CONFERENCES AT GERTRUYDENBURGH.
The French king, seeing the misery of his people daily increase, and all his resources fail, humbled himself again before the allies, and by the means of Petkum, who still corresponded with his ministers, implored the states-general that the negotiation might be resumed. In order to facilitate their consent, he despatched a new project of pacification, in which he promised to renounce his grandson, and to comply with all their other demands, provided the electors of Cologn and Bavaria should be re-established in their estates and dignities. These overtures being rejected, another plan was offered, and communicated to the plenipotentiaries of the emperor and queen of Great Britain. Then Petkum wrote a letter to the marquis de Torcy, intimating, that the allies required his most christian majesty should declare, in plain and expressive terms, that he consented to all the preliminaries, except the thirty-seventh article, which stipulated a cessation of arms, in case the Spanish monarchy should be delivered to king Charles in the space of two months. He said the allies would send passports to the French ministers, to treat of an equivalent for that article. Louis was even forced to swallow this bitter draught. He signified his consent, and appointed the mareschal D’Uxelles and the abbé Polignac his plenipotentiaries. They were not suffered, however, to enter Holland, but were met by the deputies Buys and Vanderdussen, at Gertruydenburgh. Meanwhile, the states desired the queen of England to send over the duke of Marlborough to assist them with his advice in these conferences. The two houses of parliament seconded their request in a joint address to her majesty, who told them she had already given directions for his departure; and said she was glad to find they concurred with her in a just sense of the duke’s eminent services. Both the letter and the addresses were procured by the interest of Marlborough, to let the queen see how much that nobleman was considered both at home and abroad. But she was already wholly alienated from him in her heart, and these expedients served only to increase her disgust.
PRIDE AND OBSTINACY OF THE DUTCH.
The French ministers were subjected to every species of mortification. They were in a manner confined to a small fortified town, and all their conduct narrowly watched. Their accommodation was mean: their letters were opened; and they were daily insulted by injurious libels. The Dutch deputies would hear of no relaxation, and no expedient for removing the difficulties that retarded the negotiation. In vain the plenipotentiaries declared, that the French king could not with decency, or the least regard to his honour, wage war against his own grandson: the deputies insisted upon his effecting the cession of Spain and the Indies to the house of Austria; and submitting to every other article specified in the preliminaries. Nay, they even reserved to them selves a power of making ulterior demands after the preliminaries should be adjusted. Louis proposed that some small provision should be made for the duke of Anjou, which might induce him to relinquish Spain the more easily. He mentioned the kingdom of Arragon; and this hint being disagreeable to the allies, he demanded Naples and Sicily. When they urged that Naples was already in possession of the house of Austria, he restricted the provision to Sicily and Sardinia. He offered to deliver up four cautionary towns in Flanders, as a security for Philip’s evacuating Spain; and even promised to supply the confederates with a monthly sum of money, to defray the expense of expelling that prince from his dominions, should he refuse to resign them with a good grace. The substance of all the conferences was communicated to lord Townshend, and count Kinzendorf, the Imperial plenipotentiary; but the conduct of the deputies was regulated by the pensionary Heinsius, who was firmly attached to prince Eugene and the duke of Marlborough, more averse than ever to a pacification. The negotiation lasted from the nineteenth day of March to the twenty-fifth of July, during which term the conferences were several times interrupted, and a great many despatches and new proposals arrived from Versailles. At length the plenipotentiaries returned to France, after having sent a letter to the pensionary, in which they declared that the proposals made by the deputies were unjust and impracticable; and complained of the unworthy treatment to which they had been exposed. Louis resolved to hazard another campaign, not without hope that there might be some lucky incident in the events of war, and that the approaching revolution in the English ministry, of which he was well apprized, would be productive of a more reasonable pacification. The states-general resolved, that the enemy had departed from the foundation on which the negotiation had begun, and studied pretences to evade the execution of the capital points, the restitution of Spain and the Indies: and, in short, that France had no other view than to sow and create jealousy and disunion among the allies. Lord Townshend, in a memorial, assured them that the queen entirely approved their resolution, and all the steps they had taken in the course of the negotiation; and that she was firmly resolved to prosecute the war with all possible vigour, until the enemy should accept such terms of peace as might secure the tranquillity of the christian world.
DOUAY, BETHUNE, AIRE, &c. TAKEN BY THE CONFEDERATES.
The conferences did not retard the operation of the campaign. Prince Eugene and the duke of Marlborough set out from the Hague on the fifteenth day of March for Tournay, in order to assemble the forces which were quartered on the Maese, in Flanders, and Brabant. On the twentieth of April, they suddenly advanced to Pont-a-Vendin, in order to attack the lines upon which the French had been at work all the winter, hoping by these to cover Douay and other frontier towns, which were threatened by the confederates. The troops left for the defence of the lines retired without opposition. The allies having laid bridges over the scarp, the duke of Marlborough with his division passed the river and encamped at Vitri. Prince Eugene remained on the other side and invested Douay, the enemy retiring towards Cambray. Mareschal Villars still commanded the French army, which was extremely numerous and well appointed, considering the distress of that kingdom. Indeed, the number was augmented by that distress; for many thousands saved themselves from dying of hunger, by carrying arms in the service. The mareschal having assembled all his forces, passed the Schelde, and encamped at Boucham, declaring that he would give battle to the confederates: an alteration was immediately made in the disposition of the allies, and proper precautions taken for his reception. He advanced in order of battle; but having viewed the situation of the confederates, he marched back to the heights of St. Lawrence, where he fixed his camp. His aim was, by continual alarms, to interrupt the siege of Douay, which was vigorously defended by a numerous garrison, under the command of monsieur Albergotti, who made a number of successful sallies, in which the besiegers lost a great number of men. They were likewise repulsed in several assaults; but still proceeded with unremitted vigour until the besieged, being reduced to the last extremity, were obliged to capitulate on the twenty-sixth of June, fifty days after the trenches had been opened. The generals finding it impracticable to attack the enemy, who were posted within strong lines from Arras towards Miramont, resolved to besiege Bethune, which was invested on the fifteenth day of July, and surrendered on the twenty-ninth of August. Villars marched out of his intrenchments with a view to raise the siege; but he did not think proper to hazard an engagement: some warm skirmishes, however, happened between the foragers of the two armies. After the reduction of Bethune, the allies besieged at one time the towns of Aire and St. Venant, which were taken without much difficulty. Then the armies broke up, and marched into winter quarters.