ear, they were far enhanced by the splendor of
his victory in the ensuing campaign. His Grace the Captain-General went
to England after Bonn, and our army fell back into Holland, where, in
April 1704, his Grace again found the troops, embarking from Harwich
and landing at Maesland Sluys: thence his Grace came immediately to the
Hague, where he received the foreign ministers, general officers, and
other people of quality. The greatest honors were paid to his Grace
everywhere--at the Hague, Utrecht, Ruremonde, and Maestricht; the civil
authorities coming to meet his coaches: salvos of cannon saluting him,
canopies of state being erected for him where he stopped, and feasts
prepared for the numerous gentlemen following in his suite. His Grace
reviewed the troops of the States-General between Liege and Maestricht,
and afterwards the English forces, under the command of General
Churchill, near Bois-le-Duc. Every preparation was made for a long
march; and the army heard, with no small elation, that it was the
Commander-in-Chief's intention to carry the war out of the Low
Countries, and to march on the Mozelle. Before leaving our camp at
Maestricht, we heard that the French, under the Marshal Villeroy, were
also bound towards the Mozelle.

Towards the end of May, the army reached Coblentz; and next day, his
Grace, and the generals accompanying him, went to visit the Elector of
Treves at his Castle of Ehrenbreitstein, the horse and dragoons passing
the Rhine whilst the Duke was entertained at a grand feast by the
Elector. All as yet was novelty, festivity, and splendor--a brilliant
march of a great and glorious army through a friendly country, and
sure through some of the most beautiful scenes of nature which I ever
witnessed.

The foot and artillery, following after the horse as quick as possible,
crossed the Rhine under Ehrenbreitstein, and so to Castel, over against
Mayntz, in which city his Grace, his generals, and his retinue were
received at the landing-place by the Elector's coaches, carried to
his Highness's palace amidst the thunder of cannon, and then once more
magnificently entertained. Gidlingen, in Bavaria, was appointed as the
general rendezvous of the army, and thither, by different routes, the
whole forces of English, Dutch, Danes, and German auxiliaries took their
way. The foot and artillery under General Churchill passed the Neckar,
at Heidelberg; and Esmond had an opportunity of seeing that city and
palace,