Chapter II: Part 2

In the beginning of this first Year of the War, the _French_ Army, under the Conduct of Mareschal _Boufflers_, was a little beforehand with us, and came into the Field stronger than ours; some Troops of the Allies having not yet join'd us. The _French_ had coop'd up our Army under the Walls of _Nimeguen_, and much ado we had, by frequent Skirmishes, to hinder them from investing that considerable Frontier, at that time unprovided by the neglect of the Governour, as 'tis reported, of all warlike Necessaries for the Defence of it. A Man might then see but an indifferent Ayre in the face of our Forces: The States were under great Apprehensions, least the Enemy should penetrate into their Country; and nothing could recover them from their Fears, till his Grace, after three or four Days, had join'd our Army with some additional Troops; upon his Approach we had immediately a new Scene of Affairs; each Soldier seem'd to receive a new Life by the Cheerfulness of their Officers; and he presently assured the Deputies of the States, that the _French_ should be no longer their bad Neighbours, but he would oblige them to March farther off that Country, and that with a Witness. They were like People in a Trance, and could hardly believe that their Affairs had receiv'd so happy a turn; accordingly we march'd, and having passed the _Maes_, Coasted along that side of _Brabant_, which lies towards that River, towards the open Country of _Mastricht_ and _Luickland_, and not long after, almost in Sight of their Army, we opened that noble River, to the great Benefit of the Trade of the Country, having taken from the _French_ the Fortresses of _Stochum_, of _Stevenswaert_, of _Ruremond_, and _Venlo_, and at last the strong Cittadel and City of _Liege_, with a vast quantity of Cannon and Prisoners; the _French_ not daring to relieve any of them by venturing a Battle.

In this Campaign our General shew'd himself a true Master of his Art, having outdone the _French_ Mareschal in every March. When he came into _Holland_, he was receiv'd into their Cities, as their Tutelar Angel, and their own Generals came to thank him for this happy Campaign, without any sign of Envy.

When he returned to _England_, he was well receiv'd by the Queen his Mistress, and with the Joy of all good People; but then there was some allay to this good Fortune, several People were heard to Grumble, that after this Manner we should not get to _Paris_ in a long time, and a Speech was Printed, as if a Peer of the Realm had been the Author of it, with some ironical Touches on the Duke, about raising the ancient Valour of the Nation; and that 'twas unreasonable, that one Man should have a _King-Key_, which should open every Door in the Nation.

About this time also Pamphlets began to fly, much reflecting on the Countess of _Marlborough_, which I think have not ceas'd, but very much increased against her every Year, to this very Day. I never had the Honour to see that Lady, but once at the _Hague_; she was there with her Husband, the last time our late King was in that Country; and it was a common Report, at that Court, among a great many Gentlemen of very good Quality, that she was esteemed there among the Foreign Ladies, one of the best bred Women of her Age; and here are Ladies from most Courts of _Europe_, who, without doubt, are the nicest Judges: But to be sure here at home they give her Name very poor Quarters, and make her guilty of more Folly, than a Retainer to the College in _Moor-Fields_.

It will be too long for me to set down the particular Victories of every Campaign, and I hope no need of it; because 'tis probable they are fresh in the Memory of every good Subject. His wonderful and conquering March to the Banks of the _Danube_; His artful Passing the _French_ Lines, purely owing to his own good Conduct; His Beating each one of the _French_ Great Mareschals round in their Turns, in several well fought Battles: A People, who for an Age had bullied the rest of _Europe_, and had taught other Nations the Art and Tactiques of War, as well as their Modes and Language: Their Captiv'd Generals and Conquered Towns, perhaps the Strongest in the Universe, demonstrate not only his Wisdom, Skill and Conduct, but also his surmounting Courage, and unwearied Labour.

And now at first View a Man might wonder how it should come to pass that such a Renown'd General, after so many Signal Services, and great Actions, for the good of his Country, should be so undervalued and slighted at his return home from the very middle of his Labours, by any one who pretends to value the good of his Nation: But this is no new Thing, all the Histories of the World are full of Examples to this purpose, and most of them of Men of War and Great Captains.

Sir _Walter Raleigh_ has mustered up a long Roll of Glorious Sufferers, from the most ancient to his own Times; and in the Condition in which he then was, might have brought in himself for a remarkable Sharer. For the most eminent Virtues are but as so many fair Marks set up on high for Envy to shoot at with her poysonous Darts, and in all States, 'tis sometimes dangerous to be Great and Good, for cunning Envy is often very strong, and when once its Devices are effectually spread in the Mouths of the Multitude, will produce a Blast able to blow down the most lofty Cedar: 'Tis therefore for the good of the common People of the Nation, that I shall let them see the scandalous Reflections which are scattered abroad on the Honour of the Duke of _Marlborough_; and when I have shewn to any rational Man that they are all False, Unreasonable, and Malicious, I have my End.

The first Scandal that is put abroad upon his Grace is this: That he has avoided several Opportunities of Fighting, not considering the great burden of Taxes that lies upon the Nation, because the War should be continued longer, whereby he may increase his Riches, and keep up his Power. Now how false this Report is, will easily appear.

