THE HISTORY OF THE Campagne IN FLANDERS, For the Year 1697. Together with a Journal of the Siege of Ath, and a Summary Account of the Negotiations of the General Peace at Ryswick. By EDWARD D'AUVERGNE, M. A. Then Chaplain to His Majesty's Regiment of Scots Guards. LONDON. Printed for Matt. Wotton at the Three Daggers, and John Newton at the Three Pigeons in Fleetstreet, 1698. Where are Sold the Histories for the Years 1692, 1693, 1694, 1695 and 1696. Written by the same Author. TO His EXCELLENCY THE Earl of Portland, His Majesty's Ambassador Extraordinary in France, Knight of the most Noble Order of the Garter, etc. My LORD, I Humbly beg leave to offer the following History to your EXCELLENCY; to which, among other Considerations, a Principle of Gratitude has determined me, to express in some measure the Sense I have of the present Blessings we all enjoy (and which bring my Labours of this kind to a most Happy Conclusion) by a Glorious Peace, in the Management whereof your EXCELLENCY has been so much concerned: My LORD, This is a Work which will make your Name Great and Happy in the Memory of all Succeeding Generations, as it ingrafts it at present in the Hearts and Affections of all Men in England that value their Religion, Rights and Liberties which they find established upon a stable and solid Foundation in the perfection of so Great a Work. But this, My LORD, is not the only Title you have to our Thanks and Praise; the great hand you had in bringing about the happy Revolution, and the Share you have had in almost all the Actions of our great Monarch ever since, are what ought to make you ever dear to England, and almost all the rest of Europe. My LORD, I will not pretend to enter upon your EXCELLENCY's Panegyric in this Epistle, it is indeed more than can be comprised in it, as well as a Subject above the Power of my Pen: You were dedicated even in your Youth to His Majesty's Service, at which time you gave such uncommon Demonstrations of Zeal, Fidelity and Affection, as have justly fixed you in His Royal Favours: And as might well be expected from such beginnings, you have been ever since engaged in the Great Achievements of Glory and Renown: In War, you have been a constant Partaker of all those Dangers to which our Great Monarch has so often and so wonderfully exposed Himself in the Bloody and Hazardous Fields of Mars, you have still been with Him in so many Battles and Sieges, you have shared in all the Fatigues of so many Campagnes, and have been a considerable Actor in His most Happy and Successful Erterprises. In Peace, Your EXCELLENCY has had the Ministry of the most Important Affairs of Europe 〈…〉 equal Integrity, Wisdom and Faithfulness, and 〈…〉 for His Majesty's Advantage as your own Honour and Reputation: Such Rare and Extraordinary Qualities have induced the King to make Choice of Your EXCELLENCY for his Ambassador Extraordinary in a Court, where especially in the present Conjuncture of Affairs, they are more than ever requisite; In the discharge of which most Noble Function you have justified the Choice that has been made of your Person by answering in all things the Greatness of Your Master, and the Credit, Wealth and Renown of a Nation, you have always had a particular Ambition to be a Member of, and whose Welfare, Happiness and Prosperity you aim at in all your Proceed. But, My LORD, all this would be but Vanity, were there not a better Foundation for the Glory of another World, by a true Sense of Piety, and an uprightness of Conscience, for which your Life is so Exemplary: And may your EXCELLENCY go on daily more and more in doing good, especially in this respect, both by your Authority and good Example; that Vice, Irreligion and Profaneness meeting with all Discouragements from so eminent a Person, we may see Virtue, Justice and Godliness (which is like to be our best Security for the continuance of the present Peace) flourish under so good an Influence: These are the Hearty Wishes and Prayers of My LORD, Your EXCELLENCY's Most Humble, and most Obedient Servant, E. D'Auvergne. TO THE READER. THE only occasion I have for a Preface is to give the Reader some Satisfaction for the coming out of this History so late; and the Reason in few words is, that I could not get the several Lines of Battle of the French Armies in Flanders the last Year soon enough, having received them from France but in the Christmas Holidays; besides several Memoirs from Holland, particularly about the Electors Motions the last Campagne, which I got about the same time, and which were absolutely necessary for the compiling of this Work: And when I have told the Reader, that I have Composed it since the beginning of January, I believe he will be satisfied that I have made some dispatch in the Publishing of it. I must desire the Reader to observe, that, whereas I have intimated in the Body of this Account, that Pensionary Heinsius his Journey from the Hague to the Camp the last Campagne, might have been to open a way for the Conferences between the Earl of Portland and the Marechal of Bouflers, because they happened two or three days after; upon good information I find that the first overture was made by one Monsieur de Gy, Brother or near Relation to Prince Vaudemont's Master of the Horse, who passing through the Marechal de Boufler's Camp, the Marechal desired him to make his Compliments to My Lord Portland, and to let him know that he was very desirous to Embrace him, which Monsieur de * He is since made Town Major of Mons for this Service. Gy signified to his Lordship at his coming to Brussels; and My Lord having returned the Compliment, That he would be very glad to meet him half way for that Purpose, the Marechal sent an Express of it to the French Court, and having Received an Answer he dispatched a Trumpet in our Camp for the first Meeting. I have no more to desire of the Reader but to take Notice that this History, as well as all the former, goes by the old or Julian Account observed in England; and to Correct the few Errors of the Press he may meet with, the most unpardonable being inserted here below. ERRATA. PAge 42. Line 17. Vlbray Lege Vibray, p. 48. l. Antopen, and the Dender near the Denmonde at Wiese, Le, and the Dender between Dendermonde and Wiese. p. 85. l. 7. ti● 'twas in the Night, Le. till 'twas late in the Night. p. 86. l. 2. Major of the Day, Le. Major-General of the Day. p. 89. l. 36. Malenbec, Le. Mulenbeck. THE HISTORY OF THE Campagne IN FLANDERS, For the Year 1697. HAving given the Public an Account of several of the former Campagnes, in which the Reader could find but little pleasure besides the satisfaction of knowing the Truth of several Matters of Fact in the Tragical Scenes of the most Tedious, Cruel and Destructive War that has been known for many Ages in Christendom, if we consider the Universalness of its Extent with the Duration of it; and wherein his Thoughts could be entertained with nothing but Toilsome and Fatiguing Marches and Countermarches between Opposite Armies, some to Execute, others to Frustrate Designs, and others barely to subsist at the Cost and Charges of the Poor Husbandmen, and of a Miserable Country. (For what else makes up the Subject of such Histories, can contain little besides the unwelcome account of the Effusion of but too much Christian Blood in Cruel Battles, Bloody Sieges, and Barbarous Bombarding, Burning and Destroying of Towns and Villages, some to satisfy and others to withstand the Ambition of Princes) I have thought I could do no less than bring those Accounts to that happy Period we find in the present Blessings of a General Peace; especially, when for this very reason the History of the last Campagne must yet be the most acceptable that has been given to the Public concerning the late War. I must Confess nevertheless that little can be said in this Relation to the Advantage of the Allies; for the most that could have been expected during the last Campagne from them, considering how much they were over powered of the French by the separate Peace of Savoy and Italy, had been to have stood effectually upon their Defence; which I believe could yet have been done, if the Germans had taken the Field as early upon the Rhine as we did in Flanders, or that the Spanish Government were capable of any manner of Vigour to have provided by times for the Defence of Barcelona (the only place they had to look after in Catalonia) by which they could have balked at once the whole designs of the French for the Campagne on that side: However, this very thing includes more Real Glory than all the Triumphs and Victories our Great Monarch could have reaped in the Bloody Fields of War; (besides the great Happiness it is attended with for all his People) that at the End of it we can see the most Formidable Power of Christendom, a Power, that for many years had resisted the Confederate Attempts of most of the Princes and States of Europe, a Power, that seemed to have tired the Allies more than itself by a long and expensive War; a Power, that with all these Advantages, designed no less than our King's Ruin, with that of our Religion, Laws and Liberties, obliged to seek Peace with us, and yield to his Majesty the just and quiet possession of the Crown's he wears, to the great Comfort and Happiness of His People under his Easy and Auspicious Government, which, with the security of all that can be dear to a Nation, must promise us all the Blessings, that can be expected from Peace abroad, and a great and flourishing Trade at home: And that even all the advantages which this great and formidable power has had over the Allies in the Course of the last Campagne have only served as a means to procure it a quicker and more speedy accommodation with them, instead of prolonging a then unsuccessful War on their side. This is what I am now to Relate, and which must give much more Satisfaction to the Honest Reader, than if I were to speak of Battles won and other Warlike Triumphs and Victory's; and therefore a Subject which, without any farther preface, I shall enter immediately upon. The Campagne of 1696. had produced nothing extraordinary, besides the extraordinary, though not new, proceed of the Court of Savoy in making an underhand Treaty with France separate from the Allies, expressly contrary to the Tenor of the Offensive and Defensive Alliance the Duke had entered in with them, besides other Obligations he had to them. And though the Conditions offered him by the French were very Advantageous, yet it has so evidently appeared since, in the whole Course of Affairs, that France wanted Peace, (all its Successes during the last Campagne having been made use of to no other purpose than to oblige the Allies to this very thing) that we need not doubt but the Duke of Savoy would at least have had as good Terms in a general Treaty, and the Allies certainly much better, when France, by the diversion of the War of Italy, would have been frustrated of those Successes it has had in Catalonia and Flanders, which have enabled it in a manner to give the Law in the General Treaty of Ryswick. But 'tis not the first time the Court of Savoy has made use of such Politics; we shall find the same Management in the War about the Succession of Mantua, and the putting of Pignerol in the hands of the French, contrary to the Treaty of Quierasque, which place has now been rescued out of their hands by the very same Methods; when (as the event has showed it) 'tis plain enough he could have had the same Condition by sticking to the Obligations of the Offensive and Defensive Alliance and leaving things to the fair and just Issue of a General Treaty: And yet notwithstanding this separate Treaty, 'tis the Opinion of several people, that France would not have been much the better for it, but certainly Savoy much the worse, if the Emperor and King of Spain had continued the War in Italy, as it seems to have been their Interest, especially at a time when there were Overtures of a General Peace: The most that France could have done in such a Case would have been the taking of Valence; whereas the Spaniards would have had the whole Winter before them in putting the Milane's in a posture of Defence, in getting Forces from the Empire, and increasing their own Troops by the help of England and Holland, who, 'tis to be presumed, would have given the same assistance, upon the account of Milan as they had done before to the Duke of Savoy: By this means Italy would have had a greater share in the Burden of the War, and whatever Success the French could have proposed to themselves the Campagne following on this side, yet 'tis evident that Spain would have had this advantage by it, that it would have saved Barcelona, and warded that great blow it has received at home; and the Allies would have been able by the diversion of Italy to have acted offensively both upon the Rbine and Flanders. These were the visible Consequences of a War in Italy; and therefore because the Emperor and King of Spain agreed to the Peace on that side contrary to their Interest and that of the Allies in General, several persons begun to suspect the Popish Princes as if they had a design to leave the Protestants in the Lurch, and the Bigots of the Church of Rome fed themselves with hopes of a Religious War in which they thought of nothing less than the Extirpation of what they are pleased to call Heresy. But the Emperor and King of Spain could not be imposed upon by this pretext of Religion, they knew very well, that if England and Holland had been left engaged in a War with the French King, all the advantages he would have had by it would only have made more firm and lasting Fetters for themselves; and 'tis therefore probable that the Emperor and King of Spain joined in this Peace of Italy at the Pope's most earnest Solicitations, who though his Mediation signified little on the other side of the Alps, yet was very desirous of seeing Peace at his own doors, and used consequently all his Industry and Interest to bring it about. And if such were the vain and groundless hopes of the Popish Bigots abroad, our Jacobites were no less elevated at home upon this separate Treaty of Savoy and the consequent Treaty for the Peace of Italy; they could imagine no less than that the French King would force every one of the Allies in the Continent of Europe one after another to make up an accommodation, and thus, that nothing would remain for him but to deal with England, and bend all his Forces upon it for the reestablishment of the late King; But they both have been very much deceived in the event, which does now convince the World, that the French King aimed particularly at coming by this means the sooner to a General Peace with all the Allies, and to have so much the better Terms for himself. And indeed, at that very time that these things were Transacting in Italy so much to the prejudice of the General Interest of the Allies, the French King had an Agent in Holland to make overtures of a General Peace; and the Duke of Savoy made use of this very pretext to excuse the Treaty he had made apart with France, in his Letter to the Elector of Brandenbourgh; he was jealous, or rather pretended to be so, of the States having received an Agent from France to treat with them, and therefore he thought that he might very well treat for himself. Monsieur de Callieres (as we have said it in our precedent History) had come to Holland with a pass from the States at the very opening of the Campagne, and resided privately at Delft the whole Summer to negotiate Affairs with some of the States Ministers in order to come to a General Treaty; this occasioned so many Journeys which Monsieur Dyckvelt made between Holland and the Camp in Brabant to give an account to the King and receive His Majesty's instructions; But whether the uncertain state of the King of Spain's Health, who had a most dangerous fit of sickness the latter end of the Summer, made the French delay and spin away time in their Offers, or that the Imperialists and Spaniards were unwilling to hear of reducing things no farther than the Treaty of Nimeguen, the King of sweden Mediation was not accepted in due Form by the French King and the Congress of the Allies at the Hague, till the Campagne was over, or rather till the beginning of the Winter; upon which the Baron de Lillienroot the Swedish Minister at the Hague received full powers from Stockholme to manage the Mediatour's part in the Congress that should be held for the concluding of a General Peace between France and the Allies. Things being brought thus far towards a Treaty, the several Princes concerned begun to appoint Ambassadors and Plenipotentiaries for it, of which I shall only mention the Principal: On the Emperor's side were named the Count de Caunitz his Ambassador and Plenipotentiary at the Congress of the Allies at the Hague, Count Straatman, and the Baron de Zeilern: On his Majesty of Great Britain's, the Earl of Pembroke, my Lord Viscount Villiers (now E. of Jersey) His Majesty's Ambassador to the States and Plenipotentiary at the Congress of the Allies at the Hague, and Sir Jos. Williamson, to whom was joined afterwards in Commission, as third Plenipotentiary Ambassador my L. Lexinton His Majesty's Ambassador at Vienna, as 'twere provisionally; for during the whole Congress he did not leave the Imperial Court. On the French Kings behalf were named M. the Harlay Bonevil, Monsieur de Courtin, who not being able to attend upon this great employment by reason of his great age and a blindness that seized him immediately after his Nomination, Count de Crecy Verjus was appointed in his stead as second, and the third Monsieur de Calliere before hand in Holland as his Most Christian Majesty's Agent to make the Overtures of a Treaty. On the behalf of Spain were named Don Bernardo de Quiros, the King of Spain's Ambassador to the State's General and Plenipotentiary at the Congress of the Allies at the Hague, and the Count de Tirimont, to whom the Elector of Bavaria joined the Baron de Preylmeyer to take care of his own particular Interest. For the State's General were named Messieurs Boreel, Dyckvelt, and Van Haren; all these had the Character of Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiaries, as well as the Mediator. The rest I shall leave to those who writ particularly the Account of the Negotiations of this Peace to account for. After the accepting the Mediation of Sweden, and the naming of Plenipotentiary Ambassadors by the Chief Powers concerned, Monsieur de Callieres who hitherto had kept up very privately in Holland and mostly at Delft, took upon him the public Character of the French Kings Minister, and had very frequent Conferences with the Ministers of the States in the presence of the Mediator, or particularly among themselves to settle the Preliminaries, in order to come to a place of Treaty. Monsieur d'Avaux the French Ambassador at Stockholm had made several offers to the Court of Sweden in order to open the way to a General Treaty by the Mediation of that Crown, not only during the Campagne of 1696. but also, in the Winter 1694. which the Allies pretended to have been more advantageous, than those given by Monsieur de Callieres at the Hague; This created some contest about settling the Preliminaries, and therefore retarded that Business for some time; however the French Court having insisted upon Monsieur de Callieres offers as the only authentic ones, the Preliminaries were at last agreed upon and signed by the Mediator in presence of Monsieur de Callieres and Messieurs Boreel and Dyckvelt, the 31th. of January old Style, of which this was the Substance. Monsieur de Callieres, having communicated his full power from the French King for this purpose to the Mediator, did declare in the French King his Master's Name, that in order to a General Treaty of Peace, his Most Christian Majesty Consented and Agreed, 1. That the Treaties of Westphalia and Nimoguen should be the Basis and Foundation of the Treaty to be made with the Allies. 2. To Restore to the Empire the Town of Strasbourg in the Condition it was when taken by his Majesty. 3. To Restore to the King of Spain the Town of Luxembourgh in the state 'tis now in. 4. The Towns of Mons and Charloroy as they are at present. 5. All places in Catalonia in the King's possession which have been taken since the Treaty of Nimeguen in the state they were when taken. 6. To the Bishop of Liege the Town and Castle of Dinant in the state they were at the taking of them. 7. All the Reunions made since the Peace of Nimeguen. 8. Lorraine according to the Conditions of the said Treaty. Monsieur de Callieres having made the said declaration to the Mediator in the presence of Monsieur Dyckvelt, they went afterwards to the Sieur Boreels House, who, because of his indisposition could not come to the Mediators as it had been agreed, and the Mediator having followed them thither, Messieurs Dyckvelt and Boreel did: signify to him in Monsieur de Callieres presence that they had agreed, that upon the Conclusion and Signing of the Peace, the Most Christian King should Recognize the Prince of Orange for King of Great Britain without any Difficulty, Restriction, Condition or Reserve; which Monsieur de Callieres confirmed to the Mediator in the name of his Most Christian Majesty, all which was accordingly Entered and Signed by the Mediator in his * A Signing Book kept by the Mediator. Protocol the 31th. January. 10th. February, 1697. Most people, especially those who are Wellwishers to the King's Person and Government, expected that His Majesty should have been acknowledged by the French for King of Great Britain in the Preliminaries, as a necessary step without which no General Treaty could be thought of, wherein His Majesty's Ambassadors should not be received by the French as Ambassadors from the King of Great Britain; but the French Court would not yield to this Point, because if the Treaty should break off, yet the King would gain thereby the only difficulty that was to be regulated between England and France; the other difficulties being but inconsiderable and easily accommodated, and therefore offered that it was sufficient (seeing the case was so) that His Majesty should be acknowledged for King of Great Britain at the Conclusion and Signing of the Treaty. His Majesty preferring the Peace and Quiet of Europe to what at the bottom was but a mere Formality, Consented that the Negotiations should be managed this way, being satisfied with the Guaranty of Sweden upon this point in the Preliminaries: And notwithstanding that the French King did not acknowledge His Majesty till the Signing of the Peace, yet the whole Treaty was so managed at Ryswick that our Ambassadors and Plenipotentiaries met with nothing that might derogate in the least from the Honour due to Ministers of that Character from the Crown of England: However his Majesty's Domestic Enemies had some hopes upon this account, and they thought themselves in no ill Condition by it. As for the Imperial Minister, the Count de Caunitz, he was not present at the Signing of the Preliminaries, because the French allowed not other Conditions in them for the Duke of Lorraine but those of Nimeguen, which had been protested against in due Form by the last Duke of Lorraine, and which neither the Emperor nor the present Duke could ever accept of. Affairs being brought thus far towards a General Treaty as to have the Preliminaries Signed by the Mediator, no other difficulty remained to hinder the opening of the Congress but the agreeing upon the Place of Treaty. Breda, Maestricht or Nimeguen were sometimes proposed by the French, other people talked of Vtrecht, the Imperialists were for having the Congress in Germany either at Cologne or Aix la Chappelle, but the Emperor was very backward in explaining himself upon this Article; his Minister still insisted at the Hague to have the Business of Lorraine put in a way of accommodation before the Place of Treaty was named; for, though the French made no other overture in the Preliminaries for the Duchy of Lorraine but the Treaty of Nimeguen, yet France gave hopes of better Conditions for that Duke when-once it should come to a Treaty; the Imperial Court would have had these Conditions explained in the Preliminaries, but France would not consent to it: These Contestations took up a great deal of time, and proved a great obstacle to the agreeing upon a Place to Treat in; In the mean while the French and the Dutch pitched upon a place of Treaty, which I dare say is the most convenient that can be met with in Christendom for such a Business, and that was His Majesty's Royal Palace at Ryswick, so situated that it has the advantage of two large and populous Towns just by it, being not above an English Mile from the Hague, and two from Delft; where consequently the Ambassadors on both sides could Lodge themselves conveniently without being pressed for Scarcity of Lodging, or imposed upon in the Excessive Rates of Houses, both which inconveniencies must have been the Consequence of having the Treaty in any one Town of Holland besides, or Germany, and were sufficiently felt in the Congress of Nimeguen: Besides, the French were to come from Delft to Ryswick one way, and the Allies from the Hague another directly opposite, so that no unlucky meeting of Coaches, and wrangling for precedency could ever happen to interrupt the Negotiations. This Palace is called the House of Newbourgh, built aside of the Village of Ryswick, about two Bows shot to the West, by Frederick Henry Prince of Orange His Majesty's Grandfather, and is a Fabric of Modern Architecture, only a little too low, consisting of three Pavillons or Piles of Buildings upon a Line, joined together by two Galleries, all of Free Stone and of an equal Height; the Front of the House looks to the Hague Northwards, and the back with the Gardens towards Delft Southwards, and therefore it afforded all the Accommodations that could possibly be desired for a Congress to Negotiate a Peace; an Apartment in the Centre for the Mediator, and one upon the Right and another upon the Left for the two different Parties, whereby no manner of Dispute could happen about the going out or coming in, and such other accidents which it has been very difficult to Regulate in other Places. Most of the Allies agreed immediately that a Palace so conveniently situated, and having such Accommodations to prevent any differences about the Ceremonial, should be the Place of Treaty, and accordingly His Majesty ordered it forthwith to be Repaired, and the States had it handsomely Furnished for such an occasion; and certainly it could signify no less than a good Omen to his Majesty's Affairs, that after so long and cruel a War, wherein the French had done whatever lay in their power to dispute his possession of the British Throne, yet at last they very willingly came to Treat of Peace in his own House. Whilst these advances were making towards a General Treaty, there were no less preparations in the Frontiers between France and the Allies than if it had been the very middle of the War; and indeed 'tis very necessary to be more cautious than usual in such a Conjuncture, because the Successes of War have then a very great influence upon the Negotiations of Peace and must give him that is Master of the Field considerable Advantages in it, to which he could not pretend before; and therefore 'tis a certain Maxim, that all Governments concerned, must during such Treaties, rather increase than slacken their Warlike preparations, and that the only way to make an Honourable Peace is with the Sword in one's hand and not in the Scabbard. The French according to this Principle were resolved to make the best use they could against the Allies of the advantage they had over them by the separate Peace of Italy, and the Allies on their side were providing for a vigorous defence, especially in Flanders and upon the Rhine, in order to frustrate the designs of the French King, who endeavoured to bring down all his Forces that way; and for that reason many Intrigues and secret Negotiations were carried on at Rome, and between Turin and Milan to compass a Neutrality in Catalonia, which France was very desirous of, and therefore offered upon such a Consideration to restore to the King of Spain all the Towns and Places which had been taken on that side since the Peace of Nimeguen; but it was at last refused by the King of Spain and his Council, as a thing which might endanger the whole Loss of Flanders, besides other more fatal Consequences to the House of Austria and to the Liberties of Europe in General: But when all is done, I do not know what harm could have happened to the Allies by this Neutrality, if Spain could have been enabled thereby to have kept as good an Army for the defence of Flanders as it had in Catalonia; I am sure the Allies would not have been the weaker for it this way, and the Frontiers they had to defend would then have been brought within a mutual Defence and Communication, the want of which has been the reason that the French have still acted as they pleased both in Piedmont and Catalonia, especially in the Campagne of 1696, notwithstanding that in the whole they were not stronger than the Allies. But so much Vigour was not to be expected from Spain, or else France would not have proposed it, and therefore the Allies had all the reason in the World to oppose that Neutrality; on the contrary the Troops it had to spare in Italy, since the Peace on that side, were altogether sunk to the Allies, and served only to make the Balance fall with so much the more weight for the French, as the Scale on our side was so much the lighter without them. But whatever reason there may be to complain of the Weakness of the Spanish proceed during the whole War, yet their Fidelity to the Allies in refusing this Neutrality offered by the French in so necessary a conjuncture for them, deserves a Commendation; and if their Efforts had but in the least answered their Honesty in continuing the War on that side, it may be presumed that the French would not have taken Barcelona. This obstinacy of Spain in rejecting the Neutrality offered for Catalonia quite altered the Measures of the French for the operations of the following Campagne, and whereas they designed to bend all their Forces upon the Rhine and in Flanders, and to bring for that end all the Troops that had served under Catinat in Piedmont, upon their Frontier this way, they were now obliged to send a great Detachment of them to Quarter in Languedoc and Provence for the making up of their Army in Catalonia the following Campagne; however they brought as many as possibly they could of the Troops of Italy towards Germany and Flanders, and Quartered most of them between the Moselle and the Meuse, and the rest in their Frontier towards Brabant. The Allies withdrew at the same time their Forces out of Italy, and having passed some through the Country of the Grisons and others through the County of Tirol, came into Germany and were all Quartered in the Circles of Suabia and Franconia, except the Imperial Cavalry which Marched into Bohemia in order to serve in Hungary. But this could in no wise answer the Number which the French brought by this Peace to act against the Allies in Flanders and Germany, all the Duke of Savoy's and the King of Spain's Troops in Italy were wholly lost to us by it, which amounted to no less than 31 Squadrons and 16 battalions which the Spaniards had there in the Field in the year 1696, and 17 Squadrons of Savoy, and 13 battalions: All the Reinforcement therefore which the Allies got upon the Rhine consisted of no more than five or six Battalions of the Emperors, six of His Majesty of Great Britain's being Refugies, four of Brandenbourg, and two of Bavaria being in all about 20 battalions, or ten thousand Men: The Circles of Suabia and Franconia took our Six battalions of Refugies into their Service for the Campagne following, besides several new Levy's they made for the defence of those Circles, having resolved together in an Assembly of their Deputies to have 60000 Men for their defence; because the French threatened Germany with a powerful Invasion in the Summer, and to enter it with two Armies to be Commanded by the Mareschals of Choiseul and Catinat, and these Circles, if they did not provide for their safety, must have been the greatest Sufferers by it. Thus the Allies became near 20000 Men the weaker by the Peace of Italy, and consequently the French so much the stronger, and this chief is due to Spain in not bringing over their Troops which they had in Italy, for the defence of Catalonia, where a Re-inforcement of six or seven Regiments only could have put it in a posture to have baffled the French Designs; and notwithstanding that the Winter was the most proper Season for such a Transportation, when the French Galleys could not keep the Sea, and that they could then have slipped them over one after another, yet only one or two Regiments got this way into Catalonia, and when the Summer came it was too late. But if Spain was so backward in providing for the defence of Catalonia, the rest of the Allies were more active elsewhere and especially in Flanders, where all possible care was taken to oppose the designs of the French; and because their Garrisons were now crowded upon their Frontiers this way, and consequently that they might have been stirring in the Winter if they could have surprised us any where, so all our Troops Quartered in Flanders, as Ghendt, Bruges, Ostend and Newport, and those Quartered behind the Canals upon the Country had orders to be still in a readiness to March upon the first Signal; which was so contrived, that in an Flours' time the Alarm could be given in all the Quarters between Ghendt and Newport, by means of several Beacons, or Fire-pots which they had ready at every Guard upon the Canals of Bruges, Ostend and Newport to be hoist up to the Top of a high pole, which Signal was to be taken upon the right and left from post to post, Cannon being to be fired at the same time where they had it, or a Volley of small shot from the Guard, and the Towns of Ghendt, Bruges and Newport were to take or give the Alarm by having such Lights upon their highest Steeples or Towers, where there is always a Watch Night and Day, and Firing of so many Guns. This was the Contrivance of Monsieur Ivoy Quartermaster General of the Dutch Army in Flanders, and the Experiment of it being made one Night, it was found that the Alarm was given from Newport to Ghendt, which is fourteen Leagues by the Canals, in less than an Hours time. The same Method was taken between Ghendt, Dendermond and Willebrook by Lights and Firing of Cannon, from whence it was to be carried by the Guards upon the Canal to Brussels, all which could be done in Two Hours time being the distance of 24 Leagues. This was sufficient to cover all the Country behind the Canals and the Scheldt during the Winter, and to hinder our being surprised in any of those Quarters; but the great difficulty was about Namur, for the Winter was very hard, and the Meuse shut up very early with a Violent Frost, insomuch that there was no getting of Convoys into the place from Maestricht and Liege by Water; and the Frosty Wether continuing very obstinate till the Month of March, all the Wagons between Liege, Maestricht and St. Tron were summoned to carry a great quantity of Provisions and Ammunition into this place, which was happily executed accordingly before the breaking of the Frost under a strong Escorte composed of Detachments from all the Garrisons thereabouts without any Opposition from the French; but then as soon as the Rivers were open, (and 'tis observable that this great and long Frost went away without a drop of Rain) another great Convoy of all manner of Stores and Provisions was sent thither by Water from Maestricht, of which Count the Guiscard Governor of Dinant having Notice he drew out several Detachments of the Garrisons of the Meuse to endeavour to intercept it, with which he came into the Condros, but our Generals upon the Meuse were so watchful that Count de Guiscard missed his design, and Namur was sufficiently provided with all manner of Stores for the whole Summer. This is an Abstract of the most material Transactions of the Winter, and Spring being now coming on, we were resolved if possibly, to be before hand with the French in the Field, as the only means to hinder them from making any considerable progress in Flanders with the great and Numerous Armies they were now like to have against the Allies: His Majesty being desirous to have his own Forces to act under him in Brabant with Prince Vaudemont, and that the Elector with the Prince of Nassau Sarbruck should Command in Flanders with the Spanish and Bavarian Troops and those of the States; whereupon Orders were sent to have the Quarters changed according to this disposition. The Duke of Wirtemberg had then been visiting the Winter-quarters, when being returned to his Head-quarter at Ghendt the last day of February, he met with an Order from the Prince to meet him at Antwerp the next day, where a great Council of War was held, the Prince of Vaudemont, the Duke of Wirtemberg, the Prince of Commercy (who had come from Vienna to Brussels this Winter to Visit the Prince and Princess) the Marquis de Bedmar and Mr. Hill being present, and the King's pleasure was signified by the Prince about the disposition of the two Armies we were to have in the Field the following Campagne, the Exchanging of Quarters accordingly and the providing of things necessary for the English in Brabant, and the same for the Dutch in Flanders; After this Conference, the Prince, and the Prince of Commercy with the Marquis de Bedmar went back to Brussels, and the Duke of Wirtemberg to Ghendt, where he was no sooner come but he met with another Order to go to Brussels; being arrived the Second of March in this Town, a great Council of War was held in the Electors Presence, and the Routs and Quarters were settled for the exchanging of the Troops between Brabant and Flanders, and Patents dispatched accordingly, and Monsieur Ivoy, who acted as Quartermaster General for the Army of Flanders, was sent immediately that very night after the Resolutions taken in the Council of War, to the Magistrates of Ghendt and Bruges to provide Bilanders, Wagons and other things necessary for the March of the Troops. In the mean while the two French Plenipotentiaries, Monsieur de Harlay and the Count de Crecy, being come from Paris by the way of Lisle and Courtray, arrived at Ghendt the 3d. in order to prosecute their Voyage for Holland; Our Guard at Bruges Porte took no notice of March. them, because they had not yet acknowledged His Majesty for King of England, but obliged them to produce their Pass at the Gate before they came into the Town, the Magistrates received them on their side with all the Joy and Civility possible, and seeing that our Forces Quartered there could not give them the Compliment of a Guard upon their quarter, a Detachment of Spaniards was sent out of the Citadel with Colours, Commanded by a Captain for this purpose. The next day they went to the Sas of Ghendt, where they went on Board of the States Yachts sent thither to carry them by Water to Delft, where their third Colleague Monsieur de Callieres expected them. Every thing being ready for the March of the Troops according to the above mentioned Resolutions, the English Foot began to move towards Brabant on the 6th. of March. The Regiments of Churchill, Seymour, Webb and Frederick Hamilton Marched from Ghendt to Louvain under the Command of Major General Churchill. The two Battalions of the Royal Regiment, and the Regiments of Fairfax and Ingoldesby Marched from Bruges to Brussels, being Commanded by Brigadier Fairfax, and those of Saunderson, Tiffin and Ferguson from Ostend to Malines, under the Command of Brigadier Tiffin, and were exchanged by the Regiments of Weed, Dohna, Sparre and Groningue Guards from Brussels to Ghendt; Fagel, Carls, lafoy moth and Schack (being the Regiment of the late Major General Holle) from Louvain to Bruges; and from Malines to Ostend came the Hanover Guards, the Hanover Regiment of Cinqvilles, and that of Willekens. All the English Regiments, the Guards excepted, were to leave two Companies per battalion in the Quarters from whence they removed in Flanders, and all the Dutch one in their Quarters in Brabant or Frontier of Holland, to have by this means the Garrisons kept during the Summer by detached Companies, and consequently more battalions in the Field though the less strong, but reduced by this Method as near as could be to the Strength and Compliment of those of the French; this likewise made the Dutch Regiments equal with the English, which Consisted most of Twelve Companies, but the English leaving two Companies in Garrison and the Dutch one, they all equally consisted of Eleven Companies each battalion, except the Swissers, whose Companies consist of 200 each, and four in a battalion. The 13th. the English Guards being two battalions, the Fusiliers and the Regiments of Collingwood and Nassau from Ghendt, and the Scots Guards, How, Sir David Collier, and Sir Matthew Bridges' Regiments from Bruges, Maitland from the Pays de Nort and Rowe, (being the Regiment which was lately Colonel Robert Mackays) from the Camerling, marched towards the Canal of Brussels, the first Five being Commanded by Count Nassau Lieutenant General to Cantoon just by Brussels between the Canal and the way to Halle in the Villages of Berckem, Jette, Ganshoren, Dylbeck, Stroombeck and Beveren, Count Nassau took his Quarter at the Chasteau de Riviere, within half a League of Brussels; the last Six by Major General Ramsay and Cantooned at Grimberg, Mais, Londerseel, Wolverthem, Capelle and Ramsdonck. The Regiments of Denhoff (being that of Brandenbourg in His Majesty's Service) from the Camerling, Fuhnen from the Pays de Nort and Prince Frederick from the Canal of Bruges being joined the 17th. by Colonel Stanley's Regiment, the Danish Guards, and the Regiment of Juitland at Ghendt, Marched the same way under the Command of the Marquis de Mirmont Major General to Cantoon at Asche, Maselle, Bardeghem, Mellem, Bollenbeeck, Steinhuffel and Merchtem; Major General Ramsay took his Quarter at Grimberg, and Mirmont at Asche. These Quarters were enlarged in other Villages on both sides the Canal, and the battalions of the Fusiliers, Collingwood, Bridges, Nassan and Denhoff, Cantooned between Brussels, Vilvorde and Malines. Besides the above mentioned Dutch Regiments which came from Brussels and Louvain too Ghendt and Bruges, (not to mention those that removed from Malines to Ostend being upon English pay) several Regiments of Foot which had quartered at Liege and Maestricht were already Cantooned about St. Tron and Tirlemont in Order to March into Flanders as soon as the English should remove into Brabant, among whom were a battalion of the Friesland Guards, the Regiments of Arsholt and Holstein Norburg from Liege; Dedem, a Swiss Battalion of Lochman and two of Capol from Maestricht: which Regiments got into Flanders immediately after the March of our Infantry and Quartered in Ghendt and Bruges, besides those of Lindeboom, Crassau and Ransaw from Tirlemont being followed by two battalions of Swerin from Liege, Margrave Lodowick from Hue, the Walloon Regiment of Nassau Sarbruck from Malines and Tettau from Diest: The rest of the Dutch Infantry being Quartered in Holland or the Frontier towards Brabant and Germany came by Water to the Sesse of Ghendt, among whom were a battalion of Friesland Guards from Friesland, Obergen from Zutphen, Marquet from Boisleduc, and young Holstein from Grave. The Dutch which were to make up part of His Majesty's Army in Brabant Marched at the same time out of their Quarters towards the Frontier about Louvain and Tirlemont, except what was necessary for the Guard of Liege and Maestricht where 'twas thought necessary to leave several Regiments till we had secured some convenient Camp to cover the Country; these therefore did not March out till we took the Field, nor the Garrisons of Namur and Brussels, out of which our Brabant Army was to be furnished with 16 or 17 battalions. According to this disposition, the Regiments of Slangenbourg and Beinham marched from Hasselt, and that of Salisch from Liege to Tirlemont in the Room of those gone to Flanders; the two Swiss battalions of Tcharner came from Bergen op Zoom and the two battalions of the same Nation of Milune from Breda to Cantoon about Louvain, Essen from Liege, Torsay from Worcum, Gorcum and Heusden, and Weldern from Bois le duc near Tirlemont. All these Forces filled our Frontiers in Brabant and Flanders, and we were now in a Condition to take a Camp in either of those two Provinces upon the first occasion or motion of the Enemies in Four and Twenty Hours time: The English Cavalry was likewise to have removed at this time to come into Brabant from Ghendt, and the Dragoons from the Country behind the Canal of Bruges, and that part of the Dutch Horse and Dragoons which was to serve in Flanders under Lieutenant General Opdam was to come in their places; but there were some great difficulties in exchanging of Magazines which obliged them on both sides to keep to their Quarters. We had still 21 battalions of His Majesty's Troops left in Flanders, being all Strangers, French, Danes and Hanovers, except the Regiments of Brewer, Lauder, Walter Collier, Lorne, Buchan, George Hamilton and Strathnaver, which were to remain there to act under the Elector till he could be joined by the Forces of Brandenbourg, (who upon these Motions on our side in Brabant and Flanders, had orders to march out of their Quarters in the Dutchies of Juliers and Cleves and the Electorat of Cologne, towards the Meuse) these 21 battalions were to be Commanded by Lieutenant General Bellasis, with Major General La Meloniere and Count d' Alfeldt, and Brigadiers, Selwyn, Haxhausen, Trelauny and Belcastel, and the English Horse and Dragoons had orders to march when the Elector should have occasion for them. This was not yet all the Care that was taken for the Safety and Preservation of this Country, it was found that the Line made at Marykirk the last Year did not sufficiently cover Ghendt with the inundation of the Meadows of Drongen, that there was still a passage for the French between the Lys and the Scheld to come and Attack this place, or Bombard it from before the Gates of Courtray and St. Pierre, that it was therefore necessary to make a Line between the Lys and the Scheld to render this part of the Town inaccessible: And to find the shortest cut that could be between these two Rivers, where a Line might be made with the least Expense and the greater Strength, it was necessary to stop up the Lys and the Scheld to make an Inundation, and see how near they could be brought together by it; and thereupon the design was to have made a Line just between the Inundation of the two Rivers, which would then have been short enough to be defended by a few Forces. The Sluyces were stopped at Ghendt both upon the Lys and the Scheld in pursuance of this Design, and their Effect answered fully our Expectation; for by this means not only the Land between the Lys and the Scheld was very near overflowed, and left but a very short space in the highest Ground for a Line, but all the flat Country between the upper and the lower Scheld before the Gate of St. Lievens Houthem and the Meadows and bleaching Yards within the Ramparts on this side were laid under Water. This makes the situation of Ghendt very advantageous for a good Defence, and yet the French took it in the Year 1678. with a great deal of Ease, just in the very midst of the Negotiations for the Peace at Nimeguen, to save the Restoring of Ipres (which the Spaniards insisted very much upon) by the taking of this Place. It is said that the French King had then promised King Charles, who was Mediator of that Peace, (the English being very jealous of the French Progresses so near them, and the Parliament pressing the King to declare War against France) that he would not push his Conquests any farther on that side; and when the Spanish Ambassador acquainted the King with the Siege of Ghendt, his Majesty relied so much upon this Promise that he could not at first believe it; however the Allies were surprised by this Siege, may be, relying too much upon the Considerations which the French should have had for England in such a Conjuncture, and thus neglected to provide for the Defence of the Country hereabouts more than they would otherwise have done, to have a better Army in Brabant. But to return from this short Digression, Ghendt, with this Inundation and Line before St. Peter's and the Courtray Ports, and the Line of Marykirk, would have been covered on all sides from either Siege or Bombarding, except between the Canal of Bruges and the Seheld, where there was no great danger: But this Design went no farther than the Inundation, and the project of the Line was laid aside: And may be 'twas undertaken only to give the Elector a plausible pretext to come too Ghendt in order to Execute our Designs upon the Camp of Deinse without giving any Jealousy