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borough with the covering army. At length, on the 12th of September, as the counterscarp was blown down, the rampart breached, and an assault of the fortress in preparation, the governor agreed to capitulate; and the garrison, still three thousand strong, marched out upon the glacis, laid down their arms, and were conducted prisoners to Tournay.* The two armies then remained in their respective positions, the French under the cannon of Cambray, the allied in the middle of their lines, resting on Bouchain. Marlborough here gave proof of the courtesy of his disposition, as well as of his respect for exalted learning and piety, by planting a detachment of his troops to protect the estates of Fenelon, archbishop of Cambray, and to conduct the grain from thence to the dwelling of the illustrious prelate in the town, which now began to be straitened for provisions.†

Ostensible

for war, and

negotiations

for peace, by 27th Sept.

the ministry,

After the reduction of Bouchain, Marlborough was anxious to commence without delay the siege of Quesnoy, 40. the capture of which would, in that quarter, have preparations entirely broken through the French barrier. He real secret vigorously stimulated his own government accordingly, as well as that at the Hague, to prepare the necessary supplies and magazines, and expressed a sanguine hope that the capture of this last stronghold would be the means of bringing about the grand object of his ambition, a general peace. The ministry, to appearance, went with alacrity into his projects, and every thing seemed to promise another great success, closing the campaign with honor, and probably leading to a glorious and lasting peace. Mr. Secre

* Marlborough to Mr. Secretary St. John, 14th of Sept., 1711. Disp., v., 490. COXE, vi., 78-88.

+ Victoires de Marlborough, iii., 22. COXE, vi., 87.

"The siege, so far as it depends on me, shall be pushed with all possible vigor, and I do not altogether despair but that, from the success of this campaign, we may hear of some advances made toward that which we so much desire. And I shall esteem it much the happiest part of my life if I can be instrumental in putting a good end to the war, which grows so burdensome to our country, as well as to our allies."-Marlborough to Lord Oxford, Aug. 20, 1711. Cox, vi., 92.

tary St. John, in particular, wrote in the warmest style of cordiality, approving the project in his own name as well as in that of the queen, and reiterating the assurances that the strongest representations had been made to the Dutch, with a view to their hearty concurrence. But all this was a mere cover to conceal what the Tories had really been doing to overturn Marlborough, and abandon the main objects of the war. Unknown to him, the secret negotiation with the French cabinet, through Torcy and the British ministers, by the agency of Mesnager, had been making rapid progress. No representations about providing supplies were made to the Dutch, who were fully in the secret of the pending negotiation; and on the 27th of September, preliminaries of peace, on the basis of the seven articles proposed by Louis, were signed by Mesnager on the part of France, and by the two English secretaries of state, in virtue of a special warrant from the queen.*

41.

Conditions of

aries which

were agreed to.

The conditions of these preliminaries, which were afterward imbodied in the Treaty of Utrecht, were the the prelimin. acknowledgment of the queen's title to the throne, and of the Protestant succession, by Louis; an engagement to take all just and reasonable measures that the crowns of France and Spain should never be united on the same head; the providing a sufficient barrier to the Dutch, the empire, and the house of Austria; and the demolition of Dunkirk, on a proper equivalent. But the crown of Spain was left to the Duke of Anjou, and no provision whatever was made to exclude a Bourbon prince from succeeding to it. Thus the main object of the contest-the exclusion of the Bourbon family from the throne of Spain—was abandoned; and at the close of the most important, successful, and glorious war ever waged by England, terms were agreed to which left to France advantages which could scarcely have been hoped by the cabinet of Versailles as the fruit of a long series of victories. Marlborough felt deeply chagrined at this clandestine ne

COXE, vi., 93.

gotiation, which not only deprived him of the main

42. Marlborough

returns home deeply hurt at

tine accom.

object for which, during his great career, he had been contending, but evinced a duplicity and want this clandesof confidence on the part of his own government at modation. its close, which was a melancholy return for such inestimable public services.* But it was of no avail; the secession of England proved, as he had foreseen from the outset, a deathblow to the confederacy. Finding that nothing more was to be done, either at the head of the army or in directing the negotiations, he returned home by the Brille, after putting his army into winter quarters, and landed at Greenwich on the 17th of November. Though well aware of the private envy, as well as political hostility of which he was the object, he did nothing that could lower or compromise his high character and lofty position; but in an interview with the queen, fully expressed his opinion on the impolicy of the course which her ministers were now adopting.† He adopted the same manly course in the noble speech which he made in his place in Parliament, on the debate on the address. Ministers had put into the royal speech the unworthy expression, “I am glad to tell you, that notwithstanding the arts of those who delight in war, both place and time are appointed for opening the treaty of a general peace." Lord Anglesea followed this up by declaring, in the course of the debate, that the country might have enjoyed the blessing of peace soon after the battle of Ramillies, if it had not been deferred by some person whose interest it was to prolong the war."

