s heart an enemy to the duke of Marlborough and
all his adherents; and had already, by his secret intrigues, made
considerable progress in a scheme for superseding the influence of the
duchess.

FRANCE THREATENED WITH TOTAL RUIN.

The French king at this juncture seemed to be entirely abandoned by
his former good fortune. He had sustained such a number of successive
defeats as had drained his kingdom of people, and his treasury was
almost exhausted. He endeavoured to support the credit of his government
by issuing mint-bills, in imitation of the bank-notes of England;
but, notwithstanding all his precautions, they passed at a discount of
three-and-fifty per cent. The lands lay uncultivated; the manufactures
could be no longer carried on; and the subjects perished with famine.
The allies, on the other hand, seemed to prosper in every quarter.
They had become masters of the greatest part of the Netherlands, in
consequence of the victory at Ramillies; the army of king Charles was
considerably reinforced; a scheme was formed for the conquest of Toulon,
by the troops of the emperor and the duke of Savoy, supplied with a
large sum of money by queen Anne, and assisted by the combined fleets
of England and Holland, under the command of sir Cloudesley Shovel. In
a word, France seemed to be reduced to the verge of destruction, from
which nothing in all probability could have saved her but the jealousy
and misconduct of the confederates. Louis, by virtue of his capitulation
with the emperor in Italy, was enabled to send such reinforcements
into Spain as turned the fortune of the war in that country; while the
distractions in the council of king Charles prevented that unanimity
and concurrence without which no success can be expected. The earl
of Peterborough declared against an offensive war, on account of the
difficulty of finding subsistence in Castile; and advised Charles to
trust to the expedition against Toulon. This opinion he sent from Italy,
to which he had withdrawn.

THE ALLIES ARE DEFEATED AT ALMANZA.

Charles, however, was persuaded to penetrate once more to Madrid, and
give battle to the enemy wherever they should appear. On the thirteenth
day of March the army was assembled at Caudela, to the number of sixteen
thousand men; under the auspices of the marquis das Minas, to whom the
earl of Galway was second in command. They marched towards Yecla, and
undertook the siege of Vilena; but having received in