force. Count de Mercy dispatching lieutenant-colonel Bel- Geo. I. laire to Vienna, to acquaint that court with thefe overtures, 1719. and bring back their directions, the admiral fent away thither his eldeft fon, Mr. Byng, with inftructions, if the imperial court liftened to the proposals of the Spanish general, to declare, that his father could never fuffer any part of the Spanish army to depart out of the island, till the king of Spain had acceded to the quadruple alliance, or till he received po fitive inftructions from England for fo doing. The 12th of February, N. S. count de Mercy marched towards Caftel Vetrano, for the more commodious fubfift ance of his cavalry, from whence he detached general Seckendorf, with fifteen hundred men, and some cannon, to reduce Sacca, where there was a large caricatore of corn. The town immediately furrendered, but the Spaniards, to the number of three hundred, retired into the caftle. The marquis de Lede, finding his firft propofitions inef→ fectual, fent two general officers, the marquils de San Vi cenza and fignor d'Aponte, to the imperial camp, the 19th of February, N. S. with inftructions to treat about the furrender of Palermo, and a confiderable part of the adjacent country, in confideration of a fufpenfion of arms for three months. But, whilst the negotiation was depending, the marquifs receiving an exprefs from Madrid, on the 28th, with advice, that a general peace was made, he fent imme diately to break off the treaty. This feemed matter of great fuprife; but the fecret reafon was, that Spain was at that time treating with France, to reftore Fontarabia, St. Seba ftian's, and other places taken in the war, and hoped to get in exchange, for the evacuation of Sicily and Sardinia, the restitution of those towns, and of Gibraltar, or, at least, to have both the one and the other referred to a congrefs. Upon this, count de Mercy gave fresh orders for attacking the caftle of Sacca, which had been retarded by "the great rains. The caftle, being battered with four pieces of cannon, and not very strong, furrendered the 6th of March, the gar rifon being made prifoners of war. The taking of this place gave great relief to the imperial army, who found there twenty thousand folms of wheat! During these transactions, a courier dispatched from Paris by the earl of Stair, the British ambaffador there, brought the admiral information, that the marquifs de Beretti Landi, the Spanish minifter at the Hague, had figned the quadruple alliance the 17th of Feb. N. S. and he brought likewife a packet from that minister to the marquifs de Lede, and ano. ther Geo. I. ther from the emperor's minifter to count de Mercy, to ac1719. quaint them therewith. A trumpet was fent with the Spanish minifters packet to the marquifs de Lede, and to know his fentiments thereupon. He returned answer, That, his master's minifter having figned the quadruple alliance, he looked upon the peace as a thing concluded, and was therefore ready to treat of a ceffation of hoftilities by fea and land, until they should receive further orders from their respective courts. To this it was replied by the admiral and count de Mercy, That, as the evacuation of Sicily and Sardinia was to be performed within two months after the faid figning, they were ready to confent to a fufpenfion of arms, upon hi delivering up the city and caftles of Palermo, at which place tranfports would be beft provided, and other neceffary meafures concerted for the tranfportation of their army into Spain.' The marquifs returned anfwer, That, as he underftood, the plenipotentiaries of their masters at the Hague were in treaty for fettling the terms of evacuating thofe iflands, he did not think himself authorised to agree to a ceflation on any other condition, than that each party fhould remain on the ground they occupied, and expect further orders from their respective principals.' The difadvantages arifing from fuch an agreement were too obvious to be fubmitted to; for the men of war and transports lay very inconveniently at Trapani, an unfafe road, where they had fuftained confiderable damage, and fome of the transports had been loft. It was therefore necessary to have poffeffion of Palermo, as a secure retreat for the fleet, and the most commodious port for shipping off the troops. Befides, it was a pledge of the fincerity of the intentions of Spain to evacuate the island. In the next place, it put the Germans under a manifeft inequality, to be confined to the ground they occupied, while the Spaniards were in poffeffion of the principal caricatori of corn, and plundered and rifled at pleasure a country they were foon to leave. Nor could they comprehend, how an enemy, who, fix weeks before, offered to leave the whole ifland, on condition of being fent back into Spain, fhould now fcruple to furrender Palermo; and therefore, as it had the appearance of chicaning, they refolved to go on with the operations of the war. But, before they proceeded to action, they agreed to fend a joint letter to the marquifs, propofing an interview between them at the Caffine de Roffignola, half-way between the two armies, where accordingly they met the fecond of April, N. S. at noon, with an escorte of two hundred horse. In the con ference ference the marquifs de Lede owned, That he knew the Geo. I. king his mafter had figned the quadruple alliance, and did 1719. not doubt of his intention to evacuate Sicily; but declared, he had no orders yet about it: That he expected full powers and inftructions foon, and wifhed they would, in the mean time, come to a ceffation of arms.' He was asked, • What proposals he had to make for that purpofe?' He answered, None, but that both armies might hold the country that was in their poffeffion, until he received orders to treat about the evacuation.' Count de Mercy, thinking it unrea fonable to be tied down to a small tract of the country, where he could not fubfift, asked him, Whether, in cafe they should confent to his keeping