to the French, as I am now going to relate it. The First of April the Elector of Bavaria lest Brussels and came April. to Ghendt, in order, as 'twas given out to see the Inundation made about it, and to visit the other Frontiers of Flanders. The Second, his Highness took a view of the Waters which now overflowed the flat Country all about Ghendt; and the Third, Major General Dopst Quartermaster General of the States came there to confer with his Electoral Highness about the taking of the Field, and dispositions were made for the securing of the Camp of Deinse the 10th, in the mean while the Elector designed to go to Bruges and Newport; but on the 4th. being informed that a great Patroville of the French had been hover about Deinse as if they had a design upon that Camp, it was resolved immediately to secure it without any further delay, and a Council of War being held thereupon, orders were sent that very Night to all the Infantry in Quarters in Ghendt, Bruges, Ostend, Dam, and behind the Canals to March the next day; Monsieur de Ribeaucourt was commanded out at the shutting of the Gates, with 200 Spanish Horse to post himself at Petegem on the other side of the Lys opposite to Deinse, at Midnight Major General la Meloniere with a Detachment of 3800 Foot of the Garrison of Ghendt marched out of post himself in the Town of Deinse and secure that place; a Bridge of Boats was likewise ordered to be made at Marykirk and another at Bellem for the passage of the Troops behind the Canal. On the 5th. the Electors Baggage marched by times towards Bruges, as if His Highness would follow soon after; because the day before he had given out his Journey for Newport upon this day, which, if it had been Countermanded upon the marching out of the Spanish Detachement of Horse and of Major General la Meloniere with that of the Foot, would have discovered the Design upon Deinse, whereas now it passed only for an Escorte to cover the Canal and hinder the French from coming near it during the Elector's Journey; His Highness having notice very early in the Morning that the Posts about Deinse and Nevel were secured, ordered his Baggage to go no farther than Marykirk only for a Blind and so to come back again, and got on Horseback himself about Seven not to go Bruges but Deinse and Nevel, where his Baggage followed; and all the English Cavalry had orders to march that way immediately without Baggage under the Command of Monsieur Auerquerque, only with two or three days Forage. The 16 battalions in Ghendt marched the same day and encamped about half a League of the Town behind the Canal within the Retrenchment of Marykirk, and the 12 battalions of Bruges with that of Dam, according to the Orders they had over Night, came this Day and encamped at Bellem being joined by the battalions of the Queen of Denmark, Zealand and young Holstein, which had Quartered upon the Country behind the Canal of Bruges. The same day the Three battalions in Garrison at Ostend, and the Three Quartered in the Pays de Nort, came to incamp between Bruges and Steinbrughe upon the Canal. The 6th. the Infantry encamped at Marykirk and Bellem, passed the Canal upon the Bridges made at these two Places and came to form the Camp between Deinse and Nevel, being in all 32 battalions; and the Six encamped at Steinbrughe marched to Bellem, and came to the Camp the 7th, which was now formed of 38 battalions with the Right at Nevel, where the Elector had his Quarter, and the Left upon the Lys at the Church of Bachtem, between Deinse in the Front and the Castle of Oydonck in the Rear: And because the Cavalry could not yet incamp in this Season, all the battalions, to fill up the Ground between Nevel and the Lys, encamped with the Companies in half depths, by which means every battalion took up the space of two from Right to Left, and this Method was observed in the Elector's Army most part of the Campagne following. The English Cavalry having marched out of Ghendt the 5th. to secure this Camp till the coming up of the Foot, went back on the 7th. into the Town, but all the Foreign Horse upon English pay Quartered at Bruges, the Dutch Cavalry Quartered upon the Canal, and the English Dragoons Quartered between Ghendt and the Sas, and about Bruges, had orders to come and Cantoon in the Villages in the Rear of the Electors Army, between Deinse, Nevel, Ghendt and the Canal, from whence they were to furnish 500 Horse and Dragoons daily for the Out Guards of the Army. The 8th. the Prince of Nassau Sarbruck Velt Marshal General of the State's Army arrived at Ghendt being to Command the Army under the Elector, and came the 10th. to the Camp, where he took his Quarter at the Castle of Oydonck. The 12th. the Elector with a detachment of 1200 Horse and Dragoons went to view all the Approaches to his Camp from the Pays Conquis as far as Denterghem, Wouterghem, Gothem, Arseel, Canneghem and Thilt. The 11th. all the Horse and Dragoons Quartered upon the Canal of Bruges being come to Cantoon behind the Electors Army, the battalions of Fagel and Reinardt had orders to post themselves upon this Canal between Ansbeck and Bruges; and the Elector had now 40 battalions in his Army, 18 Squadrons of Horse and 33 of Dragoons Cantooned just in his Rear, besides 24 Squadrons of English Horse in Garrison at Ghendt, ready to join him upon occasion, being according to this disposition 22000 Foot, 6300 Horse, and 3300 Dragoons strong, in all 31600 Men for the defence of Flanders, which by the Securing of this Camp put us now in a Condition to subsist on the French side of the Canal, without being penned up behind it as we were the last year and subsisting upon dry Forage at the Charges of the Pays de Waes' and Free of Bruges by the Enemies being beforehand with us at this Camp of Deinse. Flanders being thus very well secured by the Elector's having the Camp of Deinse, it was necessary to take the same Care for the Country between the Scheldt and the Meuse, where we were resolved to be before hand with the French as well as in Flanders, but which could not be so effectually put in a posture of defence; the last being covered by a good Canal from Ghendt to Newport, but this very weak; because Ath and Audenarde were now too far advanced, and in a manner within the very Barriere of the French, since they had Mons, Charleroy and Courtray. The most that could be proposed to be done on this side was to secure Namur and Brussels, which, by our taking the Field first, we could very well pretend to; and therefore in order to it the Count de Noyelles Lieutenant General had orders from the Prince to march out of Brussels on the 12th. with the four battalions commanded by Brigadier Fairfax and 8 Dutch from the same Garrison, to post himself at Waterlo just without the Bois de Sogne towards the plain of Brain la Leu and Bois Seigneur Isaac, and to entrench himself there with the Wood upon the Right Left and Rear, a little space being left here, where was the Village of Waterlo, as 'twere on purpose for such a design. The same day Count Nassau, Lieutenant General, and Major General Ramsay with the Troops Cantooned under their Command, had orders to come and incamp at the Fauxbourg of Ixelles between the Namur-porte at Brussels and the Bois de Sogne, where they were followed the next day by the Six Regiments commanded by the Marquis de Mirmont, making in all 17 battalions; the Prince left Brussels at the same time, and took his Quarter in the Fauxbourg of Ixelles in order to command them: All the Infantry of Brandenbourg and most of the Horse being now come to the Meuse from Winter-quarters, passed it about this time at Maestricht and went to Cantoon about Arschot and Diest in the Villages along the River Rupelle; the Garrisons of Malines and Louvain, and all the Dutch Foot Cantooned upon the Frontier hereabouts continued in their Quarters in order to take the Field upon the first Command: By this disposition we were in a readiness to secure either the Camps of Masy or Bois Seigneur Isaac as there should be occasion for our own Affairs; or as it should be necessary, according to the Motions of the French, to take the Field on this side; and although 'twas yet very early for the Cavalry to move out of Winter-quarters by reason there was yet no manner of Forage upon the Ground, yet all the Cavalry of the States Quartered in Holland had Orders to march, part to Cantoon towards Flanders, and part about Hasselt, Tongres and St. Tron towards Brabant, according as it was designed to serve the Campagne following; The rest being in Quarters upon the very Frontier, was near enough at hand to be in a readiness upon occasion. But the Foot upon English pay did suffer something in the Camps of Waterlo and Ixelles in being so early in the field, because the Clothing was not yet come from England, which several Regiments wanted extremely; neither was this the only Misfortune, but they also came to want pay, occasioned by an obstinate Easterly Wind which lasted about five Weeks till the King came over, and hindered any Pacquets from coming from England, whereby Mr. Hill was reduced to the last week at our taking of the Field, which he was forced to divide into half pay for a Fortnight. This was but a bad beginning of the Campagne for the Soldiers, which caused some Desertion amongst them; but nothing answerable to that mighty noise made about it in the Paris Gazette to Counterpoise the advantage we had gained in taking the Field first; and Care was taken in England to dispatch the Centurion to Ostend with Bills for the Army, where he got time enough (notwithstanding the contrary Winds) to set every thing to rights, and prevent any farther want of pay in the Army. During these Transactions in Brabant the Elector was taking all the care possible to put his Camp in a posture of defence in Flanders; the Foot at the first taking of this Camp had been employed in Fortifying of it with good Retrenchments between Nevel and the Lys, but this not being thought sufficient, it was proposed to Fortify Deinse, for which reason a Council of War was held the 13th. and the day following the Engineers were sent to trace an Exagone about it in order to maintain this Post, being designed only for this purpose and not for a standing Fortification, according to the Agreement made when the French demolished this place and Dixmuyde in the Year 1695. The 17th the Elector dispatched Patents for the forming of the Detached Companies left in Quarters into battalions, and disposing of them into the Frontier Garrisons of Flanders. Twelve Scots Companies were sent to Newport under the Command of Lieutenant Colonel Davison, another battalion of ten Companies of the same Nation under Lieutenant Colonel Murray of Walter Collier's Regiment, four Companies of Hanover cmmanded by Lieutenant Colonel Vittingehoffe of Hulsen, and a Dutch battalion of eight Companies commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Maurenault of Zoutland's Regiment, in all four battalions in Newport; at Oslende ten English Companies commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Fox of Collingwood, eight Companies of the same at Bruges under the Command of Lieutenant Colonel Lucy; eight Companies at Ghendt, and seventeen in Audenarde divided in two battalions, besides the Dutch Regiment of Losecoct left here with several Italian and Walloon Regiments for the Security of this place. Of the Detached Companies in these two last places, those in Ghendt were all English, and those in Audenarde all Foreigners but two Companies of the Fusiliers and two of Colonel Frederick Hamilton's Regiment; all the Detached Companies of the Dutch were posted at Louvain, Brussels, Maestricht, Liege, Hue and Namur, in the last of which places a special care was taken to have a strong Garrison, The 19th Major General Dopft came again from Brussels to the Elector's Camp to concert the Methods that should be taken in case the French should bend the chief of their Forces upon Flanders, either to attack Newport, or to come to Torhout and Rousselar and endeavour to cut the way to Bruges, or force the Canals: For hitherto they had not appeared in the Field, having (as 'twas said) no Magazines of dry Forage for the subsistence of an Army; but whatever reason there was for it they did not yet stir out of their Garrisons, and consequently we could not know which way they would bring their chief strength: And that the Elector's Army might effectually be secured against any attack from them in this Camp, the little River which comes from Poucke (and branches itself in two at Nevel, one part going to the Lys near Deinse and the other towards the Canal of Bruges) was stopped at Nevel to bring the whole Current to make an Inundation before the Retrenchments of the Camp: But because the Army being thus secured from any attack in this place, the French might march either towards Newport or Bruges, Quartermaster General Dopft went on the 21th to view the Country between Nevel and Ansbeck upon the Canal of Bruges, and ways were ordered to be made for the March of the Army towards this Post upon the Canal, in case it should be obliged to come this way for the Defence either of Bruges or Newport, which ways were finished and made fit for the March of the Army by the 23d. In the mean while Quartermaster General Dopft went back to Brussels, and the Hanover Regiments of Hearing and Wolsembuttel Guards came to the Camp from Audenarde, which brought the Elector's Army to the Number of 42 battalions, besides the four Bavarian Regiments of Foot which by this time were come to incamp at Marykirk. The Allies had now been near three Weeks in the Field in this Camp of Nevel and about eleven Days at Waterlo and Ixelles, when the French began to repair to their several Rendezvous appointed for the Forming of their Armies in Flanders and upon the Meuse; and may be 'twas not so much want of Forage as made them appear so late after us as our having taken the Field before them, which quite broke and altered their Measures; for the Marechal of Catinat had been appointed to serve with an Army between the Moselle, the lower Rhine and the Meuse, and his Generals named; and the Germans were so alarmed at it, that besides the new Levies resolved upon by the Circles of Suabia and Franconia, they were working very hard to make Lines and Redoubts to cover those Circles from any Irruption by the French in passing the Upper Rhine between the Neckre and the Black Forest; and upon the Lower Rhine they were very busy in Fortifying Bonne and the Passages of this River in the Electorate of Cologne and the Duchy of Berg against the Attempts of the Marechal of Catinat; but seeing that our taking the Field first in Flanders brought the Marechal of Catinat upon the Lys instead of going upon the Moselle, it is more probable that the true Design of the French was to have besieged Namur if they could have appeared before us in the Campagne; for then Bousters could have invested Namur from the Sambre, where his Army had its Rendezvous and then he could have been joined by Catinat from the Moselle, by which Method they would have had two Armies with that of Villeroy to cover the Siege and observe our Motions either in Brabant or Flanders: From whence we may very well infer, That our taking first the Field on this side saved the Siege of Namur; and there being at present no place left open to the French, by the present Disposition of our Camps, besides Ath and Audenarde, which 'twas impossible for us to cover with the Troops we had, they were therefore obliged to frame the Rendezvous of their Armies accordingly, and order the Troops designed for Catinat's Army on the Moselle towards Flanders; which alteration of their Designs (as it may be supposed) hindered them from appearing in the Field so soon as they would otherwise have done: But now being come upon the Frontier on this side, they had three Rendezvous appointed for the meeting of their Armies to be commanded by the Marechals of Villeroy, Bouflers and Catinat; Villeroy's Army began to assemble together in a Body about Tournay, Bouflers to Cantoon along the Sambre, except that part of his Army that was to consist of Troops of the King's House which gathered about Mons, and Catinat's upon the Lys about Courtray. This Disposition of the Enemies obliged the Allies at Nevel to look about them, and therefore to countermand the English Cavalry which had received Orders to march towards Brussels, because all the Dutch Horse and Dragoons which were to serve in the Army were not yet come up; a Disposition was likewise made for the extending of this Camp from Bachtem upon the Lys clear to Ansbeck upon the Canal of Bruges, in case both Villeroy and Catinat should come into Flanders, by this means to slip Regiments (the Foot by Water, and the Horse and Dragoons by Land) to Bruges and Newport with greater Expedition, where Major General Fagel had now a Body of ten battalions ready to Incamp, besides four battalions of Detached Companies and the Dutch battalion of Prot in Garrison, without mentioning Spanish and Italian Foot in this place which has no relation to the Affairs of the Field: In the interim, till it was known which way the Enemies would march from their places of Rendezvous, the ten battalions commanded by Major General Fagel had Orders to post themselves in this manner, three battalions at Lombarzide to cover the Bar of Newport, and the other seven behind the Canals between Newport and Bruges, and Reinardt and Fagel remained as before between Bruges and Ansbeck; and thus it was contrived to have sent the best part of the Army towards Newport, if Villeroy and Catinat had marched that way, or to have received Reinforcements from thence in case they had marched to attack the Elector in his Camp, and in both these cases Prince Vaudemont was to make considerable Detachments from Brabant to Flanders: This was the Result of a Council of War held upon the gathering together of the French at Tournay and Courtray, which was communicated to the Elector at Ghendt, where he was obliged to go some days since for a Fluxion and Soreness in his Eyes which took him in the Camp. The Marechal of Bouflers Army beginning to Rendezvous about Bussiere on the Sambre, Prince Vaudemont thought it was high time to secure the Camp of Brain la Leu and Bois-Seigneur-Isaac, where, if the Marechals of Villeroy and Catinat had marched into Flanders, he would be the nearer to send Reinforcements to the Elector and at the same time in a convenient place to secure the Camp of Masy if Bouflers had marched towards Namur. Wherefore Orders were sent once more to the English Horse Quartered in Ghendt to march, which they actually did on the 27th towards Alost in order to go to Brussels. The Dutch Horse cantooned (as we have said it before) along the Demer about Hasselt had Orders to come to Louvain the 26th and incamp between this place and Corbeck upon the Dyle, and being joined the 27th by the Regiments of Horse of Tilly, Erbach, Prince Philip, Nassau-Friezland, Flodorf, Huybert, Saxen-Heylbourg, Saxon-Gotha, and Arco from the neighbouring Quarters, they came to Tombeck and Rassiere, the Brook of Lahn before them, being all under the Command of Count Tilly: The Dutch Infantry cantooned hereabouts, encamped at Eygenhoven, and the Brandenbourg Troops Quartered about Diest and Arfcht and Villages along the Rupelle came to incamp the 27th between Terhulpen and Gerival near the Bois de Sogne towards Waure commanded by General Heyden consisting then of 18 battalions of Foot and 17 Squadrons of Horse, where they were joined by the Garrison of Louvain commanded by Major General Churchill and the Dutch Foot encamped at Eygenhoven. The Dutch Guards from Liere, and the Garrison of Malines commanded by Brigadier Tiffin came the same day to the Camp at Ixelles, and at the Orders the Quarter-Masters were commanded to be this Evening at the Retrenchment of Waterlo: The Dutch Cavalry in Quarters at Brussels marched the 28th by two in the Morning by the Grandee Chaussee through the Bois de Sogne towards Brain la Leu, the Infantry encamped near the Fauxbourg of Ivelles followed, and then our Artillery which had been brought from Ghendt to Brussels by Water for this purpose, (as that of Holland had been sent from Malines to Ghendt,) and all was closed up by the Dutch Horse Cantoned about Brussels and Malines but the heavy Baggage was to be left behind till the next day. The Vanguard of Horse as soon as it came into the Plain beyond the Bois de Sogne, sent detachments to Genap, Waure, and Nivelle to cover the March of the Army, at the same time Count de Noyelles sent detachments of Foot from Waterlo to the Church of Ophain, the Abbey of Bois-Seigneur-Isaac and the Village of Bas Istre towards Braine le Chasteau to cover the March for this Camp on all sides. If Bouflers had been passed the Sambre, instead of these detachments, a great Body of Horse was to have been ordered towards Genap and Nivelle commanded by a General Officer, but Bouflers was still on the other side and saved us this Care. At the same time that the Prince's Troops encamped at Ixelles were marching through the Bois de Sogne for Brain le Leu, the Troops encamped at Terhulpen and Gerival under General Heyden, and the Dutch Horse under Count Tilly from Tombeeck marched about between the Dyle and the Wood to this Camp, and thus joined altogether the 28th, being encamped with an Elbow upon the right between the Abbey of Bois Seigneur-Isaac and the Village of Bas Istre towards Brain le Chasteau; this was the Post of the right Wing of Horse and Right of the Body of Foot, the rest of the Camp went in a straight Line from the Abbey of Bois-Seigneur-Isaac upon the Right as far as the Brook of Leu upon the Left towards the Wood of Sogne and Waterlo, having the Village or rather small Town of Brain la Leu before it, as the Village of Ophain was before the Centre, and the forementioned Abbey upon the Right, all three in a Line. The Abbey of Bois-Seigneur-Isaac was marked for the King's Quarter which consequently gave the Name to the Camp, and the Prince and most of the Generals Quartered at Brain la Leu, the Prince, in his own Castle which he has here and where he was born of the Princess of Cantecroix. Count de Noyelles continued in the Retrenchments of Waterlo till the 29th, to see all the Baggage come up safe through the Wood, which was ordered to follow the Army, and then marched from thence with the Body under his Command and took his Post in the Line, as it had been assigned to the several Regiments, where all the battalions encamped double, as the Elector's Army did at Deinse; because the distance was too great for the Foot to fill, if the Company's had encamped in their full depth, and therefore 'twas thought convenient to incamp so as that every battalion might be divided into two and take up the ground between the Right and Left: This Army at the first joining consisted of 75 Squadrons of Horse, 26 of Dragoons and 64 battalions, making in all 46490 Men. A detachment of 400 Men was sent to Nivelle under the Command of a Field Officer to keep Garrison there and secure a Post that was very necessary for the cover of our Army, or from whence the Enemies could very much annoy us if they got once to be Masters of it; and therefore this could not be construed an infraction of the agreement made on both sides with the Lady Abbess of Nivelle; because 'twas only for the present security of the Army, which would have been done by the French themselves upon such an occasion, or if they gained an opportunity by it of attaquing our Army with more advantage. As for the English Horse and Dragoons, which had marched out of Ghendt towards Alost under the command of General Auerquerque in order to come to this Camp, they were ordered to march back again for their quarters to be at hand near the Electors Army, whilst he had two of the Armies of France which were now about Tournay and Courtray, for dangerous Neighbours, for all the Brandenbourg Cavalry designed to serve in Flanders was not yet come to Brabant: But the Dutch Horse upon English pay, lloyd's Dragoons, and the Dutch Regiments of Montigny, Turck, Zuylen now Schulembourg, and Noyelles marched on towards the General Rendezvous at Bois-Seigneur-Isaac to make room for the same number, being 18 Squadrons of Dutch Horse and four of Dragoons, designed to serve in Flanders under Lieutenant General Opdam, which being now come into this Country cantooned on both sides of the Canal in the Quarters left by chose that had marched into Brabant. The Spanish and Bavarian Horse came up about the same time and quartered along the Scheld between Ghendt and Dendermond, so that the Elector had all the Horse of his Army now ready to join him. As for the Horse belonging to the Prince's Army at Bois-Seigneur-Isaac it was actually encamped in the Line, and the Magazines of Hay and Oats that were at Brussels were transported in Wagons to Waterlo, where we had them at hand to subsist the Army with dry Forage. Whilst our Forces in Brabant were marching up to join together at this Camp, His Majesty, who could not let his Armies be in the Field without him, arrived at Oranje-Polder in the Maes from England the 27th, and came the same Evening to the Hague where he was Complimented by the Deputies of the States and Foreign Ministers. My Lord of Pembroke His Majesty's first Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary for the Treaty of Peace came over at the same time, but an indisposition hindered Sir Joseph Williamson from coming to Holland till the next Convoy; and as if all the Ministers concerned in this great Congress had only waired for His Majesty's coming to begin their Conferences, the first was held at Ryswick the 29th, being the I hursday following, the Emperor having at last consented to Treat in this place without insisting any longer to have the Business of Lorraine agreed upon in the Preliminaries, and the Palace of Ryswick made up very Commodious for the Congress: There was before but one Gate upon the Centre of the Court towards the Hague, which was appointed for the Mediator leading up to the great Stairs of the House in the middle Pavillon or Apartment; but to prevent disputes in the going out or coming in, there was a Gate made at each end; That at the West being appointed for the French and that the East for the Allies, which is the Right according to the facing of the Palace North towards the Hague. The States appointed a Guard to be kept here upon Congress days with an equal number of Sentinels upon each Apartment, where the Allies were received and introduced in this first Congress by a Gentleman Commission'd thereto from the States and the French by another, having cast Lots for their Post to prevent any manner of distinction in this matter: The Conferences were contrived by the Mediator and not Personally, there being large Antichambers on each side of the Mediators Room, where the Plenipotentiaries came, the Allies on one side and the French on the other, and the Mediator communicated the Writings and Memorials from one side to another. In this first Conference the Ambassadors produced their full Powers which were reciprocally communicated, and authentic Copies delivered: The full Powers of the French directed them to Treat with the Emperor and Empire, the King of Spain and the States of Holland and their Allies, which caused some Contestation, because the Elector of Brandenbourg's Ministers alleged that the Elector their Master had declared War personally against the French King, and therefore that it was necessary the French Plenipotentiaries should be directed in their full Powers to Treat with his Electoral Highness by Name: The English Plenipotentiaries made no Objection against it, because the King not being to be acknowledged by the French till the Concluding and Signing of the Peace, it was not necessary they should produce full Powers to Treat with England till then, which they accordingly did before the Ratification. This Affair took up some of the first Conferences, and afterwards the Congress proceeded to regulate the Ceremonial; which I shall not meddle withal, resolving to say nothing more of those Negociations than what relates to the Operations of War or the Forwarding of the Peace. The King having assisted at the Assembly of the State's General and Council of State at the Hague to confer upon the present State of May. Affairs, intended to have gone the first of May for Loo, but His Majesty having met with an Indisposition the overnight was obliged to defer it and to be Let-blood the next Morning, which had so good an effect that the King rid that very Evening in his Coach about the Voorhout; the third, His Majesty being recovered set out from the Hague for Loo and came this day to Zuylenstein beyond Vtrecht, it proved an extraordinary hot day (and for about nine or ten days together about this time the Wether was as hot and settled as it has been the whole Summer) this made the King hot and restless in the Night but was again pretry well the next Day, however His Majesty thought it convenient to tarry some Days in this place where the Herons afforded very good Divertisement in this set of fine Wether: But in the mean time the French began to be very busy upon our Frontier and were like to allow His Majesty but a short stay here, the French and Swiss Guards had been come to Tournay ever since the 22d of April where the Marechal of Bouflers (being Colonel of the French Guards) came from Lisle to review them; all the other Troops were come by the beginning of May to their general Rendezvous upon the Sambre, Tournay and about Courtray, and wanted only the Presence of the Marechals of Villeroy and Catinat (who were expected at this time from Paris with the last Resolutions of the Court concerning the Operations of the Campagne) to march and take the Field; as for the Marechal of Bouflers his Government of the French Flanders kept him upon the Frontier. We have showed above, that our being in the Field before the French quite broke their Measures which, as we have given very good Presumptions for, were laid against Namur; else, why must our being first in the Field bring the Marechal of Catinat from his Department assigned upon the Moselle and the Lower Rhine clear to the Lys; as for the Germans, they were still in their Winter-Quarters and not likely yet to take the Field, and therefore there was as good a Prospect on that side for the Marechal of Catinat, as when the French King appointed him to command an Army there; But the Marechal of Catinat was thought necessary for Flanders whatever reason there was for this Change, though France had only Ath and Audenarde left open to feel the Efforts of its Arms; and indeed they have been so most part of the War, since the French have broke in upon the Barriere given to the Spanish Territories on this side in the Treaty of Nimeguen, by the taking of Mons and Charleroy, their having secured and fortified Courtray and made a Line from thence to the Scheld, which has brought these two Towns, especially the first, in the very Line of their Conquests; for this reason we have been forced to leave them exposed almost every Campagne without being able to cover them, and yet the French themselves have seemed to neglect them, having encamped, and marched backward and forwards about Ath several Campagnes; for in Truth the taking of Ath or Audenaerde could not extend their Contributions an inch farther, which, since the taking of Mons, they have raised every where between the Scheld and the Canal of Brussels; and by their having Courtray, all the Country between the Scheld and the Lys, and Ghend and Bruges has been brought under Contribution, and therefore Audenarde could not give them a farther advantage upon this account: Neither could Ath and Audenarde do much mischief in raising Contribution upon them, because only a small and inconsiderable dependence of Tournay, Conde and Mons remained exposed on this side of the Scheld and the Haisne, and all the rest was covered by these two Rivers; as for the Country between the Scheld and the Lys, it was covered with a strong Line from the one River to the other: From whence it appears that in relation to Contributions and advantage of the Country, neither Ath nor Audenarde could do them much harm whilst in the Hands of the Allies, nor much good by their taking of them: However the French having no other places left exposed to their Attempts thought it better to form a Siege hereabouts than to do nothing; and yet we should not have left them even this to do, if the Hesse and Lunenbourg Troops could have been brought soon enough from Germany and our Re-inforcement of eight battalions from England, to have formed an Army about Namur and observe the Marechal of Bouflers on the Sambre; for then, the Prince could have marched from Bois-Seigneur-Isaac towards Ath, which, with the Communication of the Electors Army at Deinse and Nevel, would have saved it and secured Audenarde at the same time; this shows that notwithstanding the great Armies the French had here in the Field, yet we had a competent number of Forces to have acted defensively, if we could have brought them all in this Country time enough; but what gives Vigour to the operations of War is Money. The French, I say, having only these two places exposed to them, resolved upon the Siege of Ath, more to give a Reputation to their Armies during the Negotiations at Ryswick than for any great advantage they could get by it; for he that is Master of the Field at such a time gains very much by it in the Treaty. Audenarde was much stronger than Ath, and could only be attacked without the Courtray port, all the rest being easily laid under Water by the stopping up of the Scheld; the Hill that commands it on the South side of the Scheld may indeed do a great deal of damage to the Houses of the Town, but signifies nothing against the Fortifications, on the contrary it makes them so much the stronger that it helps very much to keep in the Inundation; and therefore seeing that there was no more advantage to be got by Audenarde than by Ath, and that it must cost them a great deal more pains and bloodshed to besiege it, the Siege of Ath was reckoned the most convenient in the present Conjuncture. In pursuance of these Resolutions of the French Court, Catinat came to Tournay on the last day of April, whence having visited the Fortifications of the Town and Citadel, he went to Helchin on the Scheld to cause Bridges of Boats to be laid over this River for the passage of his Army which was now formed within the Lines and encamped at the Moulin de Clare, and the Count Montrevel, with a small Body designed for the Guard of the Lines after the march of Catinat, was posted in the mean while at Wevelghem without 'em near Courtray: This Neighbourhood of the French with two great Armies upon the Lys and the Scheld, obliged the Elector to take all the precautions we have spoken of before, for the safety of Bruges and Newport and the fortifying of his Camp at Nevel, where, upon the news of the Marechal of Catinats being come to head his Army, it was farther thought necessary to fortify the Churchyard of Maighem before the Camp and make a good Work to cover the Bridge of Deinse upon the Lys; Messieurs Geldernalsen Deputy of the State's General at the Army and Ivoix Quartermaster General, went to see Newport and Ostend, and in what Condition every thing was for the defence of Newport and the Canals on this side, and the Margrave Lodowick's Regiment of Foot was sent to throw itself into Audenarde: But very few day's discovered what the French aimed at, and dissipated our apprehensions for Flanders, the Army commanded by the Marechal of Catinat had orders to march to Helchin upon the Scheld, and Montrevel with his Body of about 8000 Men encamped at Wevelghem, went and posted himself within the Lines of Courtray, his Head-quarter being in this Town. In the mean while the Marechal de Villeroy was come to Tournay from Court the beginning of May, and had met the Marechal of Catinat at Calandre a Village on the Scheld between Tournay and Pont d' Espierre, there to confer upon the motions of the two Armies to execute the design they had in hand; but Bouflers was now at the head of his Army encamped about Bussiere on the other side of the Sambre. The 5th. a vast many Wagons and Pioniers came to Tournay from the Pays Conquis, there being no less than 5000 of the latter from Artois only; the same day the Marechal of Villeroy ordered all the Gates of Tournay without the Scheld towards Brabant to be shut up in the Afternoon, and at the beginning of the Night Prince Camille of Lorraine with a strong Detachment of 20 Horse per Troop was commanded to go and invest Ath from Lignes and Leuze on the Tourney side; Another Detachment marched the same Night from the Army at Helchin, being commanded by the Marechal of Catinat in Person, to invest it towards Audenarde and Lessines upon the Dender; the Chevalier de Gassion Lieutenant General marched at the same time from Mons with a Body of Horse and invested it between the little River of Irchonwelz (which comes from Leuse and falls into the Dender at Ath) and the lower Dender, taking up by this means all the Posts towards Mons and Brabant, and thus Ath sound itself invested on all sides very early the next Morning being the 6th. of May. Whilst these several Detachements were investing of this place, Villeroy gave Orders for the march of his Army towards Leuse, from Tournay; about Ten that same Night 60 pieces of Cannon that were drawn out upon the Glacis of the 7 Fountain's Gate and the Troops encamped before it, marched through the Town to pass the Scheld taking their way towards Ath; at three the next Morning being the 6th. the Marechal of Villeroy followed in person at the head of the main Body of his Army, which consisted of the Troops quartered in the Town, and the rest encamped without between the Carthusians Gate and that of Valenciennes, the last of which crossed the Scheld at a Bridge of Boats laid over this River over against the Village of Vaulx; all these Forces joined together this day, and encamped at Leuse making the Marechal of Villeroy's Army, of which I shall insert the Line of Battle by and by, only I must first bring the Marechal of Catinat's Army about Ath being appointed to carry on this Siege; for which 16000 Pioniers followed Villeroy's Army the 6th from Tournay and 1800 Wagons, besides those appointed to supply the Army with Bread, of which 400000 Rations were ordered in this Town. The Marechal of Villeroy's Army being come to the Camp of Leuse this day, it was ordered to be upon the Bywacht all Night, that is, the Soldiers to have all their Accoutrements on, and the Horse to be ready Booted and Saddled; because the Marechal of Catinat's Army was not yet come up from the Scheld to take the Posts about Ath, being only secured by the Detachments above mentioned, and therefore 'twas Villeroy's Business to make good the said Posts and hinder any Succour from getting into the place; This obliged him to have his Troops in a readiness till the coming up of the other Army, which passed the Scheld, the same day that Villeroy came to Leuse, upon the Bridges made between Pots and Canaffe and encamped between Fresnes and Brussenal within two Leagues of Ath: The Marquis de Crequi was left with a flying Camp at Cells upon the little River Say which falls in the Scheld about Canaffe to keep in the Garrison of Audenarde from molesting the Convoys between the Scheld and the French Army, and likewise to be in a readiness to reinforce Montrevel in case the Elector should attempt any thing to make a diversion either upon the Lines or Courtray. The 7th. Catinat's Army marched from Fresnes and Brussenal and encamped about Ath in order to form the Siege of that Place; where, at his first coming, he allowed all the Women of Quality and Nuns the liberty to come out and retire somewhere else during the Siege; the Count de Roeux Governor of Ath's Lady and several other Ladies retired to Brussels where they were conducted in their Coaches by a Trumpet of the Marechal of Catinat's. In order to this undertaking, the Marechal of Bouflers had already passed the Sambre with his Army since the 4th and encamped at Fontaine l' Eveque, whence he marched on the 6th, (at the same time as the two other Marechals did towards Ath) and came nearer this place to cover the Siege towards Brabant and observe the Motions of Prince Vaudemont (as the Marechal of Villeroy was to do towards Flanders and watch the Elector of Bavaria) and encamped along River Haine near Binch between St. Vaast and Haine St. Pierre, but Count Tallard with the Troops that had Rendezvouzed about Mons, encamped at Thieux between Mons and Soignies, as an advanced body of Bouflers Army to secure the Camp of Cambron, and hinder the Prince's Army from coming to Soignies, in order to march that way: And thus having brought all the French Forces in the Field in this Country, making up three large Armies commanded by three Marechals of France, it will not be amiss to insert their several Lines of Battle here as the most proper place. The Line of Battle for the Marechal of Villeroy's Army for the Year 1697. RIGHT WING. First LINE. Second LINE. Monsieur de resin Lieutenant General. Monsieur de Busca Lieutenant General. Messieurs de Vandevil and Bezons Major Generals. Duc de Luxembourg Major General. Brigades, Regiments, Squadrons. Davaray La Rhine Drag. Davaray 3 3 Romery Grenadiers a Cheval Noailles Duras Lorge Villeroy Gens d'Armes. Chevaux Legers Mousquetaires Life-Guards. 1 3 3 3 3 1 1 2 Prince Camille. Villeroy Camille Anjou Cuirassiers 2 3 2 3 Squadrons 33 Brigades, Regiments, Squadrons. Bertevil Bertevil Hautefort Drag. 3 3 Manderscheid Manderscheid Belporte Sully 3 3 2 Bissy Quadt La Tournelle Bissy 3 3 3 Squadrons 23 In all in the Right Wing Squadrons 56 Body of FOOT First LINE. Second LINE. Monsieur de Feuquieres and the D. of Berwick Lieutenant-Generals. Messieurs d' Artagnan and Crequi Lieutenant Generals. Messieurs d' Albergoti, Renold, and de Surville and the D. of Villeroy Major Generals. Monsieur de Greder and Duc de Charrost Major Generals. Brigades, Regiments, battalions. Blainville Champagne Greder Allemand 3 2 Puysegur Le Roy Lorraine 4 1 La Châtre Lionnois La Chatre Royal Italion 2 2 1 Saillant Guards Francoises Guards Swisses 4 3 Bligny Mauleurier Xaintonge Angoumois Santerre 2 1 1 1 Vibray Anjou Boulonois Hautefort Mouchy 1 1 1 1 Liancourt La Fere Bourbon Angoulesine Orleans La Mothe 1 1 1 1 1 Rochefort St. Second Couâquin Bourbonnois 2 2 1 Battallions 41 Brigades, Regiments, battalions. Dorrington Guards Ireland Vidame d' Amiens Montauban Auxerrois Artagnan 2 1 1 1 1 Mouroux Mouroux Lanoy Renel Choisinet De Sensay Destouches 1 1 1 1 1 1 Salisch Stouppa Surbeck Slaisch 4 4 4 Berry 1 Guébriant Royal Savoy L'Aigle La Landre Brocq Le Chev. de Ponts 1 1 1 1 1 Kercadot Damas' Tresseson Thovi Bresse Provence 1 1 1 1 1 Battallions 35 In all 76 LEFT WING. First LINE. Second LINE. Monsieur de Montrevel Lieutenant General. The Marquis de Gassion Lieutenant General. Monsieur d'Allegre Major General. Monsieur de Rottenbourg Major General. Brigades, Regiments, Squadrons. Montfort Le Roy Berry D' Auvergne 3 2 3 Roquespine Roquespine Villequier Tournesort 3 2 2 Rohan Cossé Rohan Orleans Mestre de Camp Gen. 2 2 2 3 St Hermine St. Hermine Drag. Fimarcon 3 3 Squadrons 30 Brigades, Regiments, Squadrons. Dourches' Dourches Barantin Fountain 3 3 3 Vivans La Feronay Sovatre Vivans 3 3 2 Dragoons. Gouffier 3 Squadrons 20 In the Left Wing Reserve. 