СНАР. VII. 1709. harvests; but in all ages the cupidity of selfish men has made gain of the lives of men. The Dutch had provisions sufficient for the flourishing armies of their allies, while the French troops were dying of famine. It was not in the power of Desmarets, the finance minister, to re-establish the finances, nor in that of M. Voisin to lay out plans of the campaign more fortunate than those of M. Chamillard, whom he had succeeded. Such were the ravages which famine exercised in France, that for several months in winter they ate nothing but black bread. At Versailles many families, after the example of Madame de Maintenon, lived on oat-cakes. In these desperate circumstances, the monarch humbled himself in his turn by demanding peace of the haughty repub- 1 Hist. de licans whom he had humiliated, and almost crushed 17, 18. under the weight of his power, in the days of his glory.”1 Marlb. iii. The pride of the French monarch was now so much 11. cessions Louis. reduced that he sent the President Rouillé to Holland, Great conwith public instructions to offer terms to the Allies, and offered by private directions to do everything possible to sow dissension among them, and, if possible, to detach Holland from the Alliance. His proposals were to give up Spain, the Indies, and the Milanese, to King Charles; and to cede the Italian islands, reserving Naples and Sicily for March 5. his grandson. In the Netherlands and Germany, he offered to restore matters to the state in which they were at the peace of Ryswick; and though he was very reluctant to give up Lille, he offered to cede Menin in its place. These terms, in themselves so advantageous, were enforced by Rouillé with all that eloquence of which he 2 Hist. de was so entire a master, and all the finesse and diplo- 18, 19. matic skill which enabled him to penetrate into the 393, 394. inmost recesses of the human heart.2 But of what avail Marlb. iii. Coxe, iv. CHAP. VII. 1709. 12. Counterproposals of the Allies. is finesse with those who speak the language of conquerors, and in the pride of their hearts cast away the very mask of dissimulation? These terms being communicated to the Court of London, they returned an answer insisting on the restoration of the whole Spanish monarchy to the house of Austria; the acknowledgment of the title of Queen Anne to the Crown of England, and the Protestant succession; the removal of the Pretender, the destruction of the harbour of Dunkirk, and that an adequate barrier should be secured to the Dutch. In their ideas upon this barrier, however, they went much beyond what Marlborough was disposed to sanction, and he therefore maintained a prudent reserve on the subject. As the French plenipotentiary could not agree to these terms, Marlborough returned to England, and Lord Townsend was associated with him as plenipotentiary. They were instructed to insist that Furnes, Ypres, Menin, Lille, Tournay, Condé, Valenciennes, and Maubeuge, should be given up to form a barrier, and that Newfoundland and Hudson's Bay should be restored. When these terms were read in the cabinet of Versailles, the scene, says M. de Torcy, "was so melancholy that no words. can describe it, even if it were permitted to reveal state secrets." Tears were shed on all sides by all present, from the princes of the blood downwards; for so dis1 Coxe, iv. astrous was the picture which the ministers both of war and of the finances drew of the state of the country, Marlb. iii. that there did not appear a chance of escaping the disgrace with which France was threatened.1 381, 382. Hist. de 21-23. 13. Alarmed at the exaction of such rigorous terms, Louis Progress of sent M. de Torcy, who made large concessions; and the negotia- Marlborough, who was seriously desirous of bringing tions. CHAP. VII. the war to a conclusion, exerted all his influence with the States to induce them to accept the barrier offered. He exerted himself to the utmost to get them to recede 1709. from the rigorous demands in regard to the fortified towns. He so far succeeded that, on the very day after his return to the Hague, he wrote both to Lord Godolphin and the Duchess of Marlborough, that he had prevailed on the Dutch commissioners to accede to the principal articles, and that he had no doubt the negotiation would terminate in an honourable peace.