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W72
LETTERS
OF
King of by Brit.
WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
A
AND OF
THEIR MINISTERS;
ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE
DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN POLITICS OF ENGLAND
FROM
THE PEACE OF RYSWICK
ΤΟ
THE ACCESSION OF PHILIP V. OF SPAIN.
1697 TO 1700.
EDITED
BY PAUL GRIMBLOT.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR
LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS,
PATERNOSTER-ROW.
1848.
LONDON:
SpottiswoodE and SHAW,
New-street-Square.
****
@10 mg 18F
12. 13-33
MVP
Reclass.
TO
THE RIGHT HON. T. B. MACAULAY
These Volumes are Enscribed
BY
THE EDITOR.
323589
PREFACE.
As their title implies, the collection of original
documents here given to the world is intended to
throw a new light on a period in the history of
England full of interest, and but little known. A
century has elapsed since Lord Chesterfield thus
wrote to his son:
"The interval between the conclusion of the
peace of Ryswick, and the breaking out of the
great war in 1702, though a short, is a most in-
teresting one. Every week of it almost produced
some great event:-two Partition treaties, the
death of the King of Spain, his unexpected Will,
and the acceptance of it by Louis XIV., in violation
of the second treaty of Partition, just signed and
ratified by him; Philip V., quietly and cheerfully
received in Spain, and acknowledged as king of it,
by most of those powers who afterwards joined in
alliance to dethrone him."
Unluckily, I can offer no more than a selection
from materials which, to be duly appreciated,
would require a surer and more practised hand
than my own, and an amount of talent to which
I have no pretensions. In publishing them in a
foreign language I have been obliged to confine
A 3
vi
PREFACE.
myself to discharging properly my editorial duty;
which consisted in making an interesting selec-
tion, illustrating with perspicuous notes points
that required elucidation, and superintending the
translation, which in a work of this kind should
aim rather at correctness than the rarer merit of
elegance. But even this object was not so easy of
attainment; and I should be well pleased if I should
be found to have acquitted myself, if not with
honour, at least without reproach. Others more able
than myself will reap much advantage from these
documents. For me it will be sufficient, if the
English public, keeping in view the disadvantages
of my position, shall receive with some indulgence
the fruit of many years' labour and protracted re-
searches.
The Series opens with the correspondence of
Louis XIV. and Marshal Boufflers, in reference to
the conferences held near Brussels at the outposts
of the two armies, in the months of July and
August 1697, between the commander-in-chief of
the French army and the confidant of William III.-
William Bentinck, Earl of Portland. These con-
ferences occupy a pretty considerable place in the
history of this period: for they led to a speedy
conclusion of the peace so long retarded, which had
been negotiated at Ryswick. The letters of Louis
XIV. and Marshal Boufflers were extracted from
the archives of the war office in Paris.
PREFACE.
vii
At first sight, these letters might appear foreign
to the main purpose of this publication, which
is more especially to disclose the negotiations
between Louis XIV. and William III. relative to
the succession of Spain. The object of these
conferences, the manner in which they were brought
about, and the questions there discussed, have
largely occupied all the English historians, and
given rise to a host of conjectures more or less
remote from the truth. Even Burnet, who avers
that he had his information from the Earl of
Portland, has either misapprehended the confi-
dential communications that were made to him. or
has been misled, for on this point he is almost as
inaccurate as the compilers who have confined them-
selves to picking up the rumours that were in
circulation upon these conferences, such as Kennet,
Tindal, Ralph, Somerville, and, more recently, Mr.
Wallace, the continuator of Sir James Mackintosh.
Torcy and the Duke of Saint Simon have alone
given some details; but these, though pretty
accurate, are too brief and not sufficiently minute
to cut short further conjectures.
The correspondence of Louis XIV. with Count
Tallard, who was sent as ambassador to England
after the conclusion of the treaty of Ryswick, has
been extracted from the archives of the foreign
office. I have been able to give only extracts from
their letters, for the original correspondence would
A 4
viii
PREFACE.
have easily filled ten volumes like the present; but
I can assure the reader that these extracts have
been made with the greatest care. Neither in the
letters of the monarch or his ambassador have I
retrenched aught that relates to the first treaty of
Partition, more especially in the preliminaries: I
have also given at length the overtures relative to
the second treaty. But I thought myself at liberty
to abridge the series of discussions that lasted
fifteen months, on the portions to be assigned to
each of the claimants to the undivided succession
of the King of Spain, as well as on the different
arrangements and questions of suitable distribu-
tion; for these discussions were almost nothing
but a repetition of those that had taken place during
the negotiation of the first treaty, and which I
have given almost in full. Moreover, the course
of the negotiations may be followed without diffi-
culty in the letters of William III. to the Pensionary
Heinsius, which have the merit of being very short.
I have given in extenso every thing in the letters of
Count Tallard relating to the internal condition of
England; and when we consider the nature of the
embarrassments which parliament at that time
caused to William III., and the few contemporary
documents that have come down to us on this
state of things, it will be admitted that the inform-
ation they convey is of great importance.
The confidential correspondence between Wil-
PREFACE.
ix
liam III. and the Earl of Portland, particularly
the letters of the latter, during his embassy in
France, merits special attention. These letters,
which were written in French, have been trans-
lated from a copy taken by Sir James Mackintosh
from the originals, preserved at Welbeck Abbey.
They were placed in my hands by Mr. Robert
Mackintosh; and the Duke of Portland has had
the kindness to allow me to make use of them.
Nowhere more than in these letters addressed to
his confidential and faithful servant are the noble
qualities of William III. displayed, not merely as
a great public character, but as one friend writing
to another on a footing of equality, alike honour-
able to the master and the servant.
The letters of the Earl of Portland prove that he
was worthy of the affection and the confidence of
such a man as William III. I do not think I am
wrong in asserting that public opinion will willingly,
on reading this correspondence, reverse the judg-
ment that has been pronounced on the Earl of
Portland down to our own time. Perhaps, too, it
will be found that his descendants have not shown
befitting discernment in keeping in the dark such
valuable documents. In my humble opinion, re-
spect for the founder of their family should have led
them to show how fully he merited the favour
which has caused William III. to be accused of pro-
digality. Both the one and the other cannot but
X
PREFACE.
gain by being better known. Should this work, as I
have no doubt it will, contribute to this result, I
should hold myself sufficiently released from the
obligation conferred upon me by the Duke of Port-
land's kindness in intrusting to me the publication
of this valuable correspondence.
For the letters of William III. to the Pensionary
Heinsius I am also indebted to the courtesy of
Mr. Robert Mackintosh, who confided to me a
French translation of the Dutch, originally made
under the direction of Sir James Mackintosh.
Extracts from these letters were printed nearly a
century ago.
"The letters of William," says
Mr. Hallam, "published in the Hardwicke State
Papers, are both the most authentic and the most.
satisfactory explanation of his policy, during the
three momentous years that closed the seventeenth
century." But to me they appeared very un-
satisfactory. I have completed and revised them;
and it will be found, moreover, that, when fitted
into the various correspondence which illustrates
and elucidates their meaning, they acquire a value
they were far from having in an isolated form.
William III., distinguished as he was, wielded the
sword much better than the pen. His style harsh,
intricate, and fettered either by the rudeness of
his mother tongue, or by his want of practice when
he wrote in French, is in general without force
and perspicuity. His thoughts have difficulty in
PREFACE.
xi
finding utterance; and, instead of revealing them-
selves, they must be guessed at. His letters, and
especially those addressed to the Pensionary
Heinsius, which indicate only from time to time
his opinion on the events of the day, have no
literary value: they form simply materials for
history; but in this respect they are of great im-
portance. They lose throughout by the side of
the grand, brilliant, and glowing style of the
despatches of Louis XIV. It is the imposing
grandeur of Versailles in contrast with the meaner
edifices of Kensington and Loo. In reading these
lengthened despatches with their flowing periods,
elaborate expositions and inexhaustible meaning,
we are involuntarily reminded of Bossuet. It must
not be thought that these State Papers were the
composition of a secretary. Written by Torcy
from notes taken in council, and carefully corrected
by Louis XIV. as they were read to him, they
bear the mark of his singular genius for grandeur
and éclat. To be convinced that to him alone is
the merit of their production to be attributed, it
will be sufficient to compare them with the de-
spatches written by Torcy in his own name or even
with his Memoirs; though it must be admitted that
all secretaries would not have succeeded so well
in conveying the thoughts of their master. But
it was in some degree the language of the period.
The despatches of Tallard, Harcourt, and Villars
xii
PREFACE.
are hardly inferior in style to those of Louis XIV.,
yet these were all military men, but scantily edu-
cated. May we not say with M. Cousin, “Tout est
grand dans un grand siècle"?
But if we pass from the style to the kernel of the
thought, the superiority ceases to be on the side of
Louis XIV. In all their ruggedness the letters of
William III. have a stamp of honesty which we
might seek for in vain in the grander despatches of
his rival. It is the same with the proceedings of
both. William III. during the whole course of the
negotiations was the dupe of Louis XIV. Not that
I mean to say that the latter proposed the partition
of the Spanish Succession in the view of deceiving
England and the States-general. At bottom, it is
true, he had no dislike to bad faith in political
affairs. It was not to no purpose that he had been
brought up by Anne of Austria and Cardinal
Mazarin. But on this occasion he was blinded
by his vanity. There is reason to think that,
when he proposed to King William the plan of a
partition, he was sincere, and meant to avoid a
war, in the decline of his life; but the offer of so
brilliant a succession to a grandson was too severe
a trial for his good faith; and, perhaps, no ambi-
tious prince would have been able to resist the
temptation.
Lord Chesterfield has remarked this before ine.
When explaining the policy of this prince, he thus
wrote to his son:
M
PREFACE.
xiii
"Louis XIV. gratified his personal pride by
giving a Bourbon king to Spain, at the expense of
the true interest of France; which would have
acquired much more solid and permanent strength
by the addition of Naples, Sicily, and Lorraine,
upon the foot of the second Partition treaty; and
I think it was fortunate for Europe that he preferred
the Will. It is true, he might hope to influence
his grandson; but he could never expect that his
Bourbon posterity in France should influence his
Bourbon posterity in Spain; he knew too well how
weak the ties of blood are among men, and how
much weaker still they are among princes."
Still though William III. has been almost uni-
versally blamed for having entered into this nego-
tiation of the treaties of Partition, whose chief
fault was that they ended unsuccessfully, all the
documents here published suffice to set forth the
rectitude of his intentions as well as the disinter-
estedness of his views.
It ill becomes a foreigner, I am aware, to re-
proach any nation with a want of gratitude. But
William III. is not a man of one nation more than
of another: he is the representative of a principle.
Frenchman though I be, I look upon William III.
as one of the greatest characters in history; and
I willingly say with Mr. Hallam, that "a high regard
for the memory of William III. may justly be
reckoned one of the tests by which genuine whig-
gism, as opposed both to Tory and Republican
xiv
PREFACE.
principles, has always been recognized." Was it
not he, in fact, who accomplished the revolution
of 1688 ? And this revolution—what was it but
the triumph of those principles which, in the lan-
guage of our day, are styled liberal, over those of
absolute monarchy-the great cause, whose bril-
liancy is at times eclipsed, but cannot be extin-
guished-which, under different names, is debated
in every land-which, if it must be said, has been
triumphed over but yesterday in France, and on
which I had fixed all my hopes and thoughts for
the welfare of my country. Time was when we
were wont to say that since France had had the
misfortune to have her Stuarts, Providence had
provided for her a William of Orange in the person
of a prince whose calamities I deplore too deeply
to feel at liberty to condemn him. I only regret
that he had too much before his eyes the memory
of his ancestor rather than that of the great man
whose career presents to the gaze of posterity a far
different grandeur from the miserable satisfaction
of placing a duke of Anjou on the throne of Spain.
Throughout his whole life William III. never
thought of himself; if he desired elevation, it was
to raise the cause to which he was devoted. "It
must ever," says Mr. Hallam, "be an honour to
the English crown that it has been worn by so
great a man;" and to this sentiment I cordially
respond.
P. GRIMBLOT.
CONTENTS
OF
THE FIRST VOLUME.
1697.
Marshal Boufflers to Louis XIV.
Camp of Sainte-Renelle, July 1.
Versailles, July 2.
Louis XIV. to Marshal Boufflers.
Marshal Boufflers to Louis XIV.
Camp of Sainte-Renelle, July 5.
Marshal Boufflers to Louis XIV.
Camp of Sainte-Renelle, July 8.
Marshal Boufflers to Louis XIV.
L
Camp of Sainte-Renelle, July 9.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Camp before Brussels, July 11
Marshal Boufflers to Louis XIV.
Louis XIV. to Marshal Boufflers.
Lord Villiers to the Duke of Shrewsbury.
Marshal Boufflers to Louis XIV.
Marshal Boufflers to Louis XIV.
Page
Marshal Boufflers to Marshal Villeroy.
Marshal Villeroy to Marshal Boufflers.
Louis XIV. to Marshal Boufflers.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Camp near Brussels, July 18.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Camp near Brussels, July 19.
1
5
Cr
10
5
Camp of Sainte-Renelle, July 11. 18
Marly, July 12.
19
Hague, July 12.
Camp of Sainte-Renelle, July 15. 26
Camp of Sainte-Renelle, July 15.
July 16.
July 17.
Marly, July 17.
8
9
17
24
27
31
33
35
38
39
xvi
CONTENTS.
Louis XIV. to Marshal Boufflers.
Sir J. Williamson to the Duke of Shrewsbury.
Marshal Boufflers to Louis XIV.
Camp of Sainte-Renelle, July 21.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Camp near Brussels, July 22.
Marly, July 19.
Hague, July 9- 19.
Louis XIV. to Marshal Boufflers.
Marshal Boufflers to Louis XIV.
Camp of Sainte-Renelle, July 27.
The Duke of Shrewsbury to Sir J. Williamson.
Whitehall, July 18-28.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Camp near Brussels, July 29.
The Earl of Portland to the Duke of Shrewsbury,
July 19—29.
The Duke of Shrewsbury to William III.
Whitehall, July 20-30.
Louis XIV. to Marshal Boufflers. Versailles, July 30.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Camp near Brussels, August 1.
Marshal Boufflers to Louis XIV.
William III. to the Duke of Shrewsbury.
Camp near Brussels, July 12-22.
Sir J. Williamson to the Duke of Shrewsbury.
Hague, July 23.
Lord Villiers to the Duke of Shrewsbury.
Hague, July 23.
Versailles, July 24.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Camp near Brussels, July 25.
The Duke of Shrewsbury to Lord Villiers.
Whitehall, July 16-26 61
Page
4.0
Camp of Weissen, August 3.
The Duke of Shrewsbury to William III.
Whitehall, July 27-August 6.
The Duke of Shrewsbury to the Earl of Portland,
Whitehall, July 27-August 6.
40
42
50
52
52
54
55
60
62
70
71
72
72
73
76
76
84
85
CONTENTS.
xvii
Louis XIV. to Marshal Boufflers. Marly, August 6.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius. Loo, August 9.
Sir Joseph Williamson to the Duke of Shrewsbury.
Hague, August 9.
The Duke of Shrewsbury to Lord Villiers.
Whitehall, July 30-August 9.
The Earl of Portland to the Duke of Shrewsbury.
Loo, August 2—12.
Sir J. Williamson to the Duke of Shrewsbury,
Hague, August 3-13.
Sir J. Williamson to the Duke of Shrewsbury.
Hague, August 6—16.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Lord Villiers to the Duke of Shrewsbury.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
William III. to the Duke of Shrewsbury.
Dieren, August 17-27.
William III. to the Earl of Portland. Dieren, August 28.
William III. to the Earl of Portland.
Dieren, August 29. nine o'clock in the evening.
William III. to the Earl of Portland. Loo, September 1.
William III. to the Earl of Portland. Loo, September 2.
William III. to the Earl of Portland.
VOL. I.
Page
87
89
The Earl of Portland to Marshal Boufflers.
89
91
Lord Villiers to the Duke of Shrewsbury.
92
96
Loo, August 17. 97
Loo, August 19.
Hague, August 20.
Loo, August 25.
95
98
99
99.
Loo, September 2. eight o'clock in the evening. 103
Lord Villiers to the Duke of Shrewsbury.
61
100
101
102
103
Hague, September, 3. 105
Hague, September 6. 106
Marshal Boufflers to the Earl of Portland.
Camp at Soignies, September 8. 108
ཆ
Loo, September 5. 106
xviii
CONTENTS.
Page
Versailles, September 9. 108
Marshal Boufflers to Louis XIV.
Camp at Soignies, September 12. 109
Lord Villiers to the Duke of Shrewsbury.
Louis XIV. to Marshal Boufflers.
Hague, September 13. 122
William III. to the Earl of Portland. Loo, September 14. 122
Lord Villiers to the Duke of Shrewsbury.
Hague, September, 17. 123
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Loo, September, 22. 124
The Earl of Portland to the Duke of Shrewsbury.
Loo, September 24. 125
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Dieren, October 15.
Loo, October 17.
Loo, October 18.
William III. to the Earl of Portland.
William III. to the Earl of Galway.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
William III. to the Earl of Portland.
William III. to the Earl of Portland.
Hague, November 8.
Count Caillieres to the Marchioness d'Uxelles.
Loo, October 27. 130
Loo, October 31.
Loo, October 31.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Kensington,
William III. to the Earl of Galway.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Kensington,
Kensington,
Kensington, November 16-26. 137
Kensington, November 19-29. 137
126
127
127
November 23.
December 3.
November 12. 134
November 26.
December 6.
130
132
November 26.
December 6.
133
138
139
139
CONTENTS.
xix
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Kensington,
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Kensington, December 7-17.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Kensington, December 3-13. 140
1698.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Kensington,
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
November 30.
December 10.
Kensington, December 10-20. 142
Kensington, December 17-27. 142
Kensington, December 21-31. 143
William III to the Earl of Portland.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
December 24.
January 3.
Page
140
Kensington, January 7-17. 144
William III. to the Earl of Portland.
141
Kensington, January 10-20. 145
January 28.
February 7.
144
Kensington, January 11-21. 146
William III. to the Earl of Portland.
Kensington, January 21-31
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Kensington, January 21-31.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Kensington,
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Kensington, February 1-11. 153
William III. to the Earl of Portland.
148
150
151
Kensington, February 1-11. 155
Kensington, February 3-13. 156
The Earl of Portland to William III. Paris, February 16. 159
a 2
XX
CONTENTS.
Page
Kensington, February 8-18. 174
William III. to the Earl of Portland.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Kensington, February 11-21.
The Earl of Portland to William III. Paris, February 22.
William III. to the Earl of Portland.
Kensington, February 13-23.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Kensington, February 15-25.
The Earl of Portland to William III. Paris, March 1.
William III. to the Earl of Portland.
Kensington,
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Kensington,
The Earl of Portland to William III.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Kensington,
William III. to the Earl of Portland.
February 22.
March 3.
Kensington,
The Earl of Portland to William III.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
February 25.
March 7.
176
177
February 22.
March 3.
197
Paris, March 7. 198
180
184
185
196
Memorandum.
The Earl of Portland to William III. Paris, March 15.
Account of what took place in the visit which M. de Pom-
ponne and M. de Torcy paid to the Earl of Portland by
the order of his Majesty, the 14th of March.
212
February 26.
March 8.
Paris, March 8. 215
211
Kensington, March 1-11. 217
William III. to the Earl of Portland.
Kensington, March 2-12. 218
The Earl of Portland to William III. Paris, March 13.
Memorandum on the Affairs of England.
220
228
Instructions of Count Tallard, his Majesty's ambassador
extraordinary to the king of England.
243
285
290
294
CONTENTS.
xxi
Page
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Windsor, March 8-18. 304
William III. to the Earl of Portland.
Windsor, March 9-19.
The Earl of Portland to William III. Paris, March 19.
William III. to the Earl of Portland.
Kensington, March 14-24.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Kensington, March 15-25.
The Earl of Portland to William III. Paris, March 26.
Louis XIV. to Count Tallard. Versailles, March 27.
William III. to the Earl of Portland.
Windsor, March 19-29.
London, March 31.
Count Tallard to Louis XIV.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Windsor,
William III. to the Earl of Portland.
The Earl of Portland to William III.
Louis XIV. to Count Tallard.
Count Tallard to Louis XIV.
William III. to the Earl of Portland.
Windsor,
Count Tallard to Louis XIV.
Louis XIV. to Count Tallard.
March 21.
April 1.
Paris, April 2.
Versailles, April 3.
London, April 3.
Kensington,
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Kensington,
Count Tallard to Louis XIV.
Louis XIV. to Count Tallard.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
William III. to the Earl of Portland.
March 21.
April 1.
March 28.
April 7.
305
308
309
Kensington, April 1-11.
312
313
317
321
322
323
March 29.
April 8.
348
London, April 8. 350
Marly, April 10. 357
325
327
333
341
344
Kensington, April 1-11. 359.
360
London, April 11. 363
Versailles, April 15.
372
xxii
CONTENTS.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Newmarket, April 6-16.
The Earl of Portland to William III. Paris, April 16.
Count Tallard to Louis XIV.
Louis XIV. to Count Tallard.
London, April 16.
Versailles, April 17.
William III. to the Earl of Portland.
Newmarket, April 10-20.
Paris, April 20.
The Earl of Portland to William III.
Memorandum.
The Earl of Portland to Mr. Vernon.
The Earl of Portland to William III.
Count Tallard to the Marquis de Torcy.
Louis XIV. to Count Tallard.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
London, April 22.
Marly, April 23.
William III. to the Earl of Portland.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Paris, April 21.
Paris, April 21.
Newmarket, April 15-25.
London, April 25.
Count Tallard to Louis XIV.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Newmarket, April 13-23. 411
Count Tallard to Louis XIV.
Count Tallard to the Marquis de Torcy.
William III. to the Earl of Portland.
Newmarket, April 14-24. 413
Kensington,
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Kensington,
Count Tallard to Louis XIV.
The Earl of Portland to William III.
The Marquis de Torcy to the Earl of
Louis XIV. to Count Tallard.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
432
Kensington, April 19–29.
London, April 30. 432
London, April 30. 435
April 22.
May 2.
London May 3.
Paris, May 4.
Portland.
May 4.
May 4.
Versailles, May 5.
Page
374
375
April 22.
May 2.
Kensington,
379
384
393
394
398
April 26.
May 6.
401
405
405
408
417
419
436
439
439
440
445
446
452
CONTENTS.
xxiii
The Earl of Portland to William III.
Count Tallard to Louis XIV.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Count Tallard to Louis XIV.
William III. to the Earl of Portland.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Windsor,
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Count Tallard to Louis XIV.
William III. to the Pensionary
Windsor, May 2—12. 471
Louis XIV. to Count Tallard.
The Earl of Portland to William III.
Count Tallard to Louis XIV.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
Paris, May 8.
London, May 8.
William III. to the Earl of Portland.
Windsor, May 3-13. 475
464
April 29.
May 9.
London, May 9. 466
Kensington, May 6-16. 476
Versailles, May 16. 477
Paris, May 17. 489
London, May 19.
495
Kensington, May 10-20.
Louis XIV. to Count Tallard.
William III. to the Pensionary Heinsius.
APPENDIX.
Page
454
456
Kensington, May 12-22. 498
London, May 22. 500
Heinsius.
Kensington, May 13-23. 509
Versailles, May 26. 511
I. Gourville
II. Views and Position of the different Pretenders to
the Crown of Spain
III. Duchess of Portsmouth
Kensington, May 17-27. 513
-
·
496
-
515
526
537
LETTERS
OF
WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.,
AND OF THEIR MINISTERS.
MARSHAL BOUFFLERS* TO LOUIS XIV.
Camp of Sainte-Renelle,
July 1. 1697.
SIRE,
The Duke d'Elbœuf having asked my per-
mission some days ago to send the Sieur Gaugy, his
* Louis François de Boufflers, descended from one of the
most ancient and noble families of Picardy, the second son of
François II., count Boufflers and Cagni, was born January
10. 1644. He entered the royal guards as a cornet in
1663; and afterwards exhibited so much talent in Flanders,
that he was allowed to purchase, from the Duke de Lausun,
the colonelcy of the royal dragoons. In all the enterprises
of Turenne he bore a distinguished part. His gallantry at
the siege of Luxemburg was rewarded with the government
VOL. I.
B
2 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
equerry, to Brussels, to pay his respects to the
Princess de Vaudémont, his sister, and at the same
time to purchase some horses, I told him that he
might do so: and, that the said Sieur Gaugy might
pass the more easily, the Duke d'Elbœuf proposed
that I should permit him to be accompanied by the
Sieur de Giey, a gentleman of this country, whose
château is at the head of our first line, who has
long been known to the said Duke d'Elbeuf, and
whose brother is equerry to M. de Vaudémont :
to this I consented.
The said Sieurs Gaugy and de Giey, having re-
turned from their journey and their commission, the
Sieur de Giey told me that he had seen my Lord Port-
land*, who had desired him to give me many com-
of that city and province in 1686. In 1690 he was appointed
general of the army of the Moselle, and contributed materially
to the victory of Fleurus. In 1693 he was raised to the rank
of Marshal of France. He defended Navarre, in 1695, against
the allies, commanded by William III., and surrendered the
place, after having sustained four assaults and after four months of
open trenches. Having agreed to a capitulation, he was arrested
as prisoner of war, and released a fortnight after, when the French
had consented to send back the garrisons of Dixmude and
Diense, pursuant to the cartel. It was on this occasion he
became acquainted with the Earl of Portland. Louis XIV., in
recompence of his great services, erected the county of Cagni,
in Beauvaisis, into the dukedom of Boufflers. During the
following war he defended Lille against the Duke of Marl-
borough and Prince Eugene. He died at Fontainebleau, March
22. 1711, in the sixty-eighth year of his age.
* William, Earl of Portland, the celebrated favourite of Wil-
liam III., was the third son of Henry Bentinck, Herr Van Dies-
senham, Overyssel, where his family had flourished for many ages.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 3
pliments from him, and to tell me that he should be
delighted to have half an hour's conversation with
me, for which purpose he would willingly come two-
thirds of the way; and that he requested him to
give him an answer, and not to mention the subject
to any one but myself. All this I communicated
to Marshal Villeroy, in order to have his opinion;
he agreed with me in thinking that I should have
the honour to give to your Majesty, by a special
1
In his youth he was page of honour to William, Prince of Orange.
In 1670 he waited on him in England. In 1675, on the Prince
of Orange's having the small-pox, which had been very fatal to
his family, Sir W. Temple has made this observation (Memoirs)
on Mr. Bentinck's care and assiduity. "I cannot forbear to
give Monsieur Bentinck the character due to him, of the best
servant I have known in princes' or private families. He
tended his master during the whole course of his disease, both
night and day; and the Prince told me, that whether he slept
or no, he could not tell; but in sixteen days and nights, he never
called once that he was not answered by Monsieur Bentinck as
if he had been awake. The first time the Prince was well
enough to have his head opened and combed, Monsieur Ben-
tinck, as soon as it was done, begged of his master to give him
leave to go home, for he was able to hold up no longer. He
did so, and fell immediately sick of the same disease, and in
great extremity; but recovered just soon enough to attend the
Prince into the field, where he was ever next his person." On
the accession of King William III. to the throne, Bentinck was
made groom of the stole, first lord of the bedchamber, and sworn of
the privy council on February 13th, 1688–1689, the day he was
proclaimed; and two days before the coronation, he was created
Baron Circenster, Viscount Woodstock, and Earl of Portland.
In 1696, he was created a knight of the Garter, at which time
he was also lieutenant-general of his Majesty's forces; for his
services were not confined to the cabinet. He likewise distin-
guished himself in the field on several occasions.
M
B 2
4 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
courier, an account of this conversation between
the Sieur de Giey and my Lord Portland, and of the
commission with which his Lordship charged him
for me. And, as I was previously very desirous to
ascertain from the Sieur de Giey, whether it was
merely a compliment to me from my Lord Port-
land, or whether it was a commission, he has posi-
tively assured me that it was a commission, and has
given me a certificate to that effect in writing, as
your Majesty will see, by the annexed memorial,
signed by the Sieur de Giey.
I shall wait for the honour of your Majesty's
orders upon this subject, to which I shall punctually
conform.
(ENCLOSURE.)
June 30. 1697.
The undersigned declares that my Lord Portland sent
for him on Thursday morning to the Château de Coukel-
berghe, where he was lodging, and asked the undersigned
whether he had seen Marshal de Boufflers, and whether he
was returning to the camp? Having replied in the affirm-
ative, he said that he wished me to present many com-
pliments from him, and give many assurances of his
esteem to the Marshal, and that he should be delighted to
have half an hour's conversation with him, for which purpose
he would willingly go two-thirds of the way; and that he
requested me to tell him so, and to be so good as to bring
him an answer; to which I replied, that I would bring it
the following day. To this he said, "I do not believe
that he will give it you so soon, because he will perhaps
desire to communicate first with the Court;" and, as I
took leave, he told me not to speak of it to any person till
the Marshal had given me the answer which I was to
bring him.
(Signed) DE GIEY, BARON D'ARTIGNY.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 5
LOUIS XIV. TO MARSHAL BOUFFLERS.
Versailles, July 2. 1697.
My Cousin,
I received by the courier, whom you de-
spatched to me, the letter which you wrote on
the 1st of this month, giving me an account of
the proposal made to you, on the part of my
Lord Portland, by a gentleman who had been to
Brussels with the equerry of the Duke d'Elbœuf,
to have half an hour's conversation with you. I
am willing that you should consent to this pro-
posal, and you may agree together on a rendez-
vous, taking all necessary precautions for your
safety, and repairing to this rendezvous with all the
dignity becoming a marshal of France who com-
mands one of my armies.
It is of the highest importance that it should
appear that it is my Lord Portland who has asked
of
you this short conversation. Remember, when
you are with him, to speak as little as possible of
the present state of affairs, and to draw from him
all you possibly can. You will give me an account
by a courier of all that shall have passed.
MARSHAL BOUFFLERS TO LOUIS XIV.
Camp of Sainte-Renelle,
July 5. 1697.
Sire,
I received yesterday, at two o'clock in the
morning, the letter with which your Majesty has
B 3
6 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
been pleased to honour me, dated the 2d of this
month, by which your Majesty does me the honour
to inform me that you approve of my consenting
to the proposal which my Lord Portland has made
me to have half an hour's conversation with him;
and that, for this purpose, I shall arrange a rendez-
vous with him, taking all necessary precautions for
my safety, and repairing to the rendezvous with all
the dignity becoming a marshal of France who has
the honour to command one of your Majesty's
armies. I shall not fail, Sire, to conform with this,
as with every other thing which your Majesty does
me the honour to direct, in the same letter, re-
specting the conversation which I shall have with
my Lord Portland, and of the importance that it
should appear to the public, that it is the said
Lord Portland who has asked me for it. I perfectly
understand this, as well as of what consequence it
is that the Dutch, and the other allies, who may
be well disposed to peace, may not believe that
there is a desire to enter into any separate nego-
tiation without their knowledge, while the general
negotiations are open; and it is very possible that
the motive of my Lord Portland, in desiring this
conversation, is founded on an order of the Prince
of Orange, who wishes to derive some advantage
from it, and to excite mistrust in the Dutch.
A very long walk, which the Count de Toulouse *
and I took with Marshal Villeroy, at four o'clock
in the morning, hindered me from speaking yes-
* Natural son of Louis XIV. and Madame de Montespan.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 7
terday to the Sieur de Giey, in order to send him
back to my Lord Portland, to arrange a rendezvous.
I shall speak to him to-day, that he may go to his
Lordship to-morrow.
The said Sieur de Giey having, since my letter of
the 1st July, returned to Brussels by my permission,
to bring English horses for the Count de Tou-
louse and the Duke d'Elbœuf, I desired him, in case
he should see my Lord Portland, to tell him in
general terms that he had executed his commission
with reference to me; that I should be charmed,
since he expressed a wish that some opportunity
might offer, to see him and to embrace him; and
that, as soon as I could let him hear from me respect-
ing the proposal which he had made, I would not
fail to do so. The said Sieur de Giey returned the
evening before yesterday. He told me that he had
seen my Lord Portland, who had asked him whether
he had seen me, and had executed his commission,
and how I had received it. On his telling him
that I had received it very well, and in a very
obliging manner, he again expressed a great desire
to see and converse with me; adding, that for that
purpose he would repair to any place I might desire,
and that he would impatiently expect to hear from
me.
B 4
8 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
MARSHAL BOUFFLERS TO LOUIS XIV.
Camp of Sainte-Renelle, July 8. 1697.
Seven o'clock in the evening.
Sire,
I have this moment returned from the rendez-
vous with my Lord Portland, after a conversation
of nearly two hours which I had with him at the
village of Brucom, a quarter of a league from Halle.*
As the details of it will be too long, I shall delay
having the honour of giving an account of it to
your Majesty till to-morrow, by another special
courier. All that I can have the honour to tell
your Majesty at present is, that my Lord Portland
spoke to me by order of the Prince of Orange, to
express the sincerity with which he desires peace,
requesting me to have the honour to inform your
Majesty of it; positively assuring me, that if satis-
faction be given him on points which concern
him (the Prince of Orange) personally, he will
oblige the Emperor and the Spaniards to make
peace; being satisfied, for himself as well as the
States General, with the offers which your Majesty
has made in the preliminaries, and that, if the
Emperor and the Spaniards persist in refusing to
make peace, he will conclude it without them, to-
gether with the Dutch.
* A small town of South Brabant, ten miles S. W. of Brussels.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 9
MARSHAL BOUFFLERS TO LOUIS XIV.
Camp at Sainte-Renelle,
July 9. 1697.
Sire,
I had the honour to announce to your Ma-
jesty, by a letter of yesterday evening, the in-
terview which I have had with my Lord Portland,
and which I would have the honour to report to
you to-day, more at length. In fulfilment of this
promise, I have now the honour to say, that
your Majesty having consented, by the letter
which you did me the favour to write on the 2d of
this month, that I should give an interview to the
said my Lord Portland, according to the repeated
requests which he had made to me through the
Sieur de Giey — I sent the said de Giey back to
Brussels on the 7th, to tell the said my Lord
Portland, that, according to the wish which he had
expressed to see and have an interview with me, he
might, if he desired it, be on the 8th at two o'clock
in the afternoon, near Halle, with an escort of fifty
troopers, whom he should leave at the distance of a
quarter of a league from Halle, at which place I
would be at the same hour.
Yesterday at seven o'clock in the morning, I
received, by a trumpeter of M. de Vaudémont, a
letter from the Sieur de Giey, in consequence of
which I sent him a passport by the same trumpeter.
I repaired to Halle about two o'clock to wait for
news from the Sieur de Giey; I had sent thither,
beforehand, the lieutenant of my guards, with ten
10 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
or twelve of his men, with orders to go, about one
o'clock in the afternoon, to the village of Brucom,
the place of rendezvous, carefully to examine it on
all sides, for fear of some treachery; and there to
wait for the Sieur de Giey and his suite, and give
me notice at Halle.
Besides this, I had sent fifty carabineers, fifty
troopers, and fifty dragoons, to the heights of Halle,
as ordinary guards, - which place of Halle we
occupy every day, by three hundred infantry, as an
advanced post;—and I had requested the Marquis de
Pracomtal to put himself at the head of the cavalry
above mentioned, and from time to time to send
some officers to the village of Brucom to receive
information from the lieutenant of my guards.
My Lord Portland did not fail to repair to the
said village precisely at two o'clock, with the Sieur
de Giey, the trumpeter whom I had given him,
and six or seven of his own gentlemen. M. de
Pracomtal, having been immediately informed by the
lieutenant of my guards, went unattended to meet
my Lord Portland, and told him that he was going
to apprise me at Halle of his arrival.
As soon
as I was informed of it, I mounted my horse and
proceeded to this village of Brucom, at the distance
of a short quarter of a league from Halle, ac-
companied by Count Tallard, Count Gacé, the
Duke de Guiche, and several general officers and
others; followed by my people and my guards,
without any troops.
As soon as my Lord Portland was informed
of my approach, he came to meet me with much
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 11
cordiality and eagerness. I received him in the
same manner, and introduced all the gentlemen
who were with me. After reciprocal compliments,
we alighted in an orchard, and every body having
retired out of hearing, my Lord, after the repe-
tition of mutual civilities, and after expressing the
sentiments of esteem which the Prince of Orange
had for me, immediately entered upon the subject,
observing that the Prince of Orange could not show
me a greater proof of his good opinion, than by
the command which he had given him, to speak
to me about the difficulties which delayed the
conclusion of the peace; believing, as he did, from
the marks of esteem and confidence with which your
Majesty honours me, that this would be a shorter
way to remove them, than the conferences at
Ryswick.*
Upon this I intimated that I had no orders from
your Majesty, and therefore I could not take any
thing upon myself; that on the wish which he had
intimated to me by the Sieur de Giey, to see and
converse with me, I had thought I could take upon
myself to give him a rendezvous, and that I ven-
tured to hope that your Majesty would not take
* The first conferences for peace had taken place in 1693,
but came to nothing. New proposals were made by Louis XIV.
shortly afterwards, under the mediation of Sweden, which were
formally accepted by the allies. But it was not till the 10th of
February, 1697, that the French plenipotentiaries delivered to
Baron Lillieroot, the Swedish ambassador and mediator, the
preliminary articles, containing the conditions offered by France.
The congress was opened at Ryswick, near the Hague, on the
9th of May following.
12 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
it amiss; that, however, since he spoke to me, on
behalf of the Prince of Orange, I should have the
honour to give your Majesty an account of our
conversation; and that I would afterwards let him
(that is my Lord Portland) know with what instruc-
tions your Majesty would be pleased to favour me.
To this he replied, with much politeness and
tact, that he was too well persuaded of my good
feelings for him, to believe that, seeing the time
which had elapsed since he had signified his wish to
see and converse with me, I should not have been
ready sooner to give him the rendezvous which I
had now granted him, if I had not desired pre-
viously to communicate with your Majesty, and to
await your orders; that, however, without enter-
ing into any further discussion on that point, he
would speak to me in the same manner as if he
were assured that I was furnished with your Ma-
jesty's orders.
He began by saying that the Prince of Orange
was much grieved that, notwithstanding his sincere
desire of peace, every body, and particularly the
plenipotentiaries of your Majesty and their emis-
saries, endeavoured to make it be believed that he
alone delayed and opposed it, and secretly caused
the Emperor and the Spaniards to raise difficulties;
that this was entirely contrary to the truth, and to
his views; that he considered all that your Majesty
had offered in the preliminaries very reasonable ;
that he found the demands and the difficulties
raised by the Emperor and the Spaniards very
unreasonable; and that, to show the truth of his
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 13
good intentions respecting peace, if the satis-
faction which he has a right to demand on the
points concerning himself (that is, the Prince of
Orange) personally were granted, and if the same
securities were given him which were desired by
us, for a good, solid, sincere, and durable peace,
he would take upon him to make the Emperor and
the Spaniards consent to the conditions which your
Majesty has offered in the preliminaries; and that,
if they persist in refusing these, he will make peace
with your Majesty without them, for Holland and
England.
The difficulties which concern the Prince of
Orange consist of three points :
The first is, that the Prince of Orange desires
that by the peace which is to be concluded, and
by which your Majesty consents to recognize him
as King of England, your Majesty shall promise
and engage not to favour, directly or indirectly,
King James against him. The plenipotentiaries
of your Majesty agree, as my Lord Portland has
told me, that your Majesty shall engage and pro-
mise not to favour, directly or indirectly, the
enemies of the Prince of Orange acknowledged
King of England. The Prince of Orange desires that
King James shall be designated by name, because
it is a particular case, and that so long as King
James shall remain in France, the Prince of Orange
cannot doubt that he has a declared enemy in
France, who, being within reach of England, will
have all kinds of facilities to form parties there,
and to excite the people against him; and thus,
14
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
instead of enjoying the peace which will have been
given to all Europe, it will be a means of carrying
on war more certainly against him alone, and of
keeping him in constant trouble and agitation,
while all the rest of Europe will be enjoying
the benefits of peace; and that so long as King
James shall be in France, though the Prince of
Orange is fully persuaded of the good intentions
of your Majesty, strictly to observe the peace, and
to render it stable and durable, there will always
be room for suspicion that, even contrary to the
intentions of your Majesty, King James will
derive assistance from France to foment trouble and
rebellion in England; that, therefore it is absolutely
necessary for the security of the Prince of Orange,
that your Majesty should engage expressly not to
favour, directly or indirectly, King James nomina-
tim, and that he shall go and reside at Rome, or
elsewhere out of France, provided he be not near
enough to keep up any party in England; that if
too much reluctance be felt to engage, nominatim,
not to favour King James, directly or indirectly,
other equivalent terms may be found which may
give the securities that the Prince of Orange desires ;
that he will consent to this, but that it is indis-
pensable, in order to remove all suspicion, that
King James shall reside out of France.
The second point relates to the obligation which
it is desired to impose by the peace on the Prince
of Orange; to grant a general amnesty to all who
have followed the fortunes of the King of England,
and whom the Prince of Orange looks upon as
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 15
rebellious subjects and his personal enemies, since he
is acknowledged King of England by the parliament;
and besides this, to the further obligation of restor-
ing them, by this general amnesty, to all their
estates. To this last article the Prince replies, that
it is a matter which is not in his power, even if he
desired it, since the English parliament has passed
an Act expressly prohibiting it; and that, therefore,
he cannot go against the laws and constitution of
the State; that as for the general amnesty, besides
that his honour and glory demand that he shall not
be forced to it by a treaty of peace, the safety of
his own person requires him not to recall indivi-
duals to England whom he knows to be his personal
enemies; but that, as soon as he shall be acknow-
ledged King of England, and in undisturbed posses-
sion, by the treaty of peace, he will readily, of his
own free will, pardon those who shall seem to him
disposed to return with good faith, and to live in
quietness, behaving as good and loyal subjects; that,
therefore, he cannot consent to a general amnesty,
nor to the restoration of their property; and that
he does not think it reasonable that endeavours
should be persisted in to oblige him to do so.
The third point relates to the principality of
Orange.
*
* As the discussion of this article, which occupied a large
space, is of no interest at present, it will suffice to give the sub-
stance of it in the terms used by Torey, in his Memoirs.
"The third article treated of in these conferences related to
the town of Orange. Marshal Boufflers required that the sub-
n
16
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
This, Sire, is what Lord Portland said to me,
and he requested me to obtain for him, as soon as
possible, an answer, according to which the Prince
of Orange may adopt a resolution, either for the
speedy conclusion of the peace, or to break off the
conferences.
Lord Portland let fall a word-I believe pur-
posely, but without appearing to lay stress upon it
-that, perhaps, when peace was once conclude
and the agitation of people's minds calmed, your
Majesty would not be sorry to have an ally like the
Prince of Orange, and that then you would find him
as faithful and conscientious in favouring the in-
terests of your Majesty, as he has hitherto been
opposed to them.
-
jects of the King should be prohibited from entering and from
residing in that town; his Majesty foreseeing that the new
converts, still attached to their former errors, would flock from
the provinces adjacent to Orange, and would settle in that town,
if they were at liberty to do so. Portland maintained that the
prohibition required would be contrary to the pretended sove-
reignty of Orange: however he agreed that the King, his
master, should secretly give his word to prevent every subject of
the King from settling in Holland, without the permission of his
Majesty."
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 17
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.*
Camp before Brussels,
July 11. 1697.
I am very glad to learn that the ambassadors
of France† aver that they sincerely desire peace,
and that they wish to terminate the negotiations
speedily. With respect to the last article, I do not
at all believe it; but it is always desirable to see
* Antony Heinsius, grand pensionary of Holland by succes-
sive quinquennial elections, from the year 1689, until his death,
which took place on the 3d of August 1720, at the age of
seventy-nine, was one of the statesmen who, during this
memorable period, exercised the greatest influence on the
affairs of Europe. He commenced his public career as coun-
cillor-pensionary of the town of Delft. The Prince of Orange
honoured him with the most unlimited confidence, and he en-
joyed the same favour when that Prince became King of England.
Torey, in his "Memoirs," describes Heinsius "as a man of
consummate ability in the management of affairs, cold in his
manners, polished in his conversation, having nothing repulsive
in his demeanour, and rarely warmed, far less excited, by debate.
His exterior," adds the same authority, "was simple, and his
house plain; an establishment composed of a secretary, a coach-
man, a lacquey, and a female servant; by no means indicating
the importance of a prime minister."
† The Counts Crécy, Harlay, and F. de Caillières. The pleni-
potentiaries of William III. were the Earl of Pembroke,
Lord Villiers, and Sir Joseph Williamson, with Mathew
Prior for secretary; the ambassadors of the Emperor were
Count Kaunitz, Count Straatman, and Baron Seilern; of the
King of Spain, Don Quiros and Count Tirlemont; the pleni-
potentiaries for the States-General were Mr. Boreel for the
Province of Holland, Mr. van Dyckvelt for the Province of
Utrecht, and Mr. van Haeren for the Frise.
VOL. I.
C
-
18 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
so clearly that they fear to break off the negotia-
tions, which is the only ground that remains for us
to hope they may soon be brought to a conclusion.
It is the more necessary for that purpose to press the
negotiations. The best means of attaining that
object is, to negotiate secretly through the ambas-
sador of the state *; for, as for the mediator, we
see clearly that he seeks only to delay. It is indeed
inconceivable that we should be agreed with France
on all essential points, and yet unable to con-
clude a peace; and that only because each of the
two parties suspects the intentions of the other.
It seems to me that this is not difficult to be cleared
up, and that we might then come to a conclusion
in some way or other. The Earl of Portland has
informed you of what passed between him and the
Marshal Boufflers: I do not expect much from it.
It is probable that he will receive only an answer
in general terms. Thus every thing will have to
be done at the Hague, as I always thought it would.
MARSHAL BOUFFLERS TO LOUIS XIV.
Camp of Sainte-Renelle,
July 11. 1697.
Sire,
Since the letter which I had the honour to
write to your Majesty on the 9th, nothing new has
happened here. The Sieur de Giey, who had returned
to Brussels on the 8th, with Lord Portland, came
back yesterday. He told me that Lord Portland had
* Boreel.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 19
again commissioned him to offer me many compli-
ments and civilities, and to tell me that he should
look with impatience for news from me; that I
might continue to employ the Sieur de Giey to com-
municate with me, and at the same time to order
him to follow me, in case I should make some move-
ment; that if I did not think proper to order the
Sieur de Giey to follow me, I might make use of any
other channel which I should think more proper to
let him hear from me. In all this there seems to
be great eagerness on the part of Lord Portland,
and consequently on that of the Prince of Orange,
to enter on the subject, since Lord Portland acts
only by his orders; and, as far as can be judged by
appearances, there is reason to believe that it is in
good faith, and with the intention of concluding
peace as soon as possible.
LOUIS XIV. TO MARSHAL BOUFFLERS.
Marly, July 12. 1697.
My Cousin,
I have received the letter which you wrote
to me on the 9th of this month, giving me a
detailed account of what passed in the conference
which you had with the Sieur de Bentinck. I begin
my answer by telling you that I approve of your
conduct in going to Brucom, and of the manner in
which you spoke on all the proposals that were
made to you, which is conformable to my dignity,
my own views, and my true interests. Al-
* William Bentinck, Earl of Portland.
C 2
20 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
though the three proposals which were made to
you were likewise made at Ryswick to my pleni-
potentiaries, who have already explained what I
could grant or refuse in reference to what these
demands contained, I will however enable you
to answer the Sieur de Bentinck according to the
sentiments which I entertain.
My intention is that you shall begin by assuring the
Sieur de Bentinck that I receive with pleasure the
marks which the Prince of Orange gives me, by word
of mouth, of the ardent desire which he feels to merit
the return of my favour; that for this purpose you
shall state that I could have wished that the Prince
had given me the same opportunities as the kings, his
predecessors, have had, to show their affection for his
House; that though the contrary engagements into
which he has entered have prevented this, he may
nevertheless rest assured, that I could not see him
at the head of so powerful a league as that which
has been formed against me, without having that
esteem for him which the deference that the piin-
cipal powers of Europe have for his opinions seems
to demand; that even his perseverance in the
alliances contrary to my interests gives me reason
to believe, that those which the good of Europe
now requires me to contract with him will be
equally durable.
He may easily observe that the conditions which
I have offered for the restoration of peace, show
that I prefer the public tranquillity to my own
interests; that these I have sacrificed in aban-
doning fortresses so numerous and so important as
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 21
those which I am willing to give up to my
enemies.
They have found in me no doubt a spirit of
accommodation which they could not hope for,
when my own interest solely was in question ;——
but honour, of which kings must be so jealous,
cannot suffer the smallest violation, and those who
desire to treat sincerely ought not even to make
the attempt. It is wounded by the proposal
which has been made to me to name expressly in
the treaty, and to engage to remove from my
kingdom, a king who has found no asylum except
with me, and no alleviation of his misfortunes except
in the manner in which I have received him. My
attention to him ought, on the contrary, to convince
the Prince of Orange of the solidity of my friend-
ship for those to whom I grant it, and of the
certain reliance which he may place on all that I
shall promise him, when he has recovered my
favour; and as I am persuaded of the sincerity of
the assurances which are given me on his part, he
must also be convinced of my intention perfectly
to respond to them.
With respect to what the Sieur de Bentinck ex-
pressed to you of his fears, that, so long as
the King of England should be in my kingdom
he might easily derive assistance from it, even
contrary to my intentions, to favour the secret
practices of those who are attached to his party, it
will be easy for you to show the weakness of this
objection. All Europe is sufficiently aware of the
obedience and submission of my people, and when
c 3
22
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
I shall please to hinder my subjects from assisting
the King of England, - as I engage to do, by pro-
mising not to assist, directly or indirectly, the
enemies of the Prince of Orange without any ex-
ception, - - there is no reason to apprehend that he
will find any assistance in my kingdom.
After having shown the Sieur de Bentinck, as I
point out to you, that it is impossible to obtain from
me any change on this point, it is my intention
that you shall declare that if the Prince of Orange
does not desist from what he has demanded on this
head, it is useless to enter on the discussion of the
other articles.
Since, however, I desire to show my enemies that
I am ready to give all the explanations which may
be necessary to promote the peace, I order you to
make this declaration :-that my principal view
is, to render the peace firm and durable; that
I have proposed the terms in such a manner, that
it may suppress in future all the sources of a new
war; that I have the same regard for what cɔn-
cerns the Prince of Orange, and that therefore it is
by no means to lessen the rights of his sovereignty
in the town of Orange that I demand that none of
my subjects shall settle in it without my permission;
that, on the contrary, it is to prevent the different
incidents that might disturb the peace which I
wish to maintain with him; that it is easy to see
that that town would soon become the retreat of
all the malecontents of my kingdom, if this liberty
were granted by the treaty; that I am persuaded
that the Prince of Orange sincerely desires to
maintain a perfectly good understanding with me;
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 23
and, being thus minded, he would be continually
in the embarrassing alternative, either of refusing
to send away from that town those who should
disturb the tranquillity of my kingdom, or hinder
them from enjoying the asylum which he now
wishes to secure to them; lastly, that to obtain
this condition, so necessary to the repose of my
kingdom, I am ready, if it cannot be otherwise,
to consent, though with regret, no further to urge
the demand for a general amnesty for the English
who have followed the king, their master.
After this precise declaration of my intentions,
which I would have you make to the Sieur de Ben-
tinck, as I am very glad to remove from the Dutch
every suspicion which might perhaps be suggested to
them, that I think of making a separate treaty,
without communicating with them; and as I am of
opinion, for these reasons, that this affair, which has
been begun at Ryswick, ought to continue to be
treated there, you will tell the Sieur de Bentinck
that the confusion of a camp, the various marches
of an army, &c., are not calculated for conferences
on peace; and that as they are opened in Holland,
and the ministers of the Prince of Orange are on
the spot, able, from what they know of his real
sentiments, to acquaint ny plenipotentiaries with
them, it is my opinion that, after the conference
which you will have with him, it would be better
that my plenipotentiaries should be informed of
my intentions, to answer to the proposals which
will be made to them in future on the subjects of
which I have just treated.
4
C 4
24 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
LORD VILLIERS* TO THE DUKE OF
SHREWSBURY.†
Hague, July 12. 1697.
We have not yet received any answer to our
project. The French expected to have found in it
* Edward, first Earl of Jersey, was the eldest son and heir
of Edward Villiers, who was, for his services in the cause of
Charles I. and his son, honoured with knighthood, (April 7.
1680,) and appointed knight-marshal of the household. His lady
was governess of the Princesses Mary and Anne, both after-
wards Queens of Great Britain. His son attended the Princess
Mary to Holland, after her marriage with the Prince of Orange,
with whom he came into England in 1688, and, on their being
proclaimed King and Queen of England, was, on the first settle-
ment of their household, appointed master of the horse to the
Queen; and the death of his father happening soon after, he suc-
ceeded him in his place of knight-marshal. Advancing farther
in their Majesties' favour, he was, in the third year of their reign,
created Viscount Villiers of Dartford and Baron Villiers of Hoo,
In 1695, he was sent envoy extraordinary and plenipotentiary
to the congress at the Hague. In 1697, he was constituted
one of the lord justices in Ireland, being also at the same time
appointed one of the plenipotentiaries for the treaty of
Ryswick. Soon after the peace, he received the character of
ambassador extraordinary to the States General; and shortly
after, having been created Earl of Jersey, (October 13.) he re-
turned in England, where he was sworn of the privy council
(November 25. 1697). The Earl of Jersey was the brother
of Elizabeth, maid of honour to Mary, Princess of Orange, and
married, in 1695, to the Lord George Hamilton, afterwards
created Earl of Orkney. This lady was believed to be the
mistress of William III.
† Charles Talbot, twelfth Earl and first Duke of Shrewsbury,
of one of the most illustrious families of England, was born in
1660, and succeeded to the first title at a very early age, his
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 25
the article against King James, but his Majesty
rather chose to have that matter treated by word
father having been killed by the Duke of Buckingham in a duel.
The family was then, as at present, Roman Catholic; but the
young Earl embraced the Protestant faith in 1679, after
having been instructed by Dr. Tillotson. He gave soon a
strong proof of the sincerity of his conversion in preferring,
after the accession of James II., to incur his displeasure rather
than to reconcile himself to the church of his fathers. The same
conviction led him to oppose the measures of that monarch for
the re-establishment of the Roman Catholic worship; and he
was among the foremost of those who invited the Prince of
Orange. As early as May, 1687, we find a letter of his, convey-
ing professions of his zeal to that Prince, who was then endea-
vouring to gain partisans and ascertain the state of the public
mind in England. He was likewise one of the illustrious seven
who signed the celebrated association in June, 1688. Con-
vinced of the necessity of an immediate revolution, he even
mortgaged his estates, and, repairing to Holland, offered his
purse and sword to the Prince of Orange. He accompanied the
Prince to England; and, while William remained in suspense
at Exeter, the Earl of Shrewsbury was one of the nobles in
whom he chiefly trusted, by whose advice he drew up the famous
declaration. In the progress of the Revolution he took an active
part, and was one of the three Peers despatched by the Prince
to treat with those sent by James. In the Convention-Parlia
ment he opposed the measures of those who wished to establish
a regency, or to place the crown on the head of Mary. On the
settlement of the new government, he was nominated one of the
privy council, appointed secretary of state, intrusted with the
lord-lieutenancy of three counties, and raised soon after to a
dukedom. The services of the Duke of Shrewsbury, his amiable
character, his talents for business, endeared him to William III. ;
and so polished, engaging, and conciliatory were his manners as
to make him loved and trusted by both parties. William III.
used to call him " the king of hearts." "I never," says a most
acute observer, though an enemy, Lord Bolingbroke, "I never
knew a man so formed to please and to gain upon the affections."
26 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
of mouth, and there is nothing yet agreed on about
it.
The Pensionary is returned from the army, and
I find by him that his Majesty is of opinion that this
negotiation must be quickly made an end of one
way or other. The Imperialists seem to be of this
opinion, but the great difficulty will be to bring
them to like those terms *, which we had rather
accept than carry on the war. The French seem
resolved to give nothing beyond the peace of Nime-
guen, and I doubt if they would have given that in
every point, if their designs this summer had suc-
ceeded.
Marshal Boufflers has lately had a meeting with
my Lord Portland, near Halle. I am told it
was about the peace, though I do not know the
particulars.
MARSHAL BOUFFLERS TO LOUIS XIV.
Camp of Sainte-Renelle, July 15. 1697.
Sire,
I received the night before last the letter
which your Majesty was pleased to do me the honour
to write to me on the 12th of this month, in which
your Majesty does me the honour to state your
intentions, to which I shall not fail punctually to
conform.
So in the original.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 27
Accordingly I again sent Sieur de Giey to Brussels
to inform the Sieur de Bentinck, that if he thought
fit to repair this afternoon to the same place, at
the same hour, and in the same manner as before,
I would not fail to go thither and have a conference
with him. This morning I received a letter from
the Sieur de Giey, in consequence of which I shall
not fail to go to the village of Brucom at the hour
appointed.
MARSHAL BOUFFLERS TO LOUIS XIV.
Camp of Sainte-Renelle, July 15. 1697.
Sire,
M. de Bentinck and myself met at Brucom
about three o'clock in the afternoon, in the same
manner on both sides as the first time. After an
interchange of civilities, we alighted from our
horses, and M. de Bentinck having asked me
whether I had had the honour to give your
Majesty an account of our interview, and whether
I had received an answer, I replied in the affirma-
tive; and, before proceeding to business, I began
by telling the said Sieur de Bentinck all that your
Majesty did me the honour to direct by your letter
of the 12th, on the subject of the Prince of Orange,
as well on his eagerness to merit the return of your
Majesty's favour, as on the esteem which your
Majesty feels for the Prince of Orange; giving
28
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
him to understand, as your Majesty has directed
me, that the steadfastness displayed by the Prince
of Orange in connections hostile to your Majesty's
interests, gives you ground to believe that those
which the good of Europe now requires your
Majesty to contract with him will be equally
durable.
M. de Bentinck expressed lively joy at these
obliging assurances on the part of your Majesty,
and told me that he would give a very faithful
account of them to the Prince of Orange, who
would be greatly rejoiced at them, desiring as he
does the esteem and friendship of your Majesty,
saying, that he had the commands of the Prince
of Orange to tell me that I might assure your
Majesty that no person had more esteem, venera-
tion, and respect for your Majesty than the Prince
of Orange (these are his own words). He added
further, that even if the inclination of the Prince
of Orange himself did not lead him to entertain
all these feelings towards your Majesty, his own
interest would induce him to endeavour to be on
good terms with your Majesty.
After having declared to M. de Bentinck that
I would punctually and gladly execute this com-
mission, and that I could assure him before-
hand that it would be very well received by
your Majesty; I said, to enter on our subject, that
the Prince of Orange might easily judge by the
conditions which your Majesty has offered for the
restoration of peace, that you prefer the public
tranquillity to your own interests, which you have
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 29
sacrificed, by giving up fortresses at once so nume-
rous and so important as those which your Majesty
is ready to abandon to your enemies; but that
though they have found in your Majesty a spirit
of accommodation which they could not have hoped
for, when nought but your interest was concerned,
yet when your Majesty's honour was in question
you would never suffer the least violation of it;
that it was wounded by the proposal which was
made to your Majesty to name the King of Eng-
land in the treaty, and to engage to cause him to
quit your Majesty's kingdom; to which I added
all the other arguments which your Majesty has
done me the honour to point out on this head,
to show him how far your Majesty was from con-
senting to it, though you are nevertheless willing
to engage, and to consent in good faith not to
assist directly or indirectly the enemies of the
Prince of Orange, without any exception; pointing
out to him at the same time, that this expression,
"without any exception," independently of the
good faith and sincerity of your Majesty, leaves no
suspicion of a restriction in favour of any person
whatsoever, as it comprehends all in general.
He told me that the Prince of Orange was very
sensible of the repugnance which your Majesty
must feel to name the King of England in the
treaty, and also to oblige him by the treaty to quit
your Majesty's kingdom; and that as it was by no
means his wish to ask any thing which might be
personally unpleasant to your Majesty, he would
willingly consent that the King of England, com-
30 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
monly called King James, should be neither named
nor even designated in the treaty; but that since
the safety of the Prince of Orange was at
stake, he desired that, in concluding the peace,
instead of naming King James, terms might be
found which should give entire security that your
Majesty will not favour directly or indirectly the
King of England, nor the cabals, secret intrigues,
and rebellions, which may take place in England;
and that, to make matters equal on both sides, and
not to give occasion to designate King James in
any way, the Prince of Orange might be recipro-
cally obliged to use the same terms as those
employed by your Majesty, that is to say, your
Majesty, promising and engaging by the treaty not
to favour or assist, directly or indirectly, the ene-
mies of the Prince of Orange with any exception
or restriction; and likewise not to favour, in any
way, the cabals, secret intrigues, factions and re-
bellions which might occur in England, the Prince
of Orange would, in like manner, engage and pro-
mise by the treaty not to favour, directly or
indirectly, the enemies of your Majesty, without
any exception or restriction; and, likewise, not to
favour in any way the cabals, secret intrigues,
factions, and rebellions, which might occur in your
Majesty's kingdom; and as for requiring your Ma-
jesty to promise by the treaty to make the King of
England quit your kingdom, the Prince of Orange
was sensible that the same repugnance which your
Majesty had to naming him, would make it yet
more painful to you to engage by the treaty to
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 31
oblige him to quit your kingdom; that, therefore,
he did not require it of you at present, and that
no mention should be made of it in the treaty,
but that the Prince of Orange hoped that, after
the treaty was signed and peace concluded, your
Majesty, sincerely desiring to render it firm and
stable, would intimate to the King of England
that he should, of his own accord, resolve to reside
elsewhere, to remove all suspicion, and that no-
thing in the sequel may shake the solidity of the
peace which both parties sincerely desire to render
durable.
So that with regard to this point, of not naming
King James in the treaty, and of obliging him at
present to quit your Majesty's kingdom, the Prince
of Orange entirely desists from it, and desires only
that while he is not named, equivalent terms may
be found which may give the same securities as if
he were named; and which shall assure the Prince
that he shall enjoy in England the peace which
will be given to all Europe.
With respect to the principality of Orange,
*
*
*
*
MARSHAL BOUFFLERS TO MARSHAL VILLEROY.
July 16. 1697, 9 o'clock, P. M.
On alighting here, M. de Giey came to meet me,
and to say that my Lord Portland had commis-
32 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
sioned him to tell me that he should be very glad
to see me again to-morrow, for half an hour only.
After all that I have had the honour to tell you
this evening, of our conversation yesterday, there
is every reason to believe that this eagerness to give
me an answer must of necessity proceed from good
intentions, and that this answer shall be favourable,
I confess to you that I am greatly tempted not to
put it off, nor defer an affair so decisive and so
important for the satisfaction of the King, and for
the good of his service; the refusal or delay of this
rendezvous may perhaps give occasion to changes,
and I do not believe that a third interview for half
an hour only can possibly do any injury to the
King's service. I might change the place of meeting,
and go with fewer attendants, that it may excite
less notice. Help me, Sir, to come to a decision,
and be so good as to let me know your opinion.
After all the advances which, as I have told you,
have been made, and no difficulties, as it were,
remaining to hinder a conclusion, I do not believe
that it is of any use to the King's service to delay
bringing matters to a termination. You see that
they do not wait till I have received an answer
about the little difficulties, of which I said I
should give an account. It is probable, therefore,
that this desire to see me again so soon, can only be
to pay a compliment to the King, and to leave the
matter to his decision. In short, Sir, the more I re-
flect, the more I am convinced that it is for the King's
service not to defer or refuse this rendezvous, for
which I am asked for half an hour only, and that
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIv. 33
there would be an appearance of distrust, or of
finesse in refusal or delay, which could only pro-
duce a bad effect. All this makes me determine
to take the rendezvous upon myself, unless you
should send me word that I ought not to do so.
MARSHAL VILLEROY TO MARSHAL BOUFFLERS.
July 17. 1697, at midnight.
Sir,
I have just read over, for the second time, the
letter which you did me the honour to write since the
return of M. de Giey. All your reflections appear
to be perfectly just. So speedy an answer can
only indicate an approval of all that has been said,
and, as you very well remark, an eagerness to let the
King know that they are anticipating what may be
agreeable to him. But it is reasonable to believe,
with reference to the past, that so sudden a change
in the conduct of the Prince of Orange can be
founded only on two grounds; first, a necessity to
make peace, for secret motives with which we are
not acquainted; and, secondly, the desire to give an
appearance of concert and understanding with the
King, capable of alarming the Dutch. If it be
true that the Prince of Orange is obliged to make
peace in consequence of the bad state of his affairs,
or from his own free will, to defer the interview for
twice twenty-four hours will not change the resolve
which he may have taken. If it is an artifice from
which he hopes to reap some advantage, then, by
VOL. I.
D
34 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
deferring it till the return of your courier, as you
will be directed by the King, you will not expose
yourself to any inconvenience.*
* François de Neufville, second Duke of Villeroy and Mar-
shal of France, was at the head of an army which acted con-
jointly with the army commanded by Marshal Boufflers. He
could not be reconciled with the preference marked by William
III. in having chosen his colleague for conferring with the
Earl of Portland. The motive of this honourable preference is
very sensibly pointed out by the Duke of Saint-Simon, in his
Memoirs :
"La paix se traitait fort lentement à Ryswick, où il s'était
perdu beaucoup de temps en cérémonial et en communication de
pouvoirs. Les, Hollandais, qui voulaient la paix, s'en lassaient, et
plus encore le Prince d'Orange. Son grand point était d'être
reconnu Roi d'Angleterre par la France, et, s'il pouvait, d'obliger
le Roi à faire sortir de son royaume le Roi Jacques et sa famille.
Le Prince d'Orange, bien informé du désir extrême que le Roi
avait de faire la paix, jugea en devoir profiter pour en faire une
particulière, en stipulant pour la maison d'Autriche, sinon con-
clure pour l'Angleterre et la Hollande. Suivant cette idée, qu'il
fit adopter secrétement aux Hollandais, Portland, par son ordre,
fit demander, tout à la fin de Juin, une conférence au Maréchal
de Boufflers, à la tête de leurs armées. Il avait eu commerce
avec le Maréchal de Boufflers à la sortie de Namur, et pendant
qu'il fut arrêté.
"Le Prince d'Orange n'ignorait ni le caractère, ni le degré
de confiance et de faveur auprès du Roi des généraux de ses
armées. Il aima mieux traiter avec un homme droit, franc, et
libéral, tel qu'était M. de Boufflers, qu'avec l'emphase, les grands
airs, et la vanité du Maréchal de Villeroy. Il ne craignait pas
plus l'esprit et les lumières de l'un que de l'autre, et il comprit
que ce qui passerait par eux, irait droit au Roi et reviendrait de
même du Roi à eux; mais que par Boufflers ce serait avec plus
de précision et de sureté, parce qu'il n'y ajouterait rien du sien,
ni à informer le Roi, ni à donner ses réponses. Boufflers ré-
pondit à un gentilhomme du pays chargé de cette proposition
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 35
LOUIS XIV. TO MARSHAL BOUFFLERS.
Marly, July 17. 1697.
My Cousin,
The courier whom you despatched has de-
livered to me the letter which you wrote on the
15th, giving me an account of your second inter-
view with M. de Bentinck. I see with pleasure
that you have punctually executed the orders which
I had given you.
I was very glad to see that, on your saying to him
that I would in no wise consent to name the King
of England in the treaty of peace in the manner
de Portland, qu'il en écrirait au Roi par un courier exprès, et ce
courier lui apporta promptement l'ordre d'accorder la confé-
rence, et d'écouter ce qu'on lui voudrait dire. Elle se tint
presque à la tête des gardes avancées de l'armée du Maréchal de
Boufflers. Il y mena peu de suite, Portland encore moins, qui
ne s'approchèrent point, et demeurèrent à cheval chacune de son
côté. Le Maréchal et Portland s'avancèrent seuls, et à distance
de n'être point entendus. Ils conférèrent ainsi debout, en se
promenant quelques pas. Il y en eut trois de la sorte dans le
mois de Juillet. La quatrième fut plus nombreuse en accom-
pagnement; et les suites se mêlèrent et se parlèrent avec force
civilités, comme ne doutant plus de la paix. A chaque confé-
rence le Maréchal de Boufflers en rendait compte par un courier.
La cinquième se tint au moulin de Zenich, entre les deux armées.
Portland y fit présent de trois beaux chevaux anglais au Maré-
chal de Boufflers; d'un au Duc de Guiche, beau-frère du Maré-
chal; et d'un autre à Pracomtal, lieutenant-général, gendre de
Montchevreuil, et extrêmement bien avec le Maréchal de Bouf-
flers, qu'ils avaient suivi à cette conférence. La sixième fut
extrêmement longue, et se tint dans une maison de Nôtre-Dame
de Halle."
D 2
36 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
I was requested by making express mention of
him, and that he ought to be satisfied with the
engagement which I am ready to make, sincerely and
in good faith, not to assist, directly or indirectly,
the enemies of the Prince of Orange, without any
exception, the Sieur de Bentinck became more
pliant on this point than there was ground to
expect, and told you positively that the Prince
of Orange was very sensible of the pain which his
request upon this point must give me; that he
very willingly consented that the King of England
should not be named, nor even designated in the
treaty, but that, as his tranquillity and safety were
concerned, he desired that, instead of naming the
King of England, terms might be found which
should give him entire security; that, for this pur-
he desired that I should promise and engage,
pose,
by the treaty, not to favour or assist, directly or in-
directly, without any exception or limitation, the
enemies of the Prince of Orange, and likewise not
to favour, in any way, the cabals, secret intrigues,
factions and rebellions which may arise in England,
the Prince of Orange engaging and promising to
give me, by the treaty, the same assurances for the
interior of my kingdom.
My intention is, that you shall answer to this
proposal that this equality of condition cannot take
place, and that the submission of my subjects, and
the tranquillity of my kingdom, give me no reason
to fear either faction or rebellion.
I have ordered you not to agree to this reci-
procal condition, but to promise that I will engage
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 37
by the treaty not to assist, directly or indirectly, the
enemies of the Prince of Orange, without any excep-
tion, engaging not to favour, in any manner whatso-
ever, the cabals, secret intrigues, factions, rebellions,
&c., which may take place in England.
With regard to what the Sieur de Bentinck in-
timated to you, that the Prince of Orange hoped
that, after peace was concluded, I would induce the
King of England to resolve, of his own accord, to
fix his residence out of my kingdom, if he does
not speak again of this proposal in the conference
which you are to have with him, do not touch upon
it; but if he persists in questioning you about it, my
intention is that you declare to him that the same
reasons which have hindered me from listening to
his proposals that I should speak positively of the
King of England in the treaty, make me equally
averse from entering into any engagements what-
soever upon this subject, either before or after the
peace, and that it ought to be sufficient for the
Prince of Orange that I give him all the assurances
which he may otherwise require for his tran-
quillity.
With regard to what relates to the principality
of Orange
*
*
*
*
*
After having explained what I have above stated
to you respecting my intentions on the two points
in question, it is my desire that you shall inform
the Sieur de Bentinck that I again confirm the
first assurances which you have given him from me,
of my especial regard for the Prince of Orange, and
of my conviction that Europe will long enjoy the
*
D 3
38 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
repose which peace will secure, when this repose
shall be founded on the sincere and solid relations
which I desire to establish with that Prince.
Though in my preceding letter I again told you
that I wished that every thing relating to this
particular negotiation with the Prince of Orange
should be referred to the conferences at Ryswick,
yet I order you to let M. de Bentinck know that
you have received my answer, and that you are
in haste to enter upon a conference with him.
I shall expect to hear from you with impatience;
matters appear to me so far advanced that I have
reason to believe that this negotiation will have a
happy result.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Camp near Brussels, July 18. 1697.
The Earl of Portland has informed you, by the
last courier, of the second conference which he has
had with the Marquis de Boufflers. I send you an
express, to learn your opinion in what way the
article by which France should engage not to assist
King James might be drawn up, without naming
him, for it appears that on this the whole affair of
the pacification chiefly depends. I do not know
whether the ambassadors of the States have not
already agreed to something on the subject with
the ambassadors of France. In that case, we ought
to keep to it; it would likewise be the most easy,
for it is by them that the whole is to be settled.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 39
The Earl of Portland will also write to you on the
subject of these interviews, of which it is necessary
you should inform, in my name, the ambassadors
of Austria and others, so far as you shall deem
needful.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Camp near Brussels, July 19. 1697.
I wrote to you yesterday, by the extraordinary
courier, whom the Earl of Portland despatched to
you, and to-day I received your letter of the
16th. I am quite of your opinion, that the engage-
ment or promise to be made by France, not to assist
any of my enemies, in the number of whom King
James would be comprehended, should be reci-
procal; but it will not be possible to bring the
French so far, so that it will be above all things ne-
cessary to take care, in the wording of this article,
that King James shall be comprehended in it, with-
out being designated by name.
Since it appears
now that the French are seriously disposed to con-
tinue the negotiations, we must not lose an instant,
but, as the proverb says, "Strike the iron while it
is hot."
2.
D 4
40 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
LOUIS XIV. TO MARSHAL BOUFFLERS.
Marly, July 19. 1697.
My Cousin,
I have received the letter which you wrote to
me on the 17th of this month*, in which
you inform
you
me that M. de Bentinck has applied to you for a
third conference, but that, as I had intimated to you,
in one of my letters, that I wished you not to have
any more interviews with him, you had thought
best, after taking counsel with Marshal Villeroy,
not to accept it, without, however, an absolute
refusal. I cannot but commend your regularity;
but, as you must now have received my orders by
the letter which I wrote to you the day before yes-
terday, I have only to refer you to what you have
therein seen of my intentions.
SIR JOSEPH WILLIAMSON† TO THE DUKE OF
SHREWSBURY.
Hague, July 9-19. 1697.
We find by the account the King has been
pleased to send us of what passed between my Lord
* This letter of Marshal Boufflers has been suppressed, being
only a repetition of what he wrote the same day to Marshal
Villeroy.
† Sir Joseph Williamson was the son of a clergyman in
Cumberland, and educated at Queen's College, Oxford. Soon
after the restoration, he was recommended to the Earl of Ar-
lington, principal secretary of state, who employed him in trans-
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 41
Portland and Marshal Boufflers, in the two inter-
views they had, that his Majesty, being made sen-
sible of the great wrong done him every where, by
the false and dishonourable insinuations of the
French, as if he had not really an intention or design
for peace (as that has been notoriously their busi-
ness to spread abroad in all those countries these
many weeks), did at once resolve, and (as all people
here think) with great reason and wisdom, to push
the thing to a point, and at once as to do himself
right against so venomous a poison as they endea-
voured to infuse into the world, by declaring his
real desires for a peace; and his resolutions, if it
could not be had, no longer to be amused with a
pretended negotiation of it at Ryswick; so on the
other hand to put it hard and plain upon France to
discover how far all this pretence on their side is
well and sincere; which is the very point all we,
the ministers in this assembly, have been saying and
wishing the thing might be at once brought to; and
this step of the King's is the more reasonable, in
lating and writing memorials in French. From this humble
situation Williamson elevated himself by his commanding merit
to the greatest posts in the government. At the short treaty of
Cologne, he was one of the British plenipotentiaries with the
Earl of Sunderland. At his return, September 11. 1674, he was
sworn principal secretary of state and a privy counsellor. He
resigned his place, February, 1678, and was succeeded by the
Earl of Sunderland. He had been knighted in 1677. About
this time he married the sister and sole heiress of Charles Duke
of Richmond, who brought Sir Joseph Williamson large posses-
sions. William III. employed and confided in him. He died
in 1701, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
42
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
that we are now come to the time (for to-morrow is
the day) that the French are to give in their pro-
ject for the peace they propose between them and
the Emperor and the Empire. That is what we are
now this evening going to say to the Imperial
embassy, which has desired from us an account of
what passed in these interviews.
MARSHAL BOUFFLERS TO LOUIS XIV.
Camp of Sainte-Renelle, July 21. 1697.
Sire,
According to the letter which your Majesty was
pleased to do me the honour to write to me on the
17th, I sent the Sieur de Giey to M. de Bentinck to
tell him that, if he were disposed to be, on the fol-
lowing day, the 20th, at four o'clock in the afternoon,
at our usual rendezvous, I would be there likewise.
After the usual compliments, we alighted. M. de
Bentinck began by telling me that he had not failed
to give an account, as was his duty, to the Prince
of Orange of the assurances which I had given him
on the part of your Majesty, in our second inter-
view, of your Majesty's esteem for the Prince of
Orange, of your favourable disposition towards him,
and, lastly, of your sincere intention to conclude
peace and inviolably to observe it when it should
be concluded: that the Prince of Orange had com-
manded him to express to me on his part, that he
had received the said assurances with all possible
joy and sensibility, on account of the infinite value
!
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 43
which he attached to the esteem and friendship of
your Majesty, of his sincere desire to obtain them,
and of his feelings for your Majesty's person, for
whom it was impossible to entertain too high a ve-
neration or respect, considering your Majesty not
only as the greatest sovereign in the world, but per-
sonally as the greatest man, on account of your rare
and exalted qualities; requesting me, on the part
of the Prince of Orange, to be so good as to testify
this to your Majesty, and to assure you of the same.
These are the expressions of M. de Bentinck, to
which I have added nothing whatever; he further
requested me, from the Prince of Orange, to renew
to your Majesty the assurance of the sincerity
and the uprightness of his intentions respecting the
peace, and the exact observance of it, once more
asserting that, after the peace was concluded, he
should be as faithfully and constantly attached to
the interests of your Majesty, as he had hitherto
been opposed to them.
On this I stated to M. de Bentinck that I should
have the honour of giving an exact account to your
Majesty of all that he had just told me on the part
of the Prince of Orange, and that I was convinced
that you would receive all these expressions of
regard with pleasure and satisfaction; and that
meantime, after the account which I have had the
honour to give your Majesty of what he had said
to me in our second interview from the Prince of
Orange for your Majesty, you had commanded me
to repeat the first assurances which I had already
given him of your special regard for the Prince of
41 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
Orange, and of the satisfaction with which your
Majesty had received the said expressions of his
regard.
M. de Bentinck having further added that he
would not fail to make a faithful report to the
Prince of Orange, told me by way of answer to
what passed in our last conference, that, on the
consent which the Prince of Orange had thought
it reasonable to give, that King James should not
be named or designated in the treaty, but that, in-
stead of this, terms might be found which should
give the Prince of Orange entire security that, in
concluding the peace, he shall enjoy for himself, his
successors, and his dominions, entire and perfect
tranquillity, he had caused the annexed article to
be drawn up, that he might have the said secu-
rities, without naming or designating the King of
England; that if your Majesty wished to change
any thing in it, you might do so,
so, if
you should
think proper, but that, for the most part, it was
conceived in terms which are cominon and usual
in all treaties.
I told him that this article appeared to me to be
very prolix, and to contain many useless terms;
that, after what he had stated in our second con-
ference, that the Prince of Orange willingly con-
sented that no mention should be made of the
King of England in the treaty, provided that,
besides the general terms "not to favour and assist,
directly or indirectly, his enemies, without any
exception," other expressions might be found which
should give more particular assurances, such as,
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 45
"not to favour, directly or indirectly, the cabals,
factions, secret intrigues, and rebellions which
might take place in England," I had had the
honour to give an account of it to your Majesty,
who, to show the Prince of Orange the upright-
ness of your intentions, and the good faith
with which you intend to conclude a peace, and
strictly to observe it in every point, had ordered
me to tell him (M. de Bentinck) that you will
engage by the treaty not to assist, directly or in-
directly, the enemies of the Prince of Orange,
without any exception, and besides, not to favour,
in any manner whatever, the cabals, secret in-
trigues, factions and rebellions which might take
place in England; that it appeared to me that
these expressions comprised generally all that
was contained in his more detailed article, and
that, as they were precisely the terms which, in
our second conference, he had expressed his desire
to have, it seemed to me that the Prince of
Orange ought to be fully satisfied with them, in-
asmuch as they gave him all the securities which
he desired, and could desire.
