did not interrupt him, he embraced her with transports which he was obliged to rettrain. The Lady's aftonishment was ftill greater, when the pretended Italian, fpeaking good French, made himself known for a tender and paflionate lover. He availed himself of the confufion the intelligence threw Celenia into, to inform her of the different ftratagems he had used to get admittance into the houfe, and gain Sotain's confidence. He pleaded his caufe fo well, that he deftroyed the little love the ftill retained for her hated husband. He concluded by propofing to h、r an honest retreat, if the would but trust herfelf to his guidance; he added, that his life was in her power; that he well knew he was a dead man, if the would deliver him over to her husband's revenge; and begged her to examine if Sotain was deferving of that facrifice, and if the had purpofed to wear down her youth and life amidst the bitter forrows the monster would still afflict her with. In fhort, he made her fee things and confequences in fo many different lights, that he drew tears from her; and new proteftations of his love fully convinced her, that Sotain was the most detestable of men.

The Cavalier thought it adviieable not to bring things to a further iffue; he hoped that, at another time, it would be eafy for hint to complete his conqueft. But he had to do with a woman, whom the ill-treatment of her husband might difguft, without giving her a right to revenge herself, otherwife than by contempt.

In the mean time, our jealous husband faw himself obliged to undertake a pretty long journey. He gave notice of it to his wife but the moment only of his departure. She had not yet formed a refolution how the fhould behave to her lover; but, all of a fudden, took up one, quite worthy of her virtue. She begged Sorain to rid her of Julia before he fet out. This was enough to make Julia shudder with fear, was not this fear inftantly diffipated by the husband's abfolute refufal. He believed that his wife had no other view in this demand, than to remove from her a too vigilant Argus. He anfwered her with his ufual fury, that she was but little expert in the art of concealing her criminal defigns. He added, that not only Julia fhould abide with her, but lie in her chamber, and no more quit her than her thadow. Without giving her time for an anfwer, he had a bed brought directly and fet up by the fide of that of Celenia, whom he recommended more than ever to Julia's vigiJance.

Sotain was upwards of a month abfent, and during this whole time our heroine had

to fuftain all the attacks which a passionate lover could make on a woman's virtue. The young Officer made ufe of the privilege the husband had given him of lying in Celenia's chamber, and did not doubt but the would at length furrender. But he found her unfhaken, impregnable. She contented herself in owning to him, that she was charmel with his perfeverance, and that, having banifhed from her heart the love fhe had for her undeferving husband, the could love him if the was capable of making a falfe ftep, but that her virtue was what was deareft to her in the world; the therefore begged he would defift his importunities; and, as it was neither confiftent with her honour or duty to remain in a state of continual temptation, the intreated him in the name of God to fly from her, and think seriously of making no more affaults on her virtue. The young Gentleman ftill urged many cogent reafons, but always ended in promifing her, that he would never alarm the virtue of Celenia, whom he admired to veneration.

The love, however, he fostered in his heart, was too violent for him to moderate its tranfports. Each day he became more enterprising, and the virtuous Lady began to dread bemg alone with him. She threatened feveral times to complain of him, but he laid no ftrefs on her threats, as feing the delayed to realife them. Her importunities tired her cut a length to fuch a degree, that the beg ged her husband a fecond time to deliver her from Julia. The earneftness of her request brought upon her a fecond refufal. Sotain imagined that her averfion had no other foundation than the vigilance of the pretended widow, whofe prefence broke the meafures the had concerted for betraying him. Full of this notion, he reproached her in the moft bitter manner, and treated her as an infamous profitute. Then he brought back Julia to her, faying it is enough to hate her, that the fhould remain with you. If again you oblige her to retire, depend upon it, a clofe and well barricaded room will draw my revenge down on you, as a wild and dange rous beast.

With these words, he went out, leaving the Officer in the room, who falling at Celenia's feet: You are doing all you can to ruin yourself, faid he to her; in the name of God, have pity on yourfelf. Tis you that feek to deftroy me, replied the, thedding tears; go from me, I fay again to you, and if you do not this day take that refolution, be affured that to morrow my husband fhall know that you are a man, and, though I might die, Í fhall at least have the fatisfac tion of having done my duty. So faym

the entered her closet, drawing the door clofe on herself.

