of their own accord
joined in the pursuit, and soon made themselves masters of Autre
Eglise and the heights behind it. The Spanish and Bavarian
horse-guards made a gallant attempt to stem the flood of disaster, but
without attaining their object; it only led to their own destruction.
Charged by General Wood and Colonel Wyndham at the head of the English
horse-guards, they were cut to pieces. The rout now became universal,
and all resistance ceased. In frightful confusion, a disorganized mass
of horse and foot, abandoning their guns, streamed over the plateau,
poured headlong down the banks of the Great Gheet, on the other side,
and fled towards Louvain, which they reached in the most dreadful
disorder at two o'clock in the morning. The British horse, under Lord
Orkney, did not draw bridle from the pursuit till they reached the
neighbourhood of that fortress; having, besides fighting the battle,
marched full five-and-twenty miles that day. Marlborough halted for
the night, and established headquarters at Mildert, thirteen miles
from the field of battle, and five from Louvain.

The trophies of the battle of Ramilies were immense; but they were
even exceeded by its results. The loss of the French in killed and
wounded was 7000 men, and, in addition to that, 6000 prisoners were
taken. With the desertion in the days after the battle, they were
weakened by full 15,000 men. They lost fifty-two guns, their whole
baggage and pontoon train, all their caissons, and eighty standards
wrested from them in fair fight. Among the prisoners were the Princes
de Soubise and Rohan, and a son of Marshal Tallard. The victors lost
1066 killed, and 2567 wounded, in all, 3633. The great and unusual
proportion of killed to the wounded, shows how desperate and hand to
hand, as in ancient battles, the fighting had been. Overkirk nobly
supported the Duke in this action, and not only repeatedly charged at
the head of his horse, but continued on horseback in the pursuit till
one in the morning, when he narrowly escaped death from a Bavarian
officer whom he had made prisoner, and given back his sword, saying,
"You are a gentleman, and may keep it." The base wretch no sooner got
it into his hand than he made a lounge at the Dutch general, but
fortunately missed his blow, and was immediately cut down for his
treachery by Overkirk's orderly.

The immediate result of this splendid victory, was the acquisition of
nearly all Austrian Flanders--Brussels, L