At the close of the engagement he dispatched an official account to secretary Harley, and in a short letter respectfully notified his victory to the queen.

"I most humbly presume to inform your majesty, that the success of our first attack of the enemy has been equal to the justice of the cause your majesty has so graciously and zealously espoused. Mr. Secretary Harley will have the honour to lay the relation of yesterday's action before you. To which I shall crave leave to add, that our success is in a great measure owing to the particular blessing of God, and the unparalleled bravery of your troops. I shall endeavour to improve the happy beginning, to your majesty's glory, and the benefit of your allies."

But it is his private correspondence with lord Godolphin and the duchess, which best exhibits his views and feelings, in the moment of victory.

"You will see by Mr. Secretary Harley's letter, that in our last camp I took the resolution of attacking the bavarians that were posted on the Schellenberg, which I did yesterday. It is a hill that commands the town of Donawerth, which passage on the Danube is what would be very advantageous to us, for I would make the magazine for our army there. there. If we had the cannon ready, we could not fail of taking it; but our misfortune is, that all things are wanting here; but prince Louis assures me that we shall have 20 pieces of battery here in four days, which I am afraid is impossible. Our english foot have lost a great many, the heat of the action being on our left. I must refer you to Mr. Secretary's letter for such particulars as I am able to write at this time. I am not able to do more than to thank you for three of your's, which I have received since my last letter, being so tired that I can hardly hold my pen, so that till the next post I must take my leave."

--and the Memoires du Marquis de Maffei, who has given a circumstantial account of what passed in the gallo-bavarian camp.

To THE DUCHESS.

"Obermorgen, June 23-July 4.

"I think myself so happy in my dearest soul's love, that I know she will be better pleased with two lines that I am well after the action we had yesterday, than with whole volumes on another occasion. It has pleased God, after a very obstinate defence, to have given us the victory, by which we have ruined the best of the elector's foot, for there was very little horse. My lord treasurer will let you see Mr. Secretary Harley's letter, if you care to see what the action was. The english foot have suffered a good deal, but none of your acquaintance are hurt, except Mr. Meredith and major-general Wood, neither in danger.

"Now that I have told you the good, I must tell you the ill news, which is, that the marshal de Villeroy, has promised the elector of Bavaria that he will send him, by way of the Black Forest, 50 battalions of foot and 60 squadrons of horse, as he tells him in his letter, the best troops of France, which would make him stronger than we. But I rely very much on the assurances prince Eugene gave me yesterday by his adjutant-general, that he would venture the whole, rather than suffer them to pass quietly as the last did.

"Let my dear children know I am well.

"You have done so well that the cannon ought to fire for this victory." The successful result of this action contributed to aggravate the misunderstanding which had already arisen from the discordant characters of the two commanders. Although the plan had been formed by Marlborough, and although it would never have been executed by his colleague; yet as the margrave first entered the entrenchment, his partisans ascribed to him the chief honour of the victory. From the army this feud spread into Holland, where the faction which had already laboured to depreciate the talents of Marlborough, seized this plea to diminish the merit of his services, by striking a medal, representing on one side the head of the margrave, and on the other, the lines of Schellenberg, with the

may let my lord treasurer know that I think the english

motto "Hoste caso, fugato, castris direptis," &c. without any allusion to the skill and energy of the british commander.*

On the other hand, Marlborough in all his letters speaks with dislike if not contempt of his colleague; and the official gazette only mentions him incidentally, among the superior officers who were wounded.

The dissatisfaction between the two chiefs hourly gained strength. In many of Marlborough's letters we find heavy accusations against the inertness of the margrave, and complaints that he was shackled in all his designs by the captious and jealous spirit of his colleague. The german commander was doubtless not wanting in recriminations; for in works written at the period by those who were attached to his cause, we find Marlborough depicted as arrogant, suspicious, repulsive, and as boasting that he had marched into Germany, to give spirit to the natives and spurs to the french.

Marlborough was, however, consoled for these petty efforts of impotent malice, by the general applause of the public. The terror of his arms was not merely felt in France, but extended to those states who favoured the Bourbon cause in Italy. In a congratulatory letter, written on this occasion, the duke of Shrewsbury, who was then at home, observes:

"I will not suspend your time with politic reflections, which you can make much better than I, but must tell you that in this holy, ignorant city they have an idea of you as of a Tamerlane; and had I a picture of old colonel Birch with his whiskers, I could put it off for yours; and change it for one done by Raphael."

At Vienna the benefit of his services was acknowledged with transports of gratitude. The victory of Schellenberg was hailed as the token of deliverance from the ruin which impended over the house of Austria. Every tongue was lavish in praising the bravery of the english troops, the generous aid of the queen, and the zeal and conduct of the illustrious commander. "The whole court,"

* In Ledyard, vol. 1, p. 335..

to use the language of Mr. Stepney, " is quite changed,* and the young king of the Romans, even on his way to chapel, broke through the severe rules of austrian etiquette, to testify his exultation to the british minister.

The cold and phlegmatic Leopold, also, who had scrupled to lay aside the formalities of state in thanking the gallant Sobieski for the deliverance of Vienna,† was roused to an unusual transport, and wrote to the victorious chief a letter of congratulation in his own hand, an honour rarely conferred except on sovereign princes. After thanking him for his care and diligence in bringing forward the succours furnished by the queen, he continues:

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Nothing can be more glorious than the celerity and vigour with which after the junction of your army and mine, you forced the camp of the enemy at Donawerth; since my generals and ministers declare that the success of the enterprise, which is most acceptable and opportune to me, was chiefly owing to your counsel, prudence, and conduct, as well as to the bravery of the troops who fought under your command."

Having declared that he would omit no opportunity of rewarding his merits, and testified his hopes of farther success, he concludes: "This will be an eternal trophy to your most serene queen in Upper Germany, whither the victorious arms of the english nation have never penetrated since the memory of man."+

Mr. Stepney to secretary Harley, Vienna, July 9, 1704. State Paper Office. + House of Austria, v. 1, p. 2, ch. 66.

Translation from the original in the Blenheim Papers-also Ledyard, vol. 1, p. 419.

CHAPTER 24.

1704.

Consequences of the victory on the Schellenberg-The gallo-bavarians commence their retreat to Augsburg-The allies occupy Donawerth-Pass the Danube and Lech, and capture Rain, Aicha and Friedburgh—The gallo-bavarians take post under the walls of Augsburg-Negotiation with the elector of Bavaria—His country given up to military execution—A principality of the empire again offered to Marlborough— Application on the subject from the emperor to the queen.

HAPPILY the apprehensions which Marlborough had ex

pressed in one of the preceding letters, that the enemy would defend Donawerth to the last extremity, proved groundless. For the elector, after witnessing the defeat of his troops from the farther bank of the Lech, hastily rejoined the army, and commenced his retreat towards Augsburg, in which position he hoped to impede the operations of the confederates, at the same time that he preserved the communications which would enable him to receive succours from France. As the possession of Donawerth was inconsistent with this system of defence, he directed the garrison to withdraw, after setting fire to the magazines and bridge. But they were not sufficiently prompt in the execution of this order; for the confederates entered the town at the moment of their retreat, and extinguished the conflagration before it had produced the intended effect. Marlborough was highly gratified by this unexpected success, as we find from a letter to the duchess:

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Donawerth, July 4, 1704. "I writ to my dearest soul yesterday, giving her an account of God's having blessed us with a victory the day before, the effect of