ht lines,
four of infantry in front, and dragoons and cavalry behind.

The French began the action, as usual, with a cannonade which lasted
three hours, when they made their attack, advancing in eight lines, four
of foot and four of horse, upon the allied troops in the wood where we
were posted. Their infantry behaved ill; they were ordered to charge
with the bayonet, but, instead, began to fire, and almost at the very
first discharge from our men, broke and fled. The cavalry behaved
better; with these alone, who were three or four times as numerous as
our whole force, Monsieur de la Mothe might have won victory: but only
two of our battalions were shaken in the least; and these speedily
rallied: nor could the repeated attacks of the French horse cause our
troops to budge an inch from the position in the wood in which our
General had placed them.

After attacking for two hours, the French retired at nightfall entirely
foiled. With all the loss we had inflicted upon him, the enemy was still
three times stronger than we: and it could not be supposed that our
General could pursue M. de la Mothe, or do much more than hold our
ground about the wood, from which the Frenchman had in vain attempted
to dislodge us. La Mothe retired behind his forty guns, his cavalry
protecting them better than it had been enabled to annoy us; and
meanwhile the convoy, which was of more importance than all our little
force, and the safe passage of which we would have dropped to the last
man to accomplish, marched away in perfect safety during the action, and
joyfully reached the besieging camp before Lille.

Major-General Cadogan, my Lord Duke's Quarter-Master-General, (and
between whom and Mr. Webb there was no love lost), accompanied the
convoy, and joined Mr. Webb with a couple of hundred horse just as the
battle was over, and the enemy in full retreat. He offered, readily
enough, to charge with his horse upon the French as they fell back; but
his force was too weak to inflict any damage upon them; and Mr. Webb,
commanding as Cadogan's senior, thought enough was done in holding
our ground before an enemy that might still have overwhelmed us had we
engaged him in the open territory, and in securing the safe passage of
the convoy. Accordingly, the horse brought up by Cadogan did not draw
a sword; and only prevented, by the good countenance they showed, any
disposition the French might have had to renew the attack on us. And no
attack coming,