The Officer, having now reafon to dread that Celenia would put her menace in execution, refolved at laft to yield to her heroic virtues. He came to her clofet, and precipitating himself on his knees: 'Tis all over, Madam, faid he, yon have conquered; your virtue triumphs, and I have nothing more ftored up for you than love, admiration, compaflion, and obedience. You would have me leave you; I will do fo to-morrow; but confider to what perils my retreat expopofes you. What have you not to fear from the fury of your husband? Doubt not but he will require of you the reafon of my departure. I will leave you, but it is only with the defign of procuring your liberty; and I am refolved to die by the hand of your perfecutor, or to revenge, by mine, the innosent victim of his cruelties. Pity me, faid Celenia to him, with tears in her eyes; love me, or, at least, let me believe fo; but attempt nothing against my husband; I fo command you in the name of your love, and of the gratitude I have fome pleasure to acknowledge on my fide.' I promise you nothing, Madam, replied he; my fituation is too painful not to feek a deliverance from t; you love, and drive me away from you! I love you, and you abandon me to the horFors of your deftiny! My heart cannot bear up against fo much violence. Thus fpeaking, they fell into each other's arms, and words interrupted by fighs and fobs, which love put into their mouth, found utterance only by intervals; but Celenia did not yield to the laft inftances of her lover. All that he could obtain was to remain ftill four days with her.

During thefe four days, which they confecrated to the tranfpoits of their mutual love, they were contriving means to establish a fecret correfpondence between them. No hopes of fucceeding feemed to offer, when they faw come to pass the denouement of their adventure. The young Officer, who was ftudying fome fpecious pretext for going away, and to keep Celenia from being fufpected as the cause of it, pretended to quarrel with one of the domeitics who had the greatest regard for his mafter. Two days were now elapfed, and the two lovers delivered themselves over to the grief the thoughts

of fo near a separation must occasion in them. They were together in a clofe embrace, and their tendernels was never before fo lively, nor fo affecting; but their endearments were all of a fudden interrupted.

Sotain had perceived, for four or five days paft, that Celenia and Julia were both deprefied by deep melancholy. This, he was fure, proceeded from hatred on one fide, and ill treatment on the other. Yet, before breaking out, he would fain know if his fufpicions were well grounded; and, for this purpofe, he hid himself fo as to overhear their moft fecret converfations. So foon as he was affured that the pretended Julia was a man, whom Celenia loved, he rushed into her chamber, fword in hand, and addreffing his wife, Perfidious wretch! thou shalt die, cried he. The Cavalier, furious to fee all that he loved in danger of lofing life, darted before Sotain, whom he knocked down after difuming him. Celenia had recourfe to fight, and the victorious lover threatened his enemy to kill him that inftant, if he made the leat noife. Take, my life, faid the furious husband, you will only be beforehand with me.' The Officer, who had no defire to take his life away, broke forcibly from his hands, leaving to him a pocket, out of which he could not readily get the other key of the padlock. The fight of this key completed his desperation. The young man followed his mistress, and conducted her to fome remote convent, where he left her in fafety, and in a few days after rejoined his regiment.

The deferted husband had the indifcretion to produce in public the evidence of his fhame. Not one pitied him, and he became the ridicule of the whole neighbourhood. The elopement, however, of his wife made a great noife. She was in vain fought after, during upwards of three months that her deteftable husband ftill lived. At length, unable longer to refift his jealous rage, he died amidit the agitations of an inflammatory fever, which carried him off. As he had made no complaint in juftice, Celenia met with no difturbance. She appeared again in public, more beautiful and more honoured than ever, and intirely devoted herself to her lover, whom the married on his return from the following campaign.

