unknown in former wars, but immense in a military point of view, that they were in possession of the whole of the Netherlands, the numerous fortresses of which were alike valuable as a basis of offensive operations, and as affording asylums all but impregnable in cases of disaster. The allied generals, whether they commenced their operations in Flanders or on the side of Germany, had to begin on the Rhine, and cut their way through the long barrier of fortresses with which the genius of Vauban had encircled the frontiers of the monarchy.

CHAPTER II.

CHARACTERS OF LOUIS XIV., WILLIAM III., AND JAMES II.-COMMENCEMENT OF THE WAR.-BATTLE OF BLENHEIM.

1.

LOUIS XIV., whose unmeasured ambition and diplomatic address had procured the splendid bequest of the Spanish succession for his family, was one of the most remarkable sovereigns who ever sat upon the

Strange diversity in the

characters

drawn by his

torians of Louis XIV.

throne of France. Yet there is none of whose character, even at this comparatively remote period, it is more difficult to form a just estimate. Beyond measure eulogized by the poets, orators, and annalists of his own age, who lived on his bounty, or were flattered by his address, he has been proportionally vilified by the historians, both foreign and national, of subsequent times. The Roman Catholic writers, with some truth, represent him as the champion of their faith, the sovereign who extirpated the demon of heresy in his dominions, and restored to the Church, in undivided unity, the realm of France. The Protestant authors, with not less reason, regard him as the deadliest enemy of their religion, and the cruellest foe of those who had embraced it; as a faithless tyrant, who scrupled not, at the bidding of bigoted priests, to violate the national faith plighted by the Edict of Nantes, and

to persecute with unrelenting severity the unhappy people who, from conscientious motives, had broken off from the Church of Rome. One set of writers paint him as a magnanimous monarch, whose mind, set on great things, and swayed by lofty desires, foreshadowed those vast designs which Napoleon, armed with the forces of the Revolution, afterward for a brief space realized. Another set dwell on the foibles or the vices of his private character-depict him as alternately swayed by priests, or influenced by women; selfish in his desires, relentless in his hatred, and sacrificing the peace of Europe, and endangering the independence of France, for the gratification of personal vanity, or from the thirst of unbounded ambition.

Which arose

greatness of

It is the fate of all men who have made a great and durable impression on human affairs, and powerfully af- 2. fected the interests, or thwarted the opinion of from the large bodies of men, to be represented in these op- his deeds. posite colors to future times. The party, whether in church or state, which they have elevated, the nation whose power or glory they have augmented, praise as much as those whom they have oppressed and injured, whether at home or abroad, strive to vilify their memory. But in the case of Louis XIV., this general propensity has been greatly increased by the opposite, and, at first sight, inconsistent features of his character. There is almost equal truth in the magniloquent eulogies of his admirers, and in the impassioned invectives of his enemies. He was not less great and magnanimous than he is represented by the elegant flattery of Racine or Boileau, nor less cruel and hard-hearted than he is painted by the austere justice of Sismondi or D'Aubigné.

Like many other men, but more than most, he was made

3.

up of lofty and elevated, of selfish and frivolous Remarkable

qualities. He could alternately boast, with truth, that there was no longer any Pyrenees, and rival

diversities and seeming

contradic

tions of his

his youngest courtiers in frivolous and often heartless character. gallantry. In his younger years he was equally assiduous in

his application to business, and engrossed with personal vanity. When he ascended the throne, his first words were, “I intend that every paper, from a diplomatic dispatch to a private petition, shall be submitted to me;" and his vast powers of application enabled him to compass the task. Like Louis Philippe, he was his own prime minister; and even when he acted through others, he never failed to communicate the impress of his own lofty mind and great capacity to the conduct of all his subordinate authorities. Discerning in the choice of his ministers, swayed only, at least in matters of state, by powerful intellects, patriotic and unselfish in the choice of his ministers, he collected round himself the first talent in France, and yet preserved his ascendency over them all. Yet, at the same time, he deserted the queen for Madame la Vallière, and soon after broke La Vallière's heart by abandoning her for Madame de Montespan. In mature life, his ambition to extend the bounds and enhance the glory of France was equaled by his desire to win the admiration or gain the favor of the fair sex. In his later days he alternately engaged in devout austerities with Madame de Maintenon, and, with mournful resolution, asserted the independence of France against Europe in arms. Never was evinced a more striking exemplification of the saying, so well known among men of the world, that no one is a hero to his valet-de-chambre; nor a more remarkable confirmation of the truth, so often proclaimed by divines, that characters of imperfect goodness constitute the great majority of mankind.

