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sistance was anticipated, the duke repaired to the spot to superintend the attack. At seven in the evening, the signal was given by the explosion of two mines, and the troops, with the English in front, rushed to the assault. They soon cut down the palisades, and, throwing their grenades before them, ere long got into the covered way; but they were there exposed to a dreadful fire from two ravelins which enfiladed it. For two hours they bore it without flinching, laboring hard to erect barricades so as to get under cover; but this was not accomplished before fourteen hundred of the brave assailants had been struck down. The success, though so dearly purchased, was decisive. The establishment of the besiegers in this important lodgment, in the heart, as it were, of their works, so distressed the enemy, that on the 22d they hoisted the white flag, and capitulated on the following day, though still four thousand three hundred strong. The reduction of this strong and celebrated fortress gave the most unbounded satisfaction to the allies, as it not only materially strengthened the barrier against France, but, having taken place in presence of the Duke de Vendôme and his powerful army, drawn together with such diligence to raise the siege, it afforded the strongest proof of the superiority the allies had now acquired over their enemy in the field.*

fall of Den

September

Upon the fall of Menin, Vendôme collected his troops, and took up a position behind the Lys and the Dyle, in 51. order to cover Lille, against which he supposed the siege and intentions of Marlborough were next to be directed. dermonde, But the duke had another object in view, for he im- 5. mediately sat down before Dendermonde, still keeping post with his covering army at Helchin, so as to bar the access to that fortress. Being situated on the banks of the Scheldt, it was so completely within the power of the governor to hinder the approaches of the besiegers, by letting out the waters, that the King of France said, on hearing they had commenced its

* Marlborough to Duke of Savoy, Helchin, 25th of August, 1706. Marl. Disp., iii., 101.

An

siege, "They must have an army of ducks to take it.” extraordinary drought at this period, however, which lasted seven weeks, had so lowered the Scheldt and canals, that the approaches were pushed with great celerity, and on the 5th of September the garrison surrendered at discretion. borough wrote to Godolphin on this occasion, "The taking of Dendermonde, making the garrison prisoners of war, was more than could have been expected; but I saw they were in a consternation. That place could never have been taken but by the hand of God, which gave us seven weeks without rain. The rain began the day after we had taken possession, and continued without intermission for the three next days."*

52.

which concludes the campaign,

Ath was the next object of attack. This small but strong fortress was of great importance, as lying on the direct road from Mons to Brussels by Halle; and, in Andof Ath, consequence of that circumstance, it was rendered a fortress of the first order, when the barrier of strong- October 4. holds, insanely demolished by Joseph II. before the war of the Revolution, was restored by the allies, under the direction of Wellington, after its termination. Marlborough intrusted the direction of the attack to Overkirk, while he himself occupied, with the covering army, the position of Leuze. Vendôme's army was so much discouraged that he did not venture to disturb the operations of Marlborough, but, retiring behind the Scheldt, between Condé and Montagne, contented himself with throwing strong garrisons into Mons and Charleroi, which he apprehended would be the next objects of attack. The operations of the besiegers against Ath were pushed with great vigor till the 4th of October, when the garrison, eight hundred. strong, all that remained out of two thousand who manned the works when the siege began, surrendered as prisoners of war. Marlborough was very urgent after this success to undertake the siege of Mons, which would have completed the conquest of Brabant and Flanders; but he could not persuade

* Marlborough to Godolphin, September 4, 1706. COXE, iii., 10.

the Dutch authorities to furnish him with the requisite stores.* After a parade of his army in the open field near Cambron, in the hope of drawing Vendôme, who boasted of having one hundred and forty battalions and one hundred and eighty squadrons at his command, to a battle, in which he was disappointed, Marlborough resigned the command to Overkirk, put the army into winter quarters, and hastened to Brussels, to commence the arduous duty of endeavoring to compose the jealousies and secure the union of the discordant powers of the alliance.†

53.

Splendid reception of

at Brussels,

sults of the

campaign.

Marlborough was received in the most splendid manner, and with unbounded demonstrations of joy, at Brussels, not only by the inconstant populace, but by the depMarlborough uties of the Three Estates of Brabant, which were and great re-assembled there in regular and permanent sovereignty. Well might they lavish their demonstrations of respect and gratitude on the English general; for never, in modern times, had more important or glorious events signalized a successful campaign. In five months the power of France had been so completely broken, and the towering temper of its inhabitants so lowered, that their best general, at the head of above a hundred thousand men, did not venture to measure swords with the allies, who were only about two thirds of their numerical strength in the field. By the effects of a single victory, the whole of Brabant and Flanders, stud

*"If the Dutch can furnish ammunition for the siege of Mons, we shall undertake it; for if the weather continues fair, we shall have it much cheaper this year than the next, when they have had time to recruit their army. The taking of that town would be a very great advantage to us for the opening of next campaign, which we must make if we would bring France to such a peace as will give us quiet hereafter.”—Marlborough to Godolphin, October 14, 1706. CoxE, iii., 14.

