Neither Rupert Holliday nor Maria van Duyk would be troubled more
with Sir Richard Fulke. He was absolutely and unquestionably dead.
He had fallen on his head, and death had been instantaneous. In the
man whom Rupert shot through the window, Hugh and he recognized the
fellow who had been his accomplice in the attempt to carry off
Maria in London.
Maria was wholly uninjured, although she was days before she was
able to speak with comfort, so roughly had the gag been thrust into
her mouth. She had not seen her chief abductor after she had been
carried off, as Sir Richard must have felt that it was in vain
either to threaten or to sue until he had got her in safety far
from Dort.
Leaving the rest of the gang to be dealt with by the authorities,
Rupert with his followers left Dort two days later, happy in having
finally freed his friends from the danger which had so long menaced
them. Mynheer van Duyk said but little; but Rupert knew how deep
were his feelings of gratitude; and he again sighed deeply over the
fact that Rupert was still but little over eighteen. Maria herself
was equally grateful.
Van Duyk would have freighted a shipful of presents to Rupert's
friends in England, but the latter would not hear of it. He
insisted, however, on sending a pipe of magnificent old Burgundy
for the colonel's drinking; while Maria sent a stomacher of antique
workmanship, with valuable gems, to Madame Holliday.
No adventure marked their homeward journey. Their ship took them
rapidly with a fair wind to London Bridge; and Rupert and Hugh
started next day by the coach for Derby, the former having made Joe
Sedley a handsome present, to enable him to enjoy his holiday, and
an invitation to come down to Windthorpe Chace when he was tired of
London.
A letter had been written from Holland a few days before starting,
to announce their coming, but it was, of course, impossible in the
days of sailing ships to fix a day for arrival.
Hiring a chaise, they drove to Windthorpe Chace, where the delight
both of Mistress Holliday and of the colonel was unbounded. Hugh,
too, was greeted very warmly by both, for Rupert had done full
justice to the services he had rendered him. It was difficult to
recognize in the dashing looking young officer and the stalwart
trooper the lads who but two years and a half before had ridden
away posthaste from the Chace. Hugh was driven off to the farm; and
Rupert remained alone with his mother and the colonel, who
overwhelmed him with questions.
The colonel had changed but little, and bid fair to live to a great
age. His eye was bright, and his bearing still erect. He scarcely
looked sixty-five, although he was more than ten years older.
Mistress Dorothy was, Rupert thought, softer and kinder than of
old. Her pride, and to some extent her heart, had met with a rude
shock, but her eyes were now fully open to the worthlessness of her
former suitor, who had lately been obliged to fly the country,
having been detected at cheating at cards.
Colonel Holliday rejoiced when he heard of the pipe of prime
Burgundy, which started from London on the day Rupert left; while
Mistress Dorothy was enchanted with the stomacher, which her son
produced from his trunk.
"Have you ever heard from Monsieur Dessin, grandfather? You told me
that he said he would write and tell you his real name."
"I doubt not that he did so, Rupert; but the carriage of letters
between this and France is precarious. Only smugglers or such like
bring them over, and these, except when specially paid, care but
little for the trouble. That he wrote I am certain, but his letter
has not reached me, which I regret much."
The six months at home passed rapidly. Rupert fell into his old
ways; rode and hawked, and occasionally paid state visits to the
gentry of the neighbourhood, by whom, as one of Marlborough's
soldiers, he was made much of.
"I think this soldiering life makes one restless, Master Rupert,"
Hugh said one day when the time was approaching for their start. "I
feel a longing to be with the troop again, to be at work and
doing."
"I feel the same, Hugh; but you would not find it so, I think, if
you had come home for good. Then you would have your regular
pursuits on the farm, while now you have simply got tired of having
no work to do. When the war is over, and we have done soldiering,
you will settle down on one of the farms of the Chace. Madame says
you shall have the first that falls vacant when you come home. Then
you will take a wife, and be well content that you have seen the
world, and have something to look back upon beyond a six miles
circuit of Derby."
The next campaign may be passed over briefly. The parsimony of
England and Holland, and the indifference of Germany, spoiled all
the plans of Marlborough, and lost the allies all the benefits of
the victory of Blenheim. The French, in spite of their heavy
losses, took the field in far greater force than the allies; and
instead of the brilliant offensive campaign he had planned,
Marlborough had to stand on the defensive.
The gallantry of his English troops, and the effect which Blenheim
had produced upon the morale of the French, enabled him to hold the
ground won, and to obtain several minor successes; one notably at
the Dyle, where Villeroi's troops were driven out of lines
considered impregnable, but where the pusillanimity and ill will of
the Dutch generals prevented any substantial results being
obtained; but no important action took place, and the end of 1705
found things in nearly the same state that 1704 had left them.
The non success of the campaign undid some of the harm which the
success of that of 1704 had effected. In Flanders the genius of the
duke had enabled the allies to maintain their ground; but on the
Rhine they had done badly, and in Italy the French had carried all
before them. Therefore while after Blenheim an apathy had fallen on
the victors, so now the extent of the danger moved them to fresh
exertions.
