1707. BOOK VI. meridian of his prosperity, to offer his mediation; but this was declined, because the belligerent powers in opposition to France had not joined in the application. The elector of Bavaria then openly, in the name of the French monarch, addressed letters to the duke of Marlborough and the field deputies, proposing that conferences should be opened for the restoration of the geIneffectual neral tranquillity. This was treated as insidious, France for and a specification of preliminaries required. Overture of Peace. Louis, embarrassed and distressed, not only offered to resign Spain and the Indies, or Milan, Naples, and Sicily, to king Charles, with a barrier to the Dutch, and a compensation to the duke of Savoy, but descended so low as to request the interposition of the pope with the catholic courts in his favor. The various propositions of his Most Christian majesty were however finally declared to be unsatisfactory, and his whole conduct represented as deceitful, and calculated only to weaken the confederacy by exciting groundless jealousies and apprehensions; and the allies once more entered into the field, confident of new and more splendid triumphs. The operations of the ensuing summer did not, however, in any degree tend to confirm these lofty ideas. The duc de Vendome, who was re-appointed to the command in Flanders, chose his posts with so much skill and judgment, that the 1707. duke of Marlborough could not without manifest BOOK VI. rashness venture upon an attack. This was the only campaign during the war in which that great commander did not obtain some signal advantage over the enemy; and the French general, whose policy it was to act upon the defensive, fully sustained his high reputation, by thus putting, after so long a career of victory, à total stop to the progress of the confederate arms. in Flanders: A detail of military operations productive of Campaign no striking effect can be interesting only to mili tary men; in the estimation of whom the rival commanders displayed extraordinary proofs of science and genius. Intelligence being received, May the 27th, that the French were encamped on the plain of Fleurus, the duke of Marlbo rough hastened to the attack, but found the pass of Ronquieres, secured by the enemy. He had proposed to form the siege of Mons or Charleroi, in case he failed in his attempt to bring on a general engagement; but this design was frustrated by M. Vendome's taking a position which would have exposed the wealthy and open cities of Brabant, Louvaine, and Brussels in particular, to the utmost danger. The two armies after this remained in the strong opposite camps of Meldert and Gemblours, for near two months, almost in a state of inaction; during which interval the BOOK VI. duke of Marlborough, in a letter addressed to a 1707. correspondent at the court of Hanover, declared "the enemy to be in such a situation, that, so far from being able to undertake any siege, the allies would rather be obliged to spend their time in observing his motions," being considerably inferior in number. At length the duke and M. Auverquerque, on receiving certain advice that the French general had detached twenty-five battalions and squadrons to Provence, resolved to venture an attack on the fortified camp of Gemblours; and on the 9th of August the allies passed the Dyle at the abbey of Florivale, and, marching all night, arrived at break of day at the heights of Waveren. But on the first alarm the French decamped with precipitation from Genblours, and retreated to the strong position of Pieton. On the duke of Marlborough's continuing his march towards Pieton, they again decamped in the night without beat of drum, and scarcely appeared to halt till they had passed the Scheldt, and found themselves safe behind their lines under the cannon of Lisle, their right extending to Pont-à-Tresin. The heavy rains which fell at this time prevented the allies from urging the pursuit beyond the plains of Marimont; and though, the French suffered extremely in this long and fatiguing march, the duc de Vendome ultimately succeeded both in his determination to avoid a battle, and in BOOK VI. covering the fortified towns on the frontier. The 1707. duke of Marlborough, finding that no laurels were to be gathered this campaign, left the camp at Helchin early in October, and retired disappointed to the Hague. Rhine. On the banks of the Rhine maréchal Villars on the met with very considerable successes. The disasters of the preceding campaign in this quarter, which in all others was so prosperous, were believed to sink deep into the mind of prince Louis of Baden, who had been for some time in a declining state of health. He deemed himself, with great apparent reason, neglected and sacrificed by those who governed the councils of the emperor at Vienna and his harsh and haughty temper inflamed their resentment, and heightened dislike into animosity. At the end of the campaign he had retired, oppressed with illness and devoured with chagrin, to the baths of Schlangenbade, declaring openly, "that as affairs were at that time managed, the greatest misfortune that could befal a man of honor was to command an imperial army." He breathed his last on the 4th of Death of January 1706-7, and was succeeded by the mar- of Baden. grave of Bareith, a man enfeebled by age, which had unfortunately aggravated, as is usual with sons of mean capacity, his natural obstinacy and stupidity. The skill and experience of the prince per the Prince 1707. BOOK VI. of Baden became now the subject of recollection and regret. All Germany was thrown into consternation at the rapid progress of the French army, which, passing the Rhine at Strasburg, defeated the advanced guard of the imperial army, forced the lines at Stolhoffen, esteemed the rampart of the empire, laid the duchy of Wirtemberg under contribution, made themselves masters of Suabia, and penetrated to the Danube. But when maréchal Villars was meditating measures which might change the whole face of the war, he was compelled to weaken his army by sending great detachments to Provence. The anxiety of the court of Vienna, at the alarming successes of Villars, strikingly appears in a letter from the minister count Zinzendorf to the duke of Marlborough, dated June the 4th, in which he thus expresses himself: "I understand, by the letter your highness was pleased to write me on the 23d of May, the uneasiness you were then under with regard to the state of affairs on the Rhine, which without doubt is increased by the behaviour of the army of the empire when the maréchal de Villars passed the Rhine. I confess this is a very unlucky accident, which could not have happened if we had had a competent chief at the head of our troops. Your highness knows that the first proposal was to send for the prince of Savoy, and that it was |