He said that this article, though more prolix
than the said expressions, does not engage your
Majesty to any thing more than what you mean,
and intend to promise by the said expressions, that
is to say, not to favour either cabals, secret in-
trigues, factions and rebellions, nor the persons who
should excite and foment them; that, if your
Majesty, without favouring the said cabals, secret
intrigues, factions and rebellions, favoured per-
-
46 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
sonally, and tolerated in your dominions, the in-
dividual, or individuals who should be the authors
of the said cabals, secret intrigues, factions and
rebellions, and who, by their correspondence and
private understandings in England, should excite
and foment, from France, all the above cabals, &c.
it would be, on the part of your Majesty, in some
measure indirectly favouring the said cabals, secret
intrigues, &c. &c., although you did not otherwise
assist them with advice, or money, or in any other
way whatsoever, and that therefore, to remove all
cause of uneasiness and discontent, it was proper,
besides the above expressions, to add, that your
Majesty will not favour, directly or indirectly, the
persons who might excite and foment the said
factions, secret intrigues, &c., as expressed in the
said article.
On my telling him that the word person or persons
was a means to oblige your Majesty, in the sequel,
to expel from your kingdom all the English
who should be there, inasmuch as whenever there
should be the slightest cabal or agitation in Eng-
land, it would be a pretext for saying that such
and such persons, who might be in France, were
the authors of it, he replied, that we ought to
have a better opinion of the Prince of Orange, and
of his sincere and upright intentions for the main-
tenance of peace; that when he should acquaint
your Majesty that he suspected some English in-
dividual or individuals in France, he would at the
same time state the just reasons on which his sus-
picions were founded, such as intercepted letters,
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 47
acknowledged intercourse, and other proofs which
would justify those suspicions, and the reasons that
might be entertained, without attempting to make
any imputations against those who should not be
implicated; and that he consented, on his part,
to comply with the same terms and expressions,
though he was well aware that your Majesty had no
need of similar precautions, in consequence of the
submission and fidelity of your people, and their
particular attachment to your person, which was
not the case in England, as every body knew, and
which obliged him to take greater precaution for
the safety of his person and that of his dominions;
and that he hoped your Majesty would be disposed
to give him the strongest guaranties you could,
without naming the King of England.
I told him that he could not place too much re-
liance on the uprightness and sincerity of your
Majesty's intentions in all things, and that when
you consented to engage not to favour, directly or
indirectly, in any manner whatsoever, the cabals,
secret intrigues, factions and rebellions which might
arise in England, it was without any reserve or
limitation whatever, and that this comprised
every thing; that as for the offer which the Prince
of Orange made, to promise and bind himself
in the same manner, he had anticipated the real
sentiments of your Majesty on the little necessity
there existed for such a promise, your Majesty
having commanded me not to agree to this reci-
procal condition, because the submission of your
subjects, and the tranquillity of your kingdom, gave
48 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
you no ground whatever to apprehend either faction
or rebellion. He told me that the Prince of Orange
was fully convinced of this, and that he had offered
this reciprocity, merely to show that he would not
make any request to which he would not equally
bind himself.
To conclude, with respect to this article of the
securities which the Prince of Orange required, on
making no mention of the King of England, I told
M. de Bentinck that I had nothing to add to the
expressions which your Majesty prescribed to me
for the said securities, to which you had been
pleased to consent, to show that it is with good
faith, and without any reserve or restriction, that
you treat with the Prince of Orange, the said ex-
pressions comprising every thing; that I should
have the honour to send your Majesty the article
which he had given me, and would let him know
the answer which I should receive. Upon this
he told me that he should look for it, and that he
ventured to hope your Majesty would consent to
add the expression person or persons, which is ab-
solutely necessary for the safety and tranquillity of
the Prince of Orange and of his dominions; the
more so, since adding this term persons is merely
asking a rather more definite explanation of the
real sentiments of your Majesty, inasmuch as it
cannot be doubted that your Majesty, in engaging
to assist neither directly or indirectly the enemies of
the Prince of Orange, without any exception, and
further engaging not to favour in any manner
whatsoever the cabals, secret intrigues, factions,
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 49
and rebellions which may arise in England, means
likewise not to favour, either directly or indirectly,
the persons who may originate the said cabals,
secret intrigues, factions and rebellions, in what-
ever place the said persons may be; that thus, by
this more comprehensive term, your Majesty does
not bind yourself to any thing beyond your real
intentions, and, by this means, will give more
ease and tranquillity to the Prince of Orange, who,
on his part, will have no other desire or other care,
than to give your Majesty entire satisfaction in all
things; again repeating to me, that I might assure
your Majesty that the Prince of Orange will not
be behindhand in any thing that may tend to per-
suade and convince your Majesty of the sincerity
of his intentions inviolably to observe the peace,
and to render it stable and durable, and to do
every thing that may be agreeable to your Majesty.
No mention was made on either side of what
M. de Bentinck hinted at in our second con-
ference, that the Prince of Orange hoped that,
after peace was concluded, your Majesty would in-
duce the King of England to determine, of his own
accord, to fix his residence out of your Majesty's
kingdom. There is therefore no appearance that
this point will again be mooted.
the principality of
As for what concerns
* *
Orange
VOL. I.
E
50
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
(ENCLOSURE.)
Article to be inserted in the Treaty of Peace.
"And to render the peace entirely firm and solid, the
most Christian King promises and engages inviolably,
for himself and his successors, to do nothing which may
trouble or disturb the King of Great Britain in the right
and possession of his lands, countries, kingdoms and govern-
ments; and consequently, that he will not assist, directly
or indirectly, with arms, ammunitions, provisions, ships,
money, or other things, by sea or by land, any person
or persons, of whatever rank or condition they may be,
who should be disposed to make any attempt against the
said King of Great Britain, or incommode or trouble him
in his lawful right, or possession, or invade his said lands,
countries or kingdoms, or excite in them rebellions,
troubles or seditions against his person, among his subjects
or in his government, under any pretext or pretence that
they might allege, without any exception or reserve; which
the King of Great Britain, on his side, likewise promises
and engages inviolably, for himself and his successors, the
Kings of Great Britain, with respect to the most Christian
King, his lands, countries and governments, reciprocally,
in all points as above, without any exception or reserve
whatsoever."
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Camp near Brussels, July 22. 1697.
I am not surprised that the French have post-
poned the period for the acceptance of their offers:
for, to say the truth, it does not seem reasonable that
they should be always obliged to put off, if we con-
sider how long a time the negotiations have already
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. ANI) LOUIS XIV. 51
gone on, and how little inclination the Imperialists
show to accept these offers. If, on the other hand,
we consider their superiority, this step will not be
found unreasonable on their part; and I do not
believe that it can be compared with the arrogance
which they formerly displayed. It is strange,
that the mediator has not informed the Allies of it,
for it cannot be doubted that the Ambassadors of
France have communicated it to him. What does
not at all please me is, that on the question which
Mr. van Dyckvelt put to them, namely, what they
intended in the event of the capture of Barcelona?
their answer was, that they had no orders on that
subject. This makes me fear that every thing is
still very uncertain. The Ministers of Austria
and Spain must now be urged to accept the condi-
tions within the prescribed time, very short though
I confess it to be. But perhaps it may be so much
the better, because matters will be concluded so
much sooner. I believe that it will be necessary
to send orders to Lord Lexington and to Heem-
skerk*, to use the same solicitations at the Court of
Vienna, and to declare that we can no longer con-
tinue the war.
* Ambassadors of Great Britain, and of the States-General
to the Emperor.
E 2
52 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
WILLIAM III. TO THE DUKE OF SHREWSBURY.
Camp near Brussels, July 12-22. 1697.
My Lord,
I can tell you news that will not be unpleasant
to you-which is, that I believe peace is very near.
As to particulars, you will learn them elsewhere;
and in a short time I shall be able to write to you
more fully on the subject. But when one has to do
with the French, one can be sure of nothing till the
affair is concluded. We must therefore prepare for
war, as if we had no hope for peace.
SIR JOSEPH WILLIAMSON TO THE DUKE OF
SHREWSBURY.
Hague, July 23. 1697.
My Lord,
By my last, which was of the 9-19th instant,
your Excellency will see the expectation we were
in here of the project which the French had
promised. Accordingly, the next day, at the con-
ference at Ryswick, the mediator came into the
assembly of the allies, and there delivered the
project; adding, as from the French, that it was not
indeed altogether in the exact form of a project, but
that it wanted not much in form; and, as to the
matter of it, it contained the substance of such
articles as concerned three of the puissances in war;
to wit, the Emperor and Empire, Spain, and this
State; that there might possibly be found some
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 53
particulars wanting, and some expressions not so
exactly weighed; but that whatever was wanting
might be supplied, and whatever in the wording
might be found amiss might easily be rectified;
that, as to them, they were in great earnest, and
most sincere in their desires of the peace, afin d'être
hors d'affaire; and that the sooner it could be done
the better. This was the substance of what the
mediator reported, as said by the French upon their
delivering him the project; after which he gave it
into Count Kaunitz's hand, who, by the by, is
observed on all such occasions to be the head of the
assembly, and, as such, even to put himself forward,
and to speak and be spoken to.
Yesterday, after the hours of devotion, the several
parties sent their secretaries (as had been agreed
the day before) to Count Kaunitz's house, and there
took copies of it.* There has not been time yet to
* The principal conditions of this project were:
The treaties of Munster and Nimeguen to form the basis of
the peace in general.
All the re-unions made by the chambers of Metz and
Besançon, and the council of Brisach, since the treaty of
Nimeguen, to be restored to the Emperor. Strasburg to be
ceded, in perpetuity, to France, in return for the cession of
Friburg, Old Brisach, Philipsburg, and Kehl, with their de-
pendencies; and the Rhine to form the boundary between
France and the empire.
P
Lorraine to be restored to the Duke, as in 1670, on the con-
dition that the fortifications of Nancy should be demolished,
and a military passage through the duchy reserved to France.
Dinant to be restored to the Bishop of Liege, Treves to the
Elector, and the Palatinate to the Elector Palatine.
F 3
All
54 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
understand what the several parties think of it; but,
in the general, I perceive men think France has
come nearer reason, in several points, than it was
expected they would at this first step; and this is
attributed to the seasonable and wise declaration
his Majesty was pleased to make, by my Lord Port-
land, to Marshal Boufflers, which we find plainly,
by the pulse of the world about us, has had a very
good effect, and has turned to great advantage of
his Majesty's honour and integrity in several
respects.
LORD VILLIERS TO THE DUKE OF SHREWSBURY.
Hague, July 23. 1697.
My Lord,
I am glad to tell your Grace that the French,
according to their promise, gave in their project of
peace to the allies last Saturday. You will find it
to be on the foot of that of Nimeguen. I believe
we shall not get better terms from them, and shall
have difficulty enough to bring the Imperialists to
accept of these; but I think their necessity must
oblige them to take the measures which England
and Holland prescribe to them. I have heard
All the re-unions dismembered from Spain to be relinquished,
and all conquests, both in the Low Countries and Catalonia,
to be restored, except Luxemburg, which was to be retained
by France, in consideration of an equivalent. All captured
colonies in America and the West Indies to revert to the right-
ful proprietors.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 55
secretly that France designs suddenly to set a time
for making the peace upon this project, or absolutely
breaking off the negotiation. I must own this
method is a little unmannerly, but it is the only
one that can bring us to any conclusion in this
tedious affair.
LOUIS XIV. TO MARSHAL BOUFFLERS.
Versailles, July 24. 1697.
1
My Cousin,
I have received the letter which you wrote to
me on the 21st of this month, giving me an account
of the conference which you had on the 20th with
the Sieur de Bentinck. I have seen his statement
of what he had orders from the Prince of Orange
to tell you of the manner in which he had received
the assurances which you had given him from me,
of the esteem which I felt for him, adding that
the said Prince of Orange ardently wished for the
return of my good-will, even employing in the
name of the said Prince of Orange, terms of venera-
tion, respect and admiration of my person.
Though, at bottom, these can be considered only
as words till they shall be confirmed by deeds, yet,
as they call for reciprocal expressions on my part,
it is my pleasure that you should renew to Sieur
de Bentinck the assurances of the esteem which I
entertain for his master, and that I really desire to
give him marks of it as soon as the peace shall
have restored the perfectly good understanding
which I desire henceforward to establish with him,
E 4
56
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
and which I believe to be necessary for the welfare
of Europe.
To return now to the two principal points which
were the subject of your last conference, I begin
by acknowledging the receipt of the memorandum
which was given you by M. de Bentinck, touching
the manner in which the Prince of Orange would
wish me to express myself in the Treaty of Peace,
so as to give him the securities which he affirms
to be absolutely necessary for the tranquillity of
England.
This draught of an article is much more prolix
than the last proposal which he had made, and which
I had approved. Without expressly naming the King
of England, it is impossible to designate him more
clearly than by the two words joined together,
person or persons, which are there given, the first of
which can be applied only to the King of England,
and the second to the English who are with that
Prince.
I see that the Sieur de Bentinck thought to soften
them, by telling you that these terms merely con-
tain a rather more detailed explanation of my real
intentions; and, that it cannot be doubted that,
when I am willing to engage not to favour, either
directly or indirectly, the cabals and factions which
may be formed in England, I likewise intend not
to assist those by whom they may be originated.
My intention is, that you should explain to M.
de Bentinck, that the assurances which I con-
sent to give him, and the terms which I am
willing to employ, ought to leave no doubt of
the sincerity of my intentions; and that the ex-
*
-
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 57
planation which he requires can add nothing to
the confidence which he ought to repose in my
word. You will further observe to him, that I
should always be pained to have it proposed to me
to employ terms which could be applied to the
King of England alone; that I had reason to believe
that the Prince of Orange would be content with
the expressions which M. de Bentinck himself had,
at the last conference, proposed to have inserted
in the treaty; that I had not expected that any
stronger would be desired; that, however, I am
willing to give him every satisfaction which de-
pends upon me, without naming or designating the
King of England; that, for this purpose, I consent
to make use of the greater part of the terms of the
article which he has given, and to extend it as
far as possible; that the term person, in the singular,
comprehends all those in general who may disturb
the tranquillity of the Prince of Orange, and does
not designate particularly the King of England.
I send you the draught of an article which I
have caused to be drawn up, which provides in
general for all cases that may disturb the Prince of
Orange, and gives him the assurance which he re-
quires, without designating the King of England
in particular. I am persuaded that, if the inten-
tions of the Prince of Orange are as sincere as
I have particular reason to believe they are, the
guarantees which I give him are sufficient to remove
from him every cause of fear that I will favour
enterprises which may be directed against his
authority.
58 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
Though the submission of my subjects, and their
zeal for my service, are ample pledges of their
fidelity; yet, as I have thought that the engage-
ment which the Prince of Orange would enter into,
by the last clause of the proposed article which M.
de Bentinck has given you, would lessen the first
idea which the public might conceive, that the
term person is to be applied solely to the King of
England, I consent that you shall agree to this
last clause, as you will see in the draught which
I send you.
After having stated the manner which I should
wish the article to be drawn up in the treaty,
as all the good reasons which you may give to the
Sieur de Bentinck to make the Prince of Orange
consent, may perhaps not convince that Prince
that he will find the same securities in the article
drawn up, as I send it to you, and as all the con-
ferences which you have had, instead of producing
the furtherance of the peace, would serve only
still more to delay it: I am willing, for these just
considerations, to anticipate every thing which may
lead your conferences to a happy conclusion, and
to inform you of my intentions, which are, that you
must forget nothing to oblige M. de Bentinck to
give an account to the Prince of Orange of the
draught which I send you; that if he should make
any difficulty, as not finding it conformable with
that which he has given you, you are to tell him
that, as I evidently wish to know precisely the views
of his master on this draught, it is proper that
you should meet again, when he shall have informed
I LTTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 59
the Prince of Orange of this last conference; and
for this purpose arrange another interview with him
to receive his answer. If M. de Bentinck persists,
in this new conference, in requiring that the words
person or persons shall stand in the article, I permit
you to insert the last term persons immediately after
that of person, marked in Italics in the draught
which I send you.
And, as the benefit of peace must not be delayed,
when nothing more is in question than a change of
a few expressions; and, as the Prince of Orange no
longer requires that of "King of England," which
was an invincible obstacle, it is my pleasure, in the
last resort, that you shall agree to the proposal of M.
de Bentinck, if you shall see that it is absolutely
necessary to adhere to it, always avoiding, however,
if it be possible, to employ the term "right" when
the Prince of Orange is spoken of, and the expression
"whatever designs may be alleged" prefaced to
the draught of the said Sieur de Bentinck. At all
events, I leave it to your prudence not to insist on
these terms if you should see an equal necessity for
conceding them. You are not to manifest any open
repugnance towards them, but merely endeavour to
oppose them.
You will observe that it is only in
the second conference that you are to make use of
this expedient.
To return to the article concerning the princi-
pality of Orange,
*
*
*
*
60 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Camp near Brussels, July 25. 1697.
I have read the draft of a treaty delivered to
the mediator by the ambassadors of France. I
have the same remarks as you to make upon it.
I have still some hope that the principal articles
might be adjusted to the satisfaction of the empire
and of Spain; and that France would make reason-
able concessions, if the ambassadors of Austria do
not themselves interfere to spoil the negotiations
by their perverse proceedings. I do not find this
strange on the part of the Imperialists; for, what-
ever need they have of peace, they do not wish for
it, and wait till they are compelled to accept it;
but, with regard to the Spaniards, who so ardently
desire it, and who are in such great embarrassment,
this is inconceivable. I am of opinion, nevertheless,
that they may be induced to accept, within the pre-
scribed term, the conditions which have been of-
fered. I will also bring the matter seriously before
the Elector of Bavaria. But as for the Imperialists,
we may depend upon it that they will do nothing;
so that we must consider in what manner we must
proceed with respect to them. Perhaps, if the con-
ditions were agreed upon, the best thing would be
to endeavour to obtain an armistice, which would
serve at least to prevent the total ruin of this poor
country.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
61
THE DUKE OF SHREWSBURY TO LORD VILLIERS.
Whitehall, July 16–26. 1697.
I hope my Lord Portland's interview will bring
matters to a conclusion one way or other. If the
French are in earnest for a peace, it will be very
welcome; if they are not, it is necessary the world
should see it, and particularly so with relation to
his Majesty's affairs here, that people may not too
long flatter themselves with such deluding expecta-
tions, but prepare to carry on the war; which, I am
confident, when we set our minds to it, we shall be
in a better condition to do than we were the last
year, money growing much more plentiful in the
country, and credit in town beginning now to
recover.
WILLIAM III. TO THE DUKE OF SHREWSBURY.
Dieren, August 17-27. 1697.
Affairs here are at a great crisis. Next Friday
is the day fixed by the French for accepting their
offer of peace, and by their conduct it appears as if
they were desirous the term should elapse; as they
pretend not to have been instructed with regard to
the surrender of Barcelona, and other conditions of
less importance, which concern the Spaniards, and
without which peace cannot be concluded. The
unfortunate loss of Barcelona, at this particular
time, as well as the escape of Pointis, may perhaps
be the cause of this extraordinary conduct on the
part of the French, and may prevent the conclu-
sion of the peace, which I thought certain.
62
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
MARSHAL BOUFFLERS TO LOUIS XIV.
Camp of Sainte-Renelle,
July 27. 1697.
Sire,
Having received, on the evening of the 25th,
your Majesty's letter of the 24th of this month, in
which you apprised me of your intentions with regard
to the two articles which remain to be settled with
the Prince of Orange, I sent M. de Giey, on the
26th at daybreak, to M. de Bentinck, to tell him
that if he pleased to repair, on the same day, to
our usual place of meeting, or to Halle, about four
o'clock in the afternoon, I would be there also.
M. de Bentinck having agreed, I repaired at about
three o'clock to Halle, and having been informed
by M. de Pracomtal, who had, as usual, proceeded
to the village of Brucorn, that M. de Bentinck was
already there with all his attendants, I thought
that in order to respond to all his civilities, (having
invariably received from M. de Bentinck, in all our
other conferences, every mark of respect and de-
ference,) I ought to go and meet him beyond
Halle, which I accordingly did, and he appeared to
be very sensible of this mark of attention, sending
several times to request me not to take the trouble
of advancing any further, for that he would come
himself to meet me at Halle.
After having met on the road, and interchanged
many civilities, we approached Halle; and, as I
thought that we should be more at ease in the
orchards, at the gates of Halle, than in the town,
to avoid the confusion, and perhaps the tumult
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 63
which our suite might occasion, we alighted at the
city gate, and, having withdrawn to a distance from
every body, and again interchanged courtesies,
I said to M. de Bentinck that I had had the honour
of sending your Majesty the memorandum which
he had given me, respecting the securities which
the Prince of Orange required, in not naming the
King of England in the treaty, and the manner in
which this article should be expressed in the said
treaty; that your Majesty had found it much more
detailed than the proposal which M. de Bentinck
had made in our second conference; that, without
expressly naming the King of England, he could
not be more clearly designated than he was in this
article; that this was entirely contrary to the
very positive and repeated assurances which he
had given me, on the part of the Prince of Orange,
to be communicated to your Majesty: viz., that the
Prince of Orange was sensible of the repugnance
which your Majesty must feel against naming the
King of England in the treaty, or even to designate
him; and that his intention was by no means to re-
quire any thing of your Majesty on this subject, or
on any other, which might personally wound your
Majesty's honour, or give you pain; that the other
expressions, which your Majesty had approved,
comprised all that was required in the said article;
and that, above all things, entire confidence must
be placed in the assurances which your Majesty
gave of your sincere intentions to preserve the
peace, without any reserve or restriction, in all that
you promised.
64 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
Upon this he stated, that the Prince of Orange
had likewise entire confidence in this; but, as
treaties were made not for kings alone, but also
for kingdoms and states, they could not be too
clearly expressed; and therefore the Prince of
Orange trusted that your Majesty would consent
to grant him every reasonable security.
I told him that the Prince of Orange had great
reason to believe it, and that your Majesty, to give
him every satisfaction on that point which might
depend on you, without naming or designating the
King of England, was willing to make use of the
greater part of the terms of the article which
he had given me, and to extend it, as far as it
was possible for your Majesty to do; after which
no further difficulties ought to be raised.
Having then stated to M. de Bentinck the sub-
stance of your Majesty's article, as it is not pos-
sible, or, at least, very difficult to retain quite ex-
actly all the terms, I told him that I had made a
summary myself of what your Majesty could grant,
and consented to grant; and I read to him, in fact,
the article drawn up by my own hand.* After
having listened to it very attentively, he said that
though some terms still seemed to be desirable in
it, yet he was satisfied with every thing that was
expressed, and, knowing the intentions of the
Prince of Orange in every thing that might be
agreeable to your Majesty, he assured me that he
would be satisfied with this article, which he
* See infrà.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 65
asked me to give him. I told him that, as it was
only a rough scrawl written by myself, it would
be better that he should take a copy written in
his own hand, and that, after our conference was
over, we could enter the nearest house where he
might write this copy, to which be consented.
After being perfectly agreed upon this point, I
told him that, with regard to the principality of
Orange,
*
*
After we had agreed upon the two articles
above mentioned, respecting England and the
principality of Orange, and had tendered congra-
tulations on seeing matters in so mutual a fair
way to lead us to hope for a speedy peace, M.
de Bentinck inquired what was now to be done
in order to carry into effect the matters on which
we had agreed, and to hasten the conclusion of
peace, and whether the Prince of Orange should,
in consequence of our convention above speci-
fied, take any steps before he heard from your
Majesty respecting the account which I should
have the honour to give you of our yesterday's
conference.
*
I told him that, as the Prince of Orange had
engaged, by all that he told me .on his part for
your Majesty in our first conference, to contribute
in good faith, and with all his power, to the general
peace-so soon as he should receive the satisfaction
which he hoped for in respect of the matters which
concerned himself personally—especially to induce
the Emperor and the Spaniards to make peace,
and that, if they refused to do so, he would
VOL. I.
F
66
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
make peace with your Majesty, independently of
them, for England and the States-General: that
it was time, now that we had agreed on every
thing which concerned him, to put into execu-
tion what he had promised; that I believed that
the sooner this was done the better; that with-
out making known to the plenipotentiaries of the
allied Powers, or even to his own ministers and the
plenipotentiaries of the States-General, the situation
in which matters now stand between your Majesty
and the Prince of Orange, the latter might issue his
instructions to his ministers at the conferences at
Ryswick, and to the plenipotentiaries of the States-
General, to hasten and facilitate all things, as he
had promised; and to smooth the difficulties which
may still be unreasonably raised on the part of the
allies in the explanation of the preliminaries, and
at the same time employ his good offices with the
said allies to bring them to reason, and give them
to understand that, in our first conference, he
(M. de Bentinck) had signified to me that the
Prince of Orange wished for a speedy answer
from your Majesty respecting the points of which
he had spoken to me, in order to ascertain, as
soon as possible, what he might expect from the
conferences at Ryswick. I assured him likewise
that your Majesty was at least as eager upon
this point as the Prince of Orange, not only on
account of the sincere intentions of your Ma-
jesty to procure, as soon as possible, peace and
repose to Europe, but likewise, because after all
the advances and advantageous offers which your
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 67
Majesty had made to the allies to attain this object,
your glory would be affected by all the delays and
difficulties which were interposed; and that there-
fore the sooner the Prince of Orange could on his
part labour efficaciously for the immediate con-
clusion of peace, the better it would be; that I was
assured that your Majesty would give the same
instructions to your plenipotentiaries in regard to
all that should be just and reasonable.
M. de Bentinck said that he would not fail to
inform the Prince of Orange of all this, and that
your Majesty might rest assured that he would
devote himself to it with good faith and with all his
power; but that he was obliged to use great circum-
spection for fear of giving the allies umbrage,
and that they might not imagine that he wished to
compel them to make peace by force and authority;
that the Emperor, in particular, is the most ob-
stinate, and makes most opposition, in consequence
of the unreasonable spirit of one of his chief minis-
ters at Vienna, whose name I have forgotten; that
the Spaniards are more reasonable, and have en-
tirely intrusted all their interests to the Prince of
Orange, who may deal with them as he thinks best.
To this M. de Bentinck added, that the Prince of
Orange had seen the proposal for peace which the
plenipotentiaries of your Majesty have delivered at
the conferences; which proposal the Prince of Orange
had found perfectly satisfactory and very equitable,
saying that, if he had drawn it up himself, he could
not have made it better for all parties; that above
all, it is drawn up in terms of dignity, but very
F 2
68 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
conciliatory, which has not always been the case;
and that this particularly had given grounds for com-
plaint and estrangement to most of the plenipoten-
tiaries and ministers of the allies, more especially to
those of the Emperor; that the Prince of Orange had
already pointed out to them the conciliatory terms
in question, observing that they contained nothing
but what was reasonable, and that it was very
difficult to oppose good reasons brought forward
with civility and without any offensive expression.
M. de Bentinck told me further, that the Prince
of Orange apprehended that the plenipotentiaries of
your Majesty were not disposed to give your Ma-
jesty so favourable a testimony as he deserves, not
only of his good intentions respecting the general
peace, but also of his private sentiments for your
Majesty; that even the plenipotentiaries or ministers
of the Prince of Orange at the conferences have
some reason to be not entirely satisfied with the
plenipotentiaries of your Majesty, who have received
their memoirs, and have not yet given any answer,
though they had given one to those of the other allies;
that he does not know the reason of this, unless it
be the jealousy which they have conceived of the
conferences of M. de Bentinck and myself; that he
knows further that they have attempted to decry
them and to render them odious, having given
several ministers of the allies to understand that
in one of these conferences M. de Bentinck had
told me that the Prince of Orange would make the
allies do just what he pleased, and that he knew
how they must be managed. M. de Bentinck
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 69
assured me that some of the ministers of the allies
had spoken of it to the Prince of Orange.
After finishing our conference in the orchard
where we were, M. de Bentinck and myself went into
the nearest house in the suburbs of Halle, where he
copied out with his own hand, word for word, the
article which your Majesty did me the honour to
address to me on what concerns England, which I
dictated to him myself. He proposed that it should
be written by my secretary, who presented him with
paper and ink, desiring to excuse himself, on the
ground that writing was inconvenient to him, as he
had been formerly wounded in his right hand. But,
on my observing that I thought it would be better
that he should write it himself, he did so without
difficulty, and when he had finished, we read it over
together, to see if it exactly corresponded to the copy
which I had myself taken from that of your Majesty,
and which was found entirely to agree with it word
for word. He repeated that there were, indeed,
still a few terms which it might be desirable
to insert in this paper, but that he was satisfied
with the mode in which it was drawn up, and
that the Prince of Orange relied much more on the
good faith and sincerity of your Majesty's inten-
tions, of which I had assured him, scrupulously to
observe the peace, and all that might be agreed
upon, and understood by this paper, than on all the
terms which it contained, and all those which might
have been added to it.
F 3
70 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
(ENCLOSURE.)
Draught of an Article given by Marshal de BOUFFLERS
to M. de BENTINCK, July 27. 1697.
"The King will engage by the treaty, not to assist,
directly or indirectly, the enemies of the Prince of Orange,
without any exception; binding himself further not to
favour, in any manner whatsoever, the cabals, secret
intrigues, factions and rebellions which may occur in
England, nor those who shall excite or foment them,
without any exception of person."
THE DUKE OF SHREWSBURY TO SIR JOSEPH
WILLIAMSON.
Whitehall, July 18-28. 1697.
It is plain the French have been unwilling to
come to any immediate conclusion, expecting the
success of the several projects they had on foot. I
hope the event will dispose them to be more sincere
hereafter in their intentions for a peace. However,
it was certainly well advised to push them to a
declaration; which, I perceive, was the end of my
Lord Portland's interviews with Marshal Boufflers.
Uncertainties may be dangerous to his Majesty's
affairs abroad, and I am sure they are prejudicial
to his interests at home.
If the war must be continued, it is time the
thoughts of the nation were disposed to it, and that
they did no longer flatter themselves with the
deluding expectations of a peace, but turn their
minds to support the war with vigour and resolu-
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 71
tion, which I am sure they are better able to do
this year than they were the last; and I do not
doubt but they will be as willing, when they see no
other means left, to save all that they have been
thus long contending for. No man alive could
more sincerely rejoice than I should at a safe and
honourable agreement; but if the enemy will give
so much credit to the false accounts of their corre-
spondents here, that it cannot be obtained, I hope
they will find, though we wish a peace more than
they, we do not want it so much.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Camp near Brussels, July 29. 1697.
The conduct of the ambassadors of Spain is in-
comprehensible, if we consider the instructions
which they have received, and how necessary to
them is a speedy peace. I trust that I shall be able
to induce the Elector of Bavaria to send them po-
sitive orders. I yesterday plainly declared to
Count d'Aversberg, who begged me to tell him
what I thought, that we could no longer continue
the war, and that peace must be accepted on the
conditions offered, and within the term prescribed.
He promised to write to the Court of Vienna on
the subject by an extraordinary courier. He
seemed not to have much objection to it, but com-
plained bitterly of the harshness of the conditions
respecting Lorraine.
1
F 4
72 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
EARL OF PORTLAND TO THE DUKE OF
SHREWSBURY.
July 19-29. 1697.
My Lord,
Lord Sunderland can give you an account of
what I wrote to him concerning my interviews with
Marshal Boufflers. At the last he dictated this
article—that the King of France consents to have
it inserted in the treaty, that, for the security of his
Majesty, he will give no assistance to King James
or to the Jacobites. There is no farther difficulty
with regard to what concerns the King in particular.
The King of France conveyed a solemn protesta-
tion that he was sincerely desirous of peace, after
the King, our master, had caused the same profes-
sion to be made to him. A term is fixed at the
Hague for its conclusion or rupture: we shall
therefore soon have it, or know to whom we are to
ascribe the blame of the failure.
I beg you not to render this article public.
THE DUKE OF SHREWSBURY TO WILLIAM III.
Whitehall, July 20–30. 1697.
You will believe, Sire, the likelihood of a peace
is welcome news to me, who, for above a twelve-
month, have thought it necessary for your service.
In the countries where I have been, it is so much.
wished and expected, that if the enemies should
not prove sincere in their intentions, it would be
proper the people's minds were weaned from these
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 73
hopes, and disposed to contribute to the war, as
well as their condition will permit. It is very
happy, therefore, that the method your Majesty has
put the negotiation into, has brought the business
to such a point, that the event cannot long re-
main uncertain. I must confess the propositions
which I have seen, made by the French, appear so
near reason in all they mention, that I should think
the agreement undoubted, if they have explained
themselves fully and reasonably relating to what
immediately concerns your Majesty and these king-
doms. The King of France having made conscience
and glory his pretences for carrying on this war,
and for supporting the interests of the late King,
one would wish that such expressions might be used
in the articles concerning that matter, as whether
King James's name were mentioned or not, might
yet be so strong and so particular, that he should
have no excuse to renew the one or assist the other,
without plainly forfeiting his word and breaking
his engagements, which no reasonable man will be
persuaded ought to be done upon a motive of
honour and conscience.
LOUIS XIV. TO MARSHAL BOUFFLERS.
Versailles, July 30. 1697.
My Cousin,
I have received the letter which you wrote to
me on the 27th.
You made a very proper reply
to M. de Bentinck's intimation, that the Prince
74 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
of Orange hoped that, after the lapse of some years,
I should waive the execution of the secret promise
which I desire from the Prince of Orange, that no
person shall settle in the city of Orange without my
permission, and that I will allow such of my subjects
as have left my kingdom to settle there, but always
with the reserve that the settlement of the said
subjects be not disagreeable to me; and, if he should
again speak to you on the same subject, I desire
you to answer in the same terms.
I see that M. de Bentinck has asked you what
steps I thought his master ought to take to hasten
the negotiations for peace; but, as the Prince of
Orange knows better than any body the temper of
his allies, the conduct which he ought to observe
towards them, and the steps which will be best
calculated to induce them to peace, you are to
give M. de Bentinck to understand, that I leave it
to his master to take such steps as he shall deem
necessary for ensuring success, observing, "that
I am persuaded the Prince of Orange will know
how to profit by the confidence which the Spa-
niards have in him, to induce the Emperor, notwith-
standing the opposition and the ill-will of the
Count de Kinsky, and all the allies, to concur in
the general re-establishment of the tranquillity of
Europe."
In reply to the complaints which M. de Bentinck
has made of my plenipotentiaries at Ryswick; in the
first place, that though all the allies had received
answers to the proposals which they had de-
livered to my ministers, yet no answer had yet
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 75
been returned to the proposal presented by the
ministers of the Prince of Orange; secondly, that
they have attempted to decry the conferences
which he has had with you; - you must state
that the Prince of Orange must not complain
that my plenipotentiaries have not answered his
ministers in writing, well knowing that I have
always declared that I would not engage to treat
directly with him, till all the other articles of the
peace were agreed upon, to which he himself
consented; and that for this reason, his pro-
posals have been communicated to my plenipo-
tentiaries by the ambassadors of the States-General,
and not by the English who were present at the
conferences at Ryswick.
With regard to the second subject of complaint,
where he alleges that my plenipotentiaries have
endeavoured to cast odium on the conferences
which you have had together, I am willing, for
your private information, to tell you, that, as it was
still very uncertain that the intentions of the Prince
of Orange were as sincere as they now appear to
be, and as you had not been required to observe
secrecy on what had passed in the first conference,
I had left it to my plenipotentiaries to make such
use of it as they should think proper to those who
were well disposed to peace, in order to advance
the negotiation. But you are to answer to M. de
Bentinck, that it is enough that I am assured of the
good intentions of the Prince of Orange, and that
he will see that the language and the conduct of
my plenipotentiaries will henceforth be conforma-
76
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
ble with the good opinion which I have of him, and
will efface the impressions which they may have
made.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Camp near Brussels, August 1. 1697.
The Earl of Portland sends you a copy of the
instructions, which the Elector of Bavaria will
transmit, to-morrow, to the ambassadors of Spain,
that you may regulate your conduct accordingly.
The Earl of Portland is to have another conference
to-morrow with the Marquis de Boufflers, of which
he intends to communicate the result to you, on
Sunday evening, at the Hague. I shall acquaint
him, at the same time, with my opinion of the
whole affair, because I do not think it advisable
that you should be absent from the Hague at
present, otherwise I would have invited you to
come to me at Breda.
MARSHAL BOUFFLERS TO LOUIS XIV.
Camp of Weissen, August 3. 1697.
Sire,
The letter with which your Majesty has been
pleased to honour me, under date of the 30th of
last month, having been delivered to me on the
31st, in the evening, I sent a trumpeter, on the
1st of August, to Sieur Giey, desiring him to go
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 77
from me to M. de Bentinck and tell him, that if
it was agreeable to him to go next day, the 2d
of this month, at four o'clock in the afternoon, to
the village of Coppegheim, midway between Asek
and the camp of the allies, I would be there also at
the same time. The Sieur de Giey having informed
me yesterday morning that M. de Bentinck would
not fail to be at the said place, at the hour ap-
pointed, I took care to be there also.
M. de Bentinck being at the rendezvous at the
hour agreed upon, we saluted each other, and,
after having alighted, I told him that, in conse-
quence of the hopes he had expressed soon to
receive news from me on the subject of our last con-
ference, and of the instructions which your Majesty
had sent to your plenipotentiaries to hasten the
conclusion of the pending affairs, I was very glad
to see him, in order to communicate to him the
answer with which your Majesty has honoured
me; that on receiving the account which I had
the honour to give your Majesty of what passed
in the said conference, of the manner in which
the Prince of Orange promised to give his secret
word respecting Orange, consenting to every thing
your Majesty desired, as well on this article as on
that of the securities to be given to the Prince
of Orange, without naming the King of England,
according to the article, of which the said Sieur
de Bentinck had himself taken a copy; your Ma-
jesty had commanded me to express, on your part,
to the said M. de Bentinck the satisfaction with
which you received these assurances, and the testi-
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LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
monies of the sentiments of the Prince of Orange
towards your Majesty, as well as the sincere in-
tentions of that Prince for the speedy conclusion
of
peace; that your Majesty had besides ordered
me to repeat the assurances of the high esteem
of your Majesty for the Prince of Orange, of which
he should receive marks, so soon as the peace
would permit you to give them; that with respect
to what the said Sieur de Bentinck had stated in
our last conference, that the Prince of Orange, be-
fore taking any step to put into execution the
measures on which we had agreed for the speedy
conclusion of peace, would be glad to hear from
your Majesty on that subject, your Majesty
ordered me to tell him (M. de Bentinck) that
you were very sensible of this deference to your
opinion on the part of the Prince of Orange, but
that, as that Prince was better acquainted than
any body with the temper of his allies, the conduct
which he ought to observe towards them, and the
steps best calculated to induce them to a speedy
conclusion of peace, your Majesty left it to the
Prince of Orange to take such as he should deem
necessary to ensure success; your Majesty, not
doubting that he will profit by the confidence
which the Spaniards have in him, to induce the
Emperor, notwithstanding the opposition and ill-
will of Count de Kinski, and all the allies, to con-
cur in the restoration of general peace in Europe.
M. de Bentinck, after listening very attentively,
without once interrupting me, said that he would
not fail to give an exact account to the Prince of
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 79
Orange of all I had just said, and that he would un-
doubtedly receive with great pleasure and sensibi-
lity the renewed assurances I had just given him of
your Majesty's personal esteem, and all the favour-
able sentiments of your Majesty; that he could only
repeat the same things he had already said several
times on the part of the Prince of Orange; that
your Majesty could not be too fully persuaded of
the sincere desire of the Prince to respond to every
thing that your Majesty can either expect or desire
of him; that he will not be behindhand in any
point; and that, in a word, he will exceed, if possible,
rather than fall short (these are his own words);
that in regard to your Majesty's leaving it to the
Prince of Orange to take such steps with the allies
as he should judge best calculated to induce them
to a speedy conclusion of peace, in consequence
of what I had stated in our last conference, that
the Prince of Orange, without waiting for intelli-
gence from your Majesty, might, in conformity with
our last arrangement, send his instructions to his
ministers at the conferences, to act with the minis-
ters of the allies, and do whatever he should think
best calculated to promote the general peace-
the Prince of Orange had, on the day following our
last interview, despatched a courier to the Hague
to his ministers and the plenipotentiaries of the
States-General, to order them to examine all the
expedients which might facilitate and accelerate the
conclusion of peace; that he had also himself spoken
to the ministers of Spain at Brussels, and to the
Elector of Bavaria, to incline them likewise to adopt
-
80 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
the same resolve; that the ministers of Spain have
agreed and promised to accept it, according to the
proposal which has been delivered by the plenipoten-
tiaries of your Majesty, but that, as the equivalent
for Luxembourg is left blank in the project, and a
considerable time must elapse from the day when
the said equivalent shall be fixed and declared at
the conferences,—that an account may be sent to
the King of Spain at Madrid, and to receive his
answer on the choice of the said equivalent or of
Luxembourg,—it would be advisable that the ple-
nipotentiaries of your Majesty should declare the
said equivalent as soon as possible; that meanwhile,
in order not to delay the conclusion of peace, the
Prince of Orange would do all in his power to
induce the Spaniards to sign it, without waiting for
the answer from Spain respecting the said equiva-
lent, it being agreed on both sides, that if it should
appear by the answer of the King of Spain that
his Catholic Majesty prefers the equivalent, both
the city and duchy of Luxembourg, and the
county of Chiny and its dependencies, shall re-
main to your Majesty, as stated in the draft of
the treaty, and the equivalent shall be delivered to
the King of Spain. If, however, on the contrary,
the King of Spain prefers the city and duchy of
Luxembourg and the county of Chiny, they shall
be delivered to his Catholic Majesty, and the said
equivalent shall remain in the possession of your
Majesty; but that the point upon which it is abso-
lutely necessary that the plenipotentiaries of your
Majesty should declare your intentions, before the
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 81
conclusion and signing of the peace, is that which
concerns Barcelona, in case it should be taken, for
it is impossible to induce the Spaniards to make
peace till your Majesty shall have restored to them
that city, as well as all the rest of your conquests
in Catalonia; that, as your Majesty has been
pleased to give a greater proof of the sincerity
of your intentions respecting peace, by ceding Ath,
though conquered since the opening of the con-
ferences, it is hoped that, on the same principle, and
to secure the tranquillity of Europe, your Majesty
will likewise be pleased to give up Barcelona, in the
event of its being reduced to your authority. This
is a matter of which it is absolutely necessary to
be assured, before the Spaniards will consent to
peace; that therefore your Majesty wishing, as you
have declared, that it may be speedily concluded, it
is advisable that, as soon as possible, you should
send instructions to your plenipotentiaries respecting
Barcelona, so that nothing may occasion delay in
that quarter, as well as respecting the equivalent
for Luxembourg.
To all this I replied to M. de Bentinck, that I
should have the honour to report to your Majesty,
and that you might then, if you thought proper,
send your instructions on these various points
to your plenipotentiaries, and inform them of your
Hereupon M. de Bentinck stated,
that this was all the Prince of Orange desired, but
that the sooner it could be done the better, for the
speedy conclusion of peace.
intentions.
To return to M. de Bentinck's conversation.
VOL. I.
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82 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
After having pointed out to me how necessary it
was, in order to hasten the conclusion of peace, that
your Majesty should be pleased to acquaint your
plenipotentiaries with your intentions on all these
points as speedily as possible, he told me that the
Prince of Orange, the better to prove the sincerity
of his desires for the conclusion of peace, had
resolved to go to Loo, that he might be nearer
the seat of the conferences, and be able, more
quickly, to solve the difficulties which might arise
there; that he was preparing to set out for that
place this very day, the 3d of August, unless some-
thing new should occur which should oblige him to
delay; that he saw, with much pain, the armies of
your Majesty completely eating up and devouring
the only country remaining to the Spaniards in this
quarter; that he daily received complaints from
private persons of the losses and damage which
they sustained; that the Elector of Bavaria and the
ministers of Spain represented to him that it was
very hard upon them, and very lamentable, at a
time when the Spaniards accepted the peace, to be
eaten up and completely ruined, solely for the
good of others; that at least, if the armies of
your Majesty would retire into the country which
your Majesty is willing to restore, in order to
subsist there during the remainder of the campaign,
it would be less hard upon them than to see the
armies of your Majesty at their very doors, and be
unable to leave home; that it would even be an act
of wisdom to conclude a truce or a suspension of
arms, since it was sincerely agreed upon to make
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 83
peace; that the Spaniards, as well as the Prince of
Orange and the States-General, would gladly agree
to this; and that, if I would represent the case to
your Majesty, it could not fail to have a good effect,
and dispose the minds of all parties still more to
a speedy conclusion of
peace.
I told him that this proposal for a suspension of
arms was more out of my line than any thing else;
that I was less acquainted with the best means of
making your Majesty's armies retire from the place
where they are at present, than of making peace and
signing it; that therefore I could not in any wise
take it upon myself to write on the subject to your
Majesty; but that they might speak of it, if they
thought proper, to your Majesty's plenipotentiaries
at Ryswick, who might have the honour of report-
ing to your Majesty.
I forgot to tell your Majesty that M. de Bentinck
has said nothing positive to me about the Emperor
in regard to the peace, except that the Prince of
Orange has already caused his plenipotentiaries
to be spoken to, giving them to understand that all
the conditions which your Majesty accedes to for the
general peace, being very just and reasonable, it
would not be equitable that, through unwillingness
to make peace without the Emperor, or abandon
him, the allies, and all Europe, should remain
exposed to the troubles and sufferings of war for
his special interest; and, therefore, he could not
reasonably refuse to acquiesce, like all the other
allies, in the just offers of your Majesty, and that
G 2
84 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
the Prince of Orange hoped he should induce him
to do so.
M. de Bentinck has not said any thing to me about
the short term of six weeks, which your Majesty's
plenipotentiaries have granted for accepting the
proposal for peace which they have made, and it
seems to me, from the tenor of all M. de Bentinck
says, and from the conduct of the Prince of Orange,
that that Prince will neglect nothing practicable
for the speedy conclusion of peace.
THE DUKE OF SHREWSBURY TO WILLIAM III.
July 27.
August 6.
1697.
Whitehall,
Sire,
I received, by the last post, a letter from my
Lord Portland, which gave me great satisfaction
to understand the peace was in all probability so
near a conclusion. In my answer to him this
night I have taken the liberty to write my
thoughts on the article dictated by Marshal Bouf-
flers, that I wished your Majesty were called
William the Third, King of Great Britain, to avoid
any cavilling interpretations hereafter. In this,
I since perceive my Lord Chancellor and Lord
Chamberlain agree with me. I also hinted something
of King James's removing farther from England,
which I remember was formerly in your Majesty's
intentions. But what occasions this trouble is from
another remark, in the same article, which I think
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 85
proper to be trusted to no other but-yourself, that,
if it proceeds from inadvertence, it may be mended;
if from another reason, it may be buried in your
Majesty's breast, as I am sure my having taken
notice of it shall eternally be in mine. What I
mean is, that in the article your Majesty engages
for yourself, and successors, to live in peace with
the King of France; and he engages for himself,
and successors, to do the like to your Majesty; but
neither your Majesty, nor the King of France, is
bound by this article, as now penned, to live in
peace with the successors of each other. What I
have said I hope is sufficient to make my meaning
intelligible.
THE DUKE OF SHREWSBURY TO THE EARL OF
PORTLAND.
Whitehall, July 27.
August 6.
1697.
My Lord,
I have received your Lordship's of the
19th-29th, with the enclosed article dictated by
Marshal Boufflers, by which I perceive the mat-
ters in dispute between the King, our master,
and the King of France, are in great measure
adjusted. I hope the allies, some way or other,
will be prevailed with to be reasonable on their
parts; and when they consider what a share
of the expense England and Holland bear in the
war, allow them to be the best judges when it is
time to put an end to it. The article seems very
@ 3
86 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
strongly worded to prevent the King of France
fomenting any private rebellions, as well as assist-
ing in any open invasion of these kingdoms; and
the words "that he will not disturb the King of
Great Britain in the possession of his kingdoms," &c.
can only relate to our present King. Yet since,
out of decency, they make a difficulty to name
King James, in which, impartially speaking, they
appear to have reason, I see no objection why they
might not name the King by name, William the
Third, King of Great Britain; as it would more
unquestionably take away any unreasonable cavil
that might hereafter be made, that, by the King
of Great Britain, King James was only meant.
I
mention this as my present private thought, and
in which it is very probable there may be little
weight, but that you allow me to write with the
freedom of a friend, as well as an humble servant.
I must farther observe, that there is no care
taken in this article to remove King James to
some farther distance than Paris. I imagine the
King of France will not think it proper or decent
for himself, that he should live at St. Germains,
or in that neighbourhood, whilst our King has an
ambassador at the French Court: but I am sure
it would be of very dangerous consequence to the
King's affairs here, that King James should be
permitted to live in any place so near these king-
doms, that letters and messages might frequently
pass, and that persons of consideration might have
pretences of going, where they would have oppor-
tunity of discoursing with him, without its being
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 87
visible that was their errand. To be convinced
of the consequence of this, one needs but reflect
on the advantage the present king, when Prince
of Orange, made of such a free intercourse as was
then between London and the Hague.
Since I have written thus far of my letter, I
have discoursed with my Lord Chancellor and
Lord Chamberlain * upon the article your Lord-
ship enclosed; and they both are of opinion
that the mentioning the King by name, William
the Third, King of Great Britain, is of conse-
quence for preventing future cavils.
LOUIS XIV. TO MARSHAL BOUFFLERS.
Marly, August 6. 1697.
My Cousin,
I have received the letter which you wrote to
me on the 3d of this month, giving me an account
of the conference which you had, on the 2d of
August, with M. de Bentinck at the village of
Coppegheim. I am very glad to see the manner in
which you have executed the orders which I gave
you, referring to the explanations which my pleni-
potentiaries at the Hague shall give respecting my
future intentions. You have conducted yourself on
this occasion as I could wish, and I shall now inform
them what are the resolutions which I have taken,
in regard to what M. de Bentinck told you, "that
* Lord Somers and the Earl of Sunderland.
G 4
88 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
it would be necessary for the speedy conclusion of
peace, that the allies should be informed of the use
that I intend to make of Barcelona, and of the
equivalent which I intend to offer to the King of
Spain for Luxemburg."
Meanwhile I will tell you, for your satisfaction,
that with respect to Barcelona, I instruct my pleni-
potentiaries to declare, that I cannot decide what
I shall do with a place which I have not yet taken,
and must wait till it is subject to my authority. With
respect to the equivalent for Luxemburg, it is not
for me to propose it to the King of Spain, and it is
agreed, on the contrary, with his ministers, that he
shall propose the equivalent to me, and that I shall
have the choice.
As I am persuaded that, after what you have
said to M. de Bentinck, with regard to his proposal
for a suspension of arms, it will be likewise made
to my plenipotentiaries; I instruct them before-
hand, that, as nothing is more calculated to
determine the allies to peace than the situation
of my armies, and the posts which they occupy
in the Spanish Netherlands, by the murmurs which
their presence excites among the people, I do not
mean to withdraw them till the treaty of peace is
signed and ratified by Spain, or at least by England
and Holland, if the ministers of Spain represent
that too much time would be lost by waiting for
the ratification from Madrid, on condition that the
Prince of Orange shall engage to abandon the
Catholic King if he refuses to send his ratification.
I have communicated my intentions to my ple-
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 89
nipotentiaries respecting what M. de Bentinck said,
that it would be desirable that they should behave
with less reserve to the ministers of the allies. With
respect to those of the Prince of Orange, it is a
matter which is not practicable, it having been
arranged that I shall not acknowledge him as King
of England till all the articles of the peace shall be
agreed on, and every thing concerning the allies be
settled.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Loo, August 9. 1697.
As it is impossible to write every thing in an
affair so complicated, and of such great import-
ance, I must request you to take the trouble of
coming hither. Time presses exceedingly, and I
am absolutely of opinion that the peace must be
signed in the course of this month; or at least,
that the terms offered must be accepted. Other-
wise we shall be again thrown into extreme embar-
rassment, for which there will be no remedy.
Hence there is not a moment to be lost.
SIR JOSEPH WILLIAMSON TO THE DUKE OF
SHREWSBURY.
Hague, August 9. 1697.
My Lord,
Since my last, which was of the 6th, we find
plainly how little the world have expected so great
90
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
an advance on the matter of the peace as hath hap-
pily followed upon my Lord Portland's conferring
with Marshal Boufflers; and, indeed, how little some
of them desire it. The Emperor and Empire ap-
pear infinitely concerned at the likelihood there is,
that the proposition from France for equivalents
to be accepted for Strasburg and Luxemburg,
should take place: not but that, secretly, the
Emperor is more than willing that it should pro-
ceed as to the first, the equivalents for that being
such places as would fall into the Emperor's own
hands. And, therefore, we find these last days,
that the great cry is turned upon the other, that is
upon Luxemburg; which is alleged by all those
of the Empire, to be of that full consequence to
them, that if it should, for any consideration, be left
in the hands of the French, they were undone; lost
wholly in their liberty and safety; and that they
must in that case be necessitated to seek it from
France alone. This has been strongly exaggerated
to us by the Imperial embassy yesterday, and this
afternoon we are told we shall have a little attack
from the body of the ministers of the empire, with
desire to have their representations transmitted to
his Majesty for his farther consideration, as a thing
which they look upon to be of the last considera-
tion and importance to them.
As to our business, the French ambassadors have
not yet received from Court what they are to re-
turn as an answer to our project, but expect it
daily; though they do beforehand speak of it to
the ambassadors of this State who deal for us, that
•
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 91
they look
upon it as a thing that can have no great
difficulty in it. Something they speak as to the
point of the pension, or yearly sum settled hereto-
fore on the late King James's Queen, which they
do not well know how it stands in fact, and there-
fore are not distinct nor clear in what they would
propose as to that matter.
The answer of the Emperor and Empire to the
French project, was given in by the ministers on
Tuesday morning, but is of that length, that the
French were not able to give any distinct answer
to it on Wednesday, at the conferences at Ryswick,
only they gave the allies to understand by the
mediator, that the King, their master, was very
sincere in his desires for peace; and that the time
pressed extremely to finish it; that, as to the point
of Alsace, and the ten towns, it was a thing long
since settled, and could not be admitted to be
spoken of in this place. And as to the term for
accepting of the conditions, the mediator gave us
to understand, that the French look upon it that
they have sufficiently made the declaration of it,
so as that it will be taken by them as the time
beyond which they will no longer be bound to the
same conditions.
THE DUKE OF SHREWSBURY TO LORD VILLIERS.
Whitehall, July 30.
August 9.
1697.
After eight years' war one may be allowed to
own peace would be welcome; and I think it is
92 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III, AND LOUIS XIV.
brought to a pass, that it cannot, it must not fail;
for as it will be counted one of the greatest actions.
of his Majesty's life to have settled that in a fort-
night, by a method of his own, which he saw could
not have been concluded in many months at Rys-
wick; so, if this agreement should now break off,
he will have introduced a separate way of treating,
which may prove infinitely hazardous to his own
interest if the precedent shall be followed by other
princes; since all the allies, I doubt, are not so well
to be trusted upon the honour of their words, as
they have had experience he is.
EARL OF PORTLAND TO THE DUKE OF
SHREWSBURY.
Loo, August 2-12. 1697.
My Lord,
22
I am very glad that you approve the article
which I sent you. It is as strongly expressed as
could be expected; and, as to what regards the
future tranquillity of England, it remains to be con-
sidered, whether it would not be better that this
expression should have a general bearing; namely,
"to aid no one without exception or reserve; or,
whether, if King James should be therein named,
(he being old and not likely to live long, but as a
pretended Prince of Wales may live long,) it is
certain that he is included in that general period.
Your remark that the King of Great Britain is not
mentioned by name would be well founded if that
article were to be secret or separate; but as it is to
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 93
be inserted in the general treaty, at the head of
which the King is entitled William III., &c. &c.,
and as it is not customary to repeat the name at
length in each article of a treaty, I think you will
be of my opinion, that this cannot be otherwise
than as it is.
Of the necessity that King James should retire
from France, I have spoken very urgently, even
from the first interview. But the answer of Marshal
Boufflers was, that as this could not be stipulated
without naming him, it was not to be expected
that the King of France would accede. Upon which
I told him, that, in consideration of the King, his
master, this stipulation should not be demanded;
but I declared that the King, my master, expected
the same regard should be paid to him, and that
they should cause King James to depart as soon as
a peace should be concluded, without the appear-
ance that the King of France was obliged to adopt
this measure. And if this were not done, it must be
concluded we cared not for the duration of peace;
since the King, my master, could never suffer King
James to be so near England, as this would foment
cabals, which the King of France promised by this
article not to countenance. I even desired him to
state this very positively in writing.
He has since spoken to me of it, adverting to
the place whither he might be sent, and even men-
tioning Avignon as the fittest for his residence.
Hence I doubt not he will be removed from Paris,
if France is sincere for peace. You will, doubt-
less, agree with me, that as it was necessary to
M
94 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
conciliate France, I ought not to expose myself to
a decided refusal, unless I were able to maintain
the point; and that it was better to take the thing
as verbally granted, when I could obtain no more.
Respecting the point on which you have written
to the King, it is true that this article, separately
considered, has no relation to the successors; but
it is still to be remembered, that, at the head of
the treaty, when the Kings are named, it is also
mentioned that they conclude this peace for them-
selves, and for their successors, according to the
contents of the present treaty. I beg you to con-
sider that this article was sent from France; that
Marshal Boufflers could not alter a word; and that,
in the existing state of things, I was glad to have
it as it is; yet I have spoken of it to the Pension-
ary, who was here yesterday; and if he can, he
will endeavour to insert in the draught of the treaty
now pending the word successors in the article
itself.
I am much obliged to you for having done me
the honour to transmit me your opinion with that
frankness which I beg you will continue, and I
assure you that you cannot practise it towards a
man more devoted to your service; but I also re-
quest you to consider the difficulty which I had in
negotiating any thing, when there is such risk in
speaking positively, and yet when no weakness
should be shown.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 95
SIR JOSEPH WILLIAMSON TO THE DUKE OF
SHREWSBURY.
Hague, August 3-13. 1697.
My Lord,
The dissatisfaction of our German allies at
the equivalents proposed for Strasburg and
Luxemburg must be allowed to vent itself; and
we take care what we can, to manage their heats
and vehemence in these matters, ever and anon
reminding them how far their past performances
are from giving us and the alliance any hopes of
mending our case by continuing the war; and,
therefore, on all sides, and most especially on that
of the Empire, it is become necessary to think of a
peace. These reflections we find plainly do make
the proper impressions: only a little patience must
be had, till these ministers (who delight in long
dispatches) may have shown their masters what
zeal and eloquence they have employed on this
occasion. But, after all, the thing will be done;
and, indeed, the French press us every day more
warmly to do it within the month, which is the
term they insist they had declared to the mediator
at the first, as the peremptory term, within which
the allies must take or leave the French offers.
96 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
SIR J. WILLIAMSON TO THE DUKE OF
SHREWSBURY.
Hague, August 6-16. 1697.
My Lord,
We see plainly that now the Imperialists,
thus finding there will be a peace, and that the
principal parties seem agreed to hasten it all that
is possible, conclude it to no purpose longer to use
any arts (as it is not unlikely but hitherto they
have done) to delay it; and, therefore, have given
into this way of personal conferences with the
French at Ryswick, which is what they peremp-
torily refused to agree to some weeks ago. And,
as the points themselves, in which they have any
considerable interest to be different, we think they
will all be reduced to that one of the equivalent
for Luxemburg, (for, as to that of Strasburg,
plain it is, that they must rather wish an equivalent
should be taken, though they dare not say so :)
and, as to that of Luxemburg, the opposition of
the Princes of the Empire continues very high;
though we find daily that they are more tractable
in it, and, in a manner, prepared, when they have
done and said what they can, to yield to the
necessity of the conjecture. All that we have to
say in it is, to convince them, that, whatever the
King (our master's) mind is, in this, or indeed, in
whatever else can come in question, relating to the
general and common interest of the alliance, in
what part soever of Europe the thing lies, upon
which the question arises, it cannot be suspected
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 97
to be grounded upon any other consideration than
what is best and most conducing to the preserva-
tion of the peace and liberties of Europe, from the
ambitious designs of the common enemy. And
that, in this point of Luxemburg especially, his
Majesty, as head of this state, ought to be con-
sidered as most concerned, and, consequently, the
most proper judge of the reasons for, or against,
the equivalent in question. And these representa-
tions, with a little patience, will, we hope, qualify
that mighty heat this matter at first raised in them.
We are now arguing with the French about the
rest of our articles, in which nothing appears of
much difficulty . . . . As to the late King James's
Queen's jointure, which the French stick hard upon
to be made good, it is a point of that delicacy, that
we are not willing hitherto to entertain it, as any
matter of our present business
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Loo, August 17. 1697.
I see with pleasure that the negotiations for
peace begin to make some progress :
I hope
that they will soon be happily terminated. I re-
joice extremely to learn that the French have
yielded on the point of the contributions which were
in arrears in the Spanish Netherlands, for I pity
the poor inhabitants who have lost so much by the
war. I do not doubt that the French will consent
to an armistice, when once they shall have agreed
VOL. I.
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98 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
on the terms with Spain, Holland, and England,
which I hope will shortly take place. I know that
Quiros received from Spain, by the last courier,
secret and positive instructions to conclude quovis
modo with the first of the allies who should be dis-
posed to make peace. As for the Imperialists, I
see no other expedient for them than to obtain
a prolongation of the prescribed term.
.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Loo, August 19. 1697.
I am vexed to see the chicanery which the French
exhibit in regard to the treaty with Spain. I the
more regret this delay in the negotiations, because
the end of the month is approaching. I do not see
that the villages of the lordship of Ath can be
ceded; and it is insupportable that they will not
terminate the question of the eighty-two villages of
the environs. As for the equivalent for Luxem-
burg, I am of opinion that the proposal should be
absolutely made to the French by the ambassadors
of Spain, or by those of the States; for if it was
a question only of four towns, I should prefer it to
Luxemburg, and I believe it would likewise
be preferred in Spain. As for the protest of the
Imperialists, it does not deserve that much atten-
tion should be paid to it; but I see with pain, that
the points in dispute between them and the French
are so numerous, and so important, that they can-
not be reconciled, unless the Imperialists entirely
give way.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 99
LORD VILLIERS TO THE DUKE OF SHREWSBURY.
Hague, August 20. 1697.
My Lord,
The Imperialists have had a particular con-
ference with the French, the mediator being
present. They went through the whole project,
but concluded on no one point but that of Philips-
burg, which could not admit of a dispute. The
Spaniards have likewise been in conference with
the French: the Dutch ministers assisted, with the
mediator, towards the making these two parties
agree, which I believe will be done without much
difficulty. I wish I could say as much of the Im-
perialists, who, I find, are resolved to be forced: I
hope to see that quickly put in execution; though,
indeed, the news of Barcelona and Pointis comes
very untimely.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Loo, August 25. 1697.
I have duly received your letters of the 21st
and 23d of this month; and though they do not
require an answer, I cannot refrain from commu-
nicating my anxiety to you. I fear, lest the
French, after these two important successes, the
taking of Barcelona, and the sally from Pointis,
should intend to let the term expire, which they
have themselves fixed, for the acceptance of their
offers, in order to have their hands free afterwards,
H 2
100 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
and to be able to treat as they think fit; for I do
not conceive why, after having themselves fixed
the term, they are not ready to conclude on all the
points, since the term expires on Friday next. To
hesitate whether they shall restore Barcelona or
not, knowing as they do that, without that the peace
cannot be concluded, is a clear proof that they
have some design: either to let the time prescribed
expire, or to exact from the Spaniards, for the
restoration of Barcelona, conditions which are inad-
missible. I confess to you that I am extremely
uneasy: I expect with impatience the news which
next Tuesday's mail will bring from France: there
are only three days left to treat within the pre-
scribed term.
<
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
Dieren, August 28. 1697.
The letter, which I have received this afternoon
from the Pensionary, does not, by any means,
please me, seeing the negotiation in the state in
which it is. I have nothing to add to the in-
structions which I gave you last night. God
grant that the peace may be signed on Satur-
day, otherwise I foresee fatal embarrassments.
With regard to Hudson's Bay, respecting which
the Pensionary has written to me, you know the
instructions which I have given you, that this
must not prevent the conclusion of peace.
in great uneasiness at seeing in what a crisis all
the affairs of Europe are placed.
I am
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 101
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
Dieren, August 29. 1697, nine
o'clock in the evening.
I spoke this morning with Count d'Aversberg,
and, as far as I was able to gather from him,
the Imperial ambassador has sufficient instruc-
tions to enable him to conclude the peace, if they
are so disposed, before the expiration of the term ;
but, as far as I could perceive, they have a mind
to let it expire, in order to have some pretext
with the empire to accept the alternative of Stras-
burg, which they would not dare to do while
France offers that place. Hence I believe that,
if the Imperialists were urged, they might still
resolve to conclude, as it appears to me that they
are much afraid lest Spain, Holland, and England
should sign before them. If there can be a general
armistice, as the Pensionary mentions in his let-
ter, I shall be delighted; and if the term for the
Emperor and the Empire can be prolonged, but I
much doubt whether France will consent. I do
not expect that Holland will hinder the conclusion
of the peace on the day fixed, for the sake of its
commerce; it would be a great misfortune. The
ambassador of Saxony was also with me this
morning, and would greatly desire that his master,
as King of Poland, should be included in the peace.
I should be very glad of it; but, so long as this
affair is undecided, I do not believe that France
will consent. If it could, at least, be agreed on
both sides, not to interfere in the affairs of Poland,
H 3
102 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
this might prevent great quarrels after peace is
concluded, because France will then be at liberty
to assist the Prince de Conti.
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
Loo, September 1. 1697, seven
o'clock in the evening.
I have this afternoon received your letter writ-
ten after midnight. I confess that I am distressed
that the term has passed without any thing being
concluded, though I easily understand that there
was good reason for the course that has been
pursued. I am astonished that the Spaniards
consented to it, as I know that their instructions
were positively to the contrary. I am extremely
impatient to learn what may have passed this
afternoon in the conference of Ryswick, for I be-
lieve that it must decide every thing. I hope,
therefore, that you will be able to set out to-night
or to-morrow evening. I fully comprehend that
you must not quit the Hague before you see
something decided, but I cannot imagine that
this can drag on longer than a day or two, or
the French will certainly play us some slippery
trick, respecting which I am not a little uneasy.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 103
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
Loo, Sept. 2. 1697, seven o'clock
in the morning.
I am called up to receive your letter of yester-
day, two o'clock. What I had foreseen, from
letting the term expire, comes to pass. I do not
know what to say to you to remedy so great a
misfortune. I know very well that we are abso-
lutely in need of peace; but I confess that the
manner in which we are going to be compelled
to make it, is terrible; and this would not have
appeared so much before the expiration of the
term, as it does at present. If Strasburg cannot
be recovered, the ministers must endeavour, as
much as possible, to appease the negotiators of
the empire, that they may swallow this bitter pill.
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
Loo, Sept. 2. 1697, eight o'clock
in the evening.
This afternoon I received your letter of yester-
day evening. I confess that I was never more
embarrassed in my life. What is to be done? I
see that there is nothing so easy as to continue the
war, but how we shall now make peace, after the
declaration which the ambassadors of France have
just made, I really know not. We must not speak
of bygone matters, for which there is no remedy.
I should be well inclined to make the declaration
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104 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
which you propose, but, in that case, we must be
absolutely resolved to continue the war, since once
having taken this step we must not retract; and
Heaven knows in what condition we are to con-
tinue it. Besides, I could not determine upon this
declaration, without first knowing whether the
Estates are disposed to it, and whether the gentle-
men at Amsterdam would enter into it with good
faith, otherwise we should only be deceiving our-
selves. Hence, after mature reflection, I have
not been able to come to any other determination,
than that you should be so good as to make ac-
curate inquiries, and learn the sentiments of the
Pensionary, and other persons whom you judge to
be capable of giving advice on a resolution so diffi-
cult to be taken as this, and to leave the Hague
to-morrow evening, so that you may be here on
Wednesday, that we may be able to converse together
on a matter of such importance, and on which so
much depends; I may then determine what to do.
I do not see that it can do much harm to make such
a declaration on Wednesday or Saturday. I know
well that the sooner it is made the better. We
might suffer Wednesday to pass over without doing
any thing, for it is but reasonable that we should
have some days to think over so weighty an affair,
and I should wish that, before your departure, you
should speak to the ambassadors of the Emperor,
and have them spoken to for me, to ascertain
whether they would be willing to make such a
declaration, in order that, according to their answer,
I may be the better able to take my measures.
I
-
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 105
am perfectly satisfied that you should write to
Marshal Boufflers, as the Pensionary thinks it
necessary, but I know beforehand what answer you
will receive from him.
LORD VILLIERS TO THE DUKE OF SHREWSBURY,
Hague, September 3. 1697.
My Lord,
I thought I might have sent your Grace word
that the business was concluded; but the unrea-
sonableness of the French has put an ill delay to
it. The Spaniards, Dutch, and we, were ready
last Saturday to sign, if the French would have
given a convenient time to the Imperialists to
come in; but this they have refused, and gave in a
new project last Sunday, with the equivalent for
Strasburg, which consist in the restoration of
Friburg and Brisach. The step that his Majesty
has thought most proper to take on this occasion,
is to declare against the equivalent, as well as to
shew his dislike to the proceeding of the French,
as to let the world know he will not leave his
allies, except he is forced to it by their own wilful-
ness. It is a good deal their fault to have brought
things to this pass; and what the King does now,
is more for his own reputation than that they
deserve it. I am told that there is no danger in
making this seeming resistance; for if the French
persist in keeping Strasburg, our friends here will
have power enough to persuade us to comply; so
that I hope there is no greater hazard in the busi-
ness than the loss of some time.
106 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
THE EARL OF PORTLAND TO MARSHAL
BOUFFLERS.
Loo, September 5. 1697.
Sir,
On my return to this place, his Majesty com-
manded me to go to you, and to speak with you
of these affairs. I am delighted with a commission
which will give me the honour of seeing you. I
hope to be at Brussels on the 9th, when I beg you
will let me know where and how I may have the
gratification of seeing you. Immediately on my
arrival, I shall send you a trumpeter, to inform
you of it, that no time may be lost, since I cannot
be long absent from this place.
LORD VILLIERS TO THE DUKE OF SHREWSBURY.
Hague, September 6. 1697.
My Lord,
At this great crisis, I cannot forbear troubling
your Grace, though I wrote you last post. I find
every body here (some out of a desire to the war)
very angry at the proceedings of the French, which
indeed are far from being reasonable. Every thing
seems at a stand. Since my Lord Portland left us,
we have had no orders from his Majesty: I hope
those we expect will be such as will not let us, in
the least, hazard our engaging again in a war,
which I am sure has not hitherto been his Majesty's
intention; and, as I believe no new resolution of
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 107
:
this kind will be taken, without consulting your
Grace, I take the freedom to tell you, that, in my
opinion, we should close with those terms, unless it
were in our power to oblige the French to better
them. Since the taking of Barcelona they are
entire masters of Spain; and the best we can hope
from this kingdom is a neutrality. It will be im-
possible for the Imperialists to do better than they
have done they have made no recruits this year
for want of money. The Prince of Baden was not
able to take the field in time, for want of 300,000
pistoles from Vienna, which at last the commissary
of the Dutch troops was obliged to advance him:
their officers in Hungary are driven to the last
extremity for want of pay. You will judge, my
Lord, if these people are to be relied on, and if
England and Holland will not bear the burden of
a new war more than ever.
Your Grace does best know how England would
like it, for the sake only of Strasburg, of if the
Parliament would even think we were in earnest
for a peace. I hope all this will be considered on
this side the water, and that means will be found
to overcome this last difficulty; but it is natural
to fear while we are in doubt, and to complain to
those who we think can prevent it.
108 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
MARSHAL BOUFFLERS TO THE EARL OF
PORTLAND.
Camp at Soignies, September 8. 1697.
Sir,
I have but this moment received the letter which
you did me the honour to write to me on the 5th
of this month. I assure you, that I shall be
delighted to have the honour of seeing you, and of
conversing with you; but as I cannot do so with-
out the express permission of the King, I take the
liberty of immediately despatching a courier,
through whom I have the honour of informing
his Majesty of what you communicate to me. So
soon as I shall be honoured with his instructions,
I shall lose no time in letting you hear from me at
Brussels.
LOUIS XIV. TO MARSHAL BOUFFLERS.
Versailles, September 9. 1697.
My Cousin,
I have just received, by the courier whom you
have sent to me, your letter from the camp of
Soignies, of the 8th of this month, inclosing M.
de Bentinck's letter to you, and your answer to it.
I am willing to allow you to have the conference
with him for which you ask me, either at Tubise,
or at such other place as you may think proper.
The copy of the letter which I write to my pleni-
potentiaries will inform you of the manner in
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 109
which I desire that you should reply to what the
Sieur de Bentinck may say.
If, as I am persuaded by the tenor of his letter,
he speaks to you in the same polite terms he has
hitherto made use of, it is my intention that you
should employ, in reply, those which I have indi-
cated to you in my preceding letters. If, on the
contrary, he should use arrogant language in this
conference, you are to answer with all the dignity
that becomes me.
MARSHAL BOUFFLERS TO LOUIS XIV.
Camp at Soignies, September 12. 1697.
Sire,
Agreeably to the letter dated the 9th of this
month, with which your Majesty has honoured me,
I had yesterday a conference of four hours and a
half with M. de Bentinck, who, like myself, came to
the rendezvous at Tubise about noon.
After mutual compliments, he expressed his plea-
sure at seeing me again, saying, however, he was
very sorry and much hurt that it was such a subject
which obliged him to come back to these parts; that,
after the account which he had given at Loo to the
Prince of Orange, on the subject of the new declara-
tion of your Majesty's plenipotentiaries, the Prince
had told him that it was necessary he should come
and see me; that letters could not explain matters
like words, nor could they be so easily answered, and
that, therefore, in his sincere desire to concur, with
110 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
all his power, in promoting peace, it was necessary
that he should come and see me, to inform me more
particularly of every thing, and to show, at all
events, that if, unhappily, peace should not be con-
cluded, it would not be the fault of the Prince of
Orange, who had fully and exactly fulfilled all
the engagements into which he had entered for that
purpose with your Majesty, in the conferences
which M. de Bentinck and I had together; that I
might have the honour of reporting the whole to your
Majesty, still believing that the plenipotentiaries of
your Majesty do not, perhaps, give you so correct and
faithful an account as might be wished of his good
intentions, and of the uprightness of his conduct
respecting the peace, and whatever may be agree-
able to your Majesty.
That, according to the terms which M. de Ben-
tinck and myself agreed upon at our last conference
at Coppegheim, on the 2d of August, conformably
to the commands with which your Majesty had ho-
noured me by your letter of July 30., your Majesty
left it to the Prince of Orange to decide on the
conduct which he should pursue with the allies, to
induce them to peace, and the steps which he should
think best calculated to obtain that object, he being
better acquainted than any other person with their
disposition; he had proceeded to the Loo, to be
nearer the seat of the conferences, and, consequently,
more at hand to deliberate with the ministers of the
allies, and more promptly to remove all the diffi-
culties which might impede the conclusion of peace;
that he had not neglected any thing that might have
-
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 111
depended upon him, effectually to labour for this
purpose during the very short time which remained
from the 3d of August, the day on which he left
the army of the allies, till the last day of the same
month inclusive; that he had been so fortunate as
to see all the principal points agreed upon, which
would even have been done sooner if it had not been
evidently remarked that the plenipotentiaries of
your Majesty sought only to delay, in order that the
term prescribed might expire before any thing was
concluded, and that they might have a pretext for
delivering, on the 1st of September, the new de-
claration; finally, that the 30th of August having
arrived, the Prince of Orange, to prove his good
faith and sincere intentions to conclude peace, had
caused an offer to be made by the ministers of Eng-
land, Spain, and the States-General, to sign the
peace that same day, the 30th, or on the 31st, en-
gaging to oblige the Emperor also to sign it, on the
terms laid down in the preliminaries, and the pro-
posal for peace, which the Prince of Orange, Spain,
and the States-General accepted, actually and in
fact, for the Emperor and the Empire in their name;
only requiring, as has always been the custom, that
the Emperor and the other allies should be concerned,
after them, if they thought proper, in the treaty of
peace, and that the necessary time should be granted
them for sending a courier to Vienna, who should
stop three or four days in that city, to allow time
for deliberation, and then to return, with all speed,
and bring back the answer of the Emperor; and, in
case he refused his consent, he should be excluded
112 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
from the peace, and the decision of the three powers.
above mentioned should remain in all their force
and particulars, to the exclusion of the Emperor,
all which had been harshly refused; that even before
the 31st the ministers of the Emperor and of the
Empire had declared that they accepted Strasburg
and left the equivalent to your Majesty, in virtue
of the liberty of choice which had been granted
them, and that they had given notice of this resolu-
tion to your Majesty's plenipotentiaries, before the
expiration of the 31st of August, who had refused
to listen to them, and had raised new difficulties on
the ratification of the treaties of peace by Spain,
England, and the States-General, and declined to
agree to a suspension of arms between the three
powers above mentioned, as soon as peace should be
signed; that they had been shown how impossible
it was that peace could be signed and the ratification
delivered to them at the same time; that, though
the Prince of Orange was on the spot, he could not
ratify it alone and of his own authority; that the
treaty must be sent to England; that it must be
seen and read by the Parliament, and sealed with
the Great Seal; and, lastly, that all the formalities
required for the validity of the treaty must be ob-
served, and that not a moment's time would be lost;
that, in like manner, though the plenipotentiaries of
the States, and even the States-General, were on the
spot, yet the treaty must be sent to the provinces to
be ratified, but that this should be done with all pos..
sible diligence, and that, as for the ratification of
Spain, they well knew that the treaty must be sent
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 113
to Madrid and brought back again; and therefore
it was neither usual nor possible to give the ratifi-
cation of a treaty at the same time that it is signed;
but that the Prince of Orange, to show his sincere
desire to obtain peace, and to give them all ima-
ginable and practicable satisfaction, offered to sign
an act, in the most binding forms that can be ima-
gined or desired, by which he would engage to fur-
nish, without delay, and with all the speed possible,
the said ratification, rendering himself security for
this, in his own proper and private name, which
was all he could do; but that the plenipotentiaries of
your Majesty would not consent to this, nor to the
suspension of arms, though it was shown to them
that it is a natural custom, and universally practised,
that hostilities should cease as soon as peace is
signed, the masters losing no time to communicate
to those who command their armies, and giving them
instructions on the subject; so that, in consequence
of all these refusals and difficulties on the part of
your Majesty's plenipotentiaries, who always persist,
without reason, in the opinion that the Emperor and
the Empire shall sign at the same time as Spain, Eng-
land, and the States-General, or be excluded from the
peace, the 31st of August passed over without the peace
being signed, notwithstanding the good intentions
and sincere desire of the Prince of Orange as well
as of the ministers of Spain and the States-General
that it should be done; that this conduct of your
Majesty's plenipotentiaries, as well as the new de-
claration of the 1st of September, have caused among
all the ministers of the allies and the mediator a
VOL. I.
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114 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
degree of surprise and confusion which cannot be
expressed, no one now knowing what course to
take, or how to work out the treaties, since they
cannot help believing that there is a want of
good faith, and that the continuation of the war
is absolutely intended; for nothing can be more
reasonable than all which has been proposed to
your Majesty's plenipotentiaries to attain the peace,
and nothing more advantageous to your Majesty,
while waiting for a general peace, than to be able
to detach from the league three of the principal
powers, without which the remainder cannot hold
out against your Majesty, or avoid accepting the
peace; for they require for this purpose only to
be allowed time to go and return, and three or
four days' stay for the couriers, who are to be de-
spatched to them immediately after the signing of
the peace by Spain, England, and the States-Gene-
ral; that there are no extremities to which the
Prince of Orange is not resolved to expose himself,
rather than to take upon him the disgrace of aban-
doning his allies and signing the peace to their com-
plete exclusion; whereas in granting them the liberty
of being admitted into it and the terms above men-
tioned, he would be entirely exculpated if they re-
fused to join on the conditions proposed by your
Majesty, and he on his part would punctually exe-
cute the peace which he had signed with you.
That besides that this new declaration is en-
tirely contrary to the preliminaries, to the treaties
of Westphalia and Nimeguen, and to the proposal
for peace, that it throws every thing into con-
❤.
