Part 4

M. de Maurepas was saying one day to me on this head, that the Turks and Persians have scarce any fortified places, and that was the reason of their seldom making war on one another. I have since heard, that most of our wars in Europe were owing to this; that states confided too much in bastions and citadels, which hindered negociations from taking effect. If so, the famous Vauban, whose genius is so often extolled, must have done a great deal of mischief to France.

In the mean time, the King of Prussia, who, by arming in favour of France, had changed all the German systems, decamped from Prague; his army fled before that of Prince Charles, who, repassing the Rhine in the sight of the French, crossed the Elbe to attack the Prussians. I never could come at a certain knowledge of this Prince Charles, who directed most of the plans of this war; some speaking so very well of him, and others so very ill, that I have not been able to form any settled judgment of his character.

Marshal Noailles, who knows men, has told me that this Prince wanted neither talents nor genius, but that the goodness of his heart frustrated the qualities of his mind. Instead of having a will of his own, added he, he suffers himself to be directed by those about him; and these are not always the best head-pieces in the world. For instance, continued he, Prince Charles is now at Brussels as Governor of the Low Countries; but there is a German about him, who turns and winds him at his pleasure, and his pleasure is not always what should be.

The Austrian power, which had been weakened by the king of Prussia’s joining with France, now received an increase by an alliance with the Elector of Saxony, King of Poland. This Monarch changed measures for the same reason which had induced the King of Prussia to change.

All parties in these treaties deceived each other. France looked for mighty advantages from a diversion which the King of Prussia was making only for himself; and the King of Poland, who had engaged to furnish the Queen with thirty thousand men, had a part of Silesia given to him, which now did not belong to her.

Elevated with this alliance, and especially the assistance of England, the council at Vienna hoped not only to recover Silesia, but even to reduce French Flanders. They certainly did not consider that Lewis XV. had committed the security of it to one, who was most likely to give a good account of it to the kingdom: This was Count Maurice of Saxony.

Other officers owe their abilities to age, reflection, and experience, but he was born a General. His very enemies (and these at Versailles were not few) have done him this justice, that never man surpassed him for a quick and comprehensive penetration. He instantly discerned what other commanders discovered only by time and circumstances. Maurice not only foresaw events, but also produced them; so that he may in some measure be said to have determined fate. This general made war geometrically, never coming to a battle till he had in demonstration gained it. He was said also to be possessed of the great Turenne’s distinguishing qualities, that is, to harrass and perplex the enemy by his dexterity in encamping and decamping; a kind of petty war, which seldom fails of leading to great advantages.

This picture, however, is none of my own; I only speak after some of the trade, who used to talk to me in this manner.

Whilst the war was prospering abroad, things went wrong at home. The King was at a loss for ministers. The Count de Maurepas put the marine in as good a condition as the English and the state of affairs would allow: but the other departments were in a terrible disorder. The foreign affairs were offered to one Villeneuve, an old man, who had been a long time ambassador at the Porte, where, though his merit has been much cried up, he had ruined the Turky trade, by turning merchant himself. He came home from his ambassy with immense riches, chiefly extorted from the merchants of Marseilles. His principal qualities were management and parsimony. These virtues, so much countenanced by Cardinal Fleury, were greatly in vogue at Versailles. Niggardliness bore the sway. The decrepid ambassador declined the post, doubtless as being attended with more pains than profit. Besides, I have heard those who knew him personally say, that he was not in the least fit for that branch of government. His abilities had been much talked of, for having brought about a peace between the Porte and the house of Austria; but at Constantinople, these sort of negociations are carried on without a minister’s having any great share in them. I have it from M. de Maurepas, that the chief instrument in that affair, was a French linguist, one de Laria, who was perfectly well acquainted with the temper of the Turks, and had been employed by Villeneuve in that negociation.

In the mean time, affairs in Italy did not go so well as could be wished; Don Philip had taken and retaken Savoy, but could not make his way into the country of Placentia.

The King of Naples, whom only a captain of an English ship had compelled to a neutrality, because he was not in a condition to arm, broke it as soon as he had got himself in readiness for war.

He had advanced as far as Veletri, where Prince Lobkowitz endeavouring to surprise him, was himself surprised. The loss was great on both sides, and, as I have heard from very experienced officers, the case was then as it almost ever is on such occasions, they both weakened themselves, and without any advantage even to the victor.

Lobkowitz fled before the King of Naples, who pursued him into the Ecclesiastical State; so that Rome itself was in a consternation, on seeing two armies at its gates.

A small event, which fell out at this time in Germany, shews the great injustice of war, in making the belligerant powers overlook the very laws of nations, which should every where be inviolable.