For the Business of Peace and War does not depend on a General: 'Tis the Business of his Monarch, who best knows the proper times for such Treaties. Other Princes are concern'd in the War, as well as ours, and their Subjects are as desirous of Peace as any of us can be, yet this Peace can't well be obtain'd without a joint Consent; but if the Enemy against whom we Fight, will not come to any terms of Peace that are Reasonable, and Honourable, and Just, and upon which the War is founded, but in his pretended Treaties, chicanes and falsifies, and is altogether Insincere, then 'tis not the General's Fault if we can't have Peace; we are in for the War, and we must stand to it.

Indeed in the last dear Year of Corn, _France_ was almost reduced to their last Shifts; their Sufferings could be call'd little less than a Famine, and most of the Powers of _Europe_ did really believe that they must have sued for a Peace, if they had not been assisted; but whilst the Circumstances of this Peace were in Agitation, then did the good People of Great _Britain_ and _Ireland_, the north part of them to _Burgundy_, and _Champaign_, by way of _Holland_, thro' the _Maes_; and the South Part of them from _Dunkirk_ and _Calais_ over-against _Kent_, beyond the Mouth of the _Garroon_ on the Western Ocean, supply that Country with vast quantities of Corn, almost to the starving of their own People. Not one of them cried out for Peace, or blam'd the General, their Pockets being well fill'd; But swore in the Markets, over plentiful Nappy, that in a short time they would pull old _Lewis_ out of his Throne.

As for our Generals avoiding Fighting, 'tis easie to guess out of what Quiver this Arrow of Scandal was drawn; for without doubt 'twas forg'd in his own Army; and seeing the _Roman_ History is now much in Fashion, I shall give an Example, as an Answer to this Scandal, and without doubt 'tis home to the Purpose. _Haniball_ had beaten the _Romans_ in three great Battles of _Ticinum_, _Trebia_, and _Thrasymene_: 'Twas his Business to Fight the _Romans_ wherever he could come at them; his Army being compounded of rough old Mercenary Soldiers of divers Nations, who are ready to Mutiny and Desert upon all Occasions, if they have not present Pay or continual Plunder; in this Extremity the old _Fabius_ was chosen Dictator, or supream Commander; he was a good Man of War, and understood his Business; and for his Lieutenant, or Master of the Horse, which among them was all one, he chose one _Minutius_, the worst thing that ever he did; because in a short time he found him to be an Ungrateful, Conceited, Hot-headed Accuser. _Fabius_ with great skill and caution avoided Battle by Coasting _Hanibal_ on the sides of Hills in rough Ground, by Woods and Rivers, and hard Passes; because much inferior in Horse to the _Carthaginian_; and thereby gain'd time to confirm the Hearts of his Soldiers, and so make them capable by degrees to look the Enemy in the Face. _Hanibal_ soon found that by no means he could draw in this wary old _Gamester_, but declar'd, that he fear'd nothing more than that Clowd which hung about the Hill Tops, least some time or other it should fall down and severely wet him. Winter coming on, and the Dictator being obliged to return home about some other Affairs; He left his Army to the Care of this Master of the Horse, with a strict charge to shun Fighting with all possible Care, and to follow the Example which he had set before him: He was prowd of this Opportunity of Commanding the Army, and believ'd himself the best and the ablest Man for it; he procured to have his Courage magnified at home among the common People, and that if he had a Command equal to the Captain General, he would soon give a better Account of _Hanibal_ and his Army; that _Fabius_ was afraid to look towards his Enemy, and thereby disheartned the Soldiers, who were otherwise naturally Brave; and by his Fearfulness suffered these Barbarians to Ravage in their Country, to their Ruine and Destruction. The Tribunes of the People, not much better than Captains of the Mob, were his particular Friends, and they complaining to the Senate, every where gave it out, that after this manner of _Fabius_ his going on, the War would never have an end, that the City would be undone by perpetual Taxes; that all Trade was ceas'd, and nothing to be seen among the Commons, but a sad Prospect of growing Poverty.

The Senate was wearied out by these Factious Importunities, till at last 'twas granted, that the Master of the Horse should have equal Command with that Great Man who would preserve them from Ruine. Accordingly he receiv'd half of the Army to be under his Charge, by a Lot, for _Fabius_ would not endure, because he foresaw what would come to pass, that it shou'd be in his Power, for one Day, to command the whole. _Minutius_, forsooth, to show his Bravery, march'd nearer to the Enemy. _Hannibal_ had laid a Train for the Hotspur, and soon caught him; and both he and his Army had been soon cut to pieces if the Old General, not permitting private Revenge to interfere with the good of his Country, had not drawn down in very good Order, repuls'd the Ambush, and secur'd his Retreat. The best thing that _Minutius_ cou'd do, was to beg Pardon for his Fault, and promise more regard to his Superiors for the future. So that you see 'tis the Experienc'd, Skilful, Old General who is best Judge of times of Fighting; and that Man who asperses his Honour is to be suspected as either wanting Judgment, or an Enemy to the Publick.

