after wandering during the whole night, with difficulty rejoined the army. With discouraged and defeated troops, however, he repulsed the pursuing enemy, and, occupying strong positions behind the Guadiana, covered the frontiers of Portugal. This petty defeat, in which the loss, exclusive of prisoners, was very inconsiderable, animated the spirit of the Spaniards as much as it depressed that of the Portuguese; but no event of consequence occurred during the remainder of the campaign, the allied forces continuing on the defersive, and the Spaniards not venturing to undertake active operations.

From the letters of Marlborough it appears that the repeated defeats of the Portuguese led him to place little reliance on the spirit of their troops, if left to their own direction. He therefore disapproved a project of Lord Galway, which was supported by the British cabinet, to raise six regiments of dragoons among the natives. "This scheme," he observes to Godolphin (July 1.), "can never be depended upon, nor be of any use, but for the subsisting of a few French officers; nor, I believe, was it ever heard of before, to be at the expense of raising new troops at the end of a war. Whatever may be pretended, you will find this will cost you a great sum of money; and when they are on foot, you will be told that they cannot subsist upon English pay. If one half of this money had been employed in hiring of old troops, that might have been of use; and you may depend upon it, that the Portuguese have been beaten too often this war to do any thing that may be vigorous."

This observation was perfectly just, as the Portuguese never more acted with spirit and energy; and the degraded state of the country is justly described by the unfortunate general, who. with great military spirit and perseverance, suffered more from the faults of others than from his own.

In a letter to Lord Godolphin, dated Sept. 4., Galway observes, "By the accounts you have heard since my return to Lisbon, you are prepared to expect no good from this court. It is every day worse and worse. The king is pretty well, but enters no more into affairs than if he were in his infancy. Nobody will appear to govern, for certainly no government was eve so abandoned; there is not a penny in the treasury, and less credit; and no care taken to remedy

it." Notwithstanding, however, this unfavourable representation, Marlborough still entertained hopes that the subsidies and reinforcements, contributed by the Maritime Powers, would stimulate the apathy of the Portuguese Court, and, at least, induce them to co-operate with the troops who were collected on the side of Catalonia to march upon Madrid.

This year was remarkable for the defeat of Charles XII. at the battle of Pultowa*, a defeat which interrupted his splendid career of military glory, tranquillised the alarms of the emperor, and freed the belligerent powers from the dread of his formidable interference. The British general sympathised in the fate of the gallant monarch, from whom he had received the most distinguished marks of kindness and respect, and who, with all his eccentricities and chivalrous temerity, possessed many qualifications of a great and magnanimous mind. We observe, therefore, in the duke's letters, a few touches of his ardent sensibility and concern. "This afternoon" (Aug. 26.), he writes to the duchess, "I have received a letter from Prince Menzikoff, favourite and general of the czar, of the entire victory over the Swedes. this unfortunate king had been so well advised as to have made peace the beginning of this summer, he might, in a great measure, have influenced the peace between France and the allies, and have made his kingdom happy; whereas now he is entirely in the power of his neighbours." And again, to Lord Godolphin : "An officer from the czar's army is this afternoon come with letters, and the relation of the late

If

*The Blenheim papers contain several interesting letters to the Duke of Marlborough from Count Piper, in which he details the rapid progress of Charles XII. through the western provinces of Muscovy, in his march towards the Ukraine. He describes the general consternation of the Russians, their abandonment of their homes, the voluntary conflagration of their towns and villages, and considers the conquest of the country and the dethronement of the czar as inevitable. These letters are very curious, as they resemble the accounts given in the bulletins of Buonaparte; both invaders mistook the flight of the peasantry and the devastation of their villages as indications of fear and submission, and both were equally deceived. These acts of patriotism and devotion to their country were, on the contrary, strong symptoms of a determined spirit of resistance which animated all ranks and distinctions. The destruction of the invading army was the consequence in both instances; and both generals terminated in that remote region a career of uninterrupted success.

victory, to the prince of Orange and myself. He left the czar twelve days after the action. I send to Mr. Secretary a copy of my letter from the czar's favourite and general, with the relation of the whole, so that I shall not trouble you with repeating, but cannot avoid telling you that the particular account the officer gives me is so terrible; and having once seen the king of Sweden, I am extremely touched with the misfortune of this young king. His continued successes, and the contempt he has of his enemies, have been his ruin."*

The defeat of Charles and the destruction of his veteran army revived the hopes of his enemies; and a combination was formed between the northern powers of Germany with Denmark and Russia, not only to recover the territories which he had wrested from them, but to dismember the Swedish dominions. The king of Denmark made instant preparations for invading the western provinces of Sweden; King Augustus departed from Dresden for the recovery of Poland, and the two monarchs renewed their offensive alliance with the czar. At the same time the king of Prussia joined the alliance, with the prospect of conquering Pomerania, This confederacy alarmed the cabinets of Vienna, England, and Holland, and the treasurer intimated that instant precautions ought to be taken to prevent the overthrow of the balance of power in the North. Marlborough was, however, apprehensive lest any precipitate measures should be adopted which might offend the northern powers, and recommends, with his usual sagacity, a temperate and moderate course of policy. Alluding to the supposed treaty made by the three kings at Berlin, he observes to Godolphin, "If King Augustus marches for Poland, you cannot doubt of its being concerted between the three kings; so that the queen, in my poor opi

