their cavalry riding on the spur to seek for corpses, among which was that of the gallant eminences. In August the Scots regiment was withdrawn from Grave, and rejoined the forces of Turenne; and when, in 1673, the siege of Maestricht was undertaken with Monmouth's troops and the battalions of Douglas, the British mustered 8,000 men. The forces with the duke consisted of a squadron of the English Life Guards, the English regiments of Monmouth and Peterborough, and the Scottish regiments of Sir George Hamilton and another colonel unnamed. All these troops were engaged at the siege of Maestricht, which was undertaken by the King of France in person, and lasted thirteen days, with open trenches. Bishop Burnet says that at this siege the Duke of Monmouth distinguished himself greatly, "and was much considered upon it." The investment was conducted by the Count de Lorges; the fortifications were strong, and the garrison consisted of 6,000 men, under General Farjaux, a brave officer, who had distinguished himself in the Spanish service at the defence of Valenciennes. After the arrival of Louis the lines around Maestricht were drawn to perfection; three great batteries were raised against it, and then two more. By the 24th of June the besiegers had pushed their sap to the edge of the ditch; 300 grenadiers-a new species of force-supported by the First, or Chevalier d'Artagnan's, Company of Mousquetaires Gris, and four battalions of the regiment of Guards, led by the Comte de Montbrun, were ordered, about eleven o'clock at night, to attack the counterscarp near the gate leading to Tongres; but this force was gallantly encountered by a great body of volunteers who had thrown themselves into the place, and a furious combat ensued. It was maintained resolutely on both sides, till most of the officers of the besieged were killed or wounded, when they quitted the advanced half-moon. If this is the assault referred to in the "Lives of Eminent British Commanders," Monmouth, and not Montbrun, held the command, thus :: "The next operation which furnished to Captain Churchill the means of gathering fresh laurels was the siege and assault of Maestricht. Having accompanied the storming party, of which the Duke of Monmouth had the command, he was the first to plant the allied standard on the rampart; and he was one of twelve who, on the springing of a mine, maintained themselves in the demi-lune till supported." Three times was that fatal work taken and retaken. Farjaux sprang two other mines, and the Dutch remained masters of it, with a heap of Gascon adventurer, the Chevalier Claude de Batz de Castelmar d'Artagnan, who was captain of the Mousquetaires Gris, and with whose name the brilliant romance of Dumas has rendered us so familiar. It was found next day, when the Duke of Monmouth, at that time lieutenant-general in the trenches, retook the demi-lune, as he had sworn to do, or die in the attempt. After 3,000 of the garrison had fallen, and the dry season had made all the rivers and canals around it fordable, Maestricht surrendered on the 2nd of July. The only British officer of consideration who fell there was Robert Douglas, son of the Earl of Queensberry, who served with his brother John in the Scottish contingent. Captain Churchill, for his conspicuous gallantry, was publicly thanked by Louis XIV., “while by his own sovereign, to whom Monmouth recommended him as the preserver of his life, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel;" and on the 3rd of April, 1674, he was appointed to the command of the Earl of Peterborough's English regiment. By the "Historical Record of the English Life Guards," we learn that at Maestricht twelve privates of that corps highly distinguished themselves during the siege. Turenne, who commanded on the side of Germany, completed that high reputation which he had already won, of being the first general in Europe. In order to prevent a junction of different divisions of the German army, he passed the Rhine at Philipsburg. By this time Charles II. had concluded a treaty of peace with the Dutch Republic, and the Duke of Monmouth had returned home, but his troops still continued to serve Louis XIV. Thus we find the English corps of Monmouth and Churchill, and the Scots of Douglas and Hamilton, with the army of the Rhine, under Turenne. The Scots Royals were in brigade with the regiments of Plessis and La Ferte, under Brigadier-General the Marquis of Douglas, when the army took the field, and marched towards Heidelberg, to prevent the junction of the forces under the Duke of Lorraine and those under the Duke of Bournonville; and in the battle of the 16th of June, in which the former was defeated, "Le Regiment de Douglas" covered itself with distinction. At the head of 20,000 men, Turenne swept the Palatinate, and drew the allied princes beyond the Neckar and the Maine. "In all the encounters mentioned on this side," states the author of "Memoirs of the War, 1672-1679," "no forces were oftener seen, or more felt, or gained more honour by their firmness and bravery, than the Molsheim.] TURENNE SLAIN. 