Another Scandal was lately rais'd against his Grace, as touching his good Conduct and Skill, as he is a General; and this is much among those sort of People, whose Mouths go off smartly with a Whiff of Tobacco, and fight Battles, and take Towns over a Dish of Coffee. They give out, like Men of great Understanding in the Art Military, that the Duke is more beholding to his Good-Fortune than his Skill, in the Advantages he has gain'd over the _French_, and that he may thank the Prince of _Savoy_, and the good Forces which he Commands, more than his own Skill in War, for his great Reputation.

The Good-Fortune of His Grace ought to be attributed to the good Providence of GOD, for which, both he and the whole Nation ought to be thankful. 'Tis a great Happiness to have such a Fortunate General; and, without doubt, the _French_ King would purchase such another at any rate, if he could.

But then, _Nullum numen abest, si sit Prudentia_. The General that is Prudent, and Vigilant, and Temperate, Alert, and Industrious, with an humble Submission to the Will of the Almighty, takes the right way of obliging Fortune to be of his Side: Or, to speak better, the Blessings of Heaven to crown his Endeavours: For in War 'tis seldom known, (quite contrary to the Old Proverb) that in conducting Armies and fighting Battles, _Fools_ _have Fortune_.

As for his Acting in Concert with the Heroick Prince of _Savoy_, who is, without doubt, one of the ablest Generals of the Universe, and chusing of him to be his Friend and Colleague, is one of the strongest Arguments of his Art and Knowledge: Mutual Danger, and mutual Principles of Honour, have entirely united them. In all difficult Points they presently agree, as if what one was Speaking, the other was Thinking of the same Matter at the very same time: And no Person can believe, that Prince _Eugene_ would endure that any Person in the World should share with him in his Fame and Glory, unless such an Hero, whom he thinks in all Points to be his Equal. As for the Troops under his Command, 'tis evident to the World, that they excel all others; for the sake of their Countries they are prodigal of their Blood; and under such a General, by their own Confession, when they go to Action, think of nothing else but Victory and Triumph.

But Matters of Fact are the best Arguments. Amongst the great number which might be produc'd, I shall only Instance these two following; and I am sorry that those People who have not seen Marching or Embatteling Armies cannot be competent Judges of them. Let the first be in the first Campaign, in the first Year of Her Majesty's Reign. We were encamp'd on the Confines of _Brabant_, not far from a little Town call'd _Peer_; the Country round about is almost all great Heaths and large Commons; we were in full March betimes in the Morning, and, by the countenance of our March, 'twas suppos'd we should have a long and a late Fatigue; when, on a sudden, about Eleven a Clock, we had Orders to halt, and to encamp at the bottom of an Heath, behind some rising Grounds and great Sand-Hills, near a Place called _Hilteren_; and according to the Time that my Lord Duke had projected, Mareschal _Boufflers_, with his Army, was blunder'd upon us, within Shot of our Cannon, not knowing where we were. At that time we were superior to the _French_, especially in Horse; they could by no means avoid a Battle, the Mareschal was caught: And if the Deputies of the States, and their Generals, could have been perswaded to venture a Battle, in conjunction with the other Allies; and they were entreated enough, almost with Tears, by all the other Princes and Generals of the Army, 'tis very probable the _French_, under that great surprize, had been severely beaten. At last they stole away from us in a dark Night, and were glad of the Escape. And thus then you see the great Skill of our General, to entrap the _French_ Mareschal in his March, in the middle of the Day, and to make him, in a manner, fall into his Arms.

The second Instance is from the Battle of _Ramelies_. A Stratagem well laid argues the great Dexterity and Penetration of a General; in deep hollow Ways, in close Bottoms, and nigh sides of Woods, Ambuscades are often laid, and, perhaps, as often discovered; but to bring an Ambush upon an Enemy, into the open Country, in the face of the Sun, requires an assured Skill, as well as a daring Courage. Thus 'tis said of the Great _Hannibal_, at the Battle of _Cannae_, that in the open Field he brought an Ambush on the Backs of the _Romans_, which very much help'd to encrease their Terror and Confusion. And thus did our General, at the foremention'd Battle, but with a better Contrivance.

The _French_ King had Intelligence given him, that all the Forces of our Army were not join'd, and accordingly sent positive Orders to his General, not to let slip that Opportunity of chastising the Insolence of the Allies, for that was the Expression; and indeed 'twas true, the Allies had been pretty bold with him several times before: and the Mareschal doubted not but to have time enough to execute his Master's Commands, before a good Body of Horse, which he understood to be at a great distance, could be able to come up and assist us. The Duke gave a pretty good Guess at the Monsieur's Designs, and before-hand had sent strict Order, that they, without the least delay, should speed immediately towards him, and in the middle of the Night, to halt at a Village where he had appointed, not above two Leagues from his Camp; and after a little Refreshment, and Preparation for Service, must be ready to move at break of Day, upon the first bruit of Cannon: For their resting in that Place, and at such a distance, would be much more to his Advantage than if they had join'd him.

