This sketch, which is continued in the main body of the history, may be found of interest, placed side by side with the account of the kingdom of Prussia. As that is the beginning of the modern German Empire, so the descendant of Victor Amadeus is now King of United Italy. The Duchy of Savoy may be said to be the germ of modern Italy, though, strange to say, it now lies without the borders of that kingdom.

Portugal joined the Grand Alliance in the same year as Savoy. During the Middle Ages Portugal had been a small independent kingdom, which during

Portugal. the latter part of that time had devoted itself to the honourable work of discovery and colonisation. On a vacancy of the throne occurring by exhaustion of the previous dynasty, Philip II. of Spain became a candidate; but, being doubtful of success, he determined not to wait for an election, but to seize the crown by force of arms. For sixty years Portugal remained subject to Spain; and for rather more than sixty years since it had been free. In this war the situation of Portugal gave it an importance which its size could not claim. The king hesitated at first on which side to declare, thinking that France would win, but recognising, also, that the fleets of England and Holland were strong, and that his coasts lay exposed to them. To secure Portugal, the Archduke Charles promised by a secret treaty to cede certain Spanish cities, and the territory called Rio de la Plata in South America. When this was afterwards divulged it created a strong feeling against Charles in Spain. A treaty, called the Methuen Treaty, after Paul Methuen Treaty. Methuen, the English ambassador at Lisbon, gained over Portugal to the side of the allies. One of the conditions of this treaty was that the wines of Portugal should be admitted into England at a much lower duty than the French wines. Such was the price

of the accession of Portugal-a price which the English continued to pay for no less than 131 years. The alliance between England and Portugal was permanent.

Against this league what chance had the French? The confederacy was very numerous, but no reliance can be placed on the members of a confederacy that they will remain of one mind. France was a monarchy, and a despotic monarchy. It suffered from no divided counsels, but one will ruled over all. Moreover, it had a large and well-disciplined standing army; and was probably able to bring at once into the field a larger force than the whole confederacy. And, lastly, the French soldiers had hitherto been victorious on every field; they believed themselves and others held them to be almost invincible. An unprejudiced spectator at the outset would have said that France with Spain on her side would win in this contest. Such an one could not take into account the as yet unproved genius of Marlborough, or the lavish expenditure of money on the part of England and of Holland.

In the same year that Savoy left her side France gained another ally, the Elector of Bavaria. He had been Governor-General of the Netherlands during the reign of his wife's uncle, Charles II. of Spain. It was a post with an enormous salary, and Brussels, the seat of the government, was a pleasant place of residence, pleasanter than his own capital, Munich. To secure his alliance, a promise was made by Lewis that the Elector should be continued in this post, and so within a year of the outbreak he declared himself on the side of France. His brother, the Elector of Cologne, was a creature of King Lewis, and of course upon his side, but his assistance was of no great value.

At the beginning of the war Philip, the French candidate, was aged seventeen, Charles, the Austrian

archduke, fifteen. They were curiously alike in character. Both were dreamy and sleepy in disposition, but capable of obstinate opposition when once aroused, and afterwards became mere puppets in the hands of their wives. Lord Peterborough, an English general, somewhat free of tongue, asked if it was worth while that great nations should fight for such 'a pair of louts.'

Marl

Commander

CHAPTER V.

OPENING OF THE WAR.

Section I.-Marlborough in Flanders.

IMMEDIATELY upon the declaration of war Marlborough was appointed Commander-in-chief of the British forces. Fortunately the Dutch also were easily borough persuaded by Heinsius to place their troops in-chief. under the same command. Indeed, Marlborough became almost at once exceedingly popular with the Dutch people, as well as honoured and trusted by the Dutch statesmen. His exquisite manners account for the popularity; William's opinion of him for the trust. The standing danger of a confederacy is division of counsels; and it was, therefore, well for the common cause that the troops of both the Dutch and the English-the most important of the allies in that quarter-should be under one general. The fact that there were more commanders than one ruined the campaigns elsewhere on the Rhine and in Spain. But it was unfortunate that the confidence of the Dutch did not go so far as the abolition of their custom of sending with the general field-deputies, civilian members of the Government, without whose consent no important action

should be undertaken. This was no special device to annoy Marlborough, but in his early campaigns it had the effect of hindering him and tying his hands.

At

Marl

borough's object. First campaign.

1702.

It must be remembered that, immediately on his grandson's accepting the Spanish crown, Lewis had seized all the strong towns in the Spanish Netherlands, and occupied them with French troops. Many of these were fortresses of the first rank, and their fortifications had been repaired by Vauban. Until Marlborough and the allies could wrest these from him, there could be no security for Holland from a French invasion. Before Marlborough arrived to take the command of the united army, the town of Kaiserswerth upon the Rhine, which was under the Elector of Cologne, one of France's few allies, had been taken. Marlborough's object was, starting from this town, to clear as much as he could of the Netherlands. He laid siege to, and captured several towns. Venloo, the first of them, much gallantry was displayed in an attack upon a fort. English nobleman, who had risen from a sick bed, offered every farthing he had to the man who would lift him over the palisades. There was no resisting such a spirit. The town itself soon capitulated, its surrender being hastened by an accident. The besiegers received orders to fire a salute in honour of a victory which the allies had won upon the Rhine. The defenders thought it was the commencement of a general attack, and they yielded at once. Liege was the seat of an independent princebishop, but it did not on that account escape its share of war. The French had placed a garrison in it, and the allies took it by storm.

The result of this first campaign of Marl

borough was that he cleared from French

Venloo.

One young

Result of

campaign.

occupation a wedge, with Liege as its apex, the Rhine as

its base, and the Meuse as one of its sides, and that he had cut the French off from the lower valley of the Rhine, and thereby protected the Dutch frontier at one of its most vulnerable parts.

Marl

At the conclusion of this campaign Marlborough was very near being taken prisoner. The boat in which he was proceeding down the Meuse was seized borough in by some Frenchmen, and he himself was danger. only saved by the quick wit of his servant, who put into his hand an old passport belonging to his brother. The news of his supposed capture spread the greatest consternation through Holland, where his services were beginning to be appreciated. And great was the joy when it was discovered that the capture had not been effected.

In honour of his services Marlborough was made a duke, and a solemn Te Deum was played in St. Paul's Cathedral, the queen attending in all state. It was the first real check for many years that the French had received.

The campaign of the second year was by no means so successful. The French were concentrating their strength Second on their efforts in other parts; but Marlcampaign. borough was unable to use his opportunity because he was hampered by the field deputies, and by Dutch colleagues, nominally his subordinates. One of these generals distinguished himself by running away from the enemy, and himself bringing news that his own troops were cut to pieces, when the truth was that, relieved of his presence, they had fought bravely, even if they had not actually won a victory. Marlborough's own wish was to make a bold attack on Antwerp, but by these thwartings he was prevented from carrying out his design. The results of his campaign, therefore, were meagre ; but he managed to widen the base of his triangular wedge by the capture of Bonn on the

Result.