347 the victory of St. Gothard over the Turks, and outgeneralled Condé. English regiments (still remaining in the French sary in the Count de Montecuculi, who had won service), to whom the Germans attributed wholly Monsieur Turenne's success; but the divisions among the princes who made up the confederate armies may justly be said to have all the merit that was not personal in Monsieur Turenne." Information having reached the latter that the Germans had passed the Rhine and advanced to Molsheim, a town in Alsace, upon the river Brusch, ten miles from Strasburg, he quitted his camp an hour after midnight on the 3rd of October, and after a march of several hours arrived at the hemy's quarters, which were attacked with great spirit. In the conflict which took place in the grey light of dawn, amid woods and broken ground, the British troops displayed great gallantry, fighting with a spirit and resolution which even the stubborn Germans could not withstand. Many officers and men fell, but still the strife was continued, and Lord Duras had three horses killed under him. Eventually, however, the enemy were driven from the field, with the loss of ten pieces of cannon, thirty colours, and many prisoners (London Gazette). Lord Duras was afterwards Earl of Feversham; and Evelyn calls him "a valiant gentleman, whom His Majesty made an English baron of a cadet, and gave him his seate of Holmby, in Northamptonshire. The Germans were now reinforced by a number of fresh troops, when Marshal Turenne retired with the French and British forces, and took up a position near Elsace-Zaberne, by which he prevented the Imperialists deriving any advantage from their superiority in number. The Scots battalions of Douglas in the winter of 1675 were placed with other corps under the orders of the Marquis de Vauban, who was then besieging Dachstien, a town in the Bas-Rhin, on the right bank of the Brusch. It was still called "Le Regiment de Douglas," though its colonel had now been created Earl of Dumbarton in the peerage of Scotland, where the march of his regiment is still popular, and known as "Dumbarton's Drums." On the night of the 25th of January the trenches were opened, and on the night of the 28th the honour of storming the works was assigned to the Scottish veterans, who lost many officers and men. Among the killed was their major, who is stated by the French historians to have been an officer of great merit. On the following day, finding the Scottish troops close to the works, the Governor of Dachstien surrendered, and the army went into. winter-quarters ("Records of the 1st Royals"). May saw them again in the field near Strasburg, when Turenne found an almost equal adver During the summer of 1675, in the narrow strip of land between the Black Forest and the Rhine, these splendid leaders practised all the evolutions of war, one covering the empire and the other protecting Alsace from hostile invasion. The regiment of Douglas, after serving with others in this harassing service, was suddenly sent to Trèves to reinforce the garrison. Several sharp skirmishes ensued, and in one of these Captain John Douglas, another son of the second Earl of Queensberry, was killed. Want of provisions now began to be felt, and the memorialist before quoted states that this compelled Turenne to force one of the enemy's posts, near Trèves. A warm skirmish began, and the French were severely galled by two pieces of cannon that stood on an eminence. Turenne resolved to have them dislodged, and went forward with Lieutenant-General St. Hiliare to reconnoitre. During this a shot came from the battery that wounded the latter in the shoulder, and after ricochetting thrice upon the ground, struck Turenne upon the breast, and, without any wound that was apparent, laid him dead at the feet of his comrade. The soul of the French army had perished, and Montecuculi, on seeing that its movements had become paralysed, that the right wing had suddenly halted when advancing, with colours fluttering and waving, while the centre and left remained motionless, soon divined that his great adversary was no more. The command devolved on De Lorges, who began to recross the Rhine. A dreadful storm and a dark night concealed this movement from the Imperialists; and "a nocturnal retreat in an enemy's country, diffidence in their generals, disunited councils, and contradictory orders," bewildered the French. In one mass of confusion, cavalry, infantry, artillery, and baggage sought a passage over the stream at the Kenig. The task of covering the rear was assigned to the Scottish infantry and Marshal Bouffler's dragoons; 4,000 foot and 2,000 horse attacked them. Reiterated charges were made under the eye of Montecuculi, but were steadily thrown back by dint of pike and musket, and the Records of the Royals state that, in "making this retrograde movement, the gallant conduct of two battalions of veteran Scots saved the main army from severe loss. Trèves was afterwards besieged by the Germans, and the British regiments highly distinguished themselves in the defence of the city, under the command of the Marquis de Crequi, to whom they when their armies began to encounter in June. On the 5th of that month, when the French were retreating through the mountains near Saverne, the rear guard was attacked with great fury by the German cavalry, and several French squadrons were thrown into confusion; but as the German horse galloped into the pass in fierce pursuit, the British infantry, having taken post on some high ground, opened upon them so tremendous a fire of musketry that the Lorraine Dragoons were nearly destroyed; but in this encounter Sir George Hamilton, colonel of a Scots battalion, and many other officers of distinction, were killed. During the campaign of 1677, under the Marshal de Crequi, the British troops were so much reduced One of the oldest and quaintest streets in Bruges is still called the Rue d'Ecosse, or Scottinen Straet, in memory of some of those affairs. After much manoeuvring, the Prince of SaxeEisenach, who commanded a division of Germans, having been driven into an island of the Rhine, was forced to capitulate; and soon after Charles II., having concluded a treaty with the Dutch, gave orders for the British troops in the French service to return home, and this order was obeyed by all save the Scots Guards, the Scots Gensd'Armes, and some Irish regiments; and hence from the year 1678 the Scots Royals, or 1st Foot, has been permanently on the British establishment. Three companies of the Foot Guards, which formed 4th. of beaver hats, and carried hatchets and swords matches. 