The Business being thus order'd, he was resolv'd the Enemy should not take all the Pains in coming towards him, but to meet them on part of the Way. The _French_ Right Wing, in which were their best Troops, oppos'd our Left, and in their vigorous Charge had the better of the Allies: The Duke, with the other Generals, rallied them again; but finding it difficult to sustain the strong Impression of the Enemy, presently gave out, and it took among all the Squadrons in a Moment, That a great number of the best Troops in the World, who were their Friends, were just at their Heels with Sword in hand, ready to sustain them, that no Power of the Enemy could look them in the Face; which being seen to be true, as well as felt by the Enemy, they were soon repulsed, discourag'd, and put into Confusion, which was the first cause of the general Rout of their Army.

And thus then you see, that our General wants neither Conduct or Courage: And as 'twas once said to that Renown'd Captain _Epaminondas_, who having no Children, and being about to die of his honourable Wounds, that his two Battels of _Leuctra_ and _Mantinaea_ should be as two fair Daughters to preserve his Memory. So may we say, that the many Battles and Sieges, fought and won by our Great _Marlborough_, in the Provinces of _Gelders_, of _Limbourg_, of _Brabant_, of _Flanders_, of _Artois_, of _Hainault_, shall be far excelling the most numerous Progeny to eternize his Name.

The other false Reports that are spread among the People, by the Enemies of the Duke, are these; That his way of Living in the Army is Mean and Parsimonious, unbecoming the Honour and Dignity of his Post. That the Income and Revenue from the Profits of his Places are too much for a Subject: And that he minds nothing so much as getting of Riches. All which Reports are false and malicious, and only the Designs of his secret Enemies.

_Wo be to them that call Evil Good, and Good Evil._ Some of this was part of the False Accusation that was urged against _Scipio_ the _Asiatic_, by the Malice and ill Nature of _Cato_ and his Accomplices; That he had squandred away the Money of the Government, in a great measure, by his excessive Way of Living; for so his Magnificence was termed by them: That his vast Treats and luxurious Tables had some popular Design. And, to be sure, if our General should offer to live after any such manner, the Nation would be fill'd with perpetual Clamour, that he treated the Officers to make them his Creatures, and in a short time would set up for himself; for, without doubt, those things which other Men might do, tho' much inferior to the Duke, with a general Applause, in him would be Criminal, and of bad Consequence.

In all ancient Histories nothing is more highly prais'd in Princes and great Captains, than Temperance and Moderation in Meat and Drink. The Commander of the Army ought to be vigilant, that (as a good Prince once said) the People committed to his Charge may sleep more safely; and 'tis not to be conceiv'd how such a Person, who is loaded continually with foggy Intemperance, can be Careful, Active, Watchful, Alert, Thoughtful, Foreseeing, being all Qualities necessary for so great a Charge.

His Grace governs his Family abroad like a wise Master, with good Order and Method; every thing about him shines with a temperate Use, and a daily chearful Plenty, not only for his own Domesticks, but for many others; but then all this is in due time and season: He has no Constitution for an Intemperate Life, and the Loads of it would soon destroy him.

As for his great Profits in the Army, let us take a view of them: There is an Author call'd, _The Examiner_, who has been very diligent in searching into His Grace's Revenue: But I am sure, in his Perquisites belonging to the Army he can be no Judge; the Pay of a Captain General, by the Day, may be known to any one, I suppose 'tis set down in the _Present State of England_, as well as Master of the Ordnance, and Colonel of a Regiment of Foot-Guards; these are all his Military Employments, and the Pay of them as much his due, as the Pay of Three Shillings and Six-Pence is to an Ensign. The Earl of _Rumney_ had all these Places except Captain-General; he was both a Lieutenant-General and an Ambassador, and enjoy'd them a long time, and yet I never heard of any Man that envied him, or found fault that he had too many Places. And 'tis a common thing for a great Mareschal of _France_ to have many more Posts, and of much greater Profits.

Any young Clerk, who belongs to an Agent, can presently show how many Regiments of Horse, Foot, and Dragoons are in the Pay of Her Majesty, under the Duke; and everyone there, from a General to a Drummer, what their proper Pay is, nor can they be deceived. The Hospitals and the Artillery are paid accordingly, in an exact Method. The Pay of each particular Body is issued out to the Pay-masters of the Army, from the Pay-Master-General; and the Duke touches not a Farthing but what properly belongs to him. And whereas abundance of People complain, that almost all the Money of the Nation was, by the late Lord Treasurer, sent into _Flanders_ to pay the Troops there; no matter what became of the other parts of the War. This I know to be true, That the mercenary or hired Forces, which are in our Pay, and are the greatest part of our Army under the Duke, being most of them _Danes_, _Swiss_, _Saxons_, and _Palatines_, all of the _German_ kind, will not march one Foot, notwithstanding all the Perswasions that any General can use; no, not to save any King or Prince in the World, unless they are duly paid, at the appointed times, according to their first Agreement: but then, as soon as you shew the _Gheldt_, they presently Shoulder, and Stalk wheresoever you please.

What the Queen is pleas'd to allow the Duke for his Secret Service, because his Eyes and Ears must be in all Secret Cabinets, (and, without doubt, his Intelligence must be very good) it is not fit for me or the _Examiner_ to know; or, for ought I can judge, any one else besides in the World.