poffeffion of Palermo, he had power to deliver up Augufta, and the other posts they held on that fide of the ifland, which were now of no use to him, but it would be rather a conveniency to him to draw away the garrisons and troops he had in those parts to join his army, in order to the intended evacuation?" He confeffed, He could not give up, nor quit the poffeffion of any part he had of the inland, until he received further orders from his master;' and read part of his inftructions to them, Count de Mercy, on the other fide, fhewed him part of the emperor's orders, which directed him, to agree to a fufpenfion of arms, in order to the evacuation of Sicily and Sardinia, and to concert with the marquifs de Lede the neceffary conditions for facilitating the fame, and to adjust that affair by all reasonable meafures: But that, if the marquifs de Lede should not own his having orders, or endeavour to evade them, and gain time, by pretending to fend to Madrid for further inftructions, and not name a reasonable time for beginning to imbark part of his troops, in that cafe he was to make use of his arms to oblige him to execute the treaty, which the Spanish minifter had figned at the Hague.' He farther told the marquifs, that the 17th of April was underftood to be the time they fhould go upon the evacuation; but, if it was not poffible for him to begin fo foon, he would not differ about a few days, provided they entered now into fome agreement about the manner of doing it. He offered him the tranfports he had in his fervice, and affured him, that he should be accommodated with provisions, and every thing he could in reafon demand. The admiral, on his part, gave him the like affurances, and that he should be escorted by as many of his master's fhips as he should defire. The marquifs owned, that all they faid was reasonable; but, complaining of the want of orders, the conference broke Geo. I. broke off, without coming to any iffue. At parting, the 1719. marquifs defired the admiral to releafe the bifhop of Mazzara, who was his prifoner, which the admiral readily confen→ ted to. During these debates, one of the English fhips cruizing off Palermo, took a felucca, fent by cardinal Aquaviva from Rome, with packets of letters from Spain, to the marquifs de Lede, which he delivered to the admiral; who, feeing the king of Spain's feal to the letters, generoufly fent them unopened to the marquifs, and set the felucca and crew at liberty. The conference being broken off, the admiral returned to the fleet at Trapani; and count de Mercy, refolving to attack the Spaniards, marched towards Alcamo, where he ar rived the 8th of April, N. S. the marquifs having retreated the night before with precipitation, leaving fome fick men behind, whom he could not carry away. The marquifs incamped at Valguernera and Sala di Partenico; but, fearing to be followed by the imperialifts, he retired on to Montreale. The retreat of the Spaniards made count de Mercy refolve on the fiege of Palermo; in order to which, he fent colonel baron Neyperg to confer with the admiral about the neceffary affiftance to be given by the fleet in facilitating the march of the army towards that place, by coafting along with the provifions and neceffaries they fhould want in their march, as well as in the frege, and fupplying them with cannon and ammunition for that enterprife. The neceflary difpofitions being concerted between the army and fleet, the count decamped from Alcamo the 18th of April, N. S. and followed the marquifs de Lede, who, retreating towards Montreale, kept poffeffion of that and other advantageous pofts, which led into the plains before Palermo, fortifying at the fame time a ftrong pafs by the fea-fide, called Sferra Cavallo, which was another way between the fea-fhore and the mountains into the fame plain. Count de Mercy being ar rived at Sala di Partenico, and not judging it adviseable to attempt the paffes, which the enemy poffeffed on the road of Montreale, he divided his army into two bodies, fending general Zumjungen, with all his cavalry (except the huffars and a regiment of dragoons) and feven battalions of foot, with the artillery and baggage, to the fea-fide, with orders to force the pafs of Sferra Cavallo, and enter that way into the plain of Palermo, whilft he himself with the reft of the army afcended the difficult mountains about Carini, in order to get down that way into the fame plain, judging, that, if the the marquifs drew his army to defend the pass of Sferra Ca- The admiral coafting along, in conformity to the motions of the army, came to an anchor with the fleet the 20th, in Mondello-Bay, and fent fome of his foldiers to take poffeffion of a tower on the point, and another at the landingplace, as alfo three caffines, that flood between, in order to preserve their communication. On the 22d, the marquifs de Lede fent colonel Lacy, his aid de camp, with a letter to the admiral, inclosing a Spanish Gazette, wherein was published the treaty of fufpenfion of arms at fea, concluded at the Hague between the minifters of Great-Britain, France, and Spain, which was to take place on the roth inftant; and therefore he proposed to the admiral, to come to an agreement with him, for a feparate ceffation of hoftilities, as they had both full powers for that purpofe; and protefted against any violences he should commit, contrary to the plain inftructions of their fovereigns.' This fnare, laid to feparate the admiral from the German army, had no effect, the admiral returning answer, That he could give no regard or credit to a pretended convention, published in a foreign news-paper, and even in which there was a claufe, that nothing in it should derogate from what should be agreed between him and the marquifs, for what concerns the Mediterranean fea. That, as the Spanish minifter had figned the quadruple alliance ever fince the 17th of February laft, it was furprifing, that in all this time the marquils had reVOL. XIX. ceived U Geo. I. 1719. |