-
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 115
{
fusion, and neither the Emperor nor the Empire
would ever consent to it, yet, even supposing
they were capable of suffering themselves to be
persuaded to consent, it is easy to see that it is
determined not to give them the means, or the
liberty to do so, by the term of twenty days, pre-
scribed by the said declaration, for within this period
it is impossible to have an answer
answer from the
Emperor, or from the Empire, and still less from
Spain, which is obliged, by the said declaration,
to bring the consent of the Emperor, and of the
Empire, for the cession of Strasburg, before Bar-
celona is restored to it, for it is not practicable,
within the term of twenty days, to send to Madrid,
from Madrid to Vienna, and for the answer to be
brought from Vienna to the Hague, before the
expiration of the said term, which gives ground
for believing that nothing but a pretext, whether
just or not, is sought, to put forth a new declara-
tion on the 21st of September, which will entirely
break off the negotiation for peace.
That even if the ministers of the Emperor, and
of the Empire, had refused to determine, before the
expiration of the 31st of August, between the
choice of Strasburg and the equivalent, which is
not the case, since, in fact, they declared before
the expiration of the 31st that they would choose
Strasburg, and leave the equivalent to your Ma-
jesty; and your Majesty, having left it to the
Prince of Orange to induce the Emperor and the
allies to agree to the peace, agreeably to the condi-
::
1 2
•
116 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
tions proposed by your Majesty, you cannot be
legitimately freed from the engagements which you
have entered into upon this point with the Prince of
Orange, since he most uniformly offered to sign for
the Emperor and the Empire, and to accept Strasburg
before the expiration of the 31st, and to become
surety for every thing; he, therefore, ventures to
hope that your Majesty will have the goodness to
reflect upon it, and give him marks, on this occasion,
of the regard of which you have assured him, since
he, on his part, has so completely done every
thing that depended on him at once to merit your
regard, and to fulfil all the engagements into which
he entered with your Majesty; and, that strongly
convinced as he is of the sincere intentions of your
Majesty to conclude peace, he hopes you will be
pleased again to place matters relating to the alter-
native of Strasburg and the equivalent, on the
same footing as they were before the declaration
of the 1st of September, and consent that the Em-
peror and the allies may enter into the treaty of
peace, giving them a reasonable time for couriers
to be despatched to them, some days for them to
deliberate and to despatch the said couriers, and
likewise for the couriers to return.
M. de Bentinck also told me that your Majesty's
plenipotentiaries had intimated to several ministers
of the allies that they never intended to give up
Strasburg, which more and more confirms the sup-
position that the difficulties which they have raised
about the signature of the peace were only to let the
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 117
term expire, which your Majesty had prescribed,
that they might have a pretext to give the new
declaration for the retention of Strasburg.
To all this I replied that it would be doing
great wrong and great injustice to your Majesty to
doubt of your good and sincere intentions regarding
peace; that your Majesty had given too many proofs
of them by the advantageous offers which you
had long since made to the allies; and by the
moderation which you manifested in this new
declaration, being content, in exchange for the
restoration of Barcelona, to select Strasburg
which the Emperor and the Empire had not chosen
to determine upon, and leaving them the same
equivalent which your Majesty had fixed for the
said city of Strasburg, even adding to it Barce-
lona; your Majesty being further satisfied with
demanding a few villages of the Lordship of Ath,
though you had a right to require much more for
a place of that importance; for you were free from
your promise, and from all your engagements, as the
allies had not chosen to sign the peace within the
time prescribed by your Majesty; that I knew per-
fectly well that the ministers of the Emperor, and of
the Empire, had constantly refused to sign, and had
raised difficulties upon difficulties, merely to waste
time; that it depended upon the allies alone to
sign the peace, even before midnight of the last
day of the prescribed term; that, if they had then
unanimously accepted the conditions proposed by
your Majesty, your plenipotentiaries had instruc-
tions to conclude, and thus your Majesty had, with
www
I 3
118 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
the utmost strictness, adhered to the promise you
had given.
To this M. de Bentinck replied, that the con-
ditions which your Majesty had long offered to
the allies were very advantageous and very
reasonable; that they had been regarded as such,
but, that till they were put in execution, they
could not be considered as advantageous; that
though it appears that the liberty which your
Majesty will no longer grant to the Emperor to
choose Strasburg or the equivalent is a trifling matter,
it entirely changes the nature of affairs, and is di-
ametrically opposed to the treaties of Westphalia and
Nimeguen, the city of Strasburg being a free
Imperial city, which, according to the said treaties,
should be restored to the Empire, while the cities
of Freyburg and Brisach, which your Majesty
gives as an equivalent for Strasburg, are part of
the dominions of the Emperor, and consequently,
can be of no advantage to the Empire. And, be-
sides that, by the terms of the declaration of the
1st of September, it is no longer making peace, but
arrogantly and harshly imposing law, which could
not be agreeable or suitable either to the Emperor or
to the allies, and at the same time put it out of the
power of the Prince of Orange to make them listen
to reason by persuasion and mildness, the only means
he can resort to, inasmuch as he has no authority
over them; and, that in regard to what I had inti-
mated to him, that if the allies had thought fit
unanimously to accept the conditions offered by
your Majesty, your plenipotentiaries would have
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 119
concluded it never was a condition stipulated either
in the preliminaries or by the proposal for peace, or
in fixing the first term of six weeks, or in our con-
ferences, that all the allies should be bound, in the
course of the said term of six weeks, unanimously
to accept the said conditions; that, on the con-
trary, we had agreed, in our conferences, that the
Prince of Orange should use all his efforts to in-
duce the Emperor, Spain, and all the allies, to
accept peace on the terms offered by your Ma-
jesty, and that if they refused to agree to it, after
a sufficient time had been given them, he would
conclude it, and exclude them conjointly with the
States-General; that he offered to do this with
much readiness and sincerity, having besides in-
duced Spain to do the same thing; that he had
been harshly refused a very short term to per-
suade the Emperor and the Empire; that he had
neither the right nor the power to command and
force them to sign; that he could not induce them
save by his example; and, after having signed
the peace himself, to invite and urge them to do
the same thing, as he considered your Majesty's
terms very reasonable
reasonable; and if they had then
refused the peace, it would, nevertheless, have
been firm and stable with your Majesty, as well as
with the States-General and with Spain, to the ex-
clusion of those who had refused to sign; that
neither the world, nor his conscience, can make
him the slightest reproach with respect to the
uprightness and sincerity of his endeavours to
promote the general peace, and scrupulously to
I 4
120 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
fulfil all the engagements which he has made on
that subject with your Majesty; that God is his
witness, and that he can only refer to His will
and to His providence all the misfortunes and
events which will follow the continuation of the
war.
I answered him, that your Majesty had likewise
nothing to reproach yourself with in regard to all
just and reasonable facilities to contribute to peace;
that the infinite number of important fortresses
which you gave up to your enemies, without being
in any way compelled to it, but solely through
pure generosity, was a very certain and incontest-
able proof of your uprightness and good intentions
regarding peace; that the change which your Ma-
jesty had just made in the first proposal was not to
aggrandise yourself or to gain any advantage, but,
on the contrary, to give more to your enemies, and
to establish the peace more firmly.
All these reasons and many others, which it would
be tedious to detail, did not appear to persuade M.
de Bentinck, and he constantly persisted in saying
that it was not to be hoped that the Prince of
Orange would sign the peace, unless the Emperor
and the allies were permitted to accede to it, giving
them a reasonable time to do so; and, unless things
were placed on the same footing as they were with
respect to the choice of Strasburg or of the equiva-
lent; or unless the said equivalent were increased in
such a manner that the Emperor and the Empire
might find it so advantageous, as to be induced to
consent to the cession of Strasburg.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 121
Such, Sire, are the leading and prominent features
of a conversation of four hours and a half. M. de
Bentinck always spoke with much reserve and cir-
cumspection, but, with much politeness and civility,
and, with all possible warmth, he did not fail to let
me know that the Prince of Orange is sensibly
affected by the obstacles which he perceives will
stand in the way of peace, if the conditions pro-
posed by the new declaration are persisted in, and
by the little respect which is shown to him; even
complaining that, in spite of the assurances which I
gave M. de Bentinck in our last interview of the 2d
of August, that it was sufficient that your Majesty
was convinced of the good intentions of the Prince
of Orange, and that he should see that the language
and conduct of your Majesty's plenipotentiaries
would be henceforth conformable to the good
opinion which your Majesty had of him, and would
efface the impressions they might have made; com-
plaining, I say, that, in spite of all this, neither he
nor his ministers have observed any change on the
part of your Majesty's plenipotentiaries; that not
only have they given them no verbal answer on any
point whatever, as your Majesty had intimated that
they might do, but they have not even communi-
cated any thing to them through the ambassadors of
the States-General, though it was agreed that they
should treat with them through this channel, and
have hitherto behaved with entire reserve to the
said ministers of the Prince of Orange, without any
appearance of respect, which is not a way to con-
ciliate people's minds and to excite confidence, when
122 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
it is necessary to act in concert for the success of so
important an affair which had been left to the man-
agement of the Prince of Orange, in what concerns
the allies.
LORD VILLIERS TO THE DUKE OF SHREWSBURY.
Hague, September 13. 1697.
I wish I could give your Grace some good
account of what more nearly concerns us. My
Lord Portland is expected back from Brussels
to-morrow. I have received letters to-day, by
which I fear that his journey has not much
advanced our affairs. I find the King wishes this
business had been ended the last of August, for he
apprehends that the conditions from the French
will every day grow worse and worse, and their
behaviour more insolent.
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
Loo, September 14. 1697, eight o'clock
in the morning.
Your letter of the 12th, from Brussels, having
arrived here yesterday evening after I had gone to
rest, was not delivered to me till this morning. I
am much concerned that you have reaped no other
benefit from the conference which you had with Mar-
shal Boufflers; but you know that I never expected
any other result. If I followed my own inclinations,
I should be firm and make no concession; but you will
W
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 123
learn from the Pensionary the declaration which
the citizens of Amsterdam have caused me to make.
Thus I cannot discover any means of continuing the
war, and without that, you know, our firmness would
avail us nothing. I hope that you will arrive at the
Hague to-day and be here to-morrow. I do not
think that the Pensionary could quit the Hague for a
day, the term being so short; and you may learn
from him in detail what his sentiments are, and re-
port them to me to-morrow. He may get my
answer on Monday morning. It will be very neces-
sary that you should likewise speak to the mediator.
But, after all, I have strong fears that we shall be
obliged to make peace as we can, if France will have
it, unless we can clearly show the burghers of Am-
sterdam that she does not desire it, and that she
continues to deceive us; otherwise I do not know
how it will be possible to oblige them to continue
their contributions to the expenses of the war. As
for England, though they, too, ardently wish for
peace, I am not so very anxious on their account;
but you
know the Parliament.
LORD VILLIERS TO THE DUKE OF SHREWSBURY.
Hague, September 17. 1697.
My Lord,
The last conference between the generals has
had no effect. Since Sunday last our negotiation
has been on foot again, and the Spaniards have
done all but signing. Our affairs are also con-
124 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
cluded, and this afternoon the ambassadors of the
States are with the French to finish theirs, and to
adjust the whole, as well for the Imperialists
coming in as for a general cessation of arms; so
that I hope, if the French really design making
peace, we shall be wise enough to conclude it in a
few days.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Loo, September 22. 1697.
I received, last night, your letter of the pre-
ceding day, and your letter of yesterday has
been delivered to me to-night by Lord Villiers.
May God be pleased to bless the peace which has.
just been concluded *, and long continue it by his
* The treaty was concluded at Ryswick the 22d, at 6 o'clock
of the morning, between France, England, Spain, and the States
General. A separate article allowed the Emperor to the 1st of
November, to be included in the treaty of peace, and, if he did
not think fit to accept it, that was to make no alteration in what
others had concluded. His plenipotentiaries signed it the 2d
of that month.
"Le roi et la reine d'Angleterre (King James and his queen)
étaient à Fontainebleau, à qui reconnaissance du Prince d'Orange
fut bien amère. Mais ils en connaissaient la nécessité pour avoir
la paix, et savaient bien aussi que cet article ne l'était guères
moins au Roi qu'à eux-mêmes. Ils se consolèrent comme ils
purent, et parurent même fort obligés au Roi qui tint également
ferme à ne vouloir pas souffrir qu'ils sortissent de France, ni
qu'ils quittassent le séjour de St. Germain. Le roi eut l'atten-
tion de dire à Torcy sur le point de la signature, que si le
courrier qui en apporterait la nouvelle arrivait, un ou plusieurs
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 125
grace. Yet I confess that the manner in which it
has been concluded inspires me with apprehensions
for the future. At present, it is absolutely neces-
sary that I should speak to you without delay on
many important affairs. I therefore beg you will
come here on Wednesday.
P. S.-I do not conceive why the Imperialists
and the ministers of the Empire will not consent
to an armistice. I hope, however, that this affair
will be settled either to-day or to-morrow.
EARL OF PORTLAND TO THE DUKE OF
SHREWSBURY.
Loo, September 24. 1697.
I congratulate you most truly that peace is at
length made, such as it is, for, in my opinion,
though it is not much to the advantage of France,
who purchase it dearly enough, yet we might have
made it in a better manner, without permitting
France to assume that haughty demeanour which
she has manifested since the last of August, had
we not testified an immoderate desire, and even a
necessity, of making this peace. However, it will
ease our affairs in England, provided we do not
rely on, and trust to it too much, and we place
ourselves in a condition to ensure and preserve it
as it should be; which Heaven grant.
l'un après l'autre, il ne le lui vint point dire s'il était alors avec le
roi et la reine d'Angleterre, et il défendit aux musiciens de
chanter rien qui eut rapport à la paix jusqu'au départ de la
cour d'Angleterre.”— Mémoires de St. Simon.
126 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Dieren, October 15. 1697.
At my suggestion, the Elector of Bavaria has given
instructions to the Count de Bergheyck*, who will be
* It would be impossible to give any details respecting this
personage, who acted so remarkable a part in the affairs of the
Spanish Low Countries during this period. His name is missing
in all the biographies; but, happily, it has been preserved for
ever from oblivion by the pen of the Duke of Saint Simon.
"Bergheyck, d'abord baron, puis comte, à dire vrai, ni l'un
ni l'autre, qu'à la mode de nos ministres, était un homme de
Flandre et de meilleure maison qu'ils ne sont d'ordinaire, qui
avait travaillé dans les finances des Pays-Bas sur la fin du règne
de Charles II., que l'Electeur de Bavière y trouva fort employé,
et qu'il y continua à la mort du roi d'Espagne. Sa capacité et
sa droiture donnèrent confiance en lui; sa fidélité et son zèle y
répondirent, avec beaucoup d'esprit, de sens, de lumière, de
justesse, une grande facilité de travail, et d'abord beaucoup de
douceur avec tout le monde, et, dans la manière de gouverner,
une grande modestie, un entier désintéressement et beaucoup
de vues.
Il se pouvait dire un homme très rare, et qui avait
une connaissance parfaite non seulement des finances, mais de
toutes les affaires des Pays-Bas; avec tous ces talents, grand
travailleur et fort appliqué, et qui avait une exactitude et une
simplicité en tout singulière. C'était un homme qui ne s'avan-
çait jamais, qui ne parlait jamais aussi contre sa pensée, mais
ferme dans ses avis et qui les mettait en tout leur jour, obéissant
après qu'il avait dit toutes ses raisons, tout comme s'il les eut
suivies, et non pas des ordres contraires ou différents de ce qu'il
avait cru et exposé comme meilleur. Il fut long-temps en pre-
mière place. Il vécut plusieurs années content et retiré depuis
l'avoir quittée, et ne se mêlant plus de rien; fort homme de bien,
point du tout riche, et n'ayant jamais rien fait pour sa famille.
Même dans sa retraite il conserva beaucoup de considération en
Flandre, où il fut universellement aimé, estimé, honoré, et re-
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 127
at Loo on Thursday next.
I beg you will take the
trouble to repair thither also on that day, (which will
be the day after to-morrow,) and to bring with you
M. van Dyckvelt. Affairs of the greatest importance
will have to be discussed.
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
Loo, October 17. 1697.
I believe that it is absolutely necessary to nego-
tiate for more money, the possibility of which you
will see when you are in England. I perceive that
my Lord Sunderland is vexed. I hope that you
will be able to content my Lord Macclesfield *, and
thus set all to rights, which, however, is not very
easy to be effected.
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF GALWAY.†
Loo, October 18. 1697.
The peace being now made and ratified, it must
be considered what forces to keep on foot. I much
gretté. Ce sont de ces trésors que les rois savent rarement con-
naître, et dont il est plus rare encore qu'ils ne se dégoûtent pas.”.
Mémoires de St. Simon, vol. ix. p. 190, edit. 1840.
* Charles Gerard, second Earl of Macclesfield. He was the
husband of the lady so memorable as the mother of Richard
Savage.
† Henri de Massue, Marquis de Renneval and de Ruvigny,
came into England with his family in 1685. On the Revolution
he offered his services to William, who, for his bravery at the
128 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
approve the project you sent me, of keeping in Ire-
land twenty battalions of infantry, four regiments
battle of the Boyne, created him a peer of Ireland, as Viscount
Galway, and advanced him to an earldom in 1693.
He was
sent afterwards as lieutenant-general of the forces and envoy
extraordinary to Savoy; and when he returned, in 1696, was
made commander-in-chief in Ireland and one of the Lords Justices.
"La paix s'approchant," says Saint Simon, "le Roi la prévint
par un trait de vengeance contre my lord Galway, dont il n'aurait
plus été temps bientôt après. Il était fils de Ruvigny, bon, mais
simple gentilhomme, plein d'esprit, de sagesse, d'honneur, et de
probité, fort huguenot, mais d'une grande conduite et d'une
grande dextérité. Le Roi l'aima et le considéra toujours, et il
fut le seul avec le maréchal de Schomberg, à qui le Roi offrit
de demeurer à Paris et à la cour avec leurs biens et la secrète
liberté de leur religion dans leur maison, lors de la révocation
de l'édit de Nantes, mais tous deux refusèrent. Ruvigny em-
porta ce qu'il voulut, et laissa ce qu'il voulut aussi, dont le roi
lui permit la jouissance. Il se retira en Angleterre avec ses
deux fils. La Caillemotte, le cadet, plus disgracié encore du
côté de l'âme que de celui du corps, mourut bientôt après. Le
père ne survient pas long-temps, et son ainé continua à jouir
des biens que son père avait laissés en France. Il s'attacha au
service du Prince d'Orange à la révolution, qui le fit comte de
Galway en Irlande, et l'avança beaucoup. Il était bon officier, il
avait de l'ambition, elle le rendit ingrat. Il se distingua en haine
contre le Roi et contre la France, quoique le seul huguenot qu'on
y laissa jouir de son bien, même servant le Prince d'Orange. Le
Roile fit avertir plusieurs fois du mécontentement qu'il avait de
sa conduite. Il en augmenta les torts avec plus d'éclat. A la
fin le Roi confisqua ses biens et témoigna publiquement sa colère.
Le vieux Ruvigny était ami d'Harlay, lors procureur général,
et depuis premier président, et lui avait laissé un dépôt entre
les mains dans la confiance de sa fidélité. Il la lui garda tant
qu'il n'en put pas abuser; mais quand il vit l'éclat, il se trouva
modestement embarrassé entre le fils de son ami et son maître,
à qui il révéla humblement sa peine. Il prétendit que le Roi
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 129
of dragoons, and eighteen troops of horse, and re-
ducing the pay of the officers. I have imparted
this project to none but Lord Portland, whom I am
going to send to England, and with whom you must
correspond about this matter, and let me know
what public orders will be necessary to be given for
the execution of this affair. My design is to disband
most of the regiments of foot and dragoons now in
Ireland, and to send thither some of these that are
in Flanders. I also intend to send thither your
regiment of horse, and the three French regiments
of foot, incorporating some officers, who have served
in Piedmont, of the four regiments which are on
the Rhine, and which I am going to reform, and to
take all the French Protestant soldiers, and put
them into the three above mentioned regiments.
Be always assured of the continuation of my friend-
ship.
P. S.-I think to reduce Wolseley's regiments
to three troops, and yours to six, to remove all
jealousy in England.
l'avait su d'ailleurs. Je n'approfondirai pas ce secret, mais le
fait est qu'il le dit lui-même, et que pour récompense, le Roi le
lui donna comme bien confisqué, et que cet hypocrite de justice,
de vertu, de désintéressement, et de rigorisme, n'eut pas honte
de se l'approprier, et de fermer les yeux et les oreilles au bruit
qu'excita cette perfidie. Il en tira plus d'un parti, car le Roi en
colère contre Galway, lui en sut si bon gré, qu'il donna à son fils
fort jeune une place de conseiller d'état, et quelque temps après
il le combla par une pension de 20,000 livres, qui est celle des
ministres."
VOL. I.
K
130 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Loo, October 27. 1697.
I am very sorry to hear with what arrogance the
French maintain their unreasonable pretensions
against the Emperor and the Empire. I do not see,
however, at present, any other remedy for the latter
than to conclude peace on such conditions as they
can obtain; for, if the postponed term expire before
they have signed it, it is clear that the result will
be only misery and confusion in the Empire; a cir-
cumstance which annoys me the more as the time is
so short. I await the result with impatience.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Loo, October 31. 1697, nine o'clock
in the morning.
This morning when I rose, your letter of yes-
terday was put into my hands, and I am greatly
embarrassed to give it a positive reply. It would
doubtless be our duty to continue the war, rather
than to make any concession that might be preju-
dicial to the free exercise of the reformed faith.*
* "The ambassadors of the protestant Princes being met
together, they named four deputies, who delivered a memorial
to the mediator, wherein they demanded that at Strasburg, and
other cities of Alsatia, which belonged to France, the Lutheran
religion should be tolerated, and enjoy all those rights and im-
munities, as in the year 1624. To this the French demanded
eight days to answer. But, what misunderstanding soever there
-
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 131
!
If the deputies of Amsterdam, and consequently
the States, will hold out, I should also be inclined to
do so, in the hope that the Parliament would aid
me in carrying out so pious a work. On the
other hand, however, I must confess to you that I do
not believe, humanly speaking, that the Protestant
Princes and the States can cope with the Catholic
Powers, especially at present, when we have neither
Sweden, nor Denmark, nor the Swiss cantons with
us. I have always apprehended a religious war,
fearing lest France and Austria should have a secret
might be, between the French and Imperial plenipotentiaries, as
to other points, they agreed, or rather combined together, to
have a clause inserted in the 6th article of the treaty between
the Empire and France, that the Roman Catholic religion, in the
places to be delivered up, should remain in the same state in
which it was at that time, without any notice taken of the pro-
testants. By this means several churches were to be condemned,
that otherwise, according to the laws of the Empire, and in par-
ticular of these dominions, were to be restored to the protestants.
The Elector Palatine accepted of this condition very willingly;
but some of the princes refused to submit to it; and a strong
declaration was published by the ministers of the protestant
Princes against this proceeding, as contrary to the laws of the
Empire, to the peace of religion in 1555, to the treaty of West-
phalia, and to the preliminaries of the present treaty of Ryswick.
But it was all in vain, for this affair had been secretly concerted
among the whole popish party. King William was troubled at
this treacherous motion; but he saw no inclination in any of
the allies to oppose it with zeal. The importance of the thing—
sixteen churches only being condemned by it was not such as
to deserve that he should venture a rupture upon it. The
king therefore contented himself with ordering his plenipoten-
tiaries to protest against this, which they did in a formal act
that they passed."- Tindal.
M
K 2
132 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
understanding, which is, at present, but too mani-
fest. I cannot conceive that Sweden will suffer
herself to be employed as a mediatrix, and that she
will permit, on the subject of religion, a violation
of the treaty of Westphalia so notorious as that
which France now requires. This affair puts me
in the greatest embarrassment. God grant that
some expedient may have been found before you
can receive this letter, for it will probably not
reach you till after midnight, and consequently,
not till after the expiration of the term fixed for
the signature of the treaty. I much fear that the
ministers of the Protestant Princes will not be the
only ones who may refuse to sign, for that might
occasion them serious disadvantages in the future;
and I do not see how we can assist them with
sufficient promptitude, and prevent the evil which
France will undoubtedly bring upon them. I send
by the present courier instructions to my am-
bassadors to take every measure with those of the
States, and to agree with them, so that, if you hold
out, we shall do the same on our part.
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
Loo, October 31. 1697.
I perceive by the letters which arrived from
England yesterday, that the reform is not yet
made. I imagine that the true reason is, reluctance
to disoblige Lord Macclesfield, and that they wait
for an answer to what they have written to me
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 133
¡
respecting him. I do not know whether what you
will say to him from me will satisfy him. I have,
therefore, thought that if provisionally and till he
can have the regiment of Oxford, I could leave him
his company, adding two other companies of those
who shall come from Flanders, a regiment might
be formed for him of a squadron, though I shall
be obliged to form the other regiments on the same
footing.
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
The Hague, November 8. 1697.
I am much rejoiced that you find matters in a
favourable state, on which, however, there is no
dependence till we see the end of the Parliament,
knowing the changeable humour which prevails in
England. I highly approve the project which you
have sent me, for the reduction of the troops, and
I shall be well contented to follow it, but I greatly
fear that the Parliament will be scarcely prevailed
upon to continue thirty thousand men in service.
It seems that the French delay the evacuation
of the fortresses, and it may very well happen that
they will practise some chicanery, as is their wont.
It is remarkable that they have not yet made any
reduction of their troops; on the contrary, they are
augmenting their foreign corps.
Matters go on very badly in Poland, for the
king, who is crowned, and France has declared war
against the city of Dansig. Altogether shews that
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134 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
i
affairs are not yet in that state of tranquillity which
might be desired. I believe I shall see the am-
bassadors of France to-morrow.
COUNT CAILLIERES * TO THE MARCHIONESS
D'UXELLES.
November 12. 1697.
We had an audience of the King of England
on Saturday last, the 9th of this month. Great
courtesy was shown on both sides. He spoke very
well of the King, and said that he had never
manifested any personal disrespect to so great a
Prince, though circumstances had involved him in
opposition to him; that he had always desired his
esteem, and asked for his friendship. M. de Harlay,
who addressed him, spoke very well, and he re-
plied with much politeness. He then entered into
conversation with us three. He addressed me in
* François de Caillières, one of the French plenipotentiaries
at the peace of Ryswick. "Il avait," says Saint-Simon in his
Memoirs, "beaucoup de lettres, beaucoup d'esprit d'affaires, et de
ressources, et fort sobre et laborieux, extrêmement sûr et honnête
homme. C'était un grand homme maigre, avec un grand nez,
la tête en arrière, distrait, civil, respectueux, qui à force d'avoir
vécu parmi les étrangers, en avait pris toutes les manières, et
avait acquis un extérieur désagréable, auquel les dames et les
gens du bel air ne purent s'accoutumer, mais qui disparaissait
dès qu'on l'entretenait de choses et non de bagatelles. C'était
en tout un très-bon homme, extrêmement sage et sensé, qui
aimait l'état, et qui était fort instruit, fort modeste, et parfaite-
ment désintéressé."
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 135
particular, saying, that he had several times com-
municated to me the assurance of his desire for peace,
but that I would not believe it; that, however,
I might have seen by the sequel that he had con-
tributed to it as far as had been in his power. I
replied, that he appeared to me to be so fond
of war that I had reason to apprehend that he
would wish to continue it, but that I had reported
to the King the assurances he had imparted to
me of his desire for peace, and that his Majesty
had been persuaded of it, since he had left me
in this country to negotiate it. He gave us
much praise for having succeeded in adjusting´
so many conflicting interests; and said that we
had gained much glory in this negotiation, which
required ministers so prudent and so able, and
made other obliging remarks to the same effect.
He spoke to us very familiarly, and conversed on the
late war.
He said that there had been some of
longer continuance, but not more sanguinary, and
in which the two parties had brought such great
forces into the field; that at the battle of Senef
the army which the Prince de Condé commanded,
and which was the greatest he ever commanded,
would have been but a detachment of those which
have since appeared. We told him that he had seen
by the last war what France could do under a King
like ours. He replied, with a smile, that he had been
but too sensible of it. He repeatedly assured us
that he passionately desired to preserve peace be-
tween the two crowns; that it would now depend
K 4
136 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
only on the King whether it should be firm and
durable; that he was no longer young, and had
need of repose after so many labours as he had sus-
tained during his life; that he knew the misery
which the people had suffered during the war. He
added, that he was under great obligations to this
state (Holland), which he considers as his own
country, and he loves it as people generally love
the country in which they have been brought up;
that this country has suffered greatly; and that he
was very glad to be able to contribute something
to its repose. He received us alone in his cabinet,
where we three entered without any attendants,
and were about half an hour in conversation with
him. He saluted us very courteously, all three in
succession, both as we entered and as we left, and
spoke very politely to us individually. He speaks
well, and to the point, and seems careful to choose
the terms which he employs, so as to express
neither too much nor too little. He speaks French
well, and has no foreign accent. He speaks thick,
and very slowly. He is thin, and appears to be
of a weak constitution, notwithstanding the great
fatigue which he daily undergoes in hunting, as he
did yesterday, in this cold weather, from morning
till evening.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 137
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
16.
26.
Kensington, November, 1697.
I arrived here this evening, after having passed
through the city amidst the lively acclamations of
the people. I do not recollect having ever seen so
great an assemblage of well dressed people. It is
impossible to conceive what joy the peace causes
here. I foresee that I shall be obliged to prorogue
the Parliament for some days, because it is not
possible to prepare everything for the session in so
short a time. As for the temper of peoples' mind
I am not yet able to say anything, as you may well
suppose, since I have not had time to speak to
any body.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
19.
29.
Kensington, November, 1697.
I have been obliged, in order to have more
leisure to make all my preparations, to prorogue
Parliament for a fortnight. Hitherto I have not
been at all able to judge of the turn which affairs
will take. I can clearly see that in general they
are inclined to have an army on foot during peace,
but the main question is to regulate the number of
troops: some are for fixing it at 30,000 men,
others at no more than 20,000; so that it is not yet
138 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
possible to judge with certainty. There will be
much difficulty in finding means to pay the debts,
and the current expences. The session will there-
fore certainly be very long.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Nov. 23.
Dec. 3.
Kensington,
-1697.
I am very glad that the ambassadors of France
have expressed themselves with so much civility,
though there is little good to be expected from it
for the cause of religion. I hope that those princes
will not hesitate any longer to ratify, on the part of
the Empire, the treaty of peace which has just been
concluded: the term expires in a few days. I am
not yet without uneasiness respecting the evacua-
tion of Mecklenburg. The answer which the French
ambassadors have given you on this subject seems
to me to be very equivocal. What gives me the
most distrust is, that the French have not till now
made any reduction of their army; their troops are
still very considerable, and yet you know that they
are very economical.
I am sorry that the affair of the guarantee and
the association makes so little progress. It will be
proper, I think, to insist more strongly on this point
after the evacuation of all the fortresses shall have
taken place; for I consider this measure as the only
security for peace.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 139
As soon as the ambassador of Denmark shall
have received instructions to treat, this business
must be pushed.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Nov. 26.
Dec. 6.
Kensington,
I have nothing worth communicating to you. T
perceive that the project of maintaining troops in
the country during peace will meet with more
difficulties in Parliament than I had expected.
The members who have come from the provinces
(county members) seem to be strongly prejudiced
against this measure, and infinite pains are taken
to discredit it in the eyes of the public by speeches
and by pamphlets. On the other hand, nothing is
neglected to oppose this notion; but it is yet im-
possible to see what the result will be.
1697.
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF GALWAY.
November 26.
December 6.
Kensington,
1697.
I refer you to what Lord Portland will write to
you about the forces, by which you will learn my
intentions. I assure you I am very much troubled
to find things here run so high against the poor re-
fugees. This has struck me; but you know these
140 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
sorts of things pass here very easily. Be ever as-
sured of my esteem.
P. S.I hope you'll be able to put an end very
soon to the parliament of Ireland.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Nov. 30.
Kensington, Dec. 10.
1697.
From what you write to me respecting the con-
ference with the ambassador of Denmark, it does
not seem that that power is very eager to enter into
a closer alliance with us. It is, however, very much
for our interests, now that there is more reason than
ever to fear that Sweden will throw herself entirely
into the arms of France. But if, as I suspect, Den-
mark is not thus inclined, we can do no more than
manifest our good-will in this respect, and await the
course it may think fit to pursue.
I must tell you, to my great regret, that I find
every day more difficulty in getting the members
of Parliament to consent to keep a good number of
national troops on foot. You have no idea of the
manner in which people here reason.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
3.
13.
1697.
Kensington, December
The opening of Parliament took place to-day:
we cannot yet conjecture anything respecting the
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 141
issue of the deliberations. The two Houses have
resolved to compliment me, and I believe that their
addresses will not be wanting in frankness. This
is a good commencement; but what will be the
result, time must show.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Kensington, Dec. 7-17. 1697.
It is absolutely necessary that M. van Dykvelt
should repair immediately to Brussels, for matters
are in nowise going on there as they ought to do,
and are taking a turn directly contrary to what was
agreed upon at Loo. I do not know either whether
it will not soon be time for the States to appoint
their ambassador in France, because Bonrepos*, it
is said, will shortly arrive at the Hague.
* Bonrepos, ambassador of Louis XIV. to the States-General.
"Bonrepos," says Saint-Simon in his Memoirs," se prétendait
gentilhomme du pays de Foix. Il avait passé sa vie dans les
bureaux de la marine. M. de Seignelay s'en servait avec con-
fiance; et quoique l'oncle et le neveu ne fussent pas toujours
d'accord, M. de Croissy lui donna aussi la sienne. Un traité de
marine et de commerce que pendant la paix précédente il alla
faire en Angleterre, où il réussit fort bien, le fit connaître à
Croissy. Il y demeura longtemps à reprises, et en homme d'esprit
et de sens, se procurait des occasions de faire des voyages à la
cour, où il fit valoir son travail. Cet emploi le décrassa. Il
continua à travailler sous M. de Seignelay, puis sous M. de Pon-
chartrain, mais non plus sur le pied de premier commis; il
obtint permission d'acheter une charge de lecteur du roi pour
en avoir les entrées et un logement à Versailles; il s'y était fait
142 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
10.
20.
Kensington, December 1697.
I am sorry to have to announce to you that the
debates in Parliament to-day took an unfavourable
turn. The House of Commons voted that all the
levies of troops made since the year 1680 shall be
disbanded, so that I shall keep in the service only
as many troops as there were in the time of King
Charles, that is to say, at most 8,000 men. How
this is to be remedied I am ignorant, but I expect
much disorder and confusion.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Kensington, December 1697.
17.
27.
I fear that the resolution of the Empire will
produce but little effect, for all the Princes are
disarming, and I do not yet see any appearance of
the enumeration of forces, on which however all
our security depends, if at the same time we keep
des amis de ceux de M. de Seignelay, et d'autres encore. Il
était honnête homme et fort bien reçu dans les maisons les plus
distinguées de la cour. Tout cela l'aida à prendre un plus grand
vol, et il réussit toujours dans ses ambassades. C'était un très
petit homme, gros, d'une figure assez ridicule, avec un accent
désagréable, mais qui parlait bien et avec qui il y avait à ap-
prendre et même à s'amuser."
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 143
only a few troops on foot here. I foresee that we
shall be in all respects in a state of great uncer-
tainty, which does not disquiet me a little. It is
incredible what erroneous notions men here have
conceived, and the part which my enemies act.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Kensington, Dec. 21–31. 1697.
I received by the last mail a letter from the
Elector of Bavaria, who notifies to me that he has
given instructions for the regiments of the States to
enter the fortresses, evacuated according to our con-
vention, so that this measure will have undoubtedly
been already executed. He likewise writes to me,
that he should wish to borrow a considerable sum
from the States, to be employed on the works of the
fortifications. I have replied to him, that I thought
it probable that the States might be induced to con-
sent to it on the terms of which you spoke at Loo
with Count Bergheyek. For my part, I think this
operation absolutely necessary.
Matters went off well yesterday and to-day in the
House of Commons with respect to my revenues,
which were fixed, during my lifetime, at the sum
of 700,000l. As for the affair of the troops it
will probably not be discussed till after the
Christmas holidays.
144 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Dec. 24. 1697.
Kensington, Jan. 3. 1698.
What the French ambassadors have said to you,
that something must be done by the Republic, France,
and me, towards maintaining the peace, surprises me
much; and I am of opinion with you, that it relates
to the guarantee between the Emperor, the Empire,
and us.
The Earl of Portland will readily be able
to get to the bottom of this affair in France; and
this is a further reason for hastening his departure
as much as possible.
Parliament has just adjourned till Thursday
next. Thus it will not be possible, before that
time, to judge what may be resolved with respect
to the troops to be retained.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
7
17
Kensington, January, 1698.
On Tuesday, while I was engaged in writing to
you, a fire broke out in Whitehall, and reduced the
principal portion of the Palace to ashes. This loss
would be greater to any other person than to me,
because I could not reside there. However, the
loss is considerable; but there is no remedy, and
we have nothing left but to pray to God to pre-
serve us in future from such accidents.
I believe that the House of Commons will again
deliberate to-morrow on the disbanding of the
troops.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 145
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
Kensington, January 10-20. 1698.
I send you herewith the letter for the Dauphin.
I am much vexed that the wind and weather are
still contrary; God grant that they may change by
the day after to-morrow, and that you may have a
favourable passage. I assure you that I am more
affected by your departure than you can conceive,
and if you felt as much pain on leaving me, as I did
on witnessing your departure, I should be quite sa-
tisfied, and I might then hope that you would no
longer doubt the solemn oath which I have pledged
to you. This is unquestionably the truest word I
ever uttered in my life, and death alone can make
me change my feelings.
* It is almost impossible to show the precise point to which
these remarkable words of King William relate. They are doubt-
less an allusion to the Earl of Portland's jealousy of the king's
daily increasing favour for Lord Albemarle. Arnold Jost Keppel
was the son of Pellant, Lord of Keppel, one of the most ancient
and eminent families among the nobility of Guelderland, by a
daughter of Opdam, one of the chief lords of the states of Hol-
land. He was born in 1670, and attended King William into
England, being page of honour; and as he rose rapidly to the
highest degree of favour, “the highest," says Burnet, "that any
person had ever attained about the king," he was soon made
one of the grooms of his bed-chamber and master of the robes,
and, in February, 1697, created Baron Ashford, Viscount Bury,
and Earl of Albemarle. "By a quick and unaccountable
progress," adds Burnet, "he seemed to have engrossed the royal
favour so entirely, that he disposed of every thing that was in
the king's power.
The Earl of Portland observed the progress
of this favour with great uneasiness; they grew to be not only
VOL. I.
L
146 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUis xiv.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Kensington, January 11-21. 1698.
I am not surprised that the French revert to
their favourite custom of cavilling on every point,
66
incompatible, as all rivals for favour must needs be, but to hate
and oppose one another in every thing. The one had more of
the confidence, and the other more of the favour." The Earl of
Portland, solely devoted to his master, had not the art of making
himself beloved; and above all, he had not condescended to
make himself agreeable to the petty court which surrounded
King William, and found in him an obstacle to their designs of
governing the king. Sunderland more especially regarded with
an envious eye the exclusive confidence which he enjoyed; and,
in conjunction with Lady Orkney and her brother, Lord Villiers,
had aided in the elevation of Keppel, more especially as the latter,
says Burnet,
was so given up to his own pleasures, that he
could scarce submit to the attendance and drudgery that was
necessary to maintain his post. He had never yet been distin-
guished in any thing," and the cabal were in hopes to make
him a pliant tool. Moreover, as Burnet adds, "he was a
cheerful young man, that had the art to please. He was not
cold or dry, as the Earl of Portland was thought to be, who
seemed to have the art of creating many enemies to himself, and
not one friend. But the Earl of Albemarle had all the arts of
a court, was civil to all, and procured many favours." Though
the partiality of the king for his new favourite was to a cer-
tain extent irresistible, he took care to soothe the jealousy of
Portland. “I am told,” writes Vernon to the Duke of Shrews-
bury, Feb. 16. 1697, "the king intends to give my Lord Straf-
ford's garter to my Lord Portland. My Lord Privy Seal (Lord
Pembroke), I hear, has solicited for it; but it is supposed this
is conferred upon my Lord Portland, at this time of the Earl of
Albemarle's promotion, to show he is still preferred a step above
him." It would appear, as will afterwards be seen, that Port-
land was so dissatisfied at the favour shown to his rival, that he
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 147
and of attempting to bring forward new pretensions.
They are but too well informed of every thing that
passes here. Among other matters, the resolution
adopted to-day, in the committee of the House of
Commons, to grant me, for the current year, only
350,000l. for the maintenance of the troops, will
contribute not a little to render them more haughty
and more exorbitant, and perhaps even lead them to
form plans which they would never have thought
of; for with this sum I am hardly in a condition
to maintain more than ten thousand men.
had taken the resolution, which he carried into effect a year
later, to withdraw from the court and all his occupations, and
that he only consented to remain on certain conditions, which the
king alludes to in this letter. It was with reluctance that he had
made up his mind to accept the embassy to Paris, an office which
he alone could properly discharge, being the sole possessor of
King William's private confidence and of state secrets. But, on
the other hand, Portland was led to think that the embassy in
question was nothing but an honourable means of removing him
and relieving the king from the presence of an importunate
servant. His fears were well founded, for we shall see that
Albemarle and his friends especially well knew how to profit
by the absence of Portland.
* Upon entering into a consideration of the king's speech, the
first resolution of the Commons was, on Dec. 11., "that all
the land forces of this kingdom that have been raised since the
29th of Sept. 1680, shall be paid and disbanded." Two days
after they passed a vote, "that it be an instruction to the com-
mittee who were to consider of the supply, that they should like-
wise consider of a gratuity, to be given to such officers and
soldiers of the English army who were or should be disbanded."
On Dec. 17., they appointed several members to prepare and
bring a bill to regulate the militia, and make them more useful;
and the next day they resolved," that 10,000 men are necessary
L 2
148 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
However, there is no prospect of being able to
obtain more this session; hence you will readily
conceive how much this must annoy me, and how
greatly I am embarrassed as to the course which I
have now to take. You cannot form an idea of
the indifference with which all foreign affairs are
now considered. People here only busy themselves
about a fanciful liberty, while they are forced to
acknowledge that they never were so free, and have
nothing to apprehend from me. I see in all this
only a chastisement of Heaven, which blinds honest
men, and permits the wicked to prosper in their
designs.
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
Kensington, January 21-31. 1698.
I hope that you have arrived happily to-day at
Paris, as you had intended. I have very little to
for a summer and winter guard at sea, for the year 1698." On
Jan. 14., the Commons agreed to the resolutions which had
been taken in a grand committee about the supply,
"that a
sum not exceeding 350,000l. be granted to his Majesty for
maintaining guards and garrisons for the year 1698; that a supply
be granted to his Majesty for the speedy paying and disbanding
the army." The army then consisted of 17,656 foot, and 6876
horse and dragoons. On the 18., they came to the following
resolution, "that provision be made for giving half-pay to the
commission officers (his Majesty's natural-born subjects of Eng-
land) till the said officers shall be fully paid off and cleared and
be otherwise provided for."-Parl. Hist., vol. v.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 149
$
write to you at present. Vernon * informs you
of what is most essential, both with respect to the
grants which have been made to Queen Mary †, and
to what is passing in Parliament, where animosities
are so increasing every day, that it is impossible to
tell what will be the issue. You know by expe-
rience that such things sometimes turn out well;
but they may also turn out ill, and we cannot be
certain of any thing before the end of the session.
This much is certain, that I shall have only
350,000l. for the maintenance of the troops for
this year, and we must make it go as far as
possible. A hope is still entertained of an increase
in the number of regiments of marines; but this is
very uncertain. It is, however, to be decided in
a few days. The resolution they have taken to
give half pay to the officers who are to be discharged
is good, inasmuch as it will enable me to have
the regiments speedily reassembled in case of
need. You will doubtless be annoyed that your
name has again been mentioned in the House of
* Sir William Trumbull had, on the 1st of Dec. 1697, resigned
the seals of secretary of state, which were conferred on Mr. James
Vernon, who had formerly been secretary to the Duke of Mon-
mouth, and, since the Revolution, chief clerk to the Duke of
Shrewsbury, under whom he had for several years managed all
the affairs of the Duke's office.
† The Commons did this year design to apply part of all the
forfeited estates to the use of the public; in order to which they
inquired into the grants made by King Charles II. and King
James II., and ordered a bill to be brought in to make them void.
Afterwards they examined the grants made by his present Ma-
jesty in Ireland.—Parl. Hist., vol. v.
L 3
150 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
Commons on occasion of the grants;
grants; but you
need
not be uneasy on that score, since the matter will
either fall to the ground of itself, or will turn to
your advantage. I have found an expression in
one of your letters from Dover which has greatly
hurt me.
I entreat you not to decide according to
your thoughts only, but to wait till I see you. The
affairs of this world are subject to many changes.
I cannot explain myself more clearly at present on
this subject than by assuring you that I always
entertain for you the same affection.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Kensington, January 21-31. 1698.
I have already informed you, by the last post,
that affairs were going on badly in Parliament.
There are men of a singular turn of mind, who
give the tone there. I shall be obliged to content
myself with the sum voted by the House of Com-
mons for the support of the troops during the
current year. I shall get on with it as well as I can.
It is fortunate, however, that they have resolved to
give half-pay to all the officers who shall be dis-
banded. I estimate their number at 1500, or nearly
so; so that if we could afford it, we should have the
means of forming again a considerable army; and
many persons think that another Parliament will
be more disposed to do so.
What annoys me
especially is that they will not allow me to retain
some of my regiments of Dutch guards in the pay
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 151
of this country, while we shall be much embarrassed
to find some means of getting them re-admitted
into the service of the Republic. In this case, in
order to meet the expense of their pay, without
causing a new outlay to the States, it will be neces-
sary to sacrifice the six Scotch regiments and a few
Swiss regiments besides.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
January 28.
February 7.
Kensington,
1698.
I am much vexed at learning the extreme
confusion which prevails in the affairs of Brabant,
without having any hope of applying the slightest
remedy, to it, for there is nothing to be expected
on the part of Spain. If the difference concerning
Schonenberg were adjusted, our ministers at the
*
* Schouenberg, a Jew by birth, publicly known as such
at Amsterdam by the name of Belmont, and, by being born
at Antwerp, a natural subject of the king of Spain, had,
so long ago as the year 1678, been sent to Madrid, in qua-
lity of agent to the Prince of Orange, to solicit the payment of
such sums, as for subsidies and services were due from that court
to his Highness. Every body knows how obnoxious the Jews
are in Spain; and it is easy to conceive, that neither the family,
nor the religion, nor the claims of the prince his master could
lessen the prejudices which Schonenberg had to struggle with
on that account. By dint of importunity, however, and the
favour of the times, which helped to make his master of con-
sequence to the court of Spain, he succeeded in his suit; but
he rendered himself out of measure obnoxious to the Spanish
L 4
152
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
Court of Madrid would, at least, be able to act.
have heard nothing of it since I left Holland.
means can be found to arrange it, I will afford, on
my part, all possible facilities. You will do well
to speak to Quiros* about it. As it appears more
and more evident, that Sweden will throw herself
entirely into the arms of France, I should like
the negotiations with Denmark to be pressed.
But, as for obtaining subsidies in this country,
I
If
Court. Notwithstanding which, on the death of the Dutch
envoy, he was appointed to succeed him, and on the strength of
his additional character, became more busy, more arrogant,
and of course more obnoxious than ever; and so disagreeable to
the ministers, that they thought fit to remonstrate in strong
terms against him and his conduct, and insisted on his
being recalled. But Schonenberg remained, and continued to
act in the same manner as before; so that they had no other
resort but some such personal misconduct as should authorise
them to rid themselves of his presence; and it was not long
before his indiscretion furnished them with the opportunity they
waited for. "Sunday last was seven-night, wrote the British
minister, Alexander Stanhope, to Admiral Russell, (Madrid,
Sept. 27. 1695,) the conductor of ambassadors was sent with a
message from the king to M. Schonenberg, to leave Madrid in
six days, and they will receive no more papers from or treat
with him; the motive being some disrespectful offices of his in
a late memorial, and having done ill offices relating to the
Dutch ships in the fleet.” As he took no notice of this com-
mand, he was arrested in his house, and forcibly carried to a
place three leagues out of Madrid, where he was left. King
William forbade the Spanish ambassador to present any
memorial, or to make his appearance at the court, till satisfac-
tion was given him with respect to the violence which had
been offered to the person of his ambassador.
* Don Bernardo Quiros, ambassador of Spain to the States-
General.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 153
in time of peace, it is wholly impracticable. En-
deavour on your part to urge forward the negotia-
tions as much as possible. I desire also that you
should sound Bonde and Lillieroot *, as to whether
the king of Sweden would like to have the Order
of the Garter, which I am very much disposed to
confer on him. The proposition which has been
made to you by Fettau, respecting the arming of
the Circles, is good, but in my opinion it will meet
with more obstacles than the proposal of association.
For the rest, that which is most easy of execution
will be most agreeable to me, for my sole object is,
to see the Empire in arms, and, if that be not done
forthwith, nothing will come of it. As for a general
guarantee for peace, I see, in reality, but little
prospect of it. France will certainly not fail to
interfere. The Earl of Portland will probably soon
be informed on this point. I have not received
any news from him since his arrival in Paris.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Kensington, February 1-11. 1698.
Stepney has already set out, and will probably
be now in Holland. He has orders to be guided by
* Count Bonde was the colleague of Baron Lillieroot, as
ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the king of
Sweden, at the congress of Ryswick. Both remained at the
Hague as ambassadors to the States-General.
† Stepney was sent as minister of England to the court of
the Elector of Brandenburg.
154 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
your instructions. You will do well, I think, to tell
him to allege, as the principal object of his mission
to Berlin, the affair of Neufchâtel. I am, in fact, of
opinion, that he should make a tour thither to give
weight to my reclamations respecting that country.
I confess, however, that I have no great opinion of
all this affair, and that there is but little appear-
ance that I shall ever be put in possession of it
without making war on France.* The greatest pre-
caution must be used not to compromise ourselves
too much with that power, which would not suit
us, under present circumstances.
Mr. van Dyckvelt communicates to me, in detail,
his causes of uneasiness concerning the Elector of
Cologne. I have likewise many apprehensions on
that subject. It would be well to think of some
means to keep that prince in the good path, for, if
he were to take the part of France, great injury
to the Republic would certainly be the result.
Experience has shown what we should have to fear
for it from that quarter.
* As representative of the house of Nassau-Orange, King
William maintained that, at the death of the Duchess of Ne-
mours, then far advanced in years, the right to the inheritance
of the county of Neufchâtel, which was contested by numerous
claimants, principally French, devolved on him. It was be-
stowed upon the king of Prussia in 1707, as heir of the two
houses of Nassau-Orange and of Chalons, whose rights to it
were the strongest.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 155
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
Kensington, February 1-11. 1698.
I can no longer defer writing to you, though
I have received no letters from you since your
arrival in Paris. I am momentarily in expectation
of them, as I am very desirous to know the reason
why I have received no news from you, for I am
convinced that you have written, as I well know
your habitual punctuality.
I have nothing to communicate to you at present
from this place. You will learn what passes in
Parliament from others, and from the newspapers.
There is nothing particular to tell you, nor can I
offer an opinion as to when the session may ter-
minate, or in what manner. You know this country
well enough to be aware that nothing can be judged
of till the end. I am greatly astonished that the
Duke of St. Albans* has not yet returned. He
* William III. having received a notification by letter of the
Duke of Burgundy's marriage on the 21st of December, he
despatched the Duke of St. Albans that day se'nnight with his
felicitations on that occasion. Gazette, No. 3351.
Charles Beauclerc, Duke of St. Albans, was a natural son of
Charles II. and Mrs. Eleanor Gwyn. He was at that time one
of the lords of the bed-chamber.
"Le Roi d'Angleterre était au comble de satisfaction de se
voir enfin reconnu par le Roi, et paisible sur ce trône; mais un
usurpateur n'est jamais tranquille et content. Il était blessé du
séjour du roi légitime et de sa famille à St. Germain. C'était
trop à portée du Roi, et trop près d'Angleterre pour le laisser sans
inquiétude. Il avait fait tous ses efforts, tant à Ryswick que
dans les conférences de Portland, pour obtenir leur sortie du
156
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
must be amusing himself where he is. This is all
I have to say at present, and that I am yours very
affectionately.
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
Kensington, February 3-13. 1698.
It was only yesterday that I received your letter
from Paris, dated the 5th. I am very glad to learn
that you have been so well received everywhere, and
more especially to hear the favourable assurances
which his Most Christian Majesty has given you re-
specting me. You may continue to assure him, that
I desire nothing more than to live in close com-
munion and correspondence with him; and that I
hope he will facilitate the means of my doing so.
I am likewise glad that he has permitted you
to pay your court to him without your official
capacity. It is therefore my wish that you should
be at Versailles as often as you can; and it cannot
but be agreeable to you that every body pays you
royaume, tout au moins leur éloignement de la cour. Il avait
trouvé le Roi inflexible; il voulut essayer tout, et voir si, n'en
faisant plus une condition, puisqu'il avait passé carrière, et com-
blant le Roi de prévenances et de regrets, il ne pourrait pas ob-
tenir ce fruit de ses souplesses. Dans cette vue il envoya le duc
de St. Albans, chevalier de la jarretière, complimenter le Roi sur
le mariage de monseigneur le duc de Bourgogne. Il ne pouvait
choisir un homme plus marqué pour une simple commission :
on fut surpris même qu'il l'eut acceptée. Il était bâtard de
Charles II., et c'était encore là une raison de s'en excuser.
Mémoires de Saint-Simon, vol. iii. p. 145., edit. 1840.
""
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 157
so many courtesies. I do not know whether you
may not even be permitted to go occasionally to
Marly, which you must not neglect to do.
I suppose you have written to me by way of
Holland, but, in consequence of the contrary wind,
two mails are due at present. I do not doubt that
I shall likewise have letters from you by the Duke
of St. Albans, who has not yet arrived. I am very
curious to know what you think of the manners and
bustle of the country where you now are, and which
must be so different from those where you are accus-
tomed to live. I dare say you will soon follow the
chase, and visit the gardens, of both of which you
know I am very fond.
It is surprising, that in a country so liable to
changes, as you well know, there is nothing new to
communicate to you. Business in Parliament makes
no progress, and till this inquiry into exchequer
bills* is finished there will be no other of import-
* "The false endorsement of exchequer bills was such a scan-
dalous practice, that it took up much of the Commons' time to
inquire into it and reformn it. These exchequer bills were of
mighty use in the nation, by supplying the scarcity of money
during the recoining of the silver species. Now, because there
was an interest of 77. 12s. per annum allowed upon the second
issuing the said bills out of the exchequer, after they had been
paid in on any of the King's taxes,-whereas at their first issuing
out of the exchequer they bore no interest ;-this encouraged
several of the King's officers, both in the exchequer, the customs,
and the excise, to contrive together to get great sums of money
by false endorsements on the exchequer bills, before they had cir-
culated about and been brought into any branch of his Majesty's
revenue. The most considerable persons that had carried on
158 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
ance, though they resolved yesterday to devote
four days in the week to the supply and the ways
and means; but you know how such resolutions are
carried into execution. We hear no more of Lord
Sunderland than if he were not in the world,
though there are persons who build many castles in
the air, of which more hereafter.
P. S.—I do not know whether the worthy Gour-
ville* is still in a state to be seen. If he is, I wish
this unwarrantable practice were, Mr. Charles Duncombe, re-
ceiver-general of the excise; Mr. John Knight, treasurer of the
customs; Mr. Bartholomew Burton, who had a place in the ex-
cise office; and Mr. Reginald Marryot, one of the deputy-tellers
of the exchequer; which last, to get his pardon, compounded to
accuse the rest. Upon a full proof of the matter, Duncombe
and Knight, who were members of the House of Commons, were
first expelled the house, and committed prisoners to the Tower;
Burton was sent to Newgate, and bills were ordered to be
brought in to punish them. The bill against Duncombe, whereby
a fine of nearly half his estate (which was judged to be worth
400,000l.) was set upon him, did quickly pass the Commons,
notwithstanding the opposition that was made to it, particularly
by the attorney-general (sir Thomas Trevor); but being sent up
to the Lords, and their lordships being equally divided, the Duke
of Leeds gave his casting vote for the rejecting of the bill. Mr.
Duncombe being set at liberty by the order of the House of Lords,
without the consent of the Commons, the latter resented it to
that degree, that they caused him to be remanded to the Tower,
where he continued to the end of the session. The bills against
Knight and Burton had the same fate; and so all those threat-
ening clouds, that seemed ready to crush the false endorsers,
spent themselves in vapour and noise.". Parl. Hist., vol. v.
*For some curious particulars regarding this remarkable
personage and his relation to King William III., see the Ap-
pendix.
M
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 159
you would visit him, and give my compliments to
him, as he is one of my oldest acquaintances.
THE EARL OF PORTLAND TO WILLIAM III.*
Paris, February 16. 1698.
Since the letter which I had the honour to write
to your Majesty by the Duke of St. Albans, the
* As the preceding letters of Portland have been probably
lost, we supply their contents by the following extracts of a
manuscript of the Royal Library in Paris (Suppl. fr. No. 490.):
Journal de l'ambassade extraordinaire de son Excellence My-
lord Comte de Portland par rapport au cérémonial.
"On the 20th of January, 1698, his Excellency the Earl of
Portland, Ambassador Extraordinary of his Britannic Majesty
at the Court of France, left Whitehall, and having crossed
the Thames and found his carriages at Lambeth, went to
Rochester, where he dined, and slept at Sittingbourne. On the
21st, his Excellency having passed through Canterbury with-
out stopping, arrived at Dover at four o'clock in the afternoon.
His Excellency remained at Dover during the 22d on account
of the contrary wind, and embarked on the 23rd. There
being very little wind, they made no progress except by means
of the tide, so that his Excellency did not arrive at Calais till
nine o'clock in the evening. He landed by moonlight, and on
quitting the shallop was received by M. de la Tour, Com-
mandant of Calais, who took him in his carriage to his house,
where he was to lodge.
On the 24th, his Excellency hired the requisite carriages and
horses, for the great number of persons who accompanied him.
He himself travelled in the chariot in which he had come
from London to Dover, and which had crossed the sea at the
same time with us. At Calais his Excellency was met by
one of his equerries, with several carriages and saddle horses
that had been sent from Holland. On quitting the residence
160 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
Marshal Boufflers has taken an opportunity of speak-
ing to me of the surprise and indignation which I
of the Commandant, his Excellency found the garrison under
arms, lining the streets through which he was to pass.
About two hundred paces from the town, opposite Fort Nieulet,
a regiment of cavalry was drawn up in battle array; all the
guns of the fort were fired, and the infantry who garrisoned
it lined the ramparts on the side which we passed: the officers
saluted his Lordship by taking off their hats. His Excellency
slept that night at Boulogne. On the 25th, his Excellency
went to sleep at Montreuil. The guns were fired at his
entrance, and the wine of the country was presented to his
Lordship. On the 26th he stopped at Montreuil, because it
was Sunday; his Excellency heard a sermon preached by Dr.
Fall, one of his chaplains. On the 27th, his Excellency slept
at Abbeville. On entering the city, he found some cavalry as-
sembled before the gate, and a guard of 100 foot was given him.
On the 28th, he slept at Amiens. At the distance of a quarter
of a league from the city, he met two squadrons of cavalry
in battle array, headed by the King's lieutenant, who alighted
from his horse to pay his respects to his Excellency, as he
descended for a moment from his carriage. When the carriage
proceeded, one of the squadrons placed itself in front, and the
other behind it. Thus they advanced to the gate of the city,
where the Intendant, M. Bigon, was awaiting the arrival of his
Excellency in his carriage; he alighted from it on the ap-
proach of my Lord, who likewise alighted, descended from his
chariot, and embraced the Intendant. His Excellency imme-
diately re-entered his carriage, and found a double file of Swiss
infantry drawn up from the gate of the city to the residence of
the Intendant, which is at a great distance. He entered the
city amid a salute from the guns of the citadel. On the 29th,
his Excellency left Amiens amid the roar of cannon, between
the two files of Swiss soldiers which were drawn up from the
residence of the Intendant to the gate of the city, and, at the
distance of 300 paces, squadrons were drawn up in battle array.
His Lordship dined that day at Breteuil and slept at St. Just.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 161
had expressed, rather publicly, at seeing the Duke
of Berwick, &c. at Versailles; on which occasion I
On the 30th his Excellency dined at Creil, and slept at Lusarche,
where he met his son (Lord Woodstock), who had come from
Holland to Paris a few days before. His Excellency like-
wise met, at Lusarche, M. d'Allonne, whom he had sent
to Paris a month before our departure, to make several ar-
rangements. Lastly his Excellency found at Lusarche an
equerry of Marshal Boufflers, with a carriage drawn by eight
horses, and several footmen belonging to the same Marshal.
On the 31st, his Excellency, seated in the carriage of Mar-
shal Boufflers, went to dine at St. Denis, when he saw the
church and the treasury, and at four o'clock in the afternoon
he went to Paris, to the Hôtel d'Auvergne, in the Rue de
la Planche, which had been prepared for him. The Prince
being then at Berghem-op-Zoom, had offered this palace to the
King, completely furnished, as a residence for his Excellency;
but as it was not sufficiently spacious, it was found necessary to
erect a large dining room in the garden, which was finished in
three weeks time. All the nobles and gentlemen were accom-
modated in furnished lodgings, as near the hotel as was
possible. There was not room in the stables of the Hôtel
d'Auvergne for more than ten or twelve horses, and as his
Excellency had about ninety carriage and saddle horses, stables
were hired for the remainder in the immediate vicinity. On
the evening of his arrival, his Lordship was visited by
Marshal Boufflers and the Duke de Gramont. On the 1st
of February, my Lord dined with Marshal Boufflers. On
the same day his Excellency sent Mr. Prior, Secretary to
the Embassy, to Versailles, to pay his respects to M. de Torcy,
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and to announce his
arrival. His Lordship at the same time informed him that,
as the ice prevented the vessel which had on board his state
equipage and three of his carriages, from ascending the Seine,
it was impossible for him to make his public entry so soon as
he had intended; and he therefore requested M. de Torcy to
procure him a private audience of his Most Christian Majesty.
Mr. Prior at the same time delivered a copy of his Lordship's
VOL. I.
M
C
162 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
had said that the blood boiled in my veins at their
approach, and that I hoped there was no in-
credentials, and one of his own commission. The private
audience was fixed for the 4th of February. On the 3rd, his
Lordship supped with the Duke de Gramont. This entertain-
ment was a fête, which had been long in preparation, and to
which the Duke had invited a large number of the principal
noblemen of the court of France. On Tuesday, his Excellency
went to Versailles with Marshal Boufflers, in the Marshal's car-
riage; Lord Woodstock and M. d'Allonne followed in his Ex-
cellency's carriage. His Excellency having been some moments
in the apartment of Marshal Boufflers, where he alighted, M.
de Torcy came to meet him. About nine o'clock his Lordship went
to have an audience of the King, being presented by M. de Torcy
and M. Sainctot, conductor of ambassadors. The King re-
ceived him in his cabinet, the Marquis de Torcy alone being present;
M. Sainctot remained at the door with my Lord Woodstock and
M. d'Allonne, whom his Excellency presented to the King,
after the audience. His Excellency then had an audience of
MONSEIGNEUR the dauphin, and afterwards of the Duke of
Burgundy, with whom were the Dukes of Anjou and Berri.
At eleven o'clock his Excellency had an audience of MONSIEUR
and immediately afterwards of MADAME; that of the Duchess
of Burgundy having been put off till one o'clock in the after-
noon, his Excellency profited by the interim to pay a visit
to M. de Torcy. At one o'clock his Lordship had an audience
of the Duchess of Burgundy, after which he dined with the
Marquis de Torcy, and in the evening returned to Paris, after
having likewise paid a visit to M. de Pomponne, the princi-
pal secretary of state for foreign affairs. On the 7th, M. de
Pomponne came to pay a visit to my Lord, and as soon as
he went away M. de Torcy entered. On the 9th, his Excel-
lency went to Versailles to attend the King's levee, and on
the same day paid a visit to the Duke de Beauvillier, and to
M. de Ponchartrain, who afterwards called to return the cour-
tesy to his Excellency. On the 11th there was a grand supper
and ball at M. de Mortangis, to which his Excellency was. in-
vited. On the 13th, his Excellency went to pay his court at the
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIv. 163
tention of accustoming me to see the assassins of
the king my master. He attempted to soften this
in a way which led me to infer that my words had
been reported, and that he spoke to me by com-
mand. For this reason I deemed it necessary to
state still more fully what I thought of the residence
of King James in France*, and of their tolerating
and maintaining in this country villains who had
attempted your life; which was not conformable
with what we had agreed upon, nor with what the
King had done me the honour to express to me.
He
replied that I could not say that he had pledged
the word of the king his master to oblige King
James to quit his kingdom, and that I was too
honest a man, and too much his friend to urge him
so as to say anything of the kind. Upon this
I told him that I had not been able to require this
promise of him, since he was not in a condition
•
Palais Royal to MONSIEUR and to MADAME, and afterwards had an
audience of the Duke of Chartres. On the 14th, his Excellency
went to visit the Prince de Condé, in his hotel at Paris. On
the same evening, his Excellency went to the Palais Royal,
where, after having seen MONSIEUR, in whose apartments they
were at play, he had an audience of MADEMOISELLE in her apart-
ment. On the 15th, his Excellency sent to M. de Torcy, to re-
quest an audience of the King, which was fixed for the 17th. On
that day his Excellency went to Versailles, and had a long
audience of the King in his cabinet, which turned upon
business.
* 14 Février. "Milord Portland n'a point encore parlé d'af-
faires au Roi ni à ses ministres, mais il a témoigné à plusieurs
que le roi son maître apprenait avec peine que le Roi voulut
toujours laisser le roi Jacques à St. Germain; il aurait bien
souhaité qu'il fût plus éloigné d'ici."— Dangeau.
- G
M 2
164 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
to give it me on the spot, and I repeated the con-
versation which we had had on the subject word
for word, and I assured him that I was suffi-
ciently his friend not to speak of it to any per-
son, without necessity, if it gave him pain, but
that I found myself compelled to do so. I begged
him to believe that I had the interest and the
service of the king my master more at heart than
all my friends put together, and that in a case
like this, I would say so to the Most Christian King
himself, in his presence, that he might be a witness
that I added nothing of my own.
He again urged me much to induce me to
change my mind; but when he found me reso-
lute, he altered his tone, and said that it would
be too ungracious to urge this affair thus strongly,
and that if anything was to be done, it would be
better to leave the King to act according to his
own judgment; and, instead of demanding this as
a thing agreed upon, it would be advisable to make
a representation, and to accommodate or adjust the
affair by forbearance or negotiation.
I replied that I did not think it was proper to
enter into negotiations on a matter respecting which
both sides had so fully explained themselves, and
without which I had declared from the first that
peace could not subsist; that on concluding our in-
terview we had talked over the place to which King
James should retire: I had proposed Rome, and he
Avignon; but that I would willingly comply with
the wishes of the King in the carrying out of the
plan, and he should do it in such a way as he judged
*
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 165
most conformable with his glory and his honour,
provided it were done; and of this I could not, and
would not doubt, after what the King had done me
the honour to express to me, in general terms, on
which I implicitly relied; I added that I should
have wished to speak to himself and to demand the
fulfilment of his words. After this we parted with
many civilities.
Soon after, Marshal Villeroy came to me and
entered on the same subject, to which I replied
in somewhat similar terms, and remarked that he
was too well informed of all the particulars not to
have received instructions, a circumstance which
obliged me to speak to him in the same tone, and
not to leave him the slightest hope that I could at
all give way, or change my sentiments. As his ad-
dress is highly polished, he spoke to me in a very
mild and insinuating manner. He told me that
the motive which influenced the King was that of
compassion and pity, which must also touch your
Majesty's heart; that if there were persons who
were suspected of such enormous crimes as
assassination, this had not appeared clear, and
that the King ought to be informed of it, for
that certainly he would not tolerate them; that
the Duke of Berwick * had come over in conse-
·
* The Duke of Berwick was the son of the Duke of York,
afterwards James II., and of Arabella Churchill. He went se-
cretly into England, in 1696, to prepare the restoration of
James II.; and, as it was during the time sir G. Barclay medi-
tated the murder of William III., he was involved in the number
of the conspirators.
M 3
166 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
quence of the affair of the invasion, and that sir
George Barclay was paid off with his company.
I told him that time had sufficiently shown that
your Majesty had had more compassion and pity
on all occasions, than could have been expected;
that you had especially proved it in this case, by
consenting, without any obligation, to grant so
large a sum for the support of King James, after
what he had seen so often done-to attempt your
life; and that I was greatly surprised at his say-
ing “if there were persons who might be sus-
pected of assassination," for that it was a mat-
ter too clearly proved to all the world for any
one to question it; that many persons had been
executed for this crime who had not only con-
fessed it before their death, but who had even
had the audacity and inveterate malice to maintain
that they did not repent of it; that we had it from
Goodman*, who had confessed it in my presence,
"Sir G. Barclay," says Kennet, "who had formerly been
a general officer, and was then an officer in King James's guards,
came over into England (December, 1695), and brought with
him a commission from the late king' to attack and seize the
Prince of Orange in his winter quarters;' or, as others report,
'to levy war upon the Prince of Orange and all his adherents.””
* Goodman was one of the two witnesses on whose evidence
Cooke had been condemned, and on whom depended the con-
viction of Sir John Fenwick. He was a man of infamous
character, and on the eve of the trial he was bribed, and dis-
appeared. He retired to France, where he remained till after
the peace. As he seemed now impatient to return, it was
suspected that his intention was to put himself under the pro-
tection of the Earl of Portland, when he arrived. Therefore
Lord Middleton, as appears from a letter to M. de Torcy,
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 167
and yet, notwithstanding all this, these monsters
were tolerated and kept in service here, a thing
which had never been done in any other place in
the world; that I could not entertain the slightest
doubt of the pledge which the King had given me
in general, and that if he was not so well informed
of the fact as I could wish him to be, I was per-
suaded that as soon as I should have the honour of
speaking with him on the subject, he would deliver
those assassins into your Majesty's hand, in order
that they might be punished as their enormous
crime deserved; that, with respect to the Duke of
Berwick, if he had been in England only on account
of the invasion, he would not have been considered so
much of a traitor as other rebels, but that it was
thought that he was cognisant of the conspiracy,
and that, on that account, his name had been in-
serted in the proclamation and a reward promised
to those who should arrest him.
On taking leave, the Marshal Villeroy told me
that he was obliged to go to Versailles, of which he
had said nothing before, though it would have been
à propos; this confirmed me in my supposition,
and made me think that he was going to give a
report of our conversation.
I judged it best not to be too urgent for an
audience, but to wait a few days, to see the re-
printed in Macpherson (Jan. 19. 1698), desired, in his master's
name, he should be secured. The same precautions were
taken against any one of the Court of St. Germains who be-
came suspicious. Goodman was arrested, and sent a prisoner
to Dauphine, where he remained many years.
M 4
168 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
sults of my conversations. But as I had waited
till Saturday, without hearing anything, for
Marshal Villeroy had not returned, and on Marshal
Boufflers, who had come back, telling me that he
would not interfere in the case, as he was not mi-
nister,—I despatched d'Allonne* to Versailles, to
M. de Torcy, requesting an audience, and was in-
formed in reply that he would let me know the day
on which the King would grant it.
All this leads me to infer, Sire, that I have
nothing favourable to expect in regard to what I
shall demand, on your part, from his Most Christian
Majesty, and, as it is uncertain when I shall have an
audience, I have no longer liked to delay giving you
an account of what has passed hitherto.
After I had written my letter thus far, the Mar-
quis de Torcy sent me word that the King would
grant me an audience to-morrow morning; this in-
duces me to detain the express till I have had it,
in order to add what has passed.
February 17.
I repaired this morning to Versailles and saw
the King. In order the better to inform your
Majesty of what I said, I send you annexed the
contents.
After I had done speaking, the King said that he
* D'Allonne, as well as Robertson, appear to have been
French refugees, and private secretaries to King William.
Both he and Robertson were great favourites of the Earl of
Portland, but particularly the last, whose name occurs so fre-
quently in Macpherson's Original Papers, as the trusty con-
fident of the Brunswick family.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 169
could not imagine why I required that he should
oblige King James to withdraw-that he was his
near relation; that he was affected by his mis-
fortunes; that he had assisted him so long, that, in
honour, he could not send him away: he added,
that Marshal Boufflers had positively declared the
same thing in our conferences, and that upon this I
had desisted from my demand; and that we ought
to be satisfied with his word of honour that he
would not assist him, and would sincerely preserve
the peace.
I replied that he had no cause to be touched
with compassion for the withdrawal of King James,
since your Majesty had engaged to give him, or
the Queen, his wife, about 50,000l. per annum,
in order that he might live elsewhere, and that
if he refused to withdraw on these terms, it could
only be in the hope of employing this money
to excite disturbances, or in some more nefarious
project; that your Majesty expected this withdrawal
as a thing agreed upon, since the only reason
why I had not continued to insist on having this
point inserted in a clause of the peace, was consi-
deration for his Most Christian Majesty, and that
your Majesty had been anxious not to exact
from him a thing which might be disagreeable;
but that I had positively declared that unless King
James withdrew, the peace could not be lasting.
I reminded him that, in the first instance, after
the conversation, he had asked me whither you
wished the King to withdraw, to which I had re-
plied "Rome or Modena," upon which he enquired
•
170 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
whether Avignon might not be a suitable place?
to which I consented. I said that whatever con-
fidence your Majesty might place in the word of
his Most Christian Majesty, you could not rely
upon what did not depend upon him; as, for in-
stance, as to what seditious persons in England
might undertake. Moreover the English nation
would be in a state of perpetual distrust respecting
the continuance of the peace, and that, from the man-
ner in which the Government was constituted, the
Parliament would not be induced to do what was
necessary to ensure its continuance, and that the
principal means to effect this object was the with-
drawal of King James. To all this the King re-
plied, that he would absolutely never take the step
of obliging King James to withdraw.
After this I reminded his Most Christian Majesty
that he had not given me any reply to the second
point upon which I had had the honour of speak-
ing to him; namely, that of the assassins. He
said that he did not know them; nor was he
aware that there were any here: and that, besides,
he was not perfectly acquainted with this affair.
I replied that I could well believe that his Ma-
jesty did not know any people of this kind, at least
in the character of assassins; and, that if he were
willing to be informed of the persons and the facts,
he had only to let me know in what authentic
form he wished me to acquaint him of it, and
that I engaged to do so to his satisfaction, before
any steps were taken against these individuals. I
named to him the principal persons mentioned
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 171
in the proclamation. * He answered that the
Duke of Berwick could not have been in England,
except on account of the invasion; that sir
George Barclay was paid off with his company,
and that he did not even know where he was; that
as for Harrison, he had never heard of him,
although I told him that he had been prior of an
English convent here; with regard to Birkenhead †,
his Majesty said that he had never been employed,
except to carry letters. After a short pause he
observed that it was useless to say anything more
on the subject, since he could make no other reply
to either of the points than those which he had
already given. Upon this I withdrew.
I must remark to your Majesty, that the Most
Christian King spoke to me this time in a much
colder tone than at my first audience. From
the account which I have given of what passed,
your Majesty may judge of the state of things, and
give me instructions respecting what I am to do in
future; these I very humbly beg you to favour
me with.
1
* King William, on Feb. 22. 1696, published a procla-
mation, "to discover, take, and apprehend James, Duke of
Berwick, sir George Barclay," and twenty-six other individuals
of less note, "as wicked and traitorous persons, who had entered
into a horrid and detestable conspiracy to assassinate and
murder his Majesty's sacred person," with a promise of 10001.
reward for every offender that should be taken and brought to
justice.
† Birkenhead was at Calais, as appears from a letter from
Lord Middleton to M. de Torcy, Jan. 16. 1698.- Macpherson's
Original Papers, vol. i. p. 573.
172 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
I again saw the Duke of Berwick at Versailles
this morning; Lord Middleton was also there.*
February 18.
I beg your Majesty to favour me with instruc-
tions as soon as possible, as to how I am to act.
You see that it is necessary to declare positively
that you will not pay King James unless he with-
draw. I have spoken in this spirit clearly enough,
all along, so that they will not be surprised if you
act upon it. I beg your Majesty not to suffer any
Englishmen of King James's party to remain in
England, contrary to the act of Parliament; and, if
you should assign as the cause of this general re-
fusal, the refusal of King James to withdraw, I
believe that this would make them greatly annoyed
with him, and perhaps oblige him to retire of his
own accord, and assign the money as the reason.
From what I have just stated, your Majesty may
see what dependence can be placed upon the peace,
* 17 Février. "Le Roi donna le matin une audience parti-
culière à Milord Portland; et, comme beaucoup d'anglais qui
sont à St. Germain étaient ici, le Roi fit dire à Milord Middleton,
qui est le chef du conseil du Roi Jacques, qu'il le priait pour
une autre fois d'éviter de se trouver en même temps que l'ambas-
sadeur d'Angleterre."-Dangeau.
† "Milord Portland a toujours persisté à dire ici qu'on ne
payerait point en Angleterre le douaire de la reine tant qu'elle
serait à St. Germain, et qu'on le payerait sûrement si leurs
Majestés Britanniques voulaient choisir une autre demeure, qui
donnât moins de jalousie."-Dangeau. "Sur son départ de
Paris, Portland avait affecté de répandre que tant que le Roi
Jacques serait à St. Germain, la reine d'Angleterre ne serait
point payée du douaire qui lui avait été accordé à la paix, et il
tint parole.”—Mémoires de St. Simon.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 173
and how far we may credit protestations, while
actions are so directly opposed to them. Your
Majesty knows that this cannot surprise me, as I
have expected it ever since you did me the honour
to appoint me to this post.
(ENCLOSURE.)
REPRESENTATION OF THE EARL OF PORTLAND TO HIS
MOST CHRISTIAN MAJESTY.
I believe, Sire, that your Majesty will not be offended at
my addressing you directly, in order to state that the implicit
reliance which I place upon the gracious expressions, in
which you have done me the honour to assure me of your
desire to maintain a sincere friendship with the king my
master, does not permit me to doubt that you will remove
every obstacle which may disturb it.
It is certain, Sire, that the residence of King James in
your kingdom is an obstacle of this nature, and that the
king my master, who expects his withdrawal, will have
reason to believe that, if it does not take place, the
peace which has just been completed is not established
upon solid foundations; the more so, since, if that Prince
prefers forfeiting the 50,000l., which the king my master
is willing to pay him, as an inducement for him to with-
draw from France, it is very natural to believe, that it
is with a view of supporting a party which he thinks he
has in England, and of exciting troubles there; and
that he flatters himself with the countenance and protec-
tion of your Majesty, especially if you consent to his re-
maining in France, after the applications which have been
made to the contrary by the king my master.
Moreover, Sire, the king my master expects, and has
no doubt, that you will deliver up to him the conspirators
174 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
who have attempted his life, and whose atrocious crime
has been so publicly manifested.
He cannot but think that your Majesty's goodness and
kindness have been abused by persons who have implored
your protection for assassins, and villains concealing from
you the blackness of their crime, notorious as it was, and
clearly proved by the testimony of witnesses and their own
confessions; for otherwise it is impossible to believe that
a prince so just and generous as your Majesty, would
tolerate persons so unworthy your protection in opposition
to a king, with whom your Majesty declares it to be
your intention to maintain, henceforth, inviolable friend-
ship.
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
Kensington, February 8-18. 1698.
The Duke of St. Albans yesterday delivered to me
your letter of the 7th. I am very glad to learn that
you continue to receive such attentions*; and, al-
* "Les mêmes raisons qui avaient fait choisir Portland pour
conférer avec le maréchal de Boufflers le firent préferer à tout
autre pour cette ambassade. On n'en pouvait nommer un plus
distingué. Sa suite fut nombreuse et superbe, et sa dépense ex-
trêmement magnifique en table, en chevaux, en livrées, en équi-
pages, en meubles, en habits, en vaisselle, en tout, et avec une
recherche et une délicatesse exquises. . . . Portland parut avec
un éclat personnel, une politesse, un air du monde et de cour, une
galanterie et des graces qui surprirent. Avec cela beaucoup de
dignité, même de hauteur, mais avec discernement, et un juge-
ment prompt, sans rien de hasardé. Les Français qui courent à
la nouveauté, au bon accueil, à la bonne chère, à la magnificence,
en furent charmés. Il les attira, mais avec choix, et en homme ·
instruit de notre cour, et qui ne voulait que bonne compagnie et
distinguée. Bientôt il devint à la mode de le voir, de lui donner
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 175
though they will not perhaps be followed up by
realities of the same kind, yet it is always well to
have so much in advance. I think they are so far
right in not wishing you to enter upon business
before you have had your public audience, though
I believe that you might do a good deal under-
hand, without, however, pushing matters too far;
for you know that I dread refusals more than any
thing whatever; and the state of affairs here and
in all Europe is such, that what they shall think
fit to do for me must come from themselves. Cer-
tainly, I did not imagine that the Duke of Berwick
and Lord Middleton and others would have been
allowed to come to Versailles while you were there.