The Perquisites of Safeguards and Contributions, which in all Times have belong'd to Generals, can't easily be valued, they are according to the Countries in which the War is carried. But for all these Profits to be ascrib'd to the Duke, (as in several Pamphlets 'tis evident they are) is very unreasonable; because there are two other Chief Generals besides, the Prince of _Savoy_ for the Imperialists, and Count _Tilly_ for the States, each of which will claim their Parts as well as His Grace; besides the gross of them, which are given to the States themselves: and yet we hear of no Complaint, or Papers printed against them, or in the least envied by any of the Nations under whom they serve.

In short, 'tis all the Reason that a conquering General, who fights our Battels, and must look the Powers of _Europe_ in the Face, as he is distinguish'd by Titles of Honour, so where-ever he goes he ought to be attended with Plenty and Riches.

A Sea-Captain, after the Service of Nine or Ten Years, is usually Master of a very great Fortune, he Sails in his Coach with rich Liveries for his Colours, and Steers from his City to his Country-House unenvied, and without unmerciful Remarks. The honest Gentlemen in Town, call'd Agents, most of whom are risen from a mean Condition to be Members of Parliament, Justices of the Peace, and to purchase Estates, where-ever they can find out Land to be dispos'd of, who never ventur'd their Lives farther than from the Pay-Office to the Tavern; and yet they make a Figure in the World with a very good Grace, untouch'd, or not mark'd by any Observator.

But this has been the Fortune of the most glorious Persons, to be envied and persecuted whilst they are alive, and when taken away from us by some unlucky Accident, are desir'd too late, and lamented with a Witness.

If we observe, through the whole Nation, either here in this Capital, or in any other Parts of _England_, allowing but for proportion of Merit and Dignity, we shall find more People belonging to Offices of Docks and Yards, to Offices of Stores and Victualling, who have made as good use of the Places in which they serve, and with no greater Fatigue and Danger than Figuring and Writing, as the best and richest General in _Europe_.

When my Lord _Marlborough_ had escap'd the Wars, and was return'd to the quiet of the Country, no Word was heard of him in Court or Town, no one talked of his Money, or Riches, or Estate; but no sooner was he again call'd to the High Station in which he now Acts, but Envy had presently found him out, even in the midst of Guards and Arms, and ever since has follow'd him close with all sorts of False-Reports, to this very time; as if nothing but his most excellent Qualities, and growing Glory, could make him Unfortunate.

Indeed Generals, tho' the most accomplish'd Heroes, are but Men, they are not Infallible, but may be mistaken as well as other Mortals, they are subject to Faults and Infirmities as well as their Fellow-Creatures; but then their great Services for the good of their Country ought to be cast into the Ballance, against their humane Mistakes; and not only Charity, but Self-consideration should give them very good Quarter, unless their Faults are prov'd to be Wilful and Contumacious.

I know not how it might happen to the Duke if he should chance to Miscarry, or be beaten in a Battle; God be prais'd, as yet he has never been foil'd: but then we must not suppose that he is Invincible, that Fortune will always be confin'd to the Pomel of his Sword. But this is certain, that the _French_ King has not been severe to any of his Great Captains, tho', in their turns, they have been all beaten by the Prince of _Savoy_ and the Duke, the Prince taking one of his chief Mareschals a Prisoner with him out of the midst of his Garison; the Duke another of them on the Banks of the _Danube_, with the greatest part of the Banners and Trophies of his almost captiv'd Army: there are no Outcries of the Common People for a Sacrifice to the Publick, nor base Reflections made on their Courage or Conduct; because 'tis suppos'd in all those fiery Ordeals of Battles, a General exerts all the Faculties and Powers of Body and Soul; he puts Nature on the stretch. And as my Lord Duke, at the conclusion of the great Battle of _Blenheim_ said, I think to his Honour, that he believed he had pray'd more that Day than all the Chaplains of his Army.

Therefore let not People think, that those Gentlemen who are call'd to fight Battles make use of those Employments, in the heat of a bloody War, for Diversion or Pleasure. They who have been Spectators of what they do and what they suffer, will soon be perswaded, that no People under Heaven purchase their Profits and Honours at a dearer rate.

'Tis a great happiness to a Nation to have a generous Race of Warlike People, who, at all times, are ready to venture their Lives in the defence of it. Cowardice is the highest Scandal to a Country, and exposes it to be a Prey to every Invader, as well as a Scorn to their Neighbours. In all Histories of the World, they who dare die for the sake of their Country, have been esteem'd as a sort of Martyrs: And the People who are protected at Home in their Estates, Ease, Safety, and Liberties, ought not to grudge them of any of their Perquisites; but to bless God for such a gallant number of Martial Brethren, who drive the War at a great distance, so that we see none, we do but hear of it; for 'tis a sad thing to behold the Ravages, the Ruine, the Spoils, the Devastations of those Countries which happen to be the Seats of War.