3.

tures i

Danube, and the village of Blenheim, and the left by the village of Lutzengen; and they had a rivulet before them whole banks were very high and the bottom marthy. However, after fome confultation, it was thought proper to fall upon the enemy before they had time to fortify themselves in that poft. The Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene faw the danger of being for ced to lie idle in their own camp till their forage should be confumed and their provifion fpent. They had alfo intercepted letters from Marthal Villeroy to the Elector of Bayaria, by which it appeared, that he had or ders to march into Wirtemberg to defroy that country and to cut off the communica tion with the Rhine, which muft have been fatal to the Allies. The neceffary difpolitions were therefore made for the next morning's action. Many of the General Officers came and reprefented to the Duke of Marlborough the difficulties of the defign; he anfwered, that he faw thefe well, but the thing was abfolutely neceffary; fo they were fent to give orders every-where, which were received all over the army with an alacrity that gave a happy prefage of the fuccefs which followed.

Duke of Marlborough, in the center, com manded the whole. Major-general Wilks made the firft onfet, with five English battalions of Howe, Ignoldíby, Marlborough, Rowe, and North and Grey, and four bat talions of Heffians, fupported by the Lord Cutts; and Major-general St. Paul, with eleven other battalions, and fifteen fqua drons of horse, under the command of Major-general Wood. The five English battalions, led on by Brigadier Rowe, who charged on foot at the head of his own re giment with unparalleled intrepidity, af faulted the villages of Blenheim, advancing to the very muzzles of the enemy's muskets, and fome of the Officers exchanging thrusts of fwords with the French through the palifadoes. But, being expofed to a fire much fuperior to their own, they were foon obliged to retire, leaving behind them one third part of their men either killed or mortally wounded, the Brigadier who commanded them being among the laft. In this retreat, they were purfued by thirteen squadrons of the French gendarmerie and carabineers, who would have intirely cut them to pieces, had not the Heffian infantry stopped their ca reer, by the great fire they made upon them. The French, being repulfed, and forced to fly in their turn, were chaced by five fqua drons of English horfe, who by this time had paffed the rivulet; but, whilft the ene my rallied themselves, fome freth brigades, fuperior in number, came to their affiftance, charged the affailants with great vigour, and obliged many of them to repass the rivulet with great precipitation. Here again the Heffian foot performed fignal fervice, putting the French to the rout by their continu al fire, and regaining the colours which they had taken from Rowe's regiment.

On the 13th of Auguft, 1704, a day which decided the Elector's fate by the lofs of all his country, early in the morning, the whole Confederate army marched from Munfter, leaving their tents ftanding; and the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene, having pofted themfelves on a rifing ground, fummoned all the General Officers to give them the necessary directions, in order to attack the enemy; upon which the army ad, vanced to the plain, and were drawn up in order of battle. About nine o'clock, the enemy fired fome cannon upon our troops, as they were marching to form the line, who were answered from our batteries with good fuccefs; and both armies continued canno, nading each other till near one; during which time the Duke of Marlborough order ed a little rivulet and morafs in the front of the enemy to be founded; and, where it was found! impaffable, orders were given to the horfe of the fecond line of the Allies to provide themselves, each fquadron with 20 Fafcines, to facilitate the paffage. Thefe preparations being made, the Duke of Marlborough gave orders for a general attack, which was begun about one o'clock. Prince Eugene and the Imperial General Officers were on the right; General Churchill, the Lord Cutts, Lieutenant-general Lumley, the Lord Orkney, and Lieutenant-general Ignoldfby, with the rest of the English and Dutch Generals, were on the left;" and the

While Rowe's brigade rallied themselves, that of Ferguson, commanded by himself, attacked the village of Blenheim, on the left, but with no better fuccefs; and, though both returned three or four times to the charge with equal vigour, yet they were both ftill repulfed with like difadvantage, fo that it was found impoffible to force the enemy in that poft, without intirely facrificing the Confederate infantry.

