was about to meet, with respect to this enormous accession to the French king's power it was impossible to foresee. He cared not to act, however, until he had certain knowledge; and he desired moreover to learn in what spirit the matter was taken at other courts, and in other countries.

At the Hague the news of Philip's mounting the throne of Spain and thereby becoming sovereign of the Netherlands, produced at first a burst of fury. For a few days nothing was heard in the streets of that lively city but threats of defiance and war. It soon appeared, however, that the States-general comprised a strong party anxious at all events to maintain peace. A memorial was, after much deliberation, sent to the Dutch resident in Paris for presentation to the King. The States-general expressed a hope that, as the time allowed the Emperor for acceding to the treaty had not yet expired, and as they had renewed their instances to him upon hearing of the death of the King of Spain, his Majesty would reconsider his decision, and adhere to the treaty. To this memorial Louis returned briefly and haughtily that the peace of Europe was so well established by the accession of his grandson to the crown of Spain, that he could not doubt that the States-general approved his acceptance of the will.

The States, like William, desired to gain time. Standing alone, it was of course hopeless for them to attempt to interfere with the King of France, and their prospects of being joined by other Powers were not then bright. To place any dependence upon the Emperor was idle. His irresolution and folly in withholding his acceptance of the treaty was, in their view, the sole cause of the misfortune which had now befallen Europe. What England would do no one could take upon himself to predict. They intimated to the King, therefore, that the constitution of their body rendered it imperative, before recognising, as desired of them, the new King of Spain, to communicate with the states of the several provinces.

While such were the attitudes of England and Holland, the Emperor was surprising the world with the energy of his movements. The mild and feeble Leopold had been driven nearly mad by the failure of the cherished scheme of his life. As soon as he heard of the will he sent instructions to Harrach to

protest against it as having been obtained by improper influence. He resolved, at all events, to prevent a Bourbon from taking possession of the Milanese. That fief, he asserted, had been made over by Charles V. to the Spanish branch of the House of Austria, and had now reverted by a failure of heirs to himself. In the wildness of his anger he quite overlooked his own total inadequacy to cope with the rich and powerful King of France. He forgot the ragged and half-starved condition of his troops, and that the state of his treasury, so far from being able to provide for the wants of an army, barely maintained his own household in decency. Under orders from him one body of troops began its march towards Milan and another to the Rhine. His ambassadors, meanwhile, Zinzendorf at Paris, Goez at the Hague, and Wratislaw at London, made every Court ring with the complaints of their master against the injustice, ambition, and violence of the King of France.

So long as the Emperor stood by himself Louis could afford to despise his rage. He was not ill-acquainted with the financial condition at Vienna, and he knew, moreover, that the imperial soldiers had excited so much hatred by their savage conduct the last time they were in Italy, that every petty prince would unite in arms to oppose their re-entrance. Had it not been for some suspicions as to the fidelity of the Prince of Vaudemont, he would not have thought it necessary to despatch any troops to the quarter threatened. But Louis was not one to neglect precautions. Orders were issued to about sixty battalions scattered through the south of France to proceed to Milan, and Marshal de Tessé was appointed to the command.

Meanwhile, the Council of Regency appointed by the will of Charles had continued to exercise the royal functions. PortoCarrero and his colleagues seemed anxious to show that they regarded the King of France as their real master, and looked to him for protection. To secure Milan, a command was dispatched to the Prince of Vaudemont to admit a French garrison. As a precaution against the Dutch, orders were sent to the governors of every town in the Netherlands to obey implicitly any instructions they might receive from the King of France. The Council intimated to the Spanish ambassadors at every Court that they were always to act in concert with the

French.

In the opinion of Englishmen then in Paris nothing now was needed to complete the union between France and Spain but to take off the duties at the frontier upon the produce of each country; and there was a probability that French energy and Spanish infatuation would effect even this.