When the Officers, coming from _Flanders_, after the Campaign, appear in the newest Fashions, which they bring over with them, with a good Ayre and genteel Mien, which is almost common to them, the People, who never saw the Hardships which they undergo, think them only design'd for Pleasure and Ease, and their Profession to be desir'd above any thing in the World besides. They often hear of Fights and Sieges, and of a great many Men kill'd in a few Hours; but because they see not the Actions, the Talk leaves but a small and transient Impression, and so in a small time is wip'd off and forgotten. But if they did but see them in a Rainy Season, when the whole Country about them is trod into a Chaos, and in such intolerable Marches, Men and Horses dying and dead together, and the best of them glad of a bundle of Straw to lay down their wet and weary Limbs: If they did but see a Siege, besides the daily danger and expectation of Death, which is common to all, from the General to the Centinel; the Watches, the Labours, the Cares which attend the greatest; the ugly Sights, the Stinks of Mortality, the Grass all wither'd and black with the Smoke of Powder, the horrid Noises all Night and all Day, and Spoil and Destruction on every side; I am sure they would be perswaded, that a State of War, to those who are engag'd in it, must needs, be a state of Labour and Misery; and that a great General, I mean such a one as the Duke of _Marlborough_, weak in his Constitution, and well stricken in Years, would not undergo those eating Cares, which must be continually at his Heart; the Toils and Hardships which he must endure, and the often Sorrows which must prick his Heart for ugly Accidents, if he has the least Spark of humane Commiseration, I say, he would not engage himself in such a Life, if not for the sake of his Queen and Country, and his Honour.

I come now to add a word or two of the government of the Forces under his Care. His own Example gives a particular Life to his Orders; and as no indecent Expression, unbecoming, unclean, or unhandsome Language ever drops from his Lips, so he is imitated by the genteel part of his Army: His Camps are like a quiet and well-govern'd City; and, I am apt to believe, much more Mannerly; Cursing and Swearing, and boisterous Words being never heard among those who are accounted good Officers: And, without doubt, his Army is the best Academy in the World to teach a young Gentlemen Wit and Breeding; a Sot and a Drunkard being scorn'd among them.

These poor Wretches, that are (too many of them) the refuse and off-scowrings of the worst parts of our Nation, after two Campaigns, by the Care of their Officers, and good Order and Discipline, are made Tractable, and Civil, and Orderly, and Sensible, and Clean, and have an Ayre and a Spirit that is beyond vulgar People.

The Service of GOD, according to the Order of our Church, is strictly enjoin'd by the Dukes special Care; and in all fixed Camps, every Day, Morning and Evening, there are Prayers; and on Sundays Sermons are duly perform'd with all Decency and Respect, as well as in Garisons. And, to be sure, the Good-Nature, and Compassion, and Charity of Officers express'd to the poor sick and wounded Soldiers, and to their Families in Garison, is more Liberal, and Generous, and Free, than usually we meet with in our own Country.

And now then I hope my good Country-men will not suffer themselves any longer to be impos'd on by false Reports, which are cunningly spread abroad among them, against a Gentleman, a Patriot, who ventures his Life, every Day, for their Safety, and is endeavouring to the utmost of his Power, under his Most Gracious Sovereign, by his Courage, his Skill, and his Wisdom, to bring the Common Enemy to Reason, and to procure them and our Allies, an honourable and lasting Peace.

'Tis a thing of ill Consequence to bring a Disreputation on the good Name of a General; and to lessen his Honour is to dispirit his Army: for when the Forces under his Command have once a mean Opinion of the Integrity, and Honour, and Conduct of their General, they may be drawn out and forced to Battle, but never be perswaded to think of Laurels and Victory.

'Tis an old Piece of Policy for an Enemy, if possible, to bring an Odium on the Honour of a General against whom he is to act. Thus did _Hannibal_, who, in his moroding Marches, had spared some Grounds belonging to the Dictator _Fabius_, not out of any respect or kindness to his Person, but to bring him into Envy and Suspicion among the People at _Rome_; and so 'twas given out by one of the Tribunes, that _Hannibal_ and he had, as it were, made a Truce; that the drift of _Fabius_ could be nothing else but to prolong the War, that he might be long in Office, and have the sole Government both of City and Armies. And, without doubt, the _French_ King would have been very well satisfied, if this same Aspersion, which was lately spread abroad concerning our General, had taken the effect of having him laid aside, and put out of his Places. A Finish'd Hero does not grow up every Day, they are scarce Plants, and do not thrive in every Soil; He may be easily lost, but then that Loss cannot easily be repair'd; therefore there is great Reason to Value and Esteem him.

To conclude, As our great Commander is known to the World, or at least to the greatest part of it, to be Temperate, Sober, Careful, Couragious, Politick, Skilful, so he is Courteous, Mild, Affable, Humble, and Condescending to People of the meanest Condition. And as 'tis said of _Moses_, the Great, the Valiant Captain-General of Almighty God, for an immortal Title of Honour, that he was one of the Meekest Men upon the Earth; so, without doubt, our Captain-General, _John_ Duke of _Marlborough_, has a great share of it.

_FINIS._

APPENDIX

Authorship of _A Short Narrative_

While no direct contemporary corroboration exists as evidence for Defoe's authorship, a considerable number of literary mannerisms, interests, and opinions appear to establish it conclusively.

