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Here he took a fmall refreshment, and immediately again taking boat foon landed at Oramenhack, where he was met and complimented by the deputies of the ftates, and then raffed to the Hague, where the populace raifed the moft joyful acclamations, while he entered through the triumphal arches erected

in honour of the wonders he had done.

Never was prince more regaled than king William III. and never were those in the retinue of a king, among which Mr Dalrymple made a confiderable figure, more carefied than those who attended the hero: nor were the ftates-general fingle in paying him their com pliments; for ambaffadors arrived from feveral courts in Germany, to congratulate him on his fuccefs, and to enter into new engagements* with him for fupporting of the liberties of Europe; to which they were animated by the lively reprefentation made by his majefty, of the critical juncture of affairs; and came into the refolution of raifing two hundred and twenty-two thoufand men against France; whereof twenty thousand were to be raised from the national Biitifh forces.

As thefe regiments were to be raised, his majefty conferred a colonel's commiffion upon this his faithful fervant; with which he served under his great commander at the battle of Steenkirk, where the English bravery shone with the brighteft luftre; for, though they could not force a camp fortified with hedges, and lined by cannon advantageously pofted

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upon eminences, yet they cut off the flower of the French troops, with five hundred officers, who lay dead on the spot.

But, among thofe who engaged, none diftinguifhed himself more than Mr. Dalrymple; he teveral times rallied his regiment, when the ranks were broken by the devouring cannon, and brought them back to the charge; performed miracles of bravery with them, and was inftrumental in faving many troops from being cut in pieces, as he flopped the purfuit till they had time to rally and renew the attack.

Though the Allies were unfuccessful in Flanders, yet they carried all before them in the main. At La Hogue the French fleet was almost deftroyed; and her trade, by means of feveral large captures taken from her, in a manner wholly rained. At Landen there was a fecond battle; and, though it be true, that the king of England was obliged to yield the field to numbers, yet he had more glory than even if victory had crowned his ftandards. The misfortune of Landen, indeed, happened through the fault of a frange officer; but, could it be more glorioufly, and more advantageoufly repaired, than by that admirable, prefence of mind, with which king William faved the rest of the army? In time of trouble, into which fuch diforders throw an ordinary general, people ufually look upon the bringing the fhattered remains of the routed army, who were faved in the fight, toward the frontiers

of

of their own country, as an uncommon firoke of prudence; but this illuftrious hero, whose views were always more extended, and more jult than those of other men, made them rendezvous upon the borders of the enemy; favoured the retreat of his forces, fighting as he gave back more like a conqueror than like one that was vanquished; obliging, by this march and refolution, feveral princes of Germany to join their troops to his own; and commanded, fome time after, at the famous fiege of Namur; where fortune feconded fo well his efforts for gaining the place, in fight of the whole French army, commanded by one of the moft experienced officers of the time, that the deferved to be pardoned for the injuftice of having abandoned him at the commencement of the campaign; and, as by her frowns fhe protracted the war, fo by this one fmile the ended it, to the honour and fatisfa&tion of the Allies; and brought on the peace of Ryfwick in 1695.

Short lived; however, was this repofe after fo long and terrible a commotion; for the flame of war was not extinguished, but only covered by fome political afhes, that were thrown upon the heart of the grand monarch, who waited for a plaufible pretext of fetting fire to the coals, which feemed to be wholly quenched.

Charles II. who was then king of Spain being in a very bad state of health, and having no male iffue of his own body, was in

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great perplexity about fettling the fucceffion to kis hereditary dominions. On the one hand, he preferred the intereft of his own family to that of the houfe of Bourbon, from whom both he and his ancestors had received fo many injuries; and was ftrongly folicited by his queen, who was fifter to the emprefs, and by the minifters of the emperor, to difpofe of his dominions in favour of the arch-duke Charles, his fecond fon. On the other hand, the partifans of France, who were about his catholic majefty, were artfully infinuating to him, the expediency and advantage that would accrue to Spain in particular, and to the catholic religion in general, fhould the former be fettled under the protection of the most Christian king.

The renunciations of his aunt and filler, the one mother, the other wife, to Lewis XIV: were demonstrated by them to be null by the laws of Spain; and, confequently, that the article of giving up all pretenfions to the Spanifh fucceffion, in the partition-treaty, was, ipfo facto, void to all intents and purposes; for, that no forms whatever were sufficient to alter the nature of things.

Thele arguments would have had but little force, if one more cogent had not been advanced; viz. That, as this point was dubious, there was fear of ftirring up the greatest powers against one another; and, that this the f be the inftrument of much bloodshed: were faxhich," added these crafty fiatefmen,

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you will be anfwerable at a higher tribunal, whether your guilt be contracted by delaying to fet your houfe in order, or by a rash and unjuft difpofal of your dominions."

Thefe arguments much diftracted the mind of the king, who had recourse to the ufual way of thofe of the Romish communion viz. to ask the pope's advice in this perplexed and intricate matter. The holy father, and his conclave of cardinals, determined in fa vour of France; and the minifters of that court at Madrid, did all in their power to bring to perfection the darling project, of putting Spain, and the Indies, into the hands of their monarch: and, fo artfully did they contrive the bufinefs, as, by large promifes and well-placed fums, to gain over the principal favourites at court: fome do not even fcruple to fay, that, when the will was prefented to the Spanish monarch to be figned, in favour of the arch-duke Charles, a younger branch of the house of Auftria, jult when he was about to take the pen in his hand, fome chicane or other was made ufe of to caufe him to turn about; which while he did, another was inftantly fubftituted in its place, and. fubfcribed by him.

The Spanish monarch furvived this laft deed but a short time, for he died in about a fortnight after, on the firft of November, 1700; and fcarce was he dead when a letter was written by the regency, at the head of which was the artful cardinal Portecarre, in-timating

B. 5.

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