heck any further advance of the Germans, who acordingly remained stationary till the 12th October.

tempts of

cross the

too take up their winter

quarters in

cesses of

At the end of that month Turenne crossed the Rhine Unsuccessful atgain at Andernach, where he threw over a bridge, nd prepared to prevent the passage of the enemy. the ImpeThe fortress of Coblentz, on this, received a garrison rialists to rom the Germans, who endeavoured to pass the river Rhine: under its fire; but the Maréchal-Général was nuch for them, and again thwarted an attempt near Mayence. In the beginning of November they made Westphabold attempt to cross at Strasburg; but the Prince lia: exle Condé was on the alert, and set fire to that bridge. the French Turenne was indefatigable in guarding the passage of in Holland. he stream against the enemy at every point. The German armies, finding themselves foiled, and seeing hat the Rhenish provinces afforded no good amount of upplies to their armies, crossed the Maine about the niddle of December, and took up their winter quarters n Westphalia. The Duke of Luxemburg, in the mean while, awaited the appearance of frost to enter Holland by the ice across the inundations; but a sudden thaw on the 28th December stopped the design; and he atisfied his spite for a failure by laying waste, with very degree of barbarity, the abandoned provinces of he unhappy Dutch people. The campaign having hus been brought to an end, the Maréchal-Général laced the armies of the King in cantonments for the winter along the States of Alsace and Lorraine.

culi retires

1673. During the winter, 1672, the Viscount occupied Montecuimself with the political affairs of his country, by xtending and confirming the alliances of the small command, German princes with France. But towards the end January.

f January the Count de Montecuculi, either from

from the

Turenne

pursues his

in winter quarters.

of the contest in Germany devolved in consequence upon the Great Elector, who found himself scarcely equal to contend against Turenne and Condé with no better alliances in the country than the Duke of Lorraine and Bournonville. Upon council with these allies it was resolved to act so as to prevent the junction of the French armies. The Elector accordingly took the field on the 4th February by advancing with a considerable army, supplied with thirty guns, to Soest, where, however, he learnt that the apprehended junction had already taken place, and that Turenne was laying siege to Unna. This place surrendered to him on the 6th although garrisoned by 1000 men. In like manner Ham (on the river Lippe), Kamen, and the castle of Beckenbaum, yielded to the French either by abandonment or capitulation. The Elector collected all his army into a camp at Soest, but was obliged to lift it, and permit the Maréchal to lay siege to it; and it surrendered on the 25th. Under these disadvantages the Elector passed to the north of the river Lippe, and yielded possession of the entire Comté de la Marville. The spring this year was exceedingly backward, and the campaign was carried on through all the discomforts of a rigorous season. In one of these marches the Viscount, now sixty-three years old, bivouacked with his men, without any regard to age, and altogether indifferent to the discomfort of falling snow without cover. Turenne, however, was never a carpet-knight, and was from his strong constitution and hardy bringing up enabled to sleep as soundly under the open sky as Napoleon on his three-legged stool at Austerlitz. His soldiers, however, were unwilling to see their veteran chief risk his health in this manner; and, while he was fast asleep, built up a hut

ry ?"

tor makes terms with

dons the

e Viscount about the beginning of March drove The ElecElectoral troops through Westphalia, and across Weser at Hoxter, where there was a stone Turenne, ge. The country yielded but indifferent sub- and abannce for armies at this season; and the Elector, cause of ng the Dukes of Brunswick, Luxemburg, Zell, the Dutch, May. Wolfenbuttle more solicitous to keep away the from their States than to assist the cause, ersed his army towards the end of March, and drew within his own dominions, whence he opened otiations with France through the Viscount, who, ned with full power, negotiated a peace in April, ich was duly ratified towards the end of May, when ederick William, safe at Berlin, renounced all the gagements into which he had entered for the prevation of Holland.

Turenne had now disembarrassed himself of all Anecdote illustrative

estedness.

ponents in Germany; but he did this so noiselessly, of Tuat Louis XIV., being long without any report of his renne's oceedings, began to listen to the reproaches of his disinteremies. But indeed he was never so great and so trustorthy as while thus intent on duty to the depreciation E glory, like our own great Duke in after times. Reembling each other in many things, there was an equal isinterestedness in seeking after any personal advanages. As this was not a characteristic of the Generals of the seventeenth century, I will relate an anecdote or two recorded of our hero. An opportunity was pointed out to him by one of his Generals in the remote Westphalia—where they were making war—of obtaining a considerable prize for himself, which could never reach the ears of the distant Court. His reply was

Louis XIV. takes the

command

and takes

mous con

Dutch.

one of the great towns offered him 100,000 crowns he would not bring his army through their streets whereupon he sent them word that, as their town di not lie in his line of march, he could not accept th money they offered him. The Viscount now abandone the sterile North, and carried his troops into the ric provinces of Franconia and Thuringia, until, on th 6th June, he encamped at Wetzlar, near Frankfort of the Maine.

Louis XIV. had already opened the campaign o 1673 in person, having openly declared to his minister in person, Louvois, that he was no longer to be deemed under the tutelage of any one, and that therefore he was Com Maestricht, 23rd June: mander-in-Chief of all his armies. He resolved thi magnaniyear to take the field in South Brabant at the head of duct of the 40,000 men, sending forward the Prince de Condé to maintain a front at Utrecht. The King, with Vauban sat down before Maestricht on the 10th June, and took it after thirteen days of open trenches; but he could neither maintain his position nor advance further into Holland. The entire province was one sheet of water and the noble Dutch met the tyrant who would enslave them out of mere caprice by a devotion to the cause of freedom which has been very rarely exhibited in the world's history. Condé fell ill, and was obliged to retire into Flanders for the benefit of his health; and the King left him there with 20,000 men, while he himself marched towards the German frontier.

England joins the alliance against France:

the Prince

of Orange

effects a

But diplomacy now lent its aid to check the career of Louis XIV. Spain, alarmed by the success of the French armies, solicited the Emperor to more earnest action; and Leopold at length entered the Dutch Confederacy with so much faith, that when he marched away his army from Egra, on the 26th August, to take

མ་

Courtenen u Naerden.

the naval battles in June against De Ruyter, where was said that the French fleet held aloof, in order at the English ships might be destroyed, forced the overnment to break the alliance with France, and to n the Confederacy in October. Louis XIV., accordgly, who had begun the campaign without an enemy, w found himself in less than six months without a ngle friend. He sent immediate orders, therefore, to e Duke of Luxemburg to withdraw all his troops out Holland; and the Prince of Orange, freed from any rther anxieties for his native land, quitted Amsterdam nder a blaze of illumination for their safety, and ined the Spaniards near Herenthals, to invade the rritories of Cleves and Cologne. After having repaid o the allies of France some of the miseries which had een inflicted on the Dutch, he marched towards Bonn, o give the hand to Montecuculi. In his march the rince succeeded by a stratagem in gaining possession f Naerden from the Duke of Luxemburg. It was the rst-fruits of a real success, and rejoiced the Dutch eople as much as it irritated the French King, who ented his indignation against M. du Pas, the governor, y a public mark of ignominy, and a sentence of peretual imprisonment; which latter punishment was, owever, remitted.

Turenne, under this new condition of affairs, broke Turenne p his camp at Wetzlar in August. He crossed the and Montecuculi pitMaine at Seligenstadt with 20,000 men, and, ascending ted against ts stream, penetrated the Upper Palatinate to influence each other. by his support the inclinations of the Duke of Bavaria

so maintain the alliance with France. He found, however, the Imperialists on his path, and was glad to etrace his steps about the middle of September.