PART her Hungarian majefty to tranfmit the records III. and papers belonging to that council from Vienna, but, as the demand was indecently made, 1742. and this princefs difacknowledging the validity. of the imperial election, the refufed to comply with his requeft; and, foon after, the imperial diet, or affembly of the ftates, was removed from Ratifbon to Francfort.

THE Courts of Verfailles, Berlin, and Drefden, made early preparations to attack the Austrian forces in Bohemia and Moravia; the miniftry of France were extremely eager to pursue the blow, and destroy the Auftrians before they could collect a formidable army, fufficient to oppofe the confederate forces. To fupport the war, the dixieme, or tenth penny of the whole fubftance of every fecular fubject of France, except the princes of the blood, was ordered to be levied this tax, being collected with great feverity, exafperated the populace to fuch a degree, that the public difcontent broke out at Lyons into an open infurrection, where many thousands of an enraged multitude affembled, and broke into the houfes of the intendant and chief magiftrates, with a refolution to make them the victims of their tumultuous rage; but they happily escaped, and the mob difperfed, without any effufion of blood, or committing any other acts of violence. The miniftry also demanded a loan of ten millions of livres from the financiers, or farmers of the royal revenue; the clergy granted his majesty a free gift of fourteen millions of livres; many of the provinces followed their example; and from the regulations propofed to be made, for the better collecting the public revenues, it was computed they would, this year, produce 232,000,000 of livres, or about 12,000,000 fterling.

DURING the time of these important tranf- CHAP. actions and formidable preparations, the court of II. Vienna neglected no ftep to put the Auftrian armies, both in Bohemia, Moravia, and Bava- 1742. ria, in a condition of acting offenfively. The minifters, and public officers under the government at Vienna, generously relinquifhed a moiety of their falaries to enable their queen to profecute the war; their example was followed by thofe in the Auftrian Netherlands; and this, together with the fupply of 500,000l. granted to the queen by the British parliament, enabled her majefty to affemble a numerous army in Germany, and to form another in Italy, which, with the affiftance of providence, crowned her arms with a glorious and fuccessful campaign.

THE British and Auftrian minifters at the Hague, ftrongly follicited the Dutch to fend a body of troops to the affiftance of the Queen of Hungary; but the French ministry had too much influence among the principal members of the ftates, and defeated the force of the remon→ ftrances made by the British and Austrian embasfadors. Though the republic feemed content with their establishment, and defiring no fort of aggrandifement, conceived their true intereft to confift in the prefervation of the peace and repofe they enjoyed, and in the quiet poffeffion of their eftates and territories: yet Marshal Maillebois, having posted fo great a body of troops near the frontiers of the ftates, gave the alarm, with much inquietude, to their high mightineffes. They had made two augmentations in the army, to watch over the fafety of their country and the fecurity of their fubjects; and notwithftanding the Marquis de Fenelon, ambaffador of France, had declared to them, "That the VOL I. Bb b "march

PART "march of those troops was not intended against III. "the dominions or countries belonging to the

"republic, nor even against their neighbours ; 1742. by which expreffion the states conceived was principally comprehended, the inhabitants of the Auftrian Netherlands, with whom they had fo ftrict an union; and though the Cardinal de Fleury had made affurances to M. Van Hoey, the Dutch ambaffador at Paris, that this army was never deftined directly, nor indirectly, to give umbrage or trouble to the frontiers of the republic; yet the ftates, being fenfible of the diffimulation and perfidy of France, and apprehenfive that the army under Marshal Maillebois, on the Lower Rhine, would fpeedily receive a reinforcement, they therefore wifely refolved on a third augmentation, by which the forces of the republic were increased to 100,000 men; their fleet was augmented by twenty-five men of war immediately put into commiffion, and twenty-five more ordered to be built. To defray thefe expences, the States of Holland and Weftfriefeland impofed an extraordinary tax on every wealthy fubject, whereby fuch as had a revenue from lands, trade, or any thing else, of 600 florins a year, or upwards, to 12,000 florins a year, were to pay at the rate of one florin for each hundred: thofe who had the annual revenue of 12,000 florins, were to pay 300 florins a year; and those whofe revenue exceeded 12,000 florins a year, were to pay at the rate of fifty florins for every 2,000 they had of annual income: a law not only expedient, but provident, as it effectually raifed the neceffary fupplies for the public fervice, and exonerated the poor, without incommoding their trade, or increafing the number of tax gatherers. This additional augmenta

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II.

tion awaked the fufpicions of France; and though CHAP. the Cardinal de Fleury pretended to have too much confidence in their High Mightineffes, to doubt the affurances they had given, that the 1742. augmentation of their troops did not regard France in any degree, and that the republic always intended to maintain a strict and conftant union with the king; he was jealous of the Britifh influence among the members of the ftates, whom he daily perceived to revolt from his views, and on whom he experienced all the force of flattery, and every inducement of corruption, to preserve their adherence to the intereft of France: and the cardinal having entirely devoted the Ambaffador Van Hoey to his fervice, that minifter made fuch artful and partial reprefentations of the friendfhip and fincerity of the King of France, and the declarations of his miniftry, for the welfare and happinefs of the republic; that, notwithstanding the general part of the Dutch were willing and eager to affist the house of Auftria, yet, through these artifices of France, this affiftance was fo long retarded, that the day when the Dutch forces fhould take the field on fuch an occafion, appeared to all mankind, as uncertain as the remoteft act prescribed in the fartheft page of the book of fate.

WHILE the Dutch were remiffively inclined from affociating their forces in the field to op pofe the French, the negociations of the Queen of Hungary were attended with a more favourable afpect in Italy; where his Sardinian majesty, jealous of the Spaniards acquiring an Italian government, and determining to prevent any invafion there on the Auftrian dominions, had promised to affift her Hungarian majefty; and, though the French miniftry made very advantaBbb 2 geous

PART geous propofals, to draw his Sardinian majefty III. from an alliance fo prejudicial to the intereft of

the house of Bourbon, this prince honourably re1742. jected them all. He obferved, that no prince or ftate, whofe intereft and fafety depended upon the prefervation of the ballance of power in Eu rope, ought to look, without the deepest concern, upon the complicated diftreffes of her Hungarian majefty, and the whole house of Auftria. The rapid progrefs and fuccefs of the Pruf. fian arms; the war between Ruffia and Sweden; the late fudden revolution at Petersburgh, fomented by the emiffaries of France, purposely to deprive the Queen of Hungary of any expected relief from the miniftry of Ruffia; and, above all, the exorbitant power of the house of Bourbon, from whose intrigues it now appeared,. that all these public calamities took their rife,. were melancholly confiderations to his Sardinian majefty; who, as a man, defpifed the infractions of the pragmatic fanction; as a prince, looked on himself as affected by fuch atrocious proceedings; as a neighbour, faw the probability of falling the next facrifice to thefe violators of public fecurity; as a monarch, he was jealous of a diminution of power, aud tender of the rights and privileges of his fubjects; and therefore, he determined to efpoufe the caufe of the Queen of Hungary, by oppofing the views of the house of Bourbon: for this purpose he only waited the arrival of the Austrian army, then affembling under Count Traun, to join them with a body of Piedmontefe troops, in the Milanefe,

HAVING thus reprefented the political conduct of the feveral powers at variance, it is time to trace out the military operations of a campaign, that occafioned fuch an amazing alteration in the

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