50 Royal Artillery 1 Bombardiers 1 Battallions 2 According to this Line of Battle the Marechal of Villeroy had 56 Squadrons of Horse and Dragoons in his Right Wing, and 50 in his Left, in all 106; which at 120 per Squadron one with another, makes 12720 Horse and Dragoons. In the Body of Foot 76 battalions and two in Reserve, in all 78; which, at 550 Men per battalion, amounts to 42900 Foot, from whence the Sum Total of this Army arises to 55620 Men, Horse, Foot and Dragoons. Next follows the Line of Battle for the Marechal of Bouflers Army. The Line of Battle for the Marechal of Boufler's Army. RIGHT WING. First LINE. Second LINE. Count Tallard Lieutenant General. Monsieur de Gassé Lieutenant-General. Messieurs de Lanion and Phelipeaux Major Generals. The Duke de Grammont Major General. Brigades, Regiments, Squadrons. Dragoons. Mestre d'Camp. Gen. Peizac Senneterre 3 3 3 Rassant Commissary General Rassant Chartres 3 3 2 Duke Rozel Carabiniers 16 Squadrons 33 Brigades, Regiments, Squadrons. Du Plessis Du Plessis Rennepont St. Povange 3 3 2 Grignan Egmond Chatillon Grignan 3 3 2 Squadrons 16 In all 49 Body of FOOT. First LINE. Second LINE. The Duke d' Elboeuf Lieutenant General. Monsieur de Bressé Lieutenant General. Messieurs de Solre and Dantin Major Generals. Messieurs de Zurlaube and Surbec Major Generals. Brigades, Regiments, battalions. Prince d' Epinoy Picardy Royal Comtois Cambresis 3 2 1 Brigades, Regiments, battalions. Montalan Royal Lafoy Force Lignieres Tulles 3 1 1 1 Chamilly Grancey Soissonnois Bourgogne Brie 1 2 1 1 Thury Du Maine Charolois De Lux Aunis 2 1 1 1 Cadrieux Beauvoisis Thoulouse Guiscard Bellisle 1 2 1 1 Thiange Languedoc Thiange Ponthieu 2 2 1 Boutigneux Limosin Tessé Montjoy d'Alsace Bernold d'Alsace 2 1 1 1 Belsenner Crussol Clare Ireland Nivernois 1 3 1 Chatillon Blaisois Foix Chartres Piedmont 1 1 1 2 Battallions 41 Blecourt La Couronne Villefort Tournon Bevil 3 1 1 1 Labadie Condé Furstemburg Montenay d'Alanson 1 3 1 Courten Courten Monen 2 2 Parat Royal Roussillon Miromesnil Gournay 2 2 1 Graveson Royal Marine Steinville Serville Sejousac 2 1 1 1 Princê Buzeville Barville Noailles Dauphin 1 1 1 2 Battallions 36 In all 77 LEFT WING. First LINE. Second LINE. Monsieur de Ximénes and the Count de Toulouse Lieutenant Generals. The Duke de Roquelaure Lieutenant General. Monsieurs de Pracontal and Crenan, Major Generals. Monsieur de Courtebonne Major General. Brigades, Regiments, Squadrons. Duras. Royal Piedmont Fiennes Dauphin Estranger Duras 3 3 2 3 Cheladet. Noailles Toulouse Du Maine Bourbon Royal Estranger 3 2 2 2 3 Dragoons. Frontenay Dauphin 3 3 Hussars 2 Squadrons 31 Brigades, Regiments, Squadrons. Jeoffreville Jeoffreville Champlain Mornay 3 3 3 Chatelet. Brevil Imecourt Chatelet 3 3 3 Reserve. Dragoons. Du Heron Vateville Languedoc 3 3 3 Squadrons 27 In all 58 Royal Artillery 1 battalion. By this List it appears that the Marechal of Bouflers had 49 Squadrons of Horse and Dragoons in his Right Wing, and 58 in his Left and Reserve, in all 107; which at 120 per Squadron, makes 12840 Horse and Dragoons in his Army: In the Body of Foot 77 battalions, and one of Artillery in the Reserve, in all 78, which at 550 per battalion, amount to 42900 Foot; all this joined together makes the Total of the Marechal of Boufler's Army to consist of 55740 Men. None of the Princes of the Blood served this Campagne except the Count de Toulouse; the Prince of Conti stood Candidate for the Crown of Poland, and therefore could not appear in the Field but at the Head of an Army. The Dukes of Chartres, Bourbon and Du Maine, kept with the Court the whole Summer. The Troops which composed the Army of the Lys consisted of the Regiments following, which I could not get Marshaled into a Line of Battle, because this Army divided immediately after the General Rendezvous; the main going with the Marechal of Catinat for the Siege of Ath, and the rest dividing part for the Guard of the Lines under the Count de Montrevel at Courtray, and part with the Marquis de la moth Houdancourt about Ipres and Furnes. A LIST of the Troops which did compose the Army of the Lys under the Command of the Marechal of Catinat. Nota, That the Regiments marked with an Asterism, are those which marched with Catinat and encamped within the Line of Circumvallation before Ath, the rest making up the Flying Camps under the Count de Montrevel and the Marquis de la Mothe. FOOT. FOOT. HORSE. * Navarre 3 Lostange 1 * Cravattes' 3 * Poitou 2 Du Biez 1 * Royal Alemand 3 * Humieres' 2 Valonze 1 La Rhine 3 * Artois 1 * Denonville 1 * Condé 2 Orleans 2 Cherigny 1 * Molae 3 * Vermandois 2 Puy Normand 1 * Vaillac 3 * Royal Artillery 1 * Surlauben 2 * Furstemberg 3 * Tournesis 1 * Nice 1 Clermont 3 * La March 1 Monferrat 1 * Monroy 3 * Vexin 1 * Pery 1 * La Valiere 3 Luxembourg 1 Pezeu 1 * resin 3 * Catinat 1 Swissers Renold Greder 4 Dragoons. Lymoges 1 4 * Colonel General 3 Agenois 1 * Lee Ireland 3 * Le Roy 3 * Bugey 1 Militia Arbouville Brulon 1 * Catinat 3 Leslandes 1 1 * Silly 3 Ximénes 1 * Marsan 3 * Fusiliers de Tessè 2 battalions 25 Verve 3 battalions 25 In all 50 Squadrons 49 The Marechal of Catinat's Army as it was upon the Lys before the Siege of Ath, consisted (according to this account) of 50 battalions, which, at 550 per battalion, makes 27550 Foot; and 49 Squadrons, at 120 per Squadron, amount to 5880 Horse and Dragoons, which together makes the Sum of this Army to be 33430 Men; from whence it appears, that the three Armies of France designed to act against His Majesty and the Allies in Flanders made no less than 144790 effective Men, besides the flying Camp commanded by the Marquis de Harcourt with which he marched from the Moselle to the Meuse and the Sambre, which I could not get a List of, but if computed at 6000 Men, will make the French to have been at least 150000 strong this Campagne in Flanders; I have seen a Letter from Paris wherein their Forces on this side were given out for no less than 168000 Men; but I will charge them no higher than can fairly appear by their several Lines of Battle. But now to return to Catinat's Army and the Siege of Ath; whereas this Marechal had marched over the Scheld (as it appears by the List now mentioned) only with 25 battalions and 40 Squadrons, he was reinforced from the Marechal of Villeroy's Army, with the three entire Brigades of Salisch, Bligny and Vlbray, and the Regiments of Lorraine and Choisinet making together 24 battalions; the two Regiments of Horse of La Tournelle and Bissy, and the Dragoons of Bertevil, Hautefort and Gouffier, consisting together of 15 Squadrons. These being joined with the Forces the Marechal of Catinat brought over the Scheld, formed the Siege of Ath and took up the compass of the Line of Circumvallation according to the disposition following, being divided into three General Quarters by three Bridges of Communication, one upon the River of Irchonwelz, the Second upon the Upper Dender and the Third upon the Lower Dender. Between the River of Irchonwelz, and the upper Dender was the Marechal of Catinat's quarter at Villers-St. Amand; of this repartition were the Count de Tessé, the Chevalier de Tessé, and the Marquis de Gassion Lieutenant Generals; the Count de Marsin and Monsieur de Vilpion Major Generals, with the Regiments of Horse of Bissy and La Tournelle; Dragoons, Marsan and Gouffier; Foot, Navarre, Lee, Artois, Tournesis, Vexin, Pery, Vermandois, La March and Bugey. Between the Upper and the Lower Dender were Posted the Marquis de Larrey and Monsieur de Bachevilliers Lieutenant Generals; the Marquis de Clerambault and Monsieur de Greder Major Generals, with the Regiments, of Dragoons, of the King's and Hautefort; Of Horse, Royal Allemand, Vaillao, Furstemberg and resin; Foot, Poitou, Surlauben, Catinat, Humieres, Fuziliers of Tessé, D'Enonville, Mauleurier, Xaintonge, Angoumois and Santerre. Between the Lower Dender and the River of Irchonwels' being the Quarter towards Audenarde and Tournay were Posted the Marquis, de Vins and Monsieur de Vauban Lieutenant Generals, and Messieurs de Grancey, Hautefort and Salisch, Major Generals, with the Regiments of Dragoons of the Colonel General, Catinat and Bertevil; Horse, Cravates, Molac, Conde and La Valiere; Foot, Anjou, Lorraine, Boulonois, Hautefort, Mouchy, Choisinet, Surbeck, Stouppa and Salisch: a battalion of Royal Artillery, encamped with the Artillery. The Marechal of Catinat having disposed his Troops thus in the Line of Circumvallation (which they worked with all diligence upon to finish them in five or six days) 'twas now the Marechals of Villeroy's and Bouflers Business to observe our two Armies, and hinder them from pretending to raise this Siege; Villeroy's Army therefore marched on the 8th, only to come nearer Ath and bring the Head-quarter at Lignes; the Marechal of Boufler marched the same day from St. Vaast and Haine St. Pierre, and came to incamp between Roeux and Mons, his Right at Thieux and Left at Thieusies: In the mean while several Battering Pieces, Mortars and abundance of Powder came daily from Douai (which is the Arsenal of Flanders) by Tournay to the Camp before Ath; the rest came from Mons and Condè, and about 2000 Wagons of Bombs, Balls and other Ammunitions to carry on this Siege; where they had now 20000 Pioniers on work upon the Lines of Circumvallation, and to prepare every thing for the opening of the Trenches. The 10th the Marechal of Villeroy's Army marched upon the Left to cover this Siege by Posting himself upon the Lower Dender towards Audenarde and the Spanish Flanders, where he encamped with his Right at Papigny upon the Dender between Ath and Lessines and his Left at Hamedê towards the Scheld, and the Head-quarter at Ostiche to hinder the Elector's Army from attempting the Relief of Ath on this side, this being a Camp by which our Army must pass from Flanders to go to Ath, and therefore fit to be secured first by the French upon the undertaking of this Siege. The 11th the Marechal of Bousters marched likewise with his Army to come nearer the Dender on this side, and came to Post himself at the Camp of Soignies: For the Town of Ath could not be relieved at present by us, but by one side of the Dender towards the Scheld or the other towards Brabant whilst the French were Masters of Mons and Tournay, which hindered any Relief on the side of Leuse and Lignes: In the first Case our Army must have marched by the Camps of Ninove, Grammont, and Lessines and endeavour to gain the Height of Rebay, which was now covered by Villeroy's Posting himself at Ostiche between Papigny and Hamedê: In the Second our Army must have marched to Enghien in order to attack the Line of Circumvallation between the Upper and Lower Dender; but the Marechal of Bouflers being at Soignies, he was now at hand to Seize this Post before us and hinder any attempt for a Relief on that side: For the Prince could not stir from Bois-Seigneur-Isaac without leaving Namur and Brussels exposed to the Marechal of Bouflers, if he had offered to get before the French to the Camps of Enghien or Ghislenghien, and 'twas better run the risk of Ath than of either of these places. It is not necessary to give a description of the Town Ath, before I run into the particulars of this Siege, having already given an Account of it in some of the precedent Histories; I shall only say at present, that Ath is a Fortification of Eight Bastion upon seven sides of a Polygone, that, towards Tournay and Leuse, being much longer than any of the other sides (which are almost equal) has a flat Bastion upon the Centre of it; all the Bastions and Halfmoons are faced with good Stone, and 'tis enough to set forth the goodness and fineness of all these Works to say that they were the Contrivance of Monsieur de Vauban; but, notwithstanding all the pains which the French took in fortifying of this place whilst it was in their Possession for 20 years together between the Treaties of Aix la Chapelle and Nimeguen, yet the situation of it is very weak and disadvantageous, being commanded on one side of it towards the Scheld and Flanders, by a high and rising ground which comes to the very Palissades, from whence you may look into the Streets of the Town; and besides this disadvantage, all the Ground hereabouts is of a very easy Mould and Commodious for the making of Trenches, and cannot give much Pain and Labour to the Pioniers in digging. The Garrison of it was not very strong, consisting of the Regiments of Anhalt, Slabendorf and Schellinga, three Regiments of the States, which only could be called Regiments; the rest being Italians and Walloons in the Spanish service, and every one that has been in Flanders knows the strength and condition of those Regiments; but such as they are 'tis not their fault if they are not better, and their service has generally been very good upon occasion and not at all answerable to the state they are in: Of these Regiments in the Spanish servive there was the Italian Regiment of Aquaviva, the three Walloon Regiments of Grobendonck, d'Odrignies and Maucron, being Foot; the Regiment of Horse of the Prince of Chimay, and the Dragoons of Rysbourg, neither of which must be reckoned a Squadron, as any one may see by the List of Spanish Horse and Dragoons in our Lines of Battle. The three Regiments of Foot in the State's service being commanded by the Prince of Anhalt Brigadier, may be computed at 600 Effective Men one with another, which (I am sure) was the most; as for the rest, I dare say, they did not make upwards of 700 Men together; which makes the Garrison to consist at the beginning of this Siege of about 2500 Effective Men under the Command of the Count de Roeux Governor of the place, a Gentleman of the House of Croye. The Prince of Chimay, the Marquis of Rysbourg and the Count d'Aquaviva were at the Electors Court when Ath was invested, but upon the News of it, went immediately to endeavour to throw themselves into the place and serve at the head of their Regiments; the Prince of Chimay luckily got in disguised like a Boor following of a Cart, Load of Beer to sell in the French Camp, but the Marquis of Rysbourg and Count Aquaviva were made Prisoners in endeavouring to get in. Upon the first News of this Siege there was a project formed in the Electors Army of endeavouring to make a diversion by the Attack of the Lines, or Courtray; and a disposition was made thereupon for the Army to have marched that way; in which Case it was to be joined by all the English Horse in Quarters at Ghendt, and the Dragoons cantooned between Nevel and Marykirk, the four battalions of Bavaria, and the Bavarian Cuirassiers and Dragoons now encamped at Marykirk under the Count d'Arco, and the Dutch Cavalry, which was still cantooned hereabouts: The design was to have passed the Lys at Deinse upon several Bridges of Boats laid between this place and Bachtem, from whence the Army was to have marched with all diligence and secrecy by Mackelen, Zult, Vive St. Eloy and Harlebeck towards Courtray; but Montrevel having already a pretty good Body at Courtray for the defence of the Lines, besides the Marquis de la Mothe, who upon such an occasion could have detached several battalions from his Camp between Ipres and Furnes, and the Marquis de Crequi at Cells, near the Scheld where he was at hand to get within the Lines, and that Succours could be sent thither very easily from the Marechal of Villeroy's Army; this design was therefore thought impracticable, and so laid aside, and the French could not be hindered from carrying on this Siege, for which no other expedient was left but the junction of our two Armies; but before I bring them together it is necessary to enter into the Siege of Ath. The Marechal of Catinat having spent some days in making up the Line of Circumvallation, laying of Bridges for the communication of Quarters, and the bringing in of great quantities of Fascines; and several Battering pieces and Mortars with great quantities of Ammunitions being come into the Camp the 11th, every thing was ready on the 12th for the opening of the Trenches, which the Besiegers resolved to do before the Brussels port in two places, one upon the right (according to the facing of the works) against the Bastion of Namur, and the other upon the Left against that of Limbourg; and that a Lieutenant General and a Brigadier should mount upon the Right with three battalions, a Marechal de Camp or Major General with as many battalions upon the Left, and that a Brigade of Engineers should be every Night in the Trenches at each of those two Attacks. According to these Resolutions the Trenches were opened the 12th in the Night by Count Tessè Lieutenant General on the Right and Brigadier Salisch, with three battalions of the Regiment of Navarre; on the Left, by Count de Marsin Major General with two battalions of Poitou and one of La March; they worked this first Night no less than 500 Fathoms of Trenches upon the Right and Left, which they joined the next Morning by a Parallel, which embraced the whole Attack before Brussels port from the Bastion of Namur on the Right to that of Limbourg on the left: The Besiegers thought it convenient to make their Attack this way, because the Batardeau or Dam, which keeps up the Water in the Fossé was near this Gate, and therefore they could not propose to drain the Ditch in order to a General Assault till they had ruined the the Dam; some people thought that Monsieur de Vauban got the Attack to be made this way (though not the weakest) for the Honour of his own work which he would have to hold out for some time and not be forced to Surrender over soon, after such vast Sums of Money laid out by the French King for the Fortification of it. The 13th, a Convoy of 10 pieces of Cannon and 400 Wagons of Ammunitions and Officers Baggage came into the Camp, having been Attacked at the Village of Maude coming from Tournay by a Walloon Captain of an independent Company of Fusiliers of the Garrison of Ghendt with 100 Men, joined by 24 Horse of the Garrison of Audenarde; and though the Convoy had a very strong Escorte, yet the Party was so lucky as to bring off 62 Horses and 30 Prisoners which they had safe into Ghendt after having fought very hard to preserve their Booty, and killed and wounded several of the French. In the Evening the Marquis de Vins Lieutenant General and the Marquis de Vibray Brigadier, mounted the Trenches upon the right with two battalions of Anjou and one of Tournesis; Count de Grancey Major General upon the Left with the two battalions of Humieres and one of Vexin. The Trenches were brought this Night within 200 Fathoms of the Glacis of the Place, and joined the 14th in the Morning by a Parallel; The same day the Marquis de Conflans was taken Prisoner in the French Camp as he was endeavouring to get into the Place: In the Evening the Marquis de Larrey Lieutenant General had the Trenches upon the Right with Brigadier Lee and the battalions of Artois, Catinat and Pery; the Marquis de Clerambaut Major General on the Left with two battalions of Vermandois and one of Bugey: The Trenches were advanced this Night very near the Foot of the Glacis, but the Besiegers had several Soldiers killed and wounded, a Lieutenant of Bugey being among the latter. I must now leave this Siege for a while to speak of the Motions made by the Allies in such a Conjuncture. Prince Vaudemont was still in his Camp of Bois-siegneur-Isaac where little extraordinary happened to relate at present, but that, upon the Marechal of Bouflers coming with his Army between Mons and Soignie, the Prince detached Bannier's Brigade of Foot to Post itself at Brain le Chateau and secure thereby our March to the Camp of Halle, which we could not have done if this pass had once been in the hands of the French: And that there might be an exact Correspondence in the Motions of the two Armies whilst the French were engaged in the Siege of Ath, the Prince dispatched Quarter-master-General Dopft to the Elector of Bavaria at Nevel; where, upon his Arrival a great Council of War was held to settle the Marches of the two Armies, which (may be) put a stop to the Project abovementioned of attempting a diversion upon the Lines or Courtray; from hence Quater-Master-General Dopft went the same day Post to Breda, where the King was now expected from Zuylenstein: for the French undertaking the Siege of Ath at this time, had prevented His Majesty's going to Loo. On the 11th Messieurs Ivoy and Verboom, the first Quarter-Master-Ceneral under the Prince of Nassau-Sarbruck and the second of the Electors Troops, were sent to Antwerp to meet Quarter-Master-General Dopft, who returned this Evening from Breda with His Majesty's Resolutions about the march of the two Armies, which were, that they should both join together and attempt the Relief of Ath; and accordingly they drew up a Scheme of the Marches which both the Armies should make in order to a junction, and then went back each to their respective Camps to Communicate them to the Generals. The 13th the Electors Army begun first to march from the Camp at Nevel, upon the Left; the first Line with the Artillery and Baggage marched through the Town of Ghendt towards Dendermond, and the second passed the Canal of Bruges at Marykirk, and that of the Sas of Ghendt at Mulestien, and so on towards the Scheld, but all the heavy Baggage was ordered to remain at Dislelberg near Ghendt till further orders: The English Horse in Quarters at Ghendt, and Dragoons cantooned thereabouts, together with the Bavarians encamped at Marykirk, marched in the Van by break of day, directing their march to pass the Scheld the next day; the whole encamped by Brigades here and there, as conveniency could be found without doing any damage to the Country; the Elector's Quarter was this Night at Overmeer, the English under the Command of General Auerquerque at Grimberg Opsandt, and the Prince of Nassau Sarbruck at Calcken; the Horse had express Orders to meddle with no Forage but Clover, and the Foot not to molest any Boor's House, nor to cut down any Wood upon pain of Death; Major General Fagel had the Care left to him of covering the Country behind the Canals from Bellem to Newport, whilst the Electors Army should be on the other side of the shield. The 14th the Electors Army passed the Scheld, the English Horse and Dragoons at Dendermond, being followed by the Bavarian Troops and the Dutch Horse; the Infantry passed the Scheld at Appels and the Dender near the Dermonde at Wiese, and so went on by Maseel towards Asche, followed by the Baggage of the Generals and light Baggage of the Army; as for the Artillery, which the day before had got no further than the other side of Ghendt and encamped between the Castle and the Scheld, it came this day to Grimberg-Opsandt: All the Electors forces having passed the Scheld (as we have now said it) encamped regularly with the Right at Merchtem which was the Electors Quarters, and the Left towards Asche within two Leagues and a half of Brussels. 'Tis true there was a shorter Cut for the Electors Army to join that of the Prince, viz. by Gaure, Ninove and St Quintin Linneck, but Villeroy being encamped near Lessines who upon such an occasion might have had Reinforcements out of the Line of Circumvallation to Attack the Elector, this last way, which the Army took, was preferred before it. The Electors Army halted at Merchtem and Asche the next day being 15th, and the Artillery came up to the Camp from Grimberg Opsandt with the Dragoons of Holstein-Ploen. Having brought the Elector thus far in order to the joining of the two Armies, I shall proceed to speak of our Motions in Brabant, where the King was hastening to Command the Army on that side in Person, and was now come up as far as Breda. The 12th Lieutenant General Heyden came from the Meuse to the Neighbourhood of Brussels with the Brandenbourg Gens d'Armes, Carrabiniers, Light Horse, etc. in all 21 Squadrons being the remainder of the Brandenbourg Troops that were to pass the Campagne in Flanders. The 13th Prince Cerclas of Tilly General of the Liege and Cologne Troops came near the same place with the Horse and Dragoons of these two Countries, but the Foot did not come up; though four battalions of them were reckoned into the Elector's Line of Battle at his first taking of the Field, whether it was that they were left for the security of the Garrisons on the Meuse upon Harcourt's marching that way from the Moselle, or that they were not yet in a readiness and so we were deprived of that Reinforcement for the present. The same day the Prince's Army encamped at Bois-Seigneur-Isaac and Braine la Leu had orders to be in a readiness to march, and the King came from Breda to Malines in the evening in order to join the Army the next day at Halle; The Artillery and heavy Baggage was sent away this Evening, by Waterlo and the Bois-de-Sogne, to Brussels under the Escorte of Prince Charles' Regiment of Danes (which was commanded this way for the Guard of the Town) the pass of Brain le Chateau being too difficult for wheel Baggage; a Body of Horse was commanded out at the same time to pass Notre dame de Halle and post itself upon the Height of Vlieringon from whence it was to make detachments as far as Tubise and St. Arnelle, and towards Hautecroix, to get intelligence of the Motions of the Marechal of Bouflers and cover the March of our Army. The 14th the Prince's Army began to file off very early upon the Right from the Camp of Bois-Seigneur-Isaac, the Right Wing of Horse first upon one Column, and the Left upon another, followed by the Body of Foot; and having passed the little River Brain at Brain la Chateau, the Foot upon the Bridges laid over the River upon the Right, and the Horse over the Wooden Bridge by the Village, they come to pass the Senne, the first Line at Halle and the second below at a Bridge of Boats laid at the Village of Busingen; Bannier's Brigade, that had encamped at Brain la Chateau for the Guard of that pass, joined the Body of Foot in its proper Post upon the march, and so the Army encamped this day with the Right at the Chateau of Pepinghen towards St. Quintin-Linnecke and the Left beyond Halle upon the way to Brussels and Anderlecht, in the Figure of a Half Moon, the Town of Halle remaining before the Convex of the Camp; His Majesty's Quarter was in the Town, as also that of Prince Vaudemont, which, to cover on the other side towards Braine le Chateau, the Brigade of Guards and the first battalion of the Royal Regiment of Foot were ordered to incamp just on the other side of the Town. The Artillery and heavy Baggage which had encamped the overnight at the Fauxbourg of Ixelles near Brussels joined us this day, the Cologne and Liege Troops under Prince Cerclas of Tilly and those of Brandenbourg under Lieutenant General Heyden having marched at the same time from Brussels to St. Pieters Leuwe near St. Martin Linneck; And the Army was reinforced with several battalions from the Garrison of Namur under the Command of Lieutenant General Cohorne, which (upon Bouflers passing the Sambre and marching towards Ath) could now be drawn out of that Garrison: But the best Reinforcement was that of His Majesty's Person, who having come from Malines this day by the way of Vilvorde, arrived betimes in the Camp, upon which occasion all our Artillery was fired thrice round, in the Evening. The 15th His Majesty's Army halted in this Camp, because the Electors Artillery came up to him from Dendermond but this day, and therefore he could not march on his part in order to the joining together, which therefore was deferred till the next day, and the Elector took hold of this occasion to come and pay a Visit to His Majesty at Halle, and went back to his Camp that Evening. The 16th both Armies marched at the same time, the Kings upon the Right and the Electors upon the Left, to join together at the Camp of St. Quintin Linneck; all the Brandenbourg Forces marched first clear out of the Camp of Halle to enter that day in the Electors Line of Battle, as did all the Troops upon English Pay, out of the Electors Army to come into His Majesties, except the Wolfembuttle Guards, the Regiments of Hearing and Willekens, and the Dragoons of Jedborough, which remained with the Elector. The Brandenbourgs having cleared the Camp, the rest of the Army followed, the Right marching in one Line upon the Right by the Defile of St. Pierre and Elingen, the Left likewise in one Line by the Village of Breet-hout and the Panebrugghe, to the Camp having the Right at Iseringhen where was the King's Quarter, and the Left beyond St. Quintin Linneck near the defile of St. Pierre extending itself toward Halle; the Chapel of Savelberg was in the Front of the Body of Foot, where the Left made an obtuse Angle upon the Right: The Artillery came to the Camp by St. Pieters Leuwe, from whence Prince Cerclas of Tilly and Lieutenant General Heyden had marched to join the Elector: The King's Quarter being at Iseringhen, became, upon the coming up of the Elector's Army, the Centre of the whole, and the Brigade of Guards encamped before this place, as the Life-Guards were to do at their coming up to the Camp; the Prince's Quarter was at St. Quintin Linneck. The same day that the King's Army marched from the Camp of Halle to Iseringhen and St. Quintin Linneck, the Elector's Army marched upon the Left and came to incamp with the Right beyond Ternath extending itself something towards Asche, and the Left just upon the King's Quarter and the Right of his Army, at Iseringhen; The Elector's Quarter was at Ternath, where he was joined, at his coming, by all the Troops of Brandenbourg commanded by General Heyden, and those of Cologne and Liege under the Command of Prince Cerclas of Tilly: His Majesty in the Evening went to Visit the Elector at his Quarter and to see that Camp. Both our Armies being formed now as they were designed to act for all the Campagne following, this is the most proper place for me to insert their several Lines of Battle. The Line of Battle of His Majesty of Great Britain's Army for the Campagne 1697. RIGHT WING. First LINE. Second LINE. Monsieur d'Auerquerque and the Earl of Portland Generals of Horse. Monsieur de la Forest Lieutenant General. The Duke of Ormond and Earl of Rivers Lieutenant Generals. Major Generals Eppinger and Monsieur de Boncourt. Major Generals, Lord Tiviot, Leveson, L'Etang and Lumley. Brigades, Regiments, Squadrons. Matthew ' s Dragoons Matthew's Tiviot Eppinger 4 4 5 Chomley Horse Grenadiers Scarborough Ormond Life Guar. Rivers Auerquerqu Portland 1 1 1 1 1 2 Langston Leveson Carabiniers galway Langston 2 2 3 2 Windham Wood Schomberg Coy Lumley 2 2 2 3 Squadrons Horse Dragoons 25 13 In all 38 Brigades, Regiments, Squadrons Dragoons Lloyd Rosse Miremont Essex 4 4 4 4 Wirtemb. La Forest Prince Wirtemberg Van Zee Boncourt 2 2 2 2 Montigny Montigny Turck Schulembourg Noyelles 2 2 2 2 Schack Schack Vittinghoff Tennagel Rochfort 2 2 2 2 Squadrons Horse Dragoons 25 16 In all 40 In the whole Wing 78 Body of FOOT First LINE. Second LINE. The Duke of Wirtemberg General of Foot. Lieutenant Generals Bellasis and Cohorne. Count Nassau and Count Noyelles Lieutenant Generals. Major Generals La Meloniere, Mirmont, Collier and Bernsdorf. Major Generals, Churchill, Ramsay, Alfeldt, Lord Cutts and Heukelom. Brigades, Regiments, battalions. Weck English Guards Dutch Guards Scotch Guards 1 1 1 Haro Royal Churchill Seymour Webb Fusiliers 1 1 1 1 1 Ingoldesby Wal. Collier Stanley Royal Ireland Fr. Hamilton Rowe Ingoldesby 1 1 1 1 1 Maitland Maitland La Meloniere Marton Ferguson Nassau 1 1 1 1 1 Haxhausen Queen of Denmark Prince George Prince Frederick Danish Guards 1 1 1 1 Oxensterne Slagenbourg Du they'll Oxenstern Essen Ameliswert 1 1 1 1 1 Brigades, Regiments, battalions. Weck English Guards Dutch Guards 1 1 Orkney Royal Fairfax Brewer Lauder Dau. Collier 1 1 1 1 1 Tiffin whither Bridges Collingwood Saunderson Tiffin 1 1 1 1 1 Belcastel Belcastel Strathnaver Geo. Hamilton Brandenbourg 1 1 1 1 Haxhausen Zeeland Fuhnen Jutland Prince Charles 1 1 1 1 Holstein-Beck Noyelles Salisch Holstein-Beck Gohr Beynam (Wymberg) 1 1 1 1 1 Lucq Lucq Bernsdorf Weldern Schratenbach 1 1 1 1 Heyden Arents Heyden Heukelom Cohorne Hostein-Ploen 1 1 1 1 1 Battallions 36 Tcharner Milunes Tcharner 2 2 Bannier Bannier Else (Heckrens) Bernsdorf-Zell Torsay Birkenfelt 1 1 1 1 1 Battallions 34 In all 70 LEFT WING. First LINE. Second LINE. The Earl of Athlone General of Horse. Lieutenant-General Count de Tilly. The Marquis de Montpovillan and the Earl of Rochfort Lieutenant Generals. Major Generals du Bay and Hubert. Major General's Dopft and the Earl of Albemarle. Brigades, Regiments, Squadrons. Chauviré Athlone Boisdavid Aghrim Grisper Chauviré 2 2 2 2 2 Roose Flodorf Wolfembuttel Erpacht Voght 2 2 2 2 Brigades, Regiments, Squadrons. Dompré Hubert Dompré Saxen Heilbourg Nassau Friesland 2 2 2 3 host Frise Lippe-Brunsw. Horenberg Montslin host Frise 2 2 2 1 Lip Lip Arco Saxen Gotha Heyden Tilly 2 1 2 2 2 Squadrons 25 Iselstein Prince Philip Vrichappel Wirtemberg Ploen Carabiniers 2 2 2 2 2 Boinenbourg Dragoons. Boinenbourg Schulembourg Dopft 4 3 4 Squadrons Horse Dragoons 28 11 In all 39 Villiers Dragoons Mattha Schlipenbach Villiers 4 4 3 Squadrons Horse Dragoons 25 11 In all 36 Squadrons in the Left Wing 75 The King's Army (as it appears by this Line of Battle) consisted of 102 Squadrons of Horse, which at 150 per Squadron makes 15300 Horse, and 51 Squadrons of Dragoons, at 100 each Squadron, amounts to 5100 Dragoons, from whence the Sum of Horse and Dragoons arises to 20400; and 70 battalions, which (deducting the Companies left in Garrison) cannot be reckoned more than 550 in each battalion one with another, this amounts to 38000 Foot: All which joined together made the Total of His Majesty's Army to be 58400 Men. The Line of Battle for the Elector of Bavaria's Army as it was in the Campagne 1697. Nota, That Count d'Arco commanded the Troops of Bavaria as Velt-Marechal, General Heyden those of Brandenbourg, and Prince Cerclas of Tilly those of Liege in the same Quality. RIGHT WING. First LINE. Second LINE. The Duke of Holstein-Ploen General of the Spanish Horse, etc. Lieutenant General Du Puy etc. Squadrons Squadrons Spanish Horse Bavarian Life-Gu. Walloon Life-Gu. Tr. Gen Brancaccio Tr. Horse Grenad. and Fusiliers 2 1 1 1 Bavarians Arco Dragoons Arco Cuirassiers 3 5 Liege Jamar Dragoons Life Regiment Prince Cerclas' Gu. Pahau 2 2 1 1 Spanish Horse Valensar Drag. Ribeaucourt Cropani Horse Hartman 1 1 Bavarians Monasterol Drag. Weickel Cuirassiers 3 5 Liege Rost Dragoons Castro Pahau 2 2 1 Lieutenant General Opdam. Major General Warsusè. Brigades, Regiments, Squadrons. Ryswick Warsusé Bunau Rebolt 2 2 2 Squadrons Horse Dragoons 19 5 In all 24 Brigades, Regiments, Squadrons Ryswick Ryswick Saxen Meiningen Bernicau 2 1 2 Squadrons Horse Dragoons 14 6 In all 20 Squardrons in the Right Wing 44 Body of FOOT. First LINE. Second LINE. Lieutenant-General Tettau of Holland. Major Generals, Salisch of Holland; Arnhem and La Cave of Brandenbourg. Lieutenant-General Brandt of Brandenbourg. Major Generals, Lindeboom of Holland; Prince Christ. Lodowick, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau and Heyden of Brandenbourg. Brigades, Regiments, battalions. Bavarian Guards 2 Holstein-Norbourg. Nassau Walloon Lindeboom Young Holstein La Mothe Holstein-Norbourg Cappol 1 1 1 1 1 2 Rantsaw Crassau Dona Sparre Rantsaw Obergen Schack Young Weed 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Brandenbourg Foot Denhoff Horn Anhalt-Dessau Young Heiden. Slabendorf Brandt Old Heyden Prince Philip Brandenbourg Gua. 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 on English Pay. Willekens Wolfembuttle Guar. 1 1 Battallions 28 Brigades, Regiments, battalions. Electoral Prince 2 Dedem Tettau Swerin Harsolt Dedem Reinardt Tenham 1 2 1 1 1 1 Onkel Lochman Carls Marquet Nassau-Friseland Fagel 1 1 1 2 1 Brandenbourg Foot. Marwits' La Cave Houlth Dona Lottum Barfus Electoral Prince Brandenbourg Gua. 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 on English Pay Hearing. 1 Battallions 24 In all 52 LEFT WING. First LINE. Second LINE. Lieutenant General Heyden. Major General Vrey. Major General— of Bradenbough. Brigades, Regiments, Squadrons. Brandenb. Horse. Drag. of his E. H. Horse Grenadiers Grand Musquetiers Gens d'Armes Prince Electoral Du Hammel Du Haine 4 1 2 1 3 3 3 Pyper Nassau-Sarbruck Opdam Jedborough Dr. (Cunningham) 2 2 4 Squadrons Horse Dragoons 17 8 In all 25 Brigades, Regiments, Squadrons. Brandenb. Horse Marwits' Dragoons Life Regiment Fleming Schlipenbacht Thin 4 3 3 3 2 Pyper. Montpovillan Holst. Ploen, Drag. 2 4 Squadrons Horse Dragoons 13 8 In all 22 Squadrons in the Left Wing 46 This Army commanded by the Elector of Bavaria (according to their Line of Battle) consisted of 63 Squadrons of Horse which at 150 per Squadron makes 9456, and 27 Squadrons of Dragoons amounting to 2700, which added together produces 12156 Horse and Dragoons; and 52 battalions at 550 each battalion one with another, comes to 28600 Foot. Besides these Troops mentioned in the Line of Battle Major General Fagel commanded a Body of Ten battalions behind the Canal of Newport, being the Regiments of Buchan, Lorne, Hanover-Guards, Hulsen, St. Paul, Cinqvilles, St. Amand, Soutlandt, Beima of Groningen, and Swansbeck, which were to receive the Electors orders as much as if they had actually encamped in his Line of Battle, and therefore may properly be reckoned a part of his Army: These Ten battalions at 550 per battalion made 5500 Foot, and all these Troops being joined together in one Sum made the Elector 46256 Effective Men strong Having now given an account of the strength of the several Armies in the Field in this Country for the Campagne 1697, we must compare them together to find the Balance. The Sum of the King's and the Elector's Armies, which were all the Troops we could command at present during the Siege of Ath, amounts to 104756 Effective Men including the Ten battalions under Major General Fagel, but the French had at this time, besides the Body commanded by the Marquis de Harcourt, 144790 Men; from whence it appears that they were now during the Siege of Ath no less than 40034 Men stronger than the Allies, which (if duly considered) it must then be no wonder if the French besieged Ath and we could not relieve it; but it must be a wonder that with little more than half this difference by which we out-numbered the French in the Year 1695. His Majesty besieged and took Namur the strongest Town in the Low Countries, and one of the most impregnable Places of Europe. These Motions of our Armies, which were now joined together at Iseringhen and Ternath between Brussels and Ath, showed plainly a design to endeavour the Relief of this last place if possible; But the French, having notice of our Motions to bring our Armies together, took the same Method with their Armies for the covering the Siege, and to prevent our Relieving of it: The Marechal of Villeroy was already posted at Ostiche near Lessines to hinder the raising of the Siege on that side of the Dender, but the Marquis de Crequi, who was encamped at Cells near the Scheld, to be ready to reinforce Montrevel at Courtray if the Elector had a mind to try a diversion that way, had now orders, upon the Electors march towards Brabant and joining the King's Army, to come and reinforce that of Villeroy, Montrevel left Courtray at the same time and passed the Scheld at Pots to come and incamp at Cells in the place of Crequi, where he was ready to march up to Villeroy's Assistance if it had come to a Battle for the Succour of Ath: The Marechal of Bouflers on his side, being joined with the Body commanded by Count Tallard, marched from the Camp of Thieux and Thieusies, to secure the Camp of Silly and Ghislenghien as His Majesty came to that of Iseringhen and St. Quintin-Linneck, and encamped with his right upon the Height of Silly before the Wood of Touricourt and left towards Villeroy's Army and the lower Dender, his head Quarter being at Silly. Bridges were laid at the same time over the lower Dender for a Communication between the two Armies; and the Marechal of Villeroy fell on Fortifying the Castle of Hamedê upon his left for the security of his Camp on that side; And ever since the Siege, the French had Six battalions and a Regiment of Dragoons posted in the Abbey of Crambron where they had orders to entrench themselves, and another Body at Lens upon the upper Dender to defend this passage into the Plain of Cambron, and shut up any relief from coming to the besieged on that side. During these Motions on both sides, to cover the Siege of Ath and to attempt the Relief of it, the Marechal of Catinat was carrying on this Siege very quietly; for hitherto the French had not fired one piece of Cannon against it, and no firing was heard amongst us but that of some single Cannon Shots from time to time by the Besieged, which did the Besiers no considerable damage only at first in bringing up of their Fascines to have them ready for the making of the Trenches, in which Work the French lost several Men. The 15th at Night the Chevalier de Tesse Lieutenant General and Monsieur de Bligny Brigadier mounted the Trenches on the Right with three battalions of Stouppa, and the Marquis de Villepion with one battalion of Stouppa and two of Salisch mounted upon the Left; the Besiegers worked this Night at a parallel between the two Attacks near the foot of the Glacis from the Bastion of Namur on the Right to that of Limbeurg on the Left, and the Chevalier de Tessé received this Night a small Wound or Contusion on his side; but hitherto the Besiegers, according to their accounts, had lost but fifteen or sixteen Soldiers, among whom two Officers were included. The Trenches being advanced to the foot of the Glacis, this Parallel was made to cover the Batteries which the Besiegers designed to make close to the Glacis, in order to Batter the place effectually at the very first service of their Cannon; And if the account which the French have given of their Losses to this day be true, I believe that Trenches were never carried on so quietly, with so little Loss, and without firing of Cannon to the very Glacis of such Fortifications as those of Ath before; and indeed the Besiegers made so little a Noise that all the Discourse in our Camp was of a General Cessation of Arms (and that the French had thereupon suspended their proceed in this Siege) which had been proposed by the Plenipotentiaries of that Nation at Ryswick, both By Land and Sea, and to open at the same time the Ports and Harbours on all sides for a free Trade and Commerce as before the War. These are the Terms (according to public Reports) upon which the French proposed a Truce during the Treaty, which the Allies would willingly consent to in relation to the suspension of Arms, but not to the opening of an immediate Trade thereupon; because the French Ports would soon have filled with the Allies Ships, whereas few of theirs would have come for Trade in the Allies Ports, the French Commerce being very small in proportion to England and Holland; and therefore if the Treaty had broke off, the French King could then have Seized all the Allies Ships in his Harbours for his own use, or having so many of them in his power, he might for that very reason have stood upon so much the higher Terms in the Treaty; this obliged the Allies not to consent to a Cessation of Arms as it was proposed by the French, and the French on their side would not consent to it without this last Condition, when they had all the advantages of the Campagne: These were the public Discourses about a Truce, and I do not pretend to say anything about this matter of any farther Authority; however these Discourses, grounded upon the silence of the French before Ath, soon ceased in our Camp, when we heard the Batteries of the Besiegers Cannon, which they worked upon, as soon as they had finished the parallel we have now spoken of. The 16th in the Evening, the Marquis de Gassion Lieutenant-General, and the Marquis of Byron Brigadier had the Trenches on the Right with two battalions of Mauleurier and one of Nice, and the Marquis de Hautesort Major General on the Left with three battalions of Surbeck; the Besiegers worked very hard this Night to finish five Batteries of Cannon they had begun just before the parallel now mentioned, in order to have them ready the next Morning; and accordingly the 17th in the Morning the French Cannon began to Roar against Ath, and fired the whole day without intermission and so much to the purpose that before Night they dismounted all the Cannon, but two pieces, upon the attacked Bastions: And may be, the reason why the French deferred to fire their Cannon till this time was, because Ath, being commanded by the Height of the Ground on this side of the Dender to the very Palissades, and the Bastions being consequently sunk, their Battaries could not be brought to bear against them, unless they made them so near as this to the Body of the place. The Noise of the Besiegers Artillery pressed the Allies so much the more to endeavour the Relief of Ath, and it was concluded by the King and the Elector, that both Armies should march in the same order as they were now, the Electors upon the Right and the Kings upon the Left, to come up close to the French and see what could be done for the succour of the place: In pursuance of this Resolution Major General Dopft Quartermaster General of the States Armies was ordered by the King to go and view the ways from our Camp to Enghien, under an Ecorte of 600 Horse and Dragoons and 200 Foot, commanded by Brigadier Lumley, and make them ready for our March: Brigadier Lumley met early in the Morning near Enghien with a Detachment of the French commanded by the Colonel of the Hussars, consisting of 100 Carabiniers, 50 Dragoons and 50 Hussars, which he defeated, the French being decoyed into the Body of our Party that lay in Ambuscade, by the Vanguard, where commanded Sir William Russel of Colonel Coy's Regiment, according to the orders he had received upon this occasion; and the Colonel of the Hussars with two Lieutenants, a Cornet and 40 Troopers were made Prisoners, about as many Horses taken, and ten or twelve of the French killed upon the spot and the rest fled as well as they could, without any loss on our side worth mentioning: The Colonel of the Hussars, Monsieur de Mortagne by Name, and the three Officers were treated very civilly and sent prisoners to Brussels in General Auerquerque's Coach. At the same time that Major General Dopst was commanded from our Army to view the Country and repair the ways towards Enghien, Monsieur Ivoy, Quartermaster General to the Prince of Nassau Sarbruck, was sent upon the same design for the Electros' Army towards the Wood of Lessines; and a great Council of War being held, a disposition was made for the two Armies to march the next day, the Kings, to the Camp of Enghien with the Right at the Village of Marck and the Left behind this place where the King's Quarter was appointed; and the Elector's, between the Wood of Lessines upon the Right and the Village of Marck upon the Left, and orders were given to march the next day; But that very Night it began to Rain in such abundance, that our workmen for the repairing of the ways had much ado to get home, and the Rain continuing all the dayfollowing, which by that time had spoiled all the ways in this deep Country, the Order was countermanded and the Armies were forced to continue where they were. The 17th in the Evening Monsieur de Vauban Lieutenant General and the Count de Mornay Brigadier relieved the Trenches upon the Right with two battalions of Surlanbe and the Regiment of Hautefort; Major General Greder upon the Left, with a battalion of Lorraine and two of Tessé; the Besiegers worked this Night upon three Batteries of Mortars, one upon the Right and a second upon the Left of Twelve Mortars, each carrying Bombs of 150 weight, to fire them into the attacked Works (for the Marechal of Catinat had given orders to do as little damage to the Town as was possible) and the third in the Centre which consisted of 3 large Mortars carrying Bombs of 500 weight to throw them upon the Batardeau or Dam, that held up the Water in the Ditch, in order to destroy it, being a very good and strong Stone Work; for the Besieged had so stopped up the Water by the help of this Dam, that they had Eight Foot of Water in the Fossé, and the Meadows on both sides the upper Dender near the Town were all overflowed. The 15th, all these Mortars began to fire very violently, which with the Batteries of Cannon augmented very much the Noise and Thunder of the Besiegers; at Night Monsieur de Bachevilliers Lieutenant General had the Trenches on the Right with the Duke de Humieres Brigadier and the Regiments of Boulenois, Xaintonge and Mouchy; Monsieur de Sailly Major General on the left with the Regiments of Angoumois, d'Enonville and Choisinet, the Besiegers fired their Bombs without intermission this night, and the day following their Cannon played very hard to ruin the Defences of the Besieged and silence their Cannon, which by this time were almost all dismounted, so that they fired very seldom but in the Night, and that with small Shot; The French brought their Trenches this Night within 12 fathoms of the Points of the Salliant Angles of the covered way and made every thing ready for the Attack of the Counterscarp the next Evening. The 19th Count Tessê Lieutenant General mounted the Trenches for the second time on the Right, and Brigadier d'Orgemant, with the first battalion of Surbeck and the first and last of Salisch; Count Marsin Major General mounted likewise for the second time on the Left with the three Irish battalions of Lee: The Besiegers made an Assault this Evening upon the Counterscarp, which they carried after a short Resistance (the Besieged retiring along the covered way upon the Right and Left) and made three Lodgments upon the Salliant Angles of the covered way, before the Bastion of Namur, the Halfmoon of Barbanson that covers the Brussels Porte, and the Bastion of Limbourg; the French according to their Accounts received but very little Damage in this Business, having had only three Soldiers killed and eight wounded, Messieurs de Joinville an Ingenier and d'Emonin Captain of the Artillery Wagons were dangerously wounded, the Chevalier de Pizy was shot through the Arm, and Monsieur Vialis (both Engineers) had his right Thumb shot off. Monsieur de Vauban whose presence was necessary in such an occasion received a slight Contusion on his left Shoulder, which, however did not oblige him to leave the Trenches, but continued the whole Night to give his orders about the making and finishing of the Lodgments upon the Counterscarp, and the Marechal of Catinat himself was in the Trenches till four the next Morning. The French were now obliged to exchange all their Batteries and bring them upon the very covered way to Batter more effectually the attacked Bastions and Halfmoons and make a Breach, which hitherto they could not do, but had only dismounted the Cannon of the Besieged with their former Batteries, for the reason we have before given of the Height of the ground round the Ramparts of Ath on this side of the Dender. The great silence of the French Artillery on the 20th after the Noise it had made for the three precedent days, occasioned a Discourse in our Camp that Ath was already Surrender'd; and our Generals themselves were not a little surprised at it till they had advice of the meaning of it, that the Cannon had ceased to play upon the carrying of the Counterscarp, which now obliged the Besiegers to advance their Batteries upon the very covered way. The day before having been tolerably fair, the Earl of Athlone took hold on that occasion to review all the Dutch Horse both in the King's and the Elector's Armies; and as if the design had still continued to attempt the Raising of the Siege, our Pioniers were again set on work to repair the ways for the March of the Armies towards Enghten and the Bois de Lessines, and the King declared several General Officers; Monsieur d Auerquerque was declared General of the English Horse, the Earl of Rivers Lieutenant General, Brigadier Lumley Major General, and the Earl of Albemarle Major General of the Dutch Army: My Lord Portland being very much troubled with the Gravel was forced to leave the Camp and go to Brussels, but the thoughts of Relieving the Town of Ath were at last altogether laid aside: For the French out-numbered us so much, and the Match consequently so unequal; and Bridges of Communication being laid over the Dender between the Marechals of Boufler s and Villeroy's Armies, so that we could not attack Boufler's in his Camp at Silly and Ghislenghien without having Villeroy's Army upon our hands besides reinforcements from the Line of Circumvallation, which (considering the weakness of the Garrison) could have been safely made from thence; and the ways grown very difficult by the bad Wether we had for two or three days together; and a Treaty of Peace being now on foot at Ryswick, which (if affairs had gone amiss in this great Attempt) must have turned vastly to the Prejudice of the Allies: These were certainly very strong Reasons for abandoning the thoughts of attacking the French in so dangerous a conjuncture and so unlikely to promise any good Success for us, and yet this was the only expedient that could be thought on now: For the French having two such Armies as those of Boufler's and Villeroy, besides Catinat to carry on the Siege, it was impossible for us to attempt a diversion either towards Flanders by the Elector of Bavaria, or towards the Sambre by his Majesty; neither could we remain in this Camp, and hinder the French of the advantage they otherwise gained by the taking of Ath, of subsisting afterward in the Country of Alost; because then, after the taking of Ath, they could have taken the Camp of Nevel before the Elector, which would have been of a far worse Consequence for the safety of Bruges and Newport. The King and the Elector resolved upon such weighty reasons to separate, and that the Elector should March back with all diligence to his former camp at Nevel. On the 21th by break of day the Electors Army began to march towards the Scheld, dividing for the more expedition on this manner; all the Cavalry and Dragoons, except two Regiments of Horse and the Dragoons of Holstein-Ploen, marched directly by Alost for Ghendt, in order to secure the Post of Nevel the very next day; and came this day to incamp at Mellem upon the Scheld within a League of Ghendt, being commanded by the Prince of Tilly and Lieutenant Generals Dupuy and Opdam: As for the Foot of the Elector's Army and the two Regiments of Horse and one of Dragoons, they came to incamp at Bardeghem, in