I hope that, in time, you may be able to hinder it in
future. I should be very much vexed if you were
not to see Madame de Maintenon; but I do not ima-
gine that you will succeed in this through the
channel of the Countess Gramont who is so
much attached to the interests of St. Germain.
"
des fêtes, et de recevoir de lui des festins. Ce qui est étonnant,
c'est que le Roi y donna lieu lui-même, en faisant pour cet am-
bassadeur ce qui n'avait jamais été fait pour aucun autre. Ainsi
fit toute la cour à l'envi.
Portland suivit MONSEIGNEUR
à la chasse. Deux fois il alla de Paris à Meudon pour courre
le loup, et toutes les deux fois MONSEIGNEUR le retint à souper
avec lui. Le Roi lui donna un soir le bougeoir à son coucher,
qui est une faveur qui ne se fait qu'aux gens les plus consi-
dérables, et que le Roi veut distinguer. Rarement les ambassa-
deurs se familiarisent à faire leur cour à ces heures, et s'il y en
vient il n'arrive presque jamais qu'ils reçoivent cet agrément."-
Mémoires de St. Simon.
* Daughter of George Hamilton, married to Count Gramont,
the hero of the memoirs written by her brother, Anthony Hamilton.
176 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
I do not tell you any thing of the proceedings in
Parliament, since you will learn these from others,
and there is nothing particular to write to you.
respecting them, save that matters go on badly, and
that the parties who had coalesced before you left
now impede every thing that concerns the public;
as for private individuals, they think only of saving
and supporting themselves; they do not trouble
themselves about what is passing in other countries,
any more than as if there were none in existence.
I leave you to make your own reflections, and to
shape your measures accordingly. It is impossible
to love you more heartily than I do.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Kensington, February 11-21. 1698.
I am very much embarrassed about the affair of
the Elector of Cologne. We must endeavour to
gain Karigh by dint of money; but, as for grant-
ing subsidies to the Elector himself, I should not
counsel it, because of the consequences. I must
speak to you, on this occasion, of the vacant bishop-
ric of Osnaburgh. I am of opinion that it is of
consequence to the Republic that a proper person
should be appointed. It is said that the Bishop of
Munster solicits the vacant see; but that selection
would not at all suit us.
You will probably learn from the Earl of Port-
land himself that he has received, on the part of
the king of France, a positive refusal to make King
James leave his dominions. It would, perhaps, have
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 177
been better not to have begun his negotiations with
that subject, for he is now very much embarrassed
to know what course to take to proceed any further;
and here this affair will not produce the least effect,
for the people will neither see nor hear.
THE EARL OF PORTLAND TO WILLIAM III.
Paris, February 22. 1698.
Since I last had the honour to write to your
Majesty, I have spoken to M. de Pomponne on the
subject of my last audience with his Most Christian
Majesty. I gave him as minute an account as I
could of what then passed, and left him a copy of
the paper which I forwarded to your Majesty. He
said that the king his master could not fail to be
highly gratified with the manner in which I had
spoken to him, and he reiterated the assurances that
they desired to maintain a perfect peace and close
alliance with your Majesty; that, with respect to
King James, proximity of blood, compassion and
pity, caused him to regard with pain the request
made of him, and that his honour revolted from
doing an act of which all the world had spoken
openly, affirming that I had come with orders to
have King James sent away and to demand the
conspirators.
I replied that both these points were of such a
nature that, after peace was concluded, every body,
especially in England and Holland, had regarded
VOL. I.
N
178 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
them as inevitable consequences, and as points
which would have been carried into effect before my
arrival in this country. I said that it was natural
to expect that this would be publicly spoken of,
since every thing relative to the continuation of peace
was so interesting to people in every country, who
had their eyes fixed on the kings our masters, and
justly considered that the security and the main-
tenance of peace depended upon the terms which
subsisted between your Majesties; and that it
would be difficult, nay impossible, to imagine
that they could be persuaded of the sincere desire
of its preservation on bare assertions and protesta-
tions, while they saw that results did not correspond
with words; that, as for the assurances which they
were ready to give me, that the residence of King
James in France should not be injurious to your
Majesty, they could only have reference to the aid
which his Most Christian Majesty told me he would
never give him, but that it was impossible for the
king his master to answer for the injury which
the residence of that Prince in this country might
do in England, and that your Majesty was the best
judge of what was expedient in your own kingdom;
that the manner in which English rebels were per-
mitted to come to court daily, even when I was
there, gave rise to reflections and observations among
all persons, but especially the English and Dutch
now here; but that what would probably occasion
much more talk would be the refusal of his Most
Christian Majesty to give up assassins, nay even
to tolerate them in his kingdom; and that, as soon
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 179
as this should be known, a bad impression would
inevitably be produced, since this was not suffered
in any other part of the world.
I complained that, besides this, very little con-
fidence had been shown on all occasions; that every
letter which I had written, or caused to be written
to Holland, on private or domestic affairs, had been
stopped and opened, and added, that I could show
them the covers which had been sent me, and
which had all arrived one mail later than they
ought to have done.
He had some difficulty in finding excuses to
justify this conduct; and reiterated the same un-
satisfactory reasons which they had previously
adduced, and which I have already mentioned to
your Majesty; and passed from one subject to
another, in order to avoid answering my com-
plaints respecting the letters. He confessed that
they seemed to have been opened, and that too in
a very clumsy manner; but said it must have
been done by the Spaniards, since it was most
assuredly not done by his orders, and consequently
not by the post-office authorities of France, who
were under his direction. I replied that the
Spaniards had no reason whatever for doing so,
and that the letters which I had written to Brus-
sels had been stopped as well as the others.
I went yesterday to Meudon to pay my court to
the King and to the Dauphin, and, as far as I could
judge from what Marshal Villeroy said to me, it
appears that in order to give a colour to what they
do, or, more properly speaking, to what they refuse
N 2
180 LETTERS OF WILLIAM 111. AND LOUIS XIV.
•
to do, they wish to insinuate that his Most Christian
Majesty had heard the two points respecting which
I had urged him publicly spoken of before I named
them to him or his ministers, and that, for this
reason, the King was in honour bound not to do
any thing. It seemed to me most extraordinary
that they should desire to make me responsible for
secrecy respecting a matter of which all the world
was speaking on my arrival here, and of which every
one coming from England and Holland talks quite
as much. I was always distrustful of myself in
regard to not being able to speak well, but I be-
lieve I am pretty sure of myself, and can be silent
when necessary.
I have reason to believe that the English in the
suite of King James will not be permitted, in
future, to come where I am, and attention to this
point is, perhaps, all that I can expect.
The overflowing of the river has given me great
annoyance, since it still prevents my baggage from
coming up from Rouen to this city, and without
this I cannot make my entrée.
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
Kensington, February 13-23. 1698.
Although I received your despatches of the 16th,
17th and 18th of this month last Friday morning,
I have not been able to reply to them sooner, having
thought it necessary to communicate them to the
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 181
Chancellor, who has been ill for the last eight days,
and is, as you know, the only minister who remains
to me. I had likewise intended to lay them
before the Cabinet Council to-day, but he dis-
suaded me from doing so, and thought it would
suffice to send you instructions through the Secre-
tary of State, and you will receive them by the
courier who takes this. I considered it necessary
to observe this formality, as well from love to you,
as from anything that might result in the sequel,
for I know how much the people here cling to for-
malities.
I was no more surprised than you at the reply
which you received from the King, in regard to
making King James withdraw from his dominions,
and you could expect no other, after what Marshals
Villeroy and Boufflers had said. You will also
recollect that, before your departure, I often told
you, that, considering the nature of matters here,
I did not think that this point would be conceded.
It would have been more desirable if you had re-
ceived such a refusal at the close of your negotia-
tion rather than at the commencement, for it may
cause you a good deal of embarrassment through-
out, and especially in regard to the most important
point of all, the Spanish Succession. In my opi-
nion you can take no other course in the present
business, than not to speak any more about it, nor
to bring it forward directly, but as opportunity
offers, in an underhand way, and when they speak
* Lord Somers.
N 3
182 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
to you about regulating the pension of Queen Maria,
to decline entering upon that subject, and to say
that you have received instructions not to nego-
tiate on this point, until it shall be known where
they intend to reside. With regard to the conspi-
rators, a precise statement of this affair shall be
transmitted to you in the course of a few days. It
does not appear to me that there is any proof that
the Duke of Berwick and Birkenhead were impli-
cated in it, but, to all appearance, they were cogni-
sant of it.
Though you are well acquainted with the state
of things here, you will perhaps be surprised to
learn that the refusal of his Most Christian Majesty
to make King James withdraw from his dominions
will not produce the slightest effect upon the mind
of the public, for, at the present moment, nothing
seems capable of rousing them to think of their
safety. Nay, so infatuated are they, that, unless
an actual invasion takes place, they will not appre-
hend any danger.
As I could not take any other course at present,
or longer delay the reduction of the troops, I have
commenced by sending two regiments of cavalry
and eight of infantry to Ireland, and by disbanding
seven regiments of infantry here; and will go on
doing so with the rest when the money comes in.
As yet I do not know the destiny of my Dutch
regiments: hitherto they have not been spoken of
in Parliament, and I am still in hopes of being able
to keep them; but all is uncertain.
I have given permission to as few persons as
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 183.
possible, especially to men of consequence, but I
should assuredly have given it to a yet smaller
number had I been sooner aware of the answer
which you have received, though I do not imagine
that this will induce them to take any other
measures at St. Germain than those which are
agreeable at Versailles, where assuredly they will
be mistaken, if they think they can form any just
conclusion on the state of things here, which are
subject to such sudden changes that none but per-
sons on the spot can understand them.
Notwithstanding what has happened to you,
I should wish you to continue to pay your court
as often as hitherto, though I believe it will be
rather irksome to you, knowing your disposition
as I do well. But it is neither my interest nor my
inclination to be offended at present; and you
must endeavour to see only what is done too openly
to be passed over. I begin to be extremely im-
patient to have you with me again, as my affection
for you remains unabated.
I cannot help telling you that I felt rather in-
disposed all last week; I quite lost my appetite
and was very low-spirited, yet not so much so as
at Zuylestein; I am now much better.
+
N 4
184 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Kensington, February 15-25. 1698.
Your proposal to make the city of Maestricht
contribute 60,000 rix dollars, in the view of gaining
the Elector of Cologne, is very much to my taste,
and it has occurred to me that nobody would be
better fitted for this negociation than Dopp.
Credentials must be procured for him from the
States, if necessary; for I cannot furnish them
without running the risk of some subsidies being
required also from me; and, I must tell you, to
my great regret, once for all, and in order that
you may shape your course accordingly, that I
shall not have a farthing left this year to give to
a foreign prince.
It were to be wished that the example of the
States of Holland were followed in this country;
but the people here are now so foolishly engrossed
with themselves, that they do not pay the least at-
tention to what is going on in foreign countries.
One would say, either that this island is the only
thing on the face of the earth, or, that it has no-
thing to do with the rest of the world.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 185
THE EARL OF PORTLAND TO WILLIAM III.
Paris, March 1. 1698.
(No. I.)
Your Majesty will have seen, by my preceding
letters, the unfavourable turn which matters were
taking; it was not long before they came to an
open rupture, and, as I have had the honour of
informing your Majesty, they seemed disposed to
charge me with having made public what I had
to negociate before I had spoken to the King and
his ministers. The discussion in the city and at
court, on these topics, soon spread so generally,
that I became the subject of conversation among
many persons of different principles and views.
Flatterers by profession, in order to curry favour
at court and to injure me, and the discontented, in
order to find fault with the King and his ministers,
put into my mouth a thousand things that I never
dreamt of, which formed no part of your instruc-
tions, and which, in fact, would be to the disad
vantage of your Majesty: all this has placed me
in no little difficulty.
But since the receipt of your Majesty's letter of
the 8-18th of February, I have altogether changed
my conduct. I have called on M. de Pomponne
and M. de Torcy, and have complained to them of
all this proceeding, begging them to consider the
impossibility of my having said what would so
clearly have been to my own disadvantage; and
I dwelt especially on its manifest falsity, alleging
that the circumstance that it could not but turn
186
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
to my disadvantage, was a proof that it was an
invention of others, in which I had had no share;
and I entreated them to represent this to the King
their master, so that the absurdities of the world
might not be imputed to me. They assured me
of their great readiness to do so, but said that I
need not apprehend any thing in that quarter.
I begged them to state to the King that the
orders and instructions of your Majesty had obliged
me to act as I had done; that I must continue to
do so; that it was your Majesty's opinion that un-
less the points upon which I had spoken were com-
plied with, peace could not be maintained; that as it
was the earnest desire of your Majesty to preserve
the peace, you conceived that it would be a dere-
liction of duty on your part in this respect, if you
did not represent, in the strongest manner possible,
what must inevitably disturb it sooner or later, and
that as his Most Christian Majesty so positively
protested his desire to make it durable, and they,
in his name, did the same, they ought to prove it
by doing what was essential to that purpose; that
I expected this from the sincerity and prudence of
his Most Christian Majesty; that though your
Majesty had done, and would upon all occasions
do, every thing which might consolidate peace and
concord, and had, in fact, done every thing that was
proper on your side, I begged them to reflect that
whatever might happen in future, could not be
imputed to your Majesty; that I was resolved, after
this, to make no further applications, since I had
fulfilled my duty; that as the matter concerned
-
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 187
the king their master, as well as your Majesty,
I should leave it to the consideration of his Most
Christian Majesty, who would weigh for himself the
importance of the affair, and would consider what
was due to his interest and his honour; that I
would wait, without urging him, till, of his own
accord, he should take what he conceived to be the
proper time and manner for deciding upon the
business; that for the future I would regulate my
proceedings according to his pleasure, which was
conformable to yours; that I would speak only to
the king himself, and to those whom he should
appoint, and that I desired only to know his senti-
ments, in order, if possible, to make myself accept-
able to him.
They both expressed much satisfaction at what I
had said, assuring me that this was the true means
of obtaining a favourable answer, and of succeeding
in all that I wished the King to do.
I asked their advice whether I should not request
his Majesty to grant me an express audience on the
subject, or whether I should avail myself of some
casual opportunity of introducing the subject, add-
ing, that it appeared to me that the latter was the
most proper way, since, to request an audience for
such a trifle might make me seem importunate.
They were of my opinion, and said that it was
better I should place myself on a footing to ap-
proach and speak to the King; and that I should
not fail to find an opportunity of doing so when I
wished it, which would always be favourable to
188 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV:
me, since I began with saying things which could
not but be agreeably received. *
This conversation took place the day before
yesterday, after which the Dauphin enquired
whether I would accompany him the next day on
a wolf hunt; which I did. On my arrival at
Versailles, I went straight to his apartments, not
thinking that I could possibly have had an oppor-
tunity of speaking to the King so soon; but, as I
went upstairs with him to the King's apartment,
his Majesty had just finished dressing, and had
gone to his cabinet. M. de Torcy, however, who
was waiting for me, told me he had repaired thither,
as he knew I was expected, and he had hoped that
*"After the peace, the Earl of Portland was sent ambassador
extraordinary to France. Upon his arrival, he said that he did
not expect to find King James still at St. Germains. He com-
plained of it to the King himself at a private audience, as a
breach of the promise from Marshal Boufflers. But the king
of England did not approve of the precipitancy of his ambassador.
This minister, not satisfied with demanding the expulsion of
King James, insisted further, that the King should banish out of
France the Duke of Berwick, and several other Englishmen,
who were suspected in England of being accomplices in the plot
lately discovered, of taking away King William's life. The de-
mands of the Earl of Portland being disowned by the king his
master, this minister immediately made an apology for his be-
haviour. He protested farther that, agreeably to the intentions
of this prince, he had a strong desire of forwarding that harmony
and good understanding, which the king of England would be
glad to establish with his Majesty, from a conviction that this
union was necessary for the welfare and tranquillity of Europe.”
--- Memoirs of Torcy.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM 111. AND LOUIS XIV. 189
I should have come up sooner, as he wished to tell
me that I might speak to the King whenever I
desired; but that now it would be necessary to
put it off till another hour or day. This I have
done, and it is better that I did so, because in the
meantime other well-disposed persons will speak to
the King and smooth the way, so that I may meet
with the better reception. I shall afterwards en-
deavour to obtain permission to attend him now
and then to Marly, which I must at present do with
some reserve, not to meet with a refusal, since very
few persons, and no foreign minister, have ever
been admitted there. It yet remains for me to see
Madame de Maintenon, whose reserve on all mat-
ters relative to business is so great, that she will
not see any of the ministers.*
Since I have adopted the present tone, I observe
that people are more eager to show me civilities
than they were before these rumours were first
circulated, although they never wholly omitted
them. I have been told that the King has given
orders that these courtesies should be shown me,
and I confess, Sire, that it is impossible for any
man who arrives suddenly at this court to know
exactly where he is; and your Majesty was right
in saying that it is very different from what I have
ever seen, or to what I have been accustomed to,
* "Madame Maintenon would never see Lord Portland; ;
which was looked upon as a bad sign of the French intention
towards King William and his government."—Note of Lord
Hardwicke to Burnet's History.
190 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV:
or to what my humour inclines. However, I shall
do my best to endeavour to gain some little know-
ledge of it, in order to serve you, and to give you
an account of it; this I hope to be able to do by
personal and habitual intercourse with individuals
with whom I may become acquainted; but it is
quite impracticable before time shall have afforded
opportunity to acquire the confidence of those who
compose the court; sincerity is as rare here as else-
where, and those who make the greatest show of
candour and frankness are often the very persons
who have the least.
I shall give your Majesty an account of all by
word of mouth, when I shall be so happy as to sec
you again; but this, I fear, will not be quite so
soon as I expected, because my baggage has not
yet arrived, an extraordinary fact, since, for many
years, the river has not been blocked up for so long
a period. I hope, however, that after my things
have come, and I have made my entrée, I shall not
be obliged to remain here very long. The chief
reason for my fear that I shall have to prolong my
stay is, that I have not yet accomplished any
thing, even in the most unimportant matter; but
this I by no means ventured to do, or even to enter
upon them, till I had done every thing to pave the
way for those that are important, and placed my-
self on a more easy footing with the king and
his ministers, for fear I should not succeed in any
thing. However, I will not lose any time at this
late hour, let matters go ill or well.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 191
(No. II.)
M. de Gourville has retired from all conversation
and society, on account of his age and infirmities,
and I do not think that I shall be able to see him.
* "Milord Portland étant venu à Paris, ambassadeur du roi
d'Angleterre, m'envoya un homme de sa connaissance et de la
mienne, pour me dire qu'il avait ordre du roi son maître de me
voir, et de faire savoir de mes nouvelles à sa Majesté Britannique.
Je fis reflexion sur l'embarras où je me trouverais; mais cela
n'empêcha pas que je ne répondisse qu'il me ferait honneur: et
m'ayant demandé une heure, je lui dis que ce serait quand il lui
plairait; mais que s'il voulait bien, ce serait le lendemain à trois
heures. Je me fis porter dans mon appartement en haut, qui était
fort propre ce fut la première fois que je sortis de ma chambre
depuis six ans. Le plaisir que je recevais de cette visite, et l'hon-
neur qu'elle me faisait, rappela assez mes esprits pour me bien
tirer de cette conversation. Non-seulement je le remerciai des
honnêtetés qu'il me fit de la part du roi son maître, et de toutes
les bontés de Sa Majesté, mais encore des obligations que je lui
avais de ce qu'elle s'était bien fait connaître telle que je l'avais
représentée en France. Après quelques questions de part et
d'autre, il me dit qu'il avait ordre du roi son maître de me
demander mon avis sur ce qu'il y aurait à faire pour empêcher
la guerre, en cas que le roi d'Espagne vint à mourir, y ayant
beaucoup d'apparence que cela n'irait pas loin. Par ce que je
savais que depuis long-temps il n'avait eu de desseins que pour
la paix, je lui répondis que j'estimais que de tous côtés on devait
songer à faire le fils de M. l'électeur de Bavière roi d'Espagne :
il m'avoua que c'était la pensée de son maître, qui lui avait dé-
fendu de me la dire, avant de m'en avoir fait la question. Nous
nous étendîmes sur toutes les raisons qui appuyaient cette pensée.
Ayant eu réponse du roi d'Angleterre après cette entrevue, il
me vint voir sans façon pour me faire encore des amitiés de la
part de Sa Majesté." — Mémoires de Gourville.
Gourville wrote his Memoirs in 1702: he died June 14.
;
192
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
I am much concerned to hear all your Majesty
tells me relative to matters in England; but the
weather is changeable. After rain, comes sun-
shine. Since my Lord Sunderland is out of the
world, and his enemies say no more of him than
his friends, your Majesty will now perhaps have
greater ease in doing what you formerly intended,
than you could before.
After all this, I must give your Majesty some
account of the gardens, the houses, and the chase.
Owing to the wretched weather, I have not been in
a hurry to see the former, for every thing looks
dead and dirty, and the fountains are not playing,
in consequence of the long frost, which has hin-
dered the machines from drawing water to fill the
reservoirs. The orange trees at Versailles are ex-
tremely large and fine, and very numerous; the
stems are lofty and beautiful, but the crowns are
not like those of Honsleerdick, and those of Tria-
non are of little account in comparison with the
others. It is extraordinary that I have not seen
any fruit trees in the environs, and I have been
obliged to send to Orleans to get some that I wanted.
Of all the thousands of flowers, of which your
Majesty has heard that all the parterres were so
full at all seasons, I have not seen a single one, not
1703. If, as is probable, he has given an exact account of the
substance of his interview with the Earl of Portland, this passage
of his Memoirs engages attention; for it would show in what
way William III. regarded the solution of the problem of the
Spanish succession, a point on which we have not the least in-
formation.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 193
even a snowdrop; and the gardens are by no
means as neat in winter as ours; nothing is done
to them.
At Versailles all is magnificent, gardens and
buildings and every thing, though faults may be
discerned in the latter, by persons who are no
more of an architect than myself. The expenses
there are immense.
Trianon is very agreeable and charming, but
Meudon surpasses all in situation, and the air
must be like that of Windsor. The prospect is
rich and beautiful, and the whole would be to
your Majesty's taste. This is all that I have seen.
The wolf hunt, which I did not see till yester-
day, surprised me, for I believed it to be coarse,
requiring great swiftness, and of long duration,
whereas it is neither the one nor the other.
The wolf we gave chase to was not above a year
old. The country was the most detestable in the
environs. We took him fairly in less than two
hours, though the dogs are far from being so swift
as your Majesty's stag-hounds. They hunt along
the road and the avenues of the forest, as in Eng-
land, in an enclosed country. MADAME never lost
her way, and did not leave the side of the Dau-
phin. Your Majesty may judge what difficulty I
had in keeping up with them.
I shall hunt the stag some day with the Duke
de la Rochefoucauld*, and Count d'Armargnac will
"Portland était grand chasseur. Soit envie de voir faire
la meute du Roi, soit surprise de ne recevoir aucune autre civilité
VOL. I.
0
194
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
take me some day to hunt with him at Royaumont,
where the country is said to be very fine. The
Chevalier de Lorraine *, who is a great sportsman,
du duc de la Rochefoucauld que la simple révérence lorsqu'ils
se rencontraient, il dit et répéta souvent qu'il mourait d'envie
de chasser avec les chiens du Roi. Il le dit tant et devant tant
de gens, qu'il jugea impossible que cela ne fut revenu à M. de
la Rochefoucauld, et cependant sans aucune suite. Lassé de
cette obscurité, il la voulut percer, et au sortir d'un lever du
Roi aborda franchement le grand veneur, et lui dit son désir.
L'autre ne s'en embarrassa point. Il lui répondit assez sèchement
qu'à la vérité il avait l'honneur d'être grand veneur, mais qu'il
ne disposait point des chasses, que c'était le roi d'Angleterre
dont il prenait les ordres, qu'il y venait très souvent, mais qu'il
ne savait jamais qu'au moment de partir quand il ne venait pas
au rendez-vous, et tout de suite la révérence, et laissa là Port-
land dans un grand dépit, et toutefois sans se pouvoir plaindre.
M. de la Rochefoucauld fut le seul grand seigneur distingué de
la cour qui n'approcha jamais Portland. Ce qu'il lui répondit
était pure générosité pour le roi d'Angleterre. Ce prince, à la
vérité, disposait quand il voulait de la meute du Roi, mais il y
avait bien des temps qu'il ne chassait point, et jamais à toutes
les chasses. Il ne tenait donc qu'à M. de la Rochefoucauld d'en
donner à Portland tant qu'il aurait voulu à coup sûr, mais piqué
de la prostitution publique à la vue de la cour de St. Germain, il
ne put se refuser cette mortification du triomphant ambassadeur
de l'usurpateur qui avait attaché a son char jusqu'à M. de Lauzun,
malgré ses engagements et son attachement au roi et à la reine
d'Angleterre, et sans y pouvoir gagner que de la honte, pour
suivre la mode et croire faire sa cour au Roi." Mémoires de St.
Simon.
G
*Louis de Lorraine, grand écuyer de France, commonly
called M. le Grand. The notorious Chevalier de Lorraine, well
known as the favourite of MONSIEUR, and suspected of having
given poison to MADAME Henriette, daughter of Charles I.,
was his brother. Royaumont was a very fine place in the
vicinity of Chantilly.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 195
anthon
keeps his pack in good order. His hounds are all
English; those of the Dauphin are half English
and half French.
Count Tallard* thinks of setting out soon. I
hope that, considering the reception I have met
with here, every thing possible will be done for
the ambassador of France.
* Camille d'Hostun, Count Tallard, created duke in 1713,
and marshal of France in 1703, was sent into England as am-
bassador extraordinary after the peace of Ryswick. St. Simon
says, in speaking of him and of Harcourt, sent about the same
time ambassador to the Court of Spain, of whom more here-
after:
“Harcourt et lui pouvaient seuls disputer d'esprit, de finesse,
d'industrie, de manège, et d'intrigue, de désir d'être, d'envie de
plaire, et de charmes dans le commerce de la vie et dans le com-
mandement. L'application, la suite, beaucoup de talents étaient
en eux les mêmes, l'aisance dans le travail, et tous deux ja-
mais un pas sans vue, en apparence même le plus indifférent ;
l'ambition pareille, et le même peu d'égards aux moyens; tous
deux doux, polis, affables, accessibles en tous temps, et capables
de servir quand il n'y allait de guères et de peu de dépense de
crédit; tous deux les meilleurs intendants d'armée et les meil-
leurs munitionnaires; tous deux se jouant des détails; tous deux
adorés de leurs généraux, et depuis qu'ils le furent, adorés aussi
des officiers généraux et particuliers et des troupes, sans aban-
donner la discipline; tous deux arrivés par le service continuel
d'été et d'hiver, enfin par les ambassades; tous deux avec la
même et la même sorte d'ambition. "Tallard était un
homme de médiocre taille, avec des yeux un peu jaloux, pleins de
feu et d'esprit, mais qui ne voyaient goutte; maigre, have, qui
représentait l'ambition, l'envie, et l'avarice; beaucoup d'esprit
et de grace dans l'esprit, mais sans cesse battu du diable par son
ambition, ses vues, ses menées, ses détours, et qui ne pensait et
ne respirait autre chose. Qui que ce soit ne se fiait en lui, et
tout le monde se plaisait à sa compagnie."
•
0 2
196 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
Living here is extremely expensive, especially
during Lent. Horses cost three times as much as
in Holland.
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
February 22.
March 3.
Kensington,
I must confess that the reasons which M. de
Pomponne has alleged why his Most Christian Ma-
jesty had refused you the two requests you made
of him, are so weak that I am astonished he should
think of urging them, especially as they knew
beforehand what you had to demand; as if it were
possible that things of this nature could be secret,
and that the world should not guess at that which
must naturally strike every eye.
I have not thought fit, at present, publicly to
divulge the refusal which you have met with: you
will do well to continue as you have begun, to
write to me two separate letters; one which I may
show, and the other for my private information.
It is so difficult just now to know what may have
a good effect here upon the debates in Parliament,
that there is the greatest uncertainty what course
to adopt. I have a great mind, when Count Tallard
comes, to speak to him myself, in the way of con-
versation, about the removal of King James; but
before doing so, I should like to have your opinion
respecting it. With regard to the other point,
1698.
+
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 197
that relates to the assassins, I shall not speak to
him of them, considering it to be beneath my dig-
nity.
I hope that you have received all my preceding
letters, to which I have nothing to add. I wish
much that the weather may permit you to go
hunting, in order that you may see their manners. I
am very sorry that the non-arrival of your baggage
prevents you from making your entrée, and will
consequently prolong your embassy: I assure you
that I am most impatient to have you once more
with me.
WILLIAM HII. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Kensington, February 22.
March 4.
1698.
There is nothing to be communicated from hence
save that the Parliament is now engaged in private
animosities and party quarrels, and thinks very
little of public affairs. God knows when this
session will terminate.
0 3
198 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
THE EARL OF PORTLAND TO WILLIAM III.*
Paris, March 7. 1698, in the morning.
(No. I.)
Since the last letter which I had the honour to
write to your Majesty, I have received your letter
* "On Friday, the 7th, Dr. Wickart, dean of Winchester and
first almoner of his Excellency, met with an adventure which
deserves a place in this journal. Having gone to dine with
one of his friends, M. Cormier, advocate to the council, the
commissary of the quarter entered the room in which they
were, with an officer of the police, and ten or twelve police-
men remained at the door with a carriage. The behaviour of
the commissary was civil; he said that he had only come to
prevent disturbance, and to accompany an officer who had
orders to arrest a person who was then with M. Cormier.
Dr. Wickart, seeing that he was meant, said that there must
be some mistake, that he was almoner to the English ambassador,
and that he did not believe that there was any thing against
him, or that he was known. To which the officer of the
police replied that he was very well known, mentioned a name
pretty nearly resembling the dean's, pointed out his residence
at a paper-hanger's in the Rue de Grenelle, described the
stature and appearance of his footman, and plainly showed that
he was not mistaken with respect to the person whom they in-
tended to arrest. He was asked for what reason this order had
been given, and replied that Dr. Wickart was accused of
having held meetings and of administering the sacrament near
the Ile Notre-Dame. Dr. Wickart having denied the fact, and
insisted that, as almoner to the English ambassador, they had
no right to arrest him, or that at least they ought to take him
to the ambassador's, M. Cormier confirmed his assertion, that
he belonged to his Excellency as his almoner; but the officer
answered that he had orders to conduct the person to whom
he was speaking to his superior, M. d'Argenson; that he must
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 199
of the 13-23 of last month. I am infinitely rejoiced
to learn that you are better, at the same time that
obey orders, but would first introduce a man who would make
himself known.
“After waiting a moment, a miserable informer, named Des
Combes, entered the room. Being asked if the person whom
he saw had administered the sacrament, he answered "Yes."
Being again questioned, he affirmed the same thing, and added
that he had himself received the sacrament from him in a
house near the Ile Notre Dame. Dr. Wickart insisted that
it was a falsehood, told this wretch to take care of what he
said, and to look closely at the person whom he accused.
Des Combes then, looking at him more attentively, exclaimed
"I am mistaken, it is not he." Dr. Wickart then said that
this man was a rogue; that he knew his face, for that he had
come to the hotel of his Excellency and had spoken to him
(Dr. Wickart) about a month before, telling him that he wished
to go to England, where he had an uncle who was a clergyman
(Dr. Wickart having forgotten the name of this pretended
uncle, the officer of the police said that it was Le Blanc);
but that being told that there was no person at the ambassador's
who could undertake to get him a passage to England, he
begged that they would, at all events, take a letter to his uncle,
adding that he was in distress; this Dr. Wickart promised to
do, and in fact had done. The man brought him his letter
a few days afterwards to his room; but Dr. Wickart, having
subsequently written to England, had ascertained that the
letter was an imposition, and that there was no clergyman
in London of the name of Le Blanc, uncle of Des Combes.
Dr. Wickart demanded that Des Combes should be secured,
which the commissary and the officer promised to do; the
latter added that he had long since received money from him
for this affair, and that he suspected him of being an impostor.
"The next day, which was Saturday the 8th, my Lord sent
Dr. Wickart and Mr. Prior, secretary to the embassy, to
M. de Pomponne, who was at Paris. They presented to him
0 4
200 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
you tell me that you have been similarly indis-
posed, as you were last year. May God of his
great mercy preserve your life and health for many
years!
a memorial, containing the narrative of the event, as we have
related it; and added, that it was very extraordinary that in
order to arrest the almoner of an ambassador they should have
employed the testimony of an informer who had been paid
to watch him and to make him fall into a snare, in concert, as
it appeared, with the officer who had the order to arrest him ;
that it was no less strange that he would have been arrested,
though he had made himself known as almoner to his Lordship,
as well by the proofs which he gave, as by the testimony of
M. Cormier, then that they had refused to take him to his
Excellency, but had ministered, upon conveying him to the
Chatelet, where M. d'Argenson was at that time sitting, and
which they would have done had not the informer retracted ais
false accusation more than once.
"As soon as my Lord saw M. de Pomponne and M. de Torcy,
he did not fail to complain of the insult which had been offered
to his chaplain, and to demand reparation. These gentlemen
came to his Lordship, ten or twelve days afterwards, and told
him that they had made a report on this matter to the King,
that his Majesty had ordered them to wait on my Lord and say
that he was sorry for it, and that there was no intention of
doing any thing which could affect his character. They added
that the informer was in prison, and should be punished for his
calumny. My Lord insisted, that, as the insult had been public,
the apology should be public also; that M. d'Argenson should
come to his hotel to make an apology, since it was he who had
given orders to have his chaplain arrested, though, perhaps, he
had not known him as such, and had been deceived by his spies.
This demand of my Lord had no other effect, but that, about
a week afterwards, the officer, who had had the order to arrest
Dr. Wickart, was sent to him. He told his Excellency that
he came from his Majesty to relate to him how this affair had
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 201
I am very glad to see by your Majesty's letter
that I have anticipated your views by doing as you
order me. I confess that this does not suit my
humour and my temperament, but I must overcome
these weaknesses as soon as I am aware of them,
and when your interests require it; recollecting the
saying of the late Lord Rochester, that "we must
live in the world as if we were a part of it."
went on the 4th to Versailles, as if to pay my
court. I waited for the King coming from mass,
at the door of his cabinet; and requested, as he
passed, the honour of speaking to him. He made
me go in with him, and I said to him, in as few
words as possible, what I informed your Majesty
I had said to M. de Pomponne and M. de Torcy.
He received me as well as possible, repeated his
protestations of esteem for your Majesty, and the
assurances of his desire for the continuance of your
happened, and to show him that there had been no design
to affect his character. My Lord replied, that he was suffi-
ciently acquainted with the details of the affair, and that he
desired to know nothing but the name of the superior by whose
orders he had acted. The officer replied, that he had no permis-
sion to disclose this name. Upon which my Lord told him that
it was only of this superior that he had to complain, and not
of him, who, being a subaltern, had nothing to do but to obey;
that, therefore, since he would not name his superior, he might
withdraw, saying which, my Lord turned his back upon him.
"My Lord complained to the ministers, a few days afterwards,
of their having sent such a man to him, still insisting that
M. d'Argenson himself should come and make the apology.
The ministers promised to speak to the King about it; but his
Excellency did not afterwards receive any answer or any more
ample satisfaction."- Manuscript Journal.
202 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
friendship and the maintenance of peace. To this
I replied in proper terms, saying, that, provided
your Majesty were placed in a condition to concur
in both these points, it would be seen that you
would not stop half way. Whereupon the King
said that he would do every thing that could
reasonably be expected of him, confirming what
he said with many obliging expressions and an open
and smiling countenance.
I added that with respect to myself I begged him
for the future not to judge of me to my disadvantage,
by my words, but by my actions, which I wished
to regulate according to his pleasure, so far as the
orders of your Majesty permitted, and which were
by no means contrary to what I told him of my
intentions and desires. I likewise begged him to
tell me himself, whatever might displease him in my
conduct, and if he should have any thing to say to me
which he did not wish to be known, I would answer
for keeping the secret, provided that his Majesty
made me the sole depositary of it. He replied in
terms too flattering to myself to be repeated in a
letter, and sufficient to turn the head of a man
who knows himself less than I do. Upon this I
withdrew, after he had told me, that in regard to
the other affairs of which I had to treat, I might
speak of them to M. de Pomponne.
In the afternoon the King went to Marly, whence
he will not return till to-morrow evening. As my
baggage has arrived, I shall make my entrée the
day after to-morrow, Sunday; and on the Tuesday
following I shall have my audience. The marshal
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 203
who is appointed to receive me at the former, is
Marshal Boufflers, and the prince who is to in-
troduce me at the audience, is Count Marsan. *
I am not quite sure, Sire, that it would have
been better if I had received a refusal at the end,
instead of at the commencement of my embassy;
for, as the case now stands, more facility will
perhaps be shown in all other points upon which
I shall have to speak, unless they desire to break
entirely with your Majesty, and keep no terms
which certainly does not seem to be their intention,
from what the King and his ministers say, and
from the language of persons about the Court,
who are best acquainted with what is going on.
It is true, that the latter cannot be implicitly
relied upon; but still some judgment may be
formed.
I am to see M. de Pomponne this afternoon at
four o'clock, of which interview I shall give an
account before the departure of the courier. Your
Majesty's refusal to permit the English, Irish and
others, to remain in England, contrary to the act
of Parliament, indisposes them to King James, and
disturbs them much, because they are in want,
and find it difficult to live here. The Duke de
Lauzun, the principal counsellor of King James,
* “9 Mars, 1698. — C'est toujours un maréchal de France
qui mêne les ambassadeurs à leurs entrées à Paris ; et un prince
des maisons de Lorraine ou de Savoie, quand il y en a, qui les
accompagne à la première audience qu'ils ont du Roi."-Dangeau.
Count Marsan was a younger brother of M. le Grand and of
the Chevalier de Lorraine.
204 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
seems to affect to treat me with so much civility
that every body is surprised at it. I do not know
what his object may be, if he has any, which I
believe to be the case.
As King James frequently goes hunting with
the Dauphin, I am often prevented doing so, as I
do not choose to encounter him.* From the favour-
able manner in which every body tells me that he
speaks of me, it is thought that he would make
no difficulty in meeting me. I do not yet know
whether I shall be permitted to pay my court at
Marly, because I have thought it better to feel my
way quietly, by means of a friend, than to ask
directly, or to have it asked for, and expose my-
self to an unpleasant refusal.
I am in no hurry to go and see the gardens,
because of the season. It freezes hard every night,
and I shall be so engaged all next week with the
ceremonies that I shall not be able to think of any
thing else. MONSIEUR wishes that I should come
and see him at St. Cloud the week before Easter.
At this moment they are making some difficulties
respecting the ceremonial, which will oblige me to
detain the courier.
* "Parmi tant de fleurs, Portland ne laissa pas d'essuyer
quelques épines et de sentir la présence du légitime roi d'Angle-
terre en France. Il était allé une fois à Meudon pour suivre
MONSEIGNEUR à la chasse. On allait partir et Portland se
bottait, lorsque MONSEIGNEUR fut averti que le roi d'Angleterre
se trouverait au rendez-vous. A l'instant il le manda à Portland,
et qu'il le priait de remettre à une autre fois. Il fallut se
débotter et revenir tout de suite à Paris.”—Mémoires de St.
Simon.
".
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 205
(No. II.)
My baggage having arrived, I had prepared to
make my entrée the day after to-morrow *,
*, without
any difficulty, since his Most Christian Majesty
had approved of the day, and every thing was
adjusted and decided; but this morning M. de
Boneuil waited upon me and showed me a letter
which he had received from the Marquis de Torcy,
who signified to him that the king desired that
the carriage of the Duchess de Verneuil† should
be present at my entrée, and, consequently, take
precedence of mine. The same proposal had been
made to several ambassadors; for instance, the
ambassador of Venice; and I had received an in-
timation of this affair beforehand. These ambas-
sadors refused to consent to it, as an innovation,
which had not been hitherto practised.
I told M. de Boneuil that I was sorry to find
that they should propose a thing of this kind to
me, and wish to make me do that which had
no precedent, and which, even the ambassador
*
"His Excellency sent word to M. Boneuil, on Tuesday
the 4th of March, that he was ready to make his entrée on
Sunday, the 9th. This conductor of ambassadors informed the
Most Christian King, who approved of that day, and fixed the
public audience at Versailles for the following Tuesday."-
Manuscript Journal.
† Daughter of the Chancellor Seguier, married to the Duke
de Verneuil, natural son of Henri IV. She enjoyed the privi-
leges belonging to the princesses of the blood for the first time
at the marriage of the Duke de Chartres with a natural daughter
of Louis XIV., in 1692.
206 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
of Venice had refused. I was obliged to tell him
that I would in nowise consent; that I would not
invite that lady to send a carriage, as it is the
custom to invite others; and, that if she were to
send it, I would not allow it to take precedence
of mine; that I would cause that of Count de
Toulouse to follow immediately after mine; and,
that if I could not hinder the line of my carriages
from being broken by force, my people should
inform me of it; that I would have them stopped
and alight from the king's carriage, and would not
make my entrée till I had communicated the matter
to your Majesty and had received your orders.
The conductor of ambassadors expressed his
surprise, having before informed me that this had
never been done. I told him that I should expect
his answer as soon as possible, in order to decide
whether I should make my entrée or not; and
begged him to explain clearly to M. de Torcy what
I had just said. I will give your Majesty an ac-
count of all to-morrow, and shall therefore detain
the mail till that time. *
* "On Thursday, the 6th, M. Prior having gone to M. de
Boneuil with Mr. Robethon, for information respecting some
parts of the ceremonial, that officer told them that M.
Sainctot, his colleague, with whom he is not upon very good
terms, intended to persuade his Excellency to invite the
Duchess de Verneuil to his entrée. This lady is descended
from a natural son of king Henry IV., and therefore he wished
to warn his Excellency, as a friend, to reject this proposal if it
were made to him. They replied, that it was not likely that
such a proposal would be made, or that there should be any
intention of inducing his Excellency to be the first to take
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 207
I have just been to see M. de Pomponne, and
have spoken to him on the points contained in my
instructions, of which I left him a note. He told
a step in an affair of this kind, since no ambassador had yet
consented to do so; that his Excellence was not ignorant that,
at the recent entrée of the Portuguese ambassador, the carriage
of that duchess had not been present; that M. Sainctot had
indeed induced the preceding nuncio, Cavallerini, to invite that
lady to send her carriage at his entrée, which had been done ;
but, when the nuncio immediately afterwards found that he had
fallen into a snare, he had loudly complained of it, and declined
going to the drawing-room of the Duchess de Verneuil, as
it is usual to attend those of all the princesses of the blood;
that although the ambassador would willingly conform to the
usage which he should find established in favour of the natural
sons of the reigning king, the Duke du Maine, and Count
de Toulouse, it would be useless to solicit him to pay the same
honours to the Duchess de Verneuil.
"Notwithstanding this, M. de Boneuil waited on his Excel-
lency on the following day, Tuesday the 7th, for the purpose of
reading to him a note which he had received the previous
evening from the Marquis de Torcy, of which the following is
a copy:
C
Marly, March 6. 1698.
"I have received your note this morning. I have informed
the King of the explanation which you demand respecting the
carriage of the Duchess de Verneuil. It is his Majesty's inten-
tion that she shall be treated like Count de Toulouse, and
that she shall rank immediately after him: her carriage, there-
fore, is to go to the entrées of the ambassadors, and follow
immediately after that of Count de Toulouse.
I beg you
to let me know to-morrow whether the entrée of the Earl of
Portland is still fixed for Sunday, and whether his equipage
has arrived.'
،، ،
"His Excellency was surprised at this note, and reminded
M. de Boneuil that he had told him on the preceding day that
208
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
ine that he would make a report to the King. I
made no mention to him of commerce or of the
post, to which your Majesty desired me to reply
this proposition would be rejected should it be made. His
lordship then declared in a very decided tone, that, as he
should not invite the Duchess de Verneuil, he hoped that she
would not send her carriage to his entrée; but that if she did so
without invitation, he should order his servants forcibly to
hinder the carriage of this lady from preceding his; but that
if it were made to pass before his, and either by force or stra-
tagem got into the line during the procession, his Excellency
would be instantly informed by some persons on horseback,
whom he should desire to be on the watch, upon which he
would at once alight from the king's carriage, and step into his
own; and that he would neither make his entrée, nor have a
public audience. But, however, as it would be best to avoid
such an éclat, should the Court of France persist in the preten-
sion which it set up, his Excellency desired to be informed of
it on the following day, Saturday, because in that case he
would not make his entrée on Sunday, but would write to the
king his master for instruction.
“M. de Boneuil withdrew with this answer, as my lord
refused to listen to any of the modifications which that gentle-
man proposed to him. The firmness of his Excellency obliged
the Court of France to desist from its pretension; and his
Excellency was informed of it on Saturday the 8th, at noon,
by a note from M. de Boneuil, of which the following is a
copy:
"In answer to the demand made by Mr. Robethon on the
part of your Excellency, I have the honour to inform you,
that as you have not time between this and to-morrow, which
the King has fixed as the day for your entrée,—to allow of
your Excellency's writing to England to the king your
master, and to receive orders conformable with the views of
his Majesty, I have the honour to inform your Excellency
that it is his Majesty's pleasure that you should make your
entrée to-morrow, and that your carriage should follow imme-
K
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 209
in case he should speak to me about them, which
it does not seem that they are inclined to do. I
do not know whether I am misinformed, but I
diately that of Count de Toulouse. I shall have the honour
to communicate to your Excellency more at length the inten-
tions of his Majesty on this subject. Meantime, I beg your
Excellency to believe, &c. &c.'
"On Saturday, at three o'clock in the afternoon, M. de Bon-
euil waited in person on his Excellency to communicate to
him a letter which he had received that morning from the
Marquis de Torcy, of which the following is a copy:
،، ،
Marly, March 7. 1698.
C6 C
Sir,
"If the difficulty which Lord Portland makes respect-
ing the carriage of the Duchess de Verneuil could have been
foreseen, time would have been allowed for his Excellency
to write to England on the subject; and there is good reason to`
believe that, before his entrée, he would have received orders
which would have removed every obstacle. It is certain
that the Duke de Verneuil has the same rank as Count de
Toulouse, and hence, we cannot understand why the Earl of
Portland wishes to make a difference of respect where the King
makes none, except in that of precedence. You are aware
that the Duchess de Verneuil signs the contracts of marriage
of the Royal Family; that she has always been present at the
entertainments, and, in short, that she is treated in every point
as the princesses of the blood. Ambassadors cannot diminish
the number of those whom it is his Majesty's pleasure to treat
in this manner; they must conform to what is usual in the
countries in which they are.
"Reasons might be found to meet the difficulties which the
Earl of Portland makes to one carriage, more or less, preceding
his at his entrée, if the day were more distant; but, as it is to
be on Sunday, and his Majesty does not think fit to delay it,
if he does not change his resolution, he is at liberty to conform
with what is set down in the ceremonial observed with respect
to the last English ambassador. You must, however, if you
VOL. I.
M
P
¿
210 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
am told that they are persuaded here that England
has more need of the commerce of France, and
cannot do without it, and that, on this account,
they intend to increase the import duties on tin
and lead coming from England.
I mentioned to M. de Pomponne the surprising
difficulty which was raised in respect to the ceremo-
nial, and spoke in the same terms as I had done to
the conductor of ambassadors, whose answer I am
still awaiting.
8th March.
I have this instant received a letter from the
conductor of ambassadors: this difficulty there-
fore is removed.
please, see the Duchess de Verneuil, and give her an account of
the order which you have from the king, in consequence of the
difficulties raised by Lord Portland: you will let her know
that, if we had been aware of them more than two days before
his entrée, time would have been given him to write to England
about it; but that the day for the entrée, and that for his audi-
ence of the king, being fixed, it is not possible to defer it;
that, however, his Majesty desires that you shall inform the
ambassadors who shall come in future of what is due to the
rank which the king has given her.'
"M. de Boneuil, after having read this letter, strongly
insisted that the intention of the King was, that in future the
ambassadors should pay the same honour to the Duchess de
Verneuil as to the other princesses of the blood; to which my
lord answered, that his business at present was only to regu-
late what was to be done at his entrée on the following day, and
that it would be seen in the sequel, whether the king his master,
and the other sovereigns, would consent to this innovation.'
"His Excellency having obtained what he wished in regard
to this incident, thought only of preparing every thing for his
entrée the following day."— Manuscript Journal.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 211
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
February 25.
Kensington,
March 7.
1698.
The conversation which you have had with
Bonrepos gives much room for reflection. It
appears strange to me, that the French already
manifest so openly a desire to evade the treaty
of commerce concluded with the Republic. One
would say, that they are preparing shortly to re-
commence the war. We shall be able to judge
with more certainty on the return of the Earl of
Portland, who will assuredly be thoroughly in-
formed of every thing. Meanwhile, it is very
melancholy that we cannot take measures to secure
ourselves against a surprise, especially in case the
king of Spain should die suddenly. The most
vexatious point for me is, that the strange pro-
ceedings of Parliament put it out of my power to
do any thing for the common security, so that I
do not even know whether it would be advisable
for me, at present, to engage in a new treaty of
guarantee or association. You propose to me,
that I should manage so as to have some money in
reserve, and for that purpose you advise a loan of
two millions. This would be, without question, a
very useful and necessary precaution; but the state
of affairs here is at present such, that not only is it
impossible for me to make such a loan, but I do
not even see how I shall be able to pay some debts
this year, however urgent they may be.
r 2
212 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
March 8.
February 26.
Kensington,
I highly approve the manner which you have
resolved to adopt respecting the false reports
that had been circulated of your having pub-
lished what you had to ask before you spoke to
his Most Christian Majesty. I believe that
what you have resolved upon is also the only
way to succeed in obtaining the withdrawal of
King James, though, for many reasons, I still
consider this a very difficult matter. I look with
impatience for your answer to my last letter, in
which I asked your opinion, whether I should
speak of it to Count Tallard.
The refusal which you have met with begins to
be circulated here. It was thought better that
it should come from the Jacobites themselves than
from me or my ministers, since it might produce
a better effect and impression in Parliament; but
to speak candidly, I do not think that it would
make any difference one way or the other,
because, at present, men do not reflect upon any
thing but turn all according to their own fancy.
I believe, for instance, that if King James were
obliged to withdraw from France, they would say,
"there is nothing more to fear," and if he remains,
they would be perfectly indifferent to it. Such is
the temper which at present prevails here; nothing
in the world is thought of but how one party may
1698.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 213
injure the other, and court popular favour for the
elections of the new Parliament, which does more
harm than can be imagined. I daily discover
more and more of the intrigues which were
carried on before your departure, the particulars
of which will astonish you, but which I cannot
communicate to you till your return.
I believe that the Duke of Shrewsbury will be
here next week or at the beginning of the week
after, and then I can let you know the resolution
which he will adopt, and which seems to be very
uncertain. So much, however, is certain, the
Whigs by no means desire the return of Lord
Sunderland, and they make no mystery of it: he
appears to have a mind to return.
The more one
thinks of the folly which he has committed, the
more provoking it seems.*
*
The delay in the arrival of your baggage is very
vexatious. Besides the additional expense, you
will be obliged to stay longer in France than we had
*The Earl of Sunderland to the Duke of Shrewsbury.
Feb. 24.-March 6. 1698.-"When I laid down the place of
chamberlain, I did it with a desire never to have any thing to
do again in public business, for sure it was the wrongest step
that could be made, if I had not been very positively of that
mind. My judgment and my inclination are still the same ;
but I submit both to the King, who was more displeased and
angry at what I did than I imagined, and took it with less
indifferency, in relation to his affairs, than I could have thought,
without presumption, which obliges me, who owe him so much,
to be disposed of as he pleases, provided that he gives me leave
to serve him as a privy counsellor only, without a place, which
would be now insupportably ridiculous, after having quitted
one so lately."
P 3
214 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
anticipated, and, according to my calculation, you
will not be able to return before the end of April,
because it would not be seemly for you to leave till
at least six weeks after your public entrée and
audience: besides, you must then have a little time
to make excursions and see the finest places. I
assure you that I am very impatient to have you
with me again; but I esteem you fortunate at being
absent at present, for you would be mortified at
seeing matters in such a state as they are without
being able to remedy them in the least.
I send you herewith a letter, which I received a
few days ago from the Prince de Vaudémont.* You
* "Charles IV., duc de Lorraine, marié depuis long-temps
à la duchesse Nicole, était à Bruxelles amoureux de Madame
de Cantecroix. Il apposta un courrier, qui lui apporta la nou-
velle de la mort de la duchesse Nicole. Il en donna part dans
Bruxelles, prit le grand deuil, et quatorze jours après épousa
Béatrix de Cusance, veuve du comte de Cantecroix. Bientôt
après la fourbe fut découverte, et on apprit de tous côtés que la
duchesse Nicole était pleine de vie et de santé, et n'avait pas
seulement été malade. Madame de Cantecroix, qui n'en avait
pas été la dupe, fit tout comme si elle l'eut été; mais elle était
grosse, elle s'apaisa; ils continuèrent de réputer la duchesse
Nicole pour morte, et de vivre ensemble à la face du monde
comme étant effectivement mariés. Le duc Charles eut de ce
beau mariage une fille d'abord, puis un fils, parfaitement batards
l'un et l'autre, et universellement regardés comme tels. Le fils
est M. de Vaudémont dont il s'agit. Charles IV. l'éleva auprès
de lui.
M. de Vaudémont fut un des hommes des mieux
faits de son temps. Un beau visage et grande mine, des yeux
beaux et fort vifs, pleins de feu et d'esprit; aussi en avait-il
infiniment. La liaison du duc Charles avec les Espagnols at-
tacha M. de Vaudémont à leur service. Dix ans de guerre lui
donnèrent occasion d'employer tous ses talents pour s'avancer, et
• ..
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 215
know how greatly I desire to afford him pleasure,
that any thing that you can do to forward his
interest will be the same as if you did it for me;
and I know likewise that you entertain so great a
friendship for him that this commission cannot fail
to be agreeable to you. You will be the best
judge of the way in which you are most likely to
succeed, and I therefore leave it entirely to your
management. It is impossible to love you more
than I do, and ever shall.
Since MADAME says so many obliging things
respecting me, I think that you ought to return
the compliment from me.
THE EARL OF PORTLAND TO WILLIAM III.
Paris, March 8. 1699.
I am not able to say whether it will be ad-
visable that your Majesty should yourself speak
to Count Tallard of the affair of King James.
il les employa utilement. La nouvelle liaison de l'Espagne avec
la Hollande et le voisinage des Pays-Bas y forma des liaisons
dont Vaudémont sut profiter. Il sut s'insinuer auprès du Prince
d'Orange, et peu à peu devint de ses amis jusqu'à être admis
dans sa confidence. La guerre de 1688 arrivée, le Prince mit
tout son crédit à élever son ami au commandement des armées.
Des emplois qu'il avait eus jusque là il n'y avait plus qu'un pas
à faire. Le Prince de Waldeck était vieux: on fit en sorte qu'il
se retirât et que M. de Vaudémont fut mit en sa place. La
paix s'avançant, le Prince d'Orange se fit une véritable affaire
de procurer le gouvernement du Milanais à Vaudémont, qui se
trouva placé dans le plus grand et le plus brillant emploi de la
monarchie d'Espagne." Mémoires de St.-Simon.
P 4
216 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
As the matter is not very urgent, I think you
might as well wait and see how every thing will
turn out before you come to any decision.
It is true that it is difficult to judge of the
affairs of a Parliament. If those who compose one
party were also of one mind on public business,
the affair of Mr. Montague * would be a proof that
the men of that party could do what they like.
I hope that your Majesty's patience will overcome
the difficulties, and, since the conduct of this govern-
ment does not open the eyes of the Parliament, of
which they are very watchful here, and pay great
attention to all that it does, as well as to the
cashiering of the troops. I am sorry that I shall
have to remain here so long: the expense is, indeed,
enormous.†
From the manner in which the questions of
* In the inquiry into the grants made by King William of the
forfeited estates in Ireland, a grant was found made to Mr. Rail-
ton, which Montague owned to be for his benefit. A warm debate
arose thereupon, and the enemies of Montague moved that he
should withdraw; which passing in the negative, it was resolved
by a great majority, "that it was the opinion of this house that
the Hon. Charles Montague, Esq., Chancellor of the Exchequer,
for his good services to this government, did deserve his Ma-
jesty's favour." — Parl. Hist., vol. v.
+ Kennet says, that the embassy of the Earl of Portland cost
King William fourscore thousand pounds. That is not sur-
prising. He was accompanied by the Lords Cavendish,
Hastings, Paston, Raby, and Woodstock, Mr. Fielding, Colonel
Stanhope, Mr. Charles Boyle, Mr. Prior, and several other
English gentlemen; and attended by a gentleman of the horse,
twelve pages, fifty-six footmen, twelve led horses, five coaches
with eight horses, and two chariots and six.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 217
commerce with Holland are treated, it may be
inferred that it is by no means their intention to
keep the treaty of peace, inasmuch as they declare
positively to the Dutch merchants that they shall
not have what is granted to them by the said
treaty, which is the treaty of the year 1664.
Your Majesty will see by my letter of yesterday
that they wanted to impose upon me in the affair of
the ceremonial, and but for the very positive
answer which I returned I believe that they would
have insisted. You may judge of the whole piece
by all these samples.
I have this moment been informed that MONSIEUR
has spoken to the King about allowing me to pay
my respects to him at Marly. This his Majesty
has granted; but he did not wish me to go there
now, because the fountains are not yet in order
owing to the ice, and he wants me to see them in
all their splendour. I do not think he will re-
turn thither till they are in order, which will pro-
bably not be before Easter.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Kensington, March 1-11. 1698.
I learn with pleasure, that the affairs in Sweden
appear to be taking a more favourable turn. I.
should like if it were possible to renew the treaties
of alliance with that crown; but, especially, as you
rightly judge, it would be necessary to comprise
in them the guarantee of the treaty of Ryswick.
218 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
Since Mr. van Heekerem* protracts his stay in
Sweden so long, it appears to me that, seeing the
state of affairs is changing for the better, he should
profit by it, to complete as much as possible the
matter concerning the alliance, for, it might happen,
that in the sequel, we might not have so favourable
an opportunity, and the party of France might easily
regain the upper hand. The project of a treaty to be
concluded with Denmark, which you have trans-
mitted to me, pleases me much, but I can scarcely
imagine that it will succeed.
From the conversation which you have had with
Bonrepos, I perceive that matters still go on in the
old way. I confess, that if the Republic were
forced to abandon the tariff, contrary to the express
letter of the treaty, there would be no longer any
reliance to be placed on the treaties with France,
and that the most deplorable consequences would
result for all other affairs. On the other hand,
it is now impossible to draw us, on this ground,
into a new war, without which, nevertheless, no
remedy is to be expected. But it will be the same
with every other infraction of the treaties; and
where will that end?
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
Kensington, March 2.-12. 1698.
I am very glad to learn from your dispatches
of the 7th and 8th, which I have received this
* Ambassador of the States-General to the court of Sweden.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 219
morning, that my letters have reached you safely,
and that you continue to receive so many marks
of attention and civility. For the things, &c. &c.*
I do not believe that you have ground for much
hope. I shall not speak to Count Tallard con-
cerning the removal of King James till you think
it is time to do so, though I do not see that there
can be much harm in it. I have nothing to add,
with respect to business, to what I stated in my
preceding letters. Things remain in statu quo.
I shall see the Duke of Shrewsbury at the be-
ginning of next week, after which I shall be better
able to inform you of all our intrigues here. I
do not think that I can appoint, or, at any rate,
send, an ordinary ambassador to France before
your departure, for reasons which I will explain
on your return. I think that Prior must be left
there till I send one.
This is all that I have to say to you at present,
and that it is impossible to be more deeply at-
tached to you than I am, and shall be to my last
breath.
As I lately mentioned my health, I must now
tell you that it is as good as usual; and, as the
fine weather now begins to set in, I shall be able
to be more in the open air and take exercise. I
have been three weeks together without going
down stairs. I cannot conceal from you that I
have never been more vexed and melancholy in all
my life than I am now.
* Sic in the original.
220 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
THE EARL OF PORTLAND TO WILLIAM III.
(No. I.)
Paris, March 13. 1698.
After the second letter which I had the ho-
nour of writing to your Majesty on the 8th, I made
my entrée on the following day. Mr. Prior will send
you an account of the ceremonial, for the use of the
ambassadors who may succeed me.* The whole
passed without any difficulty or dispute, till I had
been conducted to the hotel of the ambassadors.
The King had sent the Duke d'Aumont, his
first gentleman of the bedchamber, to compliment
me. After this, the Duchess of Burgundy sent
the Marquis de Villacerf. They then began to
make new pretensions, requiring me to go and
receive him half way down the steps, as I had
done the former nobleman; and I refused to re-
ceive him except at the door of the ante-chamber,
which is at the top of the stairs. This gave rise
to a lengthened dispute, during which he was stand-
ing half-way up the steps, and I at the top, while
messengers passed backwards and forwards be-
tween us. At length I sent him word that I would
descend some steps to meet him, and, that if this
did not content him, it would be best for each of
*"9 Mars. Milord Portland fit son entrée à Paris, qui
fut magnifique, mais moins cependant qu'on l'avait cru."
Dangeau.
The Manuscript Journal is probably a copy of the diary
written by Prior. The account of the entrée is omitted: it is
of great length, and presents no interest.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 221
us to go our own way without my having the
honour of seeing him, for that undoubtedly I
should do no more; upon which he came up. On
going out I had another difficulty: in conducting
him back to the carriage I did not see him de-
part, on which the conductor of ambassadors made
great complaints to me. A moment afterwards
the Marquis de Sassenage came, the same dif-
ferences arose: the conductor of ambassadors be-
haved impertinently in public, which obliged me
to treat him as became a person who has the
honour to represent your Majesty; upon which
the dispute ended for the time, and I received the
latter as I had done the former; but the conductor
of ambassadors was confounded and irritated.
After this, the Marquis de la Rongère came
from MADAME; but the conductor of ambassadors
came to inquire whether I would receive him
as he desired. I replied, that I should receive
him as I had received the gentleman who came
from MONSIEUR. He said, that I ought at least to
see him depart after having conducted him down
the steps, and that otherwise he would not get out
of his carriage. I replied, then he might remain
in it, for I should not receive the gentleman whom
MADAME sent to me otherwise than I had received
the gentleman who came from MONSIEUR; that it
was contrary to all that had ever been done, and
contrary to the memoranda which my instructions
bound me to follow; upon which he retired ab-
ruptly, though he was to have staid and supped
with me.
222 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
On the following day I sent to Versailles to
complain of these annoyances, and of the con-
ductor of ambassadors who had occasioned them,
to M. de Pomponne and M. de Torcy; and also to
express to MONSIEUR and MADAME how much I was
vexed at what had happened. I believed that from
the difficulties raised by M. de Torcy in his answer,
I should have to encounter yet more at the audi-
ence. I did not, however, send to either of the
conductors of ambassadors, but towards noon they
both called upon me; first Sainctot, and after-
wards Boneuil, who had been the cause of all
these annoyances. I spoke to him as was befitting:
he was ashamed and speechless, for I believe that
he had already received a lecture at Versailles, of
which this was a second edition.
We arranged every thing for the audience, which
was to take place on the following day, and which
passed over without any difficulty or annoyance, as
far as I know. I was very well received by the
King, who repeated and renewed his assurances
and testimonies of esteem for your Majesty, and
his desire to cultivate your friendship and to
maintain the peace, in the most courteous and
gratifying terms.
No allusion was made by any one to what had
passed the evening before; and as I had not been
the sufferer, I did not think proper to speak of it
till my audiences were all over, excepting that of
the Duchess de Chartres, whom I cannot see, be-
cause she is near her confinement.
I afterwards went to the Marquis de Torcy, to
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 223
whom I made great complaints, telling him every
thing that had passed the day before, the imper-
tinence and duplicity of the conductor of ambas-
sadors, and what he had alleged to induce me
to do as he wished; adding, that I came to inform
him that it was not through ignorance that I had
requested an audience of MADAME and the Duke
de Chartres, from whom I had received no com-
pliments, but that I had done it to prove to the
King that my only desire was to smooth the
difficulties which were thrown in my way. He
said, after my first complaint, that I might have
had my audiences without any difficulty, because
it was I myself who had declined receiving those
who had been sent to compliment me, and had
sent them away. I am to see all the princes and
princesses of the blood in a few days.
(No. II.)
Your Majesty will have seen from my other
letter, and my narrative, all that passed at my
entrée and at the audience. Every imaginable
difficulty and annoyance was thrown in my way;
to such a degree that, though I am neither very
positive nor very obstinate, I was compelled to do
violence to my natural disposition and to become
cavilling and captious in order to maintain what is
only just and reasonable. Without this it is im-
possible to avoid getting into trouble with the
people with whom you have to do on such occa-
224 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
sions; and, in my case, difficulties have been raised
on every conceivable point, and as I do not un-
derstand the ceremonial, I am embarrassed by
them, and can only meet them with obstinacy,
which is here rather indispensable.
At my entrée I was much surprised to see the
great concourse, not only of the lower orders of
Paris, whose curiosity is a matter of course, but
all the people of quality in the city, of all ages and
both sexes, were looking out at the windows and
the balconies. As I passed over the Pont Neuf,
some persons exclaimed, "Good Heaven! what do
we witness to-day? A scene that demands our
attention: the solemn entry of a monarch whom
for the last eight years we have been burning on
this same bridge!
"1 *
At my public audience I was received in the
most gracious manner; the throng and press were
so great that I was a long time in the room before
I could reach the King, whom I saw, and by whom
I was seen, without being able to get near him.
*“2 Août, 1690.-A Paris on a fait des feux de joie sur la
nouvelle de la mort du Prince d'Orange, que le Roi n'a pas
approuvés. Mais les magistrats n'ont pu contenir le peuple."
Dangeau." On ne se contenta pas à Paris de feux de joie sur
la prétendue mort du Prince d'Orange. Ce furent des tables
établies dans les rues, où les passants étaient arrêtés pour boire,
et il n'était pas sûr de le refuser. Les carrosses et les plus
grands seigneurs subissaient comme les autres cette folie, qui
s'était tournée en fureur, dont le Prince d'Orange fut encore plus
flatté, quoique piqué, et que la police eut grand peine à faire
cesser."--Note de l'Anonyme (Saint-Simon).
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 225
When, at length, I approached him, he spoke first,
and said that he much regretted the trouble which
I had had in entering, but that he rejoiced to see
so many English and French mingled together.
After I had spoken, the King replied in a speech
fully as long as mine, and in terms as strong and
favourable to your Majesty as it was possible to
use; and reiterated the assurances of his desire to
cultivate your Majesty's friendship. He said a few
things extremely flattering to myself, personally,
and dismissed me, as he had spoken, with a gra-
cious smile upon his countenance.
Your Majesty is too well acquainted with this
nation not to understand how the courtiers ex-
aggerate all this, and call my attention to what
the King said and did, noticing that he was never
seen to speak to an ambassador first, or in so
familiar a manner. But it is not a little absurd,
that they are, or seem to be, surprised at my not
having been embarrassed at seeing the King sur-
rounded by such a multitude of courtiers.
I have taken care, Sire, in all the incidents
which have occurred respecting MONSIEUR and MA-
DAME, to keep on good terms with them. MON-
SIEUR, who understands etiquette, says that I was
entirely in the right, and blames the conductors
of ambassadors; so that, at all events, they are
satisfied with me.
Yesterday I duly received the letter which your
Majesty did me the honour to write on the 26th
of last month, and I am delighted that your Ma-
jesty approves my conduct. It is well that these
VOL. I.
૨
226 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
reports of the refusal proceed from the Jacobites,
and have no semblance of being altered by coming
from your people, though neither will have any
great effect on the parliament, which is insensible
to every thing but party interests: this is the effect
of the triennial bill.*
I hope that the return of Lord Shrewsbury
may contribute to unite the Whigs, and inspire
them with other sentiments on the subject of
Lord Sunderland. I am extremely vexed that I
shall be obliged to stay here so long: the expenses
* A few days after the meeting of the Parliament (Nov. 12.
1694), with the supply bills, which were granted without opposi-
tion, and, according to Burnet, "as the price or bargain for
them," the bill for frequent parliaments went on. It was prepared
by order of the Commons, and brought in by Mr. Harley, on the
22d of November, and passing the House, in a few days was sent
to the Lords, who gave it their concurrence without any amend-
ment. Four days after, on the 22d Dec., the King gave it the
royal assent. It enacted that a new parliament should be
called every third year. "This act," says Burnet, " was
received with great joy, many fancying that all their other laws
and liberties were now the more secure, since this was passed
into a law. The people thought it would put an end to the
great corruption with which elections were formerly managed,
and to all those other practices that accompanied them. Men
that intended to sell their own votes within doors spared no cost
to buy the votes of others in elections, but now it was hoped we
should see a golden age, wherein the character men were in,
and the reputation they had, would be the prevailing con-
siderations in elections: and by this means it was hoped that
our constitution, in particular that part of it which related to the
House of Commons, would again recover both its strength and
reputation, which was now very much sunk ; for corruption was
so generally spread, that it was believed every thing was carried
by this method."
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 227
will be very great. * Your Majesty says, that I am
very fortunate in being absent, and not seeing
what I cannot remedy; but is it not the same
here, where so many annoyances besides are thrown
in my way respecting the ceremonies, and every
kind of business?
I confess, that if all I see of the King is not
sincere, it is a comedy admirably performed; and
this I have reason to fear from what I see of
the ministers, for they will not even refuse, with
a good grace, what they do not intend to grant ;
nor attempt to cover with plausible reason things
for which, in fact, there is none. This seems to
me to be contrary to their own interest, which
unquestionably is to amuse us with fair words,
as they did Holland, whose eyes they have at
length opened by the commercial affair.
If I am not mistaken, the ministers of this Court
do not clearly understand the temper of the people
of our countries; for, whatever may be their de-
sign, they ought to endeavour to make different
impressions upon us, either to lure us, if they
mean to deceive us, or to gain our confidence, if
their intentions are sincere.
I should not have failed, Sire, to do every
* "Our staying here much longer will cost dear; the ex-
penses of this embassy run so very high, that it is hardly to be
imagined what money it comes to. We live with great mag-
nificence; and all the French must confess, they never saw
such splendour in equipage, table and liveries. They do all
the honour to his Excellency that can be desired.”— M. van
Leven, secretary to the Earl of Portland, to Mr. Carstares,
secretary to King William.-Paris, April 28.
Q 2
228 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
thing I could for the Prince de Vaudémont, well
knowing your sentiments respecting him, even if
you had not written to me on the subject.
MEMORANDUM ON THE AFFAIRS OF ENGLAND.*
February 13. 1698.
Since the first memorandum on the affairs of
England things have happened which may give
reason to believe that they will have further con-
sequences, and that, if during the war, the usurper
has scarcely found any difficulties either to obtain
the immense subsidies which he has drawn from
the nation, or to violate, in so many ways, the laws
and the liberty of which it was formerly so jealous,
it may soon resume its ancient spirit, and become
more difficult to govern during peace than it was
during the war.
* This memorandum, the original of which is in the hand-
writing of the Abbé Renaudot, was probably written on the in-
formation of the friends of the Stuarts in England, which accounts
for the many errors it contains. It was no doubt designed for
the instruction of Count Tallard.—The Abbé Renaudot, son of
Renaudot, founder of the Gazette de France, born at Paris, 20th
of July, 1646, was famed for his oriental scholarship: he died
at Paris, 1st September, 1720. He had been early admitted to
the intimate friendship of Bossuet, the family of Colbert, Pon-
chartrain, the Chancellor Boucherat; and as he turned out to
be the only Frenchman in whom the ministry had full confidence,
who was acquainted with English, he served as an interpreter
and go-between to the English, Scotch, and Irish refugees, who
had followed the fortune of James II.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 229
We have already seen that a part of what was
expected happened with respect to Lord Sunder-
land. He has scarcely taken any part in public
affairs since the Revolution; he has, since then, had
no share in the confidence of the new king, except
through Lord Portland, with whom he was on
terms of great intimacy shortly before the retaking
of Namur. It has been seen, by a letter intercepted
at that time, that the chief aim of this connexion
was to ruin the Duke of Leeds *, insisting that he
* Sir Thomas Osborne was made treasurer of the navy in the
year 1671, and the next year, one of the privy council. On
June 19. 1673, he was constituted lord high-treasurer of Eng-
land, and created a few months after Baron of Kiveton and
Viscount Latimer. The year following, he was advanced to the
dignity and title of Earl of Danby. Burnet speaks of him as "a
gentleman of Yorkshire, whose estate was much sunk." He was,
adds Burnet, "a very plausible speaker, but too copious. Hẹ
had been always among the high cavaliers; and missing pre-
ferment, he had opposed the court much, and was one of Lord
Clarendon's bitterest enemies. He was an implacable enemy:
but he had a peculiar way to make his friends depend on him.
He was a positive and undertaking man. He got into the
highest degree of confidence with King Charles, and maintained
it the longest of all that ever served him." In 1675 he was
attacked by the House of Commons, but in vain; and two
years after, seeing his ruin was inevitable, unless he could
bring the King off from the French interest, he brought about
the marriage between the Princess Mary and the Prince of
Orange. In the next year, he was accused of treating with
France for a pension to King Charles, and was soon after
impeached of high treason; but in 1679, a new parliament was
summoned, and Lord Danby resolved to leave the treasury;
and when the new house fell upon him, he took out a pardon
Q 3
230 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
should be deprived of the office of president of the
council, which he could not obtain. He was also of
opinion that the Parliament should be dissolved, in
order that another might be chosen; but this advice
had not the success that was hoped for; nay, just
the contrary; so that in the confusion caused by
the conspiracy which spread terror among the best
intentioned persons, he lost all his credit. He was,
however, beginning in some measure to recover it,
and had obtained the office of chamberlain, when
his enemies began again to act against him. There
were not many points to object to him, because
he had not been in the ministry since the Revolu-
tion: matters of a more ancient date were sought
out, and we may infer, from what has happened to
him, what those persons have to fear who have
taken a leading part in public affairs, since all that
can be brought forward against Lord Sunderland,
from the time of the preceding reigns, is nothing
from the great seal: notwithstanding which the Commons
prosecuted him, and a bill of attainder was brought in; but
before it had passed, he delivered himself up, and was sent to
the Tower, where he remained five years. Lord Danby took an
active part in bringing about the Revolution, which atoned in
some measure for his proceedings under Charles II.; and King
William, who had not forgotten the active part he had taken in
his own marriage with the Queen, created him Marquis of Car-
marthen, and made him president of the council. He is said to
have aimed at the treasurer's staff, but being disappointed in
this, he became soon very much dissatisfied with the King and
the state of affairs. On May 1694, he was created Duke of
Leeds, "to colour the dismissing him from business," says
Burnet, "with the increase of title."
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 231
in comparison of what may be produced against
some who have since held, or are now in, office.*
* Robert Spencer, second Earl of Sunderland, was born in 1641.
He succeeded when a child to the title and estates of his father,
who was killed at the battle of Newbury. His first public ap-
pointment was that of ambassador extraordinary to the court of
Spain in 1671. He was next sent ambassador to Paris, and
afterwards as one of the plenipotentiaries at Cologne. He re-
turned to England in 1674 when he was made a privy councillor.
Five years afterwards he went a second time to Paris as envoy,
and, upon his return home, was appointed one of the secretaries
of state. The remarkable, and not very honourable part he
acted during the reign of King James is well known. On the
eve of the Revolution he was a traitor to his master, having,
through the medium of his uncle Henry Sidney, afterwards
Lord Romney, secured the favour of the Prince of Orange;
but not daring to remain in England, he fled to Holland.
Though he was expressly excepted from the bill of indemnity,
he returned in 1691, and found very soon the means to ingra-
tiate himself in the favour of King William, who gave him a
pension of 20007. a year. “I have always been persuaded,"
remarks Lord Hardwicke, "from the signal confidence which
King William reposed in Lord Sunderland, through the whole
course of his reign, that he had received some particular services
from him at the time of the Revolution, which no one else
could have performed; and perhaps this reserved and cautious
prince liked him the better for being only his man; both parties
(and no wonder) were much embittered against him."
person," says Burnet, "that had the King's confidence to the
highest degree was the Earl of Sunderland, who, by his long
experience and his knowledge of men and things, had gained
an ascendant over him, and had more credit with him than any
Englishman ever had." On April 19th, 1697, he was
appointed lord chamberlain; the King having given 10,000l.
to the Earl of Dorset to quit this place; and three days
after he was sworn of the privy council, and declared one of
the lords justices of England for the administration of the
government during the King's absence. This mark of
"The
Q 4
232
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
2
It must be remarked, as a very important point,
that this nobleman, who belongs to the oldest no-
favour was the signal for a general attack upon him from the
Whigs as well as from the Tories. "During these debates" (on
the reduction of the army), says Burnet, "the Earl of Sunderland
had argued with many upon the necessity of keeping up a
greater force: this was in so many hands, that he was charged
as the author of the counsel, of keeping on foot a standing army:
so he was often named in the House of Commons, with many
severe reflections. The Tories pressed hard upon him, and the
Whigs were so jealous of him, that he, apprehending that, while
the former would attack him, the others would defend him
faintly, resolved to prevent a public affront, and to retire from
the Court and from business; not only against the entreaties of
his friends, but even the King's earnest desire that he would
continue about him." To this passage of Burnet's, Speaker On-
slow has affixed the following note: "Some of his friends told him
they had computed how the numbers would run in the House of
Commons upon any address that should be moved for there
against him; and that they did not think there could be more
than 160 for it. · 160 (said he) for it! that is more than any
man can stand against long; I am sure I won't;' and so resigned
his staff and key the next day," (26th Dec. 1697).
"The King,"
writes Vernon to the Duke of Shrewsbury, "the King is very
much concerned at his going off; he has been keeping it there
three Sundays successively, and all endeavours used to turn
him from it. The King finds himself in great want of some
one he may be free with.” 'Upon this occasion, his Majesty,"
says Burnet, "expressed such a concern and value for him, that
the jealousies were increased. The Whig leaders hated Lord
Sunderland violently, and could not forgive him for the ascen-
dant he had gained over King William." "He said,” wrote Ver-
non, "it was not on account of the Parliament only that he came
to this resolution, for he had otherwise led the life of a dog,
having done all that was in his power for the service of a party,
whom he would never oblige to live easily with him or to treat
him with common civility."
66
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 233
bility, has found no support in the Upper House;
that among the Commons, notwithstanding the
great number of members devoted to the Court, it
was not ventured to run the risk of allowing the
heads of accusation prepared against him to be
brought forward, for fear he should succumb under
them. Thus the only step that he could take was
to resign his offices and retire into the country,
which shows that he whom he had so faithfully
served, to the prejudice of his faith and of his
conscience, either was not strong enough to support
him, or did not take much trouble to do so; and
either of those alternatives must have a bad effect
for the present government. For the nobles, who
have thought only of paying their court to King
William at the expense of the laws and the public
interests of the nation, cannot be much encouraged
to continue to act on the same principle, when they
see he so easily abandons those of whom he thinks
he has no longer need, or whom he is not able to
support; thus, one way or the other, this cannot fail
to make a bad impression on the minds of the nobles
and of all the nation, especially when it may be
suspected that there is some weakness, for an En
glish noble does not much mind being on bad
terms with the Court, inasmuch as he is able to
support himself by joining the popular party.
This affair may therefore be considered as likely
to be followed by many others of the same kind;
and if the nation suspects the government of some
weakness, it can scarcely be doubted that the
..
234 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
ministers will each have his turn, and that the
Dutch favourites will be attacked.