"M. de Vendôme tells his officers he has one hundred and forty battalions and one hundred and eighty squadrons, and that, if my Lord Marlborough gives him an opportunity, he will pay him a visit before this campaign ends. I believe he has neither will nor power to do it, which we shall see quickly, for we are now camped in so open a country that if he marches to us we can not refuse fighting."-Marlborough to Lord Godolphin, October 14, 1706. Ibid.

ded with the strongest fortresses in Europe, each of which, in former wars, had required months-some, years-for their reduction, had been gained to the allied arms. Between those taken on the field of Ramillies, and subsequently in the besieged fortresses, above twenty thousand men had been made prisoners, and twice that number lost to the enemy by the sword, sickness, and desertion. France now made head against the allies in Flanders only by drawing together her forces from all other quarters, and starving the war in Italy and on the Rhine, besides straining every nerve in the interior. This state of frenzied exertion could not last. Already the effects of Marlborough's triumph at the commencement of the campaign had appeared, in the total defeat of the French in their lines before Turin, by Prince Eugene, on the 18th of September, and their expulsion from Italy. It was the reenforcements procured for him, and withheld from his opponents, by Marlborough, which obtained for the prince this glorious victory, at which the English general, with the generosity of true greatness, rejoiced even more sincerely than he had done in any triumphs of his own ;* while Eugene, with equal greatness of mind, was the first to ascribe his success mainly to the succors sent him by the Duke of Marlborough.†

But all are not Marlboroughs or Eugenes: the really great alone can witness success without envy, or achieve it without selfishness. In the base herd of ignoble men who profited by

* "I have now received confirmation of the success in Italy from the Duke of Savoy and Prince Eugene, and it is impossible for me to express the joy it has given me; for I not only esteem, but 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 vigor, we could not fail, with God's blessing, to have such a peace as would give us quiet in our days. But the Dutch are at this time unaccountable."-Marlborough to the Duchess, Sept. 26, 1706. CoxE, iii., 20, 21.

+ "Your highness, I am sure, will rejoice at the signal advantage which the arms of his Imperial majesty and the allies have gained. You have had so great a hand in it, by the succors you have procured, that you must permit me to thank you again."-Eugene to Marlborough, 20th Sept., 1706. COXE, iii., 20.

Splendid and

conduct of

in refusing

the government of the

54. the efforts of these great leaders, the malignant disinterested passions were rapidly gaining strength by the very Marlborough magnitude of the triumphs. The removal of danger was producing its usual effect of reviving jealNetherlands. ousy among the allies. Conquest was spreading its invariable discord by inciting cupidity in the distribution of its fruits. These divisions had appeared soon after the battle of Ramillies, when the Emperor Joseph, as a natural mark of gratitude to the general who had delivered his people from their oppressors, as well as from a regard to his own interests, appointed Marlborough to the general command as viceroy of the Netherlands. The English general was highly gratified by this mark of confidence and gratitude; and the appointment was cordially approved of by Queen Anne and the English cabinet, who without hesitation authorized Marlborough to accept the proffered dignity. But the Dutch, who had already begun to conceive projects of ambition by an accession of territory to themselves on the side of Flanders, evinced such dislike to this appointment, as tending to throw the administration of the Netherlands entirely into the hands of the English and Austrians, that Marlborough had the magnanimity to solicit permission to decline an honor which threatened to breed disunion in the alliance.* This conduct was as disinterested as it was patriotic; for the emoluments of the government, thus refused from a desire for the public good, were no less than sixty thousand pounds a year.

*"This appointment by the emperor has given some uneasiness in Holland, by thinking that the emperor has a mind to put the power in this country into the queen's hands, in order that they may have nothing to do with it. If I should find the same thing by the pensionary, and that nothing can cure this jealousy but my desiring to be excused from accepting this commission, I hope the queen will allow of it; for the advantage and honor I have by this commission is very insignificant in comparison of the fatal consequences that might be if it should cause a jealousy between the two nations. And though the appointments of this government are sixty thousand pounds a year, I shall with pleasure excuse myself, since I am convinced it is for her service, if the States should not make it their request, which they are very far from doing."-Marlborough to Godolphin, July 1 and 8, 1706. COXE, iii., 391–393.

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