order to march by Dendermond, and the Artillery and Baggage at Maseel, near the Windmill of Bardeghem. The 22th the Cavalry and Dragoons of the Electors Army marched by the Brussels port through the Town of Ghendt and got into the Camp of Nevel, where they posted themselves upon the Right and Left according to the disposition of the Line of Battle; but the Infantry passed the Scheld at Appels upon a Bridge of Boats and encamped at Calcken and Berleer, the first being the Electors Quarter, and the second that of the Prince of Nassau-Sarbrack, the Artillery passed the Scheld at Dendermond and encamped at Grimberg Opsandt; and Crassau's Regiment was order d; upon the march, to this place to reinforce the Garrison, because there was some reason to expect that the French, as soon as they had taken Ath, would march to subsist their Armies in the Pays d'Alost, and therefore 'twas necessary to have a good Garrison in this place, where the Prince of Nassau took occasion, upon the march, to go and see the Fortifications. The 23th the Infantry march d from Calcken and Berleer by Distelberg, being followed by the Artillery from Grimbourg Opsandt, and having passed the Canal of the Sas at Mulenstein came to incamp within the Retrenchments of Marykirk behind the Canal of Bruges; Brigadler Sparre was detached upon this march with the battalions of Wolfembuttle-Guards Hearing, Sparre and Tenham to put himself into Audenarde (taking his way through the Town of Ghendt) in order to have a very strong Garrison there, such as might make a vigorous defence in case the French had a fancy to Besiege it after the taking of Ath: And indeed Audenarde was at present reckoned in some danger, that there was but a weak Garrison in it if Villeroy had marched towards the Scheld at the same time that our Armies separated from Iseringhem and Ternath, but Villeroy still remained in his old Camp of Ostiche, and so gave us the opportunity to put this strong reinforcement into Audenarde; which could not be sent thither till the Elector had passed the Scheld, because it had been otherwise in danger of being cut off, if sent directly thither upon the breaking up of our two Armies from the Neighbourhood of St. Quintin-Linneck. The 24th the Foot (having received Straw from Ghendt for their Tents in a Camp where they were now like to continue again for a while) passed the Canal at Marykirk upon Bridges laid there the overnight, and came to incamp as before with the Right at Nevel and left at Bachtem upon the Lys, where all the Cavalry and Dragoons was already encamped upon the Right and Left since the 22th. All the Cavalry and Dragoons encamping at present in the Line extended the Elector's Army more to the Right, than it was before, and the Brigades of Holstein-Norbourg and Ransaw were for this reason ordered to incamp upon the Right of all between Landeghem and Ansbeck upon the Canal of Bruges, where they made not only room for the Horse in the Camp of Nevel but were likewise in a readiness to pass the Canal upon any motion of the French towards Bruges: All the Posts were taken for the security of this Camp as before, and a Command of 1000 Men put into Garrison at Deinse. And here I shall leave the Elector foraging at first between the Lys and the Scheld, to come and speak of the Motions of His Majesty's Army in Brabant, which was to march back at the same time upon the Left towards Halle, as the Electors did upon the Right towards Dendermond and the Scheld. Accordingly on the 20th in the Evening, all the Artillery and heavy Baggage was commanded away for Brussels, and the Army had orders to march the next day: A French Lieutenant was brought Prisoner this Night in our Camp with his Party, and proved one that had been a Lieutenant in Brigadier Belcastel's Regiment, which he had left after the Siege of Namur; and it appearing that he had fairly laid down his Commission, he had all the advantages of the Cartel, and was set at Liberty upon the paying of his Ransom or Exchange. The 21th the Brigade of Life-Guards and that of Foot Guards marched by break of day from the Right of all at Iseringhen to get at the Head of the Army, being to incamp this day at the King's Quarter which was to be upon the Left at Brain la Chateau; the Army march d upon the same hand in two Columns being joined by my Lord Jedboroughs Dragoons from the Electors Army, and having passed the Senne upon the Bridges of Boats laid between Halle and Businguen, it came to incamp with the Right at Halle and the Left at Brain la Chateau, the King's Quarter being in the Castle of Brain and the Prince's in the Village; the Horse and Foot Guards and the first battalion of the Royal Regiment were posted here to cover the King's Quarter. This is one of the strongest Camps in all Flanders having the River Senne to cover the right and part of the Front, the Left upon the difficult passage of Brain le Chateau; and both Front and Rear being nothing but Woods and close Desilés; but if this be a good Camp for strength, it is a very inconvenient one another way upon the account of Forage and Convoy's, for which 'tis very ill situated. The Artillery and heavy Baggage passed this evening through the Town of Brussels and came to incamp without Holy port in the Retrenchments before the Fort of Montercy. The 22th the King's Army continued to march upon the Left, the Left Wing of Horse passed the River Brain at the ordinary Bridge in the Village, and the Foot upon the Bridges laid below the Village for this occasion, and the Right Wing followed the march of the Foot; and so having gained the plain of Bois-Seigneur Isaac, the whole came to incamp with the Right at the Cense d'Elincourt and so to Promelles (being the Kings and the Prince's Quarter) facing toward Nivelle and the Wood of the Commandery of Maltha, and from thence the rest of the Army made almost a right Angle with the Right Wing, turning down along the Dyle which was before the Camp, and extending itself above an English Mile below Genap. The Life and Foot Guards and first battalion of the Royal Regiment encamped before Promelles to cover the Kings and Prince's Quarter (which was now in the Front) towards the Wood before mentioned. Most of the Generals were Quartered in Genap, which was now just before the Left of the Foot; the Artillery and heavy Baggage joined us here this day, being come by the Bois-de-Sogne and Waterlo from brussels: And as the Elector of Bavaria was conveniently posted at Nevel for the Defence of Ghendt, Bruges and Newport, so was the King in this Camp, to cover equally brussels and Namur, in this conjuncture that France had such powerful and numerous Armies to Act against us. Upon this separation of our two Armies, the Electors to go back to his former Camp of Deinse and Nevel, and the Kings to come to Genap and Promelles, the Count de Montrevel and the Marquis de Crequi repaired to their former Posts to observe the Elector of Bavaria, the first coming into the Lines of Courtray (after he had repassed the Scheld) from Cells, and the second leaving Villeroy's Army to post himself at Cells as before: The Marechal of Bouslers marched with his Army from Silly and Chistenghien upon the right, towards the Sambre, at the same time that His Majesties marched upon the Left from Iseringhen towards Genap; but finding that the King stopped at Promelles and Genap (as indeed we were not in a Condition to think of any diversion towards the Sambre without leaving brussels naked, or the Elector Exposed to the two Armies of Villeroy and Catinat after the taking of Ath) so he (the Marechal of Bouflers) pitched his Camp in the same ground he had taken before at Thieusies, which was still his Head Quarter, between Mesnil St. Jean and St. Denis, having Soignies in his Front and Mons in his Rear almost at an equal distance. But as for the Marechal of Villeroy he continued encamped at Ostiche between Papigny and Hamedè to cover the Siege of Ath, where he had great detachments under Catinat in the Line of Circumvallation; and this brings me to pursue the Relation of this Siege, where we had left the French Masters of the Counterscarp, which they carried the 19th in the Evening, as we have had it before. The 20th at Night, the Marquis de Vins Lieutenant General relieved the Trenches on the Right with Monsieur de Maisoncelle Brigadier and the three battalions of Navarre; and Count de Grancey Major General on the Left at the head of the two battalions of Pottou and that of la March: The Besiegers worked this Night at a new Battery of Cannon upon the Counterscarp to begin to play against the Half-Moon of Barbanson, and endeavour to break the Bridge of Communication it had with the Town; and brought great quantities of Fascines in order to make a descent in the Fosse, as soon as they could break the Dam and let some of the Water out; for which purpose their Bombs played upon it continually, and one fell so luckily this Night as to break the Vault that covered the Sluy's and the Water fell three Foot the next day in the Ditch. The 21th in the Evening the Marquis de Larrey Lieutenant-General, Brigadier Salisch, and two battalions of Anjou with that of Tournesis had the Trenches on the Right; the Marquis de Clerambault Major General, and two battalions of Humieres, and one of Vexin on the Left: The Besiegers having finished the Battery now mentioned, begun this day to play with their Cannon against the Half-Moon of Barbanson where they made a considerable Breach; and in the Night they fling Fascines in the Fossé before the Half-Moon to fill it, the Bombs having at last so shattered and ruined the Batardean that there remained but three Foot Water in the Ditch the next Morning: Monsieur de Salmon an jugenier was dangerously wounded this Night, having been shot in the Thigh, and six or seven Soldiers killed and wounded. The 22th in the Evening the Marquis de Gassion Leiutenant General and Monsieur de Vibray Brigadier mounted the Trenches upon the Right, with the Regiments of Artois, Catinat and Ferry; and Monsieur de Vilpion Major General on the Left with two battalions of Vermandois and the Regiment of Bugey: The Bridge of Fascines being finished and the Water low enough in the Ditch, it was resolved to attack the Half-Moon of Barbanson this Evening, the Breach being now large enough for it: The Grenadiers of Vermandois had this command, which they executed with such Vigour, that they lodged themselves upon the point of this Work, and forced a Captain and 60 Men of the Besieged to abandon it and retire in a Brick Reduit environed with Water behind the Gorge; after which they lodged themselves upon the Half-Moon and remained Masters of it, having had only two Grenadiers killed upon this occasion, and a Captain of Vermandois and five Soldiers wounded; The Marechal of Catinat himself and Monsieur de Vauban repaired to this work, as soon as it was carried, to give necessary orders for a good Lodgement: About two hours after in the Night the Besieged endeavoured to regain this Post, for which purpose, they lined all the opposite Courtin and Flanks of the two Bastions of Namur and Limbourg with small shot, which fired very hard upon the Half-Moon for an hour and a half together, notwithstanding the noise of all the Besiegers Cannon and Bombs playing at the same time very quick about them; but it was too late, the Besiegers were lodged and all this fire from the Rampart could do them no harm; the remainder of the Night was employed, after the finishing of this Lodgement, in bringing Fascines ready upon the Counterscarp to fill the Fossé of the Body of the place before the attacked Bastions, and this Night Monsieur de Courtin an Ingenier was killed, and Monsieur Mercier, likewise an Ingenier, Wounded. The 23 the Trenches were relieved in the Evening by Monsieur de Vauban Lieutenant General on the Right with Brigadier Lee and three battalions of Stouppa; and Monsieur de Hautefort Major General on the Left with a battalion of Stouppa and two of Salisch; the Besiegers worked this Night at two Batteries of 20 pieces of Cannon each, upon the covered way, one upon the Right against the the Bastion of Namur and tother upon the Left against the Bastion of Limbourg, in order to make a Breach and ruin the opposite Faces and Flanks of the said Bastions, being the only defence that was left to the Town, but the Mortars still continued to fire upon the Stone Dam and the attacked Works, and especially the Reduit (where the Captain and 60 Men before mentioned had retired upon the taking of the Half-Moon of Barbanson) in order to ruin it and break the Bridge between them and the Town; and the Besiegers had two Engineers wounded in the Work of this Night. The 24th the Batteries made the overnight began to open very furiously against the Bastions of Namur and Limbourg, and with such Success that before Night, the left Face of the first fell to the waste the length of about 20 Fathoms; and the Bridge of Communication being now broke down between the Reduit and the Courtin, the Captain and 53 Men that were in it were forced to surrender themselves Prisoners. In the Evening Monsieur de Bachevilliers Lieutenant General and Monsieur de Bligny Brigadier mounted the Trenches upon the Right, with two battalions of Mauleurier and one of Nice; and Monsieur de Greder Major-General on the Left with three battalions of Surbeck; the Besiegers worked very hard this Night, in making of a descent in the Fosse of the Body of the Place before the attacked Bastions, which they had almost finished before morning. The 25th the Batteries continued to play very hard against the foresaid Bastions, and the Right face of that of Limbourg fell the length of 14 or 15 fathoms; this made the Besiegers so much the more eager in firing their Batteries to widen and levelly the Breaches for a General assault; but especially the Mortars, which played without ceasing upon the attacked Bastions, to hinder the Besieged from working at any retrenchment within the Ruins of them; for all the Bastions of Ath are very large and capacious: In the Night the Besiegers worked to finish the descent in the Ditch, and the 26th in the Morning the Breaches being found wide enough, for 30 Men abrest to march up upon the Bastion of Namur, and 25 upon that of Limbourg, and the Ditch being filled with Fascines and the Ruins of the faces of these Bastions, it was concluded by the Besiegers to give this day a General assault, Monsieur de Tessé Lieutenant General and the Count de Marsin Major-General having then the Trenches which they had relieved the overnight; for which end a disposition was made for twenty Companies of Grenadiers, commanded by the Count de Marsin, to make an assault upon the Breaches in the Afternoon, and carry the Town in it: But the Besieged did not think fit to run the Risk of a General Assault, and as they could expect no relief from without, so about two of the Clock this Afternoon they Beat the Chamade, and Hostages being exchanged, they entered upon the Capitulation which was signed that very Evening, of which this was the substance. 1. That the Besieged should deliver up by Six of the Clock the next Morning one of the Gates of the Town to the Besiegers. 2. That the Garrison should march out of the place the 28th at Ten in the Morning to be conducted in three days to Dendermond, the first to Grammont, the second to Alost, and the third to that place. 3. That they should March out of the Breach with their Arms, Drums beating, Colours flying, and all other marks of Honour; except Cannon and Mortars, which were denied them. 4. That they should have fifty Wagons allowed them for the transporting of their Sick and Wounded and their Baggage. 5. That they should have Six Wagons covered but liable to be visited, and that they should deliver up all the deserters they had amongst them. Lastly, That all Prisoners made on both sides during the Siege should be set at Liberty. This Capitulation was Signed the 5th of June New Style by the Marechal of Catinat, and Count de Roeux Governor of the Place. Immediately after the Signing of the Capitulation, the Marechal of Catinat dispatched Monsieur d'Orgemont, a Brigadier of the Army and his Nephew, Express to Court to give an Account of it to the French King; and the day after the French took Possession of one of the Gates according to Agreement, being Corpus Christi Day, upon which (as it was reported) Monsieur de Vauban had promised the Marechal of Catinat, that he should hear Mass and assist at the great Procession of the Sacrament in Ath; and he did not fall very short of his Calculation, the Town having been evacuated and delivered up into the Possession of the French the day following, when in pursuance of the Capitulation the Garrison marched out of the Breach, the Count de Roeux Governor and the Prince of Anhalt Brigadier and Commander in Chief of the States Forces in this Siege, being at the head of it, who at their going out saluted the Marechal of Catinat and the Count de Toulouse. The French retained five of the Chief Officers of the Spanish Troops for Hostages, under pretext of Reprisal for as many Hostages of the French that were still detained in the Citadel of Antwerp ever since the taking of Namur, for the payment of the Debts which the French had contracted among the Burghers of this place whilst they were Masters of it: These Hostages were the Prince of Chimay Knight of the Golden Fleece and Colonel of a Walloon Regiment of Horse, Monsieur de la Catoire his Lieutenant Colonel, a Major and two Captains, which were that very day sent Prisoners to Valenciennes. A great many Italian Soldiers of the Terce of Aquaviva deserted over to the French in the marching out, and the Garrison was sent with an Escorte to Dendermond, according to the Rout specified in the Capitulation: The Besieged had at first demanded to go to Brussels or Audenarde, but the French would not grant it, especially for Audonarde, which (if they undertook any more Sieges this Campagne) was the only Town they could attack, and therefore would not put, by this means, a reinforcement into it. After the French had taken possession of Ath, the Magistrates went in a Body to Compliment the Marechal of Catinat for his goodness in sparing the Buildings of the Town, and doing as little damage as was possible during the Siege, he having given express orders not to fire Bombs into the Place; The Government of which was given to the Chevalier de Tessé Lieutenant General by the Marechal of Catinat, and was confirmed to him afterwards by the French King. Thus (to use the Terms of the Paris Gazettier) Ath, one of the strongest and the most murdering places of Europe has been taken in thirteen days Siege from the opening of the Trenches, with the Loss of only about 50 Soldiers killed, the Sieurs Courtin Ingenier, du Frêne Master of the Horse to the Marechal of Villeroy, and Emonin Captain of the Artillery Wagons dead of their wounds; and 150 wounded, among whom were a Captain of Grenadiers of the Regiment of Vermandois, a Lieutenant and seven Engineers: The loss of the Besieged was as inconsiderable, and the whole on both sides did not exceed 400 Men killed and wounded, which is but very little for one of the strongest and most murdering Places of Europe. Immediately after the taking of Ath the Marechal of Catinat gave orders for the Levelling of the Line of Circumvallation, and repairing of the Breaches, which obliged him to continue still some day's in the Camp before the Town; but the Marechal of Villeroy passed the Dender with his Army between Ath and Lessines and came to incamp with his right upon the Wood of Lessines towards Ghislenghien and his Left upon the Dender towards Papignies, where, the Troops that had been detached from his Army to carry on the Siege of Ath under the Marechal of Catinat joined him and came again into his Line of Battle. The Second of June 650 Wagons of the Province of Flanders came to Ath (of which about 200 were loaden with Nine Sacks of Meal a piece for the use of the Garrison and the Army) for to carry back all the Ammunitions and Stores which the French had provided for this Siege, having spent only 4000 Balls of 15000 they had ready, and 400 Bombs of 5000 or thereabouts: The Marechal of Catinat sent likewise all the Pontoons or Tinboats that had been made use of in the Siege for the Communication of Quarters upon the upper and lower Dender and River of Irchenwebz, to the Marechal of Villeroy, and others were sent from Douai by Water to Pots and Canaffe for the use of his Army, being now designed to march into Flanders as I shall tell it by and by. After the taking of Ath the three Marechals of France had a Feu de joy in each of their Camps for this Conquest, all their Artillery and small Shot having fired thrice round in their several Armies; in Bouflers the First of June, in Villeroy's the Second, and the Fourth in Catinat's; And the Lines of Circumvallation being levelled, the Breaches sufficiently repaired and all the Ammunitions and Stores, remaining after the Siege, sent away, the Marechal of Catinat marched from Ath the 9th. of June and encamped at Lignes; his right near the River of Irchonwelz, and left towards Fresne and the Scheld. In this posture I shall now leave the French to speak of the affairs of the Allies. The King was encamped at Promelloes since the 23th where I shall not concern myself with the journal of that Camp to speak of Forages and such other daily business of Armies, but only of what relates to the main drift of the Campagne. The 27th of May His Majesty had an account of the Capitulating of Ath, whereupon Major General de Bay was commanded out the next day towards Binch and Herlaymont-Capelle with seven Squadrons of Horse and Dragoons to get intelligence of the Marechal of Bouflers Motions, who upon the taking of Ath might have marched towards Pieton or the Sambre; Colonel Lloyd of the Queen's Dragoons commanded the Vanguard of this Detachment with which he defeated a party of Carabiniers of Boufler's Army, took Seventeen Prisoners, several Horses, and one or two Subaltern Officers, the rest were put to flight. The 29th Brigadier Maitland was commanded to go to Brussels with his Regiment and that of Denhoff, where he was joined with the Danish battalion of Prince Charles (that had been there since the march from Bois-Seigneur-Isaac to Iseringhen) to post himself between this place and Vilvorde for the defence of the Canal and especially the Fort des trois Trous. The same day Captain Hunter Major of the first Brigade of Dragoons lost his Horses by the Perfidy of his Servants, who brought a French Party to take them whilst they were grazing, but Prince Vaudemont having informed the Marechal of Bouflers of the Truth of the Matter, he very freely sent them back again although some of them were already Sold, adding, That he hoped the same Justice would be observed on our side to prevent the Villainy of Servants. The 31th the Army having Foraged upon the Left along the Dyle towards Waure and the King being present, His Majesty at his return to the Camp gave the Royal Regiment of Dragoons (vacant by the Death of Brigadier Matthews) to my Lord Raby, and the Regiment of Foot (vacant by the Death of Colonel Aeneas Mackay) to Colonel Robert Murray Lieutenant Colonel of the Regiment of Scotch Guards, Brigadier Matthew's and Colonel Mackay being dead some days before in London. That Evening the Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst came to the Camp at Promelles where he gave His Majesty an account of the Siege of Ath, having Commanded the Dutch Forces in Garrison in this place during the Siege. June the 2d. Prince Cerclas of Tilly came to Brussels from the Electors June. Army with the Liege Horse and Dragoons, the four battalions of Foot that were designed to have acted in the Electors Army being still in the Liege Garrisons upon the Meuse; for the Marquis de Harcourt was now upon his March towards this Country, having left Montroyal the 31th of May (after he had detached the Marquis de Lomaria Major General with ten battalions and nine Squadrons to reinforce the Marechal of Choiseul upon the Rhine) to march himself with six battalions and eight Squadrons through the Country of Luxembourg towards the Meuse and the Sambre. The French being now Masters of Ath, we did seem to design a third Army about Brussels to put ourselves in a condition to cover the Country between this place and the Scheld, where, if our Troops appointed to form it had come sooner, we could have kept the Field between Brussels and Alost, and secured the Forage of that Country to ourselves which the French have all consumed in the sequel of the Campagne; or if the Marechal of Bouflers had marched towards Namur, the King's Army could have taken the Camp of Fleury to cover it without hazarding of Brussels: But now as our affairs were, the King's Army could not stir from the Camp of Promelles and Genap neither one way nor t'other; not towards the Plain of Fleury or Corbais, for fear of leaving Brussels open, nor back towards Halle and St. Quintin for fear of leaving Namur exposed to a Siege; and thus we were obliged to continue in this Camp and wait for the motions of the French after the reduction of Ath, and to guide ours accordingly, either for the cover of Brussels or Namur. But to return to the Prince of Tilly, he had been detached from the Elector's Army after the News of the taking of Ath; because now both Villeroy and Bouflers could join their Forces together and march towards Brussels, and therefore a reinforcement was necessary here for our Brabant Army; Prince Cerclas of Tilly being come to this place, posted himself upon the height within the retrenchment made, when the French Bombarded Brussels, before the Fort of Monterey. The 3d, Lieutenant General Cohorne was sent to Brussels with several Engineers to trace out a Line before the Flanders Porte to cover Brussels from Anderlecht to the Canal: Eight battalions were expected hourly at this time from England, and the Lunenbourg, Munster and Hesse Troops from the Rhine; but not having as yet any competent number of Forces about this Town, nothing was made of this Line at present more than the Plan, for want of Men to work about it; which if it had been put forthwith in any tolerable posture of defence, would have given the King's Army a great deal more liberty of marching for the conveniency of Camps and Forage: And indeed we have had about the middle of the Campagne a sufficient number of Troops to have put not only Namur and Brussels, but the whole Country in a posture of defence, if they could have been brought into the Country at the beginning. We have had 17 battalions from the Rhine, Eight from England, and Three from Bavaria, and these, if they had been ready in the Country at the beginning to take the Camp of Mazy near Namur, could have then been reinforced by seven or eight battalions of this Garrison which could have been spared over and above those that came to the King's Army from thence; and four battalions of the Elector of Cologne's Forces, which (the Meuse being secured by this Army) could have marched out of the Liege Garrisons: By which Computation this Army would have consisted of about 40 battalions, besides all the Germane Horse and what could have been detached from the Brabant Army, where we were stronger in Horse than the French: In this case Prince Vaudemont could then have marched from Bois-Seigneur-Isaac to Ghislenghien and covered both Ath and Audenarde too; but 'tis to be presumed that the Necessity of our Affairs in relation to Money was not only the cause of the late coming of our Reinforcement from England, but likewise in some measure of that of the Lunenbourg, Munster and Hesse Troops; and the French had the time both to take Ath and to pen us up under the Walls of Brussels, whilst they had the whole Country between the Canal and the Scheld to range freely in and Forage at their pleasure, as it shall appear in the Sequel of this History. The Third, a French Ingenier deserted over to us that had served in the Siege of Ath, pretending to have fought a Duel which obliged him to fly for his Life; he gave an account of the little loss there had been in this Siege, the whole on both sides of killed and wounded not exceeding 400 Men: The same Evening my Lord Portland, being recovered of his late Indisposition that had made him go for Brussels, came back to the Camp in good Health, and His Majesty was pleased to declare him General of Horse in his Armies. The Fifth, Colonels Cholmley, Langston and Windham were declared Brigadiers of Horse at the Orders, the first being made Brigadier of the Brigade of Life-Guards; Colonel Coy disposed afterwards of his Regiment to my Lord of Arran Brother to His Grace the Duke of Ormond, and Colonel Harvey Lieutenant of one of the Troops of Life-Guards, got the Earl of Arran's Regiment of Horse in England: This day five battalions landed at Willemstadt from England being the second battalion of Scots Guards, Colonel Columbine's, Sir Bevil Granville's, Colonel Murray's and the Marquis of Puizars, where they met with a Rout to march forthwith to Brussels by Liere and Malines. The Sixth, The Troops of Brunswick and Lunenbourg under the Command of Lieutenant General Ohr consisting of eight battalions and twelve Squadrons of Horse and Dragoons passed the Meuse, coming from the Rhine, the Foot at Maestricht and the Horse and Dragoons at Maseick and encamped this day near Tongres, and came the Eighth to Tirlemont where they had Orders to halt, the French having made yet no manner of Motion since the taking of Ath, and therefore 'twas not yet resolved where to dispose of this Reinforcement; as for the Hesse and Munster Troops, they followed, but did not come up till the French had brought us under the Walls of Brussels for the Safety of that place, as I am now going to give an account of it; only I must see first what was transacting in the Elector of Bavaria's Camp in Flanders after the loss of Ath. The greatest Advantage the French had by the taking of this place was, that now they could march with their Armies in the Pays d'Alost, and Forage all the Country to the very Walls of Dendermond and the Banks of the Scheld, the Rupelle and the Canal of Brussels; and that in having their Armies here, they made the Communication between Brabant and Flanders very difficult for the Allies, who in such a case could not march any Troops from the one to the other but by the Canal of Brussels, Rupelmonde and so by the Pays-de Waes' behind the Scheld; and if the War had lasted another Campagne we should have felt the Inconveniency of a French Army in the Pays-d'Alost yet more than we did this, unless we had been much stronger in the Field than we were this Year to secure this Camp before them. This Consideration, that the French were now Masters of the Country to incamp where they pleased about Alost, obliged the Elector to provide betimes for the Safety of Dendermond and Pays-de-Waes, thereupon after the News of the Surrender of Ath, he commanded the Regiment of Horse of Bunau and the Liege Dragoons of Rost and Jamar with the two battalions of the Electoral Prince of Bavaria to march towards that place for its defence, and to hinder the French Parties from passing the Scheld to raise Contributions in that Country; but the Allies having a design to make up a third Army about Brussels at this time if it could be brought together time enough to prevent the French on this side; and besides, Brussels being exposed, without any considerable Troops about it since the loss of Ath, Prince Cerclas of Tilly was ordered away for Brussels from the Elector's Army that same night, being the 29th of May, with the Liege Cavalry and Dragoons, and took the two Regiments of Dragoons of Jamar and Rost, sent to Dendermond; in his way; and so the Regiment of Horse of Bunau and the two battalions of the Electoral Prince remained about Dendermond, but Prince Cerclas of Tilly came to Brussels the beginning of June, where he encamped before the Fort of Montery as we have said it above. The Elector's Army had been in this Camp ever since our early taking of the Field (except the little time it was with the King's Army at Ternath and Iseringhen) which made Forage very scarce about his Army; several great Detachments were therefore made to look for Forage between the Lys and the Scheld some towards Warreghem and Vive St. Eloy up along the Lys, and others towards Nassaret and Gaure upon the Scheld, one of which Detachments beat a Party of the Enemies at Cruyshoutem. The third of June, it was proposed to have marched with the Army between the Lys and the Scheld and a Camp was marked at Nassaret, but Forage was very scarce and the Army could subsist but very few days in this place, and therefore 'twas thought necessary to oblige the Country of Flanders behind the Canals to have dry Forage ready at this time for the Subsistence of the Army. The Seventh, the Elector's Army made one general Forage more about Wacken on both sides of the River Mandel, which falls into the Scheld at this place; the Marquis de Montrevel, being encamped with the Body under his command within the Lines near Courtray, having intelligence of it, marched with a Body of Horse from this place to interrupt our Forage between the Lys and the Mandel: We had on our side three Field-pieces at the Mills of Wacken upon the River and Detachments all along as far as the Bridge of Colberg and from thence between the Mandel and the Lys all along the way to Bassevive upon this last River; Montrevel had about 3 or 400 Horse, and having advanced pretty far between these two Rivers he met with an Out-guard of ours of 30 Horse commanded by a Spanish Lieutenant, which were soon obliged to fly for their main Body, being under the Command of a Colonel; these were likewise driven from their Post and forced to retire, being pursued by the French as far as an Inn called the Hive, where Major General Salisch (who commanded the Forage this day) was posted, with about 1300 Men; The French did not think it safe to venture any farther, but went back to Courtray having about 40 Prisoners and 30 of our Horses along with them. The Tenth, the Country of Flanders began to furnish the Army with dry Forage according to the Elector's orders, which could not subsist any longer at Nevel without it: And the Marechal of Catinat having levelled the Lines and repaired the Breaches of Ath, and being now upon his March towards the Scheld, and it being uncertain as yet which way the Marechal of Villeroy would turn, whither towards Brabant or Flanders; a Council of War was called the 12th at the Elector's Camp to concert what was to be done if both the Marechals of Villeroy and Catinat should bring their Armies into Flanders, either at Thilt or Rousselar; it was proposed in that case to bring the Elector's Army behind the Canal of Bruges, to march, in order to that, upon the Right and pass the Canal at Ansbeck, and observe the same Method that was followed last Year by the Prince of Vaudemont; three battalions were commanded from Major General Fagel's Body at Newport to come and post themselves about Bruges to be in a readiness to reinforce the Elector, that of Lorne, upon the Canal of Ostend near Schipstal, Buchan at Steinbrugghe upon the Canal of Bruges, and St. Amand at Moorbrugghe; Colonel Reinard's Regiment of the Elector's Army had been upon the Canal ever since the coming back of the Elector to this Camp of Nevel and a Regiment of the Brandenbourg Troops, which upon this Disposition were ordered to post themselves the first at Rostein, and the second at St. George upon the same Canal something nearer to Bruges, thus to give or receive Reinforcements to and from Major General Fagel according to the Motions of the French. These were the Precautions taken by our Army in Flanders during the Uncertainty of the Enemy's Designs after their taking of Ath; for then, either Villeroy and Catinat could have marched into Flanders and endeavour to attack Newport, or pass the Canals, or oblige the Elector, by their coming to Thilt or Rousselar, to get behind them himself and subsist his Army with dry Forage at the Expense of the Country; or else the Marechals of Villeroy and Bouflers could join together and subsist their Armies in the Country about Alost and between Brussels and the Scheld, which since they were Masters of Ath was now at their Devotion; or else the Marechal of Villeroy could have marched himself about Alost and the Marechal of Bouflers towards the Camp of Pieton, which would have obliged His Majesty equally to provide for the Defence of Brussels and Namur; or lastly the Marechal of Villeroy could have besieged Audenarde, whilst Bouflers should observe our Brabant Army, and Catinat that of Flanders. In the first of these cases, we were too watchful for Newport, and the letting out of the Waters could hinder the French from coming near it; and this Advantage, with the Troops we had on this side, seemed sufficient to cover the Country between Bruges and Newport and behind the Canal of Bruges, so that it would be too much Hazard to attempt any thing on this side; where, besides, in such an occasion the King could have sent good Reinforcements directly to Ghendt, especially now that our Germane Forces were on their March and Lieutenant General Ohr actually come into Brabant: As for the Subsisting of their Armies about Thilt, Rousselar and Torhout, and the driving of the Elector behind the Canals, this Country had been so Harrassed and Plundered in the two preceding Campagnes, that no Forage could be expected here for the Maintenance of such Armies, and therefore if both marched that way one at least would be obliged to march back again in a little time. The second Proposition of Villeroy's and Boufler's joining to march into the Pays d'Alost seemed to be the most advantageous and safe, because this Country, especially the bottom of it, between the Rupelle and the (Scheld from Willebrook upon the Canal of Brussels to Dendermond) had hardly been molested by any Armies all this War, and therefore their two Armies could live here a long time very conveniently in the midst of plenty in relation to Forage of all sorts: As for the third, the Siege of Namur could be but a Dream, now that we were going to have such a reinforcement from England and the Rhine: 'Tis true that we could not hinder them from besieging of Audenarde, but the situation of it is naturally very strong upon the account of the Scheld, which, with the keeping up of the Sluices in the Town, overflows all the Meadows about it, leaving no access for Trenches but before the Gate that leads to Courtray and Deinse, and there was a very great Garrison in it, so that they could not think of having it at so cheap a rate as Ath, but must expect to lose a great many Men in the taking of it; which they did not think convenient to do at a time, when the Negotiations of a General Peace seemed to be in a very hopeful forwardness; and besides, the Communications upon the River, which is very large, are very difficult, and easily broken upon the lower Scheld by the letting out of the Sluices; and therefore it would not be very difficult to raise the Siege, by attacking them in one Quarter or other; these Considerations made the French prefer to march into the Country of Alost, with the Armies of Bouflers and Villeroy joined together, to any other design they could propose to themselves; and the rather, because His Majesty's Army had a very long and difficult march, and a close defile for near 3 Leagues through the Bois de Sogne to come to Brussels, and therefore if the Marechal of Bouflers could but gain one march upon the King, he might have pretended to the Camp of Anderlecht before our Army in Brabant, and then Brussels would have been once more exposed to the Fury of the French Bombs, after all the Charges that had been spent to raise it out of its ruins much more stately and magnificent than it was before; and if the French in such a Case would have been inclined to accept a Sum of Money to spare the Town, either of them would have made a very great noise in the World, when done in the presence of such an Army as we had then encamped at Promelles and Genap commanded by the King in Person, and it would have been as inglorious for the Allies and especially His Majesty, as a great and happy undertaking for the French; and therefore we find that their first motions seemed to be levelled at this place, as I am now going to tell it. The Marechal of Bouflers Army having taken Bread for six Days, marched on the 12th upon the Left from the Camp of Thieusies towards Halle and came this day to incamp with the Right at Steinkirk and the Left extending itself towards the Village of Marck beyond Enghien: The same day the Marechal of Villeroy (having been reinforced the day before with the Body commanded by the Marquis de Crequi at Cells) marched with the Army under his Command, and having passed the Wood of Lessines came to incamp with his Right at Castergat towards Haute Croix and Enghien and his Left at Gamerage towards Grammont. It was about Twelve of the Clock this day before the King had an account of these motions of the French, upon notice of which, the Chief Generals were immediately sent for to Court and a Council of War being held it was resolved that the Army should march that very Evening for Brussels, though it was then very rainy Wether, and had been so the day before: If the march had been delayed till the next day, the Marechal of Bouflers might have gained the Camp of Anderlecht, as soon as we, and therefore there was a necessity of marching forthwith; and accordingly the two Brigades of Foot of Belcastel and Oxenstern were ordered to march about Five this Afternoon for Waterlo to cover the Artillery and heavy Baggage that was sent before to Brussels by the Grand-chausseé through the Wood, which was the only way we had for the Artillery and Baggage, and both the Columns of our Army, to march by, and therefore made it very difficult and tedious; and indeed, had it not been for the great Rains that had fallen both this and the day before, which rendered the ways almost unpassable for the French Artillery and Army (whereas, though we had a long defile to pass through the Wood, yet it was a very good stone Caussey, without which it had been impossible to have marched the whole Army and Artillery quick enough to get on the other side of Brussels in such Wether) I do not know but the French might have come up time enough to have disputed us the Camp of Anderlecht with much Superior Forces, but the Rain, which happily Clogged the march of the French at this time, did not very much retard ours, because we had, for the most part of the way, a very good Stone Caussey for the Army and especially the Artillery to march upon. About Ten at Night, the whole Army began to follow the march of the Artillery and heavy Baggage according to this disposition, it being then a very dark night and bad Wether; the Infantry marched first in two Columns upon the Right towards the Koning's Huys there to gain the Great Caussey for Waterlo and so through the Bois-de-Sogne to Brussels, the Right Wing of Horse was to follow the same way and then the Left Wing; all the Cavalry being ordered to march in the Rear, not only for a Rearguard to see the Body of Foot safe into the Wood, but also because of the great darkness of the Night whereby several People might have been otherwise trodden under Foot by the Horse: About Midnight the King left his Quarters at Promelles attended by Prince Vaudemont to go to Brussels, the King and Prince were in their Coaches having a great many Flambeaus to light them, without which it had been almost impossible to see the way; the Brigade of Guards marched about break of day, from the King's Quarter and got in the Rear of the Body of Foot, the Front of which was by this time advanced almost as far as Waterlo; it was full day before the Horse began to march, having orders to make several detachments, from Height to Height in the Plain, to cover our march till the whole Army was got into the Wood, where Colonel Gohr's Regiment of Foot was ordered to post itself for the Rear Guard of the Artillery and Baggage, and to bring up all the straggling or wearied Soldiers that could not keep up with the Army in so long and tedious a March. The King and Prince got very early on the 13th through brussels, with Quartermaster General Dopft along with them, to visit the ground between Anderlecht and the Canal of brussels and choose the strongest and the most defensible Camp; the Prince of Tilly had orders the over night from the King to get on the other side of brussels with the Horse and Dragoons under his Command, and accordingly had marched that same Night from the Fort of Monterey without Halleporte through the Town, and encamped on the other side between the Flanders port and that of Anderlecht; from whence he sent several detachments towards Hall, St. Quintin-Linneck and Asche, both to get Intelligence of the French motions, and cover the Country hereabouts (till the coming up of the Army) for an Escorte to His Majesty, who was now visiting all the posts hereabouts and the Avenues and Approaches to brussels, for the taking up of a good Camp and frustrating the Designs of the Enemies: The Van of the Body of Foot got to the Height of the Fauxbourg of Ixelles without Namur port the 13th by Ten in the morning, where it was ordered to halt till the Camp should be marked; for all the Quarter-masters were still here with their Field Colours waiting for Quartermaster General Dopft's Orders, who was with the King, as we have now said it, on the other side; but as soon as the Body of Foot was come up so near brussels they were sent for to come and mark the Camp; and about one the Army had orders to march by the Namur porte, the right of the Body of Foot through the Town by the Laacken port and so to gain the Height between Ganshoren and the Canal, and the Left round the Rampart by the Gate of Anderlecht to that of Flanders, and so to incamp with the Right at Berchom, and Left close upon the Town, between the Flanders-porte and that of Anderlecht facing towards this place and Dilbeck, as the Right did (from Berchom to Laacken upon the Canal) towards Asche, Wemmel and Grimberg. We were to incamp, according no this disposition, in the figure of an acute Angle, fixed with one Leg at the Village of Laacken upon the Canal of brussels where was the Right, and tother between the Flanders and Anderlecht-portes being the Left, and the Vertex or point at Berchom, to have by this means the advantage of the Brook of Zellich to cover our Right, which runs through a bottom before the Villages of Ganshoren and Jette and the Chasteau de Riviere, and so falls near Laacken into a branch of the Senne (that goes all along the Canal on this side as far as the Fort-des-trois-Trous) forming several Fishponds from the Chasteau de Riviere to the Village of Jette, and so to that of Laacken; This made the right of our Camp very strong, the Brook of Zellich being stopped up upon this occasion to make an inundation in the bottom before our Right between Jette and Laacken; and in General all the approaches to our Camp on this side were through strong defiles caused by the Woods about the Abbey of Dillighem, the passages over this Rivulet, and the several Villages before us. Our Left, which turned down from Berchom to the Town of brussels, facing towards Anderlecht and Dilbeck, was covered by a bottom which began near the Village of Berchom and so continued to the very Ramparts of the Town, having several Fishponds in it, with deep and hollow ways, which made it very difficult to attack us on that side; we left indeed the Height between Anderlecht and Dilbeck open, from whence the French Bombarded brussels in the Year 1695, because of the weakness of the Ground to defend it; but as we were encamped, we could hinder them from coming near enough to do any damage to the Town. All the Foot being got through brussels about five or six in the Evening, it began to incamp according as we have now described it, and the King and Prince took their Quarters in the Fauxbourg of Cockelbergh just without the Flanders-porte; But the Cavalry did not come into their ground till 'twas in the Night, all the Dutch Horse encamping upon the right near the Village of Laacken, except the Brigades of Dompré and Chauviré under the Command of Major-General Hubert, which interlined with the Body of Foot upon the Left of Ingoldesby's and Belcastel's Brigades behind the Village of Ganshoren, the most open passage to our Camp upon the Right being hereabouts; Prince Cerclas of Tilly encamped upon the left with the Liege Horse and Dragoons, but all the English Cavalry marched through brussels by the Scarbeck-porte and encamped on the other side of the Canal, with the Right at Ever, where General Auerquerque was Quartered, and the Left at Diegom upon the way to Louvain, except the Dragoons of Tiviot, Rosse and Jedborough which were posted between Vilvorde and the Burnt-bridge upon the Canal of brussels, and those of Eppinger and Lloyd which were mixed with the Foot at the Camp of Cockelbergh: Anhalt's Brigade being composed of the three battalions