* These flattering prospects, however, were soon overcast. The Dutch renewed their demand of having their barrier strengthened at the expense of Austria, and insisted that the Flemish fortresses of Dendermonde and Ghent, forming part of the Imperial dominions, should be included in it. To this both Eugene and Marlborough objected, and the Dutch, in spite, refused to stipulate for the demoli- 1 Mem. de tion of Dunkirk. So violent an altercation took place 169-edit. on the subject, between the Pensionary Heinsius and Hist. de Marlborough that it had well-nigh produced a schism in 24, 25. the Grand Alliance.1 Torcy, 164 Petitot. Marlb. iii. Torcy se M. de Torcy at first endeavoured to mitigate the 14. demands of the Dutch government; but finding them M. de altogether immovable, he addressed himself privately to cretly ofMarlborough, offering him enormous bribes if he could to Marlborough, procure more favourable terms for France. The offers which are * " M. de Torcy has offered so much, that I have no doubt it will end in a good peace."-Marlborough to Godolphin, 19th May 1707. "Everything goes on so well here that there is no doubt of its ending in a good peace. Government have in readiness the sideboard of plate, and the chairs of state and canopy; and I beg it may be made so as to form part of a bed when I am done with it here, which I hope may be by the end of this summer, so that I may enjoy your dear society in quiet, which is the greatest satisfaction I am capable of having.”—Marlborough to the Duchess, 19th May 1709; COXE, iv. 393. fers bribes refused. CHAP. were 2,000,000 livres (£80,000) if he could secure Naples and Sicily, or even Naples alone, for the 1709. grandson of the King of France; and 4,000,000 livres (£160,000) if, in addition to this, he could save Strasburg, Dunkirk, and Landau for France. Marlborough turned away from the disgraceful proposal with coldness and contempt; but enforced in the most earnest manner, on the French king, the prudence, and even neces1 Swift's sity, of yielding to the proffered terms, if he would save the Allies, his country from dismemberment and himself from ruin. iv. 395-415. His efforts, however, to bring matters to an accommoMarlb. iii. dation with France proved ineffectual; and after some weeks spent in proposals and counter proposals, the ultimatum of the Allies was finally delivered to the French plenipotentiary by the Pensionary of Holland.1 Conduct of 72. Coxe, Hist. de 24, 25. Mém. de Torcy, ii. 104-Ill. 15. conversa de Torcy with Marl borough. M. de Torcy, the able negotiator of Louis XIV. at Remarkable the Hague, has left a very interesting account of his tion of M. private conference with Marlborough, in a letter to the king on this important occasion. "After the Duke," says he, "had made me many compliments and apologies for the liberty he had taken in fixing an hour, and not anticipating my visit, I went to him after dinner. If I should recount to your Majesty all the protestations which he made of his profound respect and attachment, and of his desire one day to merit your protection, I should fill this letter with things less essential than I actually have to recount. His conversation was animated in the extreme. He spoke of the restoration of Newfoundland, and evinced an earnest desire to be able to serve the Prince of Wales, as the son of a prince for whom he would so willingly sacrifice his blood and his life. He said he would have remained in Holland, instead of returning to England, if he had been aware that a minister of your Majesty was coming. He CHAP. VII. 16. ments ex to M. de Torcy on a peace. expressed great regret at not having been previously informed that such was to be the case, as he might 1709. easily have been, if the Duke of Berwick had been instructed to communicate to him on the subject. In addition to the affectation on his part in naming the Duke of Berwick, he evinced great tenderness for a nephew worthy of the esteem and friendship of all who knew him. "Politeness characterised everything which he said. He omitted no opportunity of speaking of his respect, His sentiI may even say attachment, to your Majesty's person. pressed It was in France, and under Turenne, he said, that he had learned the art of war; he would never forget it. His expressions were accompanied by protestations of sincerity to which deeds have not corresponded, of oaths on his honour and his conscience, frequently mentioning the name of God, to whom he appealed as a witness of the uprightness of his intentions. He spoke of the marvels of Providence, to which he ascribed the whole events of the war, in order to convince me that France had not a moment to lose in concluding a peace; that its salvation depended on the immediate termination of the war, at any price, and on any condition. He frequently said that it was to the hand of the Almighty that was to be ascribed the concord of the eight nations which composed the Alliance, all of which thought and acted as one man; and that is, it must be admitted, a prodigy without example in the history of leagues. He spoke very contemptuously of Lord Townsend, saying he was merely the shadow of a plenipotentiary; and descanted largely on the extravagant ideas of his countrymen, saying that there was no limit to their expectations; that they thought it was for their interest, |