The English foot having thus begun the engagement on the left, the horse of the fame wing paffed the rivulet, with great bravery, over-against the center or main battalia of the enemy; as did likewife that of the right wing, having made feveral paf, fages with divers pieces of wood. After which they drew up in order of battle, the French and Bavarians giving them all the tune that could be defired for that purpose,

keeping

keeping themselves very quiet on the hills, which they were poffeffed of, without defcending into the meadows towards the rivulet; fo that even the fecond line of the horfe had time to form themselves: And to this capital fault of the French the Confederates were thought to have owed principally their victory. This neglect is faid to have proceeded from an ill-timed haughtinefs and prefumption of Marshal de Tallard, who, being informed that the Allies were laying bridges on the rivulet, ufed this expreffion: If they have not bridges enough, I will lend them fome; and, when they told him that our troops were actually coming over the rivulet, he is reported to have faid, Let them pafs; the more come over, the more we fhall have to kill and make prifoners. But, on the other hand, it is alledged by fome, that he had given pofitive orders not to let the enemy pafs the rivulet, but to charge them as they paffed; which orders were not executed. Monfieur de Fequieres, in his Memoirs, obferves, that the lofs of that battle was owing to the inattention of the French Generals to thofe maxims of war which ought to guide men, when they confider whether they have fufficient reafons either to give or receive battle; or whether they can derive, from the particular difpofition of their troops, any reasonable hopes of defeating the enemy. In examining this fubject, the Marquis points cut, firft, the errors that were committed with reference to the general state of the war in Germany, previous to the battle; and then thofe errors which appeared in the particular difpofition of the French army. With regard to the first point, he afferts, that it was abfolutely improper, at that time, to truft the decifion of the war in Germany to the event of a fingle battle; and this truth was the lefs doubtful, because it appeared that the EngJish and Dutch had almost abandoned the war in Flanders, in that campaign, to make a decifive effort in Germany, without which the Emperor could no longer have fupported himself, nor could they have drawn any fupplies of men from Germany. The French ought therefore to have avoided this battle, fince they could have maintained their fituation, if they had only compelled the Englifh and Dutch either to withdraw from that country, or intirely to difcontinue the war in Flanders. The Elector of Bavaria was Mafter of the whole course of the Danube, almost from its fource to the frontiers of Auftria, into which he could penetrate when he pleased; and therefore the Emperor, whole attention was then employed by the malecontents in Hungary, was likewise ob

liged to have a watchful eye on Auftria and Tirol, as well for the prefervation of there provinces, as the fecurity of a free commu nication with his army in Italy.

The bridges, which the Elector of Bavaria had on the Danube, opened to him a free communication with the Upper Palati nate. The Emperor, confequently, muit be always apprehenfive, that he would pour a body of troops into Bohemia, where the people were exceedingly exasperated at the feverity of the Imperial government, and where their fears were the only motives to their fubmiffion: Which made it likewife neceffary for the Emperor to maintain a body of troops to cover Bohemia and Moravia. Nuremberg, an Imperial city, and almoft in the heart of the empire, being the most confiderable city in all the circle of Franconia, it was incumbent on the Empe ror to preferve it in the intereft of the Confederates, left the Elector of Bavaria fhould make himself Master of it, as he had alreaready feized Ulm and Augsburg. Nurem berg therefore could not be preserved by the protection of the Confederate army, which confequently could not withdraw to any great diftance from that city, whofe prefervation was of the more importance to the Emperor, fince the lofs of it would deprive him of all communication with his dominions on the Rhine, except through the coun try on the other fide of the Mein, which the fituation of Nuremberg would have rendered altogether impracticable. It was likewife evident, that the Confederate army could not retreat to any confiderable diftance from a city, where all their ammunition and provifions were depofited. The Allies, indeed, by forcing the pass at Schellenberg and taking Donawert, had obtained a bridge over the Danube, and feparated the fortified places of the French on the Upper Danube from thofe on the Lower. But, as their provifions were still lodged either in Nuremberg or Norlingen, they durft not venture to quit Franconia and Suabia, to advance into Bavaria. This obvious reflection was alone fufficient to convince the French Generals, that their inducements to engage the enemy could not poffibly have any weight, but that it was rather their intereft to decline a general action, especially as this cautious conduct would infallibly have obliged the Allies to abandon the parts adjacent to the Danube when they had confumed all the forage near that river.

Marthal de Villeroy was pofted with a confiderable army before the lines of Biel, which Prince Eugene had quitted, with the greateft part of his regular troops, and un

percei