of Anhalt, Scheltinga and Slabendorf lately come to brussels from the Siege of Ath, and the two battalions of Else and Essen detached from our Army, encamped on the other side of brussels before the Fort of Monterey: This was the state of our Army about the Town at our first coming to this Camp, where we were very conveniently posted to expect the French, if they would have attacked us, and no stronger camp could have been found out to cover the Town and secure ourselves at once; but because we were likely to have to do with two powerful Armies joined together, and that too much care could not be taken for our Safety, especially at our first coming, that we had not as yet those considerable reinforcements, which joined us soon after from England and the Rhine, therefore as soon as the Army began to incamp, fifty men out of each battalion were commanded to work that very Night, being about 3400 men, at a Retrenchment upon the Left of the Village of Berchom where was an open ground about a quarter of an English Mile over, that joined to the Height of Dilbeck and commanded this part of our Camp, and was the weakest post we had to defend, and the most dangerous inlet into our Camp in case of an attack, and therefore special care was taken to fortify immediately this Avenue; My Lord Cutts was then Major of the day, and was, by the King's order, upon the work all Night to forward it by his Care and Presence; and by the next Morning it was considerably advanced and in a state not to be easily carried by an Enemy. This Retrenchment was a Redan or work of Salliant Angles with a large Fossè and covered way, the Glacis of which was fenced with an outer Ditch, being stuck all over at the bottom with short Palissades, or sharp wooden Spikes, having their points upwards to hinder the Enemy from getting into it. As His Majesty's Army came to this Camp the 13th, that of the Marechal of Bouflers was at the same time upon the march from Steinkirk towards Notre dame de Halle, where he encamped this Evening with his Right at alembic upon the Senne, and his Left at the Brook of Pepinghen towards St. Quintin-Linneck, the Head-quarter being at St. Arnelle in the Rear, upon the way that goes from Halle to Enghien; as soon as the Marshal of Bouflers was come up to this Camp he immediately detached the Chevalier de Nesle with 150 Horse towards Anderlecht to get intelligence of our motions, and whether our Army was yet got to this side of brussels; the Chevalier de Nesle advanced with his Party almost as far as Dilbeck this Night, and met hereabouts, upon the way to Halle, with a Party of 30 Liege Horse commanded by a Cornet, which Monsieur de Sainfal, a reformed Captain in the French Life Guards, attacked with a Squadron of 50 and defeated him, killing four upon the spot, and took eleven Prisoners with fifteen Horses: 'Twas by the meeting and defeat of this Party that the Chevalier de Nesle was informed of all our Armies being encamped on this side of Brussels between the Flanders-porte and the Canal: But the Marechal of Villeroy who had marched through the Wood of Lessines on the 12th to incamp between Castergat and Gamerage, was forced to halt the next day, the Wether having been so very bad the 11th and 12th, and the ways grown so difficult, that his Artillery and Wheel Baggage could not come up to march the 13th, being to pass through the desiles of the Wood of Lessines; but on the 14th this Army marched and came to incamp with the Right beyond Goick towards St. Quintin-Linneck within three Quarters of a League of Bouflers Left, and the Left towards the Dender beyond Strithem, the Head-quarter being at this last place: And if the French had at first any design upon brussels and our Army, it was this halting of Villeroy's Army that prevented it, and gave us time to Fortify our Camp before the Town, and receive considerable reinforcements; for the Marechal of Bouflers was not strong enough to pretend to attack us himself, and therefore could not march up to us on the 14th before we had sufficiently Fortified our Camp; and Villeroy coming but this day to the Neighbourhood of St. Quintin-Linneck, the two Marechals could not join together till the 15th, and consequently could not attack us well till the 16th in the morning, when we could not be in a condition to apprehend their coming; therefore the French were obliged to think of nothing else at present but the subsisting of these two great Armies in the Country between the Senne and the Dender, where they reached almost from the one River to the other, being upwards of three Leagues distance; and here I shall leave them to return to His Majesty's Camp near brussels. The 14th the King and Prince went out very early to see the Retrenchment we had worked upon in the Night, and the avenues to the Height of Dillebeck, where, having heard of the defeat of our Party of Liege Horse the overnight so near our Camp, all the out-posts were thereupon ordered to be reinforced, in all the Villages before the Camp, as in the Villages of Berchom, Ganshoren, Jette and Laacken, and the Abbey of Dilleghem and Castle of Riviere; these two last places commanding a pass in the bottom over the Rivulet of Zellich, the first on one side towards Wemmel, and the last on the other towards brussels; a Field Officer with two or 300 men was posted in the Abbey before our Right, and in the Villages of Dilbeck and Anderlecht before our Left; and that the Retrenchment, we were working upon since the overnight to stop up the passage into our Camp from the Height of Dillebeck, might be finished with all Expedition, 30 Men more were commanded out of every battalion (being now between five and 6000 persons) to work upon it, and His Majesty, in his Riding out this morning, saw the Marechal of Boufler's Army encamped at Halle. In the Evening Lieutenant General Ohr (having received an Express from His Majesty at Tirlemont the 12th at Night to come and join him here) passed through the Town of brussels, and encamped in the first Line upon the Left of all (without the Flanders-porte, his Left being upon the way that goes from the Fauxbourg of Cockelberg to Anderlecht) with 8 battalions, being those of Ohr, Witgenstein, Wey, Dedem, and Heydemale of the Troops of Hanover, and those of Dozen, Ransaw, and La Motthe of Zell, and 12 Field Pieces; His Horse, being the Regiments of the Electoral Prince of Hanover, Appel, Bottmer and Bulaw, and the Dragoons of Zell Guards and Lieutenant General Ohr, in all twelve Squadrons, encamped before the Fort of Monterey near Anhalt's Brigade under the command of Major General Bulaw; and at the same time the second battalion of Scots Guards, and the battalions of Columbine, Granville, and Puizar lately arrived from England at Willemstadt, came to incamp in the covered way before the Scarbeck-porte, but Colonel Murray's Regiment was ordered upon the Canal near Vilvorde. The same Evening all our General Officers met at the Windmill of Ganshoren, where our Artillery was drawn up upon the Height, to divide the Posts for the Army in case of an Alarm, which the Quarter-masters marked the next morning with Field colours, for every Regiment to know his post; and this day Colonel Gohr's Regiment, that had been left in the Bois-de-Sogne for the Guard of the Baggage, came into the Camp, all the Baggage not having been able to get up to us till this day. The 16th, Belcastel's Brigade was commanded out of the second Line, to go and incamp upon the right of all in the Village of Laacken, and secure that passage which covered our Right Wing of Horse, and was no proper post to be defended by it; and the four battalions now mentioned that encamped in the Counterscarp of Scarbeck-porte were ordered to come into the Line, where the three last of those four battalions made up Fairfaxes Brigade, in the place of Belcastel's. The 17th the Retrenchment to stop the passage into our Camp from the Height of Dillebeck, being very near finished, and being thus pretty secure on this (though the most dangerous) side, the Army worked at a General Retrenchment from the Height of the Village of Berchom to the Canal at Laacken, taking in the little plains between Berchom and Ganshoren, Ganshoren and Jette, and Jette and Laacken, which quite shut up our Camp and rendered it not only inaccessible to the French with the many defilés and difficult passages before us, but likewise kept the Soldiers in it, out of which they could not easily stir to Marode or Desert, and this (may be) was the thing chief designed in the making of it; for it is hardly probable, that the French would have come to attack us, though we had not made this Retrenchment, considering the difficulty of the avenues into our Camp every way, and the great Army we were now going to have by the joining of the Rhine Troops. The 18th, the Army continued to work at the great Retrenchment, the same day, the Munster Troops commanded by Brigadier Corfay passed through the Town of brussels to incamp before the Fort of Monterey, consisting of Four battalions, being those of Conaritz, Corfay, Landsberg and Schwarts, and the Three Regiments of Horse of Heytersleben, Raffeldt and Haenstein, making Six Squaprons: In the Evening, the King went to visit the Electrice of Bavaria at the Palace, where His Majesty was received by the Count de Prysingen at the Head of all the Gentlemen of the Palace, and conducted through the Guard Chamber, where all the Halberdiers were drawn up in two Lines, to the Electrice's Apartment, where her Highness, being then big with Child and pretty near her time, received the Kings Visit in her Bed of State, His Majesty being attended by most of the Chief Officers of the Army; Madame de Lede Lady Governess presented the Electoral Princess to the King, being then an Infant of about a Twelve Month Old: After this His Majesty went to see the Electrice's Apartments, and so was conducted back to his Coach by the Count de Prysingen with the same Ceremony as before, and from thence the King went to visit the Princess of Vaudemont. The 19th, the great Retrenchment being finished before our Army and the Artillery dispersed all along into several Batteries, we had the leisure to work at the Line, designed by Lieutenant General Cohorne to cover brussels for the future with a small Army from being Bombarded; and it was accordingly traced out this day after this manner, a Work upon the Right of the Height before Anderlecht-porte (a deep bottom, hollow ways, and Fishponds remaining between it and Cockelbergh) and another upon the Left just by the Village of Anderlecht where it fell upon the Caussey that goes from thence to brussels through the Meadows caused by the Neighbourhood of the Senne, and which can be over flowed by it, and these two Works are joined together by a Line of Communication over the Height of Anderlecht; again, to cover the Town on the other side of the bottom and Fishponds now mentioned, and so on as far as the Canal, against a Bombardment from the Height of Cockelberg (as the other did from the Height of Anderlecht) a Retrenchment was made to include the Fauxbourgs of Cockelberg and Malenbeck, with the Left upon the bottom and Fishponds, that continued the defence to the Works upon the Height of Anderlecht, and the Right upon the Meadows along the Canal between brussels and Laacken; and the Banks of the Canal on this side being covered (as it has been said before) by a Branch of the Senne, the Retrenchment terminating upon the Meadows, and the Banks of the Canal so flanked one another, that no Lodgement could be made in them near enough to Bombard the Town from thence; and besides, I believe that these Meadows can be overflowed by stopping up of the River at the Fort des Trois Trous upon the Canal This is a very strong Retrenchment and of as large dimensions as the Ramparts of a Town, being a Redan or work with Salliant Angles, (most of them being right or as near right as could be) flanking one another, and so were the Works upon the Height of Anderlecht, with a good Fosse, Counterscarp, and Glacis with an outer Ditch before it: The Army worked at this Line from this day till the end of the Campagne every day more or less (if not prevented by Foul Wether) and completed it all but the Palissading of it; and though it has cost the Town a great deal of Money, yet Peace being concluded between France and the Allies soon after, we may reckon it as a Work lost, and that it will soon run to Ruin, though 'tis very necessary for the safety of brussels in any War between Spain and France, whilst Mons and Ath are the only Frontier Towns that cover it, and either of them being taken, the French can come to the very Walls of brussels. The same day that we begun to work at this Line being the 19th, two battalions of the Duke of Holstein came up to the Camp from Germany and took their Post upon the Left of the Second Line near the Flanders port: The Hesse Troops Commanded by Velt-Marshal Count de Lip came up to Diegom, and the Hereditary Prince of Hesse came to Court to wait upon His Majesty: The 20th the Hesse Troops marched through brussels to incamp without Halle port before the Fort of Monterey being composed of Four battalions, viz. one of the Life Regiment, one of Grenadiers, and two of Blixen-croon, and the Regiments of Horse of Spiegel and Garstenbroeck, and those of Dragoons of the Prince of Hombourg and the Prince of Hesse, making together Eight Squadrons; so that we had now a reinforcement of 18 battalions and 26 Squadrons from the Rhine, and Five battalions from England, which were soon followed by Three more, and Three battalions of the Garrison of Ath, being in all 29 battalions, which having left not detached Companies, but being full Regiments, may be reckoned at 600 men one with another, amounting in all to 17400 Foot; and 2900 Horse and Dragoons, all which together made 20300 men; Add this to the Sum of His Majesties and the Elector's Armies, and it made the Allies about 125000 strong in the Field now in Flanders, out of which our Army about brussels consisted of no less than 99 battalions and 175 Squadrons of Horse and Dragoons, being so posted that they in a manner invested the Town: The Main of the Army encamped between the Senne and the Canal, Eight battalions of Hesse and Munster, and Five of Anhalt's Brigade, and 26 Squadrons of Germane Horse and Dragoons were on the other side of the Senne upon the Height before the Fort of Monterey under the Command of Velt-Marechal General Count de Lip, where they made a very good Line to cover the Town on that side, almost in the same place with the Retrenchment as Prince Vaudemont made in the Year 1695; General Auerquerque encamped with the English Cavalry and Dragoons at Ever and Diegom on that side of brussels which is towards Malines and Lonvain; the Wood of Sogne covered the rest: By this disposition, if the Marechal of Bouflers had passed the Senne with his Army from the Camp of Halle to march towards Genap and Nivelle, we had all the Troops encamped at Diegom and without the Fort of Monterey to join in one march about Waure; the first by Neer-Ische and the second through the Bois-de-Sogne, which together would have made above 100 Squadrons of Horse and Dragoons, and 13 battalions which could have been considerably reinforced with Infantry from the Garrison of Namur and the Army at Cockelberg, and thus the next day we could have secured the Camp of Masy and covered this Important Place; for it was the opinion of some People that the Marechal of Bouflers (after the French had wedged our Army between the Senne and the Canal at brussels) would have marched towards Namur to get between this Place and the Allies; but, as His Majesty had disposed his Army about brussels, we could reach the Camp of Masy as soon as Bouflers could come to the Plain of Fleury, and thus cover at once both Namur and brussels, the first against the Marechal of Bouflers, and the second against that of Villeroy; and indeed (as I have said it before) if the Allies had had all the Troops in the Field in the beginning of the Campagne which they had now, 'tis a question whether the French could have Besieged even Ath itself, notwithstanding their 150000 Men. The Marquis de Harcourt, who had marched from Montroyal with his flying Camp towards the Low-countrieses on the 31th. of May, to observe the motions of the Troops which the Allies expected there from the Rhine, passed the Meuse at Givet the 15th of June about the same time that the Germane Reinforcement was getting up to our Camp about brussels; the 16th he marched to Phillipville from whence he was to pass the Sambre and join the Marechal of Bouflers; who as well as the Marechal of Villeroy was now at a stand upon the Measures that had been taken by His Majesty in bringing off his Army with so much expedition, and posting of it so strongly and conveniently about brussels; and the French seemed at present to have no other design with these two Armies but to Forage and waste all the Country along the Dender and between the Scheld and the Canal of brussels. As for the Marechal of Catinat, we have left him encamped at Lignes, where he came with his Army after the Siege of Ath, (and that he had repaired the Breaches and levelled the Line of Circumvallation) on the 9th Instant, in order to march into Flanders: The 12th this Army advanced towards the Scheld and came to incamp along the Run between Anvain and Cordes, the Marechal of Catinat's Quarter being in the last of these places. The 13th he marched to come up close to the Scheld, and the Head Quarter was at Herines'; all the Artillery and heavy Baggage was ordered to pass the Scheld this very Evening, at the Bridge of Boats made since the Campagne between Pots and Canaffe, and the Army passed the River the next day upon this, and another Bridge made for this occasion with Boats that were sent from Douai after the Siege of Ath for the use of this Army, which encamped this day about half way between the Lys and the Scheld. The 15th the Marechal of Catinat marched on towards the Lys, and came to incamp at Vive St. Eloy, where he was joined the same day by the Forces that had been posted within the Lines of Courtray under the Command of Monsieur de Montrevel, and this Army, according to the French accounts, consisted of 52 battalions and 69 Squadrons; but the Marechal of Catinat having sent back all the Reinforcements he had from the Marechal of Villeroy at the Siege of Ath, the most that he could have at the repassing of the Scheld must be but 25 battalions, and when joined by Montrevel his Army could not well exceed Forty; but whatever his Strength was at present, he ventured to march with it close to the Elector's Army, and came the 17th to incamp between Cruy's houtem and the Lys, within a League and a half of Deinse, his Right being at Nackeren and Left at Zulte upon this River, where the General Quarter was; so near the Marechal of Catinat encamped now to the Elector of Bavaria, only the Lys remained between them. This March of the Marechal of Catinat so near to Deinse obliged the Elector to look about him, and this made his Electoral Highness call a Council of War upon these Motions of the French towards him, to consult what was to be done in the present Conjuncture; his Army consisted of about 43 battalions including the Brigades of Holstein-Norburg and Ransaw that were incampd upon the Right of all between Landeghem and Ansbeck and eighty five or six Squadrons; Four battalions had been detach d under Baron Sparre, since the coming back of the Army from Brabant to Audenarde; three at Dendermond and in the Pays de Waes', and two behind the Canal of Bruges which made the remainder 43 battalions; the Marechal of Catinat's true strength was not at first known, some made him stronger than he was and others weaker which accordingly caused a variety of Opinions; and the Elector sent Monsieur Verboom his Quartermaster General, to the King to give His Majesty an account of it, and it was resolved in the mean time to fortify the Bridge of Deinse at Peteghem and to have a very strong Guard there, being the next Post to the Marechal of Catinat, and to lay Bridges over the Canal, one at Ansbeck and another lower at Dorme either to receive Reinforcements that way if Catinat came to attack the Elector, or to be ready to march behind the Canal if Catinat should march towards Bruges or Newport. In the midst of these Doubts the Elector had Advice that the Marechal of Catinat's Army at his coming to Zulte, had but fourteen battalions in the first Line and fewer in the second, and that he was but weak in Horse and Dragoons; this made His Highness very desirous to pay a Visit with his Army to the Marechal of Catinat, but he had a mind first to know the Truth of the Matter, for though the Camp was very strong where Catinat was posted, yet it could hardly be imagined that he would have ventured so near the Elector with so inconsiderable an Army: The Elector therefore sent that very Night to Newport for Major General Fagel, and ordered the three battalions of Lorne, Buchan and St. Amand that were about Bruges, and those of Reinard and Brandenbourg behind the Canal, to come up and join together at Bellem to be there in a readiness to reinforce the Army upon occasion. The 18th in the Afternoon His Highness went with a strong Escorte as far as the Windmill of Osselghem, from whence he might discover the whole Line of Catinat's Army, and in the Evening Major General Fagel came to the Camp. The 19th at Night the Elector had advice that the French had laid Bridges over the Lys near Zulte, with a Design to Forage the next day about Wacken and the Mandel, on this side of the River; wherefore His Highness commanded that a strong Detachment of Horse, Foot and Dragoons should immediately be sent that very Night with Cannon to disturb this Forage, and accordingly 8000 Horse, Foot and Dragoons with eight Pieces of Cannon were ordered for this Command, and stood paraded at the Head of the Camp till Ten or Eleven of the Clock the next Morning, to hear of the Enemies passing of the Lys; but the Marechal of Catinat having advice of our Preparations to attack his Foragers ordered the Bridges over the Lys to be taken up again, and laid this Design aside, of which the Elector being informed, this great Detachment was countermanded. Major General Fagel went back the overnight to Newport and the five Regiments of Foot at Bellem were sent again to their former Posts. The 20th a great Detachment of 1500 Horse was commanded away towards Bruges for a faint to cover the Design which the Elector seemed to have still of marching up to the Marechal of Catinat, for at the same time he ordered Bridges to be laid over the Lys between Deinse and Bachtem, and the 21th the Brigades of Ransaw and Holstein-Norbourg were ordered to come and incamp close upon the Elector's Right between Nevel and Landeghem, whereas before they were posted near the Canal of Bruges between Landeghem and Ansbeck. But on the 22th at night the Marechal of Catinat marched off privately with his Army from Zulte to get back towards the Lines and encamped with his Right near Courtray, and his Left towards Harlebeck; it was generally supposed then, that these Preparations of the Elector's obliged Catinat to withdraw so suddenly and with so much Secrecy into the Lines. But 'tis more probable that this Retreat of Catinat's was upon Montrevel's going with the Body under his command, to post himself near Grammont upon the Dender; where his Troops were ordered, to cover the Convoys that come by Water from Tournay to Pots and Canaffe, and thence by Land to Villeroy's Army. and the Marechal of Catinat could not pretend to keep in this Camp of Zulte without that Re-inforcement which Montrevel commanded. Thus I shall leave the Army in Flanders to go back to His Majesty's Camp near Brussels and speak of the Transactions that happened there, of which some were of great Importance and cannot well be omitted. At His Majesty's first coming to this Camp to cover Brussels, the Army had abundance of Forage, of which there was a great Plenty all about it; and most laid in Forage at the first coming to this Ground for a Fortnight at least without going far for it; but this being the only Camp the main of the Army had for all the rest of the Campagne, and Villeroy and Bouslers being Masters of all the Country about Alost, and between the Scheld and the Canal, it is no wonder if there was at last a very great Scarceness of Forage hereabouts. The first General Forage which the Army made was not till the 20th being about Grimberg and the outside of the Canal, to get as much as possibly we could all before us, about Asch, Zellich, Wemmel and Grimberg, which was now reckoned but as so much taken from the French. But I shall say no more of these Affairs, which make the ordinary and daily Transactions of Armies, to speak of things of more moment and which had a nearer Relation to the Happy Conclusion of this Campagne in Peace. The 22th Pensionary Heinsius of Holland, who had lately been named by the State's General for their third Plenipotentiary at the Conferences for the Treaty of Peace at Ryswick in the room of the Sieur Boreel lately deceased, came to the Camp to wait upon His Majesty; and this Voyage, which could not be but about Affairs of Consequence, occasioned abundance of Discourses some tending to War and others to Peace: For Business went on a little slowly at this time in the Congress at Ryswick, some time had been taken up at first in adjusting of the Ceremonial, which had been agreed upon at last and not long since, wherein it was concluded that in relation to Visits, and paying of the first Visit and the receiving of it, the Plenipotentiary Ambassadors of Crowned Heads that had come first to the Hague or Delft for the Congress of Ryswick, should pay the first Visit to the last Comers, without inferring from thence any Consequence about Precedency, or derogating in any manner from any one's Privileges or Pretensions about it; and according to this Regulation Count de Caunitz and Count Straatman that had come to the Hague before the French Plenipotentiaries arrived at Delft, went to pay them the first Visit at their own Houses, and afterwards the French Plenipotentiaries returned the same Compliment to the Counts of Caunitz and Straatman at the Hague, and paid at the same time the first Visit to the Baron of Zeilern the third Imperial Plenipotentiary, being come into Holland after them; and the same Method was observed in the Visits of the rest. After the adjusting of the Ceremonial, the French Ambassadors were required by the Mediator to give in their Project of a General Peace with the Allies, in pursuance of the Overtures already made in the Preliminaries, and so to enter upon more Essential Business than had hitherto been handled in the Congress: The French, on their side, were delaying to give it in, putting of it off from Congress day to Congress day, which made People generally believe they had first a mind to know the Issue of three great Undertake which France had now in hand, and of which News were daily expected with a great deal of Impatience on all sides, to model their Project accordingly; and that was, first Monsieur de Pointies Expedition in the West-Indies against the Galleons, having sailed from Breast the beginning of January last, with a Squadron of about twelve Men of War, having Troops and Transport-Ships along with him and other Necessaries for a Landing, not without giving us some Jealousy in England at first, especially for Ireland: The second was the Election of Poland, for which the Prince of Conti stood Candidate, and was now so fair for the carrying of it, that the Election of Marechal of the Diet met at Warsaw to choose a King, was carried by the French Party, which showed but too much the Superiority of it against any other Pretenders, which gave them very great Hopes on that side. The third was the Siege of Barcelona, formed by the Duke of Vendome, General of the French Army in Catalonia, since the beginning of this Month, and which was now carrying on with a great deal of Vigour. Several People thought that Pensionary Heinsius' Journey to the Camp was concerning the Retardments which the French made in giving in their Project, and to concert thereupon some Methods of carrying on the War with more Vigour than we had done hitherto, and oblige the French not to be so backward in giving reasonable Terms for a General Peace as they were reported to be at present; others imagined that it regarded the Forwarding of the Negociations at Ryswick where there seemed to be a certain Slowness among some of the Allies and especially the Imperialists: These were the public Discourses about this Journey, but one may rather imagine from what followed, that it was to make way for the Conferences that happened few days after between the Earl of Portland and the Marechal of Bouflers; and that, may be, the French Plenipotentiaries had made some Overtures about it to those of the States, by the French King's order, because His Majesty being not yet acknowledged by the French as King of Great Britain, there could be no Conferences in the Congress between the Plenipotentiaries of England and those of France: But whatever was the occasion of Pensionary Heinsius his coming to the Camp, these were only Conjectures, and I do not pretend to dive farther into the Matter. The 24th Prince Cerclas of Tilly was commanded with the Liege Horse and Dragoons and the Germane Cavalry lately come from the Rhine, to march towards Namur, where he encamped at Masy; the Germane Horse was under the Command of Major General Bulau, and the Prince of Tilly was joined in this Camp by two battalions of the Liege Troops, the rest being to follow upon occasion; for we were strong enough without them at present, and the sending of them that way spared so much the more Forage about Brussels, where the Army was like to continue long enough to want it; and besides, the Marquis de Harcourt was marching back to repass the Sambre, in order to incamp at Bossu upon this River with the Forces he had brought from the Moselle, where at his coming he received six Field pieces from Philipville; and though Harcourt was posted here upon no other account but for the Security of Convoys from the Meuse to the Sambre against the Garrison of Namur, and thence to be sent to Mons for the use of the Armies, yet it was necessary to have a proportionable Body near Namur to observe him, especially now that the Marechal of Bouflers was encamped conveniently enough to march that way as soon as the Allies. The 25th Pensionary Heinsius went back for Holland, and in the Evening at the Orders His Majesty was pleased to declare the Hereditary Prince of Hesse Major General of his Forces. The 26th the Princess of Vaudemont attended with most of the chief Ladies of Brussels came in the Evening to see the Camp, going at the Head of the Line with a Train of about a dozen Coaches with six Horses; the Electrice was near her Time and could not go abroad. The 27th the Marechal of Villeroy's Army came to Forage about Zellich, and his Out guards advanced pretty near our Camp, which gave us the Alarm; His Majesty immediately rid out, being followed by the Prince, to observe the Motions of the French, and Haxhausen's Brigade of Danes, encamped upon the Height between Ganshoren and Berchom, was ordered to march with the Dragoons we had in the Camp on this side of Brussels; all the Cavalry received Orders to mount on Horseback, and Belcastel's Brigade at Laacken took Arms. About thirty Squadrons of Horse were commanded to attend His Majesty, who rid to the Height on the other side of the Abbey of Dilleghem, and it being found that the French had no other Design but to Forage between Zellich and Asch, it was not thought expedient to attempt any thing which might have engaged us in a General Battle without our Retrenchments, but only to watch and observe their Motions, and His Majesty came back to the Camp. The 29th the Dragoons of Tiviot, Rosse and Jedborough which, at our first coming to this Ground, had been posted at the Burnt-bridge upon the Canal, received Orders to march and join the Main Body of English Horse and Dragoons encamped at Diegom under General Auerquerque; and Scheltingas Regiment of Anhalt's Brigade was commanded in their place to cover the Canal from thence to Willebrook, as Colonel Murray's did on the other hand to Vilvorde and the Fort des trois Trous. The same day was the first Interview between the Marechal of Bouflers and My Lord Portland in the open Field on this side of Halle; the Marechal of Bouflers had sent a Trumpet into our Camp to attend his Lordship, who went in his Coach without any other Escorte, and the Marechal of Bouflers who was come to the place of Rendezvous with some Squadrons of Horse, ordered them all back to his Camp, when he saw My Lord come without any Guard, and only the Trumpet that he had sent, with him, but the General Officers that attended him remained: After great Civilities on both sides they withdrew apart to enter upon Business, and My Lord Portland came back into our Camp in the Evening; notwithstanding that his Lordship went this first time very privately, yet it was the public Discourse of the Camp the next day, and the Opinions were divided about the Business, some conjecturing one thing and some another, but most agreed that this Conference had more Relation to the Affairs of Peace than War. The 30th the King went to Dine in the Abbey of Dilleghem, which is very pleasantly situated about two English Miles from Brussels in the way to Wemmel, and was now almost a Mile in the Front of our Camp; it is of the Order of St. Norbert or Premontré, and stands upon an easy Ascent of a Hill with fine Walks and Woods, Gardens and Fish ponds about it. Colonel Webb's and Colonel Walter Collier's Regiments were ordered out to cover the Abbey, and a Detachment of 200 Men of the Guards were sent here to do Duty about His Majesty's Person; the King's Kitchen and Furniture had been sent in the Morning, and the Army (that was now full of the News of yesterday Conference) would have it, that the Marechal of Villeroy met the King in this place; but the King found his Quarter at Cockelberg too close, being environed with the Camp on one side and the Town on the other, and His Majesty had once a mind to remove his Quarters to this place to have a better and a freer Air, but it was too far out of our Camp, and too much exposed, to hazard His Majesty's Person there, and that Design was given over: In the Evening the King rid the Tour in his Coach about the chief Streets of Brussels, according to the Custom of the Nobility in these Countries, and the next day His Majesty went to the Opera; this gave very good hopes to those that were Wellwishers for Peace, to see the King mind some Divertisements in the midst of a Campagne. The first of July His Majesty had by an Express from the Hague, July. the News of the Elector of Saxony's being chosen King of Poland in the Diet at Warsaw, which came by a Courier at the Hague to the Sieur Bosen the Elector of Saxony's Plenipotentiary at the Congress for the Peace, and which he communicated immediately to all the Ministers of the Allies, who went to Compliment him upon this occasion; the Elector of Saxony had not publicly appeared as a Candidate till the Meeting of the Diet, and that the French Party had carried their Point in the Election of a Marechal; and the Prince of Conti and the Prince Royal eldest Son to the late King of Poland seemed to be the only Competitors that stood fair for the Crown; as for the Elector of Saxony he was not yet talked of, and his Design seemed hitherto to continue in the Emperor's Service and command his Armies in Hungary the Campagne following; but when the French Party appeared so great at the Meeting of the Diet, none but so Powerful a Prince as the Elector of Saxony, who could offer such great Advantages to the Poles, and make them Powerful by the joining of those Dominions and the Electorate of Saxony under one Head, as they are in Situation, and recovering thereby the Ancient Limits of that Republic upon the Turks, by the Siege of Caminieck; I say none but so Powerful a Prince that could bring such Advantages along with him to the Poles, could then frustrate the Designs of the French Party and oppose the Prince of Conti's Election: Colonel Fleming was sent to the Diet as the Elector of Saxony's Ambassador, who declared his Master one of the Candidates and made very great Offers to the Republic, and indeed greater than any one of the other Candidates could do; he was soon countenanced by the Imperial Party, and that the Religion which the Elector had hitherto professed might be no Obstacle to his Election, he produced a Certificate of His Highness' Abjuration of the Protestant Religion, and of having received the Sacraments of Confession and Communion some time before from the Duke of Saxen-Zeits his Kinsman Bishop of Raab, signed by the said Bishop; and the Pope's Nuncio attested the Truth and Validity of the Certificate as knowing the Hand of the said Bishop; * The Electors of Saxony were the first that received Luther's Reformation. and it cannot be believed that the Pope's Nuncio would have made that step if the Pope had been so Neutral in that Affair before the Election as he pretends to be since. The Elector of Saxony marched at the same time with all the Forces he had in his Country being about 8000 Men into Silesia and came to Breslaw upon the Frontier of Poland, to be as near Cracaw as he could to back his Pretensions: When the day of the Election came, the Standards of the Prince Royal's Party appeared in the Field as if they were still resolved to stand by him; and Saxony's and his being then divided, the Majority appeared on the French side, which made the Cardinal Primate, without any farther Poling, proclaim the Prince of Conti the very first day of the Meeting for the Election; the Prince Royal's Party seeing that it was in vain to struggle for him any farther, and that if they did, the French must carry the Election, joined that of the Elector of Saxony, which now made them much Superior to the Prince of Conti's Faction, and thereupon the Bishop of Cujavia proclaimed the Elector of Saxony King of Poland in the Field, and Sung Te Deum for it in the great Church of Warsaw, which the Elector's Party had shut up against the Cardinal Primate, who therefore Sung it in the Field; and thus it came to a double Election, about which I shall say no more, than that this Crown will in all likelihood be used hereafter as a Bait to bring the most Powerful Princes of Germany over to the Church of Rome, and thus at length ruin the Protestant Interest in the Empire, where we see it daily grow weaker and weaker: There is yet another Method of the Pope's to undermine the Protestant Religion in Germany, which 'tis not unfit to mention upon this occasion, and that is the alluring of the Younger Brothers among the Protestant Princes who are but Poor, with Money and Preferments to profess the Romish Religion; and if the Elder Branches fail, Rome gets this Advantage, that they have a Prospect of succeeding. This is sufficient to show that, next under God, the Welfare of the Protestant Interest does depend from the Good Union of England and Holland and the Northern Crowns, not only to Support it abroad, but even to keep it up in their own Dominions: This Good Union and Correspondence is most especially necessary between the two former, and the Enemies of our Religion can hardly compass their Designs but in setting us together by the Ears, in which ('tis to be feared) they meet but with too much Encouragement from the People on both sides. The Second, The Marechal of Villeroy sent a Trumpet to the Prince of Vaudemont to notify to him, that a Courier had passed through the Marechal of Catinat's Army the day before, going to the French King with an Account of the Prince of Conti's Election to the Crown of Poland, and that he had been proclaimed King by the Cardinal Primate before the Courier came away from Warsaw: The same day all our Artillery was drawn off from the Batteries upon the Retrenchment, and paraded upon the Height near the Windmill of Ganshoren, the Post where it had been before at our first coming to this Camp; it was at first supposed that this bringing of the Artillery together was for a Feu de joy for the Duke of Saxony's Election to the Crown of Poland, but it was brought from thence to incamp in the Rear of the Second Line two or three days after. The Fourth in the Evening, all the Artillery in the Marechals of Villeroy and Boufler's Armies being drawn up together in a Line upon a Height between them both toward Brussels, it was thrice fired, with as many rounds of Smallshot in both Armies, for the News of the Prince of Conti's Election to be King of Poland, and the same thing was done in all the other Armies of France by the King's Order. The Fifth, My Lord Portland went to the second Conference with the Marechal of Bouflers privately as before, and it was held in the same place in the open Field; several General Officers and others waited upon the Marechal of Bouflers to the place of Conference, and the Marechal told My Lord Portland, that if his Lordship would come attended with the Generals and other principal Officers of our Army, they should be very Welcome: Orders were given this Evening for all the Horses to Graze in the daytime, thereby to spare Forage, which began now to grow very scarce about our Army; The Horses belonging to the Infantry grazed accordingly the next day before our Camp, towards Zellich, Releghem and Wemmel, having a good Detachment to cover them; of which the Marechal of Bouflers having Intelligence, he came with about 30 Squadrons to disturb them, and all our Graziers were forced to come back into the Camp without any considerable Loss; but upon first notice on our side, the Earl of Athlone was commanded out with about 20 Squadrons of Horse with orders not to engage himself in any Action, only to observe the French and shelter the Retreat of our Graziers: Several Squadrons of the French Horse and ours came very near one another and drew up in Opposition, a deep hollow way remaining between them, and faced one another for a while, the Trumpets and Kettledrums making a very good Entertainment at the same time on both sides, without any Disturbance; but at last one of our Troopers, or some body else, fired a Shot or two from behind a Hedge, which alarmed the French, and some of them fired again, and killed two of our Troopers, which broke up this kind of an Interview; the French drew off and went their way, and so did we. The Tenth was held the third Conference between My Lord Portland and the Marechal of Bouflers in the open Field as before, My Lord went attended this time by about twenty Persons of note from our Camp, among whom were the Earl of Rivers Lieutenant General, and the Earl of Essex, Mr. Hill His Majesty's Envoy at Brussels and Treasurer of the Army, and Mr. Stepney the King's Envoy to several Princes of Germany, lately arrived from thence, and several others: The Marechal of Bouflers received them very kindly being presented to him by My Lord Portland, and desired the Dukes of Roquelaure, Luxembourg and Guiche-Grammont to entertain them in Conversation whilst he and My Lord should go aside to talk of Business. The French Plenipotentiaries gave in at last their Project of a General Peace with the Allies this day; the Affairs of Poland had not succeeded according to the Desires and Expectations of the French Court, Monsieur de Pointies Expedition had produced nothing remarkable but the Sacking of Carthagena and the Galleons were safe; but Pointy himself seemed not to be so now, and the French were very apprehensive of his meeting with Admiral Nevil, that had been sent from England to the West-Indies with a strong Squadron to observe him, and there were several Reports at present in Europe which were not at all favourable to Pointy, and the Parties concerned were very much afraid that they should have no great Share in the Booty made at Carthagena; and though Pointy should escape Nevil yet he had another Risk to run, and that was his getting into Bresl: As for the Siege of Barcelona, this place was very obstinately defended by the Spaniards, who had all the Forces they were Masters of Catalonia, concerned in the Defence by a Communication between the Town and the Army by the Fort of Monjovy, and which within and without amounted to about 17000 Men; whereas the French were not above 27 or 28000 strong, and too weak to take up the Posts all about the Town, but were forced to leave the Quarter of Monjovy open, which served for a Communication between the Besieged and the Spanish Army without, where they had not then above six or seven thousand Men commanded by the Vice roy of Catalonia; this made the Siege of Barcelona doubtful, and there was no likelihood of taking the place as yet: The French did not therefore think it convenient to delay the giving in of their Project any longer, and it was delivered in this day in Congress to the Mediator, consisting of three Heads (according to the Tenor of the full Powers which the French Plenipotentiaries had of Treating with the Emperor and Empire, the King of Spain, the State's General and their Allies) and 37 Articles. The French King by this Project offered chief (in relation to the Empire) either to restore Strasbourg in the Condition it was when taken, or to give in exchange all the places he had in Brisgow and Alsatia on the right side of the Rhine, as Brisack, Fribourg, etc. and the Fort of Kell on the same side of the Rhine opposite to Strasbourg; and likewise to restore Philipsbourg, and all other places taken in the Palatinate or elsewhere in the Empire since the Treaty of Nimeguen; and in case the Emperor and Empire accepted of the Equivalent for Strasbourg, that then the Rhine should serve as a common Limit to Germany and France all above Philipsbourg, and thereupon that the Emperor and Empire should have no Forts nor Fortifications from thence upon the left side of the Rhine, nor the French upon the right side of it; according to which Propositions if agreed to, the New Town of Brisack on the left side of the Rhine, the Bridge of Philipsbourg and the Work that covers it on the same side, were to be demolished by the French, in delivering of those places up to the Empire; and the French retaining Strasbourg and Fort-lovis were to demolish all the Forts upon the Islands of the Rhine in both these places, and the Works upon the right side of the Rhine opposite to Fort-lovis; but the Fortifications on the other side of the Rhine opposite to Strasbourg were to be delivered up to the Empire as part of the Equivalent for this Town: The French King offered likewise to restore the Duchy of Lorraine (notwithstanding the Pretensions he had by virtue of the Treaty of Nimeguen) in the State and Condition that Charles the 4th enjoyed it in the Year 1670, just before it was seized by the French; only he reserved to himself the Sovereign Property and Possession of the Town of Saar-lovis and a Territory of half a League about that place, for which the Duke of Lorraine should have an Equivalent somewhere else, in which he should have a Sovereign Property and Jurisdiction himself. The Substance of this Project in relation to Spain was, to restore first, all that had been taken either in Flanders or Catalonia since the War to His Catholic Majesty. 2ly, The Town of Luxembourg taken since the Treaty of Nimeguen, or else to give an Equivalent for it; which Equivalent was left in Blank in the Project, but was given out by Reports to be Maubeuge upon the Sambre, Condé upon the Scheld; Menin upon the Lys, and the Town and Chatellenie of Ipres. 