If this should happen, and we may suppose that
nothing is more probable, it is almost certain that
they will fall, for they have conducted themselves
with so little caution that they may be convicted
by public notoriety of all sorts of bribery; that is,
transacting public business for the sake of money,
not to speak of the enormous presents which they
have obtained, and of which they will hardly avoid
being obliged, sooner or later, to give an account
in Parliament.
It is therefore highly important, for the service
of the King*, to discover, as far as possible, what
are the feelings of the two Houses on this subject,
in order not to reckon, as has sometimes been done
on persons near their fall, and not rashly to confide
in accredited ministers, whose ruin never fails
to be attended with unpleasant consequences to
those who enter into too intimate a connexion with
them. It may be remembered, on this occasion,
that the too great confidence, which M. de Barillon
placed in Lord Sunderland deprived him of that
of all the other nobles, and of the ministers who
knew him well. The latter made use of him only
to deprive of all credit what Lord Preston and
Mr. Skelton might discover, and, in fact, did dis-
cover, respecting his connexions with the Prince of
Orange, and produced an infinity of other evils,
which led to the war. In short, when the Revolu-
* Louis XIV.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 235
tion commenced, and friends were needed as well
to serve King James, as for the service of the
King, none were found among the deputies of the
Convention-Parliament, nor in the Upper or Lower
House. It seems therefore to be of the highest
importance to pay great attention to this subject,
and to consider that those who negotiate in Eng-
land, and who fancy that they can effect every
thing with the ministry, and with the Court, are
generally deceived, to the detriment of the affairs
of the King, their master.
This precaution is the more important at pre-
sent, inasmuch as from what we learn, on very
good authority, the English nobility were never
more discontented than they are at present with
those who possess the entire confidence of the
master whom they have set over them. They are
all convinced that they have no share in his con-
fidence.* They see with indignation, the Dutch
* It is but too true, that King William did not impart affairs
of importance to his ministers. During the first years of his
reign, Portland was his only agent. On the Earl of Portland
retiring from court after his return from his embassy to France,
Lord Albemarle was, to a certain extent, and further than has
been supposed, in the secret of affairs. The Earl of Sunderland
also possessed the confidence of King William, though not in the
Cabinet. Of all the ministers of that time, Lord Somers alone
enjoyed some share of the royal confidence; and it is to this
that allusion is made in the expression which occurs in a letter
of the King to the Earl of Portland (Feb. 13-23): "The
chancellor, as you know, is the only minister who is left to me."
It appears by the Shrewsbury correspondence, p. 371., that
the Duke, though secretary of state, and in a manner Prime
Minister, was entirely kept by the King out of the secret of the
236 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
loaded with wealth and honours, especially the
last favourite, who is a young man, of great inso-
lence and dissipation. It is affirmed that they
already complain openly that the honour of the first
solemn embassy was not given to an Englishman.
In fact, but few noblemen have sent their sons
with this embassy, though this is generally done.
Every day we hear of divers new circumstances
which confirm what we have before learnt, and the
distrust which the Dutch favourites seem to have of
the English is a certain proof of it. This being
the case, it seems to be prudent to return the good
understanding with these ministers so as not to
lose the confidence of the others, or that of the
nation, which sooner or later will make some grand
attack upon them. This appears to be the more
necessary under the present circumstances, as the
negotiations which ended in the peace of Ryswick, and this
mark of distrust doubtlessly was a great cause of his retirement.
We shall presently see no less striking proofs of the King's
constant violation of the principles established by the British
constitution, and of the exclusion of all those whom, whether
under the name of privy or cabinet councillors, the nation holds
responsible for its safety, from the most important negotiations
of this reign. But such was the conduct of King William from
his landing in England, and we find in a letter of intelligence,
written from London, probably by a Jacobite (Oct. 17-27, 1689),
the following passage: "Ceux de la noblesse qui étaient les
plus grands favoris sont présentement négligés et très-mécon-
tents. . . Ni le comte de Danby, ni le comte de Shrewsbury,
non plus que le marquis d'Halifax, ne font aucune figure dans
le conseil, toutes les affaires d'importance étant faites dans le
cabinet, où il n'entre que Bentinck et les ambassadeurs de
Hollande, ce qui fait enrager tous les anglais."
LETTERS OF WILLAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 237
ambassadors who would have credit with those
who have no share in public affairs, and who are
discontented, or but little favourable to the govern-
ment, would be much more powerful than those
who had the entire confidence of the new king,
and the favourites, to which in all probability they
do not pretend.
Among the Peers there is a party formed against
the Court. We may reckon as belonging to this
party, in the first place, those who have retained
some affection for their legitimate sovereign; and,
though they are few in number, there are certainly
some. His Majesty has often been informed of this
before, and several of them are known. Now the
principal of them have caused King James to be
assured that, notwithstanding present circum-
stances, they will always be ready to serve him when
opportunity offers. There are some who have not
thought fit to take the oath to the Prince of Orange,
though King James has let them know that he would
not take it amiss of them. Notwithstanding this
permission, there are some who still decline doing
it. The most eminent persons of the Anglican
Church must also be considered as not well dis-
posed to the present government; as well as all
those who have refused to sign the association,
those who have protested against the sentence of
death passed upon Fenwick, who being of a very
old noble family, and son-in-law of the Earl of
Carlisle, was allied to a great number of noblemen,
who have not been rendered by his death more at-
tached to him who occasioned it, by causing, through
238 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
intrigues in the Lower House, contrary to the
laws, the ordinary forms of justice to be perverted.
It may therefore be easily inferred that if an am-
bassador were too intimately connected with the
Court, besides that he would be liable to be de-
ceived every day, he would draw on himself and
his master the hatred of a very considerable por-
tion of a nation which is always able to make the
effects felt by consenting to a declaration of war
against France, and by favouring the means of sup-
porting it. It is well known that this is the in-
fallible resource of the kings of England to get
rid of domestic troubles. But if we aim at the
good will of the nation by gaining credit with
those who have authority among the people, we
may baffle all the designs of the new king, when
they are not consistent with the welfare of the
people.
Nevertheless, it is not meant by what has been
hitherto said on the subject, that an ambassador
should have open connexions with discontented
or suspected persons. On the contrary, he must
beware of doing so, for people would not fail on
such an occasion to propagate rumours calculated
to increase the jealousy of the nation, under the
pretext of designs to oppress religion and liberty.
It is necessary to manage these connexions with
prudence, and without affectation; to flatter the
pride of the English nobles by all kinds of attentions;
take their part in trivial matters; strive to gain
the friendship of those who are in credit, and to do
nothing, except through a third party, in all that
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 239
;
may affect interests hostile to those of the Court:
not to suffer any one to speak of King James in
terms of disrespect, but still to have no intercourse
with those whose Jacobitism is too manifest; and
so on with other matters.
It may be positively affirmed that part of the
subjects which entirely engross the attention of the
new king and of his creatures, are very indifferent
to the nation at large. It appears from all his
proceedings, and by all the precautions which
he takes for the safety of his person, which are
carried to excess, that he is still uneasy respect-
ing King James and the Prince of Wales. He
needed a general terror, like that which was spread
on the occasion of the conspiracy, to get passed
by a few votes the untoward oath of association,
which several persons have protested against, and
have not yet taken. The great body of the nation
do not seem at all uneasy on the subject. If Par-
liament persists in refusing to keep up the army, as
may be expected, this is a still more convincing
proof, either that it fears nothing from France,
with respect to King James, or that it does not
look on his restoration in the same light that the
Prince of Orange does. This being the case, it does
not appear that there is any occasion to be much
troubled about anything that he or his council may
demand on that subject, beyond what has been
regulated by the treaties of peace.
For we believe that we are not mistaken in
affirming that the support which his Majesty has
given to King James, and the manner in which
240
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
he has treated him, have gained him the respect
and the affection of the sound part of a nation
which is the hereditary enemy of France. These
same persons, who preserve their attachment for
their legitimate sovereign, form a considerable body
in the Church and the country; and so long as they
see the subject of their hopes in safety under the
protection of the King, they are well-disposed to-
wards France, and but little attached to the present
government. But if they saw the slightest weak-
ness on this side, all their affection would change
into implacable hatred, of which, in case of rupture,
the enemies of France would make great use in
parliament.
Perhaps it may not be amiss to make the King's
ambassador acquainted with all those who have
been spoken of above; but he cannot be too strongly
advised to observe secrecy on this subject; and it
is not thought by any means advisable that he
should seem to have received any information from
the court of St. Germains.
It is proper that he should be informed of what
relates to the Prince of Wales, the qualities of his
body and mind, which give grounds to hope well
of him, of the good education which he receives,
and other such circumstances, for he will have occa-
sion to make use of them.
He should also be acquainted with all the real
circumstances relative to the designs undertaken
against the government since the Revolution, the
conspiracies, &c., in order that he may be able, at
the right time and place, to prove to the English,
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 241
that they have been amused by an infinity of
falsehoods, and that no plot has ever been entered
into here against the person of the Prince of
Orange.
Too much caution cannot be observed with re-
spect to the French refugees, whatever good inten-
tions they may profess. They have always served
as spies to the enemies of the King, and in England
they have no credit with the nation, being greatly
hated by the people, and for the most part little
esteemed by persons in authority.
Before the end of the session of Parliament they
will endeavour to obtain general naturalisation, in
compensation for the loss of all hope of being
restored to France. The King's service requires
that his Majesty's ambassador shall not permit
any thing to be stated in their petitions relative to
the revocation of the edicts which may be offensive
to his Majesty; and if there is an opportunity to
counteract them in the prosecution of this business,
as there certainly will be, it appears advisable to do
so; for the more unfavourable the situation of the
refugees, the more submissive the new stubborn
converts who remain in the kingdom will become,
and will think seriously of having themselves in-
structed. Besides, the new king will lose a great
support if he is obliged to disband the regiments
which he has formed of them, or if he has no other
means of maintaining them than by largesses from
his own purse.
The Quakers were at first much attached to the
lawful sovereign, and rendered good service, espe-
VOL. I.
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242 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
cially Mr. Penn, their patriarch; but they have long
since changed their measures, and Penn has been
false. At present they are divided, and no use can
be made of them.
Too much esteem and respect cannot be shown to
the prelates of the Anglican Church, several of whom
entertain sentiments favourable to King James, as
also to the Duke of Leeds, the Earls of Clarendon
and Rochester*, and several others, who may be
easily known.
* The Duke of Leeds was always much attached to the
interests of the Church. He was, during the reign of
Charles II., the patron of the Church party, and according to
Sir John Reresby, a few days after the Settlement, he reproached
King William with encouraging the Presbyterians, and dis-
heartening the Church.
Lord Clarendon and Lord Rochester were the sons of the
Chancellor Clarendon, and by their sister, the late Duchess of
York, uncles of the Princess Ann, and the late Queen Mary.
The first was a Jacobite, but his brother had connected him-
self with the government, and was one of the chiefs of the tory
party.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 243
INSTRUCTIONS OF COUNT TALLARD, HIS MAJESTY'S
AMBASSADOR EXTRAORDINARY TO
THE KING
OF ENGLAND.
-
Versailles, March 2. 1698.
The deference which the princes engaged in the
league have had for the sentiments of the king of
England caused him to be regarded during the
last war, as the most considerable of the enemies
whom the jealousy of the power of the King had
raised up against his Majesty. The plenty which
that prince found in England, and the absolute au-
thority which he has retained in Holland, rendered
him master of the wealth of the two nations; they
furnished him with means to keep up the nume-
rous armies which appeared every year in the
Netherlands, and to preserve by the subsidies which
he furnished to his allies, a union which it is so
difficult to maintain among numerous powers whose
interests are conflicting. Accordingly, the losses
which the Spaniards sustained of their most impor-
tant fortresses; the battles, and the great advan-
tages gained by the armies of his Majesty, were
insufficient to force the enemy to seek for peace,
if there had not been the same superiority in the
means which the King possessed to meet the ex-
penses of the war. The wisdom of his Majesty,
his foresight, the sagacity of his projects, the good
order which he had introduced into his affairs,
enabled him to dictate the terms of the treaties of
peace, and excited admiration for his moderation in
terminating this very war, which ten years before,
Cha
R 2
244 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
Europe had considered would prove the infallible
ruin of France.
The riches of England and Holland being ex-
hausted, the first appearances of peace began to be
manifested. At length its perfect re-establishment
has been due to the King, when general tran-
quillity could no longer be expected, except from
his generosity, and when the schemes of his ene-
mies after being so often defeated, sufficiently
proved that they could not expect, except from him
alone, those important conquests which his Majesty
has been pleased to sacrifice to the general tran-
quillity.
The same motives which have induced him to
renounce his own advantages in order to allay the
troubles of Christendom, oblige him also to provide
against every contingency which might disturb
this tranquillity, and to direct all his care to the
maintenance of the exact observance of the trea-
ties.
The influence which the king of England has
acquired, and which his kingdom has always had
in the principal affairs of Europe, gives just ground
to believe that the good understanding between his
Majesty and that prince will contribute more than
anything else to the preservation of peace.
The king of England, on his part, has given the
most positive assurances of a real desire punctually
to observe all the conditions; and when he ap-
pointed the Earl of Portland ambassador extraor-
dinary to his Majesty, the choice of a minister who
has always enjoyed the principal share in the con-
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 245
fidence of that prince was considered as a con-
firmation of his good intentions.
His Majesty, desirous also on his part of sending
an ambassador to England, for the maintenance of
a good understanding with that crown, has chosen
Count Tallard.
The knowledge most necessary for enabling an
ambassador to execute with success the orders with
which he is charged, is that of the country to which
he is sent, of the disposition of the prince, and of
the allegiance of the people to his government. The
intention of the King is, therefore, in the first place
to acquaint Count Tallard with all that his
Majesty knows of the affairs of England; next to
explain to him the business which he will have
to transact in the course of his embassy; and lastly
to point out to him the line of conduct which he is
to pursue with respect both to the king of England
and to the nation.
Though the revolution which has taken place in
that kingdom has entirely changed the aspect of
affairs, and though an ambassador must observe
different rules from those which might have been
prescribed in all the preceding reigns, it may ne-
vertheless be affirmed as an unvarying rule, that
the English will always make a distinction in their
mind between the private interests of their king
and the interests of the nation; and, that whatever
submission they may show to the reigning monarch,
they will equally dread the augmentation of his
power, and the apprehension of arbitrary sway will
be a perpetual source of the opposition which the
R 3
246
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
kings of England will meet with in their parlia-
ments. If they have appeared submissive since the
Prince of Orange ascended the throne, and have
readily voted all the subsidies which he required, it
was to be expected that they would support a prince
whom they had themselves invited, and that they
would provide for the expenses of a war which they
had too eagerly desired, not to contribute towards
it to the utmost of their power. The subsidies which
they granted to the king of England enabled him
besides to gain over the members of Parliament.
*
"1690.— Sir John Trevor, the speaker of the House of
Commons, was a bold and dexterous man. Being a tory in
principle, he undertook to manage that party, provided he was
furnished with such sums of money as might purchase some
votes; and by him began the practice of buying off men, in
which, hitherto, the King had kept to stricter rules. I took
the liberty once to complain to the King of this method: he
said, he hated it as much as any man could do; but he saw
it was not possible, considering the corruption of the age, to
avoid it, unless he would endanger the whole.
“1692.—The taking off parliament men, who complained of
grievances, by places and pensions, was believed to be now
generally practised.
“1693.—When the party, that was set against the Court,
saw they could carry nothing in either House of Parliament,
then they turned their whole strength against the present
parliament, to force a dissolution; and in order to that, they
first loaded it with a name of an ill sound; and whereas King
Charles's long parliament was called the pensioner parliament,
they called this the officers' parliament; because many that had
commands in the army were of it: and the word, that they
gave out among the people, was, that we were to be governed
by a standing army and a standing parliament. They tried to
carry a bill, that rendered all members of the House of Com-
-
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 247
He was master of their deliberations, because the
very subsidies of the nation gave him the means of
disposing of all the votes: but as these aids have
diminished of late years, the late parliaments have
been in proportion less favourable than the former.
We may judge of the authority which the king of
England will have henceforward in his kingdom,
by the resolutions which the assembled parliament
will take respecting the sums which in future are
to constitute the revenues of that prince. He will
be master of the nation if he can dispense with
asking further assistance; but the boldness of the
English goes very far when their king is obliged to
convoke frequent parliaments in order to obtain
grants of money, and that which we now see going
on does not give any reason to believe that it will
be possible for him to do without them.
The life of the king of England, and his conduct,
have made us sufficiently acquainted with his
character and his personal qualities. As Count
Tallard is informed upon this subject, it will be
sufficient to observe to him that we may attribute to
the particular views which this prince entertained
on the crown of England the opposition which
mons incapable of places of trust or profit; so that every
member that accepted a place should be expelled the House,
and be incapable of being chosen again, to sit in the current
parliament. The truth was, it came to be observed, that some
got credit by opposing the government; and that to silence
them, they were preferred; and then they changed their note,
and were as ready to flatter, as before to find fault." Burnet's
History of his own Times. Oxford edit. ii. 42. 86. 105.
B 4
248 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
he has always manifested to the interests of the
King, and his close alliance with the enemies of
his Majesty. He knew the temper of the English;
the long tranquillity which they had enjoyed
made them ignorant how burdensome the war
would be to the nation. They desired war from a
natural enmity to France; and these sentiments
were further strengthened by the fear which they
entertained of the engagements of the king, their
master, with his Majesty. It was supposed that he
had concluded secret treaties with him, to render
himself absolute and to establish the Catholic
religion in England. The interest of the Prince
of Orange was to affect entirely opposite sentiments,
to unite himself with the powers that were hostile
to France, to excite them to war. He rendered
himself at once more important in their eyes, and
gained yet more upon the affection of the English
by gratifying their eagerness for this war, and by
evincing as much ardour in supporting the Pro-
testant party as the king of England had showed
zeal for the Catholic religion.
The peace, and the establishment of the Prince of
Orange on the throne of England, removed those
motives which obliged him to be adverse to the
interests of the King. The English no longer
wish for war.
The immense expenses which they
incurred in supporting the last war, are urgent
reasons for them to desire peace. They have
always dreaded the too great authority of their
kings. War makes them the masters; they have at
their disposal the troops and the means of main-
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 249
taining them, and when they are armed, the nation
fears that they may infringe upon their liberty and
laws, and endeavour to curtail or to suppress the
privileges of which the English are so jealous.
It is only by means of war that arbitrary power
can be established, and the impatience which the
nation manifests for the reduction of the army suf-
ficiently proves the fear which it entertains of see-
ing a renewal of the war.
The king of England affirms on his side, that
the state of his health, which is daily declining,
makes him wish to live in repose, and that this
reason combines with his desire to contribute to the
preservation of general tranquillity.
When Count Tallard has lived some time in
England, he will know, by his own observation,
what we are to think of his real intentions. These
he communicates to very few persons, and his con-
fidence has hitherto been reserved for the Dutch
alone, without admitting the English to share in
it. The secretaries of state, with the exception
of the Duke of Shrewsbury, have been, properly
speaking, only clerks employed in writing the dis-
patches, without having any thing to do with the
secrets. The councils meet only for form's sake,
and important affairs are not discussed in them.
Thus all centres in the king of England alone, and
his favour seems to be shared only by the Earls of
Portland and Albemarle, both of whom are Dutch-
men.
The credit of the latter has considerably in-
creased of late; he takes cognizance of all affairs:
250 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
whereas formerly he did not interfere; but it seems,
from the information which his Majesty receives,
that he is at present in very high favour, while
that of the Earl of Portland is on the decline.
If Englishmen are employed, it is in such a
manner that it is easy to see that the necessity of
their services in the affairs committed to them is
the sole cause of the confidence shown them by
the king of England. It is thus that he employs
Lord Ranelagh* and Mr. Fox † in financial affairs,
* Richard, the third Viscount and the first Earl of Ranelagh,
in the peerage of Ireland. He was, says Tindal, a man of
great parts, and as great vices. In Charles's time the revenue
of Ireland was in his management, and he was looked upon as
one of the ablest men that island had bred, capable of all affairs,
even in the midst of a loose run of pleasure and much riot.
He had the art of pleasing masters of very different tempers
and interests so much, that he continued above thirty years in
high posts. He had been paymaster of the army in King
James's time, and being fit for the office, he was continued in it
all the reign of William. He was among those who had voted for
a regency. He was made privy-councillor in 1691. In the
characters of the Court of Great Britain, written in 1714,
published with Mackay's Memoirs, he is thus described: "The
Earl of Ranelagh is a peer of Ireland, of a great deal of wit,
had originally no great estate, yet has spent more money, built
more fine houses, and laid out more on household furniture and
gardening than any other nobleman in England. He is a great
epicure, and prodigious expensive. . . . He is a bold man, and
very happy in jests and repartees, and has often turned the
humour of the House of Commons, when they have designed to
be very severe."
† Sir Stephen Fox, the youngest son of William Fox, of
Farley, in Wiltshire, was born on March 27th, 1627. Being in
the twenty-fourth year of his age, he went to Paris with his
elder brother, who had fought at the battle of Worcester. On
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 251
that he employs in the Parliament those who are
gained over by the favours of the Court. It is abso-
his arrival there, as relates Lord Clarendon, he was entertained
by Henry, Lord Percy, then Lord Chamberlain of the King's
household; and about the latter end of the year 1652, “on the
remove of his Majesty from Paris, the charge of governing the
expences of his family, and of payment of the wages of the
servants, and issuing of all moneys, was committed to Mr.
Stephen Fox, who was well qualified with languages, and all
other parts of clerkship, honesty and discretion, as was neces-
sary for such a trust; and indeed, his great industry, modesty,
and prudence, did very much contribute to the bringing the
family into very good order." After the Restoration, his faith-
ful services were rewarded, being made first clerk of the Green
Cloth, and afterwards paymaster general of the forces. He
was knighted in 1665. In 1679, he was appointed one of the
Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, in which place he was
kept longer than could ever be said of any man but himself,
having continued without intermission, in all commissions, except
that in which the Earl of Rochester was Lord Treasurer, till he
chose to retire from public business, in 1701. At the Revolu-
tion, he concurred in voting the throne vacant. He died in the
eighty-ninth year of his age, October 28th, 1716. By his first
wife he had seven sons and three daughters; and by his second,
whom he married in the year 1703, when he was seventy-six
years of age, he had two sons, (both of whom afterwards became
peers, Stephen, Earl of Ilchester, and Henry, Lord Holland,) and
two daughters. He left a very large fortune; but it would
appear that he had not kept intact his reputation for integrity,
as it will be seen by the following passage of a diplomatic
correspondence:-
"Il y a quatre ou cinq jours qu'on présenta au roi d'An-
gleterre (George I.) un gentilhomme nommé le Chevalier Fox,
agé de 96 ans (?), plein d'une santé robuste, remarié depuis
quatre ans, et qui fait un enfant chaque année. S. M. B. ayant
demandé ce qu'elle pouvait faire pour lui aider à élever sa nom-
breuse famille, on lui répondit qu'il n'avoit besoin de rien,
C
252 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
lutely necessary for him to make use of Englishmen
on these occasions; and it is in like manner that he
has employed the Earl of Sunderland, and seemed to
have restored to him a part of the credit which he
enjoyed under the preceding reigns: but events
have just proved that he did not think of employ-
ing him except in so far as he could be useful to
him.
The enemies of the Earl of Sunderland have
formed a powerful party against him in Parliament.
They were ready to bring forward a bill of indict-
ment which they had prepared: the king of England
did not think proper to support him: he has been
obliged to resign his offices and to retire to the
country, for fear of succumbing under the perse-
cution of those who attacked him. We can conceive
only two motives capable of having obliged the
King to abandon him. The first is, perhaps, a great
indifference for the only Englishman in whom he
had of late manifested some confidence; the second
may be ascribed to the apprehension which the
king of England entertained that he should be
unable to support the Earl of Sunderland against
the Parliament. This last reason would show that
his authority is not so well established as his
partisans would represent; it would be a sure in-
ayant plus de 200,000 pièces, quoiqu'il fut né sans aucun bien.
'Et comment a-t-il fait pour en gagner tant?' reprit le Roi.
Demandez, Sire,' dit mylord Peterborough, 'à ce seigneur,
qui était dans le même cas, comme il a fait,' en montrant my-
lord Marlborough, qui était à côté de lui."-M. d'Iberville à
M. de Torcy, Londres, 15 Novembre, 1714.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 253
dication that he is himself sensible of it and
will not expose it. If the last parliaments, even
in the time of war, did not cease to give trouble
to the King, and if he could only render him-
self master by distributing money to gain over
the members, and by increasing the number of
those who entered the House of Commons, there
is reason to expect that he will meet with great
opposition when the first means shall fail. The
debts contracted during the war amount to an
enormous sum; the king of England cannot pay
them, except by the subsidies which will be granted
to him, and these he can only obtain by convoking
the Parliament.
+
The English are accustomed to make their kings
pay dearly for such assistance. They invited him,
who is now on the throne, in the hope that they
should be delivered by his means from the esta-
blishment of arbitrary power; but they would not
the less dread to see it in his hands. The effects
of this fear are indicated, as has been already ob-
served, by the reduction of the troops, by the small-
ness of the subsidies voted by the Parliament, and
by the difficulties which it makes in apportioning
the funds to supply them. In short, if the proposal
to inquire into all the gifts bestowed upon private
individuals since the year 1688 be carried into
effect, there can be no doubt that it will be with
a view of attacking those who have the greatest
share in the confidence of the king of England, and
to revoke all the benefits that have been conferred
on the Dutch, who enjoy his exclusive favour.
Gap
254
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
}
It is even asserted that it is the intention of the
Parliament to set aside, as a part of the revenues of
the king of England, all the donations which it
shall be thought proper to revoke; on the ground
that it is not just to impose new burdens on the
nation, after it has borne all those which have been
necessary for the expenses of the war, when means
may be found elsewhere to supply the subsidies
required by the King.
Nothing is less indicative of a blind submission
of the nation than the formal design of attacking
the favourites, of depriving the king of England of
the troops which alone could render him absolute
in his kingdom; and, so to reduce his revenues,
that though sufficient for the actual maintenance
of his household, it will be impossible for him in
future to incur the expense necessary to secure the
votes of the Parliament.
This design is however so conformable to the
character of the English, and to the fears which
they entertain of seeing their king in a condition
to violate their liberty and to destroy their pri-
vileges, that there is reason to believe that if
the parliament, which is now assembled, does not
carry it into execution, the next parliament will
undertake to do so; inasmuch as those who will
compose it, having nothing to hope from the king
of England, may very likely follow the natural
inclination of the nation, and the principle which it
observes when free, of opposing, as far as possible,
the authority of its king. This it can only do
while it enjoys peace, and this, too, gives reason to
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 255
believe that it would be difficult to induce the
English to recommence the war, even if the king
of England were capable of failing in the assur-
ances which he gives scrupulously to observe the
treaties.
Count Tallard will know, with more certainty,
when he is on the spot, than can be pointed out in
these instructions, what are the real sentiments of
the English, with respect to this prince, their
subject of discontent, and the importance of the
persons who think they have reason to complain.
There always will be a subject of division in the
nation arising from the opposition of the members
of the Anglican Church and of the Presbyterians.
The latter, seeing a king of their own sect upon
the throne, hoped, at first, soon to put down
the Anglican Church. They afterwards sought
for means to unite with it; but neither of these
designs could succeed, and, though the king of
England at first showed great respect for the
Anglican Church, it appears, nevertheless, that
those who are attached to it are persuaded that
he wished to destroy it, and that he would do so
still if he could succeed. The Duke of Leeds,
was one of the persons most attached to the king
of England when he was Prince of Orange, and at
the beginning of his reign. He had contributed
more than any other person to his
person to his marriage.
The Earls of Rochester and Clarendon were
uncles to the Princess of Orange. These three
noblemen are considered as the most zealous
friends of the interests of the Anglican Church,
256 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
•
and it is firmly believed that all those who entertain
the same sentiments are but little attached to the
present government.
There is much probability that the present
parliament will not close without having discussed
several affairs concerning this church; and the
results of such discussions have always been of
such great importance in England, that it is
very necessary that Count Tallard should pay par-
ticular attention to what shall take place on this
subject.
His Majesty is persuaded that on this general
view of the state of England he will acquire,
soon after his arrival in London, all the know-
ledge necessary to the success of the affairs which
will be entrusted to him. The principal of these
will be, apparently, the continuation of those which
were discussed in the conferences that took place
last summer between Marshal Boufflers and the
Earl of Portland. A judgment must be formed by
what passed in the private audiences which that
ambassador had of the King, and by the several
conversations which he held. It is also for this end
that his Majesty thinks fit to recapitulate what
was treated of in those conferences for the infor-
mation of Count Tallard.
-
It is superfluous to say in what manner, and
with what eagerness they were asked for by the
Earl of Portland. These steps were sufficient to
show that peace had become necessary to the king,
his master. Count Tallard was a witness to this,
and it remains only to explain to him the points
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 257
which were discussed in those conferences. They
are reduced to three.
The first was a demand made to his Majesty to
name expressly the king of England, who had
retired to St. Germains, in the article of the Treaty,
by which he engaged not to favour, directly or
indirectly, the enemies of the Prince of Orange,
whom he agreed to recognise as king of England.
The Earl of Portland represented at the same
time, that the king, his master, could not be secure
unless the king of England (James II.) retired to
Rome, or to such other place as he might choose,
provided it were out of France; that the party of
that prince would always maintain itself in Eng-
land. so long as he should be known to be near
enough to keep up a correspondence with those
who would be ready to support his interests; that
they would be easily persuaded that the King
would assist that prince in the execution of his
designs; that his Majesty's subjects might contri-
bute to it, even without his orders; and lastly,
that but for this precaution the Prince of Orange,
alone, would remain in a state of agitation, while
the rest of Europe enjoyed peace.
As for the second article, the ambassadors of
the King, at the conferences of Ryswick, had pro-
posed that the Prince of Orange should promise
to grant, as soon as he should be recognised by his
Majesty, a general amnesty to all the English who
had followed the party of the king of England
(James II.), and to reinstate them in their pro-
perty. To this proposal the Earl of Portland re-
VOL. I.
S
258
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
plied in the first conference which he had with
Marshal Boufflers: he represented to him that it
was not only requisite for the honour of the king,
his master, not to appear forced by a treaty of
peace to make this promise, but also, that it was
necessary to his safety not to make it; that it
would be recalling his personal enemies around
him; that, even if he wished it, it would not be
in his power to do so, the English Parliament hav-
ing passed an act which absolutely forbade it. He
added, however, that when the Prince of Orange
should have become by the treaty of peace the
peaceful possessor of the throne, he would willingly
pardon those who should appear to him to return
in good faith, and act like good and loyal subjects.
The third point related to the town and prin-
cipality of Orange: the Earl of Portland pretended
that it would be derogating from the sovereignty
of the king, his master, over that city, to bind him
not to allow any Frenchman to settle there, as
Marshal Boufflers had required.
The first of these three proposals was firmly
rejected. It was so contrary to the honour and
dignity of the King, that his Majesty wrote to
Marshal Boufflers not to leave the Earl of Portland
any hope of a compliance with such a demand.
His Majesty desired him to tell the Earl, that the
promise he had given not to afford, directly or
indirectly, any assistance to the enemies of the
king of England, without any exception, ought to
be sufficient, without the odious precaution of
naming a prince who was sufficiently comprehended
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 259
in these general terms; that it ought to be still less
expected that he would cease to afford him a re-
treat in his kingdom; that it was the only asylum
which he had found, and that the kind treatment
of his Majesty had been the only alleviation of his
misfortunes; that when his Majesty was willing
to promise not to assist him in the projects which it
was supposed he might form, to return to England,
there was no reason to fear that any subjects of his
Majesty would undertake to do it of themselves;
that their obedience and submission were suffi-
ciently known by all Europe to dispel this vain ap-
prehension. In short, the firmness of the King
on this article was such, that his Majesty desired
Marshal Boufflers to acquaint the Earl of Portland
that it would be useless to enter on the discussion
of the other articles if he insisted any further on
the first.
D
He was more compliant at the second conference:
he answered, that the king, his master, was con-
vinced of the just reasons which obliged his
Majesty to refuse what was asked of him; that he
insisted no further upon it, his intention not being
to make demands which could cause his Majesty
the least pain; but that, as the repose and the
safety of the king of England were at stake, he
wished that terms could be found strong enough
to assure him that his Majesty would not in any
manner favour the factions that might be formed
in England.
No more formal renunciation of the first de-
mand made by the Earl of Portland could be
s 2
260 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
desired; and it seemed, in fact, so precise to Mar-
shal Boufflers that he did not think it necessary
to take any notice of what the Earl of Portland
said to him at the end of the conference, rather
by way of conversation than as a sequel to his
first proposal, namely, that the Prince of Orange
hoped that, after the conclusion of peace, his
Majesty would induce the king of England (James
II.) to take of his own accord the resolution to
leave the kingdom.
Marshal Boufflers, however, regarding only what
had been agreed upon in the second conference,
received in the third from the Earl of Portland
the draft of an article, such as the king, his mas-
ter, desired. He pretended that the king of Eng-
land, who had retired into France, was not even
designated in this proposal.
The King, however, did not form the same
opinion of it; and, as it appeared to his Majesty
that there were terms which could be only applied
to that prince, he caused them to be altered, so
that the article of the treaty of Ryswick was drawn
up according to the changes made by his Majesty
in the draught which had been presented by the
Earl of Portland.
I
He received it from Marshal Boufflers at the
fourth conference which they had together. He
said, that though some further terms might still be
desired, he would meanwhile be content with all
that was expressed in that article; and that, know-
ing the intentions of the king, his master, respect-
ing what might be agreeable to his Majesty, he
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 261
gave an assurance that he would be satisfied with
this draught.
This, then, is what took place on this point in the
conferences between Marshal Boufflers and the
Earl of Portland. This detail will prove to Count
Tallard that the removal of the king of England
(James II.) was required by the Prince of Orange,
and refused by the King; that the intention of
his Majesty has always been to take away all hopes
of obtaining it, and, that the Earl of Portland
could not give a stronger proof of wholly re-
nouncing it than by bringing himself, and after-
wards receiving, the draught of an article, in which
there was not only no mention made of it, but
which had been corrected by the suppression of all
the terms which appeared to designate the king of
England (James II.).
The second point related to the general amnesty
to be granted to the English who had followed the
fortunes of the king, their master.
The Earl of Portland alleged all the most urgent
reasons to show that the Prince of Orange could
not grant it, that it would be renouncing his own
safety; and he continued to show the same aversion
to promise that the king, his master, would not
suffer any Frenchman to settle in the town and
principality of Orange. It is easy to see the
importance of this last clause. All the French,
of
the so-called reformed faith, who had left the
kingdom, flattered themselves that they should be
able to return in consequence of the peace. This
universal expectation being disappointed, they had
s 3
262 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
considered it as a resource to come to Orange,
where they would more easily have kept up a cor-
respondence in the provinces of the kingdom
with their half-converted relatives and friends.
They would have attracted many to that town.
The injury would have been the greater to the
Catholic religion, as this town is situated in the
midst of the provinces where adherents of the so-
called reformed faith are the most numerous.
The retreat which they would readily have found
would have soon persuaded those, whose conver-
sions were not very sincere, to take refuge there.
Thus the care, which the piety of his Majesty
has caused him to take for the conversion of
his subjects, would have been rendered partly
useless.
It was therefore so essential to prevent the
consequences which might be expected from the
return of the French fugitives to Orange, and of
the liberty which the new converts in the provinces
of the kingdom would have had to settle there,
that his Majesty was of opinion that the good of
religion, and the tranquillity of his subjects, were
to be preferred to the condition which he had re-
quired in favour of the English who had followed
their master. It was in this view that he permitted
Marshal Boufflers to yield on the second article,
which related to the amnesty, in order to obtain
the third relative to Orange. The latter, however,
was a matter of long discussion.
It is true, that it was with all possible deference
to the will of his Majesty, on the part of the king
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 263
of England (William III.), that he asked several
times that the King would be pleased to regulate
the article himself, with all the restrictions which
he might judge necessary for the tranquillity of the
kingdom, and for his entire satisfaction; but, as the
Earl of Portland represented, at the same time,
that it would be infringing on the sovereignty of
the king of England over Orange, to bind him by
an article of a public treaty, not to admit into that
town those who might desire to settle there, Mar-
shal Boufflers and the Earl of Portland agreed
that the Prince should give a secret promise to
his Majesty not to permit any Frenchmen to settle
in the town or principality of Orange without the
permission and consent of the King.
When this point was determined, the Earl of
Portland asked the Marshal Boufflers if, after a cer-
tain term of two, three, or four years, his Majesty
would consent that his subjects might settle at
Orange, even without his permission, and without
asking his consent, provided they were not sus-
pected nor obnoxious to him. The Earl of Port-
land added, that this proposal must be regarded as
a mere request, which it would depend on the will
of his Majesty to grant or refuse, and that it was
not a condition. In fine, he agreed that it should
be an affair to be deferred till after the entire con-
clusion of the peace.
It was concluded a short time afterwards, and
the king of England having appointed the Earl
of Portland his ambassador extraordinary, there
was reason to believe that he would ask no-
s 4
264 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
thing contrary to what had passed in the con-
ferences in Flanders between Marshal Boufflers
and himself.
Scarcely however had he arrived when he inti-
mated to several persons that he did not expect
to find King James still at St. Germains; and
after having passed several days without any allu-
sion to business, he asked for a private audience
of the King.
He told his Majesty that he had desired to apply
directly to him, in order to execute the instruc-
tions of the king, his master; that that prince
could not be easy in England while the king, his
enemy, resided in France, where it would be easy
to encourage all the cabals which might be formed
in his favour, to afford a retreat to the discontented,
and to make it be believed, by the good treatment
which he received from the King, that he might
expect from him every kind of assistance; that he
therefore required, on the part of his master, that
his Majesty would be pleased to oblige King
James not only to leave St. Germains, but also
to withdraw from the kingdom; and, that he
would cause all those to be arrested who should be
found to have participated in the late conspiracy
against the king of England: the Earl of Portland
comprehended in this number the Duke of Berwick,
as the chief.
There was no reason to expect that this pro-
posal was the first and principal affair with
which the Earl of Portland was entrusted. The
firm and moderate answer of his Majesty must
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 265
have convinced him that the desire of restoring
peace to Europe might induce him to sacrifice his
own personal interests, but could not oblige him to
desist from what his honour and his dignity seemed
to require. It is on this basis that the King replied
to the Earl of Portland that the treaties are punc-
tually executed on his part, and that it is his
intention never to deviate from them; that his
Majesty will faithfully fulfil the promise which he
has made, not to favour any undertaking, nor any
design against the king of England, but that he
cannot be required to refuse an asylum to a sove-
reign who has come to ask him for it; that if there
were no other reason than that of the ties of blood,
it would be sufficient to induce his Majesty to
alleviate his misfortunes by any kind treatment
which might depend on him; that he should re-
ceive no other assistance, and that the king of
England is at present so well established on his
throne as to have no reason to fear the disaffected ;
that with respect to those who are supposed to
have a share in the late conspiracy, his Majesty is
ignorant of the places to which they may have
retired; that if the Duke of Berwick has gone to
England, he has done so with a view to serve the
king, his master and his father; that his Majesty
then gave an army to that prince, and that it was
his intention to make war by all lawful means;
that, in short, the king of England might be as-
sured of the sincere intentions of his Majesty to
maintain peace; that he believed those of that
prince to correspond with his own, and, that a
266 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
reciprocal good understanding was the surest
means to preserve the peace of Christendom.
The Earl of Portland was silent respecting this
clause after the audience which the King granted
him, till the return of the courier, whom he had
despatched to England to inform the king, his
master, of what had passed. As soon as he had
` received his instructions, it appeared that his prin-
cipal care was to justify the course he had pur-
sued; and though he continued to say that the
king, his master, was not safe, so long as King
James should reside at St. Germains, he added,
that his duty was to state the sentiments of the
king who sent him; that his Majesty might think
differently, that he was master in his kingdom,
only that it was to be wished that he would be
pleased to consent to proposals which might ren-
der the alliance more close; that, for himself, he
might have dispensed with punctually executing
the orders which had been given him; that he
should think himself very unfortunate if he had
said any thing which might displease his Majesty;
that his good intentions were known when the
terms of the peace were to be agreed upon; that
they are not changed when it is to be preserved.
There is reason to believe that the urgent appli-
cation made by the Earl of Portland to obtain the
removal of King James will be the first which
will be renewed to Count Tallard so soon as he
arrives in England. It will be affirmed, perhaps,
that this removal was promised by Marshal Boufflers
in the conferences last year; lastly, the same
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 267
reasons, namely, the personal safety of the king
who reigns in England, the good understanding,
the preservation of peace, which were alleged by
the Earl of Portland, will be again employed.
Count Tallard is to be guided strictly by what
the King states to him respecting what passed at
the conferences in Flanders; and what his Majesty
replied to the Earl of Portland is the only rule
which he wishes Count Tallard to observe, and
to frame his answers accordingly. He is, be-
sides, to omit nothing which may serve to prove the
sincere desire of his Majesty to maintain peace,
and to keep up a perfectly good understanding
with the king of England.
There was reason to believe, when the king of
England chose the Earl of Portland as his ambas-
sador, that his commission would not be restricted
to affairs concerning the personal interests of the
prince. The Earl of Portland had given in that
conference in Flanders the strongest assurances of
the real desire of the king, his master, henceforth
to merit the honour of his Majesty's friendship; to
form an intimate connection with him; in short, to
establish for ever the perfect understanding which
the good of Europe required, and by joint consent
to take all the measures necessary to preserve the
general peace. It appeared, then, that the king of
England, foreseeing the most important event which
may give reason to fear the interruption of peace, had
chosen the same minister to propose to his Majesty
the precautions which that prince considered ought
to be taken to prevent the renewal of troubles.
268
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
which the death of the king of Spain might one
day occasion in Europe. It seemed probable, too,
that he had not thought fit to intrust an English-
man with his intentions on so important a point,
and that he depended solely on a man who had
been attached to him all his life, and whose fidelity
he had so long experienced. But hitherto it does
not appear that these conjectures were well founded,
and all the conversations of the Earl of Portland do
not give the slightest indication that he has any
orders from the king, his master, to speak of the
opening to the Spanish succession.
It may however cause such a change in the
general affairs, that one of the first and principal
cares of Count Tallard must be to discover, if it
is possible for him to do so, what may be the inten-
tions of the king of England on this subject, his
engagements, and the means which he has of sup-
porting them.
The frequent illnesses of the king of Spain, and
the weakness of his constitution, have long ac-
customed his subjects to look upon his death as
an event that cannot be far distant.
*
The Emperor and the elector of Bavaria were
considered, during the war, as the only pretenders
who could dispute the succession, if this prince
should die before the peace. It was not supposed
that the King, who was engaged in resisting the
* There will be found in the Appendix an extract of the
Memoirs of Torcy, in which he states more at length than he
was able to do in these instructions, the views and the position
of the different pretenders to the Crown of Spain.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 269
efforts of all Europe, could send to Spain a force
sufficiently considerable to maintain the just rights
of the Dauphin. On this ground, the Emperor and
the Elector employed different ways to form each
for himself a considerable party at Madrid. The
Emperor having obliged the late electress of
Bavaria, his daughter, to renounce at the time of
her marriage the rights which she might have to
the Spanish succession, pretends to exclude the
electoral prince of Bavaria by virtue of this
renunciation of the electress's mother; and, as the
will of Philip IV. calls the children of the Em-
peror to the succession in Spain, in default of
those of the Infanta Margaret, mother of the
electress of Bavaria, it is on this will that the
Emperor founds the applications which he has
made to his Catholic Majesty to invite the arch-
duke Charles (his second son) to Madrid, and to
have him educated there as heir to the crown.
The elector of Bavaria pretends, on the contrary,
that the renunciation of the Archduchess cannot
prejudice the electoral prince, her son, and that
the promise of the Emperor to cede to him the
sovereignty of the Netherlands, in return for this
renunciation, is not a title which can be confirmed.
The queen mother of Spain during her life
counterbalanced the pretensions of the Emperor.
The interests of the electoral prince of Bavaria,
her grandson, were more dear to her than those of
the Archduke, her nephew, and it seemed, at that
time, that the king of Spain was inclined in favour
of the electoral prince.
270 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
But the death of the queen mother of Spain
having removed the only obstacle which opposed
the will of the Queen, her daughter-in-law, the
power of this princess, who was sister to the
Empress, gained such an ascendancy that she
induced the king, her husband, to consent to
things to which he had the greatest aversion. The
Emperor, strengthened by such a support, no
longer conceals his proceedings. Count Har-
rach has been sent to Madrid; and all Europe
knows that it was to ask his Catholic Majesty to
send for the Archduke, and to consider him as his
heir; but the mere presence of the Archduke was
not sufficient, troops were necessary to support
him. The continuance of the war, and the weak-
ness of the Spaniards in Catalonia, were a pretext
to apply to the Emperor for succour, and his
Catholic Majesty had already written to him for a
corps of 10,000 or 12,000 men; the people of Spain
were disposed to receive them and to support
them; hopes were entertained that the English
and Dutch would furnish vessels to convey them,
when all these projects were overturned by the
conclusion of peace.
These succours being now useless to Spain, the
Queen, and the most confidential ministers of his
Catholic Majesty, said that the finances were too
much exhausted to provide for the subsistence of
these troops; all that could be done, would be to
receive them if the Emperor would consent to
provide for their maintenance; but it is no less
difficult for the Emperor to incur such an expense.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 271
The sum which he requires to carry on the war
with the Turks does not permit him to divert to
other uses funds which are not sufficient to
maintain his fortresses and his army in Hungary;
thus far, therefore, the consent of the king of
Spain has not advanced the execution of the
designs of the Emperor. Besides this, a new diffi-
culty has arisen since the peace, with respect to the
conveyance of German troops to Spain. The king
of England, and the States General, had engaged
by a secret article of the treaty concluded with the
Emperor in 1689*, to furnish him with all the aid
Postquam ex parte Galliæ in variis locis et aulis palam
divulgatum est, quod non obstante renunciatione solemnissimâ
successionem in monarchiam Hispanicam, casu quo Rex Catho-
licus sine prole legitimâ è vivis discederet, pro Delphino indesi-
nenter pretendat vi et armis asserendam, nec obscure etiam
collimet, ut prædictus Delphinus in Regem Romanorum eve-
hatur: Domini Status Generales foederati Belgii mature consi-
derantes quantam status publici collisionem et quantum preju-
dicium publicæ rei et tranquillitati tam una quam altera pretensio
afferre possit, promittunt hisce separatis articulis non minus ac
si fœderi principali verbo tenus inserti essent, valituris; primo
casu quo modernus Hispaniarum Rex è vita decederet, non re-
lictis legitimis descendentibus (quem casum Deus clementer
avertere velit!) se Cæsaream majestatem ejusve hæredes ad
successionem ejusdem domus legitime competentem in monar-
chiam Hispanicam, et ejus regna, provincias, ditiones, et jura
earumdem adipiscendam et asserendam, quin etiam possessionem
contra Gallos ejusque adhærentes qui se huic successioni directe
vel indirecte opponere vellent, omnibus viribus adjuturos et in
contrarium attentantium vim vi repulsuros.
"Invitabitur ad horum etiam articulorum societatem corona
Angliæ. Actum Vienna, 12 May, 1689.
"E. A. HENRICUS COMES DE STRATMAN.
"J. HOP."
،،
272 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
necessary to support his pretensions on the death
of the king of Spain. On the basis of this treaty
the ministers of the Emperor urged the king of Eng-
land, before his departure from the Netherlands, to
furnish vessels, for the conveyance of German
troops to Spain. But that prince replied, that the
time to execute the treaty was not yet come, that
it was not advisable to excite France to resume
her arms; that such a step, if taken unseasonably,
would infallibly kindle a new war; that, however,
he was still resolved to execute the treaty when the
time should arrive.
The elector of Bavaria had formed the same
project to go to Spain, with the prince, his son, and
to take troops to that country under the pretext
of the defence of Catalonia. This advice had been
given from Madrid, by those whom he reckons
among his friends; they had urged him not to lose
any time in following it, when it was in contempla-
tion to send the Archduke to Spain with troops.
This was towards the commencement of the last
campaign, and the elector of Bavaria, profiting by
this advice, immediately made an application to the
king of England for ships. They were promised;
and, relying on this hope, orders were already
given to send troops from Bavaria, when the king
of England withdrew his promise, reducing it to a
bare assurance of furnishing ships if the electoral
prince was appointed heir by the testament of his
Catholic Majesty, and recognised as such by the
estates of the kingdom.
It is affirmed, that, since the peace, the king of
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 273
England and the States General have proposed to
the elector of Bavaria that they would engage by
a new treaty to secure to him the government
of the Netherlands, during the life of his Catholic
Majesty, and its sovereignty after the death of
that prince, provided the Elector would promise
at the same time to confirm the renunciation of
the deceased Electress, and not to interfere with
the pretensions of the Emperor.
It does not appear that this proposal has hitherto
had any result. Hence it may be inferred, that the
king of England and the States General are per-
suaded that it is equally their interest to prevent
the King from becoming master of the Netherlands;
that they believe, that nothing would suit them
better than to cause that country to pass into the
hands of a prince who would always have need of
their assistance; that this necessity will keep the
elector of Bavaria in a state of perpetual depend-
ance on them; that it would not be the same with
the Emperor; that if that prince should unite all
the dominions of the Spanish monarchy with those
which he already possesses, he would perhaps be
inclined to revive the rights of sovereignty, which
the House of Austria has lost over the United
Provinces.
►
The same considerations must induce them ex-
clusively to favour the pretensions of the elector
of Bavaria, and strongly to oppose the increase of
the power of Austria. But it is at present out of
the question to intimate to the king of England
what he ought to do on this subject; and the sole
VOL. I.
T
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274 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
object of Count Tallard, at the commencement of
his embassy, should be to discover whether that
prince really intends to supply the Emperor with
ships in case he should ask for them to convey
the Archduke and troops to Spain; if he does not
fear to draw upon himself the resentment of the
King, by a proceeding so prejudicial to the rights
of MONSEIGNEUR (the Dauphin); if the English
nation approves of such a connection with the
Emperor, to unite so many states in the person of
that prince; if the king of England does not him-
self fear to give the princes of Germany, and espe-
cially the protestant princes, such a just subject of
complaint as to endeavour to contribute to the in-
crease of a power so dangerous to themselves, as
that of the Emperor will always be. Lastly, it will
be necessary that Count Tallard should discover, as
far as lies in his power, if the king of England, in
favouring the designs of the Emperor, does not
likewise entertain some notion of profiting by the
disputes, to which he foresees the question of the
Spanish succession will give rise, to obtain pos-
session, either by force or by secret treaties
with the Emperor, of the Spanish possessions in
the Indies; and what assistance the nation con-
sents to give him to carry these projects into
execution.
The affair of the Spanish succession is not the
only, though it is the principal, question which is
connected with the preservation of peace.
peace. We hear
on all sides of the formation of new leagues; some-
times it is said to be between the princes who
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 275
were allied during the late war, at other times it
is pretended that it is to be a league between the
Protestant princes; that the king of England is to
be at the head of it, and that the object of this
league would be the maintenance of the Protestant
religion.
These leagues could not fail to be very dan-
gerous to the public tranquillity, and it is certain
that they would be absolutely useless for the pur-
poses they are intended to accomplish. The King
desires to preserve peace, and does not intend to
disturb the Protestant princes on the subject of
religion His Majesty has also manifested that he
desired peace, when he ceded so many important
places for the sole purpose of securing the repose of
Christendom. He might have continued the war
with advantage, and he would not have abandoned
the means which he possessed of carrying it on with
success against his enemies if he had had
any in-
tention of recommencing it. There is no stronger
guarantee of what his Majesty has promised, than
the very terms of the treaties. The leagues which
might be formed would only produce a distrust
wholly at variance with the tranquillity which
Europe should henceforth enjoy.
With respect to religion, the King has done in
his kingdom what piety suggested for the con-
version of his subjects. He has procured for the
Catholic religion all the advantages which depended
on him in those places which had been subject to
him, and which he surrendered at the peace;
but the care, which he thinks himself obliged to
T 2
276 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
take within his own dominions, goes no farther,
and he has never had any design of giving the
least uneasiness to the Protestant princes of the
Empire, the greater part of whom he considers,
on the contrary, as the ancient allies of his
crown.
Such are the principal affairs which Count Tal-
lard will at present have to deal with in England.
The following is the line of conduct which he will
have to observe.
It has always been the part of an able ambassador
in England, to keep on good terms with the nation,
as well as with the king of England and his
ministers.
It would be more dangerous than ever to deviate
from this line under present circumstances. Those
who have the greatest share in the confidence of
that prince are foreigners, and consequently ex-
posed to the hatred of the English. The Parlia-
ment has already made some attempts to attack
them, and they will probably be repeated with still
more violence. Nobody can tell what will be the
effect of them in a parliament which may perhaps
be less subject to the will of the king of England,
than preceding parliaments have been. Count
Tallard, therefore, must conduct himself towards
them in such a manner as not to alienate from
him the English noblemen who have no share
in public affairs. They have often not the less
influence on that account; and when they are on
bad terms with the Court, they make themselves
feared by joining the popular party.
1
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 277
He must, however, avoid with extreme care the
appearance of having any connection with mal-
contents and suspected persons. It is his Majesty's
desire that his ambassador shall not be justly re-
proached with having any intercourse with those
who are at present known in London by the name
of Jacobites; and if any of them should go from
St. Germains to London, he will not permit Count
Tallard to receive them into his house.
It would be alienating both the king of England
and the nation; and, far from being advantageous,
it would give occasion to all kinds of reports which
persons might choose to spread to alarm the En-
glish, and make them believe that their safety is
at stake unless they are in arms.
It appears, that the representations of the Earl of
Portland were principally made in this view; but,
as we do not see that Parliament has changed its
resolution respecting the reduction of the army,
there is no reason to believe that the nation will
not be so easily alarmed as the king of England
might wish. We may even go further and con-
clude that that which appears to the prince essen-
tial to his safety, and chiefly engages his attention,
is very indifferent to the nation.
It is very necessary to persuade the English that
the King sincerely desires to maintain the peace;
to let them know that when his Majesty gave
aid to King James to reinstate him on his throne,
he did not think of doing so, except in concert
with the nation; that his Majesty has never
made any secret treaties, contrary to the liberty
T 3
278 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
and the religion of England. Count Tallard
will express himself in this manner, not only
when opportunities shall naturally present them-
selves, but he may likewise cause such language
to be spread in Parliament, and in the different
parts of town to which the members resort, by
persons he may think proper to employ for that
*
purpose.
If he can gain any persons in the House of Com-
mons, they will inform him correctly of the state
of the nation before the close of the parliament
which is now assembled.
The accounts of the income and expenditure, of
the state of commerce, of the army and navy, of the
revenues of the Crown, and, in general, all that
relates to the finances, are laid before Parliament
* In the original copy of these instructions there appeared
a paragraph, which was suppressed on consideration.
We
think it of use to retain it in a note, inasmuch as it expresses
with great naïveté the real sentiments of Louis XIV.; and it
is, doubtless, this excess of naïveté that has led to its suppres-
sion :
M
"Il ne sera pas même inutile que ces mêmes gens fassent
connaître que l'intérêt du Roi s'accordera toujours avec celui de
la nation anglaise en ce qu'il ne conviendra jamais à S. M.
qu'un roi d'Angleterre soit trop absolu; que l'unique moyen de
l'empêcher de le devenir est de conserver la paix et que le pouvoir
arbitraire ne sera point à craindre tant que les rois d'Angle-
terre n'auront point en main les forces nécessaires pour se
l'attribuer; que par conséquent la guerre est d'autant plus à
éviter pour la nation anglaise que, si elle se renouvelait, le
parlement ne serait plus le maître de conserver les lois et les
libertés publiques."
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 279
to be examined by committees. These documents
are not kept secret: we may, therefore, judge to a
certainty by their contents, of the real state of
England; and it is easy to see by the receipt and
expenditure of preceding years what the new funds
might produce. As his Majesty is persuaded that
Count Tallard will soon find persons who will in-
form him of all these details, the only thing that
he has to observe to him, is to avoid bringing
under suspicion those who shall give him this
information.
The end of the present parliament will throw
new light on the measures which they are going to
take with the king of England. It is certain that
there appears much less submission to that prince,
than he has found since he has been on the throne;
that the reduction of the army, of the navy, and of
the subsidies, disables him from undertaking any
thing in future without the consent of the nation;
and, perhaps, the difficulties will be found still
greater in future parliaments, than in that which is
now sitting.
The Dutchmen, to whom the king of England
gives his principal confidence, do not seem to know
the nation well enough, and are not sufficiently
beloved by it, to be of any assistance to the king,
their master, in intractable parliaments. In pre-
ceding parliaments, when obstacles arose to the
demands of this prince, they were soon removed by
the favours or employments bestowed on some of
the members, or by the fear with which others were
T 4
280 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
inspired by accusations of a correspondence with
France. When these means are exhausted, it will
be very difficult for foreigners who have drawn on
themselves the envy of the nation, to find other ex-
pedients to keep it in the same state of submission.
Thus the king of England will find himself much
more embarrassed than he has hitherto been; and it
may be said with great truth, that it is his interest
to seek for support in the friendship of the King.
Count Tallard will soon see whether that prince
is disposed to enter into closer connection with
his Majesty; and, as his Majesty is convinced
that this good understanding is very necessary
for the preservation of peace, Count Tallard will
adapt his language to his Majesty's sentiments on
this subject.
But at the same time that he shows that his
Majesty is sincerely desirous to maintain the
treaties, the King's dignity and interest, especially
in England, require, that it should be made
thoroughly known that his Majesty has consented
to the peace solely with a view to the general good
of Christendom; that he was in no want of means
to continue the war; and that the wealth of his
kingdom, and the zeal of his subjects, would always
afford him the same resources if the tranquillity
which Europe now enjoys should be unfortunately
disturbed. Lastly, it is necessary that the firm
and moderate language of Count Tallard should
prove, at the same time, that his Majesty constantly
desires the preservation of peace, but that he should
not be embarrassed if he were again obliged to take
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 281
up arms to repel the efforts of those who might
attack him.
The piety of the King.has always led him to
give instructions to his ambassadors, to use their
good offices in favour of the English Catholics. He
repeats his instructions to Count Tallard, to do for
them every thing that may depend upon him, but
with all due prudence; and it is certain that more
delicacy than ever is now required. The urgent
applications made by an ambassador of France in
favour of the English Catholics, would certainly
elicit others from the king of England in favour
of French refugees in England; and his Majesty
will on no account whatever receive such applica-
tions; though the two cases are not on the same
footing, since the so-called reformed religion is
at present prohibited in France, and the Catholics,
on the contrary, have enjoyed under all the pre-
ceding reigns the free exercise of their religion in
England, on certain conditions. This discussion is
not to be entered into; his Majesty therefore will
have Count Tallard examine what he may be able
to do in favour of the Catholics, so that no infer-
ence may be drawn from it with respect to the
French refugees.
But he is not to consult the English friars in
order to obtain information. Besides that several
of them are odious to the nation, there are many
who it is affirmed are entirely devoted to the king
of England, now on the throne, and all in general
appeared under the preceding reign to consult their
own interests much more than those of religion.
There are two bishops whose merit and virtue
282
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
seem to be highly esteemed. Their names are
Leyburn and Giffard*: it is said that they are not
،
* "John Leyburn," says Dodd, "born 1620, was consecrated
bishop at Rome, 1685, with the title of Episcopus Adrumete-
nus,' and by commission, 'Vicarius Apostolicus' in England.
Being arrived there, he had an apartment prepared for him in
St. James's Palace, with an allowance of 1000l. per annum :
there had been no Catholic bishop in England since the year
1629. Upon the Revolution, Bishop Leyburn was at first com-
mitted prisoner to the Tower, but afterwards released, upon the
general character of his peaceful and inoffensive behaviour.
He was afterwards frequently alarmed, and summoned when
any disturbance happened in relation to the government; but
the ministry, being fully satisfied with his conduct, took no
farther notice of him; only desired to know his place of abode.
In this manner he spent the remainder of his days, dying
about the year 1703.”
"Bonaventure Giffard, was born in Wolverhampton. He
was taken notice of when King James II. ascended the throne,
who, having experienced in himself some effects of his zeal, by
the private admonitions he had given his Majesty for the good
of his soul, made choice of him to be one of his chaplains and
preacher. And afterwards, when it was thought proper to
establish an ecclesiastical hierarchy in England, he was promoted
to the episcopal dignity, and consecrated, April 22. 1687, with
the title of Episcopus Madaurensis. When the grand contest
happened between the King and the seniors of Magdalen
College, Bishop Giffard was appointed president of the house
and invested by his proxy, March 31. 1688; but ousted again,
October 25. the same year, by an order of the King and counsel.
The Revolution happened soon after; Bishop Giffard concealed
himself for a while, but at last was seized and committed prisoner
to Newgate, where he remained about a twelvemonth, till, being
discharged, he lived privately in London, under the connivance
of the government, who gave him very little disturbance, being
fully satisfied with the inoffensiveness of his behaviour. He died
the 12th of March, 1734, aged 89.”—Dodd's Church History
of England, vol. iii. p. 446.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 283
suspected by the present government, and that
they have always conducted themselves with much
prudence. Count Tallard will inform himself more
precisely on this subject when he shall be in
England, and will regulate the intercourse which
he may have with them, according to what he
shall learn of the sentiments of the king of Eng-
land with respect to them. If they are not sus-
pected by that prince, as is represented, he may see
them openly.
The French, of the so-called reformed religion,
who have withdrawn into foreign countries, have
manifested so much passion, and have so far for-
gotten the duties of their birth, that it does not
become the ambassador of his Majesty to receive
into his house those who have so distinguished
themselves by their bad conduct. Nor could any
advantage to his Majesty's service result from it;
the English barely tolerate them; they have no hope
except from the king of England, to whom they
are accordingly entirely devoted. Count Tallard,
therefore, could never receive any useful informa-
tion from them, and they would make a boast of
whatever they might learn in his house.
With respect to those who have conducted them-
selves well since they have had the misfortune to
quit his kingdom, his Majesty leaves Count Tal-
lard at liberty to behave towards them as he shall
judge best suited to the service of the King.
It remains only to point out to Count Tallard
what his Majesty desires him to say from him to
the king of England. In a private audience, for
284 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
which he will apply immediately on his arrival, he
will confirm to him all the assurances which he has
already received in Holland from the ambassadors
of the King, at the conferences for the negotiation
of peace, of the sincere desire of his Majesty to
maintain a perfectly good understanding with him;
that he is persuaded that this union is necessary
for the preservation of the general tranquillity;
that he has seen, with regret, that past conjunctures
have hitherto hindered him from giving to that
prince effective marks of the esteem which he had
always felt for him; that he will not remember in
future the contrary engagements which have sepa-
rated him from the interests of his Majesty, except
to judge of the punctuality of his word by the
fidelity which he manifested towards his allies ;
that he has no doubt that the union formed by the
peace between him and that prince will be as solid
as his preceding connections have been; that his
Majesty will contribute on his part to strengthen
it in every thing that may depend upon him; that
he is as much inclined to do this by the particular
esteem which he has for the personal merits of that
prince, as by the desire which he entertains to pre-
serve the peace which Europe now enjoys; and he
sees with pleasure, that the general tranquillity is
so connected with this good understanding, that, as
long as it shall last, nothing will be able to give
rise to fresh troubles.
Count Tallard will add, that on his part he
will always endeavour to show by his conduct the
real sentiments of the King, for the king of Eng-
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 285
land; that his Majesty has given him the most
positive orders on this point, and that he knows
he can do nothing more agreeable to his Ma-
jesty than conform to the orders which have been
given him on this subject.
MEMORANDUM. *
As according to all appearance the first confer-
ences of the Earl of Portland with the ministers of
the King, who will be appointed to hear him, will
be limited to the same assurances which he will
have given his Majesty of the sincerity of the in-
tentions of the king, his master, not only to main-
tain a durable peace, but also to acquire the
friendship of his Majesty, which he has always and
on all occasions desired above all things, the King's
ministers cannot reply in too courteous a manner
to expressions of this kind. They will neglect
nothing to give him to understand how sincere are
the esteem and affection of his Majesty for the king,
his master; that the past differences and wars should
* This note, the original of which is in the hand-writing of
M. de Torcy, assistant secretary of state for foreign affairs, was
written at the moment of Lord Portland's arrival in Paris, and
was, doubtless, submitted to the deliberations of the cabinet.
It completes the sentiments of Louis XIV. as we have just
seen them developed in the instructions of Count Tallard, and
paves the way for the proposals which are about to be made
to the Earl of Portland on the subject of the Spanish suc-
cession.
::
286
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
be buried in eternal oblivion, or, that if they must
be recalled to memory, it can only be to remind us
of the esteem which the king of England acquired
in them; that the King has nothing more at heart
than to preserve by peace the tranquillity of Europe;
that he is persuaded, by the assurances which the
king of England has caused to be given him, that
he entertains the same sentiments, and therefore
they will easily act in concord to consolidate the
public tranquillity. These general observations,
which must be the basis of their first conversation,
must be accompanied by the most courteous man-
ners, testimonies of sincerity and good faith, and
marks of confidence.
If Lord Portland is charged with any thing
particular, he will not disclose it till the sequel.
As it is not to be doubted that the king, his
master, embraces all the interest of Europe; that
he maintains some connection with his allies to
secure the peace; and that, in order to render
himself more necessary, he represents, perhaps, to
them what they have to fear from the superior
power of France, he has unquestionably considered
for himself, and has concerted measures with them
in contemplation of the events which may arise on
the death of the king of Spain, or on the declara-
tion which that prince may make of his successor.
Such events appear to be the only ones likely to
occasion changes in the general posture of affairs.
Perhaps Lord Portland may be the first to open
himself on the subject; and, without entering into
any similar explanations, those with whom he
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 287
confers may speak in merely general terms of the
sincere intentions of his Majesty to maintain the
peace, assuring him that he will use all his efforts
at once to consolidate it, and to prevent every ac-
cident which may be calculated to disturb it. By
this means they may give the Earl of Portland an
opportunity of speaking of the sentiments of the
king, his master, upon this subject.
Perhaps more than one conference may pass in
these general expressions, the ambassador going
no further than to enlarge upon the sincerity of his
master's intentions for the preservation of peace,
and his desire of maintaining an alliance and
sincere friendship with the King. If he should be
thus reserved, would not the King rather than
suffer him to depart without having touched on a
point so important for the general constitution of
Europe, think proper that the first overture should
be made to him by his ministers? And, in this
case, would it not be more natural to do so with
an air of sincerity and frankness?
He might be told, that his Majesty, having already
sufficiently assured him of the sincerity of his es-
teem and affection for the king of England, cannot
give him a greater proof of it than by confidentially
communicating with him on the most important
event which can happen in Europe; that he is
sensible of the feeble health of the king of Spain;
that he is informed of all the measures which have
been taken at Vienna, to secure the succession to
that crown; that he knows what are the rights
of MONSEIGNEUR (the Dauphin), what are those of
į
288 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
the electoral prince of Bavaria, after the sons of
MONSEIGNEUR; that he need not point out to him
how formidable would be the power of the House of
Austria, by the union of so many states in the old
and in the new world; that he would consider as a
mark of the friendship of which the king of Eng-
land has assured him, any communication which he
would make through him of his sentiments on so
important an affair; that his Majesty will answer
with the same confidence, and in the same spirit of
equity and affection for the good of Europe, which
the king of England has a right to expect from him.
These general terms, which enter into no detail,
appear to be sufficient for a first overture. His
Lordship will reply to them, if he is already provided
with instructions on this subject, but at all events
he will undertake to give an account of them to the
king, his master. It will be difficult for that prince
not to go further into the matter when he shall have
to reply. We may then come to the discussion of
the events that may follow the death of the king of
Spain, and disapprove of the measures which the
Emperor seems disposed to take at the death of the
ing who is living, and still young; and whether
the king of England respond in the manner that
may be wished to the confidence of the King, or
whether we find him prejudiced in favour of the
Emperor, it might at least in this way be intimated
to him, that the King might conceive just mistrust
at the passage of the troops of the Emperor into
Spain, and of the Archduke into the duchy of
Milan, and the body of troops with which he would
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 289
be accompanied. It would be natural to remind
him, on this latter point, of the treaty of peace of
Savoy by which the Emperor engaged to withdraw
his forces from Italy; added to which that this ob-
ligation did not relate only to a time of war; in
time of peace, when they ceased to be necessary,
they would give a fresh and too just cause of
umbrage to the princes of Italy; that the King
takes an interest in their liberty; and that it is for
the good of all Europe that that country should not
be subject to the Emperor.
Such considerations must be referred only to the
necessity of preserving peace, and to make the
king of England perceive that the conduct of the
Emperor would be likely to disturb it, rather than
to show him the necessity under which the King
would be placed to oppose it.
The advantage that might be derived from this
communication to Lord Portland, would be to make
the king, his master, explain what his sentiments
are in favour of the Emperor, or of the electoral
prince of Bavaria; what he believes, or what he
fears, respecting the designs of the King; and
by this means to open a negotiation with him, cal-
culated to lead to measures on matters which are
of the highest importance to the tranquillity of
Christendom.
VOL. I.
U
290 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
THE EARL OF PORTLAND TO WILLIAM III.
Paris, March 15. 1698.
Yesterday M. de Pomponne and M. de Torcy
called upon me, and informed me that they did so
* "M. de Croissy, ministre et secrétaire d'état des affaires
étrangères et frère de feu M. Colbert, avait été long-temps pré-
sident à mortier, et avait été ambassadeur à la paix d'Aix-la-
Chapelle et en Angleterre. Enfin il eut la place de M. de
Pomponne à sa disgrâce, et la survivance de cette place pour
M. de Torcy, son fils. M. de Pomponne, qui avait également
porté sa faveur et sa disgrâce, et à qui on n'avait pu ôter
l'estime du Roi, avait été mandé le jour même de la mort de
M. de Louvois, et rentra dans le conseil en qualité de ministre
d'état sans charge, et eut la piété et la modestie de voir M. de
Croissy sans rancune et sans éloignement. Le Roi, qui s'était
rattaché à M. de Pomponne, avait imaginé le mariage de sa
fille avec Torcy pour réunir ces deux familles et pour donner
un bon maître à ce jeune survivancier des affaires étrangères,
dans la décadence de santé où Croissy perdu de goutte était
tombé, et qui était encore plus nécessaire si Croissy venait à
manquer. Dès qu'il fut mort, (28 Juillet, 1696,) le Roi s'en
expliqua à Pomponne et à Torcy. Il régla que ce mariage se
ferait sans delai, que Torcy conserverait la charge de son père,
qu'il ne serait point encore ministre, mais que, sous la direction
et l'inspection de Pomponne, il ferait toutes les dépêches, que
Pomponne les rapporterait au conseil et dirait après à Torcy
les réponses qui y auraient été résolues pour les dresser en
conséquence, que les ambassadeurs iraient désormais chez
Pomponne qui leur donnerait audience en présence de Torcy,
qu' enfin le beau-père et le gendre partageraient à Versailles le
logement de la charge de secrétaire d'état des affaires étrangères
pour être ensemble et travailler en commun plus facilement."
Mémoires de Saint-Simon.
“29 Juillet, 1696.—Le Roi a réglé que M. de Pomponne
donnera audience aux ministres étrangers, M. de Torcy pré-
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 291
by command of his Most Christain Majesty, to tell
me that he desired my services in an affair of the
utmost importance and secrecy; at the same time
assuring me of his entire confidence. After I
had replied, as was fitting, M. de Pomponne said,
that as the sentiments of the king, his master, in
regard to the maintenance of the peace, were sin-
cere, and as he was fully persuaded that those of
your Majesty were the same, it was necessary to
weigh every thing that might cause an interrup-
tion, in order to concert precautionary measures;
that the death of the king of Spain, which might
take place suddenly, and which would bring a
recurrence of the same troubles from which we
had just escaped, was of this nature; that his Most
Christian Majesty wished to enter into engage-
ments with your Majesty which might prevent so
great calamities; that if Spain fell into the hands
of the Emperor, he would be able to make him-
sent. Ce sera M. de Torcy qui fera les dépêches, et M. de
Pomponne rapportera au conseil toutes les affaires étrangères,
et mettra par apostille ce qu'on aura résolu de répondre aux
dépêches des ministres du roi dans les pays étrangers."
Dangeau.
"10 Septembre, 1699.— Voici la séance du conseil des dé-
pêches qui se tient le samedi : le Roi est au bout de la table,
MONSEIGNEUR à un des côtés, M. de Beauvillier et M. de Pom-
ponne, M. le chancelier du côté de Monseigneur; M. de Torcy
est au bout de la table vis-à-vis du Roi, qui lit les dépêches des
ambassadeurs, et en même temps les réponses qui ont été ré-
solues au conseil précédent, et qu'il fait lui seul.” — Dangeau.
Torcy was born September 14. 1665. At the death of M.
de Pomponne, in 1700, he remained sole minister of foreign
affairs till the death of Louis XIV.
U 2
292 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
self master of all Italy, and be so absolute in the
Empire, that we should have every reason to fear
his preponderating power; that his Most Christian
Majesty, therefore, desired to concert measures with
your Majesty respecting the said succession, and
requested to know whether you were inclined to it,
and what conditions and securities you would re-
quire.
I replied to him, that I was surprised at the
proposal which he made me; that, although I
could not fail to consider the death of the king of
Spain as an event which would inevitably plunge
us again into war, yet it must be regarded as an
unavoidable evil, and we could only hope that it
would not take place soon; that I was aware, that
the interests of England and Holland were con-
cerned to oppose an accommodation, both with re-
spect to the naval force and to commerce all over
the world; that I did not see how it was possible
for your Majesty to give any more than a general
answer to such a proposal, unless I were informed
of the views of his Most Christian Majesty in regard
to the particulars which he meant to propose.
He answered, that he could not enter into par-
ticulars till your sentiments in general were known,
and that even then, it would be necessary to
ascertain from you what you should think suitable
to the interests and safety of the two nations.
I said, I was sure that if I wrote to your Majesty
in the general terms in which he spoke, I could not
expect any other answer than that you were willing
to listen to what should be proposed; and, as I at
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 293
length saw that I could not elicit any more from
him, I told him, in passing, my own sentiments and
every thing that I thought might be opposed to
our interests; but I avoid repeating the details
that I may not unduly lengthen my letter.
He replied, that with respect to the Low Coun-
tries, it would be easily agreed upon in such a
manner as your Majesty should desire; that as for
Spain itself, sufficient guarantees should be given
that it should never fall under the dominion of the
same king as France; but, as for the Indies and
the safety of the commerce of the Mediterranean,
two points on which I laid great stress, he said
nothing; he merely required that I should give
your Majesty an account of what he had proposed
and declared the sentiments of the king, his master,
and begged to be informed, Sire, of yours.
I did not think proper to say any thing which
might furnish them with the least clue as to what
were the views of your Majesty, particularly as
little or nothing was known respecting them. I
shall therefore wait to know the pleasure of your
Majesty on this subject, and the line of conduct
you would have me to observe. If, however, I
have an opportunity, I will again speak, in the
way of conversation, to M. de Pomponne, and try
to induce him to state his sentiments a little more
fully.
I beg your Majesty to pardon the faults of my
letter, which is not of a nature to be shown to any
of my own people. I have scarcely time to read it
over, much less to take a copy, because the Dauphin
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294 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
has sent for me to go a hunting with him without
delay, which I did not like to decline, or to put off
to a later hour. I am just going to step into my
carriage to go to Meudon. Count Tallard will set
out to-day. I believe that they have purposely
waited so long to speak to me on this subject, that
they might be able to make use of him in the affair
in case they are not satisfied with me, though the
inflexibility which I have shown, in all the difficul-
ties that have been thrown in my way, is approved
by everybody at Court, and all the blame is laid
upon the conductor of ambassadors, whom MON-
SIEUR calls ignorant and impertinent. They per-
haps think that I shall not suffer myself to be
drawn into matters, which the shortness of my
stay convinces me will prevent my being able to
further for the service of your Majesty and of the
two nations.
-
ACCOUNT OF WHAT TOOK PLACE IN THE VISIT WHICH
M. DE POMPONNE AND M. DE TORCY PAID TO THE
EARL OF PORTLAND BY ORDER OF HIS MAJESTY THE
14TH OF MARCH, 1698.
The conference with Lord Portland lasted more
than an hour and a half. We began by remind-
ing him of all that had been said to him, since his
residence here, of the sincere desire of the King
to maintain a good understanding with the king of
England, and to adopt in concert with that prince
all the measures necessary to form a close alliance.
We spoke to him of the necessity of this alliance
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 295
for the good of Europe, and for the preservation of
peace, which has just been restored; of what he has
said himself of the sentiments of the king, his mas-
ter, and of the desire which he feels to unite himself
closely with his Majesty. After those preliminary
observations, we reminded him of the language of
his Majesty to him, in the last private audience,
and of his own replies. At length, we spoke more
plainly, and observed to him, that in the present
state of affairs in Europe, he would easily com-
prehend that the most important event that could
happen, and one which was most calculated to
disturb the general tranquillity, was the death of
the king of Spain; that if God should remove
that prince before just measures had been taken
to prevent the troubles which his death would
occasion, it would be very difficult for peace to be
preserved; that his Majesty, convinced of the good
intentions of the king of England, was disposed on
so important an occasion, to give him marks of
entire confidence, by concerting with that prince
what should be done in such a conjuncture for the
preservation of the public tranquillity.
-
We added, that the King was very happy to open
himself to the Earl of Portland, rather than to any
other person, not only on account of the confidence
which the king, his master, placed in him, but also
on account of the satisfaction which his Majesty
feels at his conduct, and because he is persuaded
that no person desires more to contribute to a close
alliance between his Majesty and the king of Eng-
land.
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296 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
Lord Portland replied, that he had rightly judged
that the conversation, which his Majesty had done
him the honour to hold with him, could have re-
ference only to the Spanish succession; that he
thought it useless to repeat what he had several
times said of the real desire of the king, his master,
to maintain a perfect understanding with his Ma-
jesty; that what he had said on the subject was
conformable to the instructions he had received,
and to the truth. We observed to him, that the
answer, which the King had made to him on the
day of his public audience, had reference to the
preceding conversation during the private audience,
and he said that he was well aware of it.
Entering, then, into the subject of the Spanish
succession, he said, that though in truth the feeble
health of the king of Spain had for a long time past
given occasion to consider what was to be done in
case that prince should die, he had never precisely
known what might be the sentiments of his master
on this subject; that he had indeed heard him say,
at the Hague, that this was the only event which
could disturb the peace; that it was sufficiently
apparent that his Majesty sincerely desired it from
the terms which he offered, and that there was no
doubt that he would maintain it when once it
should be made, but that nobody could judge of
the effect which the death of the king of Spain
might produce; that princes should not be swayed
by their private inclinations, but solely by the in-
terests of the people subject to their direction or
their government; that the Dutch are in the first
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 297
state with respect to the king of England, and the
English in the second; that therefore the interests
of these two nations must be the only object of that
prince; that if he wished to do any thing contrary
to the ancient maxims of the English, he would,
perhaps, not be able to accomplish it; that jea-
lousy of the power of France is as great as it ever
was.
We told him, that the King by no means thought
of increasing this jealousy; and, that as his Majesty
was inclined to concert with the king of England
what was to be done in case of the death of the
king of Spain, this mark of his confidence in that
prince clearly showed that his Majesty did not
seek to give new causes of jealousy to the neigh-
bouring princes and states; but that they ought
to entertain a very legitimate and well-founded jea-
lousy of the steps which the Emperor takes to
secure to himself the succession to the crown of
Spain, and of the negotiations which he carries on
at Madrid, through Count Harrach, to get the
Archduke invited; that if the states which com-
pose that monarchy should be one day united with
those which the Emperor possesses, Europe would
see a revival of the same power which had been
so formidable to it under the reign of Charles V.;
that the king of England was too enlightened not
to perceive this danger.
The Earl of Portland answered, that the English
were moved by no other interest than that of their
commerce and navigation; that they will consider
that the Emperor has no ships; that in the present
298 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
feeble state of Spain, a considerable time must
elapse before its naval power can be re-established;
that, on the contrary, they see that France has a
powerful navy, and that she might easily impede
their trade with the Indies and the Mediterranean.
