when, on the morning after the siege, he came near to Brihuega, he heard no firing, and therefore understood

Battle of Villa Viciosa.

that Stanhope had capitulated. The Spanish army was now manifestly the stronger in numbers, but was fatigued after the severe fighting of the previous day. Yet Vendôme was anxious for a battle; Staremberg was not. To prevent the retreat of the German marshal, Vendôme ordered a charge of the Royal Guards. Philip himself headed it, and, fired by his presence, the Spanish cavalry upon the right entirely routed their opponents, and captured their cannon. This wing was carried too far in the pursuit, and meanwhile Staremberg himself, upon the German right, was leading a triumphant charge, followed by another equally successful on the centre. He recovered his own, and captured all the Spanish cannon; then the victorious Spanish right returned from their pursuit, and the battle was renewed, until night put an end to it. The battle, which is usually called after the small town of Villa Viciosa, may be counted as drawn. The Spanish lost all their artillery, but had captured some standards. the night after the battle, Philip's baggage had not come up, and there was no bed for his majesty. 'You shall have the most glorious bed that ever monarch slept on,' said Vendôme, as he sent for the captured standards, and had them spread before him. Staremberg certainly, even if the battle be counted his, was in no position to profit by it. Early next morning he spiked all the cannon and retreated quickly, harassed on his march almost as far as Barcelona, which he entered with 7,000 men, the sorry remnant of the army of the allies.

This was the last campaign in Spain.

On

Madrid twice occupied, and twice abandoned for the same reason, the allies saw that it was impossible to hold Spain for Charles as long as the feeling of the

End of the war in Spain.

Spaniards remained unchanged. And when the news was brought to Lewis, he also felt that no other attempt would be made, that the point for which he had been fighting was gained. His grandson would remain King of Spain. So there was joy at Versailles, and men sang before the king a song of triumph.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE FORTUNES OF PARTIES.

English
parties:
Whigs and
Tories.

It may be doubted whether the fortunes of English parties have ever had so great an effect upon the history of Europe as in the reign of Queen Anne. The development of parties in that reign is also important as the beginning of influences which extend to our own days. It has on these accounts been thought advisable to speak of them at some length, and to collect their history into one chapter. It was indeed at an earlier time than this reign that the two great parties ranged themselves in opposite camps under the names of Whigs and Tories. These parties represent two different principles in the human mind. Some men are more disposed to attach importance to authority, some to liberty. The former will rally round a monarchy, the latter round a republic. In one great earlier contest in English history matters had been pushed to extremes, and one principle had triumphed in the Civil War, the other in the Restoration. But men had learnt a lesson from the history of the seventeenth century, and there were very few on either side who were not content with a more moderate application of their principle. It may be well to sum up the points of contrast between the two

parties at this time. Both parties were content with the shape which the English constitution had assumed. Thus both acquiesced in the monarchy and in government by means of a Parliament. The memory of 1660 secured the monarchy from attack; the memory of the long contests between the Stuarts and their Parliaments, confirmed by the victory of 1688, secured the privileges of Parliament. The opposition between the parties was therefore narrower. The Tories believed in the divine origin of the monarch's authority; the Whigs did not. The Tories wished the sovereign to have greater power; the Whigs wished him to have less. According to the French epigram, in a constitutional monarchy the king reigns, but does not govern. The Whigs held this view of a king's duty; but the Tories would have made monarchy more of a reality.

Party views of the Revolution.

The Tories felt that the Revolution of 1688 was a necessity, but one which they disliked. They would have preferred not to disturb the Stuarts: and the Jacobites, as those were called who wished to restore the Stuarts, may be regarded as the extreme section of the Tory party. That revolution was the work of the Whigs, who always attached to it the epithet of 'Glorious.' William was their favourite king, and the representative of their ideas. Yet William had a much larger share of political power than is thought in the present day to lie within the province of the sovereign. He had a very great influence in shaping the foreign policy of England.

But it was on matters connected with religion that the distinction between the parties was most widely marked. The Tories were the Church party: those to whom the rites and doctrines of the Established Church were dear. They were very hostile to Dissenters, and perhaps scarcely less hostile to the

Religious parties.

Roman Catholics. The Whig party was in favour of toleration to this party the Dissenters belonged (for they owed to it all the rights which they possessed), as well as those Churchmen who, preferring the doctrines of their own Church, yet considered other forms of government and modes of worship lawful. Bishop Burnet tells us that in this reign the distinction between High and Low Church was first known, but, when he proceeds to explain it, we see that it is almost the same as the difference between Whigs and Tories.

The queen's

views.

Queen Anne was a Stuart: by nature and training her inclinations were towards the Tory party. It is the duty of a sovereign in this country to belong to no party. Queen Anne really strove to rise to the height of this duty, of the importance of which she was fully aware. More than once she herself expressed it. But sometimes her inclinations were too strong for her sense of duty, and whenever this was the case her inclinations led her to favour the Tory party.

Her first

ministry, Tory.

On being called to the throne she gradually removed the ministers of her predecessor who belonged to the Whig party, and supplied their places with others of her own selection. She did not change the whole ministry; for neither in William's reign, nor in the early part of Anne's, was it considered necessary that all the ministers should belong to one party. She was under the influence of the Marlboroughs. Whilst important places in the royal household and about the queen's person were given to his wife, very high offices in the State were conferred on the Earl of Marlborough, and it was in accordance with his desire that Godolphin was appointed to the office of Lord High Treasurer, which corresponded to the modern position of Prime-Minister.

Godolphin and Marl

borough change.

Godolphin and Marlborough were Tories, but they threw themselves heartily into the war in accordance with the plans of King William. Because it was William's policy, the war was dear to the Whigs. Because it was opposed to Lewis, who was protecting the Stuarts, the Tories were but lukewarm in the prosecution of it. It therefore came to pass that the ministers received warmer support from their opponents, the Whigs, than from their natural allies, the Tories. Nor was it wonderful that under these circumstances a change came over their own views, and that Godolphin and Marlborough gradually passed over into the Whig camp.

Occasional
Conformity
Bill.

A measure called the Occasional Conformity Bill may be used to gauge their change. According to the Test Act no one could hold office under the Crown, or be a member of a corporation, without taking the Sacrament according to the rites of the Church of England. It had come to be the practice that many who were really Dissenters qualified for office by obeying the Act. They were called Occasional Conformists, and were very obnoxious to the Tories and High Churchmen. A zealous Tory in the House of Commons brought in a Bill punishing this Occasional Conformity very severely. By it anyone who had taken the Sacrament according to the Test Act, and afterwards attended a Dissenting place of worship, was to be prevented from holding his appointment, and fined 100l., besides 57. a day for every day that he had discharged the duties of his office after going to the conventicle. This measure quickly passed through the Commons, but in the House of Lords it met with sturdy resistance. The Government strained every effort to overcome the opposition. Even Prince George of Denmark, the queen's consort, himself a Lutheran and Occasional