Asti, one of the strongest places in Italy, which was garrisoned with five thousand French troops. The pretext assigned for this violation of his engagements was, the danger of the citadel of Milan falling into the hands of the Spaniards, who were preparing to besiege it; but his true motive was, a desire of recovering the confidence of his old, or of bringing matters to a crisis with his new allies. The success of the measure exceeded his most sanguine expectations. The confederates were confirmed in their opinion of his good faith, and the king of France was still amused with assurances of friendship. Don Philip accused Maillebois of treachery, for not attempting to cover Asti2. And the Spaniards, having no reliance on their allies, immediately raised the siege of the citadel of Milan, and marched to Pavia; while the French general, afraid that his communication with Genoa and Provence might be cut off by the Austrians, whose strength increased every day in Italy, evacuated all the countries in the neighbourhood of the Tanaro and the Po, and retired to Novi.

The Austrian army, under the prince of Lichtenstein, now amounted to forty thousand men, and that of the king of Sardinia to thirty-six thousand. Having no formidable enemy to oppose them, by reason of the misunderstanding between the French and Spaniards, they recovered all the Piedmontese fortresses; and entering the duchy of Milan, drove Maillebois from Novi, ravaged the territory of Cremona, and took Lodi, Guastalla, Parma, and other places. Meantime a reconciliation having been brought about between the courts of Versailles and Madrid, Maillebois formed a junction with Don Philip at Placentia, and a resolution was taken to force the Aus trian camp at St. Lazaro, before the arrival of the king of Sardinia. An attack was accordingly made and supported with great intrepidity; but so masterly was the conduct of the prince of Lichtenstein, and so obstinate the courage

2. Mem. de Noailles, tom. iv. And he would have ordered that general to be arrested, had his heat not been moderated by the count de Gages, who commanded under him. Id. ibid.

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of the Austrians, that the assailants were compelled to retire, after a bloody contest of nine hours, leaving six thousand men dead on the field and about an equal number wounded.

Soon after this disaster, Don Philip and his associates received intelligence of an event which threw them into new perplexity; namely, the death of Philip V. of Spain. Weak, but virtuous, he was governed successively by two ambitious women, who infused fresh spirit into the Spanish councils, and roused him, notwithstanding his natural indolence, to the most vigorous measures, and most arduous enterprises. The first prince of the house of Bourbon, who sat upon the Spanish throne, under his reign, the slumbering genius of the nation began to revive, and with it the splendour of the monarchy. He was succeeded by his son Ferdinand VI. who at first embraced with ardour the principles of the union between the two branches of the house of Bourbon, and resolved steadily to pursue the objects for which that union had been formed by Elizabeth Farnese, the queen-dowager, who still directed the councils of Madrid.

Don Philip and Maillebois, however, ignorant of the sentiments of the new king in regard to the Italian war, and hard pressed by the allies, were desirous of securing a communication with France. A retreat was accordingly agreed upon. This was thought a desperate expedient, as the king of Sardinia had now joined the Austrian army, and assumed the chief command. But without the assurance of immediate support, it was perhaps the best that could be adopted in such circumstances, as the French and Spaniards were in danger of being shut up between the Po, the Lambro, the Tidona, and the Trebia, by a vastly superior and victorious force.

The retreat was conducted with great ability by the count de Maillebois, son of the mareschal of that name. He led the van, and his father and the count de Gages brought up the rear; yet could they not prevent the king

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of Sardinia from attacking them to advantage at Rotto Fredo, where they behaved with great gallantry, but sustained a severe loss. The surrender of Placentia, which was defended by four thousand men, under the marquis de Castello, was the consequence of this victory.

The Piedmontese and Austrians, conducted by the king of Sardinia, assisted by the generals Botta and Brown, (prince Lichtenstein having been obliged to retire on account of his ill state of health) now advanced to Tortona, which was surrendered to them, while the French and Spaniards took shelter under the cannon of Genoa. Here it was expected they would have made a stand, as that city, by its situation, is very capable of defence. But the marquis de las Minas, who had succeeded the count de Gages in the command under Don Philip, did not judge it prudent to hazard the loss of the remains. of the Spanish army. Maillebois concurred in his opinion; so that the Genoese, after repeated assurances of support, were abandoned to their fate. Don Philip retired toward Savoy, which was still in his possession, and Maillebois into Provence.