Three months had now elapsed since the proclamation of Philip, and so little inclination had been shown either by England or Holland to offer any serious opposition to his title, that Louis thought he might venture to put a little pressure upon the Dutch in order to quicken their decision. In February, 1701, without a syllable of warning, his troops marched into the Netherlands and surprised twenty-two battalions, forming the garrisons of Luxembourg, Nassau, Mons, and some six other towns. The soldiers, however, were not allowed to remain in captivity for a longer period than a messenger took in going to and returning from Versailles. The King gave orders that they should be set at liberty. He merely desired, it seems, to flourish his power in the eyes of the States, and hoped that they would be impressed with a generosity which his courtiers assured him was unexampled. The Dutch troops, however, returned to Holland far more indignant at being ejected from towns of which they had been guaranteed the military possession by the treaty of Ryswick, than grateful for the forbearance of the invader. In truth, this action of Louis, independently of its wickedness, was a grave blunder. He enraged the Dutch beyond hope of forgiveness by surprising their army, and then he restored to them their army, without which their rage would have been impotent. But fortune was still with him. His action, foolish as it was, had the effect designed. It alarmed the States-general. Looking round Europe, they could not discern a single ally upon whose support they could calculate; and it was madness for them to bear all alone the wrath of this powerful and unscrupulous despot. They did, therefore, what was required of them. They intimated to Louis their formal recognition of the title of Philip.

The King of England, meanwhile, had stood by a passive witness, while this foul insult was levelled against his native country. His spirit, doubtless, endured much agony; but to

the world he continued to maintain a demeanour so composed as to surprise even those friends who knew him best. The common opinion was that, with increasing infirmities, had come over him a desire for rest and a disposition to submit. He was, however, then absorbed in an experiment to conciliate his Parliament. Throughout his reign the party from whom he had met with the most inveterate opposition had been that of the Tories. He now desired to ascertain whether, in requiting their rancour with coldness, he had not been acting on a wrong principle, and whether, by taking his enemies into favour, it might be possible to buy off their hatred. During the autumn he had treated the Earl of Rochester, the head of the Tories, with a confidence which constituted him, as far as any servant of William could be, his prime minister. In the hope that Rochester's great influence would be successfully exerted with the Tories, he, in November, dissolved the Parliament, and summoned another to meet in February, 1701. It assembled accordingly on the 10th of February, a day or two after the news reached England of the advance of the French troops into the Netherlands. It was soon apparent that the Tories, as the King had been led to hope, were in a majority; but, unhappily, it was also apparent that this Parliament was as much inclined to be hostile to the King as any preceding one. The terms of the treaty of partition, and the manner in which it had been procured, were eagerly discussed. That such a treaty, involving English interests to some extent, should have been concluded by his Majesty without communicating with any of his subjects except with those few whose privity was indispensable, was regarded by the Parliament as an abuse of the prerogative. The Tories had come up to Westminster with a keen appetite for vengeance upon the old ministers, who had kept them for many years from honours and power, and the treaty afforded them an opportunity for gratifying their inclinations. They succeeded in passing resolutions to impeach the Earl of Portland and the Lords Somers, Orford, and Halifax for negotiating a treaty prejudicial to the trade of the kingdom, and dangerous to the peace of Europe.

The King had, in the speech with which he opened the session, urged the Parliament to consider maturely the altera

tion in the affairs of Europe which had been produced by the death of the King of Spain and the nomination of his successor. The minds, however, of the great majority of the members of both houses ran almost entirely upon prosecuting the Whigs. Louis had annexed Spain to his dominions without exciting in England any feeling like the alarm which he had caused in Holland. There was a visible reluctance to give William any latitude that might involve the country in a war. By dint of management on the part of his friends, however, a vote was passed requesting him to enter into such negotiations in concert with the States-general and other potentates as might effectually conduce to the mutual safety of all the countries. concerned, and the preservation of the peace of Europe. Upon this vote William at once acted. By his instructions Stanhope, the envoy-extraordinary to the States, concerted measures with that body, and the result was that a series of demands was made by England and Holland upon the King of France. Louis was required to promise that in future no troops of his should be kept in the Spanish Netherlands; that for the particular security of his Britannic Majesty the care of Ostend and Newport should be given up to him; and that for the security of the united provinces Dutch garrisons should be allowed in ten other towns. The French ambassador, to whom these demands were presented, could scarcely refrain from laughing. They could not have been higher, he said, if his master had lost four battles.

William, in the meantime, worried by the state of factions at home, had concluded that, for the present, it was advisable to continue on friendly relations with the sovereigns of France and Spain. Some intimation of his feelings was sent to Philip. That monarch wrote a letter to him, announcing his arrival at Madrid, and to this William answered with another recognising his title as King of Spain.

The most sanguine hopes of Louis could hardly have anticipated such meekness on the part of those whom, by his acceptance of the will, he had outraged. With a little prudence for a year or two, a smooth, conciliatory tone adopted towards the Dutch, and some attempts to gratify the English upon matters of trade, there can be little question that Louis would have