vertheless, the fruits of victory were gathered by the French. Their
immense superiority of numbers gave them the power of overrunning the
whole country; and the Imperial court, either from indolence,
heedlessness, or intrigue, failed to take any step to support its arms
in Italy; so that all which Eugene had taken, sooner or later fell
into the enemy's hands, and he himself, disgusted with the neglect he
had met with, left his army under the command of another, and set out
to see whether he could not procure some reinforcement, or at least
some supply of money to pay or provide for his forces. At Vienna he
found good reason to suspect that Count Mansfield, the minister of
war, had by some means been gained to the interest of France. But, in
the meanwhile Eugene was appointed minister of war; and sometime
after, in this capacity, proceeded to confer with Marlborough on the
united interests of England and Austria.

This negotiation was most successful; and here seems to have been
concerted the scheme which Marlborough afterward so gloriously pursued
for carrying on the war against France on the side of Germany, and of
thus freeing the Empire. In a military point of view, also, Eugene's
efforts, though supported by no great army, and followed by no great
victory, were wise and successful. He foiled the Hungarian rebels in
their bold attack upon Vienna, checked them in their progress
everywhere, and laid the foundation of their after subjugation. Soon
after this, Eugene took the command of the Imperial army on the Rhine;
and after considerable manoeuvring singly, to prevent the junction of
the French army with that of the Duke of Bavaria, finding it
impossible, he effected his own junction with the Duke of Marlborough,
and shared in the glories of the field of Blenheim.

Eugene was here always in the thickest of the fight, yet never for a
moment forgot that he was called upon to act as a general rather than
a soldier. His operations were planned as clearly and commanded as
distinctly in the midst of the hottest conflict, as if no tumult had
raged around him, and no danger had been near to distract his
attention; yet his horse was killed under him in the early part of the
battle; and at one moment, a Bavarian dragoon was seen holding him by
the coat with one hand, while he levelled a pistol at his head with
the other. One of the Imperialists, however, coming up at the moment,
freed his general from this unpleasant situatio