He, however, constantly assured us that he spoke
only from himself, and without any instructions
from the king, his master, (and in fact there is
reason to believe that he spoke the truth on this
point); but that he was well enough acquainted
with the disposition of the English, to know what
they would think; that in treating with them re-
gard must be had, not only to the present but to
the future; that when the king of England makes
any proposal to them which is not to their taste,
they very well know how to refuse it; that they
say, that they would willingly grant to a good
king, with whom they are satisfied, whatever he
asks, but that not knowing who will be his suc-
cessor, they will do nothing which, under another
king, may be prejudicial to the nation.
As we spoke in this conversation of the testament
of Philip IV., of the mode of succession to the
crown of Spain, the Earl of Portland inquired, as
a man really ignorant of what the will of Philip IV.
contained, respecting those who were called to the
succession in default of the king of Spain now on
the throne, and of his children, asking whether
the Salic law was observed in Spain. We ex-
plained to him the contents of the will; that the
children of the Emperor had no right to the crown;
that the dominions of the Spanish monarchy had
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 299
several times passed into different houses by the
marriages of the Infantas; that it was by this
means that the whole monarchy had been united
to the House of Austria; that a testament could
not change the fundamental laws of a kingdom.
He adduced what had been done by Henry VIII.,
king of England, who by several different tes-
taments had changed the order of succession. We
replied, that this same order had nevertheless been
observed, that his son had first succeeded him,
and then two daughters, according to the order
of their birth; that Ferdinand V., king of Arragon,
had done what he could to disturb this said order
of succession in Castile; that on the death of Queen
Isabella, his wife, he had done his utmost to re-
main king of Castile, the crown of which had be-
longed to that princess by right of succession; but
that though he had reigned a long time, con-
jointly with his wife, the Castilians would never
recognise him for their king, after the death of
that princess; that that crown had devolved upon
Queen Joanna, his daughter, and that on Charles V.
succeeding to King Ferdinand, the Castilians had
not permitted him to reign over them, except con-
jointly with the queen, his mother, though this
princess was entirely out of her mind; that the
queen's name was even always placed in public
acts, before that of King Charles, her son; that this
was a sure sign that the will of a king could not
change the established order of the succession in
Spain.
He said, that not being acquainted with the
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300 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
views of the king, his master, on this subject, he
begged to be informed whether his Majesty thought
it good that he should write to him for his orders;
that there was nothing more important than to
provide for the death of the king of Spain, but that
it appeared to him that he should be told some-
thing more in detail, respecting the intentions of
his Majesty; that if he only made general proposals
to the king of England, he would embarrass that
prince, and not receive any decisive answer from
him.
We answered, that his Majesty, not desiring any
thing for himself, which might give umbrage to
the rest of Europe, was willing to engage, in case of
the death of the king of Spain, to dispose of this
succession in such a manner that it could never
be united to the crown of France; that it was the
interest of the English and the Dutch, especially
the latter, to preserve in the Netherlands a barrier
between his Majesty and them, which should always
separate them; and that his Majesty was likewise
ready to promise not to encroach upon that barrier.
It is to be observed, that in all that was said on
this subject, the Dukes of Anjou and of Berry
were not mentioned to Lord Portland. He said,
however, in answer to these proposals, that though
the King did not unite the Spanish monarchy to
his crown, Europe would be equally alarmed if it
should see the whole succession of his Catholic
Majesty in the hands of one of those princes; that
their birth would always keep them united to
France, and that they would give the law to all
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 301
the other states; that the King would become
master of all the sea by his fleets. He slightly
alluded to a cession of the West Indies to the
English: no notice was taken of this. He went
on to say, that if the places on the coast of Africa
were ceded to England to secure to it the com-
merce of the Mediterranean, the said commerce
might not be interrupted whenever it should please
the King to do so; that the securities which might
be taken on this point, upon the word of the King,
were good for the present, but that they were not
sufficient for the distant future, on which, how-
ever, it was necessary to satisfy the English; that
they would not have the same fears with respect
to the Emperor, first, because he would not fail
to say, as the King says, that he does not think
of uniting the Spanish monarchy to the Imperial
crown, that of Spain would be destined for the Arch-
duke, and would thus be a separate government;
that the Emperor has no naval force; that it is
well known what time it takes to form a navy;
that the Spaniards are not calculated to do so;
that the king of England knows better than any
body the weakness of the Emperor, the exhaustion
of his finances; and that, consequently, there is
nothing to be feared from him.
We replied to all that Lord Portland said on
this head. First, we did not fail to quote to him
the example of the House of Burgundy, to show
that the branches of the House of France are not
always united, and that the ties of blood do not
prevent princes from maintaining their own in-
302 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
terests; that though the Emperor has not a naval
force at present, he would soon have a considerable
one, when he should be master of all the ports
depending on the Spanish monarchy. We spoke of
the time which the King required to place his
navy on its present footing; we showed Lord
Portland that, though the finances of the Emperor
were at present in an embarrassed state, the
Spanish monarchy has such great resources, that
it would soon again acquire new lustre, if it
were well governed. We reminded him of the
danger with which all Europe had been threatened
about the middle of this century, by the union of
the two branches of the House of Austria; that it
had required miracles to preserve Germany from
the slavery which threatened it, and to which it
would soon be reduced if the Emperor united so
many states; that he would make himself as sove-
reign in the Empire, as kings are in their own
kingdom; that the English might be pardoned for
regarding with the indifference, which Lord Port-
land attributes to them, what is passing out of their
island, but that it never would be believed that
their king had such narrow views; that he had
given proofs of the contrary in all the actions of
his life; and that it was not probable that he
would change his sentiments on so important an
occasion.
Lastly, after a long discussion of this matter,
Lord Portland said, that by the testament of
Philip IV., the electoral prince of Bavaria was the
legitimate heir: why, then, added he, not take
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 303
him to reign in Spain, and by that choice put
an end to the umbrage which all Europe feels
at the too great power of the King, and the ap-
prehension which France manifests of that of the
Emperor?
We answered, that we had shown him the nullity
of the testament of Philip IV.; but as he said that
he only made this proposal as his own suggestion,
the conference terminated in an agreement on
both sides, that he should despatch a courier to
the king of England to give him an account of
what had passed.
In conclusion he said, that having to treat of
affairs of such importance, it would have been
desirable that all those which may cause any
alteration should have been terminated in the
manner which had been desired. He explained
himself by saying, that his intention was not
to speak any more of the removal of King James;
that he saw the repugnance of his Majesty, who
thought that his honour was concerned, and, that
the king, his master, was very far from asking
any thing that could hurt his feelings; but that
he did not understand how, while desiring to live
on amicable terms with him, things could be
refused him which kings always grant; that
there were actually at St. Germains Englishmen
who, he pretends, had attempted the life of the king
of England-he read their names, written in a
paper; that he was informed of the language which
they held every day he repeated it; that he
required they should be delivered to him for the
304 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
security of the king, his master; that if they are
not known, as he is persuaded they are, his Ma-
jesty may be pleased to order that the proofs shall
be received which he shall furnish against them.
We answered in the same manner as we had
already done on the same subject; and added, that
the affair in question was so important, so well
calculated to establish an entire confidence, that in
comparison with this subject all others must be
considered as trifles; and that the union which
will be formed between his Majesty and the king
of England, will leave that prince no doubt of the
constant friendship of the King and of the certain
reliance that may be placed on it.
WILLIAM III. TO PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Windsor, March 8-18. 1698.
I am very glad that Heekerem has renewed the
alliance between the Republic and Sweden; and
I much approve of what you have said to Lillieroot
on the subject of an ulterior engagement with
Sweden, conformably to the secret article. Be
so good as to continue to speak to him on the same
footing. Do me also the pleasure to draw up some-
thing in my name, and to come to a final issue if
possible. I am willing, if it is necessary, to au-
thorise for this purpose, my ambassador William-
son, or else Robinson, at Stockholm, if the nego-
tiations are to be conducted in that city.
I send you herewith a letter I received yesterday
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 305
evening, by a courier, from the Earl of Portland;
you will form your own opinion of the great im-
portance of its contents. I have written to him, to
keep this important negotiation on foot, and to
try to bring the French to particulars, so that we
may be the better able to judge what is possible to
be done in this business. I beg you will write
your sentiments on this important affair to the
Earl of Portland, by a courier, that it may be done
with secrecy, for you know of what consequence it
is. You will recollect the discourse we had on this
subject at Loo, and I believe also at the Hague.
It will be necessary you should write rather at
length to the Earl of Portland, and send me a
copy of the letter for my information.
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
Windsor, March 9—19. 1698.
The day before yesterday I received your
letters of the 13th, and was very glad to learn that
everything went off so well at your entrée and first
public audience; and that everybody praises you so
much for having so well conducted yourself, for it
is impossible to take more interest than I do in
all that concerns you. You did very well in not
making any concession in the ceremonial, to which
the conductor of ambassadors improperly desired
to induce you, and in which you acquitted yourself
admirably. I have always commended your firm-
VOL. I.
X
į
306 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
ness on every occasion, which I shall continue to
do, provided you do not put it in practice against
me.
I was greatly surprised yesterday evening, on
receiving your letter (dated 15th in the morn-
ing), to learn the conversation which you had on
the 14th with M. de Pomponne and M. de Torcy.
This affair is so delicate, and of such great import-
ance, that I am at a loss how to give you any
more particular instructions than those which I
gave you before your departure. I think that you
answered M. de Pomponne most judiciously, and I
do not see that you can do better than continue to
speak in the same manner, to oblige them to come
to particulars, without which it will be impossible
to give any reply. I am of opinion, however, that
when a favourable opportunity offers, you will be
obliged to say, that having duly reported to me the
proposal which had been made to you, I had sig-
nified to you that I so ardently desired the preser-
vation of peace that I was not averse from listening
to any proposal calculated to insure its continu-
ance, even in the event of the demise of the king
of Spain, which I concurred with them in fearing
might interrupt peace, and again plunge all Europe
in war; and that if there were any means to take
measures and induce all parties to prevent so great
an evil, they would find me entirely disposed to
join them, as far as the interests of the two na-
tions would permit.
From what I have just said to you, I think you
will easily comprehend my intention, which is not
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 307
wholly to break off this important communication,
but, on the contrary, to go more and more fully
into it, in order that we may be able to see how
far France would be willing to go, and thus be
in a position to judge whether we could enter upon
measures and engagements with them on so delicate
an affair as the Spanish succession.
I confess that I have a heartfelt desire to see no
more of war during the short period that I may
yet have to live, that I will not omit any thing,
which in honour and conscience I can do, to pre-
vent it.
I thought I could not dispense with sending
your letter to the Pensionary Heinsius to enable
him to give you his opinion on an affair of such
importance, one in which the whole republic is so
deeply interested. I have begged him to write to
you by express, in order to insure the safety of
his letter, as it is absolutely necessary that all
should be conducted with the greatest secrecy
possible. For this reason I do not mean to com-
municate it to any person here, and I am very cer-
tain the Pensionary will do the same.
According to what you have written to me, it
appears that you do not know what to say of the
sincerity of the strong expressions which his Most
Christian Majesty made use of respecting his desire
to live on good terms with me. I think that this
enigma is now clearly solved by the proposal which
has been made to you, for, in the event of our being
able to agree upon it, there can be no further doubt
of the sincerity of his intentions, and every thing
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308
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
will be done as I desire; but otherwise I fear that
all will return to the old footing. However, I can-
not conceal from you that I am very glad of the
proposal which has been made to you, because
whatever be the result, it cannot but be to my
advantage.
THE EARL OF PORTLAND TO WILLIAM III.
Paris, March 19. 1698.
I was again at Versailles yesterday, and spoke
to the ministers on the subject of which I informed
you in my letter of the 15th. I stated that I did
not expect any definite answer or proposal to
those which they had made to me in such gene-
ral terms, unless they entered into details, be-
cause it was an entirely new subject, which your
Majesty has not taken into consideration, and which
would surprise you; and that, at the utmost, you
would, in all probability, desire me to listen to any
proposals they may think fit to make affecting
the commercial interests of the English and Dutch
nations, of which they are both very jealous.
They replied that, as this is the only thing which
can disturb the peace, which the Most Christian
King, as well as your Majesty, desires to maintain
inviolate, it was impossible that you should not have
thought of it long since, and have turned over in
your mind the means by which this evil might be
obviated.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 309
I believe that your Majesty might speak to Count
Tallard of the affair upon which you intend to
express your sentiments; but, if I may venture to
offer an opinion, I should say it seems advisable to
do so in rather strong terms, which should indicate
your surprise and astonishment at the manner in
which they treat your Majesty, while they throw
dust in people's eyes, by their good treatment and
favourable reception of me. With respect to the
affair of King James, the flattering courtiers pal-
liate it; but, with respect to the assassins, they
all shrug their shoulders, for every body speaks of
it, though I have not said a word, good or bad, to
any one about it.
I am on the point of starting, as I am to go out
hunting to-morrow with M. le Grand at Royau-
mont.
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
Kensington, March 14-24. 1698.
I have not received any letter from you since
that of the 15th. For several days, there has been
a high south-west wind, which has apparently hin-
dered the passage of the letters from Calais. I re-
turned here on Saturday night from Windsor, where
I left the Duke of Shrewsbury, who had again spit
so much blood in the night that he has been pre-
vented from following me, as he had intended; and
I fear he is worse to-day than ever. He has writ-
ten a letter to Vernon, like a dying man, who is
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310 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
determined to think no more of any business what-
ever.*
Thus, I believe, we may already reckon him
as dead to the world, which grieves me not a little
and embarrasses me no less. Nobody here considers
him dangerously ill, because, during the four days
which he spent with me at Windsor, he seemed to-
lerably well, and went out hunting with me three
times; nor was he taken ill till the night between
Friday and Saturday, on which day he had resolved
to come to London with me. I do not know what
to think of it, but during those four days he ap-
*
"I have the honour of your Grace's letter of this day, and
am sorry you should have the trouble of writing so long a letter,
in so much pain as I hear you were in. It is some comfort,
however, to understand that the spitting of blood abates. I shall
wait the King to-morrow, and let him know how you find yourself,
and what assurances you desire of a total retreat; but I don't
expect his Majesty should give me any answer as to that part.
I imagine he will not be very ready to give your Grace that
satisfaction, in hopes you will not insist upon it, when you grow
better." Mr. Vernon to the Duke of Shrewsbury. March 13.
(0. s.)
"Your Grace will not misinterpret it, if your friends op-
pose as long as they can your resulutions of retiring. They
see a cloud impending over the state which they think you can
only disperse. I laid before the King this morning what your
Grace proposed of holding the Seals till the end of the session,
provided you could be assured of being then discharged without
passing from one office to another. His Majesty is willing to
free you from the Seals sooner on condition you will accept
the Chamberlain's Staff. I find the King thinks it of great
use to his service, that it should not be thought you had left it,
and your friends will think they have lost their best hold at
Court, when they see you wind yourself out of it." Mr. Vernon
to the Duke of Shrewsbury. March 16. (o. s.)
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 311
peared to me quite resolved to return to business,
always paying me the compliment to say that it was
only to please and serve me, for, that if he followed
his own inclinations, he would retire altogether
from the world. This will cause a grand fracas
among all parties, who will fear more than ever the
return of Lord Sunderland.
Yesterday I received letters from Holland of the
18th, in which the Pensionary tells me that he has
had bad accounts of the health of the king of
Spain*; that the physicians have declared, as a
profound secret, that he is dropsical, and that his
constitution is such, that the slightest accident
may carry him off in a moment. You will judge
what an embarrassment would arise if he were
to die suddenly at this juncture; for we should
not have time to put ourselves in a position to
take the part which we might judge most expe-
dient for our interests, nor to finish any negoti-
ation if it were begun, and they are quite sure
to have the first intelligence in France when this
misfortune takes place. I have nothing to add
upon this subject to what I wrote to you in my
last.
It is said that Count Tallard has arrived at
Calais, and that he is only waiting for a favour-
able wind to pass over.
* "The king is in a languishing condition; not in so immi-
nent a danger as last week, but so weak and spent as to his
principles of life, that all that I can hear is pretended amounts
only to hopes of preserving him some few weeks, without any
probability of recovery." Alex. Stanhope to his son, James
Stanhope. Madrid, March 14. 1698.
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LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Kensington, March 15-25. 1698.
I have received your letter of the 18th in-
stant containing the disagreeable news of the king
of Spain's indisposition. His death, if it takes place
at present, could not occur at a more unlucky
juncture. You will have learnt by my former let-
ter the business in which the Earl of Portland is
concerned, and I am impatient to learn your sen-
timents upon it. Should the death of the king of
Spain take place soon, there is nothing to be ex-
pected from this negotiation, not to speak of the
invincible difficulties that appear in the occurrence
itself. I shudder when I think of the unprepared
state of the allies to begin a war, and the present
dilapidated state of Spain. It is certain that
France is in a condition to take possession of that
monarchy, before we shall be able to concert the
slightest measures to oppose it. Such is the state
of matters here, that I shall be able to contribute
little towards the land forces, but I may do some-
thing more towards the marine; for the people here
will, I believe, be inclined to second my endeavours,
though we shall have great want of money. I am
entirely of your opinion, that all possible measures
should, without delay, be taken with the allies, to
guard against an unforeseen accident, but it ought
to be done with precaution, on account of France.
I do not know but it would be proper at this time
to assemble a kind of congress at the Hague again;
and it might be better, in the event of negotiations
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 313
being necessary on this matter, to open them at
Vienna, though here I see great difficulties on
account of the distance: however, I think it will
be the most proper place, and in that case, expe-
rienced ministers must be sent thither, as also to
Madrid. It will also be necessary to rouse the allies
on all sides, to the necessity of remaining armed.
I wish I could do so too; but I see little appear-
ance of it.
THE EARL OF PORTLAND TO WILLIAM III.
Paris, March 26. 1698.
I received on the 21st the letter which your
Majesty did me the favour to write to me from
Windsor on the 9-19. All the officers of the com-
panies of the Guards and of the disbanded English
and Irish regiments have come hither from their
garrisons, and are either here or at St. Germains.
The Duke of Berwick expresses himself every
where with extreme resentment, because, when, con-
formably to your Majesty's instructions, I spoke
respecting all those who had been engaged in the
horrible plot to assassinate your Majesty, his name
was among them; without considering that his name
stands first in the Proclamation. All the officers
who are his creatures follow his example; but if they
continue to do so in an indecent manner towards
him who has the honour to be invested with the
character of your ambassador, I think I shall be
obliged to take notice of it, and to complain to his
Most Christian Majesty.
314 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
As the King did not return from Marly till
Saturday, I could not speak to him till the follow-
ing Tuesday, namely, yesterday, on the matters
respecting which I wrote to your Majesty, and
according to the orders which your express had
brought me from Windsor. I did so on the same
footing as I began, and in the terms which you had
prescribed. The King, in reply, expressed much
satisfaction at the assurances which I
gave him on
this point. He told me that it was impossible that
your Majesty should have been surprised at his
proposal; he was certain that you had thought of
it, but he believed that you had not expected that
he could make those overtures for the continuance
of peace, and that your Majesty could not be
thoroughly persuaded that he desired to preserve
it; that he had, however, assured me of the con-
trary; that he did so again, and would express it
on all occasions; that he had given up twenty of
the strongest places in Europe in order to have
this peace, and he thought that it was a pretty
strong proof which might convince all the world of
his intentions.
-
of
I answered by assurances of the sincere intentions
your Majesty, and of the joy and satisfaction
which you
had felt at the strong assurances which
his Most Christian Majesty had given me, and on
which you relied most implicitly; that I begged
him to be pleased to enable me to do what he
might wish, by paying some regard to the remon-
strances which I had had the honour to make to
him on certain points, and which would tend to
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 315
remove any doubts that might arise; that your
Majesty, however, was wholly inclined to enter
into all the measures that might be taken to secure
the peace, and especially that which had just
been concluded; that it was very true your Ma-
jesty had already thought of an event which,
according to all appearance, might again plunge us
in war, from which we had only just been de-
livered; but that you had not sufficiently anti-
cipated what I had communicated to you, to have
formed in your mind any plan as to the manner in
which things could be adjusted conformably to
the interests of the two nations who must enter
into the negotiation, which presented great diffi-
culties; that this
that this was the reason why your
Majesty had ordered me to make those assurances
which I had just done, and that you now im-
patiently awaited some more definite proposals
from his Majesty.
He said that he would take it into consideration
as soon as possible, and would let you know his
sentiments; that he was rejoiced to
see your
Majesty so disposed, and that, if you were of the
same mind with himself, you might together give
the law to the rest of the world.
As intelligence has been received that the king
of Spain is better, it may cause some slackening in
this affair, especially as the same letters announce
some changes in the ministry, in opposition to the
Queen and the almirante, such as the recall of the
Count de Oropesa and of the Duke de Montalte *
"
* Don J. Thomas Enriquez Cabrera, Duke of Rio-Secco,
316 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
and the change in the king's confessor, which has
already taken place, and that which is to be made
in the confessor to the queen: it is said that they
intend to appoint a Jesuit.
Count Melgar, almirante of Castille. He had been governor
of Milan. "L'amirante," says St. Simon, "devoué à la fortune,
avec beaucoup d'esprit du monde et de talents, mais décrié
sur tous les chapitres: c'était l'homme d'Espagne le plus
attaché à la reine. . . . . . Il était grand de première classe, un
des plus riches et des plus grands seigneurs, et le premier
d'Espagne par la naissance, quoique bâtarde. C'était un
composé fort extraordinaire: de l'esprit infiniment, de la
politesse, l'air et les manières aimables, obligeant, insinuant,
caressant, curieux, prenant toutes sortes de formes pour plaire:
haut, libre, ambitieux à l'excès, et très dangereux dans son
extrême paresse de corps, qui n'influait point sur l'esprit.
Déshonoré sur son courage, il ne l'était
son courage, il ne l'était pas moins sur la
probité: personne ne se fiait à lui et il en riait le premier, et
avec cela fort haï du peuple: il ne se souciait ni de sa maison,
ni d'avoir des enfants, mais avait le rage de gouverner et une
haine mortelle contre tous les gens qui gouvernaient.
"Oropesa était de la maison de Bragance et l'âiné des
trois branches de cette maison établies et restées en Espagne.
Il était président des conseils de Castille et d'Italie. Il avait
été envoyé en exil sur une furieuse sédition que le manque de
pain et de vivres avait causée à Madrid.
"Don Fernand de Moncade, duc de Montalte, président des
conseils d'Aragon et des Indes: homme d'esprit, de courage,
de capacité, mais d'une foi suspecte, et qui en savait plus
qu'aucun. Fort autrichien, profond dans ses vues et dans ses
voies, que tous regardaient, mais sans se fier à lui.” — Mémoires
de Saint Simon.
•
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 317
LOUIS XIV. TO COUNT TALLARD.
Versailles, March 27. 1698.
You were aware before your departure, that I
had thought fit to have the Earl of Portland spoken
to, and to learn from him the sentiments of the
king of England respecting the means of preserv-
ing peace in Europe, if the death of the king of
Spain, which has been long apprehended in con-
sequence of the bad state of health of that prince,
should happen at a time when peace has been so
recently restored.
You are informed of what I caused to be said to
him, and, to enable you the better to recollect it, I
have caused an account* to be added to this letter of
what passed in that conversation, and of the an-
swers of the Earl of Portland. The orders which
he expected from the king, his master, have arrived,
and as soon as he received them, he asked me for a
private audience.
He told me that the king, his master, had been
surprised at what had been said on my part to the
Earl of Portland; that that prince, not having ex-
pected it, had not yet thought what answer could
be made to such important proposals; that his
intention was to contribute to the utmost of his
power to the preservation of peace; that he cer-
tainly believes that I desire to preserve it, and
that he sincerely wishes that I may have reason to
be satisfied with the conduct which he shall follow,
* Vide antè.
•
318 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV;
with the same view of securing the general tran-
quillity; that he does not at present see that any
thing except the opening of the Spanish succession.
is calculated to occasion a new war; that it is to
be wished, that it may be prevented by taking
timely measures for the preservation of peace,
should God call his Catholic Majesty to Himself;
that the king of England, not knowing my opinions.
nor what would suit me, cannot yet make any
proposal to me; that he expected all such from
me; and that, when I shall have explained myself
to him, it would be more easy for him to say, on
his part, what he should think the most advisable,
and to concert with me the measures which should
be taken.
The Earl of Portland afterwards added that I
might depend on the secrecy which would be ob-
served in this affair; that he flattered himself with
being able to succeed in it better than any other
minister, because he was more perfectly acquainted
with the sentiments of the king, his master. As it
did not suit me to enter with him into any detail,
I thought it was sufficient to let him know that
the prospect of the public tranquillity alone had
obliged me to make peace when it was signed; that
I was still in a condition to continue the war for a
long time; and that the number of important places
which I had ceded was a convincing proof of my
intention of preserving it. I afterwards told him,
that, knowing the confidence which the king, his
master, reposes in him, I had not doubted, when that
prince chose him for his ambassador, that he con-
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 319
sidered him as more calculated than any other to
contribute to the renewal of a perfectly good under-
standing. I added that I was very well satisfied
with his conduct; and, lastly, I referred to what
I should let him know of my sentiments upon the
business he had just proposed to me.
My intention is to let him be told in a few days
that I consider it to be the general interest of Eu-
rope to prevent the union of the Spanish monarchy
to my crown; that there is equal reason to fear
lest the Emperor should become master of that
monarchy; and that, besides this general interest, the
special interest of England and Holland, which the
king of England seems to have most at heart, is to
preserve the Netherlands independent of any crown,
and under the dominion of a separate prince; that
on this foundation I am willing to assure him
that the Spanish monarchy shall never be united
to my crown; that I am ready to take measures to
preserve the sovereignty of the Netherlands for
the elector of Bavaria; that my son will cede to
the electoral prince all the rights that he may
have to those provinces; that, with respect to the
remainder of the monarchy, it would not be just to
deprive the lawful heirs of the rights which
they have acquired, when means may be found
to remove the umbrage that Europe might enter-
tain at the union of the crowns of France and
Spain: that the majority of the Spaniards know
that, according to their laws and customs, confirmed
by several examples, the succession should belong
to my son, should God call his Catholic Majesty to
320 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
Himself; that, entirely to remove the uneasiness
which he would cause by maintaining the justice
of his rights, he is willing to transfer them to the
youngest of the princes, his sons (the Duke of
Berry); that I would place him alone in the
hands of the Spaniards, to be trained according
to their maxims, and without having any of my
subjects about him; that this education would
soon inspire him with the only sentiments suitable
to a king of Spain; that the sentiments of his
birth would never hinder him from watching over
the preservation of the dominions belonging to
the Spanish crown; that being educated in that
country he would soon know no other interests
than those of that monarchy; lastly, that he would
be no more a stranger to the Spaniards than the
second son of the Emperor, who has no right;
whereas that of my grandchildren is certain when
my son thinks fit to cede his to him who shall be
most agreeable to the Spaniards.
After this overture we should see whether the
Earl of Portland will make any proposal on the
part of the king, his master; and as I am in a con-
dition to back all that I shall cause to be sent to
him, it will be for the king of England to state
what he shall think the most advisable in such a
juncture.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 321
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
Windsor, March 19-29. 1698.
I did not receive your letters of the 19th of this
month till yesterday; the violent contrary wind
hindered them from crossing the Channel sooner.
I hope that you have duly received my preced-
ing letters, which will have informed you of my
sentiments on the important negotiation which
you have in hand. The more I reflect upon it, the
more I wish that expedients could be found to pre-
vent a war, which appears almost inevitable, espe-
cially if the king of Spain continues ill, as seems
but too probable.
We are at present so very far from being in a
condition to make an effort, while France is pre-
pared for every event, that you can fancy how
much uneasiness this gives me whenever I think
of it, especially if I contemplate the great diffi-
culties of finding means to reconcile our conflicting
interests; and, as France knows her own strength
and our weakness, there is no likelihood that she
will be disposed to make any considerable conces-
sions. I hope that you may have been able to
discover this when you enter more into detail with
the ministers. If the illness of the king of Spain
continues, it will be the more important that you
should endeavour, as soon as possible, to ascertain
the particulars on which it would be necessary to
agree; though I fear that, if they perceive that
the event is near at hand, you will meet with much
more difficulty and reserve.
VOL. I.
Y
•
322 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
Count Tallard has not yet arrived; the con-
trary winds have detained him at Calais; but he is
expected every moment, I shall speak to him in
the terms you advise.
•
P.S. I think I have found out means to keep my
regiment of dragoons, which has certainly suffered
much, greatly against my will. As soon as ever
Parliament closes, I shall make preparations for
sending it to Ireland, but God knows when that
will be.
COUNT TALLARD TO LOUIS XIV.
London, March 31. 1698.
I arrived in this city the evening before yester-
day. The king of England is at Windsor with a very
few attendants, whom he has taken with him.
These are only Lord Albemarle, M. de Remire-
mont, M. de Marton, M. d'Auverquerque*, Lord
Lexington †, Lord Rivers, the Comte de Frise, and
two brothers of the Earl of Arran §, one of whom is
the first lord of the bedchamber to the king.
* Henry of Nassau, Lord of Auverquerque, brother of
Odyke, first nobleman of Zealand, famous for his embassies,
and of the Earl of Grantham. His father was Lewis of
Nassau, natural son of Maurice Count de Nassau and Madame
de Mechlin. Auverquerque was King William's Captain of
the Guard when Prince of Orange, and Master of the Horse
when king of England. He died in 1708.
† Robert Sutton, second Lord Lexington.
Richard Savage, fourth Earl Rivers. (Richard Savage,
the poet, is supposed to have been his natural son.)
§ James, Earl of Arran, son of William Douglas and of
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 323
The Earl of Albemarle is rising every day in
favour; the king, his master, dines with him in
private once or twice a week, and M. de Remire-
mont is sometimes of the party.
It would be rashness in me to pretend to send
your Majesty any correct news of the present state
of this country after so short a sojourn here.
There are, however, truths which are evident to
all the world, and one of these is that a state of
financial embarrassment has succeeded the former
opulence, and that the king is very far from being
so much the master as is believed in France.
Several Englishmen have already told me so without
any reserve; and, if the troops are not yet dis-
banded, it is because they do not know out of what
fund to take the sums granted to pay the arrears.
Meantime they are kept on, and the amount of the
arrears increases. They see and they say so, and it
is not yet decided, though the committee on this
matter meets twice a week; but it is difficult to
get money.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
March 21.
Windsor,
April 1.
I have received your letters of the 21st and 25th
of March, together with a copy of the letter you
1698.
Anne Hamilton, Duchess of Hamilton, who, upon his mother
surrendering her honours, became by patent, dated August 10.
1698, Duke of Hamilton. He had six brothers; William, who
was residing in France; Charles, Earl of Selkirk; John, Earl
of Rutherglen; George, Earl of Orkney, the husband of Eliza-
beth Villiers; Basil; and Archibald, an admiral.
Y 2
324 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
have written to the Earl of Portland; in which I
think you have explained this important matter to
him, and have certainly said every thing that can
be of any consideration. It remains now to be
seen whether the French will proceed to particulars,
which I doubt, and still more how it will be possible
to find means to bring this important negotiation
to a good conclusion; for our interests are so dif-
ferent, that I scarcely see a possibility of reconciling
them. Besides, the greatest hardship that appears
to me in this business is, the little reliance to be
made on engagements with France; and her power
will be thereby so much the more considerable, that
she will be at liberty to pay just as much regard to
the treaties as may suit her convenience, of which
we have had but too much experience. On the
other hand, I do not see a possibility of preventing
France from putting herself in immediate possession
of the monarchy of Spain, in case the king should
happen to die soon. However, nothing can be
done but to take all those steps you mention;
and above all, we must labour to bring the Emperor
and the elector of Bavaria to an agreement with
respect to the succession, otherwise it will be im-
possible for us to take the proper measures. What
Bonrepos has said to you relative to the marine in
France, and of their being willing to engage not
to equip in case England and Holland did the same,
is mere speculation. For our part, we shall con-
fine ourselves to what has been hitherto the prac-
tice in time of peace, viz. send a small squadron
in the Mediterranean, and one to the West Indies.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 325
I know of no equipment in Holland, and the French
must know the same; so that our naval equip-
ments could furnish them with no pretext of equip-
ment, which you may take an opportunity to insi-
nuate to Bonrepos. It would not, however, be
improper for Holland to be so far prepared as to be
able to equip suddenly in case of need. What
Lillieroot has communicated to you of Sweden's
intention to renew her alliance with France, is not
at all agreeable, though I had expected it. It is
evident that that power is anxious to have the
appearance of remaining neuter, though all the
while it is taking measures with both parties.
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
March 21.
April 1.
Windsor,
The day before yesterday I received your letter
of the 26th of March, and almost at the same time
a copy of the letter which the Pensionary of Hol-
land has written to you, respecting your important
negotiation. I believe that he has weighed all that
can be done in an affair of this nature, as it is im-
possible to arrive at a conclusion until we know
more particulars, and how far France would be
inclined to go.
I hope, after what his Most Christian Majesty
said to you, that they will explain themselves more
definitely, since it is reasonable that they ought to
make the first proposals, and let us know with what
1698.
Y 3
326 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.-
they would be satisfied, and what they would offer
to us for our security.
Our greatest difficulty is how to secure our
trade in the Mediterranean, and whether they
would be inclined to make some partition with us in
the West Indies, or at least allow us to trade there.
With respect to the Low Countries, it would be ab-
solutely necessary that the barrier should be much
enlarged, certainly not less than according to the
basis of the Treaty of the Pyrenees, with the excep-
tion of Franche-Comté, which cannot be thought of.
If I could have Dunkirk, I think there might be
a means of coming to an accommodation.
I mention all this in order that, with a knowledge
of my sentiments, you may in future be able to
direct your language and arguments accordingly;
for I am sufficiently well acquainted with the French
to know that, unless we speak, they will not say a
word on their part. Besides, I can hardly believe
that they will enter into fuller details with you than
they have already done; but this you will soon be
able to see clearly. I do not know whether Count
Tallard will speak to me upon the subject, but
assuredly I shall not begin; at all events, not before
I know what the ministers have said in conference
with you.
You are doubtless aware that Bonrepos has
touched upon it to the Pensionary.
I came here last Monday, and intend returning
on Saturday, because I have promised a private
audience to Count Tallard, at Kensington, on
Monday I cannot ask him to come here, as
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 327
there is nobody with me at this place. I am
hunting the hare every day in the park with your
dogs and mine, and have had some good sport. The
rabbits are almost all killed, and the burrows will
soon be stopped up. The day before yesterday I
took a stag in the forest with the Prince of Den-
mark's hounds, and had a pretty good run, as far
as this villanous country permits.
The Duke of Shrewsbury still lies ill at Woburn.
I have been to see him, but have not yet been able
to ascertain what he will ultimately resolve upon;
he says that it must entirely depend upon the state
of his health. It is evident that he has no hopes
of my being able to induce Lord Sunderland to
return with the consent of the whigs; I therefore
cannot think of it, at least while this parliament
lasts, and it is impossible to foresee when it will
break up. I shall not enter upon what is passing
here, for I know that Vernon informs you of all
particulars.
THE EARL OF PORTLAND TO WILLIAM IJI.
Paris, April 2. 1698.
Yesterday I was at Versailles until evening. I
went thither in the morning to ascertain from M.
de Pomponne and M. de Torcy whether they had
consulted the King respecting the answer which
they should give me relative to the affairs of Spain,
of which I had spoken to them before the holidays,
and to hear what proposals they were prepared to
make on the part of the King. The substance of
Y 4
328 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
their reply was, that the King having considered
what I had said to them in the first conference on
this subject, and the jealousy which your Majesty
and the nations might conceive at the union of
Spain and France under the same king, he was
content, 1st, notwithstanding the incontrovertible
right of the Dauphin to that crown and succession,
to let it be entirely separated, and to leave it to the
Spaniards to choose between the Dukes of Anjou
and Berry, and was willing to send either of the two,
whom they should choose, to Spain, to be educated
by natives of the country, without having a single
Frenchman about him; 2ndly, that to secure the
States and leave them the barrier for their safety,
he would cede to the elector of Bavaria the heredi-
tary possession of the Low Countries, as Spain pos-
sessed them, and that the Dauphin would renounce
them for ever, for himself and his successors; and,
3rdly, that such treaties should be made for the
security of the trade of the English and Dutch
nations, as might be desired, and to guarantee
them every kind of satisfaction.
When they had concluded, I expressed my sur-
prise at hearing such proposals, upon which they
demanded my reasons, proving that we ought na-
turally to feel jealous of the power of the Emperor,
if the Spanish succession were united, in its whole
extent, to his already vast dominions; and that in
such a case we should have every thing to fear
from him with regard to commerce, both by land
and sea. I accordingly repeated the answer which
your Majesty desired me to make on this subject,
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 329
adding that this was all I had been commissioned
to say. I then requested them to give me in writ-.
ing the proposals which they had just made, with
their reasons at length, as this would probably be
more satisfactory to your Majesty than any thing
I could say, and being unwilling to add any thing
of my own, or make any omissions which your
Majesty would have reason to think, since I felt
sure that such proposals would appear to you as
extraordinary as they did to me. Upon this they
stated all their reasons in support of the proposals,
and such as they conceived would make them
acceptable to your Majesty.
I replied that I had no orders, except to listen to
them, and to report to your Majesty what should be
proposed to me. Nevertheless, since they entered
into arguments upon this affair, I considered it in-
cumbent upon me to tell them my sentiments; that
from the manner in which I believed your Majesty
looked at matters, both in regard to your own in-
terest and that of your kingdom and of the States,
I did not see (considering the state of things in
Europe) that the union of Spain to the Empire was
to be apprehended as much as a union with France,
which is so powerful by sea, and might do much
injury to our commerce; that if the king of France
intended to separate these two monarchies, by send-
ing to Spain a prince who was the brother of him
who was to be king of France, the Emperor might
separate them in the same manner, by sending an
archduke, brother to the future emperor. But this
point was not yet mooted, inasmuch as your
G
330 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV:
Majesty had not declared yourself upon it, and that
it might turn out that the son of the elector of
Bavaria had more right to the crown than any other
person; that it was evident that an archduke,
as king of Spain, would not have more attachment
to the emperor, his brother, than a Duke of Anjou
or Berry would have for his brother, the king of
France, but that it was clear that the electoral
prince of Bavaria could not have any prepossession
for either the one or the other, but would follow his
own interests and those of the monarchy; that to
give to the Elector as a barrier only the Low
Countries, as Spain now possessed them, was in fact
no better than to give him a sieve, and would by no
means be the security which we desired; that, more-
over, I did not see how they proposed a renuncia-
tion of the Dauphin to the Low Countries, in which
we should find no more security than in that made
by the Infanta of Spain (Maria Teresa) at the
time of her marriage, and which the kings of France
and Spain had confirmed in the most solemn
manner possible; and that the Emperor had per-
haps just claims to other kingdoms or countries
under the dominion of Spain. Respecting the trade
and interest of the nations of which your Majesty
made mention, they could not but expect that your
Majesty would take all possible care of them; that
the Mediterranean trade would be absolutely lost
whenever a French king of Spain might think
proper, since he would be master of the Straits and
of all the countries and ports of that sea, assisted or
supported by France. I begged to remind them
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 331
that, in our previous conference on the subject, we
had spoken of Ceuta, Oran, Gibraltar, and other
fortresses at the entrance and within that sea, of
which the English and Dutch ought to be masters ;
and that it was necessary that they should be as-
sured of the commerce of the Spanish possessions
in the West Indies, which was of such great im-
portance, that they could not possibly relinquish it
nor run the risk of losing it.
They said a good deal in reply, which, in fact;
amounted to nothing, and which it would occupy
too much time to repeat: in conclusion, they
affirmed that they could not give me the proposals
in writing without the King's order, but stated
that there was to be a council at two o'clock that
afternoon, at which they would report to his Ma-
jesty all that had transpired; and that as soon as it
was broken up they would inform me of his senti-
ments, and therefore requested me to wait till half-
past three, when they would communicate with
me. It was half-past five before they left the
King; they then came and told me, that from the
tenor of my conversation, of which they had made
a report to the King, his Majesty judged that I
was sufficiently informed upon the subject not to
stand in need of having the proposals in writing;
that these were merely the first ideas of his
Majesty, who would be most happy to hear those
of the king, my master, who must unquestionably
have revolved a matter of this nature and import-
ance often enough in his mind, to be prepared to
deliver his opinion upon it, and to propose what
332
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
would be most agreeable to himself, which they
would be very glad to know in order to decide
what could be done, and what line of conduct
should be pursued in concert, in case of the death
of the king of Spain. I promised to despatch an
express to your Majesty forthwith, to give you an
account of what had passed between us. We then
separated.
I believe that your Majesty cannot avoid saying
something at least of what you wish, but without
omitting any thing, for attempts will assuredly be
made to cut off something; and if one wishes to
come to an accommodation, it is good to have the
advantage. It is more easy to abate of one's de-
mands in the sequel than to increase them. I
know not whether your Majesty would think it
advisable to say something to the ambassadors of
Portugal and Venice, not of the proposal of which
I have just been writing to you, but about what
should be done in case of the death of the king of
Spain, whose life is so precarious, though he is at
present somewhat better. This might, perhaps,
induce the French to make more haste in doing
what your Majesty wishes. The mediation of your
Majesty, which the Turks have solicited to con-
clude peace, and which the ambassador of Venice
has published here, as sent to him from Italy, has
produced a great sensation.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 333
LOUIS XIV. TO COUNT TALLARD.
Versailles, April 3. 1698.
By my letter of the 27th of last month,
I informed you of what I had resolved should be
communicated to the Earl of Portland. He has
been spoken to, conformably to what I stated
to you, and it is necessary that you should be ac-
quainted with the manner in which he replied to
what was communicated to him by my orders.
In the first place, he required that the state-
ment he had just heard should be given him in
writing, under the plea of conveying a more just
and accurate account of it to the king, his master ;
that he might, perhaps, forget a part of the es-
sential matters which had been said to him, and
the arguments by which they were supported, and
that a written paper would supply the defect of
his memory; that it was absolutely necessary to
omit nothing in the account which he was to give
to the king of England, because that prince could
not let him know his sentiments, except from the
knowledge he might have of mine; that he had no
other intentions from the king, his master, than to
manifest his desire to contribute to the preservation
of peace, as far as it shall depend upon him to do
so, always bearing in mind the interests of England
and Holland.
Lord Portland then added, that, being without
instructions, he could only argue as from himself;
334
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV:
that, in his private opinion, it was for the interest
of all Europe that the succession to the Spanish
monarchy should not fall upon one of my grand-
sons; that, whatever precautions might be taken
to make him adopt only the maxims of Spain,-
though he should be placed entirely in the hands
of Spaniards,— though none of my subjects should
be near him,—all these precautions would never
be sufficient to efface the sentiments of his birth,
and the impressions of his early education; that
the world would always look upon my crown and
that of Spain as closely united, and consequently
able to give law to the rest of Europe; that the
principal interest of the English and the Dutch
consists in their commerce; that the greatest mis-
fortune that. could happen to them would be to
see it interrupted; and that it would not be pos-
sible to dispel their fears on that subject if they
should see France and Spain actuated by the same
views, and in a condition to prevent their trade in
the Mediterranean and in the Indies; that nobody
will be able to persuade those two nations that there
is not evident danger for them if one of my grand-
sons should acquire the crown of Spain, and be at
the same time possessor of all the dependencies of
that monarchy; - that with respect to the pro-
posal to cede the Low Countries to the elector of
Bavaria, it would be difficult to give sufficient se-
curities for the validity of that cession in future;
that even if some could be found, which should
pear real and solid, what remains to the king of
Spain in the Netherlands is a very weak barrier,
ap-
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 335
and by no means capable of allaying the appre-
hensions of the Dutch.
He adduced all the arguments that have been
often employed, to contest the justice of the rights
of my son; and as it was shown to him, in the
course of this long conversation, what all Europe
had to fear from the power of the House of
Austria, if the dominions possessed by the two
branches were to be united in the family of the
Emperor alone, by the elevation of the Archduke
to the throne of Spain, he several times repeated
that he did not propose that the Archduke should
obtain this succession; that the electoral prince of
Bavaria had a lawful right to it; that his power
would not be formidable to the rest of Europe;
that there was reason to believe that under his
reign the government of Spain would differ but
little from what it is at present; that the English
and the Dutch would then have nothing to fear
for their commerce in the Mediterranean and the
Indies; that, however, he only spoke his own sen-
timents, not knowing the intentions of the king of
England; that that prince would, perhaps, think
differently, when he should be acquainted with my
intentions.
Lord Portland said, that he had expected, when
he had begged to be put in possession of my sen-
timents respecting the Spanish succession, that
some proposal would have been made to him, which
it would be more easy to agree to; and when he
was urged to say what he thought might come
pretty near to what the king, his master, wished,
336 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
he added, that it would be impossible for him to
speak of it, as he had never known the views of
that prince on the subject; and even if he did
know them, it would be useless to enter into any
discussion upon them; that they are probably very
different from what has been proposed to him on
my part, and that it is impossible to treat, when
the parties are so far from being able to agree upon
a middle course.
In fine, there is reason to judge, from all
the Earl of Portland said, that the king of England
would be inclined to favour the claims of the
electoral prince of Bavaria; that he would, per-
haps, desire to obtain a partition of the West Indies
between England and Holland; that his design is,
to propose nothing: on the contrary, to induce me to
make all advances, and to consider as things already
granted, or of little consequence, all the offers which
he hopes that I may make, and, if possible, to gain
the advantage which a party always has over him
who makes the first overtures.
It is besides certain that this affair, being con-
fided to Lord Portland alone, the king of England
may defer explaining himself as long as he shall
believe that it may be for his interests to conceal
his real designs. It will be enough for his ambas-
sador to say that he is without instructions, that
he expects fresh orders, or to start other difficul-
ties, which he will say he has it not in his power
to remove.
It is, however, very important that I should be
informed as soon as possible of what I may expect
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 337
from the king of England, and though the health
of his Catholic Majesty is at present better, it
is so impaired, that we may always expect the
opening of the Spanish succession to be near at
hand.*
* "The interest of the King (Louis XIV.) was to be in-
formed, as soon as possible, of what he had to expect from En-
gland and Holland. Loss of time in a dubious negotiation
might change the present disposition of the Spaniards, which
if the French ambassador at Madrid neglected to improve, he
was doing more for the Emperor, than the ministers and par-
tisans of the House of Austria, supported by the whole credit
of the Queen, had hitherto been able to compass. Should the
Archduke prevail on the Catholic King, to acknowledge him
as presumptive heir to his dominions, war was inevitable.
Even if all the princes of Europe, accustomed to behold without
alarm the two branches of the House of Austria seated on the
Spanish and imperial thrones, should, with the same unconcern,
see the whole power of Charles V. divided betwixt the Emperor's
two sons; still it would be inconsistent both with the honour
and with the interest of France, to suffer the whole Spanish suc-
cession to be torn from her Sovereign's children to whom it
lawfully belonged. Recourse must therefore be again had to
arms; and the King must forego the pleasure of making his
subjects enjoy the sweets of peace, which during the greatest
part of his reign they had but seldom tasted. Thus his
Majesty would lose the fruits of the treaty of Ryswick, which
may be said to have been hastened, merely with a view of easing
the kingdom, and of rewarding the zeal and inviolable fidelity
of his people; a view which the King preferred to the advan-
tageous prospect with which the present situation of affairs
seemed to flatter him, were he inclined to maintain those pre-
tensions by the sword, which his enemies were no longer able
to dispute. The Earl of Portland pretended to be ignorant of
his master's intentions; and therefore Count Tallard had direc-
tions to press this prince to explain himself."-Memoirs of
Torcy.
VOL. I.
Z
338 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
My intention, therefore, is, that you should make a
direct application to the king of England. You will
ask for a private audience. You will tell him that
I have informed you of all that I directed to be said
to the Earl of Portland; that, as he answered, that
he was not informed of the intentions of that prince,
I have ordered you to apply to himself; that I am
so persuaded of his desire to contribute to the pre-
servation of the peace, and, at the same time, of
the sincerity of the assurances which he has caused
to be given to me on that point, that I have been
very glad to show the confidence which I place in
his sentiments, in opening my views to him re-
specting an event so calculated to disturb the
general tranquillity, as the death of his Catholic
Majesty would be. You will then speak to him
conformably to what I have written to you, and
your principal object must be to induce that
prince to make some proposals to me, however
remote they may be from what is contained in the
memorial which accompanies this letter.
There is reason to believe, that if this prince
enters on the subject with you, he will explain
himself in the same manner as Lord Portland has
spoken; therefore, to conform yourself entirely to
what has been said to that ambassador, you must
insist principally on showing that one of my grand-
sons, educated in Spain, would soon know no other
interest than that of the dominions which would be
subject to him; that not having any Frenchman
about his person, the same government would
always subsist; that Spain would act according to
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 339
her own maxims, independently of any foreign
Crown; that that monarchy would therefore always
form a separate body, and be able to maintain the
same balance between the powers of Europe; that
it would not be the same, if the second son of
the Emperor should obtain the succession; that
it would be an eternal source of war in Europe;
that Spain, which had long been accustomed to
act according to the maxims of the House of Austria,
rather than agreeably to the true interests of
that monarchy, would be entirely subject to the
orders of the Emperor; that it would not be dif-
ficult for him to replace it in a condition to give
him sufficient assistance to increase the Imperial
authority, to have it acknowledged in Italy, to
reduce the princes of Germany, and, perhaps, one
day to give the United Provinces cause for the
apprehensions, which they affect not to feel at pre-
sent, for the designs of the Emperor; that, besides,
the Archduke has no right to the succession in
Spain; and you will always uphold that of my
son as certain, and recognised as such at all times,
even by the Civilians of Spain, supported, perhaps,
in that kingdom by a party sufficiently consider-
able to maintain the rights of the lawful heir.
With respect to the commerce of the West Indies
and of the Mediterranean, you will show that
Spain with a king of her own, educated by the
Spaniards, and the government not changing,
things would remain on the same footing; and you
will avoid, as far as shall be possible for you, any
proposal from the king of England for the cession
z 2
340 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
of the West Indies in favour of the English and
the Dutch. If he should make such a proposal, you
will say that, having no orders from me respecting
a proposal which I could not foresee, you can only
speak as of yourself, that you know that the
Spanish monarchy cannot be separated from the
Indies, and that you will inform me of this new
proposal. I do not prescribe to you the arguments
which you shall make use of to show him how
strong the barrier will be, which I am willing to
grant to the Dutch, by securing to the elector of
Bavaria the sovereignty of the Low Countries, as
his Catholic Majesty now possesses them. You
know the importance and the strength of the for-
tresses which form that barrier; what you must
observe is, to show that my son would make a
donation of this part of the Spanish succession to
the elector of Bavaria, by virtue of the rights per-
taining to my son after the death of his Catholic
Majesty, and not a renunciation of those rights to
the Netherlands in favour of the Elector.
Lord Portland pretended to maintain that that
cession would never be solid, since renunciations
might be reversed, and for this reason it is neces-
sary clearly to distinguish between the right of
ceding a possession already acquired, from the
injustice done to a minor by obliging him to re-
nounce beforehand a possession, in which he may
one day have an interest, and which does not yet
belong to him.
I leave it to your prudence to add such other
arguments as are most calculated to support the
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIv. 341
orders which I give you, and I desire you to act in
such a manner that the king of England may
make some proposal, of which you will undertake
to give me an account.
COUNT TALLARD TO LOUIS XIV.
London, April 3. 1698.
The king of England, of whom I had re-
quested a private audience, let me know that he
should not return before Saturday, and that he
would give me an audience at Kensington on
Monday at eleven o'clock, a. M.
The bill granting a land-tax of three shillings in
the pound was read yesterday for the third time.
It is granted for 1,500,000l. sterling. It is not
believed that it will produce a million, and the city
has advanced 600,000l. on the credit of this tax,
which are already made up. It was, however, the
most solid fund that could be found in this session,
and though it should be levied to the whole
amount, it is not the fifth part of what is wanted
to pay the arrears due, or to cover the expenditure
of the present year.
Your Majesty will see, in the annexed Memorial*
the state of the affairs of this nation: all the funds
set apart for the matters decided upon are stated;
for how much they were set apart and how much
* This memorial is missing, as many others mentioned in
these letters.
z 3
342 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
had been paid up to the 31st December last year;
what has been paid since that time to the 22nd of
March this year, the amount of which is so small,
that your Majesty may form a certain conclusion
of the difficulty of raising the immense remainder,
which is to be required to defray the expense
already incurred, and of that which there will be
in finding funds for what the Parliament may still
grant.
Permit me, Sire, to come now to what con-
cerns the king of England. The revenues of the
sovereign who preceded him were derived from two
sources, — from domains formerly attached to the
crown, and in gifts or donations made to the kings
for their life, by the Parliament, on condition of
their keeping up the navy, and what troops there
were in England, and of paying the civil list, that
is to say, their household and the judges of the
kingdom; the ancient domains are all mortgaged
for an unlimited period, or given to my Lord Port-
land and other persons.
The revenues granted to King James for life
have been cut off. Thus there remains nothing
to the present king but what has just been granted
to him, and the funds from which this is to be
taken are not yet determined upon; that is to say,
700,000l. sterling for life, charged with the civil
list of his household and the annuity of the two
queens.
*
* On December 20, the Commons took the supply into con-
sideration, and resolved, "that in a just sense and acknowledg-
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 343
It is true that the Parliament grants special
funds for the navy and for the troops, but it does
so for one year only; whereas the preceding kings
had these grants once for all; and this reduces
him to the necessity of convoking Parliament every
year, without which he would have no money
either for the navy or the army.
I venture to observe to your Majesty, that if the
troops which still remain on foot are once dis-
banded, and the last effort which the country can
bear is made to find, I do not say money, but
the assignable funds, for the payment of the arrears
due, the king of England may still be reckoned of
much importance, on account of his personal quali-
ties; but his kingdom must be considered as a
country destitute of resources for many years to
come.
Thus, Sire, if your Majesty pleases to do nothing
which may excite jealousy, either by the movement
of your troops, or by declaring your intentions for
the future, till the troops are disbanded, your
Majesty will be in a condition to negotiate much
more advantageously on those points in which you
shall have an interest after that time. The elector
of Bavaria has had an envoy here for some time
past, whose mission may perhaps have reference to
the state of the king of Spain's health. I will
ment of what great things his Majesty has done for these
kingdoms, a sum not exceeding 700,000l. be granted to his
Majesty during his life for the support of the civil list."
Parl. Hist. vol. v.
z 4
:
344 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
inquire whether he usually has an envoy here, or
whether it is something extraordinary.
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
March 28.
Kensington, April 7.
1698.
From my last letter, which I wrote to you.
from Windsor, you will have seen pretty nearly the
conditions on which I conceive the difficult and im-
portant negotiation which you have on hand might
be entered upon; I also added, that, with respect
to the restitution of Dunkirk, I did not think that
France would consent to it; but that you would
soon know this. It will, therefore, be necessary to
devise some other expedient,-demolition, or the
like; but it is absolutely essential to increase the
barrier of the Netherlands, and to have more ex-
tensive frontiers than the present.
With regard to the Mediterranean trade, it will
be requisite to have ports on the coast of Barbary;
for example, Ceuta or Oran, as well as some ports
on the coast of Spain, as Mahon, in the island of
Minorca, which is said to be a very good port;
perhaps we ought to have the whole island, to be
the more sure of the port. We must also have
some ports in the Indies, which I cannot now
specify, not being sufficiently informed of the na-
ture of those countries which the Spaniards pos-
sess; and, to give some satisfaction to the Em-
peror, France must cede to him all that Spain
-
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 345
:
now possesses in Italy. I believe that you will
risk nothing by speaking to the ministers on this
footing as my ideas, giving nothing in writing
since they have refused to do so, at which I am not
at all surprised, though they might easily set down
on paper the three points which they have offered
you without pledging themselves too far.
What I find most difficult in the whole affair is
this, what security should we have with France
that every thing shall be performed according to
promise, since, after the declaration which they have
just made, that the renunciation of the Queen,
mother of the Dauphin, was not in her power, on
what promise or renunciation can we any longer
rely? On this point your arguments have been very
satisfactory, and likewise with respect to the appre-
hension which we must entertain of the aggran-
disement of the Emperor, which is so far from
counterbalancing that of France, that I am asto-
nished they are not ashamed of seriously alleging
such a reason.
...
I have not communicated to any one here ar
thing respecting the proposals which have been
made to you*, but in general conversation with
* It seems, however, to result from a passage of a letter ad-
dressed by Vernon to the Duke of Shrewsbury (March 26. O.S.),
that he was not entirely unacquainted with the overtures which
had been made by the Court of Versailles to the Earl of Port-
land.
"The king of France is thought to grow very uneasy at the
fatigue of business, insomuch that he would be contented to
resign Flanders to the Duke of Bavaria, and the territories in
346 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
many persons on the state of the health of the
king of Spain, I perceive that they are extremely
apprehensive of a war, and that they would be
inclined to come to an accommodation with France,
rather than to engage in a new one, though they
think such an accommodation almost impossible, and
see no security in it. But so great is the present
dread of another war, that it is impossible to form
an opinion of what steps they may be capable of
taking. It is very certain that that which I shall
choose, if choice be in my power, will be inevi-
tably disapproved of and censured. I do not know
whether I shall be able to persuade the House of
Commons to defer for the present disbanding more
troops; but I am secretly labouring to effect it.
From the tenor of the letters I receive from
the Pensionary, I perceive that he is decidedly of
opinion, that if the king of Spain should die at
this time, there is nothing else to be done but to
go to war again, because he believes an accommo-
dation with France to be quite impracticable; and
he has no doubt the Republic would engage in it
without hesitation, and would, in fact, make the
greatest efforts. I wish I could as easily persuade
people here; but what I fear much more is, that
even if they should consent to go to war they will
leave me to succumb for want of assistance, of
which you know I ran too many risks during the
last war. The Pensionary writes me word that
Italy to other people, provided he may secure to himself the
quiet possession of Spain and the Indies."
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 347
Bonrepos had spoken to President Norf about
the necessity of adopting some means to come to
an accommodation in the event of the death of
the king of Spain; he may perhaps have informed
you
of this: it makes me fear that this affair will
soon be known.
It appears to me most important that you should
speak to the ambassador of Portugal, who is now
at Paris, respecting what the king, his master,
could and would do in such a case, and whether he
would enter into some treaty on the subject. With
respect to the Venetian ambassador, I think it
must be done with much precaution, for I always
distrust the Italians.
I should very much wish to send an ordinary
ambassador to France before your departure, but I
fear it will be difficult for many reasons, for every
thing here, as you well know, is done so slowly;
you will therefore be obliged to give him the neces-
sary information here.
I believe that, according to what I have written
to you, the time for your return is drawing near.
I do not know whether this important negotiation
may not detain you some time longer than I
thought; but I assure you that I am more de-
sirous than I can express to have you again with
me. Besides, it is not possible to bear the expense
you are incurring. You know that I told
you, and
even wrote to you, that you might take your au-
dience of leave in due form, some time before your
departure, and then stop awhile without
your offi-
cial character, to see the country, and thus retrench
348
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
your expenses; and I believe that that would not
hinder you from prosecuting this important nego-
tiation.
Count Tallard had his private audience to-day:
nothing passed but reciprocal compliments, with-
out our entering upon any business.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
March 29.
Kensington, April 8.
1698.
I find your thoughts entirely occupied with
the great storm which seems to hang over our
heads by the likelihood of the king of Spain's death.
I think you view the matter in its true light, and
I am quite of your opinion. I only wish I had the
power to efficiently back your hearty sentiments.
As far as I can penetrate into the opinions of most
people here, there seems so great an aversion to
a war at present, that, should France make any
kind of plausible proposals of accommodation, and
I should ask the opinion of Parliament respecting
them, there is no doubt that they will be inclined
to accept them, without considering much the se-
curity of them; so that, in case a war is to be the
upshot of the business, I must take my measures
so as to involve this nation insensibly in it. What
I can do at present is, to augment the squadron I
had destined for the Mediterranean, and hasten its
departure. I am also resolved, besides the ships
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 349
I had destined for the West Indies, to cause those
that are there to remain till further orders: this
will make a considerable squadron. I have also
thoughts of sending four or five regiments to Ja-
maica, under pretence of defending our possessions
in those parts. I hope to find money for it, which
is here always the great stumbling-block. If these
men are once there, you will easily feel that, in
case of necessity, they may make themselves mas-
ters of the Spanish possessions in the West Indies,
without France being able to hinder them. I be-
lieve, also, I shall be able, at least for some time,
to put off any further reduction of troops. This
is the utmost it will be in my power to do in the
present juncture; the rest must be done by the
States and the other allies; at all events, it is cer-
tain the Republic must begin and lead the dance.
If unfortunately the war should break out soon,
we must not flatter ourselves that France will give
us the least time to interpose as mediators or
otherwise, in order to accommodate the claimants;
nor do I believe that they will go a single step
further than they have already proposed to Lord
Portland, which is in entire accordance with Bon-
repos's language. As Palmquist is acquainted with
the affair, the negotiation will not long remain
secret; nor do I believe that France any longer
desires it should. I am of opinion that she will
not only endeavour to amuse us, but by her
offers to blind people, both here and in Holland,
and under some plausible pretext to profit by their
aversion to war, so as to induce them to accept
·
350 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
whatever conditions should be offered, rather than
to come to hostilities. And in regard to this, I
am as apprehensive for the deputies of Amsterdam
as I am for the House of Commons here. It were
to be wished that some measures could be taken in
concert with the northern powers on this occasion;
but I see little probability of it, particularly with
Sweden. I intend, however, to speak with the
ambassador on the subject. We must also see
what is to be expected from Portugal, so greatly
interested in the matter, and so near the scene. It
will be necessary to hasten M. Hop's journey to
Vienna. I am at a loss whom to send thither,
but were Hop there, it would be enough for the
present.
COUNT TALLARD TO LOUIS XIV.
London, April 8. 1698.
The king of England returned from Wind-
sor on Saturday last, as he had informed me that
he should do: he passed the Sunday in his de-
votions, and granted me a private audience yes-
terday morning. I was introduced by the master
of the ceremonies. He received me in his cabinet,
where he had already been for two hours, without
making me wait a moment. After having paid
my respects, according to the terms indicated in
my instructions, I delivered him the letter which
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 351
your Majesty had done me the honour to send him
through me.
When I had finished he again spoke. He enlarged
on the engagements into which he had entered,
which had obliged him to take steps contrary to
the interests of your Majesty; on the pleasure
which he felt at finding himself now in a condition
to manifest the sentiments which he entertained for
you; in fine, Sire, he repeated all that which
your
Majesty knows he has already said on similar occa-
sions, and I find only two points in his conversation
which deserve to be particularly stated to your
Majesty one, that the esteem which he had for
you amounted to admiration, these are his own
words; the other, that he should much regret that
any incident should arise which might impair the
perfectly good understanding which he desires to
preserve with you. Your Majesty will know better
than any body, that this last expression can allude
only to King James, or to the Spanish succession.
As I saw that he did not speak to me of any
affairs, I did not think that I should enter into
discussion in this first audience, especially
any
having seen by the letter, which your Majesty did
me the honour to write to me on the 3d of this
month, and which I did not receive till I was set-
ting out for Kensington, that I should be obliged
shortly to ask him for another audience, at which
I might bring forward all the points respecting
which I should have something to say to him.
There are strong cabals against the Court, both
in the Upper and the Lower House, The Duke ·
352 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
of Leeds, and the Earls of Rochester*, Notting-
ham†, and Peterborough‡ are at the head in the
* The Earl of Rochester was reckoned a man of parts, and
had a good pen, though he did not speak gracefully. When
he entered public life, and rose to high posts, he grew violent,
but was thought incorrupt. He had high notions of govern-
ment, which he thought must be maintained with severity. He
was one of the commissioners of the treasury in the reign of
King Charles II., and afterwards lord president of the council;
but growing weary of a place which procured him neither con-
fidence nor dependence, he was made lord lieutenant of Ireland.
At King James's accession he was made lord treasurer, and was
one of the ecclesiastical commissioners. Soon after, for refusing
to turn Catholic, he lost the white staff.
King William had conceived a prejudice against him, and it
is said that it arose from his having passed through Holland
without waiting upon him. His aversion was confirmed by
Lord Rochester warmly insisting upon the hereditary title of
James to the throne, and vehemently pressing for a regency in
the Convention Parliament. Though he acquiesced in the new
settlement, and was no friend to the late king, Queen Mary, his
niece, was so prejudiced against him at first, that he in vain
endeavoured to recover her favour. But, at last, by means of
Burnet, the queen laid aside her resentment, and by degrees
admitted him into a high measure of favour and confidence.
He was made a privy councillor in 1691.
† Daniel Finch, second Earl of Nottingham, and sixth Earl
of Winchelsea, was the son of the chancellor of Nottingham.
Charles, second Viscount Mordaunt of Avalon, first Earl of
Monmouth, and third Earl of Peterborough. In his youth he had
served in the navy. On the accession of James II. he was one
of the chief speakers in the House of Lords against the repeal
of the test act; and, disliking the proceedings of the court, he got
leave to go over to Holland, intending to accept the command
of a Dutch squadron in the West Indies. On his arrival at the
Hague (1686), "Lord Mordaunt," as relates Burnet, "was the
first of all the English nobility that came over openly to see
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 353
House of Lords; Messrs. Seymour *, Thomas Dick
Grenville, Musgravet, and Foley, who is the
the Prince of Orange; and then he pressed him to undertake the
business of England; and he represented the matter as so easy,
that this appeared too romantical to the prince to build upon it."
When the prince at length undertook the expedition, he was in
that fleet which landed his Highness in England. On the acces-
sion of William and Mary, he was sworn of their privy council,
and made one of the lords of the bed-chamber to his Majesty.
On April 6th, 1689, he was constituted first lord commissioner of
the treasury; and in order that he might attend the coronation
as an earl, he was the day after advanced to the dignity of Earl
of Monmouth. In May, 1694, he was succeeded by Henry
Sydney, as first commissioner of the treasury. In 1697, at the
decease of his uncle, he succeeded to the earldom of Peter-
borough. It is under this name he is better known by the re-
markable services he rendered to his country during the war of
the succession.
* Sir Edward Seymour was a man of high birth, being
the elder branch of the Seymour family, and graceful, bold, and
quick. He was the most assuming Speaker that ever sat in
the chair. He knew the House and every member in it so
well, that by looking about him he could tell the fate of any
question, and accordingly made his arrangements. Though he
had not only violently opposed all King William's measures,
but had reflected on his title and conduct, he was, during the
winter, 1691, brought into the treasury and the cabinet council,
According to Burnet, Sir E. Seymour was a very corrupt man,
and received large sums of money from the King.
† Richard Grenville, of Wotton, who married the daughter
of Sir Peter Temple.
Sir Christopher Musgrave, Knt. "He was," says Burnet,
"a gentleman of noble family in Cumberland, whose life had
been regular and his deportment grave. He had lost a place
in King James's time for though he was always a high Tory,
yet he would not comply with his designs. He had, indeed,
contributed much to increase his revenue, and to offer him
more than he asked; yet he would not go into the taking off
VOL. I.
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354 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
Speaker* are the chief supporters of the party of the
nation in the Lower House. The wishes of the King
·
the tests. Upon the Revolution, the place out of which he had
been turned was given to a man that had a good share of merit
in it. This alienated him from the King; and he, being a man
of good judgment and of great experience, came to be considered
as the head of the party; in which he found his account so
well, that no offers that were made him could ever bring him
over to the King's interests. Upon many critical occasions he
gave up some important points, for which the King found it neces-
sary to pay him very liberally." To this passage of Burnet's Lord
Dartmouth and Speaker Onslow have appended the following
remarks:-"Lord Pelham, who was a lord of the treasury in King
William's time, told me, that to his knowledge he had seven
thousand pounds for settling the King's revenue for life (1698),
and that he carried the money himself in bank bills to the king's
closet for that usage.
Mr. Pope alludes somewhere (in his
Epistle on the use of riches, v. 135.) to Musgrave's having re-
ceived money from the King, and that it was discovered by his
dropping one of the bags as he was coming down the back stairs
at Court. The occasion was the settling of the civil list. The
King desired it might be 700,000l. a year, and the contri-
vance for it was thus: somebody for the Court was to propose
a million, upon which Musgrave was to rise up and exclaim
against the extravagancy of the demand, and the danger of it,
and, after many severe reflections upon the Court, he was to
conclude with saying, 'he dared venture to answer for country
gentlemen, that if the demand had been for a modest and
reasonable sum, it would not have met with any opposition;
that they were not unwilling to support the greatness and
dignity of the crown, and that he thought, for all good purposes
of government, 700,000l. would be sufficient, and hoped no
larger sum would be given into.' This he undertook and did,
and the Court got what they wanted." Burnet, under the year
1705, says, “I have good reason to believe that he had twelve
thousand pounds from the late King at different times."
* Paul Foley, of Stoke-Edith Court, Hereford. At the Re-
volution, he was one of the members of the Parliament Conven-
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 355
are checked, and it is only by his extreme patience,
and by incessantly applying remedies to every-
thing, that he succeeds in a part of what he desires;
never appearing to be hurt at any resolution which
may have been taken, of whatever nature it may
be, causing his creatures to bring forward anew, in
a different form, what has already been refused,
and contenting himself with gaining a part when
he cannot have the whole. But it must be ob-
served that those persons who are opposed to his
will are not opposed to his government; not wish-
ing for commotion, and only desirous of hindering
him from becoming master.
People murmur here at the journey to Holland,
whither it is thought he will go at the end of July.
The natives of that country, who are here, are
insupportable to the English; above all, the Earl
of Portland; and it may be said with truth, that
tion, who argued strenuously for the vacancy of the throne, and
one of the managers at the free conferences with the Lords on
that occasion. On December 26, 1690, he was elected by the
House of Commons one of the commissioners for stating the
public accounts. He was chosen Speaker on March 14, 1695, in
the room of Sir John Trevor, expelled; and in the next Parlia-
ment was again unanimously chosen Speaker, on November 22,
1695. He died in 1699. "Mr. Paul Foley," says Burnet, “ was
a younger son of one who, from small beginnings, had, by iron
works, raised one of the greatest estates that had been in England
in our time. He was a learned, though not a practising, lawyer ;
and was a man of virtue and good principles, but morose and
wilful; and he had the affectation of passing for a great patriot,
by his constant finding fault with the government, and keeping
an ill humour, and a bad opinion of the Court."
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356 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
this nation measures its hatred to them according
to the degree of favour they enjoy, for they begin
no longer to like the Earl of Albemarle. The
health of the king of England appears to be pretty
good, though he has a tumour in one knee, which
sometimes causes a swelling on that side of the
leg, so that when he returns from hunting he is
carried up the steps of the palace.
I had the honour to write to your Majesty in
my last letter, that there was an envoy of the
elector of Bavaria resident here, and that I would
inquire whether it was usual for him to have one;
I have heard that it is not, and that it is only when
some particular business is in agitation that one is
sent; that M. de Simeonis, who at present holds
this office, is the man in whom he has the greatest
confidence, and to whom he is the most attached.
He had yesterday an audience of the King, which
lasted more than three quarters of an hour, and
there is no doubt, from all these circumstances,
that he has come hither by reason of the state of
the king of Spain's health.
Considering the scanty means which the elector
of Bavaria possesses to support, by himself, his
pretensions to the Spanish succession, it is much
to be feared that he may give himself up to the
king of Great Britain, and make a treaty with him,
either for the West Indies, or for the Low Countries.
We must not hope to discover anything on this
point here.
It is through Brussels that your
Majesty must endeavour to become acquainted
with it, for as no person is permitted to participate
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
357
in the secret, it is impossible to learn any thing about
it in this country.
LOUIS XIV. TO COUNT TALLARD.
Marly, April 10. 1698.
Your letters of the 31st of last month, and of
the 3rd instant, inform me of your arrival in Lon-
don, of the attention which the principal people
of the nation have shown you, and of what you
have learned respecting the affairs of the kingdom.
I am very well satisfied with the precise account
which you give me of all these points. Your
account of the debts and revenue of the King shows
me that the English have reduced that prince to
the necessity of taking all his resolutions in con-
cert with the nation, and there is reason to believe
that, exhausted as it seems to be by the late
war, it would be difficult to induce it to engage in
another.
You will discover this better when you have
made a longer stay in London, and yet I shall be
very glad to learn that the troops still on foot are
disbanded. Mine will make no movement which
can occasion any uneasiness.
The elector of Bavaria has not been accustomed
to have an envoy in London. Hence the
Hence the presence
of the one who is now sent, on the part of the
Elector, to the king of England, can have no other
motive than that which you assign to it. It is
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358 LETTERS OF WILLIAM IFI. AND LOUIS XIV.
probable that the bad health of the king of Spain
obliges him to take, if he can, some measures with
the king of England, and I am persuaded that you
will soon acquaint me with the feelings of the
nation on an event so calculated to excite a new
war.
I have learnt by a letter which the Marquis
d'Harcourt * wrote to me on the 19th, from Madrid,
* Ambassador of France to the Court of Spain. He was cre-
ated Duke at the accession of the Duke of Anjou to the Spanish
throne. He had arrived at Madrid at the end of December, 1697.
C'était," says Saint Simon, "un beau et vaste génie d'homme,
un esprit charmant, mais une ambition sans bornes, et quand il
pouvait prendre le montant, une hauteur, un mépris des autres,
une domination insupportable; tous les dehors de la vertu, tout
son langage, mais, au fond, rien ne lui coutait pour arriver à
ses fins; le plus adroit de tous les hommes en ménagements
et en souterrains, et à se concilier l'estime et les vœux publics
sous une écorce d'indifférence, de simplicité. Il savait tout
allier et se rallier. Il était assez supérieur à lui,— même pour
sentir ce qui lui manquait du côté de la guerre, quoiqu'il en
eut des parties, mais les grandes, il n'y atteignait pas; aussi
tourna-t-il court vers le conseil dès qu'il espéra y pouvoir
entrer. Aucun seigneur n'eut le monde et la cour si géné-
ralement pour lui, aucun n'était plus tourné à y faire le
premier personnage, peu ou point de plus capâble à le soutenir;
avec cela beaucoup de hauteur et d'avarice, qui toutefois ne
sont pas des qualités attirantes. Pour la première, il la savait
ménager; mais l'autre se montrait à découvert jusque par la
singulière frugalité de sa table à la cour.
Il mélait avec grace
un air de guerre à un air de cour, d'une façon tout à fait noble
et naturelle. Il était gros, point grand, et d'une laideur par-
ticulière, et qui surprenait, mais avec des yeux si vifs et un
regard si perçant, si haut et pourtant doux, et toute une physi-
onomie qui pétillait d'esprit et de grace, qu'à peine le trouvait-
on laid; naturellement gai et aimant à s'amuser.”
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 359
that the health of the king of Spain was a little
better, but, at the same time, it appears to me
that we must not calculate much on the life of that
prince.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Kensington, April 1-11. 1698.
I find people begin here more and more to fear
the death of the king of Spain, which they consider
as a signal for war. In that case, it appears that
they are resolved to engage in it; but they would
contribute little or nothing except to the navy, and
abandon the care of the war by land to the Re-
public and the other allies. So far from this, I
see no likelihood of inducing the Parliament to give
money sufficient to keep so considerable a body of
troops in the Spanish Netherlands, as I had in the
last war; and without that I see no possibility of
defending them.
Count Tallard has had a private audience of me
to-day, and made the same propositions as Pom-
ponne and Torcy have done to the Earl of Portland.
I told him the affair was of too delicate and im-
portant a nature, to be able to give any answer
to these propositions, or for me to make any, as
he desired, seeing that I and the Republic are in
alliance with the princes interested in the question
of the succession; but that I was willing to enter
A A 4
360
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
into a discussion with him, on the subject, without
coming to any engagement. We had therefore a
very long conversation on this important matter,
and much reasoning on both sides. I gave him to
understand that I foresaw no possibility of accom-
modation, unless at least all the Spanish possessions
in Italy should be ceded to the Emperor, and the
Spanish Netherlands to the elector of Bavaria, not
in the condition they now are, but with a stronger
and greater barrier, which might be discussed here-
after; to us, some ports in the Mediterranean, and
in the West Indies, for the security of the com-
merce of both nations. This is a summary of what
passed in the conversation, of which he will not
fail to make a report; and I have no doubt but he
will speak to me further about it. I think I have
not gone too far; and I have certainly come under
no engagement.
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
Kensington, April 1–11. 1698.
The journey which you have taken to see the
Prince of Vaudémont* is probably the reason why
* "Portland fit un trait au milieu de son séjour qui donna
fort à penser, mais qu'il soutint avec audace sans faire semblant
de s'apercevoir qu'on l'eut même remarqué. Vaudémont passait
des Pays Bas à Milan, sans approcher de la cour. Soit affaires,
soit galanterie pour l'ami intime de son maître, il partit de
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 361
I have received no letters from you since the 2d
of this month. I shall doubtless have some to-
morrow or the day after: however, I think it
necessary to inform you of what passed to-day at
a private audience, for which Count Tallard had
applied. He told me that he had been made ac-
quainted with what has passed between you and
the ministers, and with the proposals which they
had made to you, to prevent a war in the event of
the death of the king of Spain, and that he had
orders to repeat the same proposals to me, not
doubting that you had informed me of them, and
desiring to know my sentiments on the subject. I
replied that I wished for nothing more than the
continuation of peace, and that I should be very
glad to take all possible measures to prevent a war;
that the affair of which he spoke was of too import-
ant and delicate a nature (as there were princes
interested in it, with whom I was in alliance), for
me to offer any suggestion on my part, or reply to
the proposal which had been made to you, and
which was now repeated to myself; but that I was
nevertheless ready to enter into conversation with
him on this momentous question. He then began
by repeating the same things, which I believe the
ministers said to you, and which it is not necessary
for me to repeat. Upon this, I entered into a long
argument, and expressed my conviction that I saw
no appearance of an accommodation, unless all the
Paris et s'en alla à Notre-Dame de Liesse, auprès de Laon, voir
Vaudémont, qui y passait." - Mémoires de Saint-Simon.
362 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
Spanish possessions in Italy, at least, were ceded
to the Emperor, and the Low Countries to the
elector of Bavaria, not in the state in which they
now are, but with a stronger and more extensive
barrier, which might be agreed upon when we
should enter more fully into the subject:- I did
not think fit to mention Dunkirk in this interview,
including it as I did in the barrier, and thinking it
better that you should make the first overture; and
that, with regard to our commerce, some places in
the Mediterranean and in the West Indies were
necessary, without specifying any in particular.
When, at the commencement of our conversation
I said to him, that, in the proposals which had
been made to you, something had been said about
commercial regulations, he replied, that that might
be the case, but that he had not received any com-
munication on this point. I told him that this
surprised me, since I was very sure that you had
made no mistake in your narrative. I did not
conceal from him that I had replied to you in
nearly the same manner as I had spoken to him,
not doubting that, before these letters reach you,
you will have had a conference with the ministers,
of which he will be informed; it would therefore
be of no use to conceal anything from him, since I
see also that they mean to negociate through him;
and though he strongly assured me that secrecy
was desired by France, I find by the letters of the
Pensionary that the matter begins to be known,
Lillieroot having spoken to him about it, and what
Bonrepos has said to Norf will soon make the
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 363
matter still more known, which we cannot prevent
if France will have it so, as I fear, though they
affirm the contrary.
People here begin to be more and more appre-
hensive of the death of the king of Spain, believing
that it would certainly plunge us in war, in which
I very clearly see that, if the case should happen,
they would indeed resolve upon it, but would desire
to contribute only to a naval war, and take very
little part in a war by land, which you know is im-
possible, without losing everything. I am preparing
to go next Monday to Newmarket, and to stay
there ten or twelve days. I do not doubt that
before my departure I shall receive some letters
from you to which I shall reply.
COUNT TALLARD TO LOUIS XIV.
London, April 11, 1698.
The day before yesterday I requested an
dience of the king of England, in obedience to the
written instructions with which your Majesty had
honoured me. He granted it this morning, and I
have just returned from it. I began, Sire, by
telling him that your Majesty had done me the
honour to inform me of what the ill health of the
king of Spain had given you occasion to say to Lord
Portland, but that, the latter having answered that
he spoke only of himself, and that he was ignorant
of the sentiments of the king, his master, your
364 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
Majesty had ordered me to apply to himself, and
to tell him that you were so fully persuaded of the
desire which he entertained to contribute to the
preservation of peace and of the sincerity of the
assurances which he had given you on that point,
that your Majesty was very happy to display to
him on this occasion the confidence which you had
in his sentiments by making some overtures to him
respecting the event most likely to disturb the
general tranquillity, if the king of Spain should
die. I added that I was ready to repeat to him
the last things which M. de Pomponne and M.
de Torcy had said to his ambassador, but that,
as I was persuaded that the latter had had the
honour of giving him an account of them, I would
not trouble him to listen to them a second time,
unless he expressed a wish to the contrary.
