In less than three years, the Queen of Hungary's affairs wore a prosperous aspect : The French were dri ven out of Bohemia, Prince Charles of Lorraine defeated the Bavarians at Brannan, and the Croatians penetrated the Tyrol to the gates of Munich. Her rival, the no minal emperor, fled to Franckfort, and agreed to con tinue neutral during the war, which the French had be gun as allies, but now supported as principals. Lord Stair, who commanded the British army, sent to the Queen of Hungary's aid, being anxious to join Prince Charles of Lorraine, pushed forward towards the Mayne ; while the French under Marshal Noailles, 60,000 strong, possessed the eastern side of the river ; and by their movements, threatened to cut off all the supplies of the English army. The King of England arriving at this critical period, marched on his troops in order to join some German succours at Hanau ; but the French enclosed him as he advanced, at the village 01 Dettingen, in such a manner that he could not remain without starving, nor fight without disgdvantage. The impetuosity of the French extricated our troops from a most dangerous situation ; they passed a defile which they should have guarded, gave battle to the British, and were repulsed across the Mayne with the loss of 5000 men. The British monarch atoned for the want of prudence, which had brought his army into a snare, by a signal display of personal spirit and gallantry. The conquerors, however, were obliged to leave their wound ed to the care of the enemy, their situation being still too hazardous to be maintained even after a victory.
On the Rhine, and in Italy, the French were more successful ; nor did the enterprising and turbulent mi nister, Tencin, who now headed their councils, despair of replacing. the Pretender on the British throne. Pre parations were made at Dunkirk for embarking 15,000 troops. The duke de Rocquefueille, with 20 ships of the line, was to cover their descent, and count Saxe was to command them ; but the appearance of sir John Nor ris, with a superior fleet, disconcerted the whole plan ; on which the French thought proper to declare war. Alter this disappointment, the combined fleets of France and Spain ventured out of the harbour of Toulon, and were attacked by the British, who were superior in strength and numbers ; but the battle was desultory and indecisive, owing to the mutual animosity of the British admirals : Matthews rushed precipitately into the en gagement with his division, but was not seconded by Lestock. On the third day, after a confused combat, Lestock pursued the enemy, but was not seconded by the other admiral. Matthews, however, who, notwith 'standing this failure, had alone fought with gallantry, was tried, and dismissed the service, while Lestock was acquitted, who had been principally to blame. • In the campaign of 1744, the French army in the Netherlands under count Saxe amounted to 120,000 ; while the English, Hanoverian, Dutch, and Austrian al lies, hardly mustering above 70,000, could not prevent them from taking Friburgh, and in being in a situation early in the next campaign for investing Tournay. In ferior as the allies were, the duke of Cumberland led them on to attack the French, who held an eminence be hind the town of Fontenoy. At two in the morning, the assailants moved on ; about nine the British infantry bore clown upon the enemy's line, who formed an avenue to receive them, and their artillery continued to perforate this forlorn body till about three in the afternoon, when they were obliged to retreat. The allies lost 12,000 men; but though the French lost nearly an equal num ber, they fixed their superiority during that campaign, as well as during the remainder of the war. The cap ture of Tournay was the first fruits of their victory ; and, though the Elector of Bavaria, whom they had proclaim ed emperor, was now dead, they were too much elated to remit hostilities against the allies.
Amidst the alarming prospect of a foreign invasion, the king's councils were committed to a ministry com posed of more popular characters : lord Carteret, now created earl Granville, avoided impending danger and disgrace, by a voluntary resignation. The earl of Har rington succeeded him as secretary of state ; the duke of Bedford was appointed first lord of the admiralty ; the earl of Chesterfield, lord-lieutenant of Ireland ; and Mr Lyttleton was made a commissioner of the treasury. About the same time a quadruple alliance was signed at Warsaw between the queen of Hungary, Britain, Hol land, and Poland ; and his Polish majesty was subsidised by Britain and the States General with 150,000/. a-year. To balance the bad success which had attended our continental operations, the admirals Rowley and War ren retrieved the honour of the British flag, and several rich prizes were captured at sea. The fortress of Louis•
burg, in Cape Breton, in North America, surrendered to general Pepperell.
