He crossed it tranquilly, with his army and his immense booty, despite the attempts of the Duke of Hanover to prevent him, and as soon as he was on this side, had no care but how to terminate the campaign in repose.  Thus finished a campaign tolerably brilliant, if the sordid and prodigious gain of the general had not soiled it.  Yet that general, on his return, was not less well received by the King.

At sea we had successes.  Frobin, with vessels more feeble than the four English ones of seventy guns, which convoyed a fleet of eighteen ships loaded with provisions and articles of war, took two of those vessels of war and the eighteen merchantmen, after four hours’ fighting, and set fire to one of the two others.  Three months after he took at the mouth of the Dwiria seven richly-loaded Dutch merchant-ships, bound for Muscovy.  He took or sunk more than fifty during this campaign.  Afterwards he took three large English ships of war that he led to Brest, and sank another of a hundred guns.  The English of New England and of New York were not more successful in Acadia; they attacked our colony twelve days running, without success, and were obliged to retire with much loss.

The maritime year finished by a terrible tempest upon the coast of Holland, which caused many vessels to perish in the Texel, and submerged a large number of districts and villages.  France had also its share of these catastrophes.  The Loire overflowed in a manner hitherto unheard of, broke down the embankments, inundated and covered with sand many parts of the country, carried away villages, drowned numbers of people and a quantity of cattle, and caused damage to the amount of above eight millions.  This was another of our obligations to M. de la Feuillade—­an obligation which we have not yet escaped from.  Nature, wiser than man, had placed rocks in the Loire above Roanne, which prevented navigation to that place, the principal in the duchy of M. de la Feuillade.  His father, tempted by the profit of this navigation, wished to get rid of the rocks.  Orleans, Blois, Tours, in one word, all the places on the Loire, opposed this.  They represented the danger of inundations; they were listened to, and although the M. de la Feuillade of that day was a favourite, and on good terms with M. Colbert, he was not allowed to carry out his wishes with respect to these rocks.  His son, the M. de la Feuillade whom we have seen figuring with so little distinction at the siege of Turin, had more credit.  Without listening to anybody, he blew up the rocks, and the navigation was rendered free in his favour; the inundations that they used to prevent have overflowed since at immense loss to the King and private individuals.  The cause was clearly seen afterwards, but then it was too late.

The little effort made by the enemy in Flanders and Germany, had a cause, which began to be perceived towards the middle of July.  We had been forced to abandon Italy.  By a shameful treaty that was made, all our troops had retired from that country into Savoy.  We had given up everything.  Prince Eugene, who had had the glory of driving us out of Italy, remained there some time, and then entered the county of Nice.