As Professor John Robert Moore said, _The Life_ is "exceptionally characteristic" of Defoe, so characteristic in fact that "one can recognize his style and manner as one would a familiar voice."[21] The list of phrases and mannerisms which produce this effect is extensive: The insertion of qualifying or explanatory phrases ("The first time that I had the Honour of seeing John, Earl of Marlborough, [for so I shall call him till he was created Duke] ..."), the use of "sentence paragraphs," the repetition of such introductory phrases as "To be short," "but now to the Truth of the matter," "in short," and "to put all this matter out of doubt," and the frequent use of words such as "matter" and "purpose" to emphasize the force and pertinence of his arguments mark Defoe's writings throughout his career. The use of the present participle construction as subject ("As for his Acting in Concert with the Heroick Prince of Savoy ... is one of the strongest Arguments of his Art and Knowledge"), long sentences hung together with "and" and qualified with subordinate clauses, and a propensity for coining words ("over-Honored and over-Paid") make Defoe's writing nearly unmistakable and give it the hasty, colloquial quality. His Latin quotations are off hand and rather careless.

At the same time, Defoe has great stylistic virtuosity. He is always direct and forceful. Although he is attacking some of the most powerful men in politics and literature in _The Life_, there is nothing at all deferential. He includes trivial and often superfluous details which give whatever he writes an authentic tone; these details may be places ("After several Marches, we came to the Confines of Haynault, within a League of a small Town call'd Walcourt...."), names of people ("Mr. Sizar was our Pay-Master General...."), or observations ("twas supposed we would have a long and a late Fatigue"). The same sort of verisimilitude which deceived the readers of _Memoirs of Captain Carleton_ and _Journal of the Plague Year_ supports the illusion of an eye witness account. Defoe's metaphors are also distinctive. While there are no great number, they are graphic, often simplify and condense an idea, and join image and idea in much the same way that seventeenth-century conceits do. Drawing on the common place, the originality and force comes from their aptness ("'tis easie to guess out of what Quiver this Arrow of Scandal was drawn," "For the most eminent Virtues are but as so many fair Marks set up on high for Envy to shoot at with her poysonous darts"). Characteristic idioms--"Engineer that stands behind the curtains," "the Lord knows who and where"--can be found on every page. Small touches such as an allusion to one of Defoe's favorite jokes (Lord Craven's retort to de Vere concerning his ancestry) can also be identified.

Furthermore, the allusions to historical and Biblical figures are consistent with Defoe's life-long usage, opinions and interests. Sir Walter Raleigh and Hannibal, Moses and Solomon are referred to for the same purposes in writings from _The Shortest Way with Dissenters_ to _Atalantis Major_ (a typically explicit analog: from _The Shortest Way_--"Moses was a merciful meek man" and from _The Life_--"Moses ... one of the Meekest Men upon the Earth"). Defoe habitually commented on the policies of military men and statesmen, traced topography, and included the large features of military campaigns which could be found in printed records. Defoe's opinions on drinking, swearing, reliance on Providence, leadership qualities, gratitude, and courage, to mention a few, are consistent throughout his life and found in this pamphlet. For example, he makes the same distinctions in types of courage in _Journal of the Plague Year_, the _Review_, _Robinson Crusoe_, _Atalantis Major_, and _Memoirs of Captain Carleton_ that he does in _The Life_ ("True courage cannot proceed from what Sir Walter Raleigh finely calls the art or philosophy of quarrel. No! It must be the issue of principle...").

Moreover, the pamphlet itself bears certain marks indicative of Defoe's hand. It was published by John Baker, "at the Black-Boy in Pater-noster-Row," Defoe's usual publisher for that year. Had it been published by, say, Tonson, the immediate conclusion would be that it was not Defoe's. Baker appeared to take greater care with Defoe's pamphlets than he did with some others; _A Defence of Dr. Sacheverell_, for example, has fifty lines of small type to the page. Six other tracts by Defoe have titles beginning with "Short" or "Shortest." The use of the eye witness narrator and the soldier narrator are recurring devices which Defoe used to protect himself or his sources and to add weight to what he was purporting to be factual.

Finally Marlborough was one of Defoe's heroes until at least late 1711. He praises him highly in _Seldom Comes a Better_, _Atalantis Major_, and _The Quaker's Sermon_. It is with reluctance that Defoe is persuaded that Marlborough must be displaced, and even in the poem on the occasion of Marlborough's funeral, his disapproval seems to be more for the ostentatiousness and inappropriateness of the funeral than for the man himself. All in all, there is scarcely a line in _The Life_ which does not bear Defoe's fingerprints.

WILLIAM ANDREWS CLARK MEMORIAL LIBRARY

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES

The Augustan Reprint Society

PUBLICATIONS IN PRINT

The Augustan Reprint Society

PUBLICATIONS IN PRINT

1948-1949

16. Henry Nevil Payne, _The Fatal Jealousie_ (1673).

18. "Of Genius," in _The Occasional Paper_, Vol. III, No. 10 (1719), and Aaron Hill, Preface to _The Creation_ (1720).