The King had sent Marshal Belleisle to several German courts in quality of his ambassador, and, as such, he was negociating the affairs of the crown; yet this minister, in his way along the skirts of the country of Hanover, was seized, and sent over to England as a state prisoner.

This general was treated with great regard, and one of the royal seats appointed for his residence; but this splendid hospitality only the more exposed the injustice of that nation.

The Marshal has since told me, that he was not at all sorry for his detention, as it had given him an opportunity of studying the temper of that capricious people in their own country. I have heard him say a hundred times, that a Briton was the riddle of human nature; he would say, it is easy to discern what the bulk of the nation is, but there is no knowing the individuals. According to him, a definition may be given of the English in general, but it is impossible to say what an Englishman is.

Vienna, Berlin, and Versailles, were busied in the same plans which had been concerted in the council, when an unforeseen event brought on some change in the dispositions. Charles VII, that unfortunate emperor, who had not known a moment’s quiet on the august throne of the Cæsars, died. If it be nature only which can make men happy, he was of all men the most miserable. He had long laboured under great pains and sufferings from the badness of his constitution; and ambition, which is ever the predominant distemper in sovereigns, added to his bodily pains: amidst his infirmities, all his thoughts were about securing himself on a throne, which the ill state of his health was soon to deprive him of. Many were the vicissitudes of his reign. He was once very near being without a place to hide his head. He has often been obliged to quit his capital, and shift his abode; so that the successor of the masters of the world was sometimes without either house or home.

He was paid by France for being Emperor. He had an allowance of six millions of livres to support a rank which, for that very reason, did not belong to him. They who are acquainted with the causes of the rise and fall of houses, say, that the misfortunes of that of Bavaria were owing to its alliance with that of Bourbon; and this, it seems, will ever be the case of petty states uniting with the greater.

On the decease of Charles VII. France looked out for an Emperor in Germany; for that Charles’s son could quietly succeed his father, was impossible. He was not of a proper age; neither had he the means to maintain himself on the Imperial throne, even had there been an intention to place him on it: yet was he thought of, but no farther than in appearance; it was only a feigned scheme. A very sensible man was lately saying to me, There is a meanness in princes which I cannot forgive: they feign to wish what they do not intend, and yet act as if they did intend it. This duplicity has cost the lives of multitudes of brave men, and ruins the commonwealth.

Some fruitless strokes were again struck for insuring the Imperial sceptre to a Prince, who was known not to be able to keep it; but the young Elector, with more wisdom than his father, renounced a throne on which his allies could not maintain him, and thereby did more good to France, than could have accrued to her from the most happy successes of her policy.

A tender was then made to the King of Poland; and in this choice, France had the advantage of detaching from the house of Austria a powerful Sovereign. It has been said that the Elector of Saxony declined the empire: but Marshal Belleisle told me, that he could not accept of it, and that he saw the impracticability of such a thing, on the very first mention made to him of it. A King of Poland, Emperor of Germany, would have thrown all the northern courts into a flame; and this double Monarch would have had as many wars on his hands, as there were then Sovereigns in Germany. Thus seeing the impossibility of such an acquisition, he made a merit with the Queen of Hungary of his inability, entering into a closer alliance with her, for placing the great Duke of Tuscany, her spouse, on the throne of the Cæsars. Could it be thought that policy was no motive herein, the King of Poland might be accounted a Prince of eminent probity. He had a defensive treaty with the Queen of Hungary, so that he sacrificed his ambition to that alliance; a very rare procedure in the history of sovereigns!

The Prince of Soubise, talking over these matters with me, said, that the irregularity of the treaties in Germany, after the death of Charles VII. had forced France to be more regular in its conduct relating to the northern affairs; and ever since it has kept itself to a defensive war, which certainly was its only proper policy.

Germany being left to itself, Flanders became the seat of action. Maurice had prepared every thing there for one of those bold strokes which determine the destiny of states. He laid siege to Tournay, the King himself being present in person; this siege endangered Holland, which on this occasion was eager for coming to blows.

It was with astonishment I read in the annals of those times, that this tribe of merchants, who have no thoughts beyond trade and parsimony, should now have been the first in calling for a battle, the loss of which might have been fatal to the republic.

The battle of Fontenoy was fought, and the allies lost it. This victory has made a great noise in the world; but by the detail which a general officer at my desire gave me of it, I do not find it to be one of those events which greatly heighten a nation’s glory.

