e
among the most frantic to cheer him. Who could refuse his meed of
admiration to such a victory and such a victor? Not he who writes: a man
may profess to be ever so much a philosopher; but he who fought on that
day must feel a thrill of pride as he recalls it.

The French right was posted near to the village of Blenheim, on the
Danube, where the Marshal Tallard's quarters were; their line extending
through, it may be a league and a half, before Lutzingen and up to a
woody hill, round the base of which, and acting against the Prince of
Savoy, were forty of his squadrons.

Here was a village that the Frenchmen had burned, the wood being, in
fact, a better shelter and easier of guard than any village.

Before these two villages and the French lines ran a little stream, not
more than two foot broad, through a marsh (that was mostly dried up
from the heats of the weather), and this stream was the only separation
between the two armies--ours coming up and ranging themselves in line
of battle before the French, at six o'clock in the morning; so that our
line was quite visible to theirs; and the whole of this great plain was
black and swarming with troops for hours before the cannonading began.

On one side and the other this cannonading lasted many hours. The French
guns being in position in front of their line, and doing severe damage
among our horse especially, and on our right wing of Imperialists under
the Prince of Savoy, who could neither advance his artillery nor his
lines, the ground before him being cut up by ditches, morasses, and very
difficult of passage for the guns.

It was past mid-day when the attack began on our left, where Lord Cutts
commanded, the bravest and most beloved officer in the English army.
And now, as if to make his experience in war complete, our young
aide-de-camp having seen two great armies facing each other in line of
battle, and had the honor of riding with orders from one end to other
of the line, came in for a not uncommon accompaniment of military glory,
and was knocked on the head, along with many hundred of brave fellows,
almost at the very commencement of this famous day of Blenheim. A little
after noon, the disposition for attack being completed with much delay
and difficulty, and under a severe fire from the enemy's guns, that
were better posted and more numerous than ours, a body of English and
Hessians, with Major-General Wilkes commanding at the extreme left of
our line, ma