3rd. Handle your grenadoes. in addition to their firelocks and plug-bayonets. Open your fuses. 5th. Guard your fuse. 6th. They were instructed to ignite the fuses, and to Blow your matches. 7th. Fire, and throw your cast the grenades into forts and trenches amid grenadoes. 8th. Return your matches. 9th. the enemy, where the explosion of these miniature Handle your slings. 10th. Poise your firelocks." bombs (which were about the size of oranges, Grenadiers were first instituted in France in and have unaccountably fallen into disuse) was 1667, when five were added to each company of calculated to do much execution; and the men, the line regiments. deriving their name from this missile, were styled "grenadiers." Evelyn's account of their first appearance on Hounslow Heath is somewhat absurd. "Now were brought into the service a new sort of soldiers, called grenadiers. They had furred caps with coped crowns, like janissaries, which made them look very Their duties were deemed more arduous than those of the pikemen and musketeers, hence the tallest and strongest men were always selected for the grenadier company, which, long after the use of the grenade had been relinquished, constituted the right-flank company of every British regiment till the epoch of the Crimean War. At their institution, however, grenadiers were not confined to the infantry, for to each of the Horse Guard corps were added sixty-four grenadiers, with two lieutenants, four non-commissioned officers, two drummers, and two fifers, who were also distinguished by fur caps and looped-up clothing ("Grose's Military Antiquities "); and to this day the Scots Greys wear grenades upon their appointments. Chain bridles for the cavalry are first mentioned about this time, as being used by the Walloon horse in a fight near Bois-le-Duc. CHAPTER LXIII. ST. DENIS, 1678. On the 10th of August, the Duke of Monmouth, who was in command of the united English and Scottish contingents, landed at Ostend, and inspected them at their quarters in Nieuport. THE rapid conquests of the French in Flanders | "trimmed with gold and silver fringes, and strings during this year filled the Dutch with alarm and and tassells suitable." the English with indignation; but Louis XIV. managed them both so judiciously that neither proved a bar to his ambition. By intrigues he increased a desire for peace among the former, by awakening a jealousy of the designs of the Prince of Orange, on account of his earnest desire for a continuance of the war. He secretly won over Charles II.; but so great was the ardour of the people of England for war, arising probably from old hereditary hate of the French, that both king and Parliament were compelled to give way to it: an army of 20,000 men was enrolled in a few weeks, and a portion of this force was destined for the security of Ostend. This was about the time when the king was stipulating that the British standing army should not be above 8,000 men, viz., 5,000 for England, and 3,000 for Scotland. By letters from the Duke of York to the Prince of Orange, printed in the Appendix to "Dalrymple's Memoirs of Great Britain," it appears that in July the troops began to embark at Blackwall for Nieuport and Bruges, and that by the 26th of the same month we had in Flanders fourteen battalions of infantry, each 700 strong; twentyseven troops of horse, sixty in each troop; and twelve troops of dragoons, each of eighty files. The Earl of Feversham was in command at first. Great expense was incurred for the clothing of the troops, which was furnished out of "His Majesty's Great Wardrobe. For the trumpeters and kettledrummers were issued velvet coats and scarlet cloaks, trimmed with silver and silk lace, embroidered with the royal crown and cypher on their backs and breasts;" also "rich embroidered banners, trimmed with gold and silver fringes, and painted banners, trimmed with silk fringes;" and colours for the King's Royal Regiment of Dragoons, and for the Queen's Regiment of Horse, The city of Mons having been for some time blocked up by Marshal Luxembourg, and reduced to dire necessity, the Prince of Orange resolved to save it, and to signalise himself by a desperate attempt in the field. The Duke of Monmouth. joined him with all his forces, while six regiments of British infantry were detached, under the Earl of Ossory, to act in conjunction with the Spaniards. There were the three English battalions of Monmouth and Colonels Wesley and Belasis; and also the three Scottish battalions of Major-General Kirkpatrick, Sir Alexander Colyear, and Colonel Mackay. The latter body became, in future years, the Scots Brigade, or old 94th Regiment of the Line. On Sunday, the 14th of August, 1678, the Prince of Orange came in front of the united forces with his staff. In person he was somewhat undersized, with brown hair, a long pale face, keen cunning eyes, a huge Roman nose, yet one that had little majesty in it; and Bishop Burnet states that the weakness of his constitution caused him to make but an indifferent figure, whether on foot or horseback. Giving the order to march, he broke up his camp at Soignies, a town of Flanders, in the province of Hainault, in the neighbourhood of a forest, at the southern extremity of which lies the famous field of Waterloo. Marching along highways bordered by trees and meadows or cornfields, all lately swamped and sodden by the cutting of the dykes and canals, the army passed Roches; and, to attempt the relief of Mons, came in sight of the enemy, whose right wing was posted at the abbey of St. |