Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 4.djvu/287

A.D. 1716.] Charles, and the allies only sent troops sufficient to win victories, but not to maintain them, still less to secure the passes in the Pyrenees, and keep back fresh French armies. It was another of our futile attempts to support a man who, unless he could support himself, had no business there. At this juncture the tories, having risen into power, withheld fresh reinforcements. They were not hearty in the war, and our small army there was left to contend with impossibilities. The English and imperialists unwillingly following in the track of the king towards Catalonia, for the sake of better procuring provisions on the route, had separated, and marched at some distance from each other, though in parallel lines. In this condition they were suddenly overtaken by Vendôme on the 8th of December, and Stanhope, with his five thousand men, found himself surrounded by the main army of the French. This was an instance of want of circumspection which was not anticipated in general Stanhope after his vigorous and able operations hitherto, and procured him severe blame. He managed to dispatch a messenger to Staremberg for help; but his powder was nearly exhausted, and after courageously defending himself till the next day, he was compelled to surrender himself in the little town of Brihuega. Staremberg was accused of tardy movement for the relief of Stanhope, but he was probably prevented coming up by the forces of Vendôme, who attacked him also on the 10th at Villaviciosa. Vendôme's troops are said to have doubled in number those of Staremberg. Staremberg's left wing was speedily routed, and great slaughter made of them; but Staremberg himself maintained the fight with his right wing till night, when the French retreated, having suffered equally severely with the troops of Staremberg. The imperial general, however, found himself unable to pursue the advantage: he ordered all the guns to be spiked, and retreated as fast as possible into Catalonia. Vendôme pursued him, took Balagues on the way, in which he left a garrison, and followed Staremberg to the very walls of Barcelona. About the same time the duke do Noailles invested Gironne, and took it in the severity of the winter weather; and thus was Charles, after a few months' campaign, which began so splendidly, stripped of the whole Spanish monarchy, with the exception of Catalonia, which was itself greatly exposed, and very inefficiently defended.

In Portugal nothing was done, and the earl of Galway obtained permission to return home. During the summer another attempt was made to assist the protestants of the Cevennes, who were in insurrection owing to their unexampled persecutions. Sir John Norris landed about seven hundred men at port Cette, within a league of Marseilles, and within fifteen of the insurgents. This force was destined to injure the unhappy Cevennois by drawing the vengeance of the French more upon them, and was of no use in relieving them. In every sense it was an ill-planned affair. The duke de Noailles marched down ten thousand militia and four hundred dragoons against them, imagining them to be a considerable body; and the invaders, after having taken a few villages, hastened on board their ships and sailed away. In the north of Europe the king of Sweden still continued at Breda, and the czar took the opportunity to reduce all Livonia. The Hungarians still continued their insurrections. At home the new parliament met on the 25th of November. There was a strong infusion of tories sent up, but there was still also a strong party of whigs. The tories, however, carried the speakership in the person of Mr. Bromley, in the place of the late whig speaker, Onslow; but the chief managers of the Sacheverel trial had managed to secure their own return. The queen, on the other hand, showed her predilection by knighting Sir. Constantine Phipps, Sacheverel's counsel, and made him lord chancellor of Ireland, and gave other promotions to marked tories. In her speech Anne declared that she would support the church of England, maintain the constitution, and grant the indulgence allowed by law to scrupulous consciences. The word was no longer "toleration," but "indulgence," the very phrase used by Sacheverel—another indication of the queen's real leaning towards the doctor. And this phrase now became general in the high church, the doctrine being that whatever liberty of conscience the dissenters enjoyed was of indulgence and not of right. In the house of lords the earl of Scarborough moved the usual vote of thanks to the duke of Marlborough, but the duke of Argyll opposed it; and the duke's friends let the matter drop, hoping to carry it when the duke returned. Other signs of the great change which had taken place in the domestic policy of the nation quickly followed. The earl of Peterborough, who had so long suffered from the overwhelming shade of Marlborough, was appointed ambassador-extraordinary to the imperial court. The earl of Rivers was appointed ambassador to Hanover; and Richard Hill, a kinsman of Mrs. Masham, ambassador-extraordinary to the States-General, and also to the council of state appointed for the government of the Spanish Netherlands, in the place of lieutenant-general Cadogan. Colonels Meredith, Macartney, and Honeywood were deprived of their regiments for drinking confusion to the enemies of the duke of Marlborough. The Marlborough reign was at an end.

tories being now in power, there was an entire revolution of opinion and of measures. Everything which had