Marlborough, after seeing his army into winter quarters, visited
the capitals of Vienna, Berlin, and the Hague, and again by the
charm of his manner succeeded in pacifying jealousies, in healing
quarrels, and in obtaining the promises of vigorous action and
larger armaments in the spring.
The bad conduct of the Dutch generals had created such a general
cry of indignation through Europe, that the States General were
compelled, by the pressure of public opinion, to dismiss several of
the men who had most distinguished themselves by thwarting the
plans of Marlborough, and interposing on every occasion between him
and victory. Consequently the campaign of 1706 seemed likely to
open with far brighter prospects of success than its predecessors
had done.
Suddenly, however, all the arrangements broke down. The
Imperialists had just suffered another reverse in Italy; and
matters looked so desperate there, that Marlborough proposed to
pass the Alps with an army of 40,000 men to their assistance, and
there, as he would have the warm cooperation of Prince Eugene
instead of the cowardice of the Dutch generals, and the incapacity
and obstinacy of the Prince of Baden, he anticipated the complete
discomfiture of the French.
In these hopes, however, he was thwarted. The Prince of Baden would
do nothing beyond defending his own dominion. The cabinets of
Berlin and Copenhagen fell to quarrelling, and both refused to
supply their promised contingents. The Hanoverians and Hessians had
also grievances, and refused to join in any general plan, or to
send their troops to form part of the allied army. Thus all ideas
of a campaign in the south were destroyed; but Marlborough
persuaded the Dutch to send 10,000 of the troops in their pay
across the Alps to assist Prince Eugene, under the promise that he
with the English and Dutch troops would defend Flanders.
So the campaign commenced; and on the 19th of May Marlborough
joined his army, which lay encamped on the Dyle, on the French
frontier. On the 22nd a Danish contingent, which had at the last
moment been dispatched in answer to an urgent appeal of the duke,
arrived; and his army now consisted of 73 battalions and 123
squadrons, in all 60,000 men, with 120 guns. Marshal Villeroi's
force, which lay on the other side of the Dyle, consisted of 74
battalions and 128 squadrons--62,000 men, with 130 guns. They had
also, as at Blenheim, the advantage that the troops were all of one
nationality, and accustomed to act together, while Marlborough's
army consisted of troops of three nations, at least half of them
new to war, and unused to act with each other.
Marlborough opened the campaign by moving towards Tirlemont, with a
view of laying siege to Namur, where many of the citizens were
anxious to throw off the French yoke. Villeroi, anxious to cover
Namur, moved his troops out from their quarters on the Dyle to stop
the advance of the allies, and bring on a battle in the open field.
The ground taken up by the French marshal was exceedingly strong.
Marlborough was aware of the great importance of the position, and
had made every effort to be the first to seize it; but the French
had less distance to march, and when the allied troops arrived
within sight of the ground, the French were already in camp upon
Mont Saint Andre.
Mont Saint Andre is an extensive and elevated plateau, being,
indeed, the highest ground in Brabant. From it four rivers take
their rise--the Great Gheet, the Little Gheet, the Dyle, and the
Mehaigne. The French camp was placed immediately above the sources
of the two Gheets.
The plan of the battle should be examined carefully, and the events
of the great battle will then be understood without difficulty.
The descents from the plateau to the Great Gheet are steep and
abrupt. The other rivers rise in wet marshes, in some places
impassable. The French left was on the crest of the ridge, above
the marshes of the Little Gheet, and extended to the village of
Autre Eglise; while the extreme right stood on the high ground
overlooking the sources of the Mehaigne. The village of Tavieres,
in front of the right, was strongly held; while in the villages of
Offuz and Ramilies, opposite their centre, were numerous infantry,
no less than twenty battalions occupying Ramilies.
The great bulk of the French cavalry were arranged in two lines on
their right, the extreme right of their cavalry being in front of
the tomb, or barrow, of the ancient German hero Ottomond; the
highest part of the ridge, and commanding the whole field of
battle.
Marlborough, having with the Dutch General Overkirk, a loyal and
gallant old man, reconnoitred the ground, immediately formed his
plan of attack.
The French position was somewhat in the form of a bow, the ends
being advanced. They would therefore have more difficulty in
sending troops from one end to the other of their line than would
the allies, who could move in a direct line along, as it were, the
string of the bow; and the ground was sufficiently undulating to
enable the movements of troops to be concealed from the enemy on
the plateau.
The commanding position of Ottomond's tomb appeared the key of the
whole battleground; and Marlborough determined to make his main
attack on this point, first deceiving the enemy by a feigned attack
on their left. Accordingly, he formed, in a conspicuous position, a
heavy column of attack, opposite the French left, and menacing the
village of Autre Eglise.
Villeroi, believing that the main attack would be made there, moved
a considerable body of his infantry from his centre behind Offuz,
to reinforce Autre Eglise.
As the column of attack advanced, a large portion was withdrawn by
a dip behind the rising ground on which the others advanced, and
moved rapidly towards the left centre; the Danish horse, twenty
squadrons strong, being directed to the same spot. The smoke of the
advance towards Autre Eglise, and the nature of the ground,
concealed all these movements from the French, who directed a very
heavy artillery fire on the column advancing against Autre Eglise.
