and lavishes her substance with the most dangerous precipitation she is even deserted by her wonted vigour, steadiness, and intrepidity: she grows vain, fantastical, and pusillanimous her arms are despised by her enemies; and her counsel ridiculed through all christendom.

XVIII. The king, in order to exhibit a specimen of his desire to diminish the public expense, ordered the third and fourth troops of his lifeguards to be disbanded, and reduced three regiments of horse to the quality of dragoons. The house of commons presented an address of thanks for this instance of economy, by which the annual sum of seventy thousand pounds was saved to the nation. Notwithstanding this seeming harmony between the king and the great council of the nation, his majesty resolved, with the advice of his counsel, to dissolve the present parliament, though the term of seven years was not yet expired since its first meeting. The ministry affected to insinuate, that the states general were unwilling to concur with his majesty in vigourous measures against France, during the existence of a parliament which had undergone such a vicissitude of complexion. The allies of Great Britain, far from being suspicious of this assembly, which had supplied them so liberally, saw with concern, that, according to law, it would soon be dismissed; and they doubted whether another could be procured equally agreeable to their purposes. In order to remove this doubt, the ministry resolved to surprise the kingdom with a new election, before the malcontents should be prepared to oppose the friends of the government. Accordingly, when the business of the session was despatched, the king having given the royal assent to the several acts they had prepared, dismissed them in the month of June,* with an affectionate speech, that breathed nothing but tenderness and gratitude. The parliament was immediately dissolved by proclamation, and new writs were issued for convoking another. Among the laws passed in this session, was an act abolishing the heritable jurisdictions, and taking away the tenure of wardholdings in Scotland, which were reckoned among the principal sources of those rebellions that had been excited since the revolution. In the High

lands they certainly kept the common people in subjection to their chiefs, whom they implicitly followed and obeyed in all their undertakings. By this act these mountaineers were legally emancipated from slavery: but as the tenants. enjoyed no leases, and were at all times liable to be ejected from their farms, they still depended on the pleasure of their lords, notwithstanding this interposition of the legislature which granted a valuable consideration in money to every nobleman and petty baron, who was thus deprived of one part of his inheritance. The forfeited estates indeed, were divided into small farms, and let by the government on leases at an under value; so that those who had the good fortune to obtain such leases tasted the sweets of independence but the Highlanders in general were left in their original indigence and incapacity, at the mercy of their superiors. Had manufactures and fisheries been established in different parts of their country, they would have seen and felt the happy consequences of industry, and in a little time been effectually detached from all their slavish connexions.

§ XIX. The operations of the campaign had been concerted in the winter at the Hague, between the duke of Cumberland and the states general of the United Provinces, who were by this time generally convinced of France's design to encroach upon their territories. They, therefore, determined to take effectual measures against that restless and ambitious neighbour. The allied powers agreed to assemble a vast army in the Netherlands; and it was resolved that the Austrians and Piedmontese should once more penetrate into Provence. The Dutch patriots, however, were not roused into this exertion, until all their remonstrances had failed at the court of Versailles; until they had been urged by repeated memorials of the English. ambassador, and stimulated by the immediate danger to which their country was exposed: for France was by this time possessed of all the Austrian Netherlands, and seemed bent upon penetrating into the territories of the United Provinces. In February, the duke of Cumberland began to assemble the allied forces; and in the latter end of March they took the field in three separate bodies. His royal highness, with the English, Hanoverians, and Hessians,

fixed his headquarters at the village of Tiberg: the prince of Waldeck was posted with the Dutch troops at Breda; and mareschal Bathiani collected the Austrians and Bavarians in the neighbourhood of Venlo. The whole army amounted to one hundred and twenty thousand men, who lay inactive six weeks, exposed to the inclemency of the weather, and almost destitute of forage and provision. Count Saxe, by this time created mareschal general of France, continued his troops within their cantonment at Bruges, Antwerp, and Brussels, declaring, that when the allied army should be weakened by sickness and mortality, he would convince the duke of Cumberland, that the first duty of a general is to provide for the health and preserva

tion of his troops. In April this fortunate commander took the field, at the head of one hundred and forty thou sand men; and the count de Clermont commanded a separate body of nineteen battalions and thirty squadrons. Count Lowendahl was detached on the sixteenth day of the month, with seven-and-twenty thousand men, to invade Dutch Flanders: at the same time, the French minister at the Hague presented a memorial to the States, intimating, that his master was obliged to take this step by the necessity of war; but that his troops should observe the strictest discipline, without interfering with the religion, government, or commerce of the republic: he likewise declared, that the countries and places of which he might be obliged to take possession should be detained no otherwise than as a pledge, to be restored as soon as the United Provinces should give convincing proofs that they would no longer furnish the enemies of France with succours.

