Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 4.djvu/247

A.D. 1707.] Col di Tende with twenty thousand men, whilst Sir Cloudesley Shovel appeared on the coast of Provence with the united fleet of England and Holland to support them. Eugene crossed the Var on the 10th of July, Sir John Norris and his English sailors clearing the way for him in their gunboats. But the French were fast marching towards Toulon from various quarters, Villars having been dispatched with a large force, as we have stated, from the army of Flanders. The duke of Savoy, on the other hand, instead of pushing on to Toulon with all speed, halted his army to rest, and then marched leisurely forward. By this means, not only had the French been able to collect a very powerful army, but had had time to strengthen greatly the fortifications of Toulon. When the practiced eye of prince Eugene took a survey of the formidable heights of Toulon, and of the great force on the outworks, with the power of the batteries, he advised the duke not to attempt the siege of the place with the forces at his command. The duke, however, would persist, and an assault was made on the outworks on the hill of St. Catherine's, and on two small forts near the harbour. These were carried, but at a great cost of life, including that of the gallant prince of Saxe-Gotha. But fresh French troops kept pouring in; it was impossible to maintain even this advantage. On the 15th of August the hill of St. Catherine was recovered by the French, and the Savoyards were even attacked in their own camp. On this an order was given to bombard the place, both from sea and land, in retaliation for the ravages committed by the French on Turin; the bombardment, especially from the sea, was made with terrible effect. A great part of the city was destroyed, and the English and Dutch sailors destroyed eight ships of the line in the harbours, and utterly destroyed two batteries. In the night of the 25th of August, the army of Savoy retired; on the 31st it crossed the Var without any pursuit of the French, and then laid siege to Suza, an old and strong town at the foot of the Alps, which surrendered after a fortnight's investment.

Sir Cloudesley Shovel, leaving a squadron with Sir Thomas Dilkes in the Mediterranean, sailed for England, and on the night of the 22nd of October closed his brave career in a sudden and melancholy manner. By some miscalculation his vessels got amongst the rocks of Scilly. His own ship struck on a rock about eight o'clock at night, and went down, drowning him and every soul on board. Three other vessels shared the same fate, only the captain and twenty-four men of one of them escaping. Sir Cloudesley Shovel had risen from a humble origin in Suffolk, and raised himself to the head of the maritime service of his country by his bravery, skill, and integrity. His body, when cast ashore, was stripped by the wreckers and buried in the sand; but was afterwards discovered and interred in Westminster Abbey.

Whilst the Savoyards had been engaged at Toulon, the imperial forces, who should have supported them, were marching, under the command of general count Daun, to the invasion of the Neapolitan territory. The Austrian forces crossed the frontier eight thousand strong—namely, five thousand foot and three thousand horse—and were immediately welcomed by the citizens of Capua, who opened their gates. Aversa and Naples itself did the same. The garrisons, both Spaniards and Neapolitans, declared for king Charles. The prince of Castiglione in the passes of the Appenines, and the duke of Atri in the Abruzzi, endeavoured to maintain the cause of king Philip, but in vain. That monarch had completely alienated the population by his heavy demands on them for the war in Spain; and thus easily was the kingdom of Naples taken possession of by Austria, and retained for twenty-seven years.

The only part of the campaign of 1707 which remains to be noticed is that of the Upper Rhine. The prince of Baden was dead, being really no loss to the allies. The German army, owing to the emperor's all-absorbing idea of seizing Naples, was so small that it could not stand its ground even against the moderate force which the French had on the Upper Rhine under Villars. That general crossed the rivet at Strasburg, broke through the lines at Buhl, which were regarded as the rampart of Germany, reduced Rastadt, penetrated into Würtemberg, took Stutgard and Schorndorff, and routed three thousand Germans under general Janos at Lorch. There appeared every probability that Villars would win back the territories of the elector of Bavaria, and nullify the great victory of Marlborough at Blenheim; but he was stopped in his career by the immediate demand of a considerable number of his troops to march into Provence. The imperial army took post at Heilbronn, and the command was intrusted to prince George of Hanover—afterwards George I. of England—who, though no brilliant military genius, yet showed more tact and activity than the late prince of Baden. Villars, weakened by the removal of so many of his troops, gave George no opportunity of showing his ability in a fight, but recrossed the Rhine, and quartered himself at Strasburg.

Whilst these transactions were taking place abroad, the spirit of discontent was raging through the whole summer in Scotland. The people there were more than ever indignant on reflection at the carrying of the union. Besides the wound to the national pride—a feeling always high and sensitive in Scotland, and which led the people to reflect with deep mortification on the loss of their ancient constitution and their self-importance derived from their independence and management of their own affairs—the English government had rather been at pains to embitter these sentiments than to soothe them. In the debates on the union in the English parliament, many things had been said extremely contemptuous of Scotland. It was described as a poor and beggarly country, likely to draw great advantages from the union with England, and to bring none in return. The payment of money to the Scots, and the grant of certain exemptions regarding the land-tax, and other matters, were loudly denounced. When the union came to be initiated by practice, there appeared a disposition on the part of the English authorities to vex and overbear the Scots, as if to retaliate for the fierce opposition they had made to the union. Three months elapsed before the equivalent money was paid, and when this took place it was distributed in a manner which appeared to the Scots extremely partial and corrupt in practice. The wines and spirits which had been imported into England in anticipation were seized with the utmost rigour, and all trade for two months was thrown into a stagnation.