December, with duke Vendome and the privy-counsellors, &c. who followed him, set out three days after, to place himself at the head of his forces. His design was to follow the allies in their retreat to Aragon, and bring them to a battle, in which, in all likelihood, he would have had the advantage, they being divided into several corps, that they might more easily subsist. On advice that general Stanhope was at Brihuega, with eight battalions, and as many squadrons, he ordered it to be immediately invested. The cannon having opened a breach, the troops made the assault, and pushed to the very centre of the town, and, after a defence of twenty-eight hours, compelled this numerous corps to surrender prisoners of war; but on this condition, however, that the officers should not be spoiled of their equipages and horses. General Staremberg hearing the danger that Stanhope was in, marched with all the army to his succour, and in the night fired several cannon to give him notice of his arrival. On the 10th, he advanced as far as the plain of Villa Viciosa, whither the Spanish army, after the expedition of Brihuega, marched in order of battle to meet him, they being greatly superior in number. The duke of Vendome with the right wing, attacked the left of the allies, which he overthrew in an instant; then taking their horse in flank, routed them, and drove the foot, who maintained the fight till night, when they fled towards Seguenca, leaving behind them their cannon and wounded men, with a great number of waggons. The Germans give a quite different account, and say that the main body and right wing, consisting of thirty squadrons and sixteen battalions, were five different times attacked, and not only at length entirely defeated the enemy's horse, but drove the whole army of the Spaniards beyond the Tajune; killed six thousand, and remained masters of the field and all the cannon till noon of the next day. But this is not at all likely, for it is certain that this battle

fixed Philip in that throne, the possession of which was the ground of this bloody war. But to return to the Low Countries.

Prince Eugene and the duke of Marlborough arriving at the army on the 20th of April 1710, N. S., decamped that very night, to seize on the bridge at Vendin, and the upper grounds of Courieres. The French no sooner saw the vanguard of the allies, but they quitted their lines, which covered WalloonFlanders, and which had cost them so much raising; so that the duke of Wirtemberg and lieutenant-general Cadogan entered them, without so much as drawing a sword. On the other hand, monsieur d'Artagnon, who was posted behind the Scarpe, with forty battalions and thirty squadrons, not only abandoned the river the very next day, but also the four towers, Marchiennes, Hanon, and St. Amand, threw some troops into Bouchain, and withdrew under the cannon of Arras. This successful opening of the campaign, was followed by the siege of Douay, invested the 23rd. This town, in which Philip the second, king of Spain, founded a university in 1560, was taken by Lewis XIV. in 1667, five days after the trenches were opened, since when that monarch had it regularly fortified, and raised a fort on the Scarpe half a quarter of a league distant from the town. We opened the trenches in two places on the north side of the river, the 3rd of May at night. While we carried on our works, marshal Villars, having re-enforced his army with all the men he could draw out of the garrisons, gave out that he would march to the succour of the town; and in effect appeared with his army between Lens and Taupou; he even made a detachment, which, advancing as far as Neuvirel and Berticourt, drew very near to the lines we had made before the grand army, to prevent being incommoded during the siege, as we had been at Lisle. These motions raised the hopes of the besieged,

and animated them to a vigorous defence; but all their bravery could not save the place, which capitulated the 25th of June; the garrison, four days after, gave the allies possession of that and Fort Scarpe, and marched out with all the marks of honour, to be conducted to Cambray.

The partisan du Moulin attempted to surprise Lovain, but was disappointed by the bravery of the burghers. On the 5th of August he detached a party, who scaled the wall between the old and new gate of Brussels, where the ditch is dry, and having the good fortune to enter the town without being perceived, disarmed the burghers' guard, opened a gate, and let in their comrades to the number of four or five hundred; who posting themselves in St. James's churchyard, sent a party thence to the heart of the town, who seized upon the guild, and secured the burghers' grand guard. After this expedition, they intended to possess themselves of the other gates; the garrison, which was but a hundred and fifty men, having withdrawn, on the first notice, into the castle. In the interim, the whole town was alarmed, and the burgher-master awaking with the noise made in the streets, ran disguised to St. Peter's church, where he shut himself in and rang the alarum bell. Immediately the burghers took to their arms, and, headed by Van de Ven, marched to the square, and drew up in order before the guard. Du Moulin hearing that all was in motion, sent in all speed an officer on horseback, to see how matters went. He came to the square with his drawn sword in his hand, and threatened the burghers to fire the town, if they did not lay down their arms but this menace was so far from having the desired effect, that one of them fired at him, and the ball taking him in the throat, tumbled him dead from his horse. The burgher-master immediately ordered the inhabitants to repair from their different

quarters to the gate the enemy had opened, and retake it; while he, at the head of his company, marched with beat of drum to St. James's churchyard to dislodge the French. But they, fearing they should be cut off from the gate, thought of nothing but their retreat; and it was time for them to do it, for the burghers arrived just as they left the churchyard, and hooted them as they went off.

In our march to the siege of Douay, one Morgan Jones stole from me one of my mares, and I was obliged to purchase another, which I did of a hussar, who, as I apprehended, had stolen it from a boor. This latter found her in my possession, though I had docked, trimmed, and endeavoured to disguise her; but to no purpose, the peasant was not to be deceived; he knew and claimed his beast. I denied her to be his property, as I had bought and paid for her; and told him I would not part with my right; I talked big, and thought to carry it off with a high hand; but the fellow complaining to lord Orrery, and making oath the mare was his, I was ordered by his lordship to return the man his beast, at night, when we were come to our journey's end, which I accordingly did, but could never get my money back from the hussar. Soon after, a friend of mine, found where the Welchman had sold my mare, which I recovered; and my husband meeting Morgan Jones, gave him a sound drubbing for his thieving.

After the reduction of Douay, the allies encamped with the right near the head of the Lave, and the left near that of Souchet, behind the Scarpe, whence a detachment of twenty-six battalions and eighteen squadrons was detached to invest Bethune, on the 5th of July; and on the 22nd, baron Fagel and count Schuitenburg opened the trenches, one on the side of St. Andrew's gate, and one before that of the Holy Ghost. The town was well furnished with everything necessary for the holding out a long siege; it was de

fended by deep ditches, a great number of mines, double outworks on the side of the low grounds; one would have thought it was out of danger, they being lain under water, had double outworks, and was on a stony soil. The allies, however, found means to drain off the water on that side where the grounds were drowned, and having carried on their work without being molested by mines, preparations were made on the 28th to give the assault to the outworks; but the besieged, not daring to expose themselves to it, hung out a white ensign. At count Schuitenburg's attack, baron Fagel resenting the governor's not doing the like on his side, continued to push on his works; and thinking his honour at stake, threatened, in case they longer delayed to do it, to lay all in ashes. Monsieur de Vauban, who commanded in the town, made some difficulty of this, because, as he alleged, there was no breach as yet on the side of the baron's attack; however, he was at length obliged to give way. capitulation was signed, the garrison left the town on the 30th, with all the marks of honour, and was conducted to Arras.

The

As ours was one of the regiments which covered the siege, I had no occasion to run into danger. Captain Montgomery, who would serve volunteer at this siege, was killed by a musket-ball; and while it continued, all our foragers had like to have been cut off: marshal Villars had detached several squadrons to attack us, which fell on those that were to protect us, and soon made them give way; but our foragers making head, and sustaining them, the tables were turned in our favour, and we drove the enemy with great slaughter: fresh troops coming to their assistance, we were compelled to retreat to a village, where we expected succour from our army. We were soon surrounded, and summoned by the French to surrender, but we refusing, they attacked us in front, but were in their turn obliged to retreat at the approach of