He paused a moment after I had finished, to see
whether I would add any thing further; and, as I
remained silent, he said in reply that he believed
that what your Majesty proposed consisted of three
points: namely, to take measures to secure the
sovereignty of the Netherlands to the elector of
Bavaria, to put the remainder of the Spanish
monarchy-into the hands of one of the sons of the
Dauphin, and to conclude a treaty of commerce.
I interrupted him, and said that I was informed
of the first two articles of which he had just
spoken, that the third was unknown to me; that,
however, if Lord Portland had communicated it to
him, I had nothing to say, but that your Majesty
had not written anything to me on that subject.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 365
He replied, that Lord Portland had informed him
of it.
He then proceeded to enlarge on the opinion
most generally received in Europe, that the renun-
ciation of the late Queen was valid; that with
respect to the person who had a right to be the
heir of the king of Spain, this was a point which
would not be decided by advocates and lawyers;
that it was much to be feared that it would be
necessary to have recourse to the sword before it
could be settled; that for his part he desired peace;
that he would contribute to its preservation as far
as depended on himself; that he was old and worn
out; that he should be very glad to enjoy repose ;
that he should be sorry to see war rekindled in
Europe, and especially if he were obliged to act in
opposition to the interests of your Majesty, but that
he could be guided by no other rule than the inte-
rests of the kingdoms which he governed, and
those of the republic, at the head of which he is.
placed, and which has deference to his sentiments ;
that the power of France is alone to be feared. He
added to this a very long discourse, full of affected
digressions, and without much connection, in order
to avoid all explanation of his views.
I had the honour of telling him, in reply, that
the proposals which your Majesty had caused to be
made to Lord Portland all concurred in removing
the jealousy which might be felt of that power of
which he spoke; that the Netherlands, in the
hands of the elector of Bavaria, ought to dispel
all the apprehension which England and Holland
366 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
might entertain of the greatness of your Majesty;
that, this having been done, it seemed much more
natural to dispose of Spain in favour of a prince
who had a legitimate right to it, than in favour of
another; that the proposal which your Majesty
made, that the Dauphin should transfer to one of
the princes, his sons, the right which he has to the
Spanish monarchy, after the death of his Catholic
Majesty, was advantageous to all Europe, because
that to place that prince, at the age of 11 or
12 years, in the hands of the Spaniards, without
any Frenchman about him, would be to make the
Council of Spain master of the government for ten
years; that before the expiration of that time the
young prince would have forgotten that he was born
in France, and that it is but too common for those
of his rank to rise against their masters, even at a
time when they are their subjects; that history is
full of the wars which the dukes of Guienne and
Normandy waged against the kings, their brothers;
that the conduct of the House of Burgundy, with
regard to that of France, from which it sprung, is
another proof that princes follow the interests of
the countries which they govern, without remem-
bering their birth; and that France, having neither
a cabal nor authority at Madrid, would be wholly
separated and without influence over the king who
might reign in Spain; that it would not be the
same with the Archduke; that the Emperor go-
verned every thing at this hour in those countries,
though there was a king of age, who had long
reigned; that it would be still worse if that crown
ل.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 367
:.
were in the hands of one of his children, and the
regency, perhaps, in those of the present Queen ;
that, with respect to the son of the elector
of Bavaria, he never could have any right, but
from the will of Philip IV., and that nothing was
more notorious in Spain than the invalidity of
such documents, there being several instances to
show that no attention was ever paid to them.
In reply, he again referred to the nullity of the
rights of the Dauphin: "at least," said he, "ac-
cording to the opinion of those who have most care-
fully examined the matter," indicating by this that
he was not among the number. He then developed
by a long train of arguments, that, as the death of
the king of Spain had always been considered an
event that might occur at any moment, he would
not conceal that at the beginning of the last war
he had entered into some treaty with the Emperor
on the subject; that I might know that there had
also been one between the Archduchess and that
prince: he then entered into a digression on other
matters. As I thought that it was time to come
to a conclusion, after having given an hour to see
what I might naturally infer from what had been
said, I again spoke, and said, "Sire, if I were speak-
ing to a prince less enlightened and less versed in
the affairs of the world than your Majesty, I should
endeavour to prove the rights of the Dauphin, of
which it seems that your Majesty is not convinced;
but, Sire, you know better than I do that a minor
cannot make a valid renunciation; what might be
said on either side is known to your Majesty; I
368 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
should therefore feel that I was abusing your
patience to no purpose, if I were to speak further
on that point."
I added, that I did not attempt to disguise my
sentiments, and that, having passed my life in a
different employment from that of foreign affairs,
I should have trembled at having to negociate
with him, if I had not believed that all the turn-
ings and windings, which are dignified with the
name of ability in an ambassador, would be of no
avail with him; that I was persuaded that he dis-
regarded words, and attended only to facts, and
that it was under this persuasion that I took the
liberty of telling him frankly that I would never
believe that his real sentiments were to let the son
of the Emperor take possession of all the dominions
which would become vacant by the death of the
king of Spain.
He told me that he would reply in the same
manner in which I had spoken to him, and that he
would tell me, since I was desirous of knowing, that
he believed the elector of Bavaria to be the prince
who would be the most acceptable to all Europe.
I resumed, "What, Sire! Spain, the Indies, Italy,
and the Netherlands, to the son of the elector of
Bavaria!" He repeated what he had said in vague
and diffuse terms, and purposely intricate. I said at
length, "Sire, it is abusing your patience. Have the
goodness to tell me what your Majesty would have
me answer to that which the king, my master, has
ordered me to say." He replied that it was a delicate
matter for an explanation. I rejoined, and assured
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 369
him of the sincerity of your Majesty's sentiments ;
that there was no intention of inducing him to ex-
plain himself, to obtain an advantage over the other
courts; that your Majesty was proceeding with good
faith; that you desired to act in concert with him,
from the esteem which you had for him, and for the
preservation of peace; that he was too enlightened
to think that your Majesty would say more than you
had done, even though you might think of it, till it
was seen from the correspondence on his side; that,
in short, to show the sincerity of your Majesty's in-
tentions, and of the secrecy which should be ob-
served, I would consent that he should disavow
what he might have said to me, if it should happen
to be spread abroad. He replied: Well, Sir, I
will now speak otherwise than I should do to an
ambassador; I open myself to M. de Tallard, and
not to a man bearing an official character. I believe
that it would be proper to give the Netherlands to
the elector of Bavaria, forming of them a reasonable
barrier for the safety of Holland, for what remains
to the Spaniards is not a barrier; to give Spain
and the Indies to a son of the Dauphin; to give a
considerable portion of Italy, which, said he, is,
I believe, Milan and the kingdom of Naples, to the
Archduke; and to make a treaty of commerce, that
England and Holland may not be disturbed, by
giving some places of safety for trade in the Medi-
terranean, and for the security of commerce in the
Indies. He passed very slightly over this last
point, and added, that he had been too long engaged
in business not to have known that he could, if he
VOL. I.
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370 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
would, get rid of the difficulty by telling me that
his ambassador in France was informed of his in-
tentions, but, that he would treat me without re-
serve, and added, smiling, that if it should come to
be known, he would disavow me; for that it was
not to your Majesty's ambassador that he had
spoken, because, said he, jestingly, we decide very
boldly on matters which are not in our own power.
As I had been in his Majesty's cabinet more than
an hour by the clock, I did not think I ought to
enter into longer discussions on the matter, by
making any reply respecting the barrier. I there-
fore contented myself with saying, that, although
what he had done me the honour to say was very
different from the instructions with which your
Majesty had done me the honour to furnish me, I
should not fail to give you an account of it.
As I was about to withdraw, the King said: I
must speak to you in my turn; it is, however,
on a subject on which I prefer speaking through my
ambassador to doing so myself; but I would con-
tinue to speak to you frankly. You know, without
doubt, that Lord Portland has already spoken
to his Most Christian Majesty respecting the re-
moval of King James. I confess that I extremely
desire this point, and that, so long as he shall be
at St. Germains, I do not understand how I can
contract so strict a union as I am disposed to do
with the king your master. I answered, that I
could not dissent from the reasons which he had
for desiring the removal of King James, but at the
same time I saw how impossible it was for your
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 371
Majesty to accede to it; that this must be consi-
dered as a consequence of by-gone misunderstand-
ings; that it must be left to expire of itself; and
that both parties must be contented with not
entering into engagements that might clash with
each other; that this article had been thoroughly
discussed in the conferences between Marshal
Boufflers and the Earl of Portland.
m
He interrupted me by saying that he admitted
this; that he asked nothing by virtue of the treaty
of peace; but that he expected, from your Majesty's
friendship, that you would find it expedient to make
King James leave France; that Avignon, Modena,
Rome, were all the same to him. I replied that I
was convinced of the sentiments which your Majesty
entertained for him, but that I left him to judge
and to examine, if it was possible that your Majesty
could make a king quit his dominions, who was
his cousin-german, and who had come to ask him
for an asylum at a time when your Majesty and
himself had the most opposite interests.
He re-
plied with some warmth, that expedients might be
found for anything when there was an inclination
to do it, and that King James desired to remain
at St. Germains only because it was nearer to
England, and by his manner of speaking, he left
me no room to doubt that the "nearer to England"
alluded to the design of an attempt upon his person.
When he saw that I did not seem to understand
him, and that I did not enter into any discussion,
he assumed a very serious air, and broke off
abruptly.
BB 2
372
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
This Sire, is, to the best of my recollection, the
most essential part of what passed in the audience
which he gave me this morning, and which lasted
more than an hour and a quarter by the clock; and
the inference which I drew, from his manner, his
demeanour, and his designedly obscure language, is,
that he had much difficulty in explaining himself
with reference to the Spanish succession; that, when
he said that the best, and most considerable por-
tions of Italy should be given to the Archduke, and
when he mentioned only Milan and the kingdom
of Naples, I did not think that he had forgotten
Sicily, but that, comprehending it under the name
of "other things less considerable," I thought
that he might have cast his eyes on the port of
Messina as the place of safety, in the Mediterranean,
of which he spoke.
He said nothing which could enable me to judge
of what his wishes were respecting the Indies, for
he twice stopped short at the words Spain and the
Indies to the son of the Dauphin.
LOUIS XIV. TO COUNT TALLARD.
Versailles, April 15. 1698.
It is right that you paid attention to what
the king of England said, in general, of the in-
cidents which might cause some change in the
good understanding which subsists. But I am
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 373
:
persuaded that this language referred rather to the
opening of the Spanish succession, than to the
residence of King James at St. Germains. I
have reason to believe that, if he speaks to you
on the latter point, it will be only at the beginning
of your residence at his Court; and even then that
he will not make any positive demand for the re-
moval of that prince from St. Germains. I know
quite certainly that he has disapproved of the con-
duct of Lord Portland; that he had not given him
any instructions to speak to me about it in an
audience required expressly for that object; that it
was his intention that his ambassador should take
a suitable opportunity to insinuate that, as the safety
of the king, his master, depended on his receiving
this mark of my friendship, he hoped that I would
consent to show it him. You will easily judge
that this circumstance is solely for your own
instruction; it seems necessary to inform you of
it, because it will be always an advantage for
you to know, as far as possible, the intentions of
that prince, and, being aware of his sentiments
on a subject which he seemed to have so much at
heart, it will be still more easy for you to answer,
conformably to the intimation I have given Lord
Portland as to my intentions.
The letters of the Marquis d'Harcourt of the
6th of this month confirm the recovery of the
king of Spain's health; and there is reason to hope
that it may soon be sufficiently restored, to put an
end to the uneasiness which the severity of his
disorder had caused in all Europe.
BB 3
374 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Newmarket, April 6-16. 1698.
I came here last Monday evening to divert
myself for ten or twelve days. You will have seen,
by my preceding letter, what I shall be able to do,
in case of the sudden death of the king of Spain.
I have nothing to add to it. I see Bonrepos is for
dealing with you with much finesse, as is his way,
but Tallard has spoken much more plainly to me,
as I informed you in my last.
last. I do not doubt but
I shall hear further from him on my return to
Kensington, and in a few days from the Earl of
Portland, from whom I yesterday received a letter
dated the 9th, the day after his return from paying
a visit to the prince of Vaudémont on his way
through France: he therefore had not yet seen any
of the ministers, but expected to do so the next
day, so that I look hourly for letters from his Ex-
cellency, though I am quite persuaded that the
French will not explain themselves further, or make
any other propositions than those they have made,
and will not at all relish the conversation I had
with Tallard. Consequently I look upon this ne-
gotiation as nearly at an end. As the affair now
stands, I think it lucky that we have no further
engagement with the Emperor in regard to the
succession; and that it is questionable whether the
Grand Alliance subsists or not; for I am much
afraid that, in case the king of Spain should now
happen to die suddenly, we should be obliged to
come to an accommodation; as I do not see how,
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 375
in our present situation, we should be able soon
to put ourselves in a condition to withstand the
present superiority of the power of France. I am
much pleased with the measures which you think
may and ought now to be taken, and wish they
may be set about; which shall be done as far as
depends on me.
But I think we should be very
cautious about engaging ourselves further with the
Emperor, for he is so much interested in this affair,
that it will always depend upon us to engage our-
selves just so far as the occasion and our interest
shall require; and should we do so beforehand, by
a formal convention or treaty, we should find our
hands so bound as to be obliged to observe it im-
plicitly, without any reference to our situation or
interest at the time.
THE EARL OF PORTLAND TO WILLIAM III.
Paris, April 16. 1698.
After receiving the letter which your Majesty
did me the honour to write to me on the 7th April
while the Court was at Marly, from which it did
not return till Saturday, the Dauphin having sent
for me on Monday to hunt with him at Meudon,
I was not able to speak to the King till yester-
day, Tuesday, when he gave me an audience. As
I had already on Saturday told M. de Pomponne
all that your Majesty had commanded me, and as
I knew that the King was informed of it, I did not
think proper to show any eagerness in this affair.
BB 4
376 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
I began therefore by saying that I was in doubt
whether he wished that I should say any more on
the subject since the king of Spain had entirely re-
covered from his illness. He replied in the affirma-
tive, and said that at all events it was very ne-
cessary to know what we had to trust to, and that,
since he desired to live on terms of friendship and
on a good understanding with your Majesty, it was
necessary to agree with you on all that might hap-
pen, in order to prevent war, which he by no means
wished for. He then told me that his ambassador
had had an audience of your Majesty, and had
spoken to you on the subject. As I had not re-
ceived any letters, this surprised me, not knowing
to what extent your Majesty had explained your
sentiments; but when the King saw that I did not
know any thing of it, he related to me what had
passed, and expressed very great satisfaction at the
manner in which your Majesty had spoken to Count
Tallard, and especially at what you had said to
him. He then entered into details on the subject
of the barrier to the Low Countries, and intimated
that he was not against the extension, but that,
as your Majesty would desire one which was good,
it was also reasonable that he should retain one
which should cover and secure his dominions.
I replied that there was enough for both, and
that France was not in a condition to fear anything,
or to have so much need of a barrier as the Nether-
lands. With respect to the Emperor, he agreed that
it was right that your Majesty should take care
that he should be reasonably dealt with in Italy;
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 377
and then he spoke of the interests of England and
Holland, and of the security of their commerce.
I
took the liberty of telling him my sentiments quite
plainly, as I had spoken to the ministers, and par-
ticularly respecting places in the Mediterranean
and the Indies, which I said those two nations
would be unwilling to renounce in favour of
France.
In reply, he said, that wishing to see his grand-
son settled in Spain, it must be in such a manner
that he could maintain himself there, and asked:
what the king of Spain would be without the
Indies? I answered that they were of very great
extent, and that, if they were divided, there would
perhaps be sufficient for both parties, at once for
the support of Spain on the one hand, and on the
other for the security of the commerce of the two
nations. To this he did not say much in reply
then, speaking of the safety of our commerce, he
replied to what I had said to his ministers, that
the island of Minorca had Port Mahon, which was
a very good port, and that Oran and Ceuta, though
not very good places, were nevertheless strong
enough against the enemies which they had to
fear, and that it was known that they had often
withstood the sieges of the Moors, as well as Gib-
raltar, in spite of their being very badly defended.
I said that that place was in Spain, at the entrance
of the Straits, and that I did not know if the
three latter places had ports capable of containing
ships, which was what we most wanted.
I afterwards told him that this affair required
378 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV:
secrecy, and that your Majesty was incapable of
forsaking those who had so long been your allies,
so soon as peace was made; that his Majesty,
who did not wish to inspire them with any jealousy,
could not condemn these sentiments.
I then told him that the proposals which had been
made to me had been known from the beginning,
and that your Majesty had seen the letters which
foreign ministers had already written about them
to Holland and to England. He said that he
commended the sentiments of your Majesty; that
he should trust so much the more to your word;
and that as for the secret, he was sorry it had been
so ill kept; that he should express his displeasure,
in order to prevent it for the future; but that he
believed that the foreign ministers had guessed,
when they learnt the illness of the king of Spain,
and had judged that it was the only means to be
adopted for preventing a war in future. He then
again mentioned the satisfaction which he felt at
the manner in which your Majesty had spoken to
his ambassador, of which the latter had informed
him.
I told him that, as I had only spoken my private
sentiments from the knowledge which I had of
those of your Majesty, I would ask whether it was
his pleasure that I should have the honour of
speaking to him after I had received your Majesty's
orders. He replied most courteously in the affirm-
ative.
Soon after dinner I received your Majesty's
letters; I went to M. de Pomponne and M. de Torcy,
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 379
to tell them what had passed at my audience, and
begged them to let me know when the King, who
was gone out shooting, would wish me to return.
This they promised to do, and I await their reply.
I shall not fail to speak to them of Dunkirk;
but I think that your Majesty will judge it ne-
cessary to speak of it to Count Tallard, as well
as of the Indies, and the towns in the Mediter-
ranean, in order that they may not believe that I
make matters more difficult, and fancy that these
demands, issuing from my own head, require
less attention, for I am obliged to tell your Majesty
that people here are much inclined to do this,
making civil speeches, and wanting to make me
pass for a much more enlightened and clear-sighted
man than I am.
COUNT TALLARD TO LOUIS XIV.
London, April 16. 1698.
Last Monday a person sent me word that he
had a letter to deliver to me which had been given
him under the seal of confession. I hesitated a
moment to receive it, pretty well guessing what
might be its contents; but at length I said that
he might give it me; and it was my impression that
I ought to read it, for the reasons which I shall
have the honour to state to your Majesty when I
have related the fact. The person to whom it was
entrusted, entered my room and delivered it to me.
380 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
The subjoined copy of the said letter will show
your Majesty what is the matter in question.
The bearer, whom I interrogated, told me that
he did not know the contents of the letter; in fine,
not thinking it proper to have him arrested, because
he could always clear himself by saying that he
did not know the import of the letter of which he
was the bearer, and, feeling that if he did not leave
my house, his accomplices, if he had any, would
escape, I contented myself with telling him that
he was a wretch, and forbad him ever again to
appear before me, or to come near my house.
However, five reasons made me determine on
sending it to the king of England, who had set
out for Newmarket. I therefore inclosed it, with
a note to Mr. Vernon, requesting him to forward
it. Your Majesty will likewise find annexed, a
copy of my letter, and I have only the honour
of informing you of what induced me i take this
step.
In the first place, to execute your orders, which
are to persuade the king of England of the sincerity
of your intentions towards him.
Secondly, the horror which must be felt at such
proposals.
Thirdly, because it might be a trap; for the con-
clusion of the letter, where this man asks me
for an explanation, is of this nature.
Fourthly, because the king of England, having
entered, as he begins to do, on the subject of the
Spanish succession, your Majesty is interested in its
preservation; for when you are both agreed on the
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 381
partition of the dominions of his Catholic Majesty,
and when England, which governs the elector of
Bavaria, and the friends whom he has in Germany,
shall join the power of your Majesty, to support
the treaty which you shall make, the execution is
indubitable, and the Emperor can no longer oppose
it. Thus your Majesty, without again having
recourse to arms, will see the happy termination
of the only affair which can disturb the tranquillity
of your subjects, and of all Europe, and this, with
making one of your grandsons king of Spain, and
adding perhaps Luxemburg and Lorraine to your
dominions, — the most desirable events which can
happen. The first article is certain, the other is
not impossible.
The fifth and last reason is, that by the steps
which I have taken, I prove that all the enterprises
which may be formed in this country, cannot in
any manner be attributed to France; that if I
received this letter, it was that having already two
or three times seen persons hovering about me,
with the evident desire of speaking to me, I believed
it to be for your Majesty's service to prove to the
king of England, by deed, that he ought not to
mistrust us.
Yesterday Lord Romney* came to see me on
the part of his Majesty, and to give me all sorts of
* Henry Sydney, younger son of Robert, Earl of Leicester,
and younger brother of Algernon Sydney, was created Baron
of Milton, and Viscount Sydney, 1689; and Earl of Romney,
1694.
382 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
thanks. I told him that the king, his master, was
by no means obliged to me for having done my
duty in executing the orders of your Majesty:
that when I should have the honour of seeing him,
I would tell him how the letter, which I had sent
him, had been delivered to me; and, that I would
give him all the information which might assist
him in discovering who had written it; that I
was sorry that such an idea should come into the
head of a Frenchman, but that the kingdom was
so large, that it was impossible there should not
be some madmen in it.
I have ascertained that he who delivered this
letter to me is d' Ovilliers, a Carmelite friar of the
Rue des Billettes.* I think, Sire, that I ought to
denounce him to the king of England, and I shall
do so, for the more Frenchmen are implicated in
the affair, the more, it seems to me, ought those
who have the honour to be here as your Majesty's
representatives to manifest integrity in their pro-
ceedings.
If your Majesty will have the goodness to inquire
what captain was cashiered during the siege of
Namur, for having been at Paris instead of
being in the fortress, your Majesty would do an
* "I have found out the Carmelite friar. He is, I am told,
of a good family, son of the Marquis d'Ovilliers, and after
having lived in great debauchery, he threw himself among the
Carmes-déchaussés about ten years since, and he has been near
two years in England. I have signed a warrant for taking
him up this night."—Mr. Vernon to the Duke of Shrewsbury.
April 9. (O. S.)
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 383
act for which much obligation would be felt here.
It seems to me that I have formerly heard this
story related of a captain of a regiment of infantry,
who at that time bore the name of Maulevrier.
On Sunday last a rifle-barrelled pistol, loaded
with balls, was found in St. James's Chapel, after
the king of England had left, and it was observed
that there had been two strange-looking men pre-
sent who, contrary to the usual custom, had seated
themselves among the ladies.
(ENCLOSURE.)
TO COUNT TALLARD.
Sir,
A French captain, who has had the misfortune to be de-
tained a prisoner for two years in this country, takes the liberty
of informing you of the motives which have led him hither, in
order that if you think him capable of doing some service to
the King, you will have the goodness to employ him. He begs
you to read what follows in private, and to excuse him for not
having affixed his name. Having been ill at Paris before the
siege at Namur, where his company was, and not being yet
well enough when the news of the siege arrived to take a
journey to Flanders, in order to endeavour to enter the town,
he wrote three letters to Monseigneur de Barbesieux*, in which
he solicited him to have the goodness to give him employment
in any other corps, and in any place whatever, provided that he
might hope to find an opportunity of sacrificing his life in the
King's service. But not having received any answer, he de-
termined to come to this country, to strike at the chief personage;
resolved to shed his blood in order to procure peace for all
Europe. He was detained, however, till peace was made, and
feared that he should do an ill service to the King by executing
war.
*The Marquis of Barbesieux, son of Louvois, secretary at
384 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
his designs. He begs you to be pleased to employ him if he
can be useful, to let him know what he is to do, to be pleased to
keep the secret, and to believe, &c., &c.
COUNT TALLARD TO THE KING OF ENGLAND.
Sire,
I send your Majesty a letter which was put into my hands
half an hour ago.
I am full of horror at the wretch who believes that war can
authorise the detestable action which he has a desire to perform,
and who doubts whether peace should dispel these abominable
sentiments.
I lose not a moment in transmitting this letter to Mr. Vernon
to be forwarded to your Majesty.
I know too well the injury I should do myself with the king,
my master, were I to defer one moment fulfilling my duty on
this head, and I venture to flatter myself that your Majesty
thinks well enough of me not to doubt of my sentiments.
I hope that the indication which the writer gives of having
been a prisoner here may lead to the means of finding him out.
No man in existence desires more ardently than myself the
continuance of a life so precious as that of your Majesty. I am,
&c., &c.
LOUIS XIV. TO COUNT TALLARD.
Versailles, April 17. 1698.
Sir,
I have received your letter of the 11th of this
month. You could not make a better beginning
towards the execution of my orders than by in-
ducing the king of England to enter into ex-
planations with you so freely as he has done re-
specting what he believes may ensure the peace of
Europe, in the event of the death of the king of
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 385
Spain. His answer is, indeed, very far from the
project which I sent to you, but it is not im-
possible to find a medium between my sentiments
and those of that prince, and to form, on that
foundation, a certain plan of what should be done,
in case of such an event, to preserve the peace.
He has considered what you said to him as a
first proposal, and I look upon his answer to you
in the same light. We must therefore examine
whether expedients cannot be found to reconcile
the difference of my sentiments and those of the
king of England. It is certain that every expedient
which will be proposed will be to the prejudice of
the legitimate rights of my son, and of the princes his
children; that consequently, all that I shall give up
will be purely the effect of my desire to remove from
Europe every cause of jealousy, and to secure its
tranquillity. I am, however, ready to reply to the
two proposals which the king of England has
made to you.
The first was to raise the electoral
prince of Bavaria to the throne of Spain; the
second to place one of my grandsons upon it,
partitioning the monarchy.
You will inform the king of England that you
have communicated these two proposals to me;
that he may see, from the overtures which I have
made to him, that I sincerely desire to preserve
peace, and that it had seemed to me that no more
certain means could be proposed than to abandon,
as I offered to do, all the pretensions which my
son had a right to make to the Spanish succession;
that one of the princes, his sons, educated by
VOL. I.
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386 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
Spaniards alone, and at an age susceptible of all
the maxims which they chose to instil into him,
ought not to give any umbrage to the rest of
Europe; that the Spanish government would not
be changed, and that, in doing justice to the
legitimate heir, that monarchy would always be
guided by the same interest and the same maxims
which it has hitherto followed; still, that I have
not come to so firm a determination upon the
first project which I have formed, as to hinder me
from examining those which he has communicated
to you; that with regard to this first proposal,
he may easily understand that it would not be just
to ask from me, in favour of the electoral prince of
Bavaria, what I would do for one of my grandsons;
and, that if my son, solely with a view to the good
of Europe, transferred to the Electoral Prince his
right to the kingdom of Spain and the other parts
of that monarchy, he would justly claim to retain
at least some portion of that succession; that thus
I am ready to propose an alternative, agreeably
to the project of the king of England, to leave
to that prince the choice of the proposal which he
shall think the most conformable to the designs
which both he and I entertain, to preserve the ge-
neral peace, and to secure its continuance by a
conditional treaty with him, which shall come into
operation only on the demise of his Catholic Majesty.
The first part of this alternative would be to
cede to the Electoral Prince, Spain, the Indies,
the Low Countries, the islands of Majorca and
Minorca, Sardinia, the Philippines, and the other
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 387
countries and places at present dependent on that
monarchy, with the exception of the kingdom of
Naples and Sicily, and the duchy of Luxemburg,
which my son would retain as a compensation for
the rights which belong to him; and, since the king
of England would wish, as it appears, that the
Emperor should also have some share in this
succession, it might be agreed to give the duchy
of Milan to the Archduke.
The second part of the alternative would be to
give to one of my grandsons all that now belongs
to the Spanish monarchy, which is not compre-
hended in the following exceptions, viz: for the
Electoral Prince, the Low Countries, as they are
now possessed by his Catholic Majesty; for the
Archduke, the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, and
the places on the coast of Tuscany; lastly, Milan
for the duke of Savoy.
According to the second part of the alternative,
the Spanish monarchy would be divided among
the legitimate heirs and those who are called to
the succession by the will of Philip IV.
It is easy to foresee the principal objection which
the king of England may make to this project.
He will say to the first part of the alternative that
the Dutch, who already complain that their barrier
is too weak in the Netherlands, would be still more
alarmed if the duchy of Luxemburg were united
to my crown; that the interest of that republic
being one of the rules which he must follow, he
cannot agree to a project which he believes to be
so opposed to it.
i
cc 2
388 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
You may reply to this objection, that the
Netherlands, being retained by the electoral prince
of Bavaria, rould be in the hands of a powerful
prince if he became king of Spain; that in that case,
it would be very important to me to secure the
frontier of my kingdom; that this would be the only
use which I should make of the duchy of Luxem-
burg; and lastly, that it must not seem surprising
that I ask it for the safety of the provinces of my
kingdom, when I sacrifice to that of Europe so
many considerable advantages belonging to my
children.
With respect to the kingdom of Naples and
Sicily, the king of England will object, that the
fortresses of those countries, if in my hands, will
make me master of the commerce of the Mediter-
ranean. In this case you may intimate to him, as
of yourself, that it would be so difficult to maintain
those kingdoms in union with my crown, that the
necessary expenses of sending succours to them
would be so great, and that formerly it had cost
France so much to keep them in obedience, that
I should very probably appoint a king to govern
them, and that perhaps they might be the portion
of one of my grandsons, who would choose to reign
independently. But you will say nothing positive
on this subject, as if you had received my instruc-
tions. Lastly, if the answers which you shall make
to the objections of the king of England do not
satisfy him, he will be at liberty to prefer the second
part of the alternative to the first.
According to what that prince said to you, one
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 389
of the principal difficulties will be on the exten-
sion of the barrier to the Netherlands, which he
demands. I cannot accede to it in any way what-
soever. You will therefore declare on this subject,
that it is also for my interest, and for the safety of
the frontiers of my kingdom, to have a barrier;
that I cannot cede any of the fortresses which I
possess, without breaking the barrier which I now
have; that not only are the fortresses of his Ca-
tholic Majesty in the Netherlands very strong and
very good, but the country may even be said to
be naturally fortified by the rivers and canals by
which it is traversed; that the barrier, such as it
is at present, appeared sufficient to the States
General, since it was by the treaty of Nimeguen
that it was agreed upon; that, far from having
been weakened since that treaty, the fortresses of
Namur and Mons have been considerably aug-
mented; that the late treaty of Ryswick has con-
firmed what was done at Nimeguen in this respect,
and that on these two occasions the Dutch have
found the barrier sufficient; that it may be easily
judged, by what I do to secure the repose of
Europe, that it will never be my intention to dis-
turb the elector of Bavaria in the possession of
the Netherlands, if he should ever obtain them,
but that, even if affairs should change, the support
of England and Holland will always give him suf-
ficient succour to maintain his ground, and that it
is essential to the interests of my kingdom to have
at all times a barrier on the side of the Nether-
C c 3
390 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
lands. In fine, I repeat to you that I cannot listen
to any proposal in regard to this article.
The second demand, of which the king of
England has already spoken, is that respecting the
security of the commerce in the Mediterranean,
and does not mention that of the Indies, for he
touched so slightly upon it, as you state in your
letter that it is better not to refer to it.
If this prince would be content with treaties for
the security of the trade in the Mediterranean, all
the assurances which he should himself deem ne-
cessary on this subject might be given him, and I
would engage to take such steps as he should
judge advisable to induce the Spaniards to renew
those treaties which they may already have with
England; I will also consent to make new ones for
the benefit of commerce. But if the treaties are
not sufficient for him, and he demands places of
safety in the Mediterranean, you will show him
that it must seem extraordinary that England,
which does not pretend to any right to the Spanish
succession, should desire to have a share of the
states dependent on that monarchy. If, however,
he persists in this demand, you must ascertain
what are the places which he desires for the
security of the commerce of the English and Dutch
in the Mediterranean, and if he reduces his
demand only to the places situated on the coast of
Africa, without requiring any of those which are
on the continent of Spain, I would consent to pro-
mise them.
With respect to the Indies, as he has not yet
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 391
spoken positively on that subject, I presume that
he already foresees the opposition which I should
make; and the only instructions which I have to give
you on this article is, to let him know, if he speaks
to you about it, that I have not informed you of
my intentions, but that it is easy to comprehend
that the kingdom of Spain, stript of the Indies,
would be too inconsiderable, and that the king of
Spain could never call himself master of that part
of the new world, if he shared it in any way with
the English and the Dutch. If the king of Eng-
land does not speak to you on this article, you
will also observe silence respecting it.
It is not my intention to insist strongly on what
I have placed in the second part of the alternative,
respecting the cession of Milan to the duke of
Savoy. I would consent, if this were the only
difficulty likely to prevent the acceptance of the
other articles, to cede also the state of Milan to the
Archduke, but this overture must not be made till
the negotiation is more advanced; and you will
inform the king of England, that, as the Emperor
has for some time past manifested the designs
which he is forming in Italy, it seems to me that
nothing would be more calculated to promote their
success than to give to his son all the states which
the king of Spain possesses in Italy; that in this
view I believe that the only means to frustrate these
designs will be, to oppose to him a prince whose
power may counterbalance that of the Emperor ;
and that this can be done only by rendering that
of the duke of Savoy more considerable; that,
C c 4
392 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
however, you will give me an account of the dif-
ferent views which the king of England may enter-
tain on this subject.
Lastly, if that prince requires that I should
assure him that, in no case whatever, the Spanish
monarchy shall ever be united to my crown, you
will tell him that I have not given you any posi-
tive instructions on this subject; that, nevertheless,
you are persuaded that I shall readily give this
assurance, provided the Emperor gives a similar
one that the states of Italy, which will be given to
the Archduke, shall never be united to the Imperial
crown.
The king of England has communicated to Lord
Portland everything that passed in your audi-
ence, and that ambassador has asked an audience
of me, to know my intention respecting the pro-
posals of the King his master. I shall give it him to-
morrow, and shall speak conformably to what I
write to you on the alternative. I shall tell him
that I have given you instructions to inform the
king of England of it, and it appears to me much
more to the purpose that the negotiation should
be carried on between that prince and you. It is
with this view that, before giving him an audience,
I thought fit to despatch a courier to you. I see,
by the result, that the king of England explains his
sentiments much more fully when he is himself
addressed, than through his ambassador.
I approve of the reply you made regarding the
uneasiness which the king of England expressed to
you on the subject of King James's residence at
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 393
St. Germains. Even supposing that prince to have
designs, which he has not, it is much more easy for
me to counteract them when he is near me, than if
he were at a distance. Should the king of England
again speak with you upon this subject, you will
answer him as you have already done, and will
inform me of what he has said to you.
/
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
10
20
Newmarket, April, 1698.
Three days ago I received your letters of the
16th, which I have not answered before, thinking
that I should have others of a later date, after you
had been at Court and had spoken to the minis-
ters; but not having received any, though I expect
them every moment, I will no longer delay writing
to you. With regard to the important affair, I
have nothing at present to add to what I have
stated in my preceding letters, and must wait to
hear what has been said to you. Probably, on my
return to Kensington, Count Tallard will not fail
to speak to me on the subject.
I shall, doubtless, learn from your first letter the
time which you will have fixed to obtain your au-
dience of leave, and I assure you that it is impossible
to be more impatient than I am for your return. I
have not enjoyed myself in the least since I came
here the weather has been bad, and I have not
394 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
been very well, having lost my appetite, and being
very feeble.
THE EARL OF PORTLAND TO WILLIAM III.
Paris, April 20. 1698.
I went to Versailles the day before yesterday,
in the morning, to attend the King's levee. I had
my audience as soon as he entered his cabinet,
and I told him that I had received letters from
your Majesty, informing me of what had passed
with Count Tallard, and what your Majesty had
ordered me to say. Upon this the King replied,
that, having considered what your Majesty had
said to his ambassador, he had already sent him
instructions in what manner he should answer,
and what his Majesty proposed; that his design
was to go thoroughly with me into the subject,
and his wish that I should write about it to your
Majesty. He then drew a paper from his pocket,
of which I send your Majesty a copy. * He read it,
and told me that it was the same as that which he
had sent to Count Tallard: that, as I had said that
proposals from your Majesty could hardly be ex-
pected, since it was a delicate matter, I could not
-
* This copy has not been found among the Portland papers,
but we are able to supply the deficiency by a document, which,
if it be not the original (which is a matter of doubt), is at all
events of precisely the same import.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 395
expect that he would give me any, since he spoke to
me as a private individual, and as your Majesty had
spoken to his ambassador, and in order that I might
fix it in my recollection, he would read it to me a
second time. I observed to the King that, in both
the alternatives, the interests, both of England and
Holland, were forgotten, and that no mention was
made of commerce or of its safety. He said that
his meaning was, that the parties should agree and
make treaties on that subject. I said that, besides
the treaties, prudence required us to demand some-
thing that would give us more security for future
times than mere documents; that there were places
in the Indies as well as in the Mediterranean which
would suit the English and Dutch, and which might
serve for that purpose. His Majesty answered, that,
as we had no right, which we were called upon to
renounce, we had no legal claim as others had; that,
however, they would listen to what your Majesty
should think fit to demand. I said that I had had
the honour to tell him before, in part, what I knew
of a certainty to be the sentiments of your Majesty.
I also spoke to him of the insufficiency of the
barrier to the Low Countries; that your Majesty
had expected that it would be replaced nearly on the
same footing as by the peace of the Pyrenees, and
that, for the interests of England, it was necessary
to restore Dunkirk. This latter point was listened
to with some surprise. After this the King gave
the memoir to the Marquis de Torcy, who was
at the other end of the cabinet, and told him
that he might read the paper to me at his lei-
396 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
sure, in order that I might recollect all that it
contained.
I then asked the King if his orders were likely to
detain me much longer here, since his ambassador
was with your Majesty, and on a footing with which
he appeared to be satisfied, and that he could com-
municate the sentiments of his Majesty to the king,
my master, and forward or conclude the business
that had been begun; and that, unless he desired
to detain me longer, I should apply to your Majesty
for permission to return to England, where my
duty and private affairs required my presence;
but that I should always be ready to postpone this
last consideration to his good pleasure and to his
orders. His Majesty replied in the most obliging
manner that your Majesty could never send him
a person in whom he had more confidence or who
could be more agreeable to him; that he wished I
could stop longer; and that there had never been
an ambassador for whom he had a greater personal
esteem; and many other obliging expressions, which
I cannot venture to repeat. In the whole conver-
sation, which lasted above half an hour, he did me
the honour to speak to me as a private individual,
with an obliging freedom and familiarity, often
laughing, and quite throwing aside the gravity
which is usual on such occasions. He concluded
by saying that matters being in such a train, he
would not wish that the service of your Majesty
should suffer by my prolonged absence, nor that
I should prejudice my private affairs; that, there-
fore, I might ask your Majesty's permission to
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 397
return, if I thought it necessary, as it was his wish,
that I should be fully persuaded of his sentiments
towards me, which he again repeated in terms more
obliging than even before. Having thanked him
with all possible gratitude, I withdrew, and went
home with MM. de Pomponne and De Torcy, who
read the memoir over to me, and which I wrote
down word for word while M. de Torcy was read-
ing it.
As far as I can judge, they expect that your
Majesty shall ask what concerns the interests of
England and Holland; for in my preceding
audiences the King entered into the particulars of
the interests of the two nations, after I had
told him, and it was agreed, that your Majesty
could not desist from it in any manner. I
shall wait for your Majesty's orders for the time
of my return. I told the King that, if he would
permit, I should remain here a few days in order
to view the environs of Paris at leisure, after I
had had my audience of leave, which his Majesty
approved, telling me that, as long as I should be
here, he would always speak to me with the same
confidence as heretofore, and that I might tell him
the sentiments of your Majesty as I was then
doing.
When I had finished at Versailles I went with
the Marquis de Torcy to the rendezvous, and after
the chase I supped with the Dauphin at Meudon,
and then returned to Paris.
On my arrival here M. le Grand sent me word
that he had heard that I intended to give some
398
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
horses to the King, and, that if such were the case,
he begged that the affair might pass through his
hands. I answered him that I had not the in-
tention of doing so, nor the presumption of making
him a present, and that I would not expose myself
to the suspicion of seeking a larger present in
return; that if he wished to accept one of my horses
for the King I should be much honoured and very
glad; and that he might mount them all to try
them. This he did, and took one, which he presented
to the King. In return, he has given me, from the
King's stud, a barb, of which the Algerines made
him a present, and which seems to me to be good.
He is handsome, tall, young, one of the strongest
I ever had, and excellent for breeding.
MEMORANDUM.
Although the reply which the king of England
has made to Count Tallard is very different
from the proposal which was sent to him by his
Majesty, it may nevertheless be regarded as the first
basis of a treaty, and we may examine what is suit-
able to the interests of his Majesty to reconcile his
proposal with that of the king of England.
In the first place, the extension of the barrier
cannot be admitted under any consideration what-
ever.
Secondly, it is for the interest of France, and of
the rest of Europe, to hinder the English and
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 399
the Dutch from becoming the sole masters of the
commerce of the Indies, as would soon be the
case if they obtained the places which they demand
in the new world.
Thirdly, it seems, that for the security of the
commerce of the Mediterranean, we might examine
what places the king of England would require.
Laying down these three articles as a basis, the
King might order Count Tallard to follow the
views of the king of England to answer him con-
formably to what he has proposed.
He has mentioned, first of all, the electoral
prince of Bavaria as successor to the king of
Spain; and, in the second proposal, he has proposed
one of the sons of the Dauphin, partitioning the
monarchy.
Count Tallard might therefore say to the
king of England, that as the King has no other
desire than that of maintaining the peace of
Europe, and gives sufficient proof of it, by the
overture which his Majesty has made to that
prince, on the subject of the Spanish succession,
he is willing to continue to examine, with him,
what may be done for the preservation of the
general tranquillity, and even to secure it by an
eventual treaty with the king of England, in order
that it may not be interrupted in the event of the
demise of his Catholic Majesty; that though the
right incontestably belongs to the Dauphin, and
though no greater proof of moderation can be
asked than to transfer it to one of the princes, his
sons, his Majesty is, nevertheless, willing to enter
400
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
into the discussion of the two proposals of which
the king of England has spoken.
With respect to the first, it would not be just
that the electoral prince of Bavaria, whose right
is second to that of the princes of France, should
obtain the whole succession, to the prejudice of
the lawful heirs. If, however, it be thought
that the peace of Europe would be more easily
preserved by raising him to the Spanish throne,
his Majesty might consent, upon the following
conditions: that Spain, the Indies, the Low
Countries, the islands of Majorca and Minorca,
Sardinia, and the Philippines, should remain united
to the kingdom of Spain; that the kingdoms of
Naples and Sicily and the duchy of Luxemburg
should be separated from it and ceded to his Ma-
jesty; and that the duchy of Milan should be
assigned to the Archduke.
With respect to the second proposal, the whole
of the kingdom of Spain and the Indies would be
given to one of the sons of the Dauphin, with the
islands of Majorca and Minorca, the kingdom of
Sardinia and the Philippines; the Low Countries,
as now possessed by his Catholic Majesty, to the
electoral prince of Bavaria; the kingdoms of Naples
and Sicily and the towns on the coast of Tuscany
to the Archduke; and Milan to the duke of Savoy.
In this manner the whole Spanish monarchy would
be divided between the lawful heirs, and those
who are instituted heirs by the will of Philip IV.
And, to give to the English and Dutch places
of security for the trade of the Mediterranean, the
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 401
towns on the coast of Africa might be assigned to
them.
The King's letter will state more fully the just
reasons which hinder his Majesty from consenting
to the extension of the barrier on the side of the
Netherlands, and for giving places of security in
the Indies.
It may be further added, that if the king of
England requires an assurance that the Spanish
monarchy shall never be united to the crown of
France, Count Tallard may say that he is per-
suaded that his Majesty will be easily induced
to give such an assurance, provided that a similar
one be given that the states of Italy possessed
by the Archduke shall never be united to the
Imperial crown.
We might also desist from the demand of
Milan for the duke of Savoy, and consent that
that state should be given to the Archduke.
THE EARL OF PORTLAND TO MR. VERNON.
Paris, April 21. 1698.
Sir,
The person whom I send to you came to me
yesterday morning, and desired to speak with me
in private. He told me that he had a disclosure
to make which was of the greatest importance
to the king, my master.* After what has already
* The name of this man was Davis, and the disclosures he
promised to make were probably only a pretext for extorting
VOL. I.
DD
402 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
passed, and what I have written to you, you
may easily imagine that it was not difficult for me
to guess of what nature the subject was, and my
impatience to hear it; but he would not disclose
himself unless he was promised his pardon for
having borne arms here, for himself, as well as for
his brother and two little children, and 50007.
sterling paid down in money, and 500l. a year
more, for himself and his heirs. I made all kinds
of difficulty, as you may believe; to which he
answered, that unless he received this positive
promise he would do nothing; but that he engaged
to go to England, where he would disclose and
prove the most horrible and dangerous treason
against the King, the persons who were at work
upon it, and even the people of quality who were
engaged in it; and that, if he did not perform all
this, he would renounce every claim, and be con-
tent to be exposed and given up to the rigour of
the law. Hereupon it seemed to me that I could
not hesitate to give him my word on the part
of the King: the more so, since he assured me
that no time was to be lost. After he had told me,
what he will repeat to you, I agreed with him that
money from lord Portland. On the eve of his departure, he
disappeared, as will be seen hereafter, and this letter to Mr.
Vernon, and the following one directed to the King, of both of
which there are copies among the Portland papers, were not
sent. But perhaps this Davis was apprehended by the order of
the French government, and placed in confinement, as were all
the Jacobite agents suspected by their employers of being
traitors.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 403
I would send him to England, and address him to
you, Sir: he will tell you the whole, that you may
assist him in carrying his designs into execution,
and prevent the evil which threatens us, by following
his directions.
After having written thus far, I received yours
of the 6th, which confirms me in the resolution
which I have taken to send this man to England
without losing a moment's time. God grant that
he
may be of use as he has proposed, and that their
wicked designs may be discovered! There is
another thing which has happened here, and which
indicates what we may expect from those desperate
people. I had taken steps to gain over Crosby*
whose name you know: he was resolved to go to
England and to serve the King, by denouncing the
ill disposed persons, all of whom he knows better
than any body. I do not know whether he had
the imprudence to say something which caused him
to be suspected, but I have this moment been
told that he was assassinated in the street two
9
* Crosby was one of the most active agents of the Jacobites;
he carried on during many years an extensive correspondence
with King James's secret friends in England, and had been
implicated in Fenwick's conspiracy. His name frequently occurs
in Macpherson's Original Papers. It does not appear that
he was ever suspected of being a traitor to his employers, and
there is no proof that he was assassinated for this cause. His
murder is barely mentioned in the same papers, on account of
the great alarm felt by lord Middleton that some letters might
be found about his person, which would involve the Court of
St. Germains in trouble, if they fell into improper hands.
DD 2
404 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
hours ago, by another Englishman, who made his
escape.
I suspected at length that this Mrs. Hansard*
was a liar, when she would not discover these
people, though at first, when it did not appear that
she was interested, I did not suspect her. I confess
that this conduct of the ambassador of France is
extraordinary and incomprehensible. Assuredly
we cannot be too much upon our guard; but we
do not know where to begin. I will do all I possibly
can to endeavour to gain over people, in order to
discover the plots; and this is one of the reasons
why I could have wished that my successor should
have been here before my departure, that I might
make him acquainted with my correspondents, who
otherwise would be reluctant to trust any other
person.
I write to the King all about this, only in general
terms, since you will show him this letter. I beg
you to keep it a great secret that I had gained over
Crosby, for if it became public, the Jacobites might
suspect the person whom I have employed.
* During the whole of King William's reign, constant plots
were manufactured for the purpose of extracting rewards from
the government on their pretended discovery. Many details
relating to this Mrs. Hansard, her disclosures, and her examina-
tion before the lords of the Cabinet Council, are to be found in
the letters of Mr. Vernon to the Duke of Shrewsbury.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 405
THE EARL OF PORTLAND TO WILLIAM III.
Paris, April 21. 1698.
I send back to England the adjutant of the
guards, on a matter of which your Majesty will
already have been informed by Mr. Vernon, and
will be yet farther informed by what I write by
this express. I send a man to whom I have been
obliged to promise much, but on condition that he
shall not receive his reward till after he shall have
performed his services.
The letters of the 6th, which have just arrived,
have fully confirmed me in the promise I have re-
solved to make, in consequence of all the informa-
tion which I received here respecting the wicked
designs of those accursed and desperate persons,
whom, may God confound, and discover! I beg
your Majesty to believe that I suffer a thousand
terrors respecting what this man, who is an officer
in the service here, may do; and I trust that he
may arrive in safety, since I see here a number of
desperate characters, with which this city is full,
ever since several English regiments have been dis-
banded.
COUNT TALLARD TO THE MARQUIS DE TORCY.
London, April 22. 1698.
I did not receive till yesterday morning, at 8
o'clock, the letter which the King did me the honour
to write to me on the 17th of this month. The
DD 3
406 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
remainder of the day was passed in deciphering it.
I set out this morning for Newmarket, according
to your orders. My journey will make much noise,
but the King has foreseen it, and commands it; it is
my duty only to obey. I must confess, however, that
unless it had been known in this country that the
king of Spain is better, I should have had some
difficulty in determining upon it, for it would have
made people talk too much.
Parliament has granted the tax on coals, which
causes great clamour among the lower classes: it
is not known whether it will pass, but it is be-
lieved that it will.* There is another measure
which has made more noise.
It has been unanimously resolved in the House
of Commons to confirm all the grants which indivi-
duals hold by the liberality of the sovereigns, oblig-
ing those who enjoy them to pay one fourth of their
value. This measure will go back to those grants
which were made in 1660. The two parties have
agreed on this point; that is to say, the Court party,
at the head of which is Montague, the Chancellor of
the Exchequer, and the country party, of which
Seymour is the head. This has surprised every
body, and it is thought that they intended to deceive
each other: the first thinking to render the execu-
* "Sir Thomas Littleton reported this day the resolution of
the Committee about the duty upon coals. The first of them
held a pretty long debate, and the House divided upon it, but it
was carried by 144 against 123, then the rest of the resolutions
passed without opposition." Mr. Vernon to the King, April 7.
(O.S.)—The duty upon coals was not a new tax; it was only
continued for five years.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 407
tion of the bill impossible, in revoking what has been
granted so long ago; the others believing that those
articles in which some difficulties should be found
would be left untouched, and that they would
begin by demanding payment on those grants which
are the clearest; that is to say, those which have
been made during this reign.*
A Frenchman named Bussy † has been arrested,
* The opposition had soon revived the plan of resuming the
grants, though not in its full latitude, for now it was only pro-
posed to apply the fourth part of their value to the service of
the public. But one party having insisted on beginning with
the grants of King Charles II. and King James II. the persons
affected by that proceeding joined themselves with those affected
by the like proceeding against the grants of King William; in
consequence of which concert, so many petitions were presented
and so many difficulties were raised, that it became no very dif-
ficult task to set aside both.
t † "I know not whether your Majesty ever heard of one de
Bussy, a Frenchman, who married my lord Newbury's mother:
he was afterwards a captain in my lord Macclesfield's regiment
of horse, and having been a busy French papist, he left the
kingdom at the Revolution, and is now lately come over again.
Great notice has been taken of his being here, and I have taken
him up upon suspicion of treason, and he is now in the custody
of a messenger. It is supposed he is a denizen, but without
reason. I think I should be justifiable if I took up all the
French papists now in England, since their ambassador owns
there is an assassin among them, and does not think fit to
declare who he is." Mr. Vernon to the King, April 7. (O. S.)
-Bussy was committed to Newgate a few days after for high
treason. He was, says Mr. Vernon in another letter,
great companion in his lewdness of the Carmelite Friar," who
brought the letter to Count Tallard, and could not be arrested.
Mr. Vernon had also signed a warrant for apprehending four
other French Carmelite Friars.
"the
DD 4
408 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
on account of some affairs of five or six
years'
standing, which concern the government, by whom
he is vehemently suspected.
A female of some rank (Mrs. Hansard) has de-
clared that the pistol which was found in St. James'
Chapel, five days ago, was brought there by a manı
who intended to make use of it against the King's
person. She added, that she hindered him from
doing so; that she knows him, but that she loves.
him, and will not reveal his name till she has the
promise of his pardon. This is a very strange
business.
LOUIS XIV. TO COUNT TALLARD.
Marly, April 23. 1698.
I have received your letter of the 16th of this
month, and I have minutely examined the line of
conduct which you had to follow in the conjuncture
of which you inform me.
It is certain that you ought to act in such
a manner that the king of England might be
persuaded that I desire to keep up a perfect
understanding with him; that the least exertion
which he can expect is, that you should inform
him of a plot against his person, when you have
knowledge of it. I am, therefore, very far from
disapproving, in the main, of what you have done ;
but I could have wished that the manner in which
you gave the information had been different.
There appears to me to have been too great
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 409
eagerness on your part, in writing yourself to the
king of England on an affair so very obscure. It
should not be supposed that, even in time of war,
any one has dared to make proposals to me which
excite so much horror. I cannot imagine that any
person will believe it; and yet it is not impossible
that the step which you have taken may be con-
sidered affected, and with a view to persuade the
king of England of the sincerity of my intentions.
It is not on this occasion that he must be made
to perceive that my intentions are such as I have
promised him, since I was actuated by the same
motives when I was his enemy, and would do the
like if the war continued.* I could, therefore, have
wished, that instead of writing to the prince him-
*If Louis XIV., or his ministers, had been sincere, they
would perhaps not have been able to deny all participation in,
or at least connivance at the project of killing King William,
constantly entertained by the Court of St. Germains, or its
agents in England; and it would be a very difficult thing to
prove that they did not at least lend an ear to that execrable
design. It is plain that on this occasion Louis XIV. does not
speak of it with the indignation which it deserved. One
cannot forget that the commission of King James to C. (Crosby
or Charnock?) printed, though very inaccurately, by Mr. Mazure,
authorising and requiring that individual "to seize and secure
the person of the Prince of Orange, and to bring him before
us," a language, as Mr. Hallam remarks, nothing else than an
euphemism for assassination, was found in the papers of the
then secretary for foreign affairs, M. de Croissy. However, it
must be acknowledged that the sentiments expressed by Louis
XIV. in this letter, were in the main correct, and his fears not
without foundation, for the conduct of Count Tallard, in this
delicate conjuncture, was not regarded by the English govern-
ment as in justice it ought to have been.
M
410 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
self, you had merely sent to the Secretary of State
the letter which you had received, with the remark
that you were persuaded that the person who
wrote it was labouring under some mental de-
lusion, but that the life of the king of England is
so precious that every thing that concerns it must
appear important.
It would even have been useless, on this oc-
casion, to speak of my sentiments towards the
King; it was sufficient merely to give the in-
formation in the manner I have indicated. It is
to be feared that the eclat which you have made
may lead to fresh applications on the subject of
residence of King James at St. Germains, or
perhaps that it may afford a pretext to the king
of England to annoy the Roman Catholics in his
kingdom, especially if you have denounced the
per-
son who delivered this letter. I wish you may
have changed the resolution which you had formed
to name him; and you are to conceal his name, if
you have not already divulged it when you receive
this despatch. There is a strong appearance that
he did not know the contents of the letter which
he delivered to you, and what you have said may
cause an irreparable prejudice to the missions.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 411
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
13.
Newmarket, April 1698.
23.
I do not believe that Denmark seriously thinks
of engaging itself any further, or of making an
alliance with us. I do not see in what manner
the numerous objections could be obviated which
Link has made to you on the question of the pro-
ject. You will, however, be better able to judge
after another conference with him. I very willingly
consent to ally myself more closely with Sweden.
I have already said so to Bonde. Be so good on
your part as to accelerate the affair as much as
you possibly can. Time presses; and the more so,
as it might perhaps be a means of preventing the
alliance with France.
According to the last letters I have received
here from the Earl of Portland, he had an audience
of the king of France, who, on being informed of
the conversation I had had with Tallard, gave me
to understand that it would be reasonable to satisfy
the Emperor in Italy, and to increase the barrier
of the Spanish Netherlands. This is farther than
I thought the French would have advanced at
first. The Earl of Portland was to have another
audience the next day, and thought he should then
be able to communicate more particulars, which
I hourly expect. Count Tallard has also arrived
here to-day, probably to speak with me, of which I
will inform you by the next post.
P.S.-Since I wrote the above, Count Tallard has
412 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
been with me, and after a long preface, said that, in
consequence of what he had written to his court,
relative to the conversation he had had with me, he
had received orders to propose two alternatives,
on the subject of a treaty and alliance, to be en-
tered into in the event of the king of Spain's death.
The one is to the effect that the elector of Bavaria's
son should succeed to the kingdom of Spain, with
the West Indies and the Spanish Netherlands in
their present condition, except the duchy of Lux-
emburg, which should be assigned to France; the
Emperor should have Milan; and one of the Dau-
phin's sons the kingdom of Naples and Sicily and
the islands. The other alternative is to the effect
that the kingdom of Spain and the West Indies
should be ceded to one of the Dauphin's sons; the
kingdom of Naples, Sicily, and the islands to the
Emperor; Milan to the duke of Savoy; and the
Spanish Netherlands, in their present condition, to
the Elector's son. If this alternative were adopted,
we might expect some ports in the Mediterranean,
and also some islands in the West Indies; but (this
he said in a conversational tone) France would not
consent to any cession on the Continent, nor to any
extension of the barrier in the Spanish Netherlands.
To all this I answered, that, considering the great
importance and delicacy of the matter, he must
not think it strange that I was not prepared to
make any reply to his proposals. This, he said,
he could very well conceive, and did not expect
any. I insinuated, but only by way of conversa-
tion, how necessary it was to our security that the
-
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 413
ear.
barrier in the Spanish Netherlands should be in-
creased; but to this he absolutely turned a deaf
I also laughed with him at the idea of giving
Milan to the duke of Savoy. My own opinion is,
that if either one or the other alternative were ac-
cepted, the French would not remain firm to it.
I confess I had no idea they would have advanced
so far, nor have offered so much in these times.
You will be so good as to turn your thoughts to
this important negotiation, and, as soon as you
can, let me know your sentiments how I should
act further. I have no doubt but the same pro-
posals have been made to the Earl of Portland,
but they will probably have given time to Count
Tallard to communicate them to me first.
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
Newmarket, April 14-24. 1698.
The day after that on which I wrote to you
from this place I received your letter of the 16th,
and yesterday evening that of the 20th. Count
Tallard had come to see me in the morning,
and had made me the same proposal of the two
alternatives which the Most Christian King made
to you, and of which you sent me the draft. I
replied, that he might believe that I could not
give any immediate answer on so important and
delicate an affair, and that it deserved very serious
consideration. Then, in conversing on the subject,
414 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
I told him that I did not see any proposal in the
alternative, that Spain should belong to the son
of the Dauphin, which would secure our trade
in the Mediterranean and the Indies, and that
unless we had some seaports there we could not
have any security, as I had told him in our first
conversation. I named Port Mahon, Ceuta, and
Oran, to which he answered that he had no par-
ticular instructions on that point, but that he
believed that expedients might be formed with re-
ference to it, as well as that we might have some
ports in the West India Islands, but not on the
continent, since in that case we should be entirely
masters of the Indies. I afterwards said that with
respect to the barrier of the Netherlands, I had told
him that it must be stronger and more extensive,
on which he entered into a long detail of the situa-
tion of the country and of the frontier, which led
to a rather lengthened discussion; but he replied
pretty plainly, that I must not think that the king,
his master, could consent to the extension of the
barrier; and when I mentioned Dunkirk, he re-
jected the idea, as if I were making game of him.
I remarked, however, in conclusion, that I did not
see any appearance of an accommodation, unless
the barrier were extended, and, on the other alter-
native, that it was a mockery to cede Milan to the
duke of Savoy, to which he agreed, and said, that
the only reason was that the Emperor might not
be too strong in Italy. I believe that if the whole
arrangement depended on that article, the affair
would soon be terminated, and France would agree
•
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 415
to cede Milan to the Emperor. I confess that I
am surprised at the offers which they make, and
that they are so open in this conjuncture, which we
should well consider and see what course we shall
take. You may imagine that this must embarrass
me not a little, since it is certain that we shall
never get the Emperor willingly to consent to either
of the two alternatives. That which appears to
me the most advantageous to all Europe in general,
is for the Electoral Prince to have Spain; but in that
case England and Holland could not claim
any ad-
vantage for themselves, such as to have ports in the
Mediterranean and the Indies; and besides this,
the barrier of the Netherlands would be so much
reduced by the duchy of Luxemburg, that, in
my opinion, France has certainly named it only to
induce us to choose the other alternative, which
is assuredly infinitely more advantageous to the
Emperor, and in which we might find some ad-
vantages for our commerce; but I know not whe-
ther that is sufficient to make us hesitate between
having a son of the Dauphin king of Spain and
the Indies, or the son of the elector of Bavaria.
If they would leave him the duchy of Luxemburg,
I should not hesitate to choose this alternative;
but I fear that this is not to be obtained. It would
be well for you to endeavour to discover this; also
what ports they would be willing to cede to us in
the Mediterranean and the Indies, and likewise
whether we may hope for an extension of the
barrier. As for Dunkirk, I see that it is of no use
thinking of it.
416 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
I shall not give Count Tallard any answer till
I know the sentiments of the Pensionary; and if
he speaks to me on the subject after my return
to Kensington, where I mean to be, God willing,
on Saturday evening, I shall tell him frankly to
whom I have communicated it; as it is right that
I should do nothing in an affair of this nature and
importance without communication and concert
. with the States.
I have hitherto spoken only in general terms to
my ministers of this negotiation, and do not intend
doing so till it is more advanced, for reasons which
I shall tell you when I see you. Thus you may
judge that if matters had proceeded so far as to
conclude some treaty, I should have been greatly
embarrassed about sending you orders in due form,
and it would have been a very delicate matter for
you to sign any thing of this nature, knowing, as
you do, our constitution.
I still think of going to Holland soon after the
close of Parliament; but God knows when that will
be. You will do well to send your horses direct to
Loo: you may believe how impatient I begin to
feel to be there. I have not been well since I
have been here, and have had very little amuse-
ment. You may readily imagine that I do not
much desire the coming of the Duchess of Ports-
mouth; but after the breaking up of Parliament,
I do not know how to refuse it.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 417
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Newmarket, April 15-25. 1698.
By the last post I wrote you what had passed
between Count Tallard and me. I have since
received letters from the Earl of Portland of the
20th, together with a memorandum, containing the
two alternatives, which the king of France read over
in his cabinet, and after being read by M. de Pom-
ponne and M. de Torcy, were copied word for word.
You will see it to be in the very same terms which
Count Tallard had communicated to me verbally,
as the king of France told the Earl of Portland he
had been ordered to do. I shall with great im-
patience expect your views as to how I ought to
proceed, and what answer to give. I think much
time ought not to be lost in this negotiation; for
we should be greatly embarrassed in the event of
the sudden death of the king of Spain. It is cer-
tain that the Emperor is not to be moved by per-
suasion to accept either of these alternatives, so
that he must be compelled. The alternative which
constitutes a French prince king of Spain is cer-
tainly the most advantageous to him; and I should
think France would agree to his having, also, Milan
instead of the duke of Savoy. But the other alter-
native, by which he is to acquire Milan alone, out
of all the Spanish succession, will hardly be ac-
cepted. In my opinion, the alternative in favour of
the electoral prince of Bavaria is the best adapted to
the general interest of Europe; but the cession of
VOL. I.
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418 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
the duchy of Luxemburg is extremely prejudicial to
our security; and France has chiefly introduced it
into this alternative, I think, to incline us to the
other; in which I believe, also, we should find our
account in the article of commerce; for, when I told
Tallard we must have some ports in the Mediter-
ranean, and named Port Mahon, Oran, and Ceuta,
he said he had no particular orders to propose any,
but thought expedients might be found, as, also, in
the West Indies, to give us some port in the islands,
but not upon the continent, for in that case we
should at once become masters of that commerce.
And though, he said, there was no probability
whatever of extending and increasing the barrier
in the Spanish Netherlands, yet I should still hope
something might be stipulated about it, in case
the alternative, which gives Spain to the Dauphin's
son, be accepted. I confess that, every thing con-
sidered, it is very questionable which alternative
to choose, and to negotiate further thereon; but
this is beyond a doubt, that when these offers of
France are public in England and Holland, it will
be difficult to get them to consent to a war, in case
the king of Spain should happen to die now; so
that measures must be taken in consequence. As
for the elector of Bavaria, I think he may be
brought to any thing, notwithstanding the one
alternative is so much more advantageous for him
and his son than the other.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 419
COUNT TALLARD TO LOUIS XIV.
London, April 25. 1698.
Sire,
I arrived at Newmarket the day before yester-
day, in the morning, in accordance with the instruc-
tions which I received from your Majesty, and
went to the king of England's levee. I approached
him when he had finished dressing, and said, that
though I was afraid of having chosen an unseason-
able moment, I still ventured to ask him for an au-
dience. He said that he was engaged all the rest
of the day, but that he would speak with me on
his return from hunting.
Three quarters of an hour afterwards, however,
a groom of the bed-chamber came to me, and
told me that his Majesty expected me. I imme-
diately went, and began by telling him that I had
had the honour of giving your Majesty as accu-
rate an account as I possibly could, of the over-
tures which he had made to me at the last au-
dience he had had the goodness to grant me; and
that, though your Majesty believes that nothing
can be done better calculated to preserve the peace
and tranquillity of Europe than to place the
Spanish succession in the hands of one of the
Dauphin's sons, your Majesty was not so firmly
attached to your first sentiments as to decline
examining what I had had the honour to commu-
nicate to you on his part; that it seemed to your
Majesty, from my statement, that he had had two
opinions: one, that it would be proper to place the
-
EE 2
420 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
electoral prince of Bavaria on the throne of Spain;
the other, to place on it a son of the Dauphin, with
the exceptions in favour of the Archduke, and of the
electoral prince of Bavaria; that after considering
what he had said to me your Majesty had, with
reference thereto, determined to give him the choice
of two alternatives, and to secure the preservation
of peace by a conditional treaty, which should
have no effect except in case of the demise of the
king of Spain:
The first, to give to the Electoral Prince
Spain, the Indies, the islands of Majorca and
Minorca, Sardinia, the Philippines, the Low Coun-
tries, and the other countries dependent on the
Spanish monarchy, with the exception of Naples,
Sicily, and the duchy of Luxemburg for the Dau-
phin; and, I added, that as it seemed to your
Majesty that he wished the Archduke to have a
share, you would consent that Milan should be
given to him; -
The second, to give the Spanish succession to
one of the sons of the Dauphin, with the exception
of the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, and the
places along the coasts of Tuscany for the Arch-
duke; the Low Countries, in the state in which
the Spaniards now possess them, to the electoral
prince of Bavaria; and, lastly, Milan to the duke
of Savoy.
When I named the latter he began to smile,
and said nothing, except "Oh, for the duke of
Savoy!" I answered, to penetrate a little deeper
into his sentiments, that it was not for me to
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 421
determine whether it was through friendship that
your Majesty made this proposal in favour of
that prince, but that there could be no doubt that
it was for the interest of every body that there
should be a power, beyond the Alps, able to coun-
terbalance that of the Archduke and of the Em-
peror, and check the designs which that house has
so openly formed against all the princes of Italy.
He replied, that he would rather give it to the
duke of Mantua; and added, "As for the duke of
Savoy, I did not expect to hear his name." In
continuation, he said, "it would be better to give
Milan to the Archduke." I replied, "Sire, it
would be giving him all Italy." He answered, that
your Majesty would easily hinder him from ag-
grandizing himself.
I said that in that case the
duke of Savoy must assent; because, since your
Majesty had no longer any fortresses beyond the
Alps, it was impossible for you to carry your arms
into the plains of Piedmont. This led us into a
pretty long discussion on the difficulties of enter-
ing Italy, in which there seemed to be much
animosity and indignation against the duke of
Savoy *, which, however, was only intimated by
detached words and by gestures.
..
After the King had made me repeat once more the
two alternatives proposed by your Majesty, he added,
* The duke of Savoy had, by a treaty signed in August 1696,
abandoned the allied powers, and made a separate, and very
advantageous peace with Louis XIV. This desertion, accom-
panied by the most treacherous circumstances, accounts easily
for the animosity of King William.
EE 3
422
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
that the rights of the Dauphin were well contested.
I venture to say that I placed them in their full
light, making him see that the states which compose
the Spanish monarchy were held by marriages, and
under the same circumstances; and, with respect
to his assertion, that Philip IV. would not have
given the Infanta to your Majesty if he had be-
lieved that the renunciation was not valid, that the
Emperor himself would have opposed it, I answered
that Philip IV. had given her to make peace,
because it was absolutely necessary to him; that he
had taken the precautions which depended upon
himself to prevent the crown of Spain from ever
devolving on the House of France; but that they
were null and void, both by law and by precedent;
that, besides, every body well knew that since the
peace of Munster the Emperor had no credit at
the Court of Madrid; that he had not even taken
part in the war of 1667; that their union had not
been renewed till 1672; and that he had not been
consulted on what passed at the peace of the Py-
renees.
He then observed that by the proposals of your
Majesty the barrier of the Netherlands remained
in the same condition; that your Majesty held all
the rivers; that the Spaniards had no longer any
fortresses either on the Scheldt or on the Lys;
that your Majesty might render yourself master of
all that remained in one campaign; and that he
foresaw that this would be a great difficulty in
arranging the affairs in question. I answered, that
the frontier of Flanders was much more covered by
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 423
fortresses than those of the ancient kingdom of
your Majesty; that Namur might be considered as
impregnable, since the late fortifications which had
been added to it; that the same might justly be said
of Mons. He interrupted me with the remark, that
he did not know what we had done there, but that
formerly he did not value that fortress. I answered,
that great works had been carried on there, and
that he must at least confess that the circumval-
lation rendered it much more difficult of attack;
that he had even made Liege and Brussels fortresses,
by the lines which he had constructed round them.
He said, that he agreed that that side was more
secure than the other; but that on the sea side
your
Majesty were at once in the heart of the Spanish
territory. I replied, that it was also the side which
was most impenetrable to us, on account of the
canals, and of the great Scheldt, and that your
Majesty had not a single fortress on that side
which was not absolutely necessary for the safety
of your kingdom; that Menin, which was regarded
as the least considerable, was nevertheless highly
important, because it was the only passage we had
on the Lys, that was so situated as to be useful to
He answered, that your Majesty had also La
Fere behind. I replied that La Fere was on the
river Oise, behind Guise.
us.
Upon this he suddenly recollected himself; and
I ended by telling him that, not to lose time
in unimportant matters, I assured him that your
Majesty would never entertain any proposal which
tended to diminish the safety of the French frontiers
EE 4
424 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
on that side; that the Dutch had marked.the barrier
which had been agreed upon by the treaty of Nime-
guen, which secured their frontiers; that they
had appeared to entertain the same sentiments at
the treaty of Ryswick, and that the design which
the Spaniards had formed of fortifying Courtrai
was a further addition to their security.
He said, "You have Dunkirk, which was ours;
it is of no use to you save to injure us." I answered,
that that was so long ago that it ought to be for-
gotten; that during the war it had, indeed, taken
many merchantmen, but that if it were in his
hands it might do us much greater injury, since
it was only nine leagues from that place to Calais.
He said, "Have you not Gravelines between the
two ?" I replied, "Yes, Sire, but you would find
means to send your provisions by sea, after having
made your army march by land, if you had that
fortress, and were ever in a condition to lay siege
to the other."
He resumed, and said, that the proposals which
I had made to him on the part of your Majesty
were of such great consequence that it was im-
possible to answer them on the spot, and that he
would give them the necessary consideration, but
that he considered that Milan was for the Arch-
duke. I said, that I believed your Majesty would
consent to this, provided that the kingdoms of
Naples and Sicily were given to the Dauphin; but
that it would not be reasonable that all the states
of Italy should go into the hands of the Archduke.
He then recurred to the commercial question,
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS Xiv. 425
and, after having shown, in a pretty long conver-
sation, how necessary it was for the English and
the Dutch to take such precautions in this change
that they should not be disturbed in the future,
he declared that he hoped that your Majesty would
consent to their having places of security for their
commerce in the Mediterranean and in the Indies.
I replied, with respect to the Mediterranean, con-
formably to the orders which your Majesty has
given me; and, seeing that he still dwelt on the
subject, I said that at least he must state the places
which he thought necessary, because there was so
much difference between one place and another that
no answer could be given without knowing the
exact state of the question. He replied, that he
had directed Lord Portland to inform your Majesty
of his opinion on the subject, and that he believed
that Port Mahon, Ceuta, and Oran, would be the
ports that would suit them. I answered, that
I would have the honour to inform your Majesty,
on my part, and that when he made me any new
proposal on which I was not informed of your
views, I should content myself with receiving
it without any reply, though I might have good
reasons to adduce. He added, "We have yet to
speak of the Indies." I told him I could not
speak on that subject except from myself, because
he had touched so slightly on that point in the
last conversation which I had the honour to
hold with him, that I had made no report of it
to your Majesty, but that I saw clearly that if
England and Holland had a port and a fortress on
426 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
the continent of America, the king of Spain would
depopulate his dominions to work the mines, of
which they would reap all the profit. However,
I begged he would explain himself.
He told me that, having been brought up in
Holland, he was well informed with respect to its
commercial interests, but that he was not so well
acquainted with those of the English, and that he
would procure the necessary information upon the
subject; that he thought the port of Havannah
might suit them, but he would not speak positively.
He then asked me if your Majesty had any in-
formation respecting the health of the king of
Spain. I replied, that your Majesty had done me
the honour to write to me that on the 6th of this
month he was in better health than he had yet
been. I added a few circumstances communicated
to me by the Marquis d'Harcourt, and, among other
things, that the Prince of Darmstadt, believing the
king of Spain to be dead, had changed most of the
officers in the fortresses of Catalonia, and had put
Germans in their place*; that such a proceeding
* "The Imperial troops had remained in Catalonia after the
signing of the treaties. Though inconsiderable in number,
they might be sufficient to maintain the Austrian party in Spain
whenever the king should happen to die, an event which could
not be very remote.
The Germans were masters of
Catalonia, and the prince of Darmstadt maintained himself in
his vice-royalty by the Queen's authority. The king of Spain
was taken ill in the month of March 1698; when they began
to despair of his life. The news being brought to Catalonia,
the viceroy changed all the governors of the principal towns, re-
moving the Spanish officers, and putting Germans in their stead;
•
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 427
showed what might be expected from the Emperor,
and demonstrated that it was time to take measures.
On this occasion he again said a word or two
respecting the barrier of Flanders, to which I re-
plied that, to remove all uncertainty that might
remain upon this point, I thought it my duty to
tell him, as an honest man, that there was no
reason which could induce your Majesty to make
any change on the frontier on that side; and that,
in truth, it was not just that France, which gains
nothing in all that is proposed, and whose pre-
sumptive heir cedes a portion of his rights, to
remove the jealousy which Europe might enter-
tain, should also see the safety of its provinces
impaired.
As I was retiring, he called out from the fire-
place, "At least, Sir, I always reckon on Milan for
the Archduke!" To which I replied, that I had
no change to make in what I had said to him on
that subject on the part of your Majesty.
On leaving the palace, he went to the Cockfight,
whither I accompanied him. He made me sit
beside him. M. d'Auverquerque procured horses
for me and all my suite, with a gentleman to
accompany me to the races, whither the king of
England repaired; and when he afterwards went
hare-hunting, he himself again offered me horses
at the same time he paid the troops of his own nation, without
making any payment at all to the Spaniards. The province
sent a deputation to the king of Spain; but their complaints
were ineffectual. Thus the Germans continued masters of
Catalonia."-Memoirs of Torcy.
423 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
to follow him, and, on my declining with thanks,
he ordered Count de Nassau to remain with me.
When he retired, he sent the captain of his
guards to invite me to come and sup with him.
He even carried his politeness so far as to drink
my health, and I can say with truth to your Majesty
that nothing can exceed the courtesy with which
he has treated me.
On rising from table, he took me aside into the
chimney-corner, and asked me if, in either of these
two alternatives, there was nothing but Milan for
the Archduke. I told him there was nothing more,
and, in a low voice, repeated the two alternatives
at full length, concluding with that in which your
Majesty proposes Milan for the duke of Savoy. He
replied, "Say always for the Archduke." I reiter-
ated all the reasons which I have employed above,
and he rejoined the company, smiling, and saying,
"Good! good!" These are his own terms, which I
have repeated to your Majesty, that not a syllable
may be omitted.
This, Sire, is a faithful narrative of all that
passed. The matter begins to assume a more
definite form. It appears to me, from the manner
in which I spoke to him, that he must be unde-
ceived with respect to any change on the side of
Flanders, which is the most considerable article,
and, to say the truth, if that is once settled, there
will be nothing more to discuss, except that of the
Indies. He did not recur to the proposal to leave
to the Dauphin the kingdom of Naples and the duchy
of Luxemburg. He insisted strongly on Milan for
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 429
the Archduke. I think it proper to remind your
Majesty that, in the first overture, the king of
England asked only the kingdom of Naples and
Milan for that prince; that Sicily was not men-
tioned; so that if your Majesty yields to his views
on that subject, you may except this latter king-
dom, either to add it to Spain, or to make such
other use of it as you may judge best calculated
for your interest.
interest. Your Majesty will see better
than any one else when it will be time to discuss
each article more particularly, in order to arrive
at the conclusion of a treaty, and it is for your
interests that this discussion should take place at
London or at Paris.
The following is the sequel to the letter which I
had the honour to despatch to your Majesty in refer-
ence to the letter which was delivered to me by a Car-
melite. Three days subsequently to the events which
I had the honour to communicate to your Majesty,
Lord Romney returned hither, on the part of the
king of England, to tell me that as that prince would
still remain for some time at Newmarket, it was to
be feared that those who had designs on his person
would either attempt to execute them, or would
escape, and that he requested me to tell him (i. e.
his lordship) of what I would have told himself.
This I did, as I had the honour to write to your
Majesty that I would, not thinking it proper to
take upon myself the responsibility of what might
happen during so long an interval; but I first
took his positive promise that I should not be
named, nor appear in any manner whatever.
430 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
THE EARL OF PORTLAND TO WILLIAM III.
Versailles, April 25. 1698.
I had the honour to receive your Majesty's
letter of the 10-20th from Newmarket yesterday.
It is by your answer to mine of Sunday last, 20th,
that I expect to guide my conduct, because it was
in that letter that I sent the proposals relative to
the Spanish succession, which I received on the
pre-
ceding Friday. After this I hope I shall be able
to fix my return. I trust that, in consequence of
your absence from London, your Majesty will not
have received the proposals from the ambassador of
France, before my letter has been delivered to you.
Nothing has passed here since that time.
I went on Tuesday to Versailles to the King's
levee, without speaking to him, except in public.
In the afternoon he went to Marly, where he still
remains. MONSIEUR took me on that day to Saint
Cloud, to show me the place. On our arrival there
he gave us a grand dinner, after which we walked
about for a time in the environs of the mansion;
I then accompanied him in an open calèche with
some ladies who were there, and he drove me all
over the park and the more distant gardens. Your
Majesty would be pleased with the situation, the
fine pieces of water, the beautiful views, and the
great variety of the scenery. Nothing could ex-
ceed his politeness and the attention he paid me.
I have not received any answer to what I took the
liberty of writing to you respecting the duchess
of Portsmouth, who has just given me a letter for
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 431
your Majesty. *
If your Majesty does not wish the
duchess of Portsmouth to come to England yet, I
beg you not to charge me with the commission of
telling her so, but to let some one of her friends in
England write to her.
I have been cheated out of some money by one
Davis, who pretended to disclose to me a conspiracy
against your Majesty, and offered to go to England
to prove it and to give up the accomplices, but he
has disappeared; accordingly, the letters which I
intended to send by the courier who was to ac-
company him have not been despatched.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Kensington, April 19-29. 1698.