The French army was much more numerous than the allies, and both the King and Dauphin were present; the presence of these two Princes, thus eye-witnesses of the bravery of their troops, created a second courage, which in gaining victories goes farther than the first: the magazines were full; the soldiers wanted for nothing; the household-troops were there; and the whole was commanded by an experienced general, whom the troops idolized, as capable of the greatest enterprizes: the Princes of the blood, the Dukes, Peers, and almost all the nobility of the kingdom, fought along with the soldiery, sharing their dangers and glory; in a word, the whole French monarchy was present at Fontenoy. If, with all these advantages, the allies had got the better, there would have been an end of the monarchy; for the enemy was marching to the gates of Paris. I am far from intending here to lessen the glory of Marshal Saxe, who conducted the action.

He has often given me an account of it since the peace, and I find that here, tho’ then very low in health, he surpassed himself. His thoughts were every where, and he remedied every thing: whatever an able commander could do, he really performed. Some persons of the trade, however, have affirmed to me, that very great faults were committed that day; and that to repair them, it was frequently necessary to disobey the General’s orders. The Duke de Biron took on himself to keep the post of Antoin, though he had been expressly ordered to quit it. But in my opinion, one of the most considerable was, leaving the King and the Dauphin, during the whole action, on the spot where they had placed themselves. A general rout, and this rout was two or three times very near happening, would have exposed France to the worst of misfortunes.

It has been said in several histories, that the Marshal was so confident of gaining the battle, that he made no doubt of it; but he has often told me himself, that two or three times he apprehended it lost, and that he had always doubted of the victory till the household had charged. One evident proof of his uncertainty was, his sending two or three times to the King to withdraw.

I was extremely uneasy about this important event, when a letter was brought me from his Majesty. I opened it with trembling hands, and found it as follows:

From the camp at Fontenoy, an hour after the battle.

“Madam,

“I saw all lost, till Marshal Saxe retrieved all: he has surpassed himself in this action; my troops fought with invincible courage; the houshold especially performed wonders; I owe the victory to that corps. The French noblesse fought under my eye; it was with pleasure I beheld their heroic valour.”

* * * * *

* * * * *

* * * * *

These three lines were in cyphers.

This letter was very acceptable, and removed all my fears.

From the time of the King’s departure from France, I had often converse with the Abbe de Bernis, who had been recommended to me to keep me company during the King’s absence.

He had been introduced into the great world by women; for he had all those little talents with which our sex are so taken, compliance, affability, genteel ways, suppleness, gaiety, fluency of speech, a smooth tongue, a pretty knack at versifying, and all those qualities set off with a very handsome person.

This Abbe was never at a loss for well turned compliments to the ladies, so that he was always welcome among the sex. As in our first conversations he never dropt the least intimation about preferment; I imagined that, at last, I had met with a truly worthy person, one whose noble soul soared above riches and honour. But I was mistaken; this Abbe was eaten up with a desire of court distinction, concealing an unbounded ambition under a hypocritical disinterestedness. His apartment, as I have been informed, was, as it were, a perfect warehouse of memoirs; some related to the farms of the revenues, others to œconomy, some concerning war, some the navy, and others the finances. He had a wonderful readiness at forming projects. He could scheme any thing he had a mind to.

The action of Fontenoy led the way to other conquests in Austrian Flanders, and the Flemings every where received Lewis XV. with the loudest acclamations. I have read in most of the revolutions of the world, that the people greatly rejoice at a change of masters.

This victory caused a general revolution; the Germans and English determined to break into the kingdom. They made their way by Provence and Bretagne, but they only shewed themselves. The Austrians passed the Var, and then repassed it. The English landed and returned to their ships. Our modern history is full of these military follies. Posterity will ever be at a loss why General Sinclair, who commanded in this expedition, after bringing a French city to capitulate, moved off without reaping the fruits of the capitulation.

They who shall read the annals of our age, will scarce believe that the cabinets of Europe could have committed so many faults, and that the Generals of armies could have fallen into so many errors.

The Genoese, who had introduced the Spaniards into Italy, were forsaken by them; so that the state of Genoa was invaded by the Austrians, who even made themselves masters of the capital. They first required of the Genoese what money they had, and after stripping them, demanded still more.

In the mean time the German army was in pursuit of the French and Spaniards, and crossing the Var after them, took post in Provence. Botta, in whose care the city had been left, and who was at St. Peter des Arenes, forgot that he had no army to keep it, and that what remained in that suburb, was only a sickly half-dead multitude; the consequence of which was a sudden revolution, too strong for him to suppress.

The Genoese, whom a large army had awed into submission, recovered their freedom on its departure. Here Botta was guilty of a great oversight; he proposed to the senate to join him against the rebels, as he called them, not perceiving that they underhand encouraged the insurrection: they readily promised to act in concert with him; but this was only to give the people time to gather and unite their strength: it was too late when the general came to be aware of their design; he fled with such precipitancy, as to leave all his magazines behind.

