FRANCE THREATENED WITH TOTAL RUIN.

The French king at this juncture seemed to be entirely abandoned by his former good fortune. He had sustained such a number of successive defeats as had drained his kingdom of people, and his treasury was almost exhausted. He endeavoured to support the credit of his government by issuing mint-bills, in imitation of the bank-notes of England; but, notwithstanding all his precautions, they passed at a discount of three-and-fifty per cent. The lands lay uncultivated; the manufactures could be no longer carried on; and the subjects perished with famine. The allies, on the other hand, seemed to prosper in every quarter. They had become masters of the greatest part of the Netherlands, in consequence of the victory at Ramillies; the army of king Charles was considerably reinforced; a scheme was formed for the conquest of Toulon, by the troops of the emperor and the duke of Savoy, supplied with a large sum of money by queen Anne, and assisted by the combined fleets of England and Holland, under the command of sir Cloudesley Shovel. In a word, France seemed to be reduced to the verge of destruction, from which nothing in all probability could have saved her but the jealousy and misconduct of the confederates. Louis, by virtue of his capitulation with the emperor in Italy, was enabled to send such reinforcements into Spain as turned the fortune of the war in that country; while the distractions in the council of king Charles prevented that unanimity and concurrence without which no success can be expected. The earl of Peterborough declared against an offensive war, on account of the difficulty of finding subsistence in Castile; and advised Charles to trust to the expedition against Toulon. This opinion he sent from Italy, to which he had withdrawn.