the enemy, whom he had cornered (rencogne), he says, in the mountains of Valencia.  Charles III. had no longer anything left in Spain but Aragon and Catalonia.  The French garrisons, set free by the evacuation of Italy, went to the aid of the Spaniards.  “Your enemies ought not to hope for success,” wrote Louis XIV. to his grandson, “since their progress has served only to bring out the courage and fidelity of a nation always equally brave and firmly attached to its masters.  I am told that your people cannot be distinguished from regular troops.  We have not been fortunate in Flanders, but we must submit to the judgment of God.”  He had already let his grandson understand that a great sacrifice would be necessary to obtain peace, which he considered himself bound to procure before long for his people.  The Hollanders refused their mediation.  “The three men who rule in Europe, to wit, the grand pensionary Heinsius, the Duke of Marlborough, and Prince Eugene, desire war for their own interests,” was the saying in France.  The campaign of 1707 was signalized in Spain by the victory of Almanza, gained on the 13th of April by Marshal Berwick over the Anglo-Portuguese army, and by the capture of Lerida, which capitulated on the 11th of November into the hands of the Duke of Orleans.  In Germany, Villars drove back the enemy from the banks of the Rhine, advanced into Suabia, and ravaged the Palatinate, crushing the country with requisitions, of which he openly reserved a portion for himself.  “Marshal Villars is doing very well for himself,” said somebody, one day, to the king.  “Yes,” answered his Majesty, “and for me too.”  “I wrote to the king that I really must fat my calf,” said Villars.

The inexhaustible elasticity and marvellous resources of France were enough to restore some hope in 1707.  The invasion of Provence by Victor-Amadeo and Prince Eugene, their check before Toulon, and their retreat, precipitated by the rising of the peasants, had irritated the allies; the attempts at negotiation which the king had entered upon at the Hague remained without result; the Duke of Burgundy took the command of the armies of Flanders, with Vendome for his second; it was hoped that the lieutenant’s boldness, his geniality towards the troops, and his consummate knowledge of war, would counterbalance the excessive gravity, austerity, and inexperience of the young prince so virtuous and capable, but reserved, cold, and unaccustomed to command; discord arose amongst the courtiers; on the 5th of July Ghent was surprised; Vendome had intelligence inside the place, the Belgians were weary of their new masters.  “The States have dealt so badly with this country,” said Marlborough, “that all the towns are ready to play us the same trick as Ghent, the moment they have the opportunity.”  Bruges opened its gates to the French.  Prince Eugene advanced to second Marlborough, but he was late in starting; the troops of the Elector of Bavaria