4.

which he ef fected on France dur

That he was a great man, as well as a successful sovereign, is decisively demonstrated by the mighty changes Vast changes which he effected in his own realm, as well as in the neighboring states of Europe. When he asing his reign. cended the throne, France, though it contained the elements of greatness, had never yet become great. It had been alternately wasted by the ravages of the English, and torn by the fury of the religious wars. The insurrection of the Fronde had shortly before involved the capital in all the

horrors of civil conflict; barricades had been erected in the streets; alternate victory and defeat had by turns elevated and depressed the rival faction. Turenne and Condé had displayed their consummate talents in miniature warfare within sight of Nôtre Dame. Never had the monarchy been depressed to a greater pitch of weakness than during the reign of Louis XIII. and the minority of Louis XIV. But from the time the latter sovereign ascended the throne, order seemed to arise out of chaos. The ascendency of a great mind made itself felt in every department. Civil war ceased; the rival faction disappeared; even the bitterness of religious hatred seemed for a time to be stilled by the influence of patriotic feeling. The energies of France, drawn forth during the agonies of civil conflict, were turned to public objects and the career of national aggrandizement, as those of England had been after the conclusion of the Great Rebellion, by the firm hand and magnanimous mind of Cromwell. From a pitiable state of anarchy, France at once appeared on the theater of Europe, great, powerful, and united. It is no common capacity which can thus seize the helm and right the ship when it is reeling most violently, and the fury of contending elements has all but torn it in pieces. It is the highest proof of political capacity to discern the bent of the public mind, when most violently excited, and, by falling in with the prevailing desire of the majority, to convert the desolating vehemence of social conflict into the steady passion for national advancement. Napoleon did this with the political aspirations of the eighteenth, Louis XIV. with the religious fervor of the seventeenth century.

It was because his character and turn of mind coincided with the national desires at the moment of his as

cending the throne, that this great monarch was

5. Which arose

from his turn

of mind coin

ciding with the spirit.of the age.

enabled to achieve this marvelous transformation. If Napoleon was the incarnation of the Revolution, with not less truth it may be said that Louis XIV. was the incarnation of the monarchy. The feudal spirit, modified, but

not destroyed, by the changes of time, appeared to be concentrated, with its highest luster, in his person. He was still the head of the Franks—the luster of the historic families yet surrounded his throne; but he was the head of the Franks only —that is, of a hundred thousand conquering warriors. Twenty millions of conquered Gauls were neither regarded nor considered in his administration, except in so far as they augmented the national strength, or added to the national resources. But this distinction was then neither perceived nor regarded. Worn out with civil dissension, torn to pieces by religious passions, the fervent minds and restless ambition of the French longed for a national field for exertion-an arena in which social dissensions might be forgotten. Louis XIV. gave them this field-he opened this arena.

6.

His virtues and vices

those of his

His

He ascended the throne at the time when this desire had become so strong and general as in a manner to concentrate on its objects the national will. were alike character, equally in all its parts, was adapted to people. the general want. He took the lead alike in the greatness and the foibles of his subjects. Were they ambitious? so was he were they desirous of renown? so was he were they set on national aggrandizement? so was he were they desirous of protection to industry? so was he were they prone to gallantry? so was he. His figure stately, and countenance majestic; his manner lofty and commanding; his conversation dignified, but enlightened; his spirit ardent, but patriotic qualified him to take the lead and preserve his ascendency among a proud body of ancient nobles, whom the disasters of preceding reigns, and the astute policy of Cardinal Richelieu, had driven into the ante-chambers of Paris, but who preserved in their ideas and habits the pride and recollections of the conquerors who followed the banners of Clovis. And the great body of the people, proud of their sovereign, proud of his victories, proud of his magnificence, proud of his fame, proud of his national spirit, proud of the literary glory which environed his throne, in secret proud of his gallantries,