decamps.

and the most spacious streets had hardly a spectator left to view their ruins. Nothing was to be seen like that dexterity of our people in extinguishing the fires; for where the red-hot bullets fell, and raised new conflagrations, not burghers only, but the vulgar sort, stood staring, and with their hands impocketed, beheld their houses gradually consume; and without offering prudent or charitable hand to stop the growing flames. But after they had almost thus destroyed Villeroy that late fair city, Villeroy, finding he could not raise the siege of Namur by that vigorous attack upon Brussels, decamped at last from before it, and put his army on the march towards Namur, to try if he could have better success by exposing to show his pageant of one hundred thousand men. Prince Vaudemont had timely intelligence of the Duke's resolution and motion; and resol ved, if possible, to get there before him. Nor was the attempt fruitless: he fortunately succeeded, though with much fatigue, and no little difficulty, after he had

put a trick upon the spies of the enemy, by pretending to encamp, and so soon as they were gone ordering a full march.

The castle of Namur had been all this time under the fire of the besieger's cannon; and soon after our little army under the Prince was arrived, a breach, that was imagined practicable, being made in the Terra Nova, (which, as the name imports, was a new work, raised by the French, and added to the fortifications, since it fell into their hands in 1692, and which very much increased the strength of the whole,) a breach, as I have said, being made in this Terra Nova, a storm, in a council of war, was resolved upon. Four entire regiments, in conjunction with some draughts made out of several others, were ordered for that work, myself commanding that part of them, which had been drawn out of Colonel Tiffin's. We were all to rendezvous at the abbey of Salsines, under the command of the Lord Cutts; the signal, when the attack was to be made, being agreed to

be the blowing up of a bag of gun-powder upon the bridge of boats that lay over the Sambre.

So soon as the signal was made, we marched up to the breach with a decent in trepidity, receiving, all the way we advanced, the full fire of the Cohorn fort. But as soon as we came near enough to mount, we found it vastly steep and rugged. Notwithstanding all which, several did get up, and entered the breach; but not being supported as they ought to have been, they were all made prisoners. Which, together with a wound my Lord Cutts received, after we had done all that was possible for us, necessitated us to retire with the loss of many of our men.

his

Villeroy all this while lay in sight, with

army of one hundred thousand men, without making the least offer to incommode the besiegers; or even without doing any thing more than make his appearance in favour of the besieged, and reconnoitring our encampment: and, at last, seeing,

The castle

capitulates.

Assassination plot.

or imagining that he saw, the attempt would be to little purpose, with all the good manners in the world, in the night, he withdrew that terrible meteor, and relieved our poor horses from feeding on leaves, the only inconvenience he had put us to.

This retreat leaving the garrison without all hope of relief, they in the castle immediately capitulated. But after one of the gates had been, according to articles, delivered up, and Count Guiscard was marching out at the head of the garrison, and Bouflers at the head of the dragoons; the latter was, by order of King William, arrested, in reprize of the garrison of Dixmuyd, who, contrary to the cartel, had been detained prisoners, and remained under arrest till they were set free.

At the very beginning of the year 1696, was discovered a plot, fit only to have had its origin from hell, or Rome; a plot which would have put Hottentots and Barbarians out of countenance. This was called the assassination plot, from the design of it,

which was to have assassinated King William, a little before the time of his usual leaving England to head the army of the confederates in Flanders. And as nothing could give a nobler idea of the great character of that prince, than such a nefarious combination against him; so, with all considerate men, nothing could more depreciate the cause of his inconsiderate enemies. If I remember what I have read, the sons of ancient Rome, though heathens, behaved themselves against an enemy in a quite different manner. Their historians afford us more instances than a few of their generous intimations to kings and generals, under actual hostilities, of barbarous designs upon their lives. I proceed to this of our own countrymen.

Soon after the discovery had been made, by persons actually engaged in that inhuman design, the regiment, in which I served, with some others then in Flanders, received orders, with all expedition, to em-. bark for England; though, on our arrival