The retreat of the French and Spaniards was immediately followed by the surrender of Genoa. That haughty republic was subjected to the most humiliating conditions, and the proud city loaded with oppressive and arbitrary contributions. The arrogance and rapacity of Botta, the Austrian general, to whom the command of the place had been committed, exceeded all description. And he was encouraged in his tyrannical proceedings by the court of Vienna; which, deaf to the supplications of a distressed people, seemed determined to reduce the Genoese to the lowest state of wretchedness. His most cruel exactions, and even those of Coteck, the. commissary-general, who surpassed him in rapacity, were thought too mild and moderate.

The Austrian and Piedmontese armies having now no enemy to encounter, the commanders were employed, for a time, in deliberating toward what quarter they should

should turn their arms. Botta, who knew how much the heart of his mistress was set upon recovering Naples, proposed that the Genoese should be compelled to furnish transports for invading that kingdom. And had such in vasion been instantly undertaken, it could not have failed of success, as the king of Naples had few regular troops beside those in the army of Don Philip.

The consequences of such a conquest to Great-Britain would have been of the utmost importance. Spain, in that event, would have been under the necessity of deserting France, and concluding a separate peace. And she would have been obliged to purchase it with the sacrifice of her most valuable commercial interests, by giving up her exclusive right to the trade of her American dominions. The two great branches of the house of Bourbon would have been disunited; and England and Austria would have given law to France, after having obtained their own conditions from the catholic king3.

But the king of Sardinia had other interests to manage. He desired nothing less than to see the house of Austria all-powerful in Italy. He therefore persuaded the court of London, which held the purse, and consequently took the lead, in the course of a long and expensive war, that it would be more advantageous to the common cause to invade France; and that by the co-operation of the British fleet, not only Antibes, but Toulon and Marseilles, might speedily be reduced. The consent of the court of Vienna was obtained, and count Brown' entered Provence at the head of fifty thousand men. Advancing as far as Draguignan, he laid the whole country under contribution; while baron Roth invested Antibes, which was at the same time bombarded by a British squadron, under vice-admiral Medley. But the mareschal de Belleisle, a man fruitful in resources, and intimately acquainted with the whole science of war, hav

3. Mem. de Noailles, tom. iv. Memoire sur les Affairs l'Italie.

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ing succeeded Maillebois in the command of the French army, so effectually cut off the provisions of the invaders, and otherwise harassed them, that the Austrian general, though able, active, and enterprising, found himself under the necessity of repassing the Var; and the siege of Antibes was relinquished, after many fruitless efforts, both by sea and land; the place being gallantly defended by the chevalier de Sade.

The utter failure of this expedition was partly owing to a very singular change of fortune in Italy. The inhabi tants of Genoa, driven to despair by the oppressions of the Austrians, had risen against their conquerors, and expelled them. Though degenerate even to a proverb, they seemed inspired with all their ancient spirit of liberty, when they felt the galling fetters of slavery, and resolved to attempt the recovery of that freedom which they had wanted valour to defend. Secretly encouraged in this bold purpose by some of the senators, who also directed their measures, they flew to arms, determined to perish to a man, rather than live any longer in such cruel and ignominious servitude. And so firm was their perseverance in this resolution, and so vigorous the impulse by which they were actuated, that the marquis de Botta, after having sustained great loss, in a variety of struggles, and been driven from every important post, was obliged finally to evacuate the city. Nor did the patriotic zeal of the Genoese stop here: they took the most effectual steps for their future security, conscious that they were still surrounded by their oppressors.

The naval transactions of this year do little honour to the British flag. Nothing of any importance happened in the West-Indies. In the East-Indies, commodore Peyton, who commanded six stout ships, shamefully declined a second engagement with a French squadron of equal or inferior force; and La Bourdonnais, the French commander, in consequence of Peyton's cowardice, made himself master of the English settlement at Madras, on the coast of Coromandel. No event of any consequence happened

VOL. V.

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