§ XX. While the States deliberated upon this declaration, count Lowendahl entered Dutch Brabant, and invested the town and fortress of Sluys, the garrison of which surrendered themselves prisoners of war on the nineteenth day of April. This was likewise the fate of Sas-van Ghent, while the marquis de Contades, with another detachment, reduced the forts Perle and Leifkenshoek, with the town of Philippine, even within hearing of the confederate army. The fort of Sanberg was vigorously defended by two English battalions: but they were overpowered, and obliged to retire to Welsthoorden; and count Lowendahl

undertook the siege of Hulst, which was shamefully surrendered by La Roque, the Dutch governor, though he knew that a reinforcement of nine battalions was on the march to his relief. Then the French general took possession of Axel and Terneuse, and began to prepare flat bottomed boats for a descent on the island of Zealand. The Dutch people were now struck with consternation. They saw the enemy at their doors, and owed their immediate preservation to the British squadron stationed at the Swin, under the command of commodore Mitchel, who, by means of his sloops, tenders, and smallcraft, took such measures as defeated the intention of Lowendahl. The common people in Zealand being reduced to despair, began to clamour loudly against their governors, as if they had not taken the proper measures for their security. The friends of the prince of Orange did not neglect this opportunity of promoting his interest. They encouraged their discontent, and exaggerated the danger: they reminded them of the year one thousand six hundred and seventytwo, when the French king was at the gates of Amsterdam, and the republic was saved by the choice of a stadtholder: they exhorted them to turn their eyes on the descendant of those heroes who had established the liberty and independence of the United Provinces; they extolled his virtue and ability; his generosity, his justice, his unshaken love to his country. The people in several towns, inflamed by such representations to tumult and sedition, compelled their magistrates to declare the prince of Orange stadtholder. He himself, in a letter to the states of Zealand, offered his services for the defence of the province. On the twenty-eighth day of April he was nominated captain general and admiral of Zealand. Their example was followed by Rotterdam and the whole province of Holland; and on the second day of May, the prince of Orange was, in the assembly of the states general, invested with the power and dignity of stadtholder, captain general, and admiral of the United Provinces. The vigorous consequences of this resolution immediately appeared. All commerce and contracts with the French were prohibited: the peasants were

s Not the person who commanded in the West Indies.

armed and exercised: a resolution passed for making a considerable augmentation of the army: a council of war was established for inquiring into the conduct of the governors who had given up the frontier places; and orders were issued to commence hostilities against the French both by sea and land.

§ XXI. Meanwhile, the duke of Cumberland took post with his whole army between the two Nethes, to cover Bergen-op-Zoom and Maestricht; and mareschal Saxe called in his detachments, with a view to hazard a general engagement. In the latter end of May, the French king arrived at Brussels; and his general resolved to undertake the siege of Maestricht. For this purpose he advanced towards Louvain; and the confederates perceiving his drift, began their march to take post between the town and the enemy. On the twentieth day of June, they took possession of their ground, and were drawn up in order of battle, with their right at Bilsen, and their left extending to Wirle, within a mile of Maestricht, having in the front of their left wing the village of Laffeldt, in which they posted several battalions of British infantry. The French had taken possession of the heights of Herdeeren, immediately above the allies; and both armies cannonaded each other till the evening. In the morning, the enemy's infantry marched down the hill, in a prodigious column, and attacked the village of Laffeldt, which was well fortified, and defended with amazing obstinacy. The assailants suffered terribly in their approach, from the cannon of the confederates, which was served with surprising dexterity and success; and they met with such a warm reception from the British musketry as they could not withstand: but, when they were broken and dispersed, fresh brigades succeeded with astonishing perseverance. The confederates were driven out of the village: yet being sustained by three regiments, they measured back their ground, and repulsed the enemy with great slaughter. Nevertheless, count Saxe continued pouring in other battalions, and the French regained and maintained their footing in the village, after it had been three times lost and carried. The action was chiefly confined to this post, where the field exhibited a horrible scene of carnage. At noon the duke of Cumberland ordered the whole left