1949-1950

19. Susanna Centlivre, _The Busie Body_ (1709).

20. Lewis Theobald, _Preface to the Works of Shakespeare_ (1734).

22. Samuel Johnson, _The Vanity of Human Wishes_ (1749), and two _Rambler_ papers (1750).

23. John Dryden, _His Majesties Declaration Defended_ (1681).

1951-1952

26. Charles Macklin, _The Man of the World_ (1792).

31. Thomas Gray, _An Elegy Wrote in a Country Churchyard_ (1751), and _The Eton College Manuscript_.

1952-1953

41. Bernard Mandeville, _A Letter to Dion_ (1732).

1964-1965

109. Sir William Temple, _An Essay Upon the Original and Nature of Government_ (1680).

110. John Tutchin, _Selected Poems_ (1685-1700).

111. _Political Justice_ (1736).

113. T. R., _An Essay Concerning Critical and Curious Learning_ (1698).

114. Two Poems Against Pope: Leonard Welsted, _One Epistle to Mr. A. Pope_ (1730); and _The Blatant Beast_ (1742).

1965-1966

115. Daniel Defoe and others, _Accounts of the Apparition of Mrs. Veal_.

116. Charles Macklin, _The Convent Garden Theatre_ (1752).

117. Sir Roger L'Estrange, _Citt and Bumpkin_ (1680).

118. Henry More, _Enthusiasmus Triumphatus_ (1662).

119. Thomas Traherne, _Meditations on the Six Days of the Creation_ (1717).

120. Bernard Mandeville, _Aesop Dress'd or a Collection of Fables_ (1740).

1966-1967

123. Edmond Malone, _Cursory Observations on the Poems Attributed to Mr. Thomas Rowley_ (1782).

124. _The Female Wits_ (1704).

125. _The Scribleriad_ (1742). Lord Hervey, _The Difference Between Verbal and Practical Virtue_ (1742).

1968-1969

133. John Courtenay, _A Poetical Review of the Literary and Moral Character of the Late Samuel Johnson_ (1786).

134. John Downes, _Roscius Anglicanus_ (1708).

135. Sir John Hill, _Hypochondriasis, a Practical Treatise_ (1766).

136. Thomas Sheridan, _Discourse ... Being Introductory to His Course of Lectures on Elocution and the English Language_ (1759).

137. Arthur Murphy, _The Englishman From Paris_ (1736).

1969-1970

138. [Catherine Trotter] _Olinda's Adventures_ (1718).

139. John Ogilvie, _An Essay on the Lyric Poetry of the Ancients_ (1762).

140. _A Learned Dissertation on Dumpling_ (1726) and _Pudding Burnt to Pot or a Compleat Key to the Dissertation on Dumpling_ (1727).

141. Selections from Sir Roger L'Estrange's _Observator_ (1681-1687).

142. Anthony Collins, _A Discourse Concerning Ridicule and Irony in Writing_ (1729).

143. _A Letter From A Clergyman to His Friend, With An Account of the Travels of Captain Lemuel Gulliver_ (1726).

144. _The Art of Architecture, A Poem. In Imitation of Horace's Art of Poetry_ (1742).

1970-1971

145-146. Thomas Shelton, _A Tutor to Tachygraphy, or Short-writing_ (1642) and _Tachygraphy_ (1647).

147-148. _Deformities of Dr. Samuel Johnson_ (1782).

149. _Poeta de Tristibus: or the Poet's Complaint_ (1682).

150. Gerard Langbaine, _Momus Triumphans: or the Plagiaries of the English Stage_ (1687).

1971-1972

151-152. Evan Lloyd, _The Methodist. A Poem_ (1766).

153. _Are these Things So?_ (1740), and _The Great Man's Answer to Are these Things So?_ (1740).

154. Arbuthnotiana: _The Story of the St. Alb-ns Ghost_ (1712), and _A Catalogue of Dr. Arbuthnot's Library_ (1779).

155-156. A Selection of Emblems from Herman Hugo's _Pia Desideria_ (1624), with English Adaptations by Francis Quarles and Edmund Arwaker.

1972-1973

157. William Mountfort, _The Life and Death of Doctor Faustus_ (1697).

158. Colley Cibber, _A Letter from Mr. Cibber, to Mr. Pope_ (1742).

159. [Catherine Clive], _The Case of Mrs. Clive_ (1744).

160. [Thomas Tryon], _A Discourse ... of Phrensie, Madness or Distraction_ from _A Treatise of Dreams and Visions_ [1689].

161. Robert Blair, _The Grave. A Poem_ (1743).

162. Bernard Mandeville, _A Modest Defence of Publick Stews_ (1724).

Publications of the first fifteen years of the Society (numbers
1-90) are available in paperbound units of six issues at $16.00
per unit, from the Kraus Reprint Company, 16 East 46th Street,
New York, N.Y. 10017.

Publications in print are available at the regular membership rate
of $5.00 for individuals and $8.00 for institutions per year.
Prices of single issues may be obtained upon request. Subsequent
publications may be checked in the annual prospectus.

_Make check or money order payable to_

THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

and send to

The William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
2520 Cimarron Street, Los Angeles, California 90018

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