called Notre Dame, in their centre opposite. The duke of Orleans proposed to march out of their intrenchments and attack the army of Savoy, but Marsin showed him an order from the court of Versailles forbidding so much hazard. The prince did not leave them long time to deliberate, but attacked them in their intrenchments, he himself leading up the left wing, and the duke the centre. After some hard fighting both commanders forced the intrenchments, and drove the French in precipitation over the Po. The duke entered his capital in triumph, and remained master of it after killing five thousand of the French, amongst whom was the marshal Marsin, the duke of Orleans himself being severely wounded. Upwards of seven thousand of the French were taken prisoners, with two hundred and fifty-five pieces of cannon, one hundred and eight mortars, vast quantities of ammunition, all the tents and baggage, ten thousand horses, and five thousand mules and other beasts of burthen. The Savoyards had about three thousand men killed and wounded. Prince Eugene pursued the duke of Orleans and the duke de Fuillade to the very borders of Dauphiné. The news of so complete a defeat of France produced equal consternation at Paris and rejoicing in England and over the greater part of the continent. Marlborough, writing to the duchess, said, "It is impossible to express the joy which the victory of Eugene has given me; for I do not only esteem, but I really love that prince. This glorious action must bring France so low that, if our friends can be persuaded to carry on the war one year longer with vigour, we cannot fail, with the blessing of God, to have such a peace as will give us quiet all our days; but the Dutch are at this time unaccountable."

The most unbroken gloom hung over Versailles. Louis affected to bear his reverses with indifference; but the violent restraint which he put upon himself so much endangered his health that his physicians were compelled frequently to bleed him. The only gleams of comfort which broke through the ominous silence and brooding gloom of the usually so gay court of France were afforded by an advantage gained by the count de Medavi-Grancey over the prince of Hesse-Cassel in the neighbourhood of Castiglione, and the forcing him to the Adige with a loss of two thousand men. Besides this, the mismanagement of king Charles in Spain, which prevented the success of the earl of Peterborough, was calculated in some degree to solace the confounded French court.

King Philip had made a great effort to recover the city of Barcelona. Early in the spring he appeared before that city with a considerable army of French and Spaniards, and invested it. He was supported by a fleet under the count de Toulouse, and succeeded in retaking the castle of Montjuic; and king Charles, who was cooped up in the town, sent urgent dispatches to lord Peterborough at Valencia to come to his assistance. Peterborough immediately marched to his relief with two thousand men, but