"The overthrow at Pultowa was one of the most momentous that had occurred in modern times. Not only was a great and dreaded conqueror at once overturned, and, ere long, reduced to captivity; but a new balance of power was established in the north, which has never since been shaken. Sweden was reduced to her natural rank as a third-rate power, from which she had been only raised by the extraordinary valour and military talents of a series of warlike sovereigns, who had succeeded in rendering the Scandinavian warriors, like the Macedonians of old, a race of heroes. Russia, by the same event, acquired the entire ascendency over the other Baltic powers, and obtained that preponderance which she nas ever since maintained in the affairs of Europe."— Alison. - ED.

nion, should be very careful of what steps she makes; for we have in this army upwards of 40,000 men which belong to these princes, and, should they withdraw their troops, the houses of Brunswick and Holstein would be obliged to do the same, which are 20,000 more. I need not mention what consequence this would have for the advantage of France; but I am sure you will do all you can for preventing the loss of these troops. The pensioner has desired my opinion on this affair, which I have given him, that our first and principal care should be to oblige these princes not to recall their troops, and afterwards to concert what measures are best to be taken, but not to be hasty in taking a resolution. But if the news be true, which comes from several parts, of the king of Sweden's being killed, that will make a great change in all the affairs of the North."

At the close of the campaign, the king of Prussia, as usual, expressed to the duke his dissatisfaction at the conduct of the allies, and at the little attention which was paid to his interests during the conferences at the Hague. He also renewed his threats of recalling his troops, and even affected to listen to overtures from France.

This letter was enclosed in one from Grumbkow (Dec. 21.), stating that there was a very serious cabal even among those who professed devotion to the duke, to thwart his views, and perhaps to confirm the king in his resolution of withdrawing his troops. He earnestly entreats the duke to gratify the king for the present, and to find some pretext for inducing his master to employ him on a mission to the Hague, that he might make those communications in person which he could not confide to writing; and entreats his grace not to betray him as the author of this intelligence, because his ruin would be inevitable.

In another letter of the same date, Grumbkow states that the king of Prussia bitterly complained of the distrustful reserve which the queen had maintained towards him, and that he had been neglected and insulted by the Dutch. He likewise observed that his royal master claimed the principality of Orange and the cession of Guelder, insisting that the emperor and the queen should bind themselves not to make peace till his demands were complied with.

It is almost needless to observe that Marlborough, as usual

succeeded in conciliating the wayward monarch. At his request, Grumbkow was sent to the Hague. In his conferences with this confidential agent, he learnt that the king had not discontinued his secret negotiations with France, and that there were strong grounds for apprehension, lest his resentment against the States, who positively refused to satisfy his demands, should induce a prince of so choleric and suspicious a temper to secede from the alliance. As a means, therefore, of preventing the loss of so useful an ally, a sketch of a letter, containing new promises and offers, calculated to gratify the king, was drawn up by Grumbkow, and transmitted by Marlborough to the treasurer. A transcript of this letter, in her majesty's own hand, was remitted, and Grumbkow was charged with the delivery, accompanied with assurances of a similar tendency. This expedient succeeded in securing the continuance of the king of Prussia's co-operation and assistance.*

CHAP. LXXXV. -INFLUENCE OF THE WHIGS. - 1709. WHILE Marlborough was conducting his military operations, he was again annoyed with the political feuds in the cabinet. We have already referred to the resolution adopted by the Whig leaders to place the earl of Orford at the head of the

The little truth and faith at this period in European diplomacy has been remarked on in Appendix, note F., p. 493. Public ministers and ambassadors were mostly in the pay of foreigners, and either openly betrayed or insidiously influenced their respective governments. The text affords a pertinent example of this diplomatic cozenage. Grumbkow, aware, from confidential intercourse, of the private inclinations of his master, clandestinely communicates them to Marlborough, who instructs the English prime minister, and the latter prepares a letter in conformity therewith, which Queen Anne copies and transmits in autograph, and as her own spontaneous offers, to the king of Prussia. The bait is taken, and the beguiled monarch remains steadfast to the Grand Alliance. A similar contrivance was frequently resorted to by the triumvirs in the government of the queen herself. If Anne demurred to any favourite project, the draught of a letter most likely to influence the queen, and the joint production of the duchess and Godolphin, was transmitted to Marlborough ; this the duke copied and transmitted to her majesty as his own unbiassed opinion of the pending juncture in public affairs. The reader must have observed several instances of this management, and which was mostly successful in influencing the Queen's determination.-ED.