At this critical period of the war, the son of the Pre tender resolved to make an effort at recovering the Bri tish throne. Since the projected invasion of count Saxe had miscarried, Charles had lived privately at Graveline, under the name of the Chevalier Douglas ; but the re port of the immense havoc at Fontenoy, and the belief that Britain had but a handful of regular troops at home, gave hopes to his ambition, and drew him from his re treat. The French court knew of his design, but they supported it only feebly and indirectly. By the help of two French merchants, of Irish extraction, whose names were Walsh and Ruttledge, he obtained a man of war of 60 guns, and a frigate of 16, and some money and arms. Lord Clare, an emigrant Jacobite, raised 100 ma rines. With these he embarked from Nantz for Scot land, accompanied by a few friends, and with muskets for 2000 men, five or six hundred broad swords, and about 4000/. in money, his only means for reducing a great empire. In his course towards the Hebrides, an English man of war engaged his largest ship and dis abled her. Charles, however, pursued his way to the Hebrides, in his small vessel, the Doutelle, and put ashore at Erisca, a small island in the western High lands. From thence he proceeded to Boradale, a situa tion the most inaccessible in the Hebrides, and surround ed by those chiefs who, in former times, had fought the battles of the Stuarts. The first chief that came to him, at Boradale, was Cameron of Lochiel, the son of the elder Lochiel, to whom the Pretender had entrusted his principal confidence in Scotland. Lochiel, though dis tinguished by his hereditary energy of character, wad too wise not to foresee the consequences of so desperate an enterprise, and waited on the Pretender only to give him his reasons, in person, for refusing to join him. On his way to Charles, the chieftain met with his brother, to whom he imparted the purpose of his journey. Bro ther, said the younger Cameron, I know you better than you know yourself; if the prince sets eyes on you, you are a lost man. Lochicl, however, proceeded, and the event was as the other had predicted. Lochiel having intreated the prince to remain concealed, at least for a while, till his friends should have consulted ; Charles im patiently replied, that in 'a few days be would erect his standard, and put all to the hazard. Lochiel, said be, who my father has often told me was our firmest friend, may stay at home, and learn from the newspapers the fate of his prince. The reproach of disloyalty touched the Highlander, and swayed him against his hetterrea son. No, said Lochiel, I will share the fate of my prince, and so shall every man over whom nature or fortune has given me any power. Such was the conversation, on the result of which peace or war depended ; for if Lo chiel had persisted in refusing to take arms, it is cer tain that the other chiefs would not have joined the standard of rebellion. In a short time Charles was join ed by other clans, and, advancing from Lochaber,his ar my still increasing as he proceeded, he reached Perth, where he is said to have shewn, to one of his friends, the only guinea in the world which he possessed. He levied contributions, however, and proclaimed his father king. Entering Edinburgh, without opposition, he repeated the same ceremony ; and learning that sir John Cope was approaching with the royal forces, he marched out to Prestonpans, about ten miles from the Scottish capi tal, and put the royal troops to a total route, with the slaughter of 500 men. This victory gave hopes, more sanguine than solid, to his party. He was joined, at Edinburgh, by the earl of Kilmarnock, the lords Elcho, Balmerino, Ogilvie, Pitsligo, and the eldest son of the old lord Lovat, a traitor, who had fluctuated in his infi delity between the houses of Stuart and Hanover ; and who now secretly aided the Pretender, while he openly professed his loyalty to government. While Charles was unwisely delaying at Edinburgh, the government was active in preparation ; and the people, though un accustomed to arms, and terrified by the suddenness of the irruption, voluntarily embodied, and trained them selves to arms. Six thousand Dutch troops, in the mean time, came northward, under general Wade ; and the duke of Cumberland arriving from Flanders, was followed by a detachment of dragoons and infantry.