The King shewed me a letter sent to court from a Genoese Senator, giving a particular account of the whole transaction; the beginning, progress, and end of the scheme laid for shaking off the Austrian yoke. The great council had for some time secretly promoted it. It was not setting the Genoese to draw cannon, which occasioned its revolution; it might indeed hasten the execution of it; but the plan had been concerted long before: thus is posterity often misled in histories, attributing to accident what was the effect of premeditated design.

This deliverance was attended with another happiness to Genoa; it had at that time no citizen who could have deprived the Republic of its liberty. The juncture was extremely favourable; the people had got the whole power of the state into their hands. Now I have heard our politicians say, that on such junctures, giving money, and granting privileges, will carry every point.

This revolution, which seemed only a private concern, changed the system of general affairs. The Austrians, who intended to besiege Toulon, and lay Marseilles under contribution, were obliged to repass the Var, for want both of shelter and provisions.

The court of Vienna, inflamed at this event, blocked up Genoa, and threatened the inhabitants with the severest treatment, if they did not immediately surrender; but the Genoese, being supported by the French, made a vigorous resistance, without being intimidated by menaces; and Boufflers, and afterwards the Duke de Richelieu, were sent to command there. M. Maurepas has often told me, that it was a great oversight in the English, who blocked up Genoa by sea, in not having a number of flat-bottomed boats to hinder any French succours from getting into Genoa.

This precaution would have changed the whole disposition of affairs in Italy. Genoa, then incapable of any further resistance must have surrendered to the Austrians, and the Infant Don Philip, the subject of the war, would never have seen Parma and Placentia.

Lewis XV. after taking seven fine cities in Flanders, returned to Paris; and it may be said that never was such joy displayed in that city, as at the sight of this Prince; every street rang with shouts of gladness and applause.

Amidst the many checks which England had met with in Flanders, the Pretender conveyed himself into Scotland. As he had neither armies nor ships, some courtiers said, _he had swam thither_. It was not very difficult to foresee the issue of this enterprize, every step and circumstance of it being irregular. A very intelligent man told me at that time, that the most fortunate thing which could happen to the Pretender, would be to get out of Scotland as clandestinely as he got in: but he was a young man, rather fond of executing his projects in a singular manner, than concerned about the success of them.

This enterprize, however ill conducted, had one advantage for Versailles, that it caused a diversion in England. France has always made use of the house of Stuart for its private views. I am sorry that George II. who wanted neither courage nor firmness, should have shewn any uneasiness at it. An English nobleman told me, that he caused the London militia to take an oath, that they did not in any-wise believe that the pope had ever a right of causing Princes to be murdered. He also had the records of Rochester searched for the form of the excommunication anciently denounced by the Popes, to stimulate the English against the see of Rome. I would not have Princes stoop to trifles, which always betray a weak mind; a prince on the throne should act with magnanimity.

The Pretender published a manifesto in vindication of his rights, addressed to the people of England; but this manifesto contained only empty words, whilst George had on his side troops and cannon.

Marshal Belleisle more than once took notice to me of a remarkable passage in this manifesto. Prince Edward there owns that the house of Stuart lost the English throne in some measure by its own fault, and promises amendment. _If_, says he, _the complaints formerly brought against our family did take their rise from some errors in our administration; it has sufficiently expiated them_.--Young Edward took possession of the kingdoms of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, in his father’s name, declaring himself regent. For England well and good; but thus to make a king of France, was too hasty. Those titles, however, resting on no surer grounds than the possession, as quickly disappeared.

At this time France endeavoured to keep the Dutch neuter; both courts published manifestoes, and the ministers negociated: but this project of neutrality produced only a fresh paper war. The Abbe de la Ville presented memorials drawn up with great pomp and accuracy of stile, and he was answered with an elegant conciseness; but fighting still went on.

The face of affairs in Germany had changed; the King of Prussia acknowledged the Great Duke of Tuscany Emperor, and made his peace with the house of Austria. I have often heard a smart saying of Marshal Belleisle on this head. _I very well knew_, said he, _that this man, who is so fond of war, would incline to peace on the first opportunity to his advantage_.

M. Soubise more than once said to me, _That Monarch would have owned the Pope for Emperor, had any Sovereign in Germany given him only a hundred square acres of land_. This peace was so far advantageous to France, as it diminished the power of the house of Austria. Apparently Italy alone would be the sufferer, as it was to be supposed that the Queen of Hungary, being quite at leisure in Germany, would be for fighting on the other side the Alps. She sent reinforcements to the Low Countries, which, however, could not hinder Marshal Saxe from taking Brussels. It was then that Lewis XV. to compleat the conquest of Austrian Flanders, set out to command the army in person.