Suddenly the real attack began. Five Dutch battalions advanced
against Tavieres; twelve battalions under General Schultz,
supported by a strong reserve, moved to attack Ramilies.
The vehemence of their attack showed Villeroi that he had been
deceived; but he had now no infantry available to move to reinforce
the troops in the threatened villages. He therefore ordered
fourteen squadrons of dragoons to dismount, and with two Swiss
battalions to advance to the support of Tavieres. They arrived,
however, too late, for before they could reach the spot, the Dutch
battalions had, with great gallantry, carried the village; and the
Duke of Marlborough, launching the Danish horse on the supports as
they came up, cut them up terribly, and threw back the remnant in
confusion upon the French cavalry, advancing to charge.
Overkirk now charged the French cavalry with the first of the
allied horse, broke and drove them back; but at this moment, when
the allied cavalry were in disorder after their success, the second
line of French cavalry, among whom were the Royal life guards,
burst upon them, drove them back in great confusion, and restored
the battle in that quarter.
The danger was great, for the victorious cavalry might have swept
round, and fallen upon the rear of the infantry engaged in the
attack upon Ramilies. Marlborough saw the danger, and putting
himself at the head of seventeen squadrons of dragoons, and sending
an aide-de-camp to order up twenty squadrons still in reserve,
charged the French life guards. The French batteries on the heights
behind Ramilies poured in so dreadful a fire that the cavalry
hesitated, and some French troopers, recognizing the duke, made a
dash at him as he rode ahead of the troops.
In an instant he was surrounded; but before any of his troops could
ride to his rescue, he cut his way through the French troopers,
sword in hand. As his horse tried to leap a wall it fell, and the
enemy were again upon him. At this moment Rupert Holliday, whose
troop was in the front line, arrived on the spot, followed by Hugh
and half a dozen other troopers, and some of the Duke's personal
staff.
A desperate fight raged round the general, until the cavalry
charged heavily down to the rescue of their beloved leader. But
they were still over matched and pressed backwards by the French
guards. At this critical time, however, the twenty squadrons of the
reserve arrived on the ground, and charged the French cavalry in
front, while the Danish cavalry, who had been detained by morasses,
fell at the same moment on their flank, and the French cavalry fell
back in confusion. Forming the allied cavalry in two lines,
Marlborough led them forward in person, and sweeping aside all
resistance, they halted not until they reached the summit of
Ottomond's tomb, where they were visible to the whole army, while a
tremendous shout told friend and foe alike that the key of the
whole position had been gained, and victory in that part of the
field secured.
All this time the twenty French battalions in Ramilies under the
Marquis Maffie had fought obstinately, although far removed from
succour. Gradually, however, they were driven out of the village.
The British had fresh battalions of infantry available, and these
were sent against them, and the victorious horse charging them in
flank, they were almost all made prisoners or destroyed.
The fight had lasted but three hours, and the victory was complete
on the right and left. The confusion was, however, great, and
Marlborough halted his troops and reformed them, before advancing
to the final attack; while Marshal Villeroi strove on his part also
to reform his troops, and to take up a new front. The roads, were,
however, choked with baggage waggons and artillery, and before the
troops could take up their fresh posts, the allies were ready. The
charge was sounded, and horse and foot advanced to the attack on
the centre, while the troops who had commenced the battle by their
demonstration against Autre Eglise joined in the general attack.
Confused and disheartened, the French did not await the onslaught,
but broke and fled. The Spanish and Bavarian horse guards made a
gallant attempt to stem the tide of defeat, but were cut to pieces.
The battle was now over. It was a rout and a pursuit, and the
British horse, under Lord Orkney, pursued the fugitives until they
reached Louvain, at two o'clock in the morning.
In the battle of Ramilies the French lost in killed and wounded
7000 men, and 6000 were taken prisoners. They lost 52 guns, their
whole baggage and pontoon train, and 80 standards. Among the
prisoners were the Princes de Soubise and Rohan, while among the
killed were many nobles of the best blood of France.
The Allies lost 1066 killed, and 2567 wounded, in all 3633 men.
But great as was the victory itself, the consequences were even
more important. Brussels, Louvain, Mechlin, Alost, Luise, and all
the chief towns of Brabant, speedily opened their gates to the
conqueror. Ghent and Bruges, Darn and Oudenarde, followed the
example. Of all the cities of Flanders, Antwerp, Ostend, Nieuport,
and Dunkirk, with some smaller fortresses, alone held out for the
French.
The Duke of Marlborough issued the most stringent orders for the
protection and fair treatment of the inhabitants, and so won such
general goodwill among the populations, that when he advanced on
Antwerp the local troops and citizens insisted on a surrender; and
the French troops capitulated, on condition of being allowed to
march out with the honours of war, and to be escorted safely to the
French frontier. Ostend was then besieged, and captured after a
brave resistance; and then, after a desperate resistance, the
important and very strong fortress of Menin was carried by assault,
1400 of the storming party, principally British, being slain at the
breach. Dindermande and Ath were next taken, and the allied army
then went into winter quarters, after a campaign as successful, and
far more important in its results, than that of Blenheim.