e forced to
raise it. My Lord Marlborough gave this as his opinion openly; those who
mistrusted him, and Mr. Esmond owns himself to be of the number, hinted
that the Duke had his reasons why Lille should not be taken, and that he
was paid to that end by the French King. If this was so, and I believe
it, General Webb had now a remarkable opportunity of gratifying his
hatred of the Commander-in-Chief, of balking that shameful avarice,
which was one of the basest and most notorious qualities of the famous
Duke, and of showing his own consummate skill as a commander. And when
I consider all the circumstances preceding the event which will now
be related, that my Lord Duke was actually offered certain millions
of crowns provided that the siege of Lille should be raised: that the
Imperial army before it was without provisions and ammunition, and must
have decamped but for the supplies that they received; that the march
of the convoy destined to relieve the siege was accurately known to the
French; and that the force covering it was shamefully inadequate to that
end, and by six times inferior to Count de la Mothe's army, which
was sent to intercept the convoy; when 'tis certain that the Duke of
Berwick, De la Mothe's chief, was in constant correspondence with his
uncle, the English Generalissimo: I believe on my conscience that 'twas
my Lord Marlborough's intention to prevent those supplies, of which the
Prince of Savoy stood in absolute need, from ever reaching his Highness;
that he meant to sacrifice the little army which covered this convoy,
and to betray it as he had betrayed Tollemache at Brest; as he had
betrayed every friend he had, to further his own schemes of avarice or
ambition. But for the miraculous victory which Esmond's general won over
an army six or seven times greater than his own, the siege of Lille
must have been raised; and it must be remembered that our gallant little
force was under the command of a general whom Marlborough hated, that he
was furious with the conqueror, and tried by the most open and shameless
injustice afterwards to rob him of the credit of his victory.

CHAPTER XV.

GENERAL WEBB WINS THE BATTLE OF WYNENDAEL.

By the besiegers and besieged of Lille, some of the most brilliant feats
of valor were performed that ever illustrated any war. On the French
side (whose gallantry was prodigious, the skill and bravery of Marshal
Boufflers actually eclipsing those of his conqueror, the P