I shall say nothing to you at present about the
great affair of the Spanish succession, as I wait
with impatience for your answer to my letters
from Newmarket, in which I informed you of the
proposals Count Tallard made me, as was also
done to the Earl of Portland in France. I have
learnt nothing more on this subject since, nor re-
ceived any further letters from France. I must,
however, just say that you must not expect I can
agree to any other measures, or contribute any
thing beyond what I mentioned in my last. For,
agreeably to the constitution of the kingdom, it is
impossible to get the Parliament to consent to
* Louise de Querouaille, created by Charles II. duchess of
Portsmouth. See the Appendix.
432
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
grant any money on an uncertainty, or for a future
time, so that I can do nothing on that point; and
God knows whether I shall not be obliged to re-
duce more troops, conformably to the first idea of
Parliament. Should this great negotiation go for-
ward, I think Mr. Hop's instructions must be upon
quite another footing than at first.
COUNT TALLARD TO LOUIS XIV.
London, April 30. 1698.
Sire,
The letter which your Majesty did me the
honour to write to me on the 23d of this month
was delivered to me only two hours ago.
I am
excessively mortified that it seems you do not ap-
prove of my conduct in the affair of which I had
the honour to give you an account on the 16th
of this month. I venture to say to your Majesty
that I foresaw the inconveniences which you point
out in your despatch; but if you please to allow
me the honour to represent to you those which
might ensue by acting differently from what I have
done, I hope to convince you that I had good reasons
for following the course which I adopted.
Only two modes of proceeding ever occurred to
my mind. One, to content myself with answering,
as I did, the person who brought me the letter in
question, and then, to let the matter drop, which
I confess I had a great mind to do; the other, to
make it known, either by arresting the bearer, or
sending the letter, as I did. To say nothing was
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 433
to expose myself, every moment, to be mentioned
in the deposition of the first man who should be
arrested and interrogated. Now, measures were
taken to arrest some persons; a loaded pistol had
been found on the preceding day in St. James's
chapel; proofs were sought against persons sus-
pected of having brought it there; nay, some had
even been sent to prison. The individual who
wrote to me might be implicated in all this, and,
being arrested, might begin by saying that he had
given me notice of it. In this case, what would
have been said of my silence; and, even if I had
not known your Majesty's sentiments on such
deeds, should not this apprehension alone have
determined me to give notice of what had fallen
into my hands?
It remains to be examined whether it would have
been better to arrest the bearer of the letter, or to
act as I did? I will not inquire into this point,
for, to say the truth, the man was out of my house
before I had come to any decision; the reasons
which I have had the honour to state to your
Majesty having kept me for some time in suspense.
It remains to examine the manner of my giving
the information.
As some difficulty had arisen between the Se-
cretary of State and myself respecting the visit
which prevented our meeting one another, I di-
rected my letter to the King, and only left to him
the care of forwarding it. If it was a fault in me
to write direct to the King, this is the reason of it.
But I venture to say, Sire, that this proceeding
VOL. I.
F F
434 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
will not be suspected of affectation, because it is
supported by the truth; it was a matter wholly
unpremeditated, not a false accusation, but a cer-
tain fact which concerned him, and I may be au-
thorised to write direct to himself, both because
the Secretary of State and myself did not then see
each other, and because the kind treatment which
I received from him might well make me warm
in his favour.
But, Sire, in whatever manner the letter reached
him since your Majesty allows that it was
proper to send it to him-could I stop half way
and not say how the letter had been delivered to
me? If your Majesty has read the terms of it, you
will see that the writer expects my answer in order
to regulate his conduct accordingly. This answer,
then, must be taken by him who brought me the
letter, seeing that I know his address. Hence it
was necessary either to be wholly silent or to keep
wholly to the truth.
It seems to me that nothing is so dangerous in
matters of this kind as to endeavour at the same
time to go backwards and forwards. Yet, Sire,
whatever might happen I should have conformed to
your Majesty's orders on the subject, if the letter,
which you have done me the honour to write to
me, had reached me sooner. But you will have
seen the steps which I took on the subject, by the
letter which I had the honour to write to you on
my return from Newmarket.
The Catholic religion will not, in my opinion,
suffer any thing from this matter, for it is here
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 435
tolerated more openly than it was even in the time
of King Charles II.; and it seems evident that the
king of England has determined to leave it at peace
in order to secure his own.
As for the missions, Sire, I should tell a falsehood
if I were to say that I foresee the effects which
they will produce; but when one is entangled in
an affair, from which one cannot escape without in-
convenience, one must choose the plan which offers
the easiest means of getting rid of the difficulty;
and I should believe that I had done so, but that
am so unfortunate as to see that your Majesty en-
tertains the opposite opinion, and your sentiments
are the guide of mine.
The journey of the King to Holland is still
spoken of, and I humbly request your Majesty
to let me know your intentions as to whether you
desire that I should remain here or prepare to
follow him.
COUNT TALLARD TO THE MARQUIS DE
TORCY.
London, April 30. 1698.
I have received the letter which the King
did me the honour to address to me on the 23rd
of this month. I hope, that if
I hope, that if you have the good-
ness to read the reply which I have made, you
will not find me so culpable, as it seems I have
been supposed to be; and I venture to say, that
FF 2
436
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
the worst course would have been to act only by
halves.
I have had the honour to inform you that M.
de Bussy had been arrested; he is, without dispute,
the man most suspected by the government, and
considered as a declared Jacobite. He has written
to me, to beg me to claim him as a Frenchman. I
have caused him to be told that I could not take
any step in his favour till I knew the secret of his
detention. Have the kindness, I beg you, Sir,
to let me know the line of conduct which I ought
to observe respecting him.
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
April 22. 1698.
May 2.
Kensington,
The day before yesterday I received your letter
of the 25th. I impatiently expect an answer to
that which I wrote to you from Newmarket. Since
I have returned here Count Tallard has not spoken
to me of any business, nor have I thought fit to
speak to him before I knew the sentiments of
the Pensionary and had received your answer. I
hope to learn, at the same time, when you will
have fixed your audience of leave and settled the
time for your departure. My impatience to see
you increases more and more.
I have appointed
the Earl of Jersey to succeed you in the embassy.
He is making preparations so as to be able to
leave this shortly after your return.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 437
At length the Duke of Shrewsbury has entirely
declined taking any office, and has returned to
Eyford. He affirms that it is solely in conse-
quence of the feeble state of his health, which, in
truth, is very bad, from spitting blood; but the
world believes that he has refused to take office,
because I would not agree to give the seals to
Lord Wharton; these the Duke of Shrewsbury will
keep, however, till after the session of Parliament,
and thus the affair is secret for the present. They
urge me to make Lord Wharton Lord Chamberlain,
to which I am as little inclined as to making him
Secretary of State. The Whigs pretend that
they will not be satisfied, and that my affairs will
not be concluded to my satisfaction in Parliament
if I do not gratify him. You see how far they
carry matters. As for the Earl of Sunderland, they
say no more of him than if he were dead.* Now
King William, as it has been seen by many passages of
his letters, was very anxious for the return of the Earl of Sun-
derland, and could not bear being without him; no doubt
because, as Burnet tells us, during the time of his credit,
things had been carried on with more spirit and better success
than before:" and, in fact, according to the same authority, after
Sunderland's retirement the government fell into a feebleness
and a disjointed state, which made his past services more dear
to the King. Among the most ardent in the opposition offered
by the Whigs to the return of this statesman was Lord Wharton,
comptroller of the household, whom, for his hasty and indiscreet
temper, and the freedom of his language, King William never
liked, notwithstanding the eminent services Wharton had ren-
dered at the Revolution. Lord Wharton was much regarded by
the Whig leaders; to whom, says Speaker Onslow, "he was
always firm, and of great use from his abilities, especially in Par-
(6
FF 3
438
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
that the king of Spain is a little better, they think
that there is no longer any thing to apprehend; and
liament." He had their entire confidence, and for this cause
they were willing to give him the seals of Secretary of State in
case the Duke of Shrewsbury withdrew, or that, if the Duke
was persuaded to remain in office, Lord Wharton should receive
the Staff of Chamberlain, which had been vacant since the
retreat of the Earl of Sunderland. The King would not confer
on Lord Wharton either of these posts. He had very recently
refused to send him to Ireland as Lord Lieutenant, at which Lord
Wharton and his friends had been very angry; and fearing they
would become yet more dissatisfied, King William desired that
the Duke of Shrewsbury would not let his determination to
resign the Seals be known, being desirous that this matter
should remain in suspense. "His Majesty," wrote Mr. Vernon
to the Duke of Shrewsbury, April 18. O. S., "his Majesty ap-
proves that your Grace's going to Eyford be spoken of as done
by his consent, as the best means for your recovering. The
King is not without apprehension that your going away thus on
a sudden, will be interpreted as if you were dissatisfied that
Lord Wharton had not the Seals; and they will say that, in that
case you would have been prevailed upon to take the White
Staff." King William was much displeased when he learned
that the Duke of Shrewsbury, sick of the cares and humiliations
of a Court life, suffering of bad health, and vexed at not pos-
sessing the royal confidence, had determined to retire alto-
gether, and to refuse both the Staff of Chamberlain and the
Seals of Secretary. The obstinacy of William III. in forcing
the Earl of Sunderland upon a ministry from whom that noble-
man differed, and by whom he was hated, the fixed resolve of
the Duke of Shrewsbury to retire in this delicate conjuncture,
and the resolution of the King to exclude from the cabinet
council the only man who had the approbation of the Whig
leaders, were among the principal causes of the embarrass-
ments which tormented King William during hislast days.
Thomas, fifth Lord Wharton, was created Earl of Wharton in
1706; and Marquis of Wharton in 1714.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 439
I much fear that I shall receive some address to
complete the disbanding of the troops, without
considering that France is not reducing her army,
and is making naval preparations.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Kensington,
April 22.
May 2.
1698.
Last Tuesday's letters from Holland are not
yet arrived. I expect them with great impatience,
and hope to receive your answers to my letters
from Newmarket, concerning the great affair of the
Spanish succession, about which I have learnt
nothing further: probably they wait in France for
my answer. Since the news came that the king of
Spain is better, people here begin to lay aside their
fears again, and think there is nothing more to
be apprehended. The humour of this nation is
inconceivable, and how difficult it is to adopt po-
sitive measures.
COUNT TALLARD TO LOUIS XIV.
London, May 3. 1698.
The Earl of Jersey is appointed ambassador
to your Majesty; he is a very agreeable man, but
has a very limited understanding. His wife is very
clever: she is a Catholic, and will accompany him.*
* Barbara, daughter of the notorious William Chiffinch,
closet-keeper to Charles II.
FF 4
440 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
It is taken amiss here that the King should send a
person of our religion to France; but he had no
choice, for he was the only man in England who
was willing to go. He is one of the Lords Justices
of Ireland, and he retains his office and salary. The
Duke of Shrewsbury is extremely ill, and withdraws
entirely from public affairs. He was in very high
credit with the party in Parliament called Whigs,
and will be a great loss to the King. It is not
believed that the office of Secretary of State, held
by the Duke of Shrewsbury, will be soon filled
up, and it is thought that the elections for the
new Parliament will be waited for to see what
party will prevail in them, in order to fill the office
with a member of the predominant party.
THE EARL OF PORTLAND TO WILLIAM III.
Paris, May 4. 1698.
Since the last letter, which I had the honour
of despatching to your Majesty, nothing has passed
worth writing about. I set out on Tuesday the
24th, in the morning, for Versailles, intending to
remain there some days. On the evening of the
following day, I received your Majesty's letter of
the 14-24th, from Newmarket, when I took an
opportunity of speaking to M. de Pomponne and
M. de Torcy respecting the proposals; but after that,
up to Friday, the 2nd of this month, they had
not received any letters from Count Tallard; and,
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 441
therefore, as they did not know what had passed at
the audience which he had at Newmarket, they could
say nothing more than that they must wait for the
arrival of his courier to know what had taken place
there. I repeated to them what I had said before, in-
sisting absolutely on the extension of the barrier
of the Netherlands, on the places named in the Medi-
terranean, and, in general, on others in the West
Indies, for the security of our commerce in both
seas; and as the express from Count Tallard had
been so long coming, and I had been four days at
Versailles, and had said that I was preparing to
return on Tuesday, I told the ministers that I
would stop there if the King ordered me; but
otherwise, I should be ready to return at his
command, as soon as he would let me know. They
replied, that by the letters of Count Tallard, he
spoke in high terms of your Majesty; that you had
well received the proposals, and even that you had
not spoken in strong terms of Dunkirk, and of the
places for the security of our commerce in the Me-
diterranean and the Indies, on which I did not fail
absolutely to insist by repeated orders from your
Majesty, taking what they said to me for an artifice
to get out of me whether I had any orders to relax,
which it will always be time enough to do, if your
Majesty approves, since the matter is not urgent.
They told me that your Majesty's principal diffi-
culty arose from the proposal to give Milan to the
duke of Savoy. I replied, that your Majesty had
ridiculed the proposal, which could not have been
made except for form's sake, or that the duke
-
442 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
might cede Savoy to France, but that your Ma-
jesty had written to me principally on the point
which I had just mentioned. They answered, that
the letters having just arrived, and the matter
being of such importance, it would be necessary
to make a report to the King in council, which
would not be held till Sunday. They promised
to let me know when I should return, and after
that the King would inform me, or speak to me
himself, respecting the time of my audience of
leave. I took the opportunity also of showing
them that, conformably to the will of the King, I
had not opened my mouth respecting the residence
of King James in France, nor of the forbearance
shown to assassins, whose conduct I related to them,
and the new plot which they were endeavouring to
put in practice, and which they will not discontinue,
so long as that king remains here; that I begged
them to believe (they would make such use of it
as they should think fit) that I had said this, on
their word that they would not speak of it to any
one but the King; and this too after having told
them, that from the confidence which I had in
his word and in his justice, I had communicated
to them the particulars of a matter which must
necessarily be kept secret.
Yesterday M. de Torcy paid me a visit of cere-
mony, and then stopped to dinner with me. He
told me that he should let me know to-day when
I should return to Versailles, respecting the pro-
posals, and that his Majesty had very well received
what I had desired them to say about the assassins
LETTERS OF WILLIAM 0
III. AND LOUIS XIV. 443
I
Me
and the manner in which I had said it; that he
had orders to tell me that, if I could discover that
there were any of these villains in France, he
would have them arrested on my application. I
had spoken to them at great length about their
conduct in this respect, and of the impossibility of
establishing a good understanding and confidence
till other measures were taken here; since your
Majesty could not be contented with mere ex-
ternals, nor with the good reception given to me, and
which, in fact, is daily more and more distinguished;
for during the stay which I made at Versailles
the King showed me a thousand attentions.* On
retiring to rest, he ordered the candlestick to be
given to me; he has himself shown me the garden
and the fountains, walking about the whole even-
ing, and has never seen me, though often three
times in the day, without speaking to me, con-
versing cheerfully, and talking on all kind of sub-
jects. Your Majesty is sufficiently acquainted with
this nation to judge, after that, what all the court
do, in which I can say, without flattery, that your
* “29 Avril. 1698.- Le Roi donna une grande audience à
my Lord Portland, à qui l'on fit voir, l'après-dîner, toutes les
fontaines. Il vint au coucher du Roi, et le Roi lui fit donner le
bougeoir." Dangeau.
"Le Roi," says Saint-Simon, "fit pour cet ambassadeur ce
qui n'a jamais été fait pour aucun autre. Il lui donna un soir
le bougeoir à son coucher, qui est une faveur qui ne se fait
qu'aux gens les plus considérables, et que le Roi veut distinguer.
Rarement les ambassadeurs se familiarisent à faire leur cour à
ces heures, et, s'il y en vient, il n'arrive presque jamais qu'ils
reçoivent cet agrément."
444 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
Majesty is more highly honoured, esteemed, and
respected than in your own dominions; and of this
I hope soon to give your Majesty an account by
word of mouth, to your great satisfaction. I must,
however, tell your Majesty that the near relations
of Lord Feversham, such as Marshals Duras and
Lorge*, and the Duke de la Rochefoucauld, have
not been to see me, or shown me any civility;
and though the King spoke, in the presence of the
latter, of his stag-hounds, and said that I ought
to see them hunt, and though the Duke said to me
at the same time that he would let me know when
I could do so, he has never yet done it, and when
I rallied him on the subject, he excused himself
by saying that King James often hunted with him;
so that I have never seen his hounds. †
I forgot to mention that I have been told that
your Majesty had not spoken about Gibraltar. I
think, however, that it will be very necessary to
insist upon it, especially for the reasons I have
before stated, that we may relax at any time.
* Louis Duras, Marquis de Blanquefort, came into England
at the Restoration, was naturalised here in 1665, and created
Baron Duras of Holdenby in 1672. He became Earl of Fever-
sham in 1677, under the limitation of the patent of peerage
granted in the preceding year to Sir G. Sondes, whose eldest
daughter he had married. He was captain of a troop of life
guards at the time of the Revolution, and commanded the army
of James II. when the Prince of Orange came to Whitehall.
He resigned all his posts, and lived in obscurity till his death,
1709. Lord Feversham was the brother of Marshals Duras
and Lorge.
† See antè, the note p. 193.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 445
The Indies in the hands of a French king of Spain
would be so great an advantage to this nation,
that I cannot imagine but that they will do every
thing to get them. And this makes me think that
the three ships which, in consequence of the great
devotion of the King, are sent to Carthagena to
carry back every thing that has been plundered
from the churches, is for the purpose of making a
party there, among the clergy, to turn it to ac-
count on the first opportunity.
THE MARQUIS DE TORCY TO THE EARL OF
PORTLAND.
May 4. 1698.
Count Tallard, in giving an account to the
King of his audience, writes, that the king of
England told him, that the proposals were of such
great importance that it was impossible to answer
immediately, and that he would consider of them.
Upon this answer his Majesty has ordered Count
Tallard to wait for what the king of England
shall say to him; and as he can say nothing more
particularly to your Excellency till he has received
more precise information from London, his Majesty
has thought that it was useless to give you, Sir,
an audience on this one subject. The remainder
of the letter contains only what I have had the
honour to say to your Excellency. If, however,
you think that you ought to speak to the King,
and will come here on Tuesday, his Majesty will
446 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
receive you in his cabinet after the levee. Lastly,
if instead of a private audience your Excellency
wishes for a public one, as you have said to me,
I beg you to inform me of it, and I will execute
what you desire.
MONSIEUR will not hunt on Tuesday; he has
ordered me to inform your Excellency of this.
LOUIS XIV. TO COUNT TALLARD.
Versailles, May 5. 1698.
Sir,
Your letter of the 25th of last month informs
me of what passed on your journey to Newmarket.
Before I received it the Earl of Portland had been
informed by the king of England of what
you had
said to that prince; but he had given an account
of his answers rather different from what you
write to me. It was, probably, with a view to
make me explain myself still more particularly
respecting some of the proposals which were made
to you. In short, whatever be the motive of his
conduct, he has assured me, before I received your
letter, that of the two alternatives which you had
proposed, the king of England found the one
impossible and the other impracticable; that the
Dutch, jealous of their barrier, and finding it
already too weak, would never consent to see me
master of Luxemburg, as I proposed in the first
alternative; that the commerce of the Mediterra-
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 447
:
nean would be entirely lost to them and to the
English if the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily were
in my hands; that all these reasons rendered the
execution of the first alternative impossible; that
with respect to the second, it was impracticable
because these two nations would never be per-
suaded, complaisantly, to view the increase of my
power, if they did not, at the same time, find their
own interest in it; that they could not distin-
guish my possessions from those of my grandson,
who would have Spain and the Indies for his
share, and that it would be deceiving themselves
to believe that, in this arrangement, I should not
have it in my power to interrupt, whenever I
thought proper, the commerce of the two nations
in the Indies and the Mediterranean; that the
English and the Dutch had not the same reason to
fear, on the part of the Emperor; that that prince
had no ships, and it would be very long ere Spain,
under the government of the Archduke, could have
any naval force; consequently, that it was ab-
solutely necessary to secure the commerce of the
English and the Dutch by places of safety which
would be given them, if the crown of Spain should,
in the partition of the monarchy, fall to the share
of one of my grandsons; that this crown would so
considerably increase my power, that it was just,
at the same time, to satisfy the rest of Europe, by
strengthening the barrier of the Dutch on the
side of the Netherlands; lastly, Lord Portland,
speaking on the subject, by the order of his
master, had repeated almost the same things he
448 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
´
had said, as of himself, when the first overture
was made him on my part, to take measures, in
case of the demise of the king of Spain; the only
difference is, that he mentioned, this time, the
places of safety which the king, his master, de-
manded, for the commerce of the Mediterranean:
he named Gibraltar on the mainland of Spain,
Ceuta and Oran on the coast of Africa, and Port
Mahon; he did not state what the king of England
desired in the Indies, but he said that that prince
had been surprised at your having told him that
I had given you no instructions on that subject;
lastly, he strongly insisted on the article of Dun-
kirk.
I do not repeat to you all that was answered
him; you will find the greater part in the letters
which I have already written to you and chiefly
in that of the 17th of last month; because, as he
made use of the same arguments that he had al-
ready employed, the answers were necessarily
similar. For the rest, we principally aimed at
proving to him, that the monarchy of Spain, under
the government of one of my grandsons, would be
as separate from my crown as it now is, the go-
vernment remaining entirely in the hands of the
Spaniards; that one of my grandsons reigning there
would know no other interests than those of his
dominions; that, consequently, I should derive no
other advantage from it than that of causing one of
my grandchildren to have a portion of that which
ought to belong to my son; that it would not be
prudent to weaken my frontiers merely for this
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 449
consideration, and to occasion such a real prejudice
to my crown, as would ensue, from ceding some
of my fortresses in Flanders; that therefore the
proposal to increase the barrier is wholly inad-
missible; that with respect to Dunkirk, there was
no reason to believe that the king of England had
made it with a view of obtaining what he asked,
and that it is too well known, how important it is
for my kingdom that that place should remain
always in my hands.
It was explained to him that if Port Mahon were
separated from the Spanish monarchy, and given
up to the English or to the Dutch, it would render
them masters of all the commerce of the Mediter-
ranean, and would absolutely exclude all other na-
tions; that Spain itself could not suffer a foreign
power so near the coast of the kingdom; that there
was still less likelihood that the Spaniards would
consent to see the English masters of a fortress on
the Spanish continent, such as Gibraltar; that with
respect to the Indies, the common interest of all
nations is, that things should remain in the state in
which they now are, and that the commerce should
not be disturbed, as it would be, if the English or
the Dutch possessed one of the places belonging to
the Spanish monarchy in America; lastly, that as
these two nations have no right to a share in the
partition of the succession of his Catholic Majesty,
they could not require any thing more than the
security of their commerce, and that nothing was
more calculated to insure this object, than to let
the government of Spain subsist as it now is, and
VOL. I.
G G
450 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
as it would be, under the reign of a king placed from
his infancy in the hands of the Spaniards, and edu-
cated by them, according to their maxims, and
without having any of my subjects about him.
The Earl of Portland spoke of the proposal of
giving Milan to the duke of Savoy, in the same
manner as I perceive that the king of England
had done to you; and he was answered on this
point conformably to what I had desired you to
say, and to what you did say, at your audience.
Things were in this state, and I expected on
the report which the Earl of Portland had made
that the king of England had manifested extreme
aversion to the two alternatives, when your letter
showed me that that prince entered, in some
measure, into what you proposed to him, and that
it would not be so difficult to bring matters to a
happy conclusion as the Earl of Portland had
pretty plainly intimated. This confirms me still
more in the opinion which I always entertained,
that it is necessary that this affair should be ne-
gotiated in London. I am extremely satisfied with
the manner in which you conduct it; and it is
certain that the advantage will be great, in obliging
the king of England, as you have done, to explain
himself; whereas the Earl of Portland has no other
view than to discover my sentiments, and to con-
ceal those of the king, his master.
But you have at present no steps to take; and as
the king of England has told you that he would
reflect upon the proposals which you have made to
him, that they are of such great importance that
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 451
it is impossible to reply to them immediately,
you will wait, till he answers more particularly,
and you
will inform me of the result immediately
afterwards.
I
I have only let the Earl of Portland know that
gave you this order. He had asked if I would
tell him my intentions on the answers which the
king of England had given you. It appeared to
me to be useless to grant him an audience, merely
to communicate to him what I write to you. I
have therefore merely informed him of it, at the
same time leaving him at liberty either to come
and speak to me on the subject, in a private au-
dience, or to take his audience of leave, for which
he has applied.
I have only to repeat to you that in no case
whatever will I cede Dunkirk, or any of the for-
tresses which I possess in the Low Countries; that
I can neither promise to consent that Port Mahon
or Gibraltar should be in the hands of the English
or the Dutch; that a place in the West Indies,
occupied by either of those two nations, would
seem to me to be the ruin of the commerce of all
the rest of Europe; lastly, that I would consent,
if it were necessary, to give up to them, as I have
already stated to you, the fortresses situated on the
coast of Africa; and that with respect to Milan
being destined for the duke of Savoy, that diffi-
culty would not hinder our agreeing on the other
articles, if it was the only one to be settled. But
I confirm what I have already told you, to wait
for the answer of the king of England, or till the
GG 2
452 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
negotiation is more advanced, to express yourself
respecting these facilities. You may, however, con-
tinue to let that prince know that I propose Milan
for the duke of Savoy, principally with the view
to frustrate the designs of the Emperor on Italy,
and that if he believes that this object may be
attained by other means, you will give me an ac-
count of those which he shall propose to you.
There is reason to believe that the king, of
England would not like you to remain in his king-
dom during his absence: independently of this, it
is for the good of my service that you should
follow that prince to Holland, if he goes thither,
and will permit you to do so.
I have also received your letter of the 30th of
last month, and its contents show me, that you had
good reasons for acting as you did with respect to
the incident of which you gave me an account.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Kensington,
April 26.
May 6.
1698.
I think you argue very well about the great and
delicate negotiation of the Spanish succession. I
intend to speak to Count Tallard about it to-morrow
or after to-morrow, in conformity to your sentiments;
and I hope to receive letters from the Earl of Port-
land in the interim. I really think France will
not be so bent upon the form, but will not recede
from insisting on our engaging ourselves positively
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 453
with them, which appears to be very natural; for
without that, they cannot pledge themselves with
us. It will be a very difficult and delicate business
how to communicate the negotiation to the Em-
peror, as it is known beforehand that he will never
accede to it, nor accept either of the alternatives,
particularly the one; and, moreover, he will pretend
we are already pledged to him. So that it merits
reflection whether one ought not to be almost agreed
with France about the conditions, before it be
communicated to the Emperor; as I do not know
why it should be done sooner, being assured the
Emperor will not accede, however it may be. And
besides, it may be that France would agree to give
us better conditions before, than after it is commu-
nicated to the Emperor; for, in the latter case, it
may be, that they will make it a point of honour
not to give way in any thing, as you know they
have done on all occasions. It is certain, that
whatever method we adopt in this business, we
shall exasperate the Emperor to the utmost; and
must look upon him in future as an enemy, if
we make any agreement or convention with France
whatever relative to the Spanish succession. With
respect to the conditions thereof, I am fully per-
suaded that France desires that alternative, by
which a son of the Dauphin is to have Spain and
the West Indies, and will lean towards that, when
we get further into the negotiation, and endeavour
to make the other inadmissible, though it is cer-
tainly the most advantageous for the tranquillity
of Europe. It will be necessary that you should
GG 3
454 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
inform yourself secretly of the importance of the
commerce of the Republic, as well in the Medi-
terranean as in the West Indies. I shall do the
same here; but I do not intend to communicate
this negotiation to any one till the Earl of Port-
land's return; and then perhaps only after the
breaking up of the Parliament.
My ambassador Williamson will receive orders
by this post to conclude with Lillieroot in concert
measures with you, conformably to what you trans-
mitted to me. I find Count Bonde has some know-
ledge of it, and is discontented that this negotiation
does not pass through his hands here.
THE EARL OF PORTLAND TO WILLIAM III.
Paris, May 8. 1698.
The day after I had the honour last to write to
your Majesty, I received a letter from the Marquis
de Torcy, in which he informed me that he had
spoken to the King to ask him when he would be
pleased to give me my audience of leave; and that
his Majesty had answered, that since I had left it
to his choice, he would not give me the audience
till after his return from Marly, whither he is going
to-day, to pass a week, since he desired to intimate
to me that it was his wish to keep me here as long
as he could, and that he should be very glad to
wait, before speaking to me on the proposals, till
Count Tallard should know the sentiments of
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 455
your Majesty, since you had told him that the
affair was of such consequence that you wished to
take a little time to consider of it.
I
I went on Thursday to Versailles to the King's
levee. After he had retired, he sent to inquire whe-
ther I had any intention of speaking to him, and on
my answering that I had nothing to say which was
worthy of taking up his time, M. de Torcy came to
tell me, that, though his Majesty had nothing
important to say to me, yet as I was there, he
desired to speak with me: and I accordingly went
into his cabinet. The King said, among other things,
that he believed that your Majesty had deferred
speaking to Count Tallard, in order previously to
ascertain the sentiments of the States General.
told him that that assembly was too numerous to ask
its opinion beforehand upon a matter which required
so much secrecy; and that if your Majesty had
desired to wait to know the sentiments of any one,
it could only be of some minister. After which, the
King intimated that he should wish much to agree
entirely with your Majesty: "but you know," said
he, "that there are certain things which I can never
do;" to which I answered, "I hope that these will
be of no great importance;" but that on our part
there were some things of the utmost consequence,
to which your Majesty could never consent, con-
trary to the interests of the two nations. On this
the King began to speak of several indifferent
topics, to joke and to laugh, in the most affable
manner.
I am very glad that your Majesty has appointed
GG 4
456 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
the Earl of Jersey to be my successor.* I believe it
would have been very serviceable if your Majesty
could have sent him hither before my departure. I
regret the Duke of Shrewsbury. The attempt
which is made to force a successor is insupportable;
and if this party could be gratified in what is
unreasonable, it would not even delay the address
which your Majesty apprehends.
To-morrow I shall go to Fontainebleau and Vaux,
to see these two places: I shall be away one night.
COUNT TALLARD TO LOUIS XIV.
Sire,
London, May 8. 1698.
The Earl of Jersey, who is appointed ambassador
at your Majesty's court, as I had the honour to write
to you, called upon me to-day, to inform me that
the king of England wished me to be with him at
eleven o'clock this morning, and I accordingly
waited upon him. On being shown into his cabinet,
he told me that he was very glad to see me
before he went to Windsor, to tell me what he
thought about the alternatives which I had pro-
posed to him on the part of your Majesty; that the
affair was of such great consequence, that I ought
not to be surprised at his having taken some time
to reflect on it; that he would confess, to speak
frankly and to act sincerely towards your Majesty,
* Portland had married the fourth sister of the Earl of
Jersey.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 457
that it had not been possible for him to come
to a determination in a matter of such importance,
connected as he is with the republic of Holland,
without communicating it, under the seal of the
strictest secrecy, to the person who has the confi-
dence of the States General, that is to say, to the
Pensionary Heinsius.
This, Sire, was not said distinctly or without
circumlocution, but this is the sense of it. The
remainder of what he said to me, and of which I
shall have the honour to give your Majesty an
account, was equally enveloped in prolix reasonings
and digressions; and if I aimed at giving myself
importance, rather than at sparing your Majesty a
recital which, by its great length, might become
tedious, I might enter into the details of all that
was said over and over again, in a conversation of
an hour and a half, in which I venture to flatter
myself, that your Majesty would be contented
both with the answers which I made, and with the
care which I took to make the king of England
speak out; but, as I have abundance of matter
without this, I confine myself to what it is essen-
tial to bring to your Majesty's knowledge.
I shall then have the honour to say that he
expressed to me how much he was embarrassed,
and that he was very glad to learn your Majesty's
sentiments respecting the manner in which he
should behave towards the Emperor. He repeated,
several times, that he had a treaty with that prince;
that he saw clearly the inconvenience there would
be in attempting to act in concert with him; but
458 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
that, on the other hand, it was an extreme reso-
lution to determine to regulate every thing without
his knowledge, and to declare to him on the death
of the king of Spain that the succession had been
divided, and what share he was to have of it; that
there was another point which gave him pain,
namely, to engage in the partition of the dominion
of a prince who was still living.
I replied to the first of these two points, that I
believed he was as well convinced as myself of the
answer which the Emperor would make if he were
consulted; that he would say that the entire suc-
cession of his Catholic Majesty belonged to him;
that the ambition of that prince was so well known,
and all the steps which he had taken for a certain
time past were so decided, that all hope must be
given up of bringing him to a reasonable treaty;
that it would be nothing more than a complimentary
formality towards him, because it would not be
desiring really to enter into a treaty with your
Majesty, to think of making it only with his consent;
therefore I thought it was best to begin by regu-
lating every thing, and then, perhaps, your Majesty
would agree that the king of England should do
what he thought fit to settle amicably with that
prince.
The King replied, that he was accustomed to be
more open than this in his proceedings; that he
saw the reasons for not opening himself to the
Emperor; that he agreed with me respecting the
answer which he would make, but that he was very
glad to learn your Majesty's sentiments on that
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 459
subject, and that he desired me to discover what
they are. I said that in regard to the scruples
which he entertained with respect to the king of
Spain, I agreed that, generally speaking, it would
not be becoming to partition the succession of a
person yet alive, but that in the present case it
was indispensable; that everybody wished to profit
by the dismemberment of the Spanish monarchy;
that they would begin to act on the day that the
prince should close his eyes; that there would then
be no more time to talk of negotiations, and of taking
measures, and that what he owed to the tranquillity
of his people and to that of the republic which
he protected, called upon him to prevent what in
such a case might produce disorder in Europe; that
therefore the rules of courtesy were not violated,
and to this he agreed.
After this he again spoke of the two proposed
alternatives, and said that his notion would be to
give the kingdom of Spain and the Indies to one
of the sons of the Dauphin, the kingdom of Naples,
Milan, and Sicily to the Archduke (for he again
referred to Sicily), and the Low Countries to the
electoral prince of Bavaria, strengthening the
barrier: into the explanation of this I did not think
fit to enter, as it would have been of no use; or
the kingdom of Spain, the Indies, and the Spanish
Low Countries in the state in which they are, to the
Electoral Prince; the kingdom of Naples, Sicily,
and the places in Tuscany, to the Dauphin; and
Milan to the Archduke.
I again spoke of the duke of Savoy on occasion
460
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND
AND LOUIS XIV.
of the first alternative, but without success. There
is an opposition here which appears to me to be
invincible, and be even said that, judging from the
disposition of that prince, his future conduct, how-
ever long he lived, would be inevitably such as his
past career might have led one to expect.
The principal point upon which I insisted was
the duchy of Luxemburg for the Dauphin in case
of the second alternative. I showed, to the best of
my ability, that the fortress of that name was of no
use, except for the defence of your frontier. He
seemed to be fully persuaded of the contrary. He
believes, or pretends to believe, that your Majesty
may carry your arms within sight of Nimeguen,
when Luxemburg is in your hands. I in vain spoke
as a man acquainted with that country: he con-
stantly opposed my sentiments, and confined himself
to show that, at least, it commands the country of
Juliers and that of Cologne, and in a word, that it
threatens the Lower Rhine; that notwithstanding
this he had not always been of the opinion of those
who believe that no proposal for an equivalent
ought to be listened to, but that he had been obliged
to yield to the clamour of all the princes of Ger-
many and of the States General. I concluded, as
usual, by saying that I did not dispute what he
said, but that I would have the honour to give
an account of it to your Majesty, and would ac-
quaint him with your Majesty's reply.
He added an observation which appeared to me
very essential, namely, that I might well believe that
in taking this course he could no longer reckon on
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 461
his former alliances; that he could no longer rely
on the House of Austria, and that his only depen-
dence was on his alliance with your Majesty. I
answered, that these sentiments gave me great
pleasure; that I should have the honour to give you
an account of them, assuring him that I was con-
vinced of the real desire of your Majesty to maintain
a good understanding.
He then spoke, as usual, of the commerce of
England and Holland. He said, that he had re-
ceived letters from the Earl of Portland, in which
it was stated that your Majesty had communicated
to him the same proposals of which I gave you an
account at Newmarket; that he had even received
them in a written memorandum; that that ambas-
sador spoke in the highest terms of the kindness of
your Majesty; that he was very grateful for them;
that it was the first time that they had been sepa-
rated from each other for so long a period; that he
had ordered him to return, and that, being in-
formed of the secret in question, we could treat
together at his return, on those matters of which
it would not always be advisable that he should
speak to me, because of the clamour which such
long and frequent conversations would give rise to.
He added that, with respect to the Mediterranean,
he still required Ceuta, Oran, and Port Mahon.
He would not explain himself with regard to the
Indies. On this question I spoke to him at some
length. I showed him that it could never be
conceded that the English and Dutch should have a
port on the continent of America; that this would
·
462 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
be much more advantageous to them than if they
possessed the whole of the Indies; that the only
thing which supported the commerce of Spain with
the Indies was that other nations were obliged to
take to Cadiz the cloths and other articles of which
the Indians had need; that as all these goods passed
through their hands, and no stranger was able
to trade directly with America, the money flowed
into their kingdom, whence it was distributed, as
it were, among all the states of Europe; that the
system would be wholly changed if the English and
the Dutch could carry their goods themselves to the
continents of the New World; that no commerce
would be carried on by Cadiz or by Spain; that
other states would no longer have any part in it;
and that it was a thing which could never be con-
sented to. I added, that neither could the port of
Havannah, of which he did me the honour to speak
at the last interview, be separated from the kingdom
of Spain; that it was a place where the galleons
anchored to refit for a month on their return from
the Indies; that this entrepôt was absolutely neces-
sary. He replied, that if that port were not granted
another in the vicinity must be sought; that he
could not say any thing to me on that subject,
because he had no personal knowledge of it; and
that he had thought proper to observe such strict
secrecy that he had not ventured to mention the
name of that place to anybody, with a view of
obtaining information.
He was then about to revert to the subject of King
James. When he began, I interrupted him and said,
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 463
"Sire, for God's sake spare yourself the trouble of
speaking to me of a matter on which I can only
repeat the same language which I had the honour
to hold the last time." He was surprised, and
asked me if I had had the honour to give you an
account of what he had said to me during the first
conversation. I replied, that I had given an ac-
count to your Majesty of the whole, and that I had
not received any fresh instructions upon the sub-
ject. He replied, that he left it to me to write to
your Majesty what I thought fit on that point,
"mais vous voyez bien," said he, ce qu'il y a à voir,
et si, en me faisant français, car je le deviens,"
and here he stopped.
The result of all this, Sire, is that the king of
England, who will not reason nor speak on this
point, will leave it to the care of the Earl of Port-
land, who will acquit himself very well.
He spoke with such great earnestness of the
duchy of Luxemburg that I can hardly believe he
will give way. He, however, dropped a word of
the opinion he had entertained of accepting an equi-
valent for that place.
He made no difficulty in plainly intimating that
the States General would enter into the same treaty
as himself.
It appeared to me that the whole of what he said
about the manner in which he should proceed with
the Emperor is rather a justification of his separ-
ating himself from his interests, than a real em-
barrassment, and my own opinion is, that he has
no treaty with him, except for the Milanese, but
A
464 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
I may be mistaken; and I am persuaded that the
information which he has received from Holland
inclines him strongly to embrace the alternative
which gives Spain to the Electoral Prince; and I
am inclined to believe this because there is no
proportion in these alternatives, as I told him.
I cannot conclude without doing myself the ho-
nour to tell your Majesty that the Carmelite Friar
who gave me the letter in question has not been
arrested, and that no further investigation has been
made into the matter for this month past.* This
induces me to hope, Sire, that your Majesty will
think that I was not so wrong as your Majesty at
first believed, in acting as I did.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
1698.
Windsor, April 29.
May 9.
Yesterday, before I left Kensington, I had a long
conversation with Count Tallard; in which I told
him I had maturely considered the proposals he
had made me; and, on account of the great desire
I had to see the peace of Europe preserved, without
presuming to judge of another's right, I thought
there were materials in the said proposals to ne-
"I hear the Friar d'Orvilliers is still in town, but he
conceals himself so well that I cannot seize him. He intends
to go within a few days for France: I shall try if he can be
taken at any of the ports." Mr. Vernon to the Duke of
Shrewsbury. May 12. O. S.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 465
gotiate upon; but that I was greatly embarrassed
as to the form. For I did not think it becoming
to do so without a previous communication with
the Emperor, whose ally I had been so long. I
asked him, whether he had any instructions upon
that point, or if he knew his master's intentions ?
He said, he did not, but would write about it: that,
for his part, he did not see to what purpose a
previous communication should be made, being
well assured it would not be accepted, but would
disgust the Court of Vienna. I replied that it
must nevertheless be done, sooner or later. But
he thought it would be best to wait till we were
agreed about the conditions, or to keep the matter
wholly secret till the event took place, which I hold
to be impossible. Conversing further on the sub-
ject, I said that I thought the alternative of the
Electoral Prince's obtaining Spain, the West Indies,
and the Low Countries, would best suit us, but that
we should never consent to dismembering the duchy
of Luxemburg from it, but that it should remain
for a barrier as at present. To this he said little,
except that, in this case, the Emperor should have
Milan. On my observing to him, that I thought
this portion too small, and that something more
must be added, he replied that he did not see any
necessity for it. With respect to the other alter-
native, on my stating that in case it took place, we
must have some places of security in the Mediter-
ranean and the West Indies, and that the barrier
in the Spanish Netherlands must be made better,
because nothing could in this case come from Spain
·
VOL. I.
II H
466
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
for the defence of these provinces; and that more-
over Milan should go to the Emperor, and not to
the duke of Savoy; he did not enter into much
debate, but remained satisfied with saying he did
not know which of these alternatives it was the
king his master's intention to prefer, but in the
way I had stated it, the first was certainly pre-
ferable; namely, that Spain should go to the House
of Bavaria. In the whole course of the conver-
sation he showed great eagerness to bring this ne-
gotiation to an end; and concluded with saying,
he would acquaint his master by a courier of what
had passed, and would communicate to me his an-
swer. I told him that I had hitherto communicated
this affair to none but you.
COUNT TALLARD TO LOUIS XIV.
London, May 9. 1698.
The king of England is very far from being
master here; he is generally hated by all the great
men and the whole of the nobility: I could not
venture to say despised, for in truth that word
cannot be applied to him, but it is the feeling which
all those whom I have just mentioned entertain
towards him. It is not the same with the people,
who are very favourably inclined towards him, yet
less so than at the beginning. The friendship
which this prince shows to the Dutch, the intimacy
in which he lives with them and with foreigners,
the immense benefits which he confers on them, and
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 467
the declared favour of the Earl of Albermarle, who
is a very young man, have produced the effect
which I have mentioned.
The nation is divided into two parties, under
whose name all the others have rallied: one is
called the Whigs, and the other the Tories. The
first is composed of Presbyterians, and of those
who are opposed to arbitrary power and the royal
authority. It is they who have placed the crown
on the head of the present king. The second is
composed of Episcopalians, of those who are in
favour of monarchy, and who consider the king
at present on the throne as king only de facto, and
not king de jure. These two parties divide all
England between them. The King has of late
passed several times from one party to the other,
according to his wants, and has always abandoned,
in order to succeed in his object, those who were
in office, and who were opposed to the prevailing
party. Hence arises the difficulty he has in finding
persons whom he can place in office; nobody
desires it, and in this respect every thing is in per-
petual motion.
Nothing can equal the prodigality and disorder
in the finances of England during the whole of the
late war. Every thing was done with regularity
or system, and without economy; and I confess
that nothing has given me so much surprise, as
the details which have come to my knowledge on
this subject.
No Englishman has any real share in public
affairs, except the Lord Chancellor, a man of about
HH 2
468 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
thirty-seven or thirty-eight years of age, whom the
King has placed in that office, much attached to
that prince-very honest, and much esteemed by
all parties. He is, however, employed solely on the
home affairs of the kingdom.
The Secretaries of State attend to nothing what-
ever, except the affairs of the provinces. All the
rest passes through the hands either of the King
himself, who writes a great deal, or of the Earl
of Albemarle. I am persuaded that when the Earl
of Portland returns he will find a place, though
in this country he is looked upon as ruined.
The King is accused of being idle, at least of not
being so laborious as he should be. He dines or
sups three times a week with the Earl of Albe-
marle, and a short time before setting out for
Newmarket he one day sat five hours at table.
King James has still friends in this country; and
it is certain that if the expedition from La Hogue
had succeeded, the greater part of England would
have declared in his favour; and it is true that the
present king has no solid foundation for the
strengthening of his power in this country, except
his army, of which he is the master, and the vici-
nity of the Dutch, who are also at his disposal.
He has given the whole weight of Parliament to
the House of Commons; the House of Lords has
no credit whatever.
Nothing is so different from the manners of for-
mer times as the present style of living among the
noblemen. They have no intercourse one with an-
other after they quit the House: most of them go to
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 469
dine at some tavern, and afterwards they repair to
places called coffee-houses, where every body goes
without distinction. Of these there is an infinite
number in London, and there they remain till they
return home.
The persons most esteemed in this country are
the Duke of Shrewsbury, who is dying; Lord
Godolphin *, who has retired from public life after
* Sidney Godolphin, third son of Sir Francis Godolphin.
He was Secretary of State in 1684, and was created a Baron
the same year.
At the Revolution, he was brought into the
treasury, though he had voted for a regency; and was much
considered by King William. "He was," says Burnet, “the most
silent and modest man that was perhaps ever bred in a Court.
He had a clear apprehension, and dispatched business with
great method, and with so much temper that he had no personal
enemies; but his silence begot a jealousy, which has hung long
upon him. His incorrupt and sincere way of managing the
concerns of the treasury created in all people a very high
esteem for him. He loved gaming the most of any man of
business I ever knew, and gave a reason for it because it
delivered him from the obligation to talk much. He had true
principles of religion and virtue, and was free from all vanity,
and never heaped up wealth; so that all things being led to-
gether, he was one of the worthiest and wisest men that has
been employed in our time." Having been accused by Fenwick
of dealing with St. Germains, he asked leave of the King to
resign his post of first commissioner of the treasury, which,
says Mr. Vernon, "his Majesty was very easy and kind in
granting," (October, 1696). Lord Godolphin had been a con-
stant object of hatred to most of his colleagues in office. Lord
Somers, as appears from a letter he wrote at the time, seems to
have rejoiced at his resignation; but the principal persons con-
cerned in the endless manœuvres to drive him from the ministry,
were the Earl of Sunderland and Lord Monmouth. It must be
added that Lord Godolphin had the happiness to be the husband
HH 3
470 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
accumulating great wealth; the Earl of Tankerville,
formerly Lord Grey*; Lord Romney, more because
he is an honest man, and holds all the great offices
of the kingdom, than for any eminent talents†;
there is also the Duke of Leeds, who is much
esteemed. I do not speak of the Earl of Sunder-
land, because he is known to your Majesty: he is
considered the most able man in England, and it is
believed that he is higher in favour with the King
than ever he will return at the close of Parlia-
inent.
The journey which the King intends to make to
Holland gives so much uneasiness to this nation,
that it is much questioned if he will undertake it,
at least such is the report; but perhaps it is only
on account of Parliament. So much is certain that
of the accomplished Mrs. Godolphin, whose life by Evelyn has
recently been printed.
* Ford, the eldest son of Ralph, Lord Grey of Wark, was a
great opposer of King James II., and concerned in the rebellion
of the Duke of Monmouth, in whose army he was general of
the horse. He compounded for his life upon infamous con-
ditions; for he was a witness for the conviction of others.
He got into favour with King William, who created him Earl
of Tankerville, and Viscount Grey of Glendale, in 1695.
† At the Revolution, Burnet tells us, "the King's chief
personal favour lay between Bentinck and Sidney. He was
made Secretary of State, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and
Master of the Ordnance; but he was so set on pleasure,
that he was not able to follow business with a due applica-
tion. A graceful man, and one who had lived long at Court,
where he had some adventures that became very public.
He was a man of a sweet and caressing temper, had no malice
in his heart, but too great a love of pleasure."
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 471
the situation of the King is still very precarious,
and that the moment which has given repose to
all the world, has been but the beginning of trou-
bles to this prince.
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
Windsor, May 2-12. 1698.
I did not receive, till this morning, your letter
of the 4th of this month. On setting out from
Kensington last Friday, I had a long conversation
with Count Tallard, and I spoke to him to the
same effect, as the letters from the Pensionary,
which I had received previously. These I enclose
for your information. I owned to him that I had
communicated his proposals to the Pensionary, and
to no other person in the world, in the view of
learning the sentiments of the Republic on so im-
portant a matter, for I could never take any mea-
sures but in conjunction with it; and I let him
know in the course of conversation that this was
the reason why I had not sooner given an answer
to the proposals which he had made to me at
Newmarket, and which were the same that had
been made to you, and to which I had replied, and
pretty nearly expressed my sentiments; that the
desire which I had to contribute all that depended
upon me to prevent a war, and to preserve the
tranquillity of Europe, led me to think that with-
out entering into any discussion of the rights of
11 I 4
472 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
the claimants of the Spanish succession, I might
enter into a negotiation on the alternatives which
he had communicated to me; that, however, I was
much embarrassed about the form; that, having
been so long in alliance with the Emperor, it would
not be becoming in me not to communicate the
proposals to him beforehand; upon which I in-
quired whether he had instructions or orders on
this point from the king, his master. He said, No,
but that he would write about it; that he could
say, as his own private opinion, that he thought
we should first agree together, before communi-
cating with the Emperor, and even observe secrecy,
till the event took place, since he was very sure
that the ministers at Vienna would never enter into
such a negotiation. As for secrecy, I told him it
would hardly be practicable to observe it for so
long a time.
Then conversing upon the matter itself, I told
him that it would suit us better to treat on the
alternative, which proposed to give Spain, the In-
dies, and the Low Countries, to the son of the elector
of Bavaria; but that he must not imagine that we
should consent that Luxemburg should be dismem-
bered from it; that, on the contrary, we insisted
that the barrier should be strengthened. He did
not make much objection to the first point, but
to the second he said plainly that it could not
be thought of. I told him also, that by this alter-
native, the Emperor would have only Milan, which
was too little; which he did not very strongly deny,
but said he did not see how he could have more,
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 473
since the Dauphin would have only the kingdoms
of Naples and Sicily, no part of which he could
cede.
With respect to the other alternative, I said that
I had much more to demand, namely, places in the
Mediterranean as guarantees, such as Port Mahon,
Ceuta, and Oran, and others. I confess that I did not
speak of Gibraltar, nor of the Indies, respecting
which I was not sufficiently informed, and with
regard to which I have reserved to myself the right
of explaining myself more particularly. I only
mentioned the port of Havannah, which was
certainly the most important place for navigation;
that with respect to the Low Countries the barrier
must be more extensive, and that there was a
particular reason in this case, which was irre-
fragable, viz. that as it could not then expect any
assistance from Spain, it was necessary that it
should be in a condition to maintain itself, in some
measure, by its own resources, since there would
then be only England and Holland which could
assist it: he did not much contest this point; that as
for Milan, it should also belong to the Emperor; that
to think of the duke of Savoy was absurd. He
concluded by telling me that he would make a
faithful report of every thing, and would despatch
a courier to the king, his master, on the following
day. I therefore do not doubt that you will have
learnt something of our conversation before you
can receive this letter.
I should have written to you sooner, but I was
expecting news from you. I observed in this
474 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
conversation that Count Tallard is in a terrible
hurry to terminate this negotiation. I told him
that on your return he should have you for his
commissioner. In the course of conversation, I
dropt, as if by chance, that if I agreed with France
on this important affair I should be separated from
the House of Austria; and I never saw a man in such
joy, scarcely able to contain himself, and repeating
it four or five times. I forgot to tell you, that, in
our first conversation, I had spoken to him of the
removal of King James, as it was impossible
that the Most Christian King and myself can be on
strict alliance and good understanding so long as
he shall remain in France. He did not very de-
cidedly contradict me, but kept crying out about
the point of honour. I reminded him of it this
last time. He assured me that he had received
neither instructions nor answer, but that as Count
Tallard, he could not deny, that means must be
found for this purpose, as he saw clearly that this
was not very compatible with our being in strict
alliance. I believe that all will depend on this. I
did not think fit to speak to him about the assassins,
as I thought that was beneath me.
I hope that I shall receive news from you in a
few days, and that I shall have the satisfaction of
soon seeing you again, for which I am more impa-
tient than you can conceive, as it is impossible to
love you more tenderly than I do.
Just as I am closing my letter, I have received
yours of the 8th, to which there is nothing to reply.
His Most Christian Majesty has not judged amiss;
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 475
I am much rejoiced that he treats you so well:
whatever happens that cannot be otherwise than
advantageous.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Windsor, May 3-13. 1698.
I do not differ at all from your sentiments on
that important business. It will be very difficult
to manage this negotiation like the secret one at
the conclusion of the peace. I can scarcely be-
lieve that France will agree to that. But we shall
soon see, when Count Tallard receives an answer.
I should like if you would draw up a sketch of a
convention, in form of articles, in case we should
come to an agreement with France about that im-
portant matter; and though it seems somewhat
premature, yet there would be no harm in it, and
it might probably give one some éclaircissement.
I will send full powers to my ambassador
Williamson; in the mean time, however, he may
conclude and sign the convention with Lillieroot;
and though in itself it is not much, yet I think it
is not a bad step to treat ulteriorly with Sweden.
I think the Republic should not be too complaisant
to France on the subject of commerce, particularly
in what is stipulated by the treaty of peace; but it
merits consideration whether it would be proper to
subject all their merchandise to custom-house du-
ties; though I am inclined to think with you, that
476 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
we should do so to some extent. I find also, by the
Earl of Portland's letters, that he is of opinion the
Republic should remain firm by the treaty, of which
probably Nieuport has informed
you.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Kensington, May 6-16. 1698.
I have this day received yours of the 13th, and
much approve the manner and form you think
most proper to adopt in this important negotiation;
and I shall avail myself of it when Count Tallard
speaks to me again on the subject, which will pro-
bably be in a few days, when he has received an
answer from his Court.
LOUIS XIV. TO COUNT TALLARD.
(No. I.)
Sir,
Versailles, May 16. 1698.
I return a special answer to the letter which you
wrote to me on the 9th of this month, because I
have thought fit to show to the Earl of Portland the
other despatch which I have written to you. The
account which you give me of several circumstances
which you have learnt relative to the king of
England and the state of his kingdom shows me
that there is no alliance more suitable to that
prince than mine. Those of the House of Austria
will always be burdensome to him. He can never
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 477
unite with it without engaging to furnish it with
money, troops, and ships, and it seems clear that the
English nation will not be easily induced to grant
them, and that it is not sufficiently subservient to
the will of that prince to engage in a new war
without having very cogent reasons, and such as
plainly interest the whole nation.
He must see, on the contrary, that the engage-
ments which he would make with me, would secure
the situation in which he is placed; that as the per-
sons whose intentions he suspects would not hope
for any assistance, but on the contrary would sec
him ready to receive prompt aid from me, they
would soon submit and abandon all the projects
which they have formed. I do not doubt that you
will make a good use of all these circumstances, to
insure the success of the negotiation which I have
committed to you; but in order to succeed, you
must not manifest any eagerness to conclude it;
and it is proper that the king of England, knowing
the interest which he has in uniting with me,
should take some steps on his side to establish this
good understanding.
I still persist in the resolution to cede to him
the ports on the coast of Africa, but it is not yet
time to be explicit on this point.
04
(No. II.)
To give you more explicitly my instructions on
a matter of such importance as that of which the
king of England spoke to you at the audience of
478
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
which you have given me an account, I shall divide
what he said to you into two parts. The first
relates to the embarrassment which he expressed
respecting the manner in which he should behave
towards the Emperor, and the scruples which he
pretends to feel, at agreeing to a partition of the
succession during the life of the king of Spain.
The second contains the new proposals which he
has made on the alternatives which you have com-
municated to him by my order.
With regard to the first article*, [there is reason
to believe that the embarrassment of the king of
England respecting the manner in which he is to
act towards the Emperor is not such as he would
have it appear; that what he said to you on the
subject is perhaps a pretext, which he makes
use of to obtain a more considerable share in
favour of the Emperor; that he will say in the
sequel that he cannot wholly abandon the House
of Austria, and that, framing conditions without
its participation, he must, at least, in consideration
of the alliance which he has always had with it,
make them advantageous. But] the only point in
question at present is the difficulty which he finds
in treating with me without the participation of
the Emperor. I approve, in the first place, of
what you answered him; you may add, that his
embarrassment would seem well founded, if the
Emperor, on his part, had the right to the whole
* In the margin of what is enclosed between the brackets
there is written, "This article has not been read to Lord Portland."
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 479
of the Spanish succession, or at least an equal right
to partition it, to take from all Europe the well-
founded jealousy which it must feel at the union
of two such considerable powers, in that case
the neutral powers might examine what would
be most agreeable to the general good, either
to treat with me, or to favour the interests of the
Emperor; that even in such an arrangement it
might be permitted to prefer the ancient alliances;
that, however, things are very far from being in
such a state of equality; that by the avowal of the
king of England himself, the Emperor is, of all the
pretenders, the one whose right is the weakest; that,
notwithstanding this, he lays claim to the whole of
the Spanish succession; that the steps which he
has taken with this view are too public to leave
any doubt of his designs, and that the king of Eng-
land is better informed of them than any body,
since he himself confesses that he has a treaty with
that prince*; that as he opens himself sincerely
to you, I will not conceal from him that I too know
what this treaty contains, and I send you a copy
of it, which clearly shows, that the Emperor does
not think of allowing any partition of that succes-
sion; that the king of England may recollect what
he has already said to you several times, and what
Lord Portland has said here on his part, which is,
that in the situation in which he is placed at present
he must not consult his own sentiments only, but
* The secret article of the treaty concluded with the Em-
peror in 1689. See antè, p. 271.
480
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
that the interest of the two nations which he governs
must be the rule of his conduct; let him judge,
then, whether it is agreeable to the interests of
these two nations to unite with the Imperial dignity,
and with the dominions which the Emperor pos-
sesses, the whole Spanish monarchy, as the king
of England and the States General have engaged
to do by the treaty which that prince mentioned
to you; that this treaty must be considered as an
engagement entered into during the war, with a
view to afford each other mutual assistance, but
that it would be acting at once contrary to the se-
parate interests of the English and Dutch, so dear
to the king of England, and contrary to those of all
Europe, to think of observing literally, after the
conclusion of peace, the condition of an offensive
alliance; that the principal articles of that alliance
were even annulled at the moment of the conclusion
of the treaties of Ryswick; that, consequently, it
ought not to prevent the king of England from
taking such measures as are necessary to secure the
preservation of peace; that it is very evident that
it would render them absolutely useless to give the
slightest intimation of them to the Emperor; that
the general good must be preferred to special con-
siderations, especially to such as would bind the
king of England to steps contrary to justice, by
fettering the rights of the legitimate heirs, contrary
to the interests of the English and the Dutch and
to those of all Europe.
In short, the only line of conduct which it seems
to me he has at present to follow with respect to
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 481
the Emperor is not to renew the treaty with him.
It seems evident from the eagerness of that prince
to form a new alliance, and to enter into new engage-
ments with the king of England, that he himself
considers that the old ones have ceased by the
conclusion of the peace.
•
-
With respect to the scruples about agreeing during
the life of the king of Spain to the partition of the
succession, I should myself entertain some, more
than any body, if the measures which it shall be
thought proper to take could produce any bad
effect, divert his subjects from the obedience which
they owe him, or even impair the health of that
prince by the uneasiness which they would give
him, if they came to his knowledge. Accordingly
I have not given any order to my ambassador at
Madrid to speak in any way whatever to his Ca-
tholic Majesty of the rights of my son to the suc-
cession, though the Emperor sent Count Harrach,
almost a year ago, to require that the Archduke
should be invited to Spain, and acknowledged as heir
to the monarchy; but I see no bad effect that can
arise from the secret measures which I should take
with the king of England. They would be unknown
to every body, and would not be disclosed till the
moment when it should be necessary to manifest
them for the general good of Europe, and to pre-
serve the peace in circumstances so calculated to
disturb it. This motive is so powerful, that trifling
considerations ought not to be an obstacle; and
besides, I do not see on what foundation they can
be supported, when the precautions which I
propose
VOL. I.
I I
482
AND
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
remain enveloped in profound secrecy, and do no
injury to his Catholic Majesty.
The Emperor who is uncle to that prince had
not the same scruples in 1668. The feeble health
of the king of Spain rendered it doubtful whether
he could live; he was not even of an age to be
married. But I then arranged with the Emperor,
by a treaty on the partition of the succession, and
this treaty was to continue in force six years after
his Catholic Majesty should be married and have
children. You may state this to the king of
England; and, in truth, I am persuaded that that
prince will easily get over this difficulty.
I see greater difficulties in the second part, which
relates to the alternatives which he has proposed.
You will tell him that they do not appear to me
to be at all equal. In one he gives to the electoral
prince of Bavaria the kingdom of Spain, the Indies,
and the Low Countries, without any restriction.
He reduces the share of my son to the kingdoms of
Naples and Sicily and the towns of Tuscany, and
allotting Milan to the Archduke, he secures to him
the best and most considerable state of Italy.
In the other, he proposes to give the kingdom
of Spain to one of my grandsons; and besides
the Low Countries, which I agree to detach from it,
the king of England wishes also to take the places
on the coasts of Africa, Port Mahon, and a
place in the West Indies, so that he reduces a
king of Spain to entire dependence on the English
and the Dutch in the Mediterranean and the Indies.
He would hinder the Spaniards from carrying on
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 483
their trade without the consent of those two
nations; and on the other hand, he renders the
Archduke, or, more properly speaking, the Emperor,
absolute master of Italy, by assigning to. him for
his share the most considerable states of that part
of Europe. The easy communication of the here-
ditary dominions of the House of Austria with
Milan and the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily,
which it would besides possess, would furnish it
with sufficient means soon to subject all the princes
of Italy; and I am persuaded, that the king of
England cannot believe that this arrangement
would be agreeable to the rest of Europe.
It was with a view to prevent this great prepon-
derance of the Emperor in Italy that I proposed to
give Milan to the duke of Savoy. You may tell
the king of England that I no longer insist on this
proposal, seeing that he manifests so much repug-
nance to it; that, however, I am still persuaded that
it is desirable that the Emperor should find in Italy
a power able to oppose his designs and to hinder
him from subjecting the other princes; and as it
appears to me that the king of England, in pro-
posing to give to the Emperor the kingdoms of
Naples and Sicily and Milan, has chiefly in view to
procure for that prince an equivalent for the king-
dom of Spain and the Indies, which in that case
would come to one of my grandsons, it would be
possible to find another equivalent equally advan-
tageous to the Emperor, and less dangerous to
Italy. It would be to give, by this alternative, as
has been said, the kingdom of Spain, the Indies,
II 2
484 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
and the other countries and places dependent on
that monarchy to one of my grandsons, with the
exception of the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily,
which should be given to the Archduke, with the
Low Countries and Milan to the electoral prince
of Bavaria. The Dutch would likewise find, in
this arrangement, security for their barrier, and
the power of the Emperor in Italy would not be so
formidable as it would be according to the proposal
made to you by the king of England.
As for the other alternative, the kingdoms of
Naples and Sicily, with the places of Tuscany, cannot
be considered as a share with which my son can be
contented, in lieu of all his rights. The examples
of past times have too clearly shown what these
dominions cost France; the little value they are
of to her, and the difficulty of preserving them.
If the duchy of Luxemburg were added to this
alternative, as I proposed, the acquisition of it
would appear so important for the security of the
frontiers of my kingdom, and not for the purpose
of uselessly carrying on war, on the Lower Rhine,
that this alternative deserves to be closely exa-
mined. But in the way that the king of England
proposes both, I do not see that I can choose either
of them, and I have no other instructions to give
you than to let him see the inconveniences which
I remark in both, to enter with him into the con-
sideration of expedients calculated to remove these
difficulties; and in a word, to state my sentiments
with the same sincerity that he manifests, and which
I desire to show towards him, in order to attain
LETTERS OF WILLIAM HII. AND LOUIS XIV. 485
the object that I propose, being persuaded that he
has the same desire to concur in preserving the
peace of Europe.
On this occasion you are again to renew the
assurances, which you have already given him, of
my desire to maintain a perfectly good understand-
ing with him. If this should once be established,
as it would be after such a treaty, I can truly say
that he would see that he would lose nothing in
preferring my alliance to that of the House of
Austria; and though he is certainly master in his
own kingdom, yet some conjunctures happen in
England, in which prompt assistance may be of
great advantage. I hope that he may never have
need of it, but, to use his own expression, "if he
becomes French," his interests will also become
mine.
-
Such are the sentiments which I entertain with
respect to him, and, independently of the new
treaties on which I might agree with him, it is my
intention punctually to fulfil what I have promised
him in the treaty of peace. On this foundation
the residence of King James at St. Germains should
be to him an assurance that that prince will not
embark in any undertaking in England, rather than
a subject of fear, lest he should favour those whose
intentions he suspects. I am so thoroughly ac-
quainted with King James, that I am persuaded
he is very far from approving any of those enter-
prises which cannot even be thought of without
horror. But even on a supposition which cannot
be entertained, that that prince could be capable
I I 3
486 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
of sanctioning them, I should be more easily in- .
formed of such a design, and could more promptly
check the effects, when he is near me than if he
were at a distance; in which case it would be more
easy for him to conceal from me what he meant to
do. Lord Portland must have informed his master,
that when he intimated to me some days ago that
he suspected some persons of intending to go to
England, with an evil design, he was answered,
by my orders, that he need only inform me where
these individuals were, and I would immediately
cause them to be arrested. Thus the safety of
that prince is entirely consistent with the residence
of King James at St. Germains; nay, it may even
be affirmed, that it would not be so great, if I
compelled him to withdraw to a distance from me;
and this step has always seemed to me so con-
trary to honour, that I have invariably rejected all
the proposals which have been made to me on that
subject. The more I persist in this feeling, the
more I feel myself bound to see that the safety
of the king of England shall not be, in any man-
ner, affected by it. This is the only object that he
has in view when he requires that that prince
shall be removed from St. Germains. Since I pro-
vide for this, I cannot believe that he will persist
in asking me for a thing which I have never been
disposed to promise, which seems to me contrary
to my honour, which would not increase the se-
curity which the king of England ought to enjoy,
and which, on the contrary, might diminish it.
You will tell him also what I write to you on
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 487
this subject, in answer to the language which he
held at your last audience; that I have ordered you
to speak to him about it, with the same frankness,
and with the same sincerity, that he shows towards
me; that, in short, knowing him to be so alive to
honour and reputation, and perfectly aware of the
points in which they should be made to consist,
I am persuaded that I might, without running
any risk, make himself judge, in his own cause, of
what I can do on this occasion.
But at the same time that he requires of me
something which I have never promised, I cannot
help being surprised, that nothing is said to me,
on his part, about executing what he has promised,
not only by his ambassador, but also himself, to
M. Lillieroot, with respect to the payment of the
pension of the queen of England. This promise
was unconditional, and there was no stipulation
that it should be performed only if King James
withdrew, since I never would entertain that pro-
posal. Hence I cannot see what valid reason can
be alleged on the part of the king of England for
not performing what his ambassadors, in his name,
and afterwards he himself, have promised. I will
have the Earl of Portland spoken to on that point,
and you will also speak of it to the king of Eng-
land, conformably to what I now write to you.
In conclusion, the only instructions which I have
to give you, is to confirm what I have indicated to
you by the preceding; that I cannot consent, in
* See antè, note, p. 172.
I I 4
488 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
either of the alternatives, to the proposition of ceding
any of the fortresses which I have in the Low
Countries; that the cession of Port Mahon to the
English or the Dutch, and the cession of a place in
the West Indies to either of those two nations,
appears to me to involve the ruin of the commerce
of all the rest of Europe in the Mediterranean and
in the Indies; and, in short, what you have to do
at present is to lay before the king of England
all the difficulties which I have indicated to you in
this letter, the expedients which it appears to me
might be found, and to give me an exact account
of the sentiments of that prince on an affair of such
importance. As I am persuaded that he means to
act with good faith, and to unite himself as closely
with me as he has assured you he desired, I do not
doubt that this motive will serve as a rule for his
conduct.
I have informed the Earl of Portland of what I
write to you, and indeed this letter has, by my
orders, been shown to him. I hear with pleasure
that the king of England intends, at the return of
this nobleman, to confide this negotiation entirely
to him; and I am persuaded that it will not be
owing to any want of care and good intention on
his part if it does not succeed.
You will let me know whether the Earl of Jersey
will be acquainted with it, when he comes as am-
bassador to my Court. It is very desirable that it
should be concluded before his arrival. The affair,
however, is so important, that nothing should be
precipitated in order to bring it to a conclusion.
·
:
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 489
THE EARL OF PORTLAND TO WILLIAM III.
Paris, May 17. 1698.
The last letters which I received from your
Majesty were of the 22d April-2d May, from
Kensington, and I have not been in a hurry to
write since my last of the 8th, because his Most
Christian Majesty has been to Marly, and I had
nothing at all to tell you. As he was to return
on Thursday, which was the day before yester-
day, I went to Versailles the same evening to the
royal supper. He asked me if I intended to stop
for the night, as he wished to speak with me the
following morning. I went to his levee, and he
made me come into his cabinet, and told me that
Count Tallard had given him an account of an
audience which your Majesty had granted him
before your departure for Windsor, and of the al-
teration which you had made in the alternatives,
and said that, though he was quite ready to ar-
range the affairs with your Majesty, he was obliged
to repeat to me that there were certain things
which he could not do; that, by the new pro-
posals which your Majesty had made, they would
leave but very little for the Dauphin as a com-
pensation for the rights which he would be obliged
to renounce; that they would render the Emperor
too powerful in Italy, and would give the most to
him who had the least right; and that, by ceding
a place in the Indies to the English or to the
Dutch, they would be rendered masters of those
countries, though they did not pretend to any
490 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
thing more than the safety of their commerce,
which they might secure by a treaty, as well as
in the Mediterranean, the whole commerce of
which they would take if they were masters of
Minorca and of the places on the coast of Africa;
that as for the secrecy of the negotiation he was
wholly inclined to keep it, and that he was very
glad of this issue, and to facilitate the matter;
that your Majesty had told count Tallard that
I should be his commissioner, on which he made
many obliging remarks; and that with respect
to the difficulty and delicacy which your Majesty
had about partitioning the dominions of the king
of Spain while he was still living, without the
knowledge of the Emperor, there was no reason for
it, because, at all events, it might be alleged to
him that, after the death of the late king of Spain,
the Emperor had done the same thing in the year
1668, by a secret treaty with France, of which he
would desire an extract to be given me.
With regard to these points I replied, in the
first place, with respect to the points to which he
said he could not concede, there were much stronger
reasons which hindered your Majesty from doing
what was wished, since, independently of considera-
tions of interest which your Majesty had, it was ne-
cessary that you should take care to do what the
two nations judged would be evidently to their in-
terests, for without that it would be impossible in
future to make them engage heartily in a war into
which they might be driven after the death of
the king of Spain; to guarantee and secure what
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 491
it might be agreed upon to secure; that the power
of the Emperor would not give us any umbrage,
nor had the princes of Italy any reason to fear it,
because Spain, or the person who should be its
king, if united with the forces of France, would be
sufficient to support them against any other power;
and that, on the contrary, the jealousy which they
felt of the Emperor would always attach them in-
violably to the interests of this kingdom along with
the Pope; that for the security of commerce it was
well to make treaties, but that by the changes of
time and of princes, who are mortal, there had
often been infractions of treaties; that prudence
required that we should have places to secure us
without entirely depending upon the good faith
of others, or upon papers; that with respect to
the West Indies, Havannah was only a town, and
that the islands had no mines, which were all on
the continent; that what was asked for could be
only a burden, and of no advantage except for
the security above mentioned, just as Minorca in
the Mediterranean; and that without that it was
impossible for us to let a vessel winter or take
shelter in that sea; and that as for Ceuta and
Oran, those places hardly secured the passage of
the Strait, and that I was surprised that your
Majesty, as it appeared, had not spoken of Gib-
raltar. I told him that it was useless to speak
of the restitution of Luxemburg, or of not in-
creasing the barrier; that those countries must
be put in a condition to subsist of themselves,
and sufficiently to cover the States; and that,
492 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
though the Emperor had made a separate treaty
with France, it ought not to be an example to
your Majesty; that your wish to unite closely
with his Most Christian Majesty, and the design
of securing the peace of Europe, must be the
strongest reasons to make you enter into these
engagements; that I confessed that this treaty
of 1668 might always serve to answer the re-
proaches that might be made; and I thanked the
King for what he had said of myself in particular.
He then ordered M. de Torcy to let me read the
answer which he made to Count Tallard. He
told me that his Majesty had likewise spoken to
him of the removal of King James. I replied, that
he saw that, conformably to the wish which he
had expressed, I had not said any more on that
subject, nor of many other things, but that I
deemed it a direct contradiction and an impossi-
bility that any thing should be done till those
stumbling-blocks were removed; and information
has been given me from St. Germains, that they
had been deliberating there whether it would not
be better to retire to Avignon. I do not know
the reason or the result of this deliberation. His
Majesty told me with a smile, that your Majesty
had jested about the proposal of giving Milan
to the duke of Savoy, and that you said, Sire,
that you were astonished why he interested him-
self for the Duke, since, assuredly, on the first op-
portunity he would play one of his usual tricks ;
at which the King laughed heartily.
Count Tallard has expressed his satisfaction
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 493
at the treatment which he received at the last
audience which he had of your Majesty.
He
writes that you had said to him, that if
you entered
into these measures you would become quite
French, on which the King said, "In that case
his interests must be mine. I hope that he will
never have need of my assistance, but on every
occasion you may assure him that he may depend
upon it." He then told me that he wished me to
write to your Majesty, that he had made an offer
to the king of Spain of troops for the defence of
Ceuta and Oran, of ships for conveying them, and
of every thing necessary for the defence of those
places *; that I should beg you not to feel any
jealousy on this ground; that it was only to pre-
vent those places, so important at this juncture,
from falling into the hands of the Moors.
He likewise informed me of the change which
he had proposed in the alternatives, of which I
shall not speak, because Count Tallard will have
already communicated it to your Majesty; I
only say that I saw that his Majesty refused to
give us for our neighbour the Emperor, whom he
* "The French ambassador has not only offered verbally, but
presented a letter from his master, written with his own hand
to the king of Spain, to offer him what ships, galleys, and
landmen he shall think necessary to relieve Ceuta, and beat
away the Moors.
The proposal has been lately debated in the
Council, but I do not hear any thing is yet resolved, though
the place be daily more and more pressed, and they take here
very little care to assist or reinforce the garrison." The Hon.
Alex. Stanhope to Mr. Yard. Madrid, May 21. 1698.
494 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
had himself made us apprehend as so formidable.
They have not given me a copy of this new pro-
posal, although they had promised to do so, pro-
bably that my courier may not bring it first.
I am fully persuaded, Sire, that if your Majesty
remains firm on all the matters in question you
will be satisfied in most, if not in all of them. I
believe that they are really desirous of forming
an union with you.
I have just had the honour to receive the letter
which your Majesty wrote me from Windsor on
the 2d-12th of this month, with the two enclosures
of the Pensionary*; in accordance with which I
shall proceed after I have had leisure to read them
over again, for they are very long. I again entreat
you not to give way too soon, but to show them
firmness together with the good reception which
you give to Count Tallard, of which he speaks in
such high terms.
I forgot to tell your Majesty that the king of
France has several times said to me, "If we, the
king of England and myself, perfectly understand
each other, the rest of Europe will follow our
sentiments." On Monday next I shall have my
audience of leave, after which I shall make as
much haste as possible. The King would not have
me go to Marly before the 5th of June, when all
the fountains will be finished; but since your Ma-
jesty has declared that the affair shall pass through
my hand, I hope that you will yourself hasten my
* They were not found in the Portland Papers.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 495
departure, if you wish it to be terminated in earnest.
After my audience of leave I must have twenty
audiences of the princes and princesses; then I
must go to visit and receive the visits of the minis-
ters;
and then taking leave of the most important
personages, which I cannot possibly avoid doing,
will take me a week, so that, if I occupy ever so
little time in seeing the gardens and seats in the
environs, more time will be spent than I could
wish. I have been to Fontainebleau: it is by nature
a fine place, and would please your Majesty; it is
admirably situated for the chase. The rocks are
very difficult of ascent; but so many routes have
been made through them, that you may follow
the hounds every where. On my return I saw
Vaux, whose garden and park are very beautiful.
It appears to me that the Parliament makes
very little progress in business: I do not know
how they can flatter themselves with enjoying such
great security, while they do not continue here the
projected reduction, and keep so great a number
of troops in actual service.
COUNT TALLARD TO LOUIS XIV.
London, May 19. 1698.
I send to the Marquis de Torcy a journal of
what has passed in Parliament; I shall therefore
say no more about it than to observe that the civil
list is not mentioned, and that there are specu-
lators who believe that the opposition which the
496 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
King meets with at present to his will in the lower
House, does not come from the country members
but from the party of Mr. Montague, the Chancellor
of the Exchequer, who has always been at the
head of the Court party, and who is said to desire
to force his master to grant at present certain
favours to his cabal, because he apprehends that,
on the dissolution of this Parliament, according to
the triennial bill, he will lose his influence in future
if he does not obtain it among the members who
will compose the new Parliament, and the King
will not consent to what he desires.
The visit to Holland still seems to be certain.
The English are much annoyed at it, but it will
certainly take place.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Kensington, May 10-20. 1698.
I have not hitherto any further answer from
Count Tallard, nor any letter from the Earl of
Portland, at which I wonder much. I begin to
suspect that the French are for dragging on this
important negotiation. So long as it is not ter-
minated in one way or another, it will not, in my
opinion, be advisable that the elector of Bavaria
should send anybody to Vienna, though the Imperial-
ists would be glad of it at present, as Count Avers-
berg has told me, and requested I would co-operate
towards it. He told me, at the same time, there
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 497
were now assurances from Spain, that the King's
will was in favour of the Archduke, and that
promise has been made to old Count Harrach, to
give an authentic copy of it, to bring with him
to the Emperor; which is directly the reverse of
what the elector of Bavaria thinks he is assured
of, that the will is in favour of his son. I think
little reliance is to be placed on either; but this
is certain, that as long as this negotiation is
dragged on with France, it is better there should
be no convention between the Emperor and Bavaria
relative to the succession.
According to the accounts received from Sweden
by the last mail, it seems certain that the treaty
with France will be concluded, so that I expect
but little advantage from what may have been
agreed upon with Lillieroot. I send you herewith
a letter from my resident Robinson*, in which he
proposes to me a plan for a compliment to the
ministers, to which all the Allied Powers should
contribute. I consent to furnish my share. I
believe, nevertheless, that when the treaty is once
concluded between France and Sweden, we have
no great things to expect from the latter power,
* John Robinson, afterwards Bishop of London. He went
to Sweden as domestic chaplain to the English ambassador at
that court. In the absence of the latter, he transacted his
diplomatic business, and with so much credit, that he was
successively appointed secretary, resident, envoy-extraordinary,
and at length ambassador. He remained at Stockholm from
1683 to 1708.
VOL. I.
K K
498 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
and that, in that case, our money would be ill
bestowed.
WILLIAM III. TO THE EARL OF PORTLAND.
Kensington, May 12-22. 1698.
Yesterday evening I received your despatches
of the 17th, and Count Tallard has been with
me this morning and told me nearly the same
thing which you have written to me.
The new proposals are, that the Emperor should
have the Low Countries and the kingdoms of
Naples and Sicily; the son of the Elector, Milan;
and a son of the Dauphin, Spain and the Indies.
I told him plainly that I found this proposal
the most disadvantageous to us of the three al-
ternatives, and that it did not at all suit us to
have the Emperor for our neighbour; upon which
he proposed-protesting, however, that it was
only his own idea—that the Low Countries might
be left to the son of the Elector, and Milan to
the Emperor, on which we entered into long ar-
gument, too long in fact to be repeated here, and
which can be of no use to you; but I concluded
by saying that, with respect to the first two
alternatives, I persisted in what I had said in
our last conversation, and that I thought there
would be less difficulty in agreeing to the alter-
native, by which Spain, the Indies, and the Low
Countries should come to the son of the elector
of Bavaria, than to the other, and that it seemed
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 499
that the greatest difference was the duchy of Lux-
emburg, which