"As you have given me encouragement to enter into the strictest confidence with you, I beg your friendly advice in what manner I am to conduct myself. You can not but imagine it would be a terrible mortification for me to pass by the Hague when our plenipotentiaries are there, and myself a stranger to their transactions; and what hopes can I have of any countenance at home if I am not thought fit to be trusted abroad?”—Marlborough to the Lord Treasurer, 21st of Oct., 1711.

"I hear that, in his conversation with the queen, the Duke of Marlborough has spoken against what we are doing; in short, his fate hangs heavy upon him, and he has of late pursued every counsel which was worst for him."-Bolingbroke's Letters, i., 480, Nov. 24, 1711.

Marlborough's

noble speech

House of Peers,

Rising upon this, with inexpressible dignity, and turning to 43. where the queen sat, Marlborough said, "I appeal to the queen whether I did not constantly, while against it in the I was plenipotentiary, give her majesty and her 10th Dec., 1711. council an account of all the propositions which were made, and whether I did not desire instruction for my conduct on this subject. I can declare with a good conscience, in the presence of her majesty, of this illustrious assembly, and of God himself, who is infinitely superior to all the powers of the earth, and before whom, by the ordinary course of nature, I shall soon appear to render account of my actions, that I was very desirous of a safe, honorable, and lasting peace, and was very far from wishing to prolong the war for my own private advantage, as several libels and discourses have most falsely insinuated. My great age, and my numerous fatigues in war, make me ardently wish for the power to enjoy a quiet repose, in order to think of eternity. As to other matters, I have not the least inducement, on any account, to desire the continuance of the war for my own interest, since my services have been so generously rewarded by her majesty and her Parliament; but I think myself obliged to make such an acknowledgment to her majesty and my country, that I am always ready to serve them, whenever my duty may require, to obtain an honorable and lasting peace. Yet I can by no means acquiesce in the measures that have been taken to enter into a negotiation of peace with France, upon the foot of some pretended preliminaries, which are now circulated, since my opinion is the same as that of most of the allies, that to leave Spain and the West Indies to the house of Bourbon will be the entire ruin of Europe, which I have with all fidelity and humility declared to her majesty, when I had the honor to wait upon her after my arrival from Holland.”*

This manly declaration, delivered in the most emphatic manner, produced a great impression; a resolution against ministers, and an address imbodying these sentiments, were car

*Parl. Hist., 10th of December, 1711.

ried in the House of Peers by a majority of twelve.

44. Resolution car

ried against

ministers in

To this address the queen replied, "I take your thanks kindly, but should be sorry that any one the Peers. should think I would not do my utmost to recover Spain and the West Indies from the house of Bourbon." In the Commons, however, they had a large majority, and an address containing expressions similar to those used by Lord Anglesea, reflecting on Marlborough, was introduced and carried.

Counter address

carried in the irresolution of Commons, and

the queen.

The Whig majority, however, continued firm in the Upper House, and the leaders of that party began to en- 45. tertain sanguine hopes of success. The queen had let fall some peevish expressions in regard to her ministers. She had given her hand, in retiring from the House of Peers on the 15th of December, to the Duke of Somerset instead of her own lord-treasurer; it was apprehended that her old partiality for Marlborough was about to return; Mrs. Masham was in the greatest alarm; and St. John declared to Swift that the queen was false.* The ministers of the whole alliance seconded the efforts of the Whigs, and strongly represented the injurious effects which would ensue to the cause of European independence in general, and the interests of England in particular, if the preliminaries which had been agreed to should be made the basis of a general peace. The Dutch made strong and repeated representations on the subject, and the Elector of Hanover delivered a memorial strongly urging the danger which would ensue if Spain and the Indies were allowed to remain in the hands of a Bourbon prince.

Deeming themselves pushed to extremities, and having failed in all attempts to detach Marlborough from the Whigs, Bolingbroke and the ministers resolved on the desperate measure of bringing forward an accusation against him, of fraud

*

SWIFT's Journal to Stella, Dec. 8, 1711. Swift said to the lord-treasurer, in his usual ironical style, "If there is no remedy, your lordship will lose your head; but I shall only be hung, and so carry my body entire to the grave."-COXE, vi., 148–157.

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