3ly, To revoke all the reunions made since the Treaty of Nimeguen, which by virtue of this Treaty were to be restored: And lastly, To give back the Town and Castle of Dinant in the Condition they were when taken. As for what related to Holland in this Project, it does not belong to the Affairs of War hereabouts, and therefore I shall not take notice of it; only I shall add, that the Peace made between France and Savoy in the Year 1696, was to be comprehended in the General Treaty, and by the 35th Article all those that should be named on both sides by common Consent, either before the Ratification or within six Months after; which was the only one that could be interpreted to have any relation to England; and may be, My Lord Portland's Conferences with the Marechal of Bouflers were about this Project in relation to England, which (by reason the French had not yet acknowledged His Majesty) could not be inserted in the General one we are now mentioning; And lastly, The French allowed the Allies to consider of this Project, till the 20th day of August following Old Style, after which if they did not consent to it before or upon the said day, they pretended to be at liberty of altering the Conditions and making new Offers; But if the Treaty were concluded between France and the Allies, that then the King of Sweden as Mediator, and any other King's, Princes and Republics might give their Guarranty for the Faithful Execution and Observation of the same. But to return from the Congress to the Camp; the 13th the King, having reviewed the English Horse and Dragoons and the Germane Troops some time before at Diegom, began the Review of his Infantry this day, and the five eldest Brigades, being those of the Guards, Haro, Orkney, Fairfax and Ingoldesby, drew out in the little plain without the Retrenchment between Ganshoren and Jette to pass before His Majesty, the General Officers saluting at their proper Posts; the 14th the Regiments of Foot of Selwyn, Trelawny and earl, having Landed lately at Willemstadt from Edgland, came up to the Camp, where they were posted in a third Line in the Rear of Orkeney's Brigade; the Duke of St Alban and Major General Stewart, that had passed along with them, came some days before to Court. The 15th Tiffin and Maitland's Brigades reviewed before His Majesty, with Sir Henry Bellasis Lieutenant General, Sir David Collier and my Lord Cuts Major Generals at the head of them, but Brigadier Maitland's Regiment did not appear this day because the Clothing was not yet come from England. The 16th His Majesty reviewed Selwyn's Brigade (being the three Regiments lately come over) and Belcastels, Major General Stewart saluting on the Right, and the Prince of Hesse on the Left. The Marechal of Bouflers and my Lord Portland had the fourth Conference this day in a Meadow just without the Town of Halle, where his Lordship went attended with several of our Generals and other Chief Officers, among whom were Lieutenant General Bellasis, Major Generals Ramsay, earl, Lord Cutts and Lumley, and my Lord Raby, having all of them a very fine Retinue both of Servants and Horses along with them: The Chief Officers that came on Bouflers side, were Count de Tallard, Count de Gasse, and the Duke of Roquelaure Lieutenant Generals, the Marquis de Crenan and Monsieur de Pracontal Major Generals, etc. there were a great many Embrace on both sides at the first meeting, and great expression of Respect and Esteem, and the Marechal of Bouflers received our General Officers with abundance of Civility, as they were presented to him by my Lord Portland, taking particular Notice of those whom he had occasion to hear of in the Siege of Namur; the Generals and other Officers on both sides entertained one another in Conversation whilst the Marechal and my Lord held their Conference; several went into the Town to drink a Glass of Wine together, and others into the French Camp itself, where they were made very welcome; but my Lord Portland and the Marechal of Bouflers, having conferred together for some time in the open Field, went at last into a House of the Town together, and Sentries were posted upon the Doors to hinder any body from coming near; and it was pretty late when my Lord and his Company returned this Night. The 17th the King reviewed several Brigades of the Dutch Infantry, and men begun now to talk of the Kings leaving the Army to go to Loo, and that the Conferences between my Lord Portland and the Marechal of Bouflers had brought Matters to a very good Issue, not only in relation to His Majesty's Affairs, but those of a General Peace. The French had now been encamped a considerable while, Bouflers near Halle and Villeroy about St. Quintin Linneck, and Forage begun to be scarce about their Armies; this made them resolve to march into the Paysd ' Alost and Forage the Country all thereabouts, and between the Scheld and the Canal of brussels. The 17th the heavy baggage of the two Armies was commanded away towards Grammont for the more convenient march of the Armies into our Country; the 18th the Marechal of Villeroy's marched upon the Right from the Camp between Goick and Struhem in very good Order (because it was to advance pretty near to our Army) for fear of our Parties, and came to incamp with the Right near the Abbey of Affleghem, and Left at Bardeghem; and that of the Marechal of Bouflers marched in the same order upon the Left, to incamp with the Left near Affleghem, and right between Sandvord and Asche. The 19th Bouflers Army continued to march upon the Left, to change Ground for Villeroy's Army to have the right; and encamped with the Right at Bardeghem, and Left towards St. Amand upon the Scheld below Dendermond. The 22th both Armies marched to rectify their Camp and take up the Country between brussels and Dendermond, Villeroy's Army came to incamp more towards brussels, the Right making an Elbow between Asche and Sandvord facing to Halle; the rest of the Camp made a Line from Asche to the little Village of Peck near Opwick behind the Brook of Eiche, where was the Left of this Army, and the Marechal of Villeroy's Quarter at Maseele between Affleghem and Asche; that of Bouflers made a movement at the same time, to incamp in a Line with Villeroy more back towards the Dender which was now in his rear, the Right was at Opwick near the Left of Villeroy's Army, and the Left at Wiese, where the Marechal of Bouflers had his Quarter within half a League of Dendermond; and the Marechal of Bouflers Camp formed an Elbow here upon the Left facing toward Dendermond, as Villeroy's did at Asche and Sandvord to face towards Halle and brussels: The French lost 40 or 50 Horses this day, and had several Prisoners taken by some of our Parties sent out from the Regiments, which had been commanded behind the Canal to cover it upon this march of the Enemies, who were now encamped within two Leagues almost in a parallel with it. This near Neighbourhood of the French to the Canal and the Scheld, obliged us equally to look to security of the countries' covered by them, and to prevent their passing of either; and according to the situation of Places and the Positions of our Camps, the Canal seemed to be designed for the Care of our Brabant Army, and the Scheld for that of Flanders; wherefore His Majesty upon the first News of Villeroy's and Bouflers marching to come nearer the Canal, ordered Belcastel's and Oxenstern's Brigades (making eleven battalions) to march on the 18th and incamp between the Burnt-bridge and Willebrook, where they were to be joined by Colonel Murray's and Scheltingas Regiments already posted upon the Canal; my Lord Tiviot Major General was commanded the same way with five Regiments of Dragoons, being those Tiviot, Essex, Rosse, Jedborough and Mirmont; and all these Regiments together, Foot and Dragoons, made about 9000 Men under the command of Count de Noyelles Lieutenant General: Upon this removal of Oxenstern's and Belcastel's Brigades to march behind the Canal, that of Selwyn was ordered to incamp at Laacken in Belcastel's place; Anhalt's Brigade encamped before the Fort of Monterey, marched through the Town upon this, to incamp at Cockelbergh and fill up the Room of Oxenstern's; and the Brigade of Horse of Oost-frise encamped before the Fort of Monterey, in lieu of that of Foot of Anhalt; Infantry being more necessary in our Camp, as we were now entrenched, than Horse. As for the Elector, he had been forced to leave the Camp of Nevel since the 11th to come to Ghendt for his Health, being very much troubled with sore Eyes; but his Army had a little more plenty of Forage, that Corn being now ripe, which was not good for Horse when it was Green. The 17th the Elector received an Express from His Majesty to give him notice that the Marechals of Villeroy and Bouflers were to march the next day towards the Canal of Brussels and the Scheld; and therefore that it would be necessary for His Electoral Highness to send twenty battalions and all the Dragoons of his Army to incamp about Dendermond, there to oppose the Passage of the Scheld by the French; and all his Cavalry under the Cannon of Audenarde, to incamp on the Brabant side of the Scheld and disturb the Enemy's Convoys, who after the next March would be far from their Frontier Garrisons, and therefore very much incommoded by them, and that the rest of his Army should get behind the Canal between Ghendt and Bruges: Orders were likewise sent by the Elector to the Governor of Dendermond to let the Waters out to overflow the Country about this Town, which for this reason is strongly situated at the Confluence of the Scheld and the Dender, having abundance of Water at command by the Tides coming up the Scheld beyond it, and the lowness of the Country on both sides especially at the mouth of the Dender; so that with the Sluices they have at Dendermond they can drown all the flat Country about it and render it inaccessible. The Elector who was now at Ghendt (as I have just now said) repaired back to the Camp the same day, upon the first News of the Motions of the French, to regulate the Marches and Operations of the Army upon this Conjuncture. The 18th General Heyden marched by the Elector's Orders with all the Brandenbourg Foot being 18 battalions (which, with the two battalions of the Electoral Prince of Bavaria already behind the Scheld, made 20, the Number thought convenient by His Majesty) two Regiments of Brandenbourg Dragoons, and three Squadrons of Horse of the same Nation, and the Dutch Regiment of Dragoons of Holstein-Ploen towards Dendermond for the Defence of the Scheld, where General Heyden encamped this day at Grimberg Opsandt near that Town; the two Brigades of Ransaw and Holstein-Norbourg that had encamped all this while apart upon the Right about Landeghem were ordered to come and incamp in the Line in the place of the Brandenbourg Foot, and Fagel's Regiment was detached to cover the Canal of Bruges: The same day the Elector had Advice that the Marechal of Catinat was marched with the remainder of his Army (Montrevel being at Grammont) behind the Lines from Harlebeck. The 19th the Elector left the Army of a sudden to go to Brussels, and the Command of the Army remained to the Prince of Nassau-Sarbruck, who on the 20th received Advice that the Marechal of Catinat was marched from the Lines to pass the Scheld, of which he sent an Express to Prince Vaudemont at Brussels. The French being now so near Dendermond and the Scheld, had very much alarmed the Inhabitants of the Pays de Waes' who sent to the Prince of Nassau to desire his special Protection, and to take care for the Defence of the Scheld, where the Troops already posted about Dendermond did not seem sufficient; therefore the Prince of Nassau sent the 21th twelve pieces of Cannon, with Powder, Ball and other Necessaries to incamp on the other side of Ghendt at Distelberg, there to be ready to join General Heyden upon occasion; and the 23th the Prince himself left the Camp of Oydonck and Nevel, being attended by Major General Salisch and the Duke of Holstein-Norbourg Brigadier, with the Troop of the Friesland Guards, the Regiment of Horse of Nassau-Sarbruck, and six battalions, being those of Nassau Walloon, Holstein-Norbourg, Lochman, Dona, Harsolt and Willekens, and twelve pieces of Cannon with the Kettledrum; with which he marched through Ghendt to get behind the Scheld for the further Security of it at this time, and encamped with his Right at Huysen and Left near Melle-veer upon the River, where the twelve pieces of Cannon that had been sent to Distelberg came to his Camp and made up his Artillery to consist here of 24 pieces of Cannon: The rest of the Army which remained in the Camp of Nevel was under the Command of Count d'Arco General of the Bavarians, and Lieutenant General Opdam of the Dutch. The 24th, the Prince of Nassau went to visit all the Posts along the Scheld, between Calcken and Melle-veer, and he ordered the Dragoons of Holstein-Ploen that had marched with General Heyden to come back to his Camp at Huysen. The 25th both the Troops of Brandenbourg and Holland began to work upon some Retrenchments for the Defence of the most dangerous Passages of the Scheld; and the 26th General Heyden and Major General Salisch went to view the several Posts upon it between Calcken and Dendermond; for below Dendermond there was no great Danger, the Scheld being very large and a great Tide coming up, which rendered it very difficult for an Enemy to make Bridges over if there were any manner of Force to oppose them; and therefore the French could not pretend to attempt the passage of this River but between Dendermond and Ghendt, and consequently if they had such a Design, they must have passed the Dender (as they were now encamped) between Alost and Dendermond to come near this part of the Scheld. The 27th a Disposition was made for the Troops to incamp along the Scheld for the Defence of the most dangerous passages of it, in the manner following; over against Basserode below Dendermond one battalion, at Dendermond one battalion, at Appels-veer one battalion, upon Berleer Heath nine battalions, and the Dragoons of Marwitz, the Horse-Grenadiers, the Grand-Musqueteers and the Gens d'Armes with General Heyden: At Vtberg the Dragoons of his Electoral Highness and three battalions, and over against Schellebeck three battalions more, all these made the Troops of Brandenbourg commanded by General Heyden. The two battalions of the Electoral Prince of Bavaria were posted at Witterens, where they were to be joined by three more of the same Nation now expected daily from the Rhine: The rest of the Posts along the Scheld towards Ghendt were taken up by the Dutch Troops which came with the Prince of Nassau-Sarbruck, who during the Elector's absence, did now command the Army in Flanders. This was the Method taken for the guard of the Scheld, but the French did not express any Design that way, they seemed only to content themselves with subsisting of their Army in this Country, which was now open to them (as they were encamped) to the very Confluence of the Scheld and the Rupelle within two Leagues and little more of Antwerp, where they found abundance of all manner of Forage, no Armies having encamped all this War thereabouts to destroy it, or to discourage the Boors from Tilling of the Ground, or frighten them out of the Country; but if the French were so conveniently encamped for Forage, they suffered for it another way by the Difficulties they must meet with to get Provisions into their Camp, at such a distance from the Frontier Towns: Ath being newly taken, they could have no great Magazines there, and therefore they were forced to have their Bread and Provisions from Mons and Tournay, which places were far distant from them: To levelly these Difficulties as much as was possible, Monsieur de Courtebonne was detached with ten battalions and twelve Squadrons from Bouflers Army to go and incamp near Mons for the Communication of that place with the Army; Monsieur de Montrevel was already encamped at Grammont (as we have said before) to cover the Convoys from the Scheld to Villeroy's Camp upon his advancing to St. Quintin-Linneck: But now the Convoys from Mons to the Armies being very difficult, because it lay so remote and all Land-carriage, and some thing exposed to our Army at Brussels; and therefore that most of the Bread and Provisions must come from Tournay and the Scheld, for which Montrevels little Body at Grammont was not sufficient to furnish so many Escortes, for this reason the Marechal of Catinat marched from within the Lines of Courtray, to post himself at Helchin upon the Scheld for the security of Convoys by Water from Tournay to Renay, and thence by Land to Grammont; whence, being Escorted by Detachments from Montrevels Army, they were sent by the Dender to Alost for the use of the Army, where the French had now several battalions in Garrison; and there were Discourses at first that they had a design not only to Fortify this plaee, but also Ninove and Grammont, thereby to be Masters of the Dender as far as Dendermond itself; but as it has appeared, their Garrison in Alost was only for the present occasion. Catinat being obliged to leave the Lines and post himself upon the Scheld for the Security of Convoys to the two Armies beyond Alost, the Marquis de la Mothe, who commanded a Body of Eleven battalions and Six Squadrons between Ipres and Furnes, marched to post himself within the Lines between Ipres and Comines upon the Lys and observe the Troops we had left at Nevei; And most of the French Troops being now near the Scheld, Major General Fagel who Commanded a small Camp about Newport, sent several Regiments to post themselves about Bruges there to be ready to march towards Dendermond if the Marechals of Villeroy and Bouflers offered to pass the Dender, and endeavour to force the Scheld: The French, however, thought of nothing else at present but destroying the Forage in this plentiful Country, and as soon as they came to incamp hereabouts, the Marechal of Villeroy went to view with a strong Escorte, all the Country to the very confluence of the Rupelle and the Scheld over against Rupelmonde, where the Spaniards have a little Fort called the Fort of Ste Marguerite, and a small Garrison in it; this gave the Alarm as far as Antwerp, and fearing that the French might seize this Fort, which would cut off the Communication between brussels and Antwerp, a Reinforcement of Spaniards was sent from the Citadel by the Governor of Antwerp for the security of the place; but the French made no attempt against it, only they sent parties sometimes upon the Banks of the Rupelle, which fired once or twice upon the Barge or Vessel that carries Passengers every day between Antwerp and Willebrook, where the passage to and from Brussels is by the Canal in a Track-Schout or Barge that goes ' twice every four and twenty Hours; And thus I come insensibly to His Majesty's Camp near this Place, and therefore to speak of our Affairs on this side. We have left the King reviewing of the Infantry of his Army Brigade by Brigade, and taking care for the safety of the Canal upon the late Motions of the French, with some thoughts at the same time of leaving the Army and going shortly to Loo. On the 20th the King continued to review several Regiments of Foot, and Lucq's Brigade and the Germane Foot in the State's Service reviewed before His Majesty this day; afterwards the King saw my Lord Albemarle's Carabiniers and Dopft's Dragoons exercise, which they did with a great deal of Dexterity and order; My Lord of Albemarle was sent this day by His Majesty to the Hague, and the Fourth Troop of Guards marched out of the Camp to post itself in Relays for the Guard of His Majesty's Person between Breda and Loo: In the Evening the Elector, who had left the Camp of Nevel the day before, and lay the same Night at Antwerp, came to brussels, and after having paid a Visit to the Electrice, he went to wait upon His Majesty at his Quarter at Cockelberg. The 21th the King went to take his Leave of the Electrice and of the Princess of Vaudemont; 22th the King reviewed Haxhawsen's Brigade of Danes, and the Duke of Wirtemberg and Major General Count d' Alfeldt saluted at the head of it. The 23d my Lord Portland had the Fifth Conference with the Marechal of Bouflers about half way between the two Camps, but the King being to leave the Army the next morning, my Lord had not much Company with him; the Chief of our Officers that attended him were Major General Collier, the Earl of Arran, my Lord Raby and Brigadier Ingoldesby, etc. as for the Marechal of Bouflers he had much the same attendance as before. We had a great many of our Maroders out of our Army this day, which were met by the Marechal of Bouflers a great way out towards the French Camp, he advised them to go back or else that they were in danger of being taken Prisoners, but our Soldiers told him that a Peace was made, and that there was no great danger of it; this answer made him smile, and he was so Civil as to get this Officers to command them back to our Camp: In the Evening His Majesty was pleased to declare Brigadier Dompré of the Dutc-Horse, Major General of the States Forces; and the Elector was late with the King this Night, but came again very early the next Morning to see His Majesty go away for Holland, most of the Chief Officers of the Army came to Court at the same time: His Majesty left the Army about seven or eight this Morning being the 24th, the Elector took his leave at the King's Quarter and went back to Brussests, and the King went on to pass the Canal at Vilvorde and go from thence by Malines to Breda, Prince Vaudemont went as far as Vilvorde in His Majesty's Coach, where he took his leave of the King and then came back to the Camp to command the Army in Chief, and the Duke of St. Alban and my Lord Portland accompanied His Majesty in the Coach to Breda; whence his Lordship went the next day for the Hague to confer with our Ambassadors and the Chief of the Allies touching his Negotiations with the Marechal of Bouflers; but the King went to Dieren, where His Majesty tarried several days, and thence to Loo, there to take the Divertisements of the Season. Prince Vaudemont, being now Commander in Chief of our Army in Brabant, reviewed Haxhausen's Brigade of Danes and Brigadier Muitland's Regiment on the 27th. because he had been indisposed when they reviewed before the King. The Electrice of Bavaria was brought to bed this Afternoon of a Prince, and in the Night all the Artillery was fired thrice round the Ramparts, and there were abundance of Fireworks and great Illuminations in Town upon this occasion: Eppingers and Lloyd's Dragoons which had hitherto kept with the Camp at Cockelberg, were commanded this day to march behind the Canal and incamp with the rest of the Dragoons under the Command of Lieutenant General de Noyelles. The 28th the Army Foraged beyond Malines and Louvain on the other side of the Dyle, Count d'Alfeldt Commanded the Escorte which was ordered to take two days Bread, because the Army could not Forage so far and return the 29th. This scarcity of Forage was very troublesome to the Army, and the Prince, to make it subsist as easy as 'twas possible, in a Camp which we could not abandon, ordered all the Horses belonging to the Infantry, with all the Artillery Horses, and those belonging to the Bread-Waggons to be sent to Graze in the Meadows along the Rupelle and the Dyle about Malines, and detachments were made at the same time from the Army, being a weekly Command under a Field Officer, to cover them; one for the English and another for the Duteh: There were yet two or three Forage days about our Camp which were reserved for the Horse, but the Chief Officers and Colonels of the Foot, and others that were obliged to have Horses in the Camp had orders on the 31th to send for dry Forage from the Magazines of Brussels, for which they were to pay nine Stivers a Ration; This day in the Evening the Elector, being attended with his Court, came to see the Camp, and rid along both the Lines, and went to see the Retrenchments we had made both for the Securities of the Camp and to cover the Town; but the King keeping still his Quarter at Cockelberg, where most part of his Camp-Baggage was left, and a Guard mounting daily upon it (His Majesty being resolved to come back again, if the French did attempt any thing during the remainder of the Campagne) the Elector therefore thought it fit to go back again and command the Army in Flanders, and execute the Design that had been agreed upon at Brussels of advancing with the said Army as far as Rousselar, where it could now subsist conveniently for Forage; which the Marechal of Catinat could not hinder, whilst the Marechals of Villeroy and Bouflers were encamped so near the Canal of Brussels and so far removed from their Frontier. For the Marechal of Catinat could not pretend to pass the Lys and dispute this Camp with the Elector, unless he was reinforced by Montrevel's Troops encamped at Grammont, in which case the Marechals of Villeroy and Bouflers could not subsist where they were, without making great Detachments from their Armies to Grammont and the Scheld, to make good their Communication with their Frontier, and secure their Convoys, which otherwise could not come to their Camps without very great Difficulties, the Garrison of Audenarde laying unluckily in the way to cut them off; then, if the Marechals of Villeroy and Bouflers made such Detachments, the Prince could send proportionable Detachments from his Army to guard the Scheld; or if the joined Marechals did send any greater Reinforcements to the Marechal of Catinat, than Prince Vaudemont could (by slipping of Troops from his Army behind the Canal and so to the Scheld) defend the Pays de Waes' himself, and General Heyden could have marched from thence to join and reinforce the Elector at Rousselar: But if only Montrevel joined the Marechal of Catinat, and Villeroy and Bouflers made no other Detachments from their Armies but for the Post of Grammont to seoure their Convoys, it would be sufficient for the Prince to send a Brigade of Foot and two Regiments of Dragoons to guard the Scheld below Dendermond, whilst General Heyden should provide for the Defence of it above between Dendermond and Ghendt; where the passage of this River is most practicable, but was at present in no great danger whilst the French were on the other side of the Dender towards the Canal of Brussels and the lower Scheld; or otherwise if both the said Marechals should pass the Dender to get between Dendermond and Ghendt, then all the Troops we had upon the Canal of Brussels were to pass the Scheld at Rupelmonde and reinforce General Heyden, and other competent Detachments were to be made by the Prince to put that General in a Condition to hinder the joined Marechals from attempting to pass the River: This was the Disposition made between the Elector and the Prince at Brussels for the marching of the Army of Flanders to take the Camp of Rousselar. According to this Resolution, the Elector left Brussels the second of August. August and came to Antwerp, where he had ordered Don Bernardo de Quiros the Spanish Plenipotentiary Ambassador at the Congress of Ryswick for the Treaty of Peace to meet him, there to confer together about the Affairs relating to that Negociation. The Third the Elector came to Ghendt, and Don Bernardo de Quiros went back for the Hague; and the same day our Flanders Army marched in two Bodies in order to take the Camp of Rousselar the next; the Spanish and Bavarian Troops which had remainded in the Camp of Nevel marched to Thilt by Vinck, and Arseel, where they were joined by the two battalions of the Electoral Prince of Bavaria which had been all this while behind the Scheld, and three more of the same Troops, come some days before from the Rhine and encamped at Distelberg, being a third battalion of the Elector's Guards, and two of Litsebourgh: The Dutch Forces and Brandenbourg Horse which had continued at Nevel under the Command of Lieutenant General's Opdam and Heyden and Major General Lindeboom, marched by Grammen and Wouterghem to Denterghem, where the Prince of Nassau-Saarbruck joined them with the Troops and Artillery he had with him at Heusen behind the Scheld, and encamped with the Right at Rood Vierschaer, and the Left at Vondeghem, Denterghem (which was the Prince of Nassau's Quarter) remaining between the two Lines in the Body of Foot. As for General Heyden, he had the Guard of the Scheld committed to his care, and the 18 battalions of Brandenbourg Troops, the Regiment of Dragoons and three Squadrons of that Elector's Horse under his command, were posted according to this Disposition, at Dendermond one battalion, from Dendermond to Appels-veer, the Boors of the Pays de Waes' were to keep Guard till the coming of the Brigade of Foot that was to be sent by the Prince; the main Body upon the Heath of Berleer, consisting of nine battalions and the Horse and Dragoons, was to take care of the Posts upon the River from Appels to Vtberg; at Vtberg, were posted two battalions; at Schellebelle, upon the Height over against the Village, two battalions; above Wetterens upon the Right, two battalions to guard the Scheld between Wetteren-Noort and Quatrecht; and higher up towards Ghendt one battalion upon the Heath of the Chateau d'Ansaut, to guard as far as Claverken; and from thence to Ghendt the Scheld was to be guarded by the Garrison of the Town; all these Regiments had Orders to incamp double to make a larger Front thereby, and the Boors of the Pays de Waes' were commanded to have Men of the Country with Arms ready, to secure any of the forementioned Posts, in case all the Brandenbourg Forces should be obliged to join together, by the Motions of the French to attempt the passage at any one particular place. The Fourth, The Elector's Army having encamped at Thilt and Denterghem the day before, marched to join together at Rousselar; the Spaniards and Bavarians from Thilt by Pettem, Ardoye, and Baverens, and the Dutch and Brandenbourghers from Denterghem by Mulenbeck, Ingelmonster and Emelgem, and so encamped all together in a Line of Battle with the Right at St. Thomas' Chapel between Rousselar and Hooghleede, and the Left near the Bridge upon the Highway from Rousselar to Caecktem; the Elector came this day to the Camp from Ghendt, a good Escorte being left by the Army to attend His Highness along the way, and both the Elector and Prince of Nassau-Sarbruck had their Quarters in the Town of Rousselar: This Army consisted at present of 29 or 30 battalions, 18 having been left behind the Scheld, two upon the Canal of Bruges, (being those of Fagel and Reinard) four sent to Audenarde, and one left in Dendermond. The Marechal of Catinat, whose business it was to observe the Motions of our Army in Flanders, left Helchin upon the Scheld on the Seventh, and not being able to hinder the Elector from taking the Camp of Rousselar, he came on the Fourth to post himself behind the Lys, the Foot between Menin and Comines, and the Horse at Courtray to Forage without the Lines: And the Fifth, Monsieur Montrevel detached eleven battalions and a Regiment of Dragoons of his Body at Grammont to post themselves at Helchin, there to be in a readiness to join Catinat upon occasion, and the Brigade of Mouroux from Villeroy's Army, and another from Bouflers, were commanded to reinforce Montrevel, and make up the Number he had sent to Helchin. The Prince, being obliged on his side to provide at present for the Safety of the Scheld, and the Reinforcing of General Heyden upon occasion, commanded on the third Major General Stewart to march with Tiffin's Brigade (except Saunderson's Regiment) by the Canal to Willobrook and so to Rupelmonde, where he was to pass the Scheld, in order to post himself in the Pays de Waes', being to be reinforced in his March by Eppinger's and Lloyd's Dragoons. The Fourth, Major General Stewart came with the said Forces into the Neighbourhood of Dendermond, where he disposed them Regiment by Regiment to incamp about the Villages near the Scheld, his Quarter being at Berlcer; and the Brandenbourg Troops removed from hence to Heusen, where General Heyden encamped with the main Body, but the rest of the Brandenbourgers remained posted as before: The same day in the Morning was a Rencounter near the Wind mill of Releghem, between Zellich and Wemmel, of a Party of the French Life guards and Dragoons, with one of Dutch Horse commanded by Colonel Balthuin of the Duke of Holstein-Pleon's Regiment, where the French were worsted; the Prince had been informed overnight, that the French had a Design to carry off the next Morning our Patroville of Horse, which was sent daily at break of day from one of our Outguards to the Wind mill of Releghem, whereupon he ordered that very Night a Detachment of 250 Horse and 50 Dragoons, to be sent to the Windmill of Releghem under the Command of Colonel Balthuin, there to put himself in Ambuscade and expect the French, who accordingly ordered a Squadron of fifty Horse in the little Plain by the Windmill, and posted himself in a Neighbouring Defilé: The French made that night a Detachment of fifty Dragoons of Ste Hermine's Regiment under the Command of the Sieur Sainfal, and 80 Horse of the King's House commanded by the Sieur Philipes. Exempt of the Guards, all which he divided into three Squadrons, to come and carry off our Patroville; when, early in the Morning, they came near the Windmill, they met with the fifty Horse and Dragoons we had in the Plain, and Sainfal, who commanded the first Squadron, charged them so briskly that they retired into the Defilé, where being pursued by the French, Sainfal got thus into our Ambuscade, where both he and the Squadron would have been entirely cut off, had not the Sieur Philipes come and rescued them as well as he could, but by his assistance they got off after a considerable Loss; about twenty were killed upon the Spot on both sides, of which fifteen or sixteen were French, and amongst them a considerable Person who was buried the next day in the Church of Releghem with Trumpets and Kettledrum; on our side, the Captain-Lieutenant and Quartermaster of Wirtemberg's Regiment, a Lieutenant of Prince Philip's, were wounded and taken Prisoners, and six Troopers either killed or Prisoners, and two wounded; On the French side, a Sub-Brigadier of the Life-guards, two Life guard-men and 12 Dragoons were made Prisoners, and 20 Horses taken and brought into our Camp: Colonel Balthuin having gained this Advantage, did not think it convenient to pursue the French, for fear of falling into an Ambuscade himself, but retired, after this Action, to our Camp. At this time, not only Forage but likewise Straw was very scarce about Brussels, and the Soldiers lay very ill for want of it; on the Fifth, My Lord Cutts, with the Prince's leave, sent a Party to the Village of Mais to fetch all the Straw that was there, for the use of the Guards and Royal Regiment, which was above half way between Villeroy's Camp and ours, but where we had kept a Guard in the Chasteau all this while, the French having on their side a Safeguard in the Village; this Detachment was made out of the Guards and the said Regiment, and a Man of a Tent for Straw, who here provided themselves with it and got back safe into the Camp; the Safeguard was absent at the first coming of our Party, but returned to his Post before they went off, he reported that the Marechal of Villeroy had reviewed his Army that day, and therefore had been obliged to go to the Camp and repair to his Company; and, may be, had it not been for that, the bringing off of the Straw from this Village could not have been done without some Skirmish with the French. The Sixth, Colonel Saunderson's Regiment (the Remainder of Tiffin's Brigade) was ordered to march behind the Canal of Brussels, and guard it between the Burnt-bridge and the Fort des Trois Trous on both sides of Vilvorde, being the Post which Colonel Murray's Regiment had before. The Ninth in the Evening the two Marechals of Villeroy and Bouflers had Te Deum Sung at their Quarters for the taking of Barcelona, the Capital City of the Principality of Catalonia, and afterwards all their Artillery and Smallshot was fired thrice round, and the same thing was done this Evening in the Marechal of Catinat's Army: This place had been invested the Second of June, the Trenches opened the Fifth in the Evening, and after having held a Siege of one and fifty Days from the opening of the Trenches, it began to Parley the 26th of July, and a Cessation of Arms was agreed upon, but the Besieged did not consent to Capitulate till the 27th, under pretext of conferring first with the Chief Officers of the Town, and the next day, of giving notice to the Viceroy of Catalonia encamped seven or eight Leagues off, but the French allowing no longer term for the Cessation, the Hostages were exchanged the 27th in order to Capitulate; yet the Capitulation was not made up and signed till the 31th, because of the great variety of Business it included, for the Army, Courts of Judicature Ecclesiastical and Temporal, Civil Magistrates and Burghers, Barcelona being the Head Town of Catalonia, and all this Principality surrendered up to the French with it: The Marquis de Chemerant Brigadier of the Army brought the Capitulation to the French King, who made him a Marechal de Camp or Major General for this Service; and by it, the Besieged were to march out of the Town and the Fort of Monjovy (which was delivered up with it) on the fifth of August, to go thence to Tarragon, with 30 Pieces of Cannon and six Mortars, and to be conducted as far as Martorel upon the River of Lobregat; a Cessation of Arms was likewise agreed upon by this Capitulation, between the two Armies till the 22th of August Old Style, during which time the River Lobregat should serve as a Barrere for the French and Spaniards, each to keep on their respective side: But I must not forget (whilst I speak of this Capitulation) to add, That the Article, made by the Besteged for the Preservation of the Authority and Privileges of the Inquisition-Court held in this Town, was rejected by the French, and consequently this Court laid aside whilst Barcelona should be in their Possession, as if 'twas yet a severer Tribunal than the Military Inquisition of Dragoons. Thus Barcelona fell into the hands of the French, after a Famons' Siege, not so much for the Strength of the Place, (for 'tis but weak and ill fortified) as for the Defence that was made in it, the Number of the Besieged, and that of the Besiegers: The Besieged, though the whole Army of Spain, by the Communication of the Fort of Monjovy, was concerned in it, got a great deal of Honour in the Defence of a large and weak Town, and vigorously pressed with Cannon and Bombs; and the Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt who was once Colonel of an English Regiment and Brigadier of His Hajesty's Army, and in a manner trained in our Service in the War of Ireland, had a very great share in the Glory of so good a Defence; the French on their side, with a small Army of about 28000 Men, out braved the great Resistance of all the Spanish Army, and carried it, when they did not exceed the Besieged by above 10 or 11000 Men; which Consideration must help very much to set off the Vigour, Boldness and Resolution of the Besiegers, who ought to have a great deal of Honour allowed them upon this account: 'Tis true; that they ransacked all the Forts and Garrisons in Languedor and Provence, whereby they got a Reinforcement of six or seven thousand Men to repair their Losses, and were by this means almost as strong at the end of the Siege as at the beginning of it; but if the number of Burghers that were in Barcelona, who no doubt had a hand in the Defence of it, be considered, this will not very much lessen the Glory of taking of it. I do not know the Situation of Barcelona, yet it can hardly be imagined, but if the Spaniards (having no other place to defend to put a stop to the Progress of the French Conquests in a Country where they could not subsist with great Armies) had made by times a good and strong Retrenchment on one side of Barcelona for to cover their Army, and at the same time good Fortifications and Outworks on the other, that if the French had besieged it in such a Posture of Defence, Barcelona could have taken by them; and even as Barcelona was, if Spain had transported the Troops they had to spare in Italy since the Peace on that side, it would have been an Attempt above their Power: As to this last, the Spaniards say that the Duke of Savoy kept still the Forces on foot he had during the War, and therefore that they could not leave the Milane's open and exposed to an armed Neighbour, if it was so, the Duke of Savoy has done, in that, a signal piece of Service to the French King; as to the first, the Spaniards pretend that the English and Dutch were to send a good Squadron to their Assistance, and then that Barcelona would have been in no Danger; for the French Army before this place could not subsist but by the Communication it had by Sea with Provence and Languedoc, and the Seaports they were Masters of in Catalonia; and if we had sent a Fleet in the Mediterranean at that time, the French must not only have raised the Siege, but the Army could not have got off but with very great difficulty: Whatever reason the Spaniards might have to expect a Fleet from England and the States, yet no Man can say that this does excuse them from acting their part in providing for the Safety of the Place, and putting of it in a good Posture of Defence, chief considering that we had already a Squadron of about twenty Men of War in the West-Indies to watch Pointies Motions and protect the Galleons, which must otherwise have fallen into the hands of the French; and may be, this was as much as England could do at that time, considering our late Money Difficulties. Notwithstanding the great Advantages which the French had over the Allies by this great Conquest; and that the French Plenipotentiaries had given in their Project the Tenth of the foregoing Month in the very middle of this Siege, and that no Relief could be expected for the Place, but purely from the vigorous Defence of the Besieged, yet this did not seem to hasten the Negociations amongst them at Ryswick: Copies of this Project had been given to the Plenipotentiaries of the Empire, Spain and Holland, according to the Tenor of it; and the Project as well as full Powers of the French, being directed to treat with the Emperor and Empire, the Empire had therefore in the Diet at Ratisbonne, made a Solemn Deputation to treat on the behalf of all the States and Princes of Germany with the French King; in which, among the Ecclesiastical Electors that of Mentz, the Secular, those of Bavaria, Saxony and Brandenbourg; and out of the College of Princes, for the Catholics, the Arch bishop of Saltsburg, the Great Master of the Teutonick Order, the Bishops of Wortzburg, Spire, Constance, Hildersheim, Liege and Munster, the Princes of the House of Austria, Palatine and Newbourg, etc. and for the Protestants, Brandenbourg for the Duchy of Magdebourg, Sweden for the Dutchies of Bremen and Deuxponts, Saxen-Cobourg, Saxen-Gotha, Brandenbourg-Cullenbach, Brunswick-Zell, Brunswick-Wolfembuttle, Hesse-Cassel, Wirtemberg, Holstein, Anhalt and the Counts of Wetteravia; out of the Imperial Towns, for the Catholics, Cologne and Augsburg, and for the Protestants, Francfort and Nuremberg were appointed, by their Plenipotentiaries at Ryswick to represent the whole Body of the Germane Empire, and to treat in its Name with the French King's Ambassadors. These having a Copy of the Project laid before them, gave in their Answer to it, wherein they insisted upon the full and entire Restitution of every thing as it had been established in the Treaty of Westphalia, reserving a Power to the Emperor and Empire of keeping a Garrison in the Town of Straisbourg, for which they could not accept of an Equivalent; neither could they allow the French King to keep Saar-lovis with the pretended District about it in the Duchy or Lorraine, but that the whole must be restored to that Duke: This was the chief Substance of their Answer, when at this time the French were pressing the Siege of Barcelona very hard, that they had taken Ath in Flanders, and that Prince Lewis of Baden was still on the other side of the Rhine, notwithstanding the Weakness of the French that way. This Answer seemed to raise great Obstacles to the forwarding of the Treaty, if the Empire would insist upon it to the last; and yet notwithstanding these Difficulties, 'twas about this time * The first Conference August the Sixth. that they began to treat personally at Ryswick in the Mediatour's Chamber, whereas hitherto the Conferences had been carried on in Writing by the Mediator, the Allies and the French keeping to their respective Apartments. The Term given by the French in their Project was now drawing near, but in the mean while 'tis fit to see what the Armies were doing in the Field: The two French Armies commanded by the Marechals of Villeroy and Bouflers, were now advanced a great way from any of their Frontier Towns, which made Convoys tedious, and every thing but Forage very scarce in their Camps; and, had it not been for the Conveniency of Water carriage, from Tournay to Renay upon the Scheld, and from Grammont to Alost by the Dender (no Land carriage remaining but from the Scheld to Grammont, and from Alost to the Armies which were just by) it had been impossible for them to have subsisted where they were; and the great Rains that fell about this time so broke the ways, that the little Land-carriage they had became extremely difficult, and the Boats could hardly for the same reason be drawn by Horses: If this made Provisions scarce and dear in the French Armies, it created no less an Inconveniency for the bringing in of Forage, and they were forced at this time to cut down vast Quantities of Fascines for the repairing of the Ways, and the making of Bridges over the Ditches, being all filled with Water by the excessive Rains. The 12th, the two Brigades of Foot that had been commanded to Grammont, were ordered to return to the two Armies, and the 11 Battallious detached from Montrevel came back from Helchin to their former Post, because the Brandenbourg Troops had not marched to Rousselar with the Elector, but continued in the Pays de Waes', and therefore the Marechal of Catinat did not want Assistance for the defence of the Lines: But the French having consumed by this time all the Forage hereabouts, and being obliged to Forage the last time on the other side of the Dender towards Ghendt, began to think of retreating with their Armies and coming nearer to their Frontiers; and thereupon ordered this day 8000 Men to go and cut Fascines under the cover of a Brigade of Swissers and some other battalions, for the Reparation of the Ways and making Bridges over the Dender, which were carried to the places appointed, by the Horse and Dragoons; for the Wether was so bad at this time, that we thought the French could not stir at present, because they (as some supposed) could not carry off their Artillery; but by the help of vast quantities of Fascines, and of Trees cut down and laid across under them in the most dangerous places, they compassed this Difficulty: The Marquis de Harcourt, who had left Bossu to come and incamp at Solre lower upon the Sambre, was driven by the Rains from the Banks of this River, to incamp between Walcourt and Florennes. The 14th, The French having repaired the Ways, and finished the Bridges over the Dender, the Artillery and heavy Baggage was commanded away out of both Armies, that of the Marechal of Villeroy passed the Dender, and that of Bouflers kept on the right side of it. The 15th, The Marechal of Villeroy's Army marched upon the Left to pass the Dender, and Prince Vaudemont, who had Information of their Design and of the March of their Artillery the overnight, ordered then a Detachment of 1500 Horse and 1000 Foot to be ready the next Morning, with which he went betimes to observe the Marching off of the French, and see if any Attempt could be made upon their Rearguard, having advanced for this end, between Zellich and Asche; but the French marched off in such order, that no advantage could be taken, and no other Action happened but that of some Pickeering of our Hussars amongst them, and thus passed the Dender upon several Bridges at and about Alost, and encamped with the Right near this Town, and the Left at Denderleuwe, where the Marechal of Villeroy had his Quarter: The same day the Marechal of Bouflers marched upon the Right to change Post again with Villeroy, and came to incamp at Alost, the Dender remaining between them; and 16 Boats came down that River this day from Grammont to Alost, laden with Biscuit for the use of the Armies which wanted it very much at present. The 16th, the Artillery and heavy Baggage marched on before, because of the badness of the Ways, having a strong Escorte of several Squadrons and battalions commanded by the Marquis de Crequi Lieutenant General; The Marechal of Villeroy's Army halted this day, but that of Bouflers marched from Alost up the Dender, which River was upon the right Colomn of the March, and came to incamp at Ninove, keeping still on the same side of the Dender. The 17th, The Marechal of Villeroy's Army marched on upon the Left towards Audenarde and the Scheld, and came to incamp with the Right beyond Esche, the Left at Ste Marie-Oudenhove and General Quarter at Steinhuys, to destroy the Forage, and subsist between the Scheld, the Dender and Ghendt, where the Armies had not yet encamped this Year; but Bouflers Army halted this day, and marched on the 18th upon the Right higher up the Dender towards Grammont, where it encamped for the Conveniency of Forage on both sides of the River, with the Right at Stanberg towards Gamerage, and the Left on the other side towards the Scheld. The 19th, the Marechal of Villeroy removed his Quarter from Steinhuys to Ste Marie-Oudenhove upon the Left, where the French and Swiss Guards, and the Dragoons of Fimareon, had Orders to come and incamp to cover his Quarter: The Marechal of Bouflers Army being now posted near Grammont, Monfiour de Montrevel was ordered to incamp at Helchin with the Body under his command, consisting of 16 battalions and 20 Squadrons. These Motions of the French seemed to threaten Audenarde, and we were apprehensive of it; for the Marechal of Villeroy had gone, at his first