[1] _Letters and Despatches of John Churchill, First Duke of
Marlborough, from 1702 to 1712._ Edited by SIR GEORGE MURRAY, G.C.B.,
Master-General of the Ordnance, &c. 3 vols. London, 1845.
[2] "Marlborough," says Swift, "is as voracious as hell, and as
ambitious as the devil. What he desires above every thing is to be made
commander-in-chief for life, and it is to satisfy his ambition and his
avarice that he has opposed so many intrigues to the efforts made for
the restoration of peace."
[3] "During the interval between the liberation of Marlborough and the
death of Queen Mary, we find him, in conjunction with Godolphin and many
others, maintaining a clandestine intercourse with the exiled family. On
the 2d May 1694, only a few days before he offered his services to King
William, he communicated to James, through Colonel Sackville,
intelligence of an expedition then fitting out, for the purpose of
destroying the fleet in Brest harbour."--COXE'S _Marlborough_, i. 75.
"Marlborough's conduct to the Stuarts," says Lord Mahon, "was a foul
blot on his memory. To the last he persevered in those deplorable
intrigues. In October 1713, he protested to a Jacobite agent he would
rather have his hands cut off than do any thing to prejudice King
James."--MAHON, i. 21-22.
[4] "Galli turpe esse ducunt frumentum manu quaerere; itaque armati
alienos agros demetunt."--CAESAR.
[5] _Despatches_, 21st September 1702.
[6] _Despatches_, 23d October 1702.
[7] Memorial, 24th August 1703.--_Despatches_, i. 165.
[8] Marlborough was much chagrined at being interrupted in his meditated
decisive operations by the States-General, on this occasion. On the 6th
September, he wrote to them:--"Vos Hautes Puissances jugeront bien par
le camp que nous venons de prendre, qu'on n'a pas voulu se résoudre à
tenter les lignes. J'ai été convaincu de plus en plus, depuis l'honneur
que j'ai eu de vous écrire, par les avis que j'ai reçu journellement de
la situation des ennemis, que cette entreprise n'était pas seulement
practicable, mais même qu'on pourrait en espérer tout le succès que je
m'étais proposé: enfin l'occasion en est perdue, et je souhaite de tout
mon coeur qu'elle n'ait aucune fâcheuse suite, et qu'on n'ait pas lieu
de s'en repentir quand il sera trop tard."--MARLBOROUGH _aux Etats
Généraux_; _6 Septembre 1703. Despatches_, i. 173.
[9] "Ce matin j'ai appris par une estafette que les ennemis avaient
joint l'Electeur de Bavière avec 26,000 hommes, et que M. de Villeroi a
passé la Meuse avec la meilleure partie de l'armée des Pays Bas, et
qu'il poussait sa marche en toute diligence vers la Moselle, de sorte
que, sans un prompt sécours, l'empire court risque d'être entièrement
abimé."--MARLBOROUGH, _aux Etats Généraux; Bonn_, _2 Mai 1704_.
_Despatches_, i. 274.
[10] The following was the composition of these two corps, which will
show of what a motley array the Allied army was composed:--
Left wing, Marlborough.
Batt. Squad.
English, 14 14
Dutch, 14 22
Hessians, 7 7
Hanoverians, 13 25
Danes, 0 22
-- --
48 86
Right wing, Eugene.
Batt. Squad.
Danes, 7 0
Prussians, 11 15
Austrians, 0 24
Of the Empire, 0 35
-- --
18 74
[11] This pencil note is still preserved at Blenheim.
[12] French--Bat. 82. Squad. 146. Allies--Bat. 66. Squad. 160. At 500 to
a battalion, and 150 to a squadron, this gives a superiority of 5900 to
the French.
[13] Marl., _Desp._ i. 402-409.
[14] Cardonnell, Desp. to Lord Harley, 25th Sept. 1704, _Desp._ i. 410.
By intercepted letters it appeared the enemy admitted a loss of 40,000
men before they reached the Rhine. Marlborough to the Duke of
Shrewsbury, 28th Aug. 1704, _Desp._ i. 439.
[15] The holograph letter of the Emperor, announcing this honour, said,
with equal truth and justice--"I am induced to assign to your highness a
place among the princes of the empire, in order that it may universally
appear how much I acknowledge myself and the empire to be indebted to
the Queen of Great Britain, who sent her arms as far as Bavaria at a
time when the affairs of the empire, by the defection of the Bavarians
to the French, most needed that assistance and support:--And to your
Grace, likewise, to whose prudence and courage, together with the
bravery of the forces fighting under your command, the two victories
lately indulged by Providence to the Allies are principally attributed,
not only by the voice of fame, but by the general officers in my army
who had their share in your labour and your glory."--THE EMPEROR LEOPOLD
TO MARLBOROUGH, _28th August 1704_.--_Desp._ i. 538.
[16] Marlborough to Mr Secretary Harley, 16th Dec. 1704.--_Desp._ i.
556.
[17] Marlborough to Mr Hill at Turin, 6th Feb. 1705.--_Desp._ i. 591.
[18] _Lord Chesterfield's Letters_, Lord Mahon's edition, i. 221-222.