coming to this Ground, to view all the Posts and Avenues about this place, and the Banks of the Scheld both above and below, with a strong Detachment of the King's House, Light-Horse and Dragoons, as if he designed to Invest it; and the Siege of Audenarde was discoursed of very hotly upon this occasion, in case the Peace was not Signed by the 20th justant, according to the Time prefixed by the French in their Project; and it being now just upon the time, every Body longed to know the Event of that day at Ryswick: The Affairs relating to the Differences between France, England and Holland were adjusted, and the Treaty ready to be Signed; Spain had just now lost all Catalonia in the loss of Barcelona, and therefore had no reason to stand upon very high Terms; and the Empire had as little Prospect of bringing the French to the Treaty of Westphalia; this made most People expect that a General Peace would be Signed that day; but when it came to the very nick of time, the Imperialists pretended to have a longer time for their Instructions, which they could not have time enough to Sign at present; and insisted upon having better Terms than those offered by the French, which in several cases derogated from the Treaty of Westphalia, and thereupon refused to Sign: Our Plenipotentiaries and those of Spain and Holland having no Instructions to Sign separately from the rest of the Allies, were therefore obliged to stand out too: The French, who had their Measures ready, as if they expected this from the Imperialists, gave in a Memorial to the Mediator the very next day, in which they laid out the great Advantages their Master had gained over the Allies in the whole Course of the Campagne, and especially by the taking of Barcelona, which could not do otherwise than give him great Hopes of gaining considerably by the farther Prosecution of the War; and, although the Allies had let the Term given in their late Project pass, and consequently that they had a Right to enter upon new Propositions, yet the French King (to show his great Moderation to the World, and that in the midst of his Conquests he sincerely desired the Peace and Repose of Christendom) was contented, notwithstanding all his Advantages, to change and alter nothing in the said Project, but in relation to Strasbourg, which he did now pretend to keep to himself, and that the Emperor and Empire should be obliged to take the Equivalent, without any farther liberty of Choice in that Matter; and likewise, that Spain should yield to him about seventeen Villages of the Chatellenie of Ath for a Land Communication between Tournay and Condé; and a farther Term was given in this new Memorial to the Allies, till the Tenth of September following. This Memorial made a great Noise at first at Ryswick, and People began to apprehend it might break off the Negociations; the Imperialists especially talked very much of renewing the War, and prosecuting of it with greater Heat and Vigour than it had been hitherto done; and so they had need: But notwithstanding all this Bustle, they grew calmer by degrees, and this new Memorial seemed to have been contrived on purpose to obviate all the Difficulties which otherwise must have occurred in the Choice of the Equivalent for Strasbourg; for the restoring of Strasbourg, a Sovereign, Free and Imperial Town, as it was offered by the French, did not accommodate the Emperor nor indeed the Empire; because than it would still have been at the French King's Mercy, and must have opened its Gates when ever his Armies should come that way to pass the Rhine: But the keeping of it accommodated the French King, and the Equivalent the Emperor; and it could not be expected, that, whilst there was a Liberty of Choice, the Empire could be brought to accept of the Equivalent but with very great Difficulties; though, in Truth, the Equivalent was a better Barrier to the Empire, than the Restauration of Strasbourg in the State it was in when the French took it, and they would not offer it upon any other Terms; but the lapsing of the Term given in the first Project, and the putting in this new Memorial thereupon, was an Expedient to satisfy both Parties, and to compass their Ends without any Difficulty. And thus the Negociations were not interrupted by this Memorial, and the French, who seemed to threaten Audenarde with a Siege, and had brought their Armies towards the Scheld upon the Expiration of the Term given in their Project, did not think it fit at present to attempt this Undertaking: I have therefore little to say concerning them in this place, and so shall come to speak of the Transactions in the Elector's Camp during these Affairs, which I have left at Rousselar. The Sixth, the height of Hooghleede commanding very much the Camp, it was thought fit to alter it, and bring the Right to secure a Post at present of such Consequence for the Army; which was executed on the Seventh, and the Army encamped with the Right at Hooghleede, and the Left towards Caectem, extending itself as much as was possible. A Field-Officer out of every Regiment of Horse and Dragoons was ordered at the first coming to this Camp, to go with Quarter-Master-General Ivoy, and see what Forage was to be found in the Country hereabouts towards Dixmuyde and Ipres, where they found enough for the Army to have subsisted here, much longer than it did, though some would have represented to the Elector, that it could not subsist hereabouts for want of it; but nevertheless this was a very inconvenient Camp another way, because the Army was but small and far advanced from our Frontier, and the Convoys difficult, which consequently must Harrass it very much by the greatness of the Duty; and the Country about it was close and Woody, and very convenient for the Parties out of Courtray, Menin and Ipres, which made them take daily a great many Horses: For these Reasons it was thought necessary to bring the Army back nearer to our Frontier, either towards Dixmuyde or Bruges; and the Elector went this day to view the Camp of Hantsame and Cortemark near Dixmuyde, and that of Torhout near Bruges, with an Escorte of 500 Horse; which was not the only Security His Highness had for this Journey, for Major General Fagel was marching at the same time that way from Newport, to reinforce his Army at Rousselar, where he arrived this day with the four Hanover battalions, of the Guards, St. Paul, Hulsen and Cinqvilles, and two Dutch, being those of Beyma and Swansbeck; and by this Reinforcement the Elector's Army consisted now of 35 battalions: Upon this Motion of Fagels, Colonel Soutandt had the Guard of the Canal of Bruges, with his battalion and those of Fagel and Reinardt; and Colonel Buchan's and the Lord Lorne's Regiments were ordered to march for Plassendal to be near Newport. The Elector thought to have kept the Field longer in this Camp with this small Reinforcement, but the Rains came on so violently, that it would be a very hard Matter to get Convoys from our Frontier, and must make Provisions very Scarce and Dear; for this and the Reasons above mentioned, it was resolved to leave this Camp, and march either towards Dixmuyde where every thing could come by Water to the Camp, or else towards Torhout, which was but between three and four Leagues from Bruges; the first, though very Convenient, was not thought adviseable, because then if the Marechal of Catinat had the Advantage of one March, he would easily get to Bruges before the Army could come there to cover it; and therefore the Camp of Torhout, where Bruges and the Canal were at once covered, was thought the most convenient. Accordingly the Army marched the 15th upon the Right (all the Infantry upon one Colomn being the Left, and all the Cavalry upon another which made the Right, and the Artillery and heavy Baggage upon a third within the two others, and covered by them, towards the Canal of Newport) and came to incamp with the Right beyond the Chapel of Wynendale with the Wood before it; the Body of Foot between the Castle of Wynendale on the Right, where the Prince of Nassau-Saarbruck had his Quarter, and Town of Torhout on the Left, where was that of the Elector; the Left Wing, being all composed of Brandenbourg Horse and Pyper's Brigade, extended itself farther upon the Left beyond this small Town: A Captain of the Bavarians, that had been detached with a Party to cover the March, and Scour the French Parties which Skulked up and down in this close Country, defeated three of them, and killed three and twenty French, besides several wounded and Prisoners. The 16th, Major General Fagel marched back to Newport with the six battalions under his Command. The 17th, the Army made a General Forage in the Villages of Hantsame, Cortemarck and Werckene, where the Elector went in Person; Lieutenant Colonel Pechman of the Bavarian Guards, who was ordered to Scour the Woods with a good Detachment of Foot, defeated two French Parties, killed and wounded several, and brought 25 Prisoners of the first, and 19 of the second into the Camp; all the Foragers had their Arms by the Elector's Orders, and this Affair was managed so well, that the Army did not lose one Horse. The 19th, the Elector viewed all the Bavarian Troops in the Heath between Torhout and Wynendale, and went thence to Bruges, being still troubled with sore Eyes; the same day the Prince of Nassau-Saarbruck left the Camp to go to the Baths of Aix la Chappelle for his Health, and Count d'Arco, General of the Bavarians, was left Commander in Chief of the Army: Upon this going of the Prince of Nassau's to Aix la Chappelle, My Lord of Athlone had once Orders to go and Command the Army in Flanders, and was preparing to leave the Prince's Army for that purpose, but how this came to be altered, is what brings me to speak of the Affairs of our Army in Brabant. The Marechals of Bouflers and Villeroy being now separated, and marched from the Neighbourhood of the Canal of Brussels, a great deal of our Cavalry could be spared out of our Camp, where there was hardly any Forage to be had at present, to go and subsist more conveniently some where else; and therefore all the Cavalry upon English Pay, being first joined with the Dragoons that had been posted behind the Canal, marched on the 18th from Diegom to Waure upon the Dyle for the Conveniency of Forage, but the Dutch Horse being left in this Camp, were furnished with dry Forage from the State's Magazines in the Town: Upon this March of our English Cavalry to Waure, the Prince of Tilly left Masy, and passed the Meuse at Namur to incamp within the Retrenchment upon the Height of Ste Barbe, there to subsist in the Condros and spare the Forage on this side for our Cavalry. The both, the Duke of Ormond and the Prince of Hesse left the Army, the first to go for England and thence to Ireland for his Domestic Affairs, and the last into Germany, and this day, being the Term given in the French Project, there was no other Discourse in the Camp but of Peace, but how this came to fail, is what I have given an account of just now. The 24th, the Prince gave Orders for all the Artillery and Baggage-Horses to be sent for from Grazing, and for the Army to be ready to march, upon Information that Bouflérs Army was upon the March towards the Plain of Fleury; the said Marechal having left the Camp of Stanberg and the Neighbourhood of Grammont on the 22th to come to Enghien, whereupon Count Tillard was left at Grammont with 18 battalions and as many Squadrons for the Guard of the Convoys between the Scheld and Villeroy's Camp, and of the Bread which was Baked in this Town for the use of the Armies. The 23d, the Marechal of Bouflers continued to march upon the Right, and came to incamp at Soignies, where he was joined by the Marquis de Courtebonne and the ten battalions under his Command, which had been posted about Mons since Bouflers March towards Dendermond. The French being got so far towards the Sambre alarmed the Prince, who (as we have now said) ordered all the Horses to be sent for from Grazing, but did not get into the Camp till the 25th, and the Artillery and heavy Baggage could not march till the next day towards Louvain; Major General Stewart with Tiffin's Brigade was now upon his March from the Pays de Waes' back to the Canal of Brussels, who, with the Body commanded by the Count de Noyelles upon this Canal, was to join the Prince's Army at Louvain. Our English Cavalry and Dragoons at Waure were to march towards Namur, who, with the Prince of Tilly and the Garrison we had in the place, might have covered it till the coming up of the Prince's Army. The 26th, the Artillery and heavy Baggage began to File off towards Louvain under the Escorte of a Colonel with 1000 Foot, and the Army had Orders to follow the same way the next day, to march thence towards the Mchaigne, But Count Nassau Lieutenant General, and Major General earl, were to be left at Brussels with 15 battalions English and Dutch, to incamp within the new Line which was now almost finished, there to cover the Town. The Prince had sent an Express to Loo to give His Majesty an account of the Marechal de Boufler's Motions, and of his Resolutions thereupon; but Namur being at present an Attempt not to be made by the French, considering the Strength of the place with that of its Garrison, and the Forces we had about it, and the Backwardness of the Season; and that, besides, it would put the Army to great Difficulties to march that way without any pressing Occasion, and Boufler's Army being halted at Soignies where it was now Hutted, and in no likelihood to stir from thence; it was therefore thought convenient to countermand this March, and it was accordingly countermanded the 27th; for the English Infantry could not stir but with great Difficulty, because they wanted Horses to carry their Baggage; two Wagons had been allowed each battalion till the coming up to this Camp, which had been hired by the King the beginning of the Campagne, to supply the present Necessity; but having been dismissed at the coming to this Ground, only one could be had at present, and if the Army had been obliged to march, most of the Officers must have left all their Baggage behind them, for very few had Horses to carry it; and therefore, not to put them to such a Hardship, it was thought more Expedient to let the Foot remain where it was, and that it would be sufficient to send the Dutch Cavalry and Dragoons (being still in this Camp) under the Command of the Earl of Athlone, towards the Mehaigne: These Agitations had stopped his Design to go and command the Army in Flanders in the absence of the Prince of Nassau Saarbruck, and that thought was now quite laid aside, to go and command the Army we were going to form towards the Mehaigne; where, besides all the Dutch Horse and Dragoons, My Lord was to have Tiffin's Brigade from the Pays de Waes', and the two Brigades of Belcastel and Oxensterne from the Canal (making together sixteen battalions) which now could be spared from thence upon the Marching off of Villeroy towards Audenarde, and Bouflers to Soignies; and only one battalion was left thereupon for the Guard of the Canal. The 28th, all these Regiments joined together near Louvain, under the Command of the Count de Noyelles Lieutenant General, and Major General Stewart, and encamped behind the Dyle about a League above the Town, with the Left at Corbeck, and the Right extending itself towards Neer-Ische; but that of Colonel Saunderson was commanded to incamp with the Artillery at Louvain without Brussels-porte, and the Detachment of the Prince's Army that covered it was ordered back to the Camp. The 30th, all the Horses belonging to the Infautry encamped at Cockelberg were remanded to Graze as before along the Dyle, between Louvain and Malines, and a Colonel with a Detachment of 1000 Foot was sent to Louvain to bring the Artillery back again to our Camp: The same day My Lord Portland came from the Hague to Brussels, in order to have another Conference with the Marechal of Bouflers (as 'twas supposed) upon what had happened at Ryswick the 20th Instant, and to put Affairs in the same State as before, for the approaching Term given in the French Memorial; and his Lordship was Lodged in the Prince's Palace, where most of our Generals waited upon him the next day. The 31th, all the Duteh Cavalry and Dragoons marched out of the Camp of Cockelberg, under the Command of the Earl of Athlone, to go and Subsist towards the Mehaigne (except Iselstein's Brigade, My Lord of Albemarle's Carabiniers and Dopft's Dragoons, which remained in the Camp to furnish the Patrovilles and Outguards) and having crossed the Canal upon our Bridges of Boats between Laacken and Brussels, they were joined on the other side by host frises Brigade, which had marched through the Town from its Camp before the Fort of Monterey, and so came to incamp between Neer-Ische and Roeux St. Augustin. The First of September, My Lord of Athlone passed the Dyle at Florival, being followed by the Infantry commanded by Count de Noyelles and twelve pieces of Cannon detached from our Artillery at Louvain, and encamped together this day with the Right at judoigne (where was My Lord of Athlone's Quarter) and left at Pietrain on this side of the Geet, where they had Orders to Hutt: The same day the Artillery came back from Louvain to the Prince's Camp, and all the Horses were sent to Grass, but Colonel Saunderson's Regiment marched with My Lord of Athlone: My Lord Portland went likewise this day in one of the Prince's Coaches, being attended with Lieutenant General Bellassis and Mr. Hill, to Tubise beyond Halle, where he was met by the Marechal of Bouflers from Soignies, and after having conferred together, they parted with great Expressions of reciprocal Esteem, and My Lord came back to Brussels this Evening, but did not return to the Hague till the Third in the Afternoon. This renewed the Discourses of Peace in the Army, which had very much fallen since the 20th of August, till this Journey of My Lords. There happened very little Extraordinary in this Camp to speak of after this, till the Conclusion of the Peace and the Separating of the Armies on both sides; this obliges me to leave the Prince's Army, and see what was doing towards Flanders. Notwithstanding that the French had laid aside the Thoughts of Besieging Audenarde, which of itself would have been a Doubtful Siege, considering the great Armies the Allies had at present, with the Reasons I have spoken of before, and the continuing of the Negociations at Ryswick, and that therefore the Marechal of Bouflers had left Grammont and the Neighbourhood of the Scheld, to go and incamp at Soignies, yet they seemed to have some Design on foot for the Marechal of Catinat's Army which was now shut up behind the Lys, where it subsisted at the Expense of the Pays-Conquis; but if reinforced, could march towards the Elector's Army, and oblige him either to accept of a Battle, or else to retire into the Retrenchments of Bruges, and leave all the Country without the Canals for the Conveniency of the French, there to subsist without being Burdensome to their own Frontier: For which Design several Pontoons were sent from Tournay to the Lys for the use of this Army, and Lieutenant General Montrevel marched on the 21th with the Body under his Command from Helchin upon the Scheld to reinforce the Marechal of Catinat upon the Lys, and four battalions of the King's Regiment, and two of Stouppa, were sent from Villeroy's Army to incamp at Helchin in Montrevel's place under the Command of Monsteur de Surville Major General, and were followed the 23d by the Queen's Dragoons, and those of Ste Hermine and Davaray: The same day the Marechal of Catinat, being joined by Montrevel, passed the Lys about Menin, and the Horse at Courtray, and came to incamp at Becelar and Dadyzeel about half way between Courtray and Ipres. The 24th, he went with a strong Escorte to reconoitre the Country about Rousselar Camp, which had been left by the Elector's Army some days before, and see what Forage was to be had thereabouts for his Army; or to visit the Ways for a March towards Torhout, in case the Elector was resolved to maintain his Ground there. Upon the first News of Catinat's passing the Lys, the Elector, who was at Bruges since the 19th, went back the 23d to put himself at the Head of his Army at Torhout, and concert with his Generals what was to be done upon it; immediately after his Arrival a Council of War was called, and it was resolved to leave the Camp of Toxhout if the Marechal of Catinat advanced as for as Rousselar; for Catinat being joined by Montrevel and La Mothe, would be near 60 battalions strong, but the Elector had not above Thirty; and if Fagel's joining had been sufficient, yet it was not safe at present to have them from Newport; as for the Horse and Dragoons on both sides they were pretty near equal: But where to go from Torhout, the Generals were divided upon this Point, some were for going to incamp between Ghistel and Oudenbourg along the Canal of Newport, where the Army could still share the Forage of the Country with the French, and spare the Free of Bruges with the rest of the Country behind the Canals, from subsisting of it with dry Forage; others were of opinion to march directly into the Retrenchment of St. André before Bruget to cover this place; that it was better to put the Country behind the Canals to some Expense, than Bruges should be in danger, and if the Elector marched to Oudenbourg, Catinat would certainly come to Torhout, and endeavour to cut him off from getting within the Retrenchment of St. André: The first of these Advices seemed to be pitched upon for the present, and to prevent Confusion in the March, and execute this Design with more Ease and Expedition, it was resolved to send all the Artillery and heavy Baggage beforehand in the Retrenchment of St. André, from whence it could come and join the Army at Oudenbourg and Ghistel, or the Army would follow the Artillery if it marched to Bruges. The same day a Detachment was made out of the Army to go and repair the Ways towards Bruges, for the March of the Artillery and heavy Baggage, and towards Oxdonbourg for that of the Army, which Work was finished by the next Morning. The 24th, all the Artillery and heavy Baggage was sent to the Retrenchment of St. André, under the Convoy of the two battalions of Dona and La Mothe, and a French Party attacked it in a long Defilé between Torhout and the Chateau of Malstapel, in which case 'tis very difficult to cover a whole Line of the Baggage and Artillery of an Army; the Party being in Ambuscade, took the Opportunity to fall upon it where it was weakly guarded, and rifled the Baggage of three Regiments of Foot, and carried away their Horses. The 26th, Monsieur Ivoy Quartermaster General, and all the Quarter-Masters of the Army, were sent to mark a Camp between Ghistel and Oudenbourg for the next day; the Elector's Quarter was appointed at Ghistel upon the Right, and the Prince of Nassau-Saarbruck's at Oudenbourg upon the Lost; but in the Night they received Orders to go immediately and mark the Camp within the Retrenchment of St. André before Bruges, for the Elector had received an Account this Evening that Catinat was marching to Rousselar, in order to come and attack him; whilst a Body of Villeroy's Army which had been detached under the Command of Monsieur de Surville to Countray, should endeavour to cut off his March to Bruges; this made the Elector resolve, without any farther Balancing, to go and secure the Retrenchment of St. André with his Army, upon which this Order was sent to the Quarter-Masters at Oudenbourg; and the Army began to march at Ten of the Clock this Night, and got the next Morning within the Retrenchments before Bruges, not without some Confusion and Disorder; though it proved afterwards but a false Alarm, for Catinat was not yet stirred from Becelar; however, 'tis true that Surville was come to Courtray with the six battalions and two Regiments of Dragoons above mentioned, doubtless upon some Design: This Retrenchment had been repaired lately with no Alteration but the taking in of the Abbey of St. André, and Gazooned (that is faced with Turf) both within and without, and was now in a very good Condition; the Elector took his Quarter during this Camp at Schipstal, the Landing place from Ostend to Bruges, and the Prince of Nassau's was marked at the Abbey of St. André. The 29th, the Marechal of Catinat's Army advanced from Becelar and came to incamp at Rousselar, with the Right here and Left about Hooghleede, but the Marechal himself went this day to Courtray to meet with the Marechal of Villeroy, who had come there to confer with him: but it is probable that the Elector's March had broke their Measures, for Villeroy returned to his Army the next day, and Monsieur de Surville was ordered back with the Body under his Command to Helchin. The 30th, in a general Forage along the Scheld, the Marechal of Villeroy took occasion to demolish an old Castle which the Spaniards had at Caure upon that River, situated upon a little Mount in the middle of it, where they always kept a small Garrison of 30 or 40 Men detached from the Citadel of Ghendt, but had now been reinforced upon Villeroy's March towards the Scheld, more to run upon Parties than for any Defence; and all the Spaniards were made Prisoners. The Marechal of Catinat, who had come back the 29th from Courtray to the Army, marched upon the Left from Rousselar to Dixmuyde, and encamped with his Right at Hantsame near Cortemarck, and his Left at Esene towards that Town, having the Brook of Hantsame before him and his head Quarter at Zarren, where at his coming up to this Camp, he was joined by Monsieur de la Mothe with the Troops under his Command, which had encamped all this while about Furnes and Ipres, consisting of eleven or twelve battalions, and some Squadrons of Horse and Dragoons; so that the Marechal of Catinat was now reckoned near 60 battalions strong, and about 80 Squadrons: But all the Waters having been let out at Newport, upon his March hither, the Water about this Camp was found too Brackish and Unwholesome, and therefore on the 31th; the Army passed the Brook of Hanisame to come more towards Torhout and Wynendale, and encamped with the Left upon the Wood of Be'st, the Right at Werckene, and the General Quarter at Waldesloo. The Elector of Bavaria having put Bruges under cover as well as his Army, by Encamping in the Retrenchment of St. André, took care at the same time for the Defence of the Canals and Newport, whereupon Lorne and Buchan's Regiments were ordered to guard the Canal of Newport, the first at Laffine and the second at Snaeskirk, and Soutlandt's was ordered from the Neighbourhood of Bruges back to Major General Fagel at Lombarzyde; the Duke of Holstein-Ploen's Dragoons and the battalions of Harsolt, Marquet, Dona and La Mothe, were ordered, at the coming to St. André Camp, to go and post themselves behind the Canal of Bruges, which, with the Regiments of Fagel and Reinardt already there, they were to guard all along to Ghendt. The 29th, His Highness went to Newport to see every thing thereabouts in a good Posture of Defence, and at the same time ordered Major General Schlipenbach, with four Squadrons of Dutch Horse, two of Bavarian Cuirassiers, and six of Brandenbourg, to march that way with ten or twelve pieces of Cannon; Brigadier Rantsaw was also sent to incamp with the battalions of Willekens, Rantsaw, Obergen, Schack and Weed, behind the Canal of Ostend over against Plassendale; the Waters were let out at Newport to overflow all the Country about it towards Furnes and Dixmuyde, and a Garrison was put into the Chateau of Ghistel; and the Elector, having given his Orders at Newport, came back the same day to the Camp at Schipstall near Bruges: His Highness had been informed the day before, that the Barrier upon the Line of Furnes had now been shut up two or three days together, without suffering any Body either to go out or come in, which gave some Apprehension for Newport; but it was quickly known that it was for the Prince of Conti, who was come Post to Dunkirk, in order to embark with his Retinue and about 1000 chosen Men and Volontiers, on Board of a small Squadron of light Frigates, commanded by the Chevalier Bantam, to Sail for Dant: zick, and endeavour to make good his Election to the Crown of Poland by the Cardinal Primate and his Party; which, since the Diet at Warsaw, had again been ratified by the Party in a Rokosz, or Confederation of the Party met at the Cardinal's Summons, which invited the Prince to come into Poland to take Possession of the Crown, and protect his Friends; but this Expedition was made too late, when the Elector of Saxony was already Crowned and had Possession of the Government, which Conti's Party could not now deprive him of; and thus that Expedition failed, and the Prince of Conti, after having remained a great while on Ship board in the Road of Dantzick, was forced to come back without being able to attempt any thing. The Third of September, the Elector, who had never been at Sea, went to Blankenberg (a little Borough inhabited by none but Fishermen Septemb. between Ostend and Sluys) where he and his Retinue went on board of several Fishing-boats a little way out to Sea, to try the Temper of this Element; two or three Privateers were sent out at the same time to guard the Coast, and the Elector had almost the Satisfaction of seeing a Sea Engagement, for they were pursued back into Ostena by some French Privateers, which obliged His Highness, after having been some few Hours at Sea, to come back to Blankenberg, and from thence returned to the Camp. The Sixth, The Elector left the Army to go in Relays to Antwerp this day, where Prince Vandemont was to meet His Electoral Highness the day following from Brussels, and the Command of the Army in Flanders fell thereby to the Count d' Arco General of the Bavarians. The Seventh, Prince Vaudemont came accordingly from Brussels to wait upon the Elector at Antwerp, and confer together upon the present State of Affairs; the Prince went back the same day to the Army at Brussels, but the Elector remained in that Town: The Term prefixed by the late Memorial given in by the French drawing near, His Electoral Highness was more conveniently here, than in any other Town of his Jurisdiction, to send Expresses to or receive them from Don Bernardo de Quiros the first Plenipotentiary of Spain at the Congress of Ryswick, who had received express Orders from the Court of Spain alarmed by the Loss of Barcelona, to Sign then upon the Conditions offered by the French, Sign who will for the rest; and (as 'twas reported) had had a Reprimand for not Signing the 20th of August, the Term given before in the Project; which was a Tune many Notes lower than at the beginning of these Negociations, when Spain as well as the Empire, were so unwilling to Treat upon the Foot of the Peace of Nimeguen. The Prince at his return to Brussels, began to review the Army, Brigade by Brigade, not so much to be sati fied of the Strength of the Regiments, as to see them Exercise, there being little to do at present for them. The Ninth, Selwyn's Brigade posted at Laacken exercised before him; and the Tenth, the half Brigade of Guards of the first Line continued the same Pass-time. The 11th, The Prince being informed that the Marechal of Villeroy had advanced with his Army from Ste Marie Oudenhove nearer to Ghendt, and was come to incamp at St. Lievens-Houthem, ordered Selwyn's Brigade and the Regiments of Columbine and Granville of Fairfax's, to send for their Baggage-Horses from Grass, in order to march the next day, being designed for a Reinforcement to the Brandenbourg Foot encamped at Heusen for the Defence of the Scheld between Ghendt and Dendermonde; for if the Peace had not been Signed the overnight, of which there could be no News as yet in our Camp, it was expected that the War would begin again with more Vigour and Animosity than ever; and that Villeroy thereupon might have endeavoured either to Bombard Ghendt or pass the Scheld. But it pleased God at length to put an end to a War which for nine Years together had Harassed and severely Chastised most Parts of Christendom, and the Peace was Happily Signed the 10th at night between England, Spain and Holland on one part, and France on the other: The Spanish Plenipotentiaries Signed about Midnight, and after them those of the State's General, which being done, the French were now obliged according to the Preliminary Articles, to acknowledge His Majesty for King of Great Britain, without any Restriction, Condition or Reserve; our Plenipotentiaries were thereupon introduced by the Mediator, and received by the French with all the Civility that was due to the Plenipotentiaries of the Crown of England; after which the Articles were Signed between England and France in the presence of the Mediator, and the Plenipotentiaries on both sides embraced one another with all the Demonstrations of Friendship, Esteem, and an entire Reconciliation; and the Conversation soon fell upon the Panegyric of the two Most Powerful Monarches in Christendom, whose great Actions must hereafter make the best part of the History of these Times; the French especially spoke of the great Veneration that all Brave Frenchmen had for so Renowned a Prince as King William the Third, and of the great Esteem and Value the King their Master had for him. As for the Imperialists, they still stuck out and refused to Sign, alleging that they had not time enough given them to have Instructions from the Emperor and Empire about the Matters in Debate, and especially one of such Consequence as the Dismembering of Strasbourg from the Body of the Empire was, and insisted still upon the full Restitution of Lorraine, without the Reservation of Saar-lovis and Longwy to the French: After this second Refusal of the emperor's Plenipotentiaries, those of England, Spain and Holland Signed without them, according to the Instructions they had received; but a Separate Article was added at the end of every one of these three several Treaties, in which it was stipulated between the Mediator, the Powers that had Signed and the French, that a farther time should be allowed to the Emperor and Empire till the 22th day of October inclusive, next ensuing, (being six Weeks time) to regulate the Affairs relating to the Empire; during which time all manner of Hostilities should cease between the Germans and the French; for the Performance whereof, the Powers that had Signed engaged themselves as Guarantees; but if by that time the Peace was not Signed between the Empire and France, that nevertheless the Treaty concluded at Ryswick should stand good, and the Powers that had Signed should remain Neuter in the War between France and the Empire. I will not pretend to advance, that there was a Design in the refusing to Sign by the emperor's Plenipotentiaries, both the former Term and this; but this may be said for Truth, that the refusing to Sign the time before, put it out of the Empire's Choice to take Strasbourg or the Equivalent; and their refusing to Sign now, left them to Treat with the French among themselves, which has brought in the Fourth Article of the Treaty for the Empire, so Prejudicial to the Protestant Religion in Germany, and Derogatory to the Treaty of Munster in its behalf; which may be looked upon as the Fundamental Constitution of the Empire, as 'tis now divided between the Protestant and the Romish Religion; which Article, 'tis very probable, would not have been so easily gained to the Prejudice of the Protestant Interest, if the Imperialists had acted and signed in Conjunction with the rest of the Allies: I need not give an account of the three several Treaties Signed at Ryswick the Tenth, because they are already Printed by themselves, to which I shall refer the Reader; only I shall mention something concerning Luxembourg and the Equivalent offered to Spain in lieu of it, namely, That the Equivalent offered by the French, being Maubeuge, Condé, Menin and Ipres, was much more Advantageous for the Spanish Dominions in the Low-Countries; because it made them more united, and gave them a better and more defensible Frontier, and for the same reason was so to England; but, the French restoring Lorraine, it was better for the Common Interest of Europe to have Luxembourg back again for a Communication between Lorraine, the Empire and the Low-Countries, for otherwise without it, the French might still have overawed the Empire upon the Lower-Rhine, and have had an Inlet into Holland, for which reason Luxembourg has been preferred to the Equivalent; and the French, who to be sure expected that it would be so, and therefore were ware of it, resolved to retain Saar-lovis and Longwy to have still a Bridle upon the Empire and Luxembourg; and also for a Defence to France itself in case of such another Alliance against it, as the last. Immediately after the Signing of the Peace at Ryswick the 10th or rather 11th of September, Expresses were dispatched to all the Courts in Christendom to give notice of it, and our Plenipotentiaries at the Hague thought it convenient to send one to Prince Vaudemont at Brussels who commanded all His Majesty's Forces and Armies in Chief in the Low Countries; the Express passed by Antwerp at Nine of the Clock at Night, and Mr. Hill His Majesty's Envoy at the Court of Brussels, who was then at his Payoffice at Antwerp, had the first News of it before the Elector; about Twelve the Express came to the Prince at the Camp, and the good News were all over the Army next Morning; our Express was followed by two Spanish Couriers going to Madrid, the first with the News of the Signing, and the second with the Treaty in due Form to be Ratified, who both received the Elector's Orders at Antwerp in their way: And as if Providence had designed this to be marked for a Happy day in the Calendar, the Elector received, soon after the passing of the first Spanish Courier, an Express from the Emperor, with the News of the Great and Glorious Defeat which Prince Eugene of Savoy had given the Turks at Zanta near the Theysse in Hungary on the First of September; which as it appears by the Accounts of it, was as complete and entire a Victory as has been gained for many Ages; and so much the more Welcome, that it was gained in a time when Men were very apprehensive for the Emperor's Affairs in Hungary, the Grand Signior having a much more powerful Army; with which he had already driven the Imperialists from Titul, and was now passing the Theysse, to march towards Peter-Waradin; when, his Army being imprudently divided by the River, either for want of Boats to make several Bridges, or Conduct, Prince Eugene attacked that part which had passed under the Command of the Grand Visier, and gave it an entire Rout, and in the Pursuit over the Bridge (which occasioned the loss of most of the Infidels) put that part, which was commanded by the Grand Signior on the other side, into no less Confusion and Disorder. The Elector having received this joyful News by the Express, dispatched immediately the Count de Milan to the Electrice and Prince Vaudemont at Brussels, with the Letter he had received from the Emperor upon this occasion: Several People wished that this Victory had happened a little sooner for the sake of the Allies, who (if the Turks had been brought to make a Peace, which would have been much more Honourable than what they at present can expect) could then have given the Law in the Congress of Ryswick, and obliged the French to much greater Restitutions, or else have carried on a War that must have been Fatal to them; but the French Court has known so well how to manage the Turks upon this Point, in all the Misfortunes they have had for these seven or eight Years last passed, that there was no more reason to expect the Turks would seek for a Peace after this Defeat, than after that of Salankement, or the Losses of Guyla and Great-Waradin. The 12th in the Evening, the Elector followed the good News and came to Brussels, and the next day he sent the Marquis d'Vsiés, a Sergeant General de Battaille in the Spanish Troops to the Marechal of Villeroy, and Baron Simeoni to the Marechal of Bouflers, to give them an account of the Signing of the Peace on the Tenth at Night, and to know what Orders they had from the French Court about their Armies between this and the Ratification, which was to be made within three Weeks after; Count Monasterol was sent at the same time by Count d'Arco from the Army near Bruges to the Marechal of Catinat upon the same account; they were received with great Civilities in the French Camps, and nobly entertained, but returned with this Answer, That no Orders were yet come from Court to them upon the Signing of the Peace, but that as soon as they did receive any, they would give an account of it to His Electoral Highness, thereby to regulate Affairs on both sides accordingly. The 14th, all the Artillery was drawn out before the Camp upon the Height vear the Wind mill of Ganshoren, and all the Army drew out in the Evening to fire three Volleys for the great Victory obtained over the Turks by Prince Eugene of Savoy, but it fell a Raining very hard, and all the Troops were dismissed to their Tents, and the Artillery commanded back to its former Post; which, may be, was not the true Reason, but rather it was not thought convenient to have any public Rejoicing about it, the Peace being Signed between England and France; which made England to have no Interest in the Emperor's Affairs that way; For I do not remember that there were any public rejoicings in England for the raising the Siege of Vienna in King Charles the Second Reign, or even for the taking of Buda in King James', though a Popish Prince: But Te Deum was Sung this Evening in the Elector's Chapel, and all the Cannon fired thrice round the Ramparts of Brussels, with abundance of Illuminations and Fireworks; and Count d'Arco the Bavarian General, who commanded at present the Army of Flanders in Chief, had Te Deum Sung in his Quarter by the Chaplains of the Spanish and Bavarian Troops, and the Army and Artillery being drawn out, fired three rounds for this Victory. The 17th, Prince Vaudemont left the Camp to go and wait upon His Majesty at Loo, not only to regulate the Marching of the English Troops out of the Country, but chief to Thank His Majesty for the great Honours he had received in commanding of his Armies in Flanders the three last Campagnes, and to pass as much time as he could with the King before His Majesty went for England, now that the parting would be for some time, the Prince being appointed by the King of Spain for Governor of Milan in the Room of the Marquis de Leganés; where we may expect from so Brave and Wise a Prince, that he will manage Affairs so as to conserve the Peace and Repose of Italy, and contribate thereby to maintain that of Christendom in General. The Prince being now gone to Loo, the Duke of Wirtemberg became in course General in Chief of the Army near Brussels. The 19th, the Marechal of Bouflers sent Monsieur de Pracontal a Merechal de Camp or Major General of his Army, to the Elector of Bavaria at Brussels, to give His Highness an account, that the French King had sent Orders for his Armies to retire forthwith out of the King of Spain's Territories in that Country, and cease all farther Acts of Hostility against His Catholic Majesty's Subjects, or any others belonging to the Powers which had Signed the Peace on the 10th instant; whereupon an Order was published by Beat of Drum in the Armies on both sides to publish the Signing of the Peace at Ryswick, and prevent all manner of Hostilities hereafter upon pain of Death; and all Parties were immediately after drawn off, and commanded back to their respective Regiments or Garrisons, and the Country left free and open for an intercourse and Commerce between the Subjects on both sides in pursuance of an order to this purpose proclaimed in all the Towns of the French and Spanish Frontiers. On the 20th. the Three French Armies commanded by the Marechals of Villeroy, Bouslers and Catinat, marched out of the King of Spain's Territories to retire into the Pays Conquis, in pursuance of the Orders they received from the King their Master, yet so as to subsist in the Country which they were to restore by the Treaty, and spare their own: The Marechal of Villeroy came to incamp just without the Scheld in the Chatellenie of Ath to Forage the Country between this place, and Mons and Tournay; the Marechal of Bouslers left Soignies to pass the Sambre and subsist between Beaumond and Charleroy, and the Marechal of Catinat repassed the Lys to come into the Chatellenie of Courtray with the best part of his Army to demolish the Line (this place and Chatellenie being to be restored to the King of Spain by virtue of the Treaty) and the rest marched into the Lines of Ipres. The Marquis de Harcourt had been commanded back, just before the Signing of the Treaty, towards the Moselle and the Rhine, to reinforce the Marechal of Choiseul; for the Germans had at last past the Rhine, and the main of the Army commanded by Prince Lewis of Baden was come to incamp at Creutznach between the Electorate of Treves and the Palatinate of the Rhine, whilst the rest besieged the Town and Castle of Eberenbourg belonging to the Elector of Treves, which the French had possessed themselves of since the beginning of the War: Prince Lewis of Baden was carrying on of this Siege at the time of the Signing of the Treaty, and the Marechal of Choiseul was not in a condition to attempt the relief of it, which obliged the Marquis de Harcourt to march back towards Montroyal and endeavour jointly with the Marechal of Choiseul to raise that Siege; for which purpose, immediately after the retiring of the French Armies out of the Spanish Dominions in the Low Countrey's, great detachments, especially of Horse, were sent to follow the Marquis of Harcourt, and no less than 150 Squadrons were then commanded that way; which was done, not only in order to force the Germans to raise the Siege they were engaged in, but likewise to send them to subsist between the Meuse and the Rhine, where the Peace was not yet concluded, and spare their own Frontier by that means; but Harcourt could not come time enough to join the Marechal of Choiseul and relieve Eberenbourg, nor could the besieged hold out long enough to prevent the loss of the place by the Cessation of Arms agreed upon at Ryswick between France and the Empire; for they were forced to capitulate but a day or two before the order came to cease all acts of Hostility on both sides, upon the Six Weeks Truce made at Ryswick between the Germans and the French: This shows very plainly that if the Germans had been as early in their Motions this Campagne, as the Allies were in the Low Countries, they would have made the French pay dear for the Siege of Ath or else would have prevented it; and if they had not past the Rhine so late, not only Eberenbourg but Kirne must have fallen into their hands; by which means they could have established themselves good Winter Quarters on this side of the Rhine in the Electorate of Treves and the Palatinate; which would have been of vast consequence towards a vigorous prosecution of the War, in case the Congress at Ryswick had broke up without concluding of a Treaty; or the Imperialists would at least have had some reason to back the pretensions they insisted upon so much in these Negotiations, which have considerably deferred the General Peace: But the slowness of the Germans, where their Operations depend from so many Princes and States of different Interests, and having often private grudges among themselves, and no common and General Magazines for an early taking of the Field, will always be an obstacle to any thing that is Brisk and Vigorous in a Confederate War; and the French for this reason will ever be beforehand with them in the Field, which is of very great moment in the operations of a Campagne; and we have seen, but the last Summer, the Marechal of Choiseul subsist a considerable while between the Rhine and the Neckre, with an Army that did not dare show its face, when the Germans had once taken the Field. After the taking of Eberenbourg by Prince Lewis of Baden, the Marquis de Harcourt who was marching that way to reinforce the Marechal of Choiseul, turned with his Army into the Country of Liege beyond the Meuse; which, being a dependence of the Empire the French thought they could very justly put their Troops to subsist there and ease their own Frontier, whilst the Peace was not Signed as yet between France and Germany; and accordingly they crowded as many Troops, especially Horse and Dragoons, as they could thereabouts, and likewise in the Duchy of Luxembourg, which was to be restored to Spain by the Treaty. As soon as the French had retreated with their Armies out of the King of Spain's Territories in Flanders, to get into their own Conquests, and that a Cessation of all manner of Hostilities was thereupon published, and a Free Trade and intercourse between the Frontiers on both sides proclaimed, the Elector of Bavaria left brussels and went to Loo to see His Majesty, and partake of the Divertisements which the Country thereabouts afforded in this Hunting Season, and at the same time to confer with the King about the marching of the Allies Troops out of the Spanish Netherlands, and retaining a certain number of the States Forces to keep Garrison in the Frontier Towns of that Country, as they were to be after the Ratification and Execution of the Treaty of Ruswick; as Luxembourg, Namur, Charleroy, Mons, Ath, Audenarde, Courtray and Newport, which the Spaniards were too weak to Garrison themselves; Four and Twenty battalions of the States Forces were agreed upon for this Service, which, with the Seven battalions of Bavarians, and the few Troops of Spaniards, Walloons and Italians in this Country, were thought sufficient to Garrison the Frontier Towns in time of Peace. In the mean while, till the Ratification of the Treaty, the Armies on our side continued encamped as before; the Infantry of the Brabant Army at Cockelberg; the English Horse and Dragoons at Waure under General Auerquerque; the Dutch, with Tiffin's, Belcastel's and Oxenstern's Brigades of Foot, at Judoigne, under the command of the Earl of Athlone; and our Flanders Army in the Retrenchments of Bruges; where it was commanded by the Count d'Arco, till the coming back of the Prince of Nassau-Sarbruck from the Baths of Aix la Chappelle, which was on the 23d, when he arrived at Bruges, and took his Quarter (as it had been marked at the coming of the Army to this ground) in the Abbey of St. André. The 25th, all the Bavarian Cuirassiers and Dragoons left the Camp to march towards the Rhine and Winter in Bavaria, being designed for the Emperor's Service in Hungary the next Campagne; but the Foot marched into the Spanish Guelderland to Quarter in that Country till the evacuation of Luxembourg, where they were appointed by the Elector to Garrison in this and other places of that Duchy, as La Roche and Arlon, and went this day by water from Bruges to Ghendt; Count d'Arco left the Camp at the same time and went to brussels with all the Spanish Court and Generals. The 27th. all the Brandenbourg Cavalry and Dragoons left the same Camp to go and join General Heyden and the Brandenbourg Foot in the Pays de Waes' in order to march from thence towards the Meuse and the lower Rhine. The 29th the Prince of Nassau's Adjutant General came from Loo with the Patents for the March of all the States Troops in Flanders to go and Garrison, some in the States Brabant and Flanders, and others to go from the Sas of Ghendt by Water into Holland, Guelderland, Zutphen, Friesland, etc. but 15 or 16 battalions of them were ordered to continue in Flanders under the command of Major General Lindeboom being to enter in the King of Spain's Service for the Garrison of the Spanish Frontiers in that Country towards France. On the First of October being the time specified by the Treaties October. Signed at Ryswick the 10th of September between England, Spain and Holland on one part, and France on the other, the said Treaty was Ratified and Exchanged in due form between France and Holland; that of England under the Broad Seal could not come over time enough by reason of the contrary Winds, and therefore was ratified under the King's Signet in the Interim, and the Instruments were to remain in the hands of the Mediator; but the Ratification under the Broad Seal coming over that very day, the Treaties between England and France were exchanged some few days after: As for the Ratification of the Spanish Treaty from Madrid, it could not come time enough, but the French were satisfied to stay for it, which was not long. After this, the Marechals of Villeroy and Catinat went to Court, and the French Armies in the Netherlands were distributed into Quarters, only the Marechal of Bouflers remained in his Government at Lisle some time after, to forward the Evacuation of those Towns which were to be restored by the French to the King of Spain. The Confederate Armies in this Country begun to separate at the same time; all the Troops we had received this Campagne from the Rhine marched off the first, to go back into Germany, and the Infantry encamped at Cockelberg decamped Brigade by Brigade; the English went all into Flanders there to be in a readiness to embark, and were quartered in Ghendt, Bruges, Newport and Ostend, which, for this reason, were at the beginning more crowded with Troops than ever: The English and Dutch Guards came to Ostend in order to embark the first for England, and all the Foot were to go there on Board of such Men of War as should be appointed to carry them over: All the English Horse and Dragoons left Waure after the Ratification, and were sent to Quarters, the first to Ghendt and the 2d to Bruges, in order to march from thence to Willemstadt one after another, as Transport Ships could be got ready to bring them into England; and the Life-Guards, being the first to go over, marched directly to this place. The Dutch Infantry encamped at Cockelberg separated to go into Quarters in the Frontiers of Holland, as Maestricht, Boisleduc, Breda and Bergen-op-Zoom, except 7 or 8 battalions, which, with those of the Flanders Army abovementioned, were to go into Spanish Garrisons. The Danes were Quartered at Dendermonde, Alost and Ninove, where they remained till their accounts were made up, and cleared out of His Majesty's Service, in order to march from thence overland by the Meuse and the Rhine and so through Germany into Denmark. The four battalions of Hanover in the Flanders Army left the Camp near Bruges on the 5th, and were to be joined in their march by the Regiments of Wolfembuttle Guards and Hearing then in Garrison at Audenarde to go into their own Country; and those of Nassau and Brandenbourg out of the Brabant Army, and Willekens out of that of Flanders, which had been upon English pay all this War, marched into Holland and were taken back in the State's Service. All the Dutch Troops began to break up at the same time on all sides, the Cavalry under the command of Lieutenant General Opdam marched towards Ghendt on the outside of the Canal in order to march into the State's Dominions. The English and Dutch Guards and some other English battalions came down the Canal in Bilanders the 6th from Ghendt to Bruges; and the 7th all the Dutch Foot that was to march to Garrison in the Frontiers of Holland were sent to Ghendt by Water in the same Bilanders that brought the English to Bruges, being the Regiment of Nassau Walloon to go to Boisleduc, Marquet and Willekens to Heusden and Bommel, Nassau-Friseland consisting of two battalions, were to embark at the Sas of Ghendt, to be carried by Water through Holland and over the Zuyder Sea to Leewarden, etc. Keppel (being the Regiment which lately was Lieutenant General Tettau's) was to go to Zutphen, the two battalions of Cappol and one of Lochman, and the Regiment of young Holstein to Maestricht, and that of Fagel to the Grave. The 9th, the Prince of Nassau Saarbruck went to Holland, and left the Command of the Forces remaining about Bruges to Major General Lindeboom, or in his absence to the Duke of Holstein-Norbourg, consisting of 17 battalions which were all to enter into the King of Spain's Service, except two or three that were to Quarter in the Holland-Flanders, as Sluys, the Sas of Ghendt, Hulst and the Fort of Lillo; of these 17 battalions, Four were encamped at Plassendale being those of Weed, Rantsaw, Obergen and Schack; Four at Newport, viz. Soutlandt, St. Amand, Beyma and Swansbeck; Six in the Retrenchments of Bruges, being the Regiments of Lindeboom, Holstein-Norbourg, Dedem, the two battalions of Swerin and that of Carls, and Three more encamped behind the Canal of Bruges, viz. the Regiments of Harsolt, Dona and La Mothe: All these Regiments were soon after dispersed to Cantoon up and down in the Neighbourhood of the Towns that were to be restored by the French, in order to Garrison there, except those two or three Regiments which were to Quarter in the Holland Flanders. My Lord of Athlone's Camp at Judoigne was the last to break up, either to subsist the Dutch Cavalry upon the Country hereabouts as long as was possible, or else to provide for the security of the Meuse, whilst Harcourt was on the other side with a considerable Army to Forage the Pays de Liege; and did not go into Quarters, but between the middle and latter end of October, when Tiffin's and Belcastel's Brigades were ordered to march into Flanders to quarter in Ghendt and Bruges with the rest of our English Forces. The Elector continued all this while with His Majesty at Loo and Dieren sometimes at the one and sometimes at the other, where among their Divertisements they settled the Routs and Marches of the Allies out of the Spanish Netherlands, and his Highness did not come back to brussels, till the 13th of October, by which time all the Confederate Forces had cleared the Country, except His Majesty's National Troops which were to pass over into England, Scotland or Ireland, with as much expedition as the Season would permit; and the Danes, which did not begin their March homewards till the November following. But the King still remained sometimes at Loo and sometimes at Dieren; where His Majesty had passed the time in Hunting and such other Country Divertisements, from his first leaving of the Army to this time, except two or three days that His Majesty went to Soestdyke, to have an Interview with the Czar of Muscovy at Vtrecht, which was on the first of September; His Majesty coming to the Czars' Lodgings was first Harangued by the Muscovite Embassy, to express the great Esteem and Value their Master had for his Person, and how much he admire d the great reputation of his Government; the fame whereof had filled all Russia and Muscovy, and had brought the powerful Monarch of those vast countries' to visit a Prince so renowned for his undaunted Valour and Courage joined with a most profound and consummated Prudence! and who has gone through so many Dangers and exposed himself to the greatest hazards for the Defence and Liberties of all Europe, which none but himself could keep and secure from becoming a Prey to an overgrown formidable Power! And to convince the King that all these Protestations of the Czars Esteem and Admiration of so great a Monarch, were no formal Compliments, they acquainted His Majesty that the Czar their Master was in the next Room himself, having come so far out of his Dominions to assure His Majesty of it in Person: After which they introduced the King into the Czar's Chamber, where they were together above an Hour, His Majesty being attended by the Earls of Albemarle and Jersey, and Three or Four more Persons of Quality; but the Czar who Travelled Incognito in the Retinue of his own Embassy could not accept of the Invitation to dine with the King, but went back after the Interview to Amsterdam. The Czar had contrived this way of Travelling in the Train of his own Embassy as a private Person, on purpose to see England and Holland, the most flourishing and wealthy Countries in the World, and the most famous for Trade and Navigation; being very desirous to improve his own Subjects that way, especially now, that being Master of Afoff upon the Mouth of the Tanais he had a very good Harbour open to the Black Sea, by which, if he could gain any Strength on those Seas, he may not only increase very much the Trade and Wealth of Muscovy, but cut himself a way at the same time to the Greek Empire, and become Master of Constantinople. These are thoughts worthy of so great a Prince, and to put himself thereupon in the best way of compassing such great ends, he came with his Embassy to the Baltic Shore about the beginning of the last Summer where he embarked to come to Coningsberg the Capital City of the Ducal Prussia, belonging to the Elector of Brandenbourg; where his Electoral Highness was then with all his Court, to be near Warsaw during the time of the Election for the Crown of Poland. The Czar and his Embassy were nobly entertained here, and pursued their Travels over-land afterwards through Prussia, Pomerania, Brandenbourg, Westphalia, etc. to come to the Rhine, and Embark there for Holland; and after a considerable stay in Amsterdam, the greatest Town for Trade and Navigation in the World, unless this mighty Character be most deservedly due to London, his Czarish Majesty is at length come himself privately to England, to see our Shipping and Docks, where the most stately, curious and perfect Models for Building of Ships in the World are to be seen; and to instruct himself in Navigation and Maritime Affairs, now that he has the Sea open to him, in a milder Climate than Archangel, whereby he may at once make his Subjects considerable for their Trade, and become a Terror to the Turkish Empire, which may one day be subdued by his power on the Black Seas; and Visit the greatest and the most wealthy City in Christendom and Imperial Seat of a Great Monarch, who has all the Power which the Purses of the wealthiest Nations of the World can afford without any Arts of Tyranny, Oppression or Arbitrariness to have them; who has had Vast Fleets at Sea and Numerous Armies in the Field, and the People not oppressed by those heavy Burdens which always attend an Absolute Power, and without which even Arbitrary Power itself can never be great; and who Rules the most Flourishing States in the Universe so happily and with such Justice, Equity, Gentleness and Wisdom, that notwithstanding the vast difference of Governments, one may find in the Commonwealth all the duty and respect of Subjects without any derogation to its Liberties; and in the Monarchy, all the Liberty of a Free People consistent with the Fealty and Allegiance due to a Sovereign. These are Master pieces of Government altogether peculiar to our great Monarch, and which (were there no other reason) must raise his Name above all Princes that have Reigned before him. This Voyage of the Czar's to Holland & England will make so considerable a Figure in History hereafter, that I could not well pass it over, without omitting one of the Chiefest Ornaments of this Account. After this Interview the King went back to Loo where the D of Holstein Gottorp came to wait upon His Majesty, and the Prince Vaudemont from brussels, being followed about a Week after by the Elector of Bavaria: But notwithstanding that the Three Treaties Signed on the 10th of September were Ratified and Exchanged, and that the Peace had been proclaimed upon it, first at the Hague, then at Paris the 13th of October, and at London the 19th following, yet the King was resolved not to come to the Hague till the Imperialists and the French had made an end of the Treaty depending between them, and therefore still kept at Loo and Diercn, where Prince Vaudemont remained after the Elector's going back for Brussels; and His Majesty named here his Excellency the Earl of Portland for his Ambassador Extraordinary to go to the Court of France. The 22th of October being the Term allowed in the Separate Article of the 10th of September, the Peace was Signed between the Empire and France, according to the Project given by the French Ambassadors, and the Memorial of the 21th of August; and by it the French quitted to the Empire all Brisgow and Alsatia on the Right side of the Rhine, with the Towns of Brisach and Fribourg, the Fort of Kehl opposite to Strasbourg, and the Town of Philipsbourg, all on the same side of the Rhine, together with the Territories belonging to the Electorate of Treves, and the Palatinate on the left side of the Rhine; and obliged themselves farther, to demolish all the Forts they had upon that River on the right side of it; and moreover Montroyal and Traerbach upon the Moselle, after which they were to be restored to the Elector of Treves, together with the Town of Treves in the Condition it was then: They likewise engaged to restore the Duchy of Lorraine and Bar in the Condition wherein Charles the Fourth enjoyed it in the Year 1670, only they reserved to themselves the Town of Saar-Lonis, with a district of half a League about it, and the Town and Provostship of Longwy upon the Frontier of Lorraine towards Luxembourg; for which Towns the French promised to give an Equivalent of the same Extent and Value in one of the three Bishoprics, as it should be agreed upon between Commissioners appointed by the French King and the Duke of Lorraine for that purpose; and farther, to give back the Duchy of Deux-Ponts to the King of Sweden, the County of Mont-belliard to the Dukes of Wirtemberg, with all the Manors and Feudships belonging to the said Family in the Duchy of Burgundy and Franche-Comte; the Towns and Bishoprics of Worms and Spire, the first to the Grand Master of the Teutonick Order, and the latter to the Archbishop of Treves: And the Elector Palatine re-entering in the Possession of all his Territories and Revenues on both sides of the Rhine by this Treaty, according as they were restored at the Peace of Westphalia, the Emperor and the French King were named to be Arbitrators of the Duchess of Orleans' Pretensions, in which if they did not agree, that then the Pope should decide that Matter according to the Laws and Constitutions of the Empire; and in the mean while that the Elector Palatine should allow the Duchess of Orleans a Yearly Pension of 200000 Livers French Money. Lastly, The French promised to deliver up the Town and Castle of Dinant to the Elector of Cologne as Bishop of Liege, in the Condition they were at the taking of them before the Treaty of Nimeguen. And in Consideration of the Equivalent given by the French, the Emperor and Empire consented that Strasbourg should be dismembered for ever from the Empire, and annexed to the Most Christian King's Dominions, with a Sovereign Property and Jurisdiction over it; that the Bridge of Philipsbourg should be broke down, and the Fort, which covers it on the left side of the Rhine, demolished; that the new Town of Brisach on the same side of the Rhine should be dismantled, and that hereafter the Rhine should be the common Barriere in Alsatia between France and the Empire, so that France should have no Forts upon the Rhine nor right side of it, nor the Empire upon the left: And, as a common Article, that this Treaty should be Ratified by the Empire and the French King, within six Weeks after, But there was a Clause in the Fourth Article, whereby the Roman Catholic Religion was to be maintained in all the Places restored by the French, in the Condition and State it was at the Signing of it, which created very hot Contestations between the Protestant and Bopish Deputies of the Empire, as being expressly contrary to the Treaty of Westphalia; this made all the Protestant Deputies, and the Mediator himself, as Deputy for the Duchy of Deux-Ronts in the King of Sweden's Name, refuse to Sign it as Derogatory to the Treaty of Westphalia; except the Deputies of the House of Wirtemberg, and of the Imperial Town of Franckfort: There was not the least mention made of this Clause in the General Project given in by the French, nor in their new Memorial of the 20th of August; but England and Holland having Signed before without the Empire, or rather the 10th of September seeming to have been lapsed on purpose to bring this about, the French, and Popish Members of the Empire, took hold of such an Opportunity, to gain Ground upon the Protestants in Germany. The Treaty being Signed between the Empire and France, and consequently a General Peace established among all the Parties concerned, the King came then to the Hague on the 29th, attended by the Prince of Vaudemont, where his Princess came to wait upon His Majesty to Compliment him upon the Peace, and take her leave before her parting for Italy with the Prince her Husband, who were lodged together in the Oud Hoff, one of the King's Palaces at the Hague. All the Plenipotentiary Ambassadors and Foreign Ministers went to Compliment the King upon his Arrival and the Conclusion of the Peace, and among them the three French Plenipotentiaries came there the next day in a Body, by the French King's order, and had an Audience in Form as his Ambassadors Extraordinary, to make the first Compliment to His Majesty. The Fourth of November (being the King's Birth day) was kept at the Hague with a great deal of Solemnity, the Court was thronged Nou. with Foreign Ministers upon this occasion, and the French Plenipotentiaries especially made their Compliment to His Majesty upon his Birthday; and in the Evening a Magnificent Ball was given by the Prince and Princess of Vaudemont at the Oud Hoff. After this the King waited only for a fair Wind to bring him over to England, and went some few days after to Oranje-Polder to embark, but the Wind coming about contrary, His Majesty went back to the Hague: At last the Wind coming fair, the King embarked at Oranje Polder the 13th in the Morning, and happily arrived at Margate on Sunday the 14th of November between Ten and Eleven in the Morning, and went to lay that Night at Canterbury: The 15th, His Majesty came to Greenwich, in order to make his Public Entry the next day in the City of London, where His Majesty was then received with all the Solemnity and Magnificence that Loyalty and Affection accompanied with an Universal Joy could be capable of, to see His Majesty return Safe to his Kingdom after so many Fatigues and Dangers, so many Campagnes and Voyages, Battles and Sieges, with the Olive-branch of a Happy and Honourable Peace in his Hand; and the Lord-Mayor and Citizens of London had made it their particular Request to receive His Majesty publicly, to express thereby their Affection, Duty and Gratitude upon such an Occasion, in a manner suitable to the Wealth and Grandeur of that Famous and Renowned City; in the Particulars, of which Magnificent Reception, 'tis not my Business to enter at present, as belonging properly to the History of England: I shall only add, that His Majesty received afterwards Congratulatory Addresses from all Parts of his Dominions for his safe Return, after having Happily terminated a most Obstinate and Expensive War; carried on for so many Years by our late Enemies, chief and on purpose to bereave him of a Throne he fills with so much Fame and Renown; and to deprive us of his most Just and Equitable Government, and of what has a necessary Dependence upon it (all that can be Dear and Precious to a People) our Religion, Laws, Privileges and Liberties. These are Exploits which require the utmost Gratitude of all True Patriots and Lovers of their Religion and Country, which can do no less than express itself in hearty Prayers to the King of Kings, that he would Bless His Majesty with a Long, Happy and Prosperous Reign over us, as a Just Reward of so many Glorious Achievements for our Safety and Preservation. All this while the French were not yet ready to Evacuate any of the Places they were obliged to restore to the King of Spain by the late Treaty of Ryswick; being first, by virtue of it, to carry away all their own Artillery, Ammunitions, Provisions and Stores, and leave behind them the Artillery and quantity of Stores they found in these places at the taking of them: 'Tis true, the Evacuating of these Towns required some time upon this account, but 'tis very probable that the French delayed the fulfilling of this Article purposely, till they saw what Success the Treaty they had Signed on the 22th of October with the Empire, should have at Ratisbone, where 'twas likely to meet with a considerable Opposition from the Protestant Princes in the Ratification; for if the Treaty, instead of being Ratified there, had been declared Illegal and Derogatory to the Treaty of Westphalia, and to the Articles provided therein in behalf of the Protestant Religion, it would not have been very convenient for the French King's Affairs, that Luxembourg, and other places to be restored by the Treaty of the Tenth of September, should be in the King of Spain's hands. The Plenipotentiaries of the Protestant Princes having refused to Sign the Treaty between the Empire and France on the 22th of October, had still some Conferences with those of France to find a temper for the fourth Article, so as they might Sign jointly with the rest of the Empire, but they were all to no purpose: England and Holland had bor'n the Burden of a long and very Expensive War, and their Trade and Commerce (the very Springs of all their Wealth) had been considerably impaird, and therefore were not able to meddle at present in that Affair, and vindicate the Interest of the Protestant Religion in Germany, against these Encroachments upon it so contrary to the Westphalian Treaty; so that the Protestant Princes wanting Power, for this Reason, to maintain and carry on their Opposition against the Treaty lately concluded between the Empire and France, the Ratification was Signed in the Imperial Diet at Ratisbone, without any Alteration to the Fourth Article, by which the Popish Religion is to continue in several Towns and Places of the Palatinate, according as it was Established by the French King whilst in his Possession; where before the War were none but Protestant Churches, to the great Oppression of the Protestants, and the Violation of the Treaty of Munster in their behalf; and France has gained this Advantage over the Empire, as to Sow the Seeds of such Divisions in this Treaty between the Protestant and Popish States, as may in time be very Fatal to Germany, and increase very much the Greatness and Power of the Most-Christian Kings, which for several Years last passed, has been found so Prejudicial to the Peace and Quiet of Europe. The Treaty between France and the Empire being Ratified within the Term prefixed in the Articles, it was thereupon exchanged at Ryswick the beginning of December, and the French having secured this Point, restored, immediately after, the Towns of Mons, Ath, Charleroy and Courtray in the Low-Countries, and Barcelona, Gironne, Roses and Belver in Catalonia to the Spaniards; but they did not quit the Duchy of Luxembourg till the Month of January following, when la Roche and Arlon, little Fortresses upon the Frontier towards the Pays de Liege, were delivered up to Spanish Garrisons on the 17th; and the 19th they took Possession of the Town of Luxembourg, whereof the Count d'Autel General of the Palatine Troops had been appointed Governor by the King of Spain, through the Queen's Interest, being the Elector Palatine's Sister. By this time all or most of His Majesty's National Forces, Horse and Foot, had left Flanders, and were passed the Seas and got over into England, Scotland or Ireland, except six Scots Regiments of Foot, which the States have taken into their Pay and Service; being those of Lauder, Murray, Walter Collier, Ferguson, Strathnaver and George Hamilton, and the three French battalions of Refugies of la Meloniere, Belcastel and Marton, My Lord Gallway's Horse, and the Marquis de Mirmont's Dragoons which are still kept in His Majesty's Service in Flanders: And the French were then working to demolish the Works on the Rhine and elsewhere, which are to be Razed by the Treaty, and to evacuate those which they are to restore to the Empire; but as yet have not performed it, however we need not doubt but they will, and News are daily expected of their having begun with Philipsbourg and delivered it up to an Imperial Garrison; but these Affairs do not come directly within the compass of this History, and therefore I need not speak any more about them, lest that should swell this Account to too great a Bulk; which is long enough already, and longer than I would have made it, if it could have been done conveniently without omitting some Material Passages. I have no more to add, but some few short Reflections upon the Peace lately agreed upon at Ryswick, which brings this History to a most happy Period, and to it's wished for Conclusion; the Negociations whereof have been carried on with more Calmness, Tranquillity and Expedition, than any General Treaty we can read of before, notwithstanding several Occasions, which have offered themselves seasonably enough to take hold of them, thereby to disturb or prolong this great Work. We have seen the King of Sweden, Charles the Eleventh, (who by his Mediation had so wisely managed Affairs, as to bring the Plenipotentiaries of the several Princes and States engaged in the War, together, in order to open their Conferences) * April 5. 1697. die, as 'twere, upon the very Threshold of the Congress, and yet the Treaty not delayed at all by so Fatal an Accident: The Regency under his Successor Charles the Twelfth, who was then a Minor, carried on the Mediation without any Intermission, by dispatching new full Powers to the Swedish Minister at the Hague, and both the Allies and France received it without any Wrangling or Hesitation; which, as on the one hand it redounded very much to the Glory and Honour of the Crown of Sweden, so on the other, it demonstrated plainly the Sincerity of the most Powerful Parties concerned in the War, and that they desired in earnest the Peace and Quiet of their own Dominions, and the General Repose of Christendom. We have seen France gain considerable Advantages over the Allies, both in Land and Sea Expeditions the last Campagne, and yet not stand upon much higher Terms for it in the Treaty, unless it was the keeping of Strasbourg and the giving an Equivalent for it; which, if duly considered, was as much for the Advantage of the Empire, as Strasbourg was for that of France; for Strasbourg, an Imperial Town, would have made but a very weak Barriere to the Empire, but as it is now, that the Empire has the Fort of Kehl opposite to Strasbourg, and all the Forts and strong Places on the right side of the Rhine, it seems to be in a better Condition to hinder the French from passing of the Rhine, than in the State 'twas left by the Treaty of Nimeguen: And indeed 'twas well for the Peace and Quiet of Europe, that those met with most Success the last Campagne, who wanted Peace the most; else a General Peace could not have been negociated with so much Expedition, and so few Difficulties to overcome: And for this reason we find no Losers in the Treaty, but it seems at once Advantageous for all the Parties concerned. Spain has reduced the French, by its strict Union with the Allies more than by any Efforts of its own, within the Bounds and Limits of the precedent Treaty, notwithstanding that the French were Masters of the whole Duchy of Luxembourg before the War; whereas before, in all the precedent Treaties since that of Veruins, the Spaniards were always giving up considerable Towns and Provinces to France, and especially in those of the Pyrenees, Aix la Chappelle and Nimeguen. The Empire has a much stronger Frontier by this Treaty than by that of Nimeguen, considering the better Conditions given at present to the Duke of Lorraine, and that France has quitted all the Country, Towns and strong places it had on the other side of the Rhine before, by virtue of the Westphalian Treaty and that of Nimeguen; and although the Empire has quitted Strasbourg and delivered it up to the French, in lieu of Brisach, Fribourg and all that France had beyond the Rhine, yet having the Fort of Kehl by virtue of this Treaty, on the opposite side of the Rhine to Strasbourg, it will always be a Curb and a Bridle upon the French, and will hinder them from Subsisting beyond the Rhine with an Army, as long as this Place is in the hands of an Imperial Garrison; which Strasbourg of itself could not have done, if it had been restored to the Empire in the Condition wherein 'twas taken by the French. The State's General have plainly gained their Cause about the Electorate of Cologne, which was one of the Articles upon which France declared War against Holland, and by regaining with it the Duchy of Luxembourg to Spain in the late Treaty, they have removed the French altogether from their Frontier, especially from the Rhine, whereby they made that Fatal Irruption upon them in the Year 1672. They have likewise Parried a Mortal Stroke to their Religion, Commerce and Liberties, by the Happy and Miraculous Turn of Affairs in England just at the beginning of the Wars, which in a great Measure was due to their Assistance; and their Liberty laying upon the same Stake with ours, and the Protestant Interest all over Christendom, but especially in the United Provinces being embarked upon the same Bottom with the Fate of the Church of England, we may say that they have been, together with us, delivered from Popery and Slavery. As for the Advantages of France in this Peace, notwithstanding that it has lost all Footing in Italy by the Separate Treaty with Savoy, by giving back Pignerol after a Possession of above Sixty Years, to obtain it; that Lorraine is restored upon much better Terms for that Duke and the Empire, than those agreed upon in the Treaty of Nimeguen; and notwithstanding the great and prodigious Expenses to which the French King has been obliged, to carry on so long and tedious a War, which in truth he began himself, against so many Confederates, and yet that he is still reduced to the Bounds and Limits of the precedent Peace; which for this reason looks like so much Blood shed, and Treasure spent to no purpose; that Cazal has been taken by the Allies, Lorraine and Dinant restored, both which were in his Possession even at the Treaty of Nimeguen; and Luxembourg given back to the Spaniards, all which Places were in the hands of the French before the beginning of the War; and that he has been obliged to evacnate all the Towns and Fortresses he has taken since, at the Expense of so much Blood and Money; and all the Country he was Master of beyond the Rhine, in Exchange for Strasbourg: Yet it must be owned that the French King has managed the whole War with abundance of Art and Wisdom; that he has gained very great Advantages over the Allies; that he has brought them to make a Peace upon his own Terms, and extricated himself very gloriously thereby out of all the Difficulties which a Powerful Confederacy had brought his Kingdom to, not so much by the Vigour of their Efforts as by the Necessity of his own Affairs, the Consequence of a Burdensome and Expensive War carried on by himself against so many Potent Enemies, which had reduced most of the Provinces of France to an Universal Poverty and Misery; and at last he remains Master of Strasbourg in Alsatia, Longwy and Saar-lovis in Lorraine, much more to his Advantage than the Equivalents he gives, being thereby in a Condition to hinder Lorraine (though restored) from being troublesome to France, and still to keep the Rhine and the Empire in awe; and has Power enough left by it, to be still formidable to the rest of Europe, and to disturb the Peace and Quiet of Christendom as soon as his Coffers are replenished; unless his Adherence to the Public Faith and Sacredness of Treaties, constrains him more than the Apprehension of the Power and Greatness of any of his Neighbours. Yet notwithstanding these Advantages on both sides in the Treaty of Ryswick, it is certain that both France and the Allies are fallen very short of their Expectations in the last War; France proposed to itself at least to have changed the Twenty Years Truce into a perpetual Treaty, in pursuance of the repeated Instances made by the French Ambassador at the Diet of Ratisbone for that purpose; and nothing in the World could have prevented, not only this, but even the Ruin of the Protestant Religion every where, and with it the Truckling of the Empire, the Spanish and United Netherlands, to the Power of France, save the Happy Wonderful and Sudden Revolution in England, when, in all Humane Probability, His Majesty's Expedition with so considerable a Body of the States Forces in that Kingdom, must have created such Civil Wars, as would have been rather Subservient to carry on the great Designs of France, instead of hindering them; which I think is a sufficient Argument to convince any Man, unless he is biased by his Passions, Prejudices and Interest, that it was the doing of that overruling Providence, who, as the Psalmist tells us, * Psal. 33. Maketh the Devices of the People to be of none effect, and casteth out the Counsels of Princes. As for the Allies, they had sufficiently felt the Effects of that Great Power which the French had come to by the Treaty of Nimeguen; and whilst the Court of England was engaged in the Interests of France, that turned the Scale so much, that there could be no resistance for them: But that powerful Kingdom having been so happily and suddenly drawn out of the Interests of France, or rather delivered out of its Power, by the late Revolution in the Government, and brought over by it to the side of the Allies (in whose Cause, the Religion, Laws, Privileges and Liberties of that Kingdom were so nearly concerned as the Liberties of Europe were reciprocally involved in the Destiny of that Nation) so the Allies conceived very great Hopes thereupon of reducing France to much lower Conditions than the Treaty of Nimeguen, and of hindering it hereafter from disturbing so often the Peace and Quiet of Christendom. But several Accidents have stopped the Progress of the Allies Affairs thus far; the first has been the War of Ireland, which hindered England from bending the Force of its Arms against France at the beginning, to employ them for the three first Campagnes to recover a Kingdom which so undoubtedly belongs to it, and in which it was certainly the Interest of the French to maintain the War as long as possibly they could; not to mention the perfidious Malice of a Party of Men and unnatural Patriots, we have at Home, which has weakened our Efforts very much, and clogged the Progress of our Affairs, so as to make them often drive heavy: The second has been the Oversight of the Imperial Court, in not making a Peace with the Grand Signior after the Siege of Belgrade, as the Turks so earnestly solicited it at that time: And the third, The Obstinacy of the Turks, so prejudicial at last to their true Interest, in carrying on so unsuccessful a War in Hungary; when by the necessity of the Emperor's Affairs, whilst engaged in a War against France, they could have made a very Advantageous Peace for themselves; which they ought to have done chief, when they found that, notwithstanding the great Diversion they expected from the French upon the Rhine, the Imperialists could give them an entire Rout at Salankement, and take in the Campagnes following Guyla and Great-Waradin from them; for which ill Policy they find at present but too much reason to repent, when they see themselves left in the Lurch, and to deal with a Powerful Confederacy; which, now that there is a General Peace in Christendom, can bend all its Forces against a weakened and drooping Empire. The first of these Obstacles being at length happily surmounted by the Reduction of Ireland, France contrived an Invasion in the Year 1692. to make us look to our own defence at home instead of increasing the strength of the Allies abroad, by which though it miscarried in the main, yet it gained the Town of Namur: And the defeat of Landen in 1693 having showed the necessity there was for England and the States to augment considerably their Land Forces, the Scale begun to turn the Campagne following, and the weight of England appeared very considerable in the Balance chief in the Campagne of 1695 by the Glorious Recovery of Namur; which, if it be true that France offered to treat upon the Foot of Nimeguen before, upon the Issue of the Campagne of 1694, sufficiently justified the Conduct of the Allies in the rejecting of it, when the French lost Cazal in Italy at the same time: And there is a great deal of reason to think that the carrying of the War by the Allies thereafter would have been attended with many other Glorious Advantages and very Fatal to the French, had it not been for the Duke of Savoy's deserting of the Common Interest, in the Campagne of 1696; and (what was, may be, in some measure the Cause of it) the Money difficulties which happened in England at that time and obliged us to Reform our Coin, which had been Clipped and Debased almost to nothing; so that it could bear no Price abroad, but must have hindered our Armies at last from Subsisting in Flander's, and drawn the loss of the Spanish Netherlands after it without a speedy Remedy: And as we could not carry on the War nor indeed our Trade without Reforming our Coin, so France expected we should be reduced to such Extremities in the doing of it, as might have put a People together by the Ears that is not used to want, which would have made it worth its while to continue a War, in which it would once more have had a fair Chance to subdue the League and Compass its great Designs by the Ruin of England. This may be reckoned the true Cause both of the inaction and weakness of the Allies for the two last Campagnes, and of the continuing of the War then by the French King; But though our Money difficulty's occasioned in a great measure this prolonging of the War by the French, yet our overcoming of them so happily and in so little a time, (which demonstrated the vast and unexpected Wealth of a Nation they reckoned altogether impoverished, and which was represented as such by our Domestic Enemies) has made amends for it in opening the Eyes of our late Enemies, and letting them see that the Continuation of the War would Ruin France before it could Beggar England; which has contributed very much to facilitate and bring about that Universal Peace which Christendom now Enjoys. And though the Allies have fallen short of their Expectations in the War, and that France still continues in the main upon the Foot of the Treaty of Nimeguen, yet England having so successfully rcovered its Liberties and maintained and vindicated the Liberties of all Europe at the same time, it is thereby in a Condition to balance Affairs enough to keep France quiet and to make it observe the Terms of the last Treaty, unless it would run the Risk of an Alliance which, hereafter, would be more fatal to it than ever. My last Reflection shall be about the Advantages which England has gained by the present Peace. As for the King, he has raised an Eternal Monument of Fame and Glory to himself by it, in bringing of a War (in which he had already gained an Endless Renown in exposing his Person so freely to all the Dangers and Fatigues of it every Campagne) to so happy a Period, in spite of all the difficulties which seemed rather to entail it upon himself and his Dominions; in steering all along so justly and nicely among all the different Parties, Nations, Religions and Interests that made up the Body of the Allies, as to bring them to join and Centre together in effecting his Peaceable and quiet Settlement upon the Throne of these Realms, even, notwithstanding too many ill Successes in the Course of the War both for his and their Affairs; and by this Union among the Chief Powers of the League so strictly carried on, and so happily managed (of which the French themselves when Enemies, gave the * Father la Rue his Funeral Oration upon the Marechal of Luxembourg. Applause to our Great Prince) to compass an Honourable Peace for his Allies as well as for himself. But the Glory of Kings does not always make the Happiness of Subjects, this would not amount to so much for us, if the welfare of England was not joined with it; and here it is that we must take a view of the Advantages which England reaps at present by that Peace it owes to the Wisdom and Valour of our Good and Gracious as well as Great Sovereign; in which case it would be enough to say that England has gained its cause by it, and compassed the great and noble design, it did chief aim at in the War, of recovering under. His Majesty's Government, its Rights, Privileges and Liberties, which had been so notoriously violated before; and of securing thereby the Protestant Religion not only amongst us but in the rest of Christendom, which was then in so manifest and apparent a danger by the violent Eruptions of a Popish Government; so as for the future we might entail both our Religion and Liberties to Posterity upon a surer and more solid Foundation than they could have, when in the reach of Tyranny and Arbitrary Power: But over and above (which indeed is but a necessary consequence of the former) England is again re instated in its prerogative of holding the Balance of Europe, and keeping a due aequilibrium among the contending Powers of Christendom, as it is its true interest; for Popery nor Arbitrary Power can hardly be introduced amongst us but by a pernicious Adherence or rather Servility to one side or tother, to render it formidable thereby to the rest of the World, by this means to compass such Tyrannical designs under the shelter of it; and I think we have had but too much experience already to vouch for the Truth of this Assertion. And as England has so gloriously recovered itself, and is reinstated in the Umpireship of the Affairs of Europe, by gaining of our Cause in the happy Conclusion of a War in which we were so necessarily engaged, so consequently is it in our Power to make the present Peace Solid, Lasting and Durable; for neither side will think it their advantage to be troublesome whilst a powerful Umpire is resolved to maintain the Balance of Affairs. Whilst England is in this Condition, it is in its true Posture, and as it should be; but in order to keep and maintain ourselves in it, these two things seem to be absolutely necessary: The first is a Careful regard to the State of Affairs abroad, not to look upon them with an indifferency because we are in an Island happily divided from the rest of the World, which frees us from a great many of its Commotions and Disturbances; but whenever this point of the Umpireship (in which our own Safety as well as Glory is so nearly concerned) lies at Stake, then to engage hearty and freely for the Liberty of Europe; for otherwise we must at length become a Prey ourselves, or be involved in a War at last which will then cost us more Millions, than in taking things at the beginning it would have cost us Hundred Thousands of Pounds; for the Truth of which I need but appeal to the vast Expenses of the late War: The Second is Peace and Unity among ourselves; for, besides, that this Umpireship of the Affairs of Christendom wholly depends upon it, which will always shelter us from Enemies abroad at the same time that it makes us great in the World, it is the only bottom that the present Government, and with it our Religion, Privileges and Liberties can stand upon; for their Fate is at present inseparable, and I may boldly venture to say, that as Affairs are now in Europe, if our (unhappy Divisions should work to that height as to produce a Change, (which God forbidden) no Revolution can happen in England from the present Government, but for Popery and Tyranny, without a very great Miracle to prevent it; which is a Risk no wise Protestant can expose the Common Interest of all that call themselves Reform to: And therefore whatever Designs too many people amongst us may directly propose to themselves in carrying off of Factions and Divisions to work a Change of Affairs either in Church or State to their own Advantage, of what side soever they may be yet in effect they only work for their own Destruction, and must of Course be involved in the Ruins of that very Fabric which they endeavour to pull down, and thus open the only remaining Inlet to Popery and Slavery: And I pray God that all that call themselves Protestant's may lay these things seriously to their Hearts, that so our own Divisions may not one day effect what all the Power of France prompted and encouraged by the Treacherous and base Contrivances of an Unnatural Party of Men at home, has not been able to perform, and to this End may the God of Peace guide our judgements in all things, and endow our Hearts with a healing Christian Charity among ourselves (which is the only Bond of Peace) so that, though we cannot bring Matters to an exact Uniformity of Sentiments in Matters of Religion, yet thereby we may at least be hindered from biting and devouring one another, which cannot end otherwise but in a Common Ruin, and united in the Methods of a mutual defence, as we have at present, more than over, an Unity of Interest against the Common Adversary. FINIS. Books printed for Matthew Wotton at the Three Daggers in Fleetstreet. Numb. 7. Showing the Usefulness of Humane-Learning in Matters of Religion. Numb. 8. Showing the Necessity of such a Christian Discipline as is Consistent with Civil Power, in Opposition to the Extremes on both sides. Books printed for John Newton at the Three Pigeons in Fleetstreet. THE Honourable Hugh Hare Esq has Charge at the General Quarter-Sessions of the Peace for the County of Surrey, held at Darking. The Second Edition, Corrected. Dr. Falle's Account of the Isle of Jersey, with a new Map, dedicated to the King.— His Three Sermons on several Occasions. Sir Francis Bacon's Essays. A Discourse of Natural and Revealed Religion, in several Essays: Or, The Light of Nature a Guide to Divine Truth. By Mr. Tim. Nurse. The Anatomy of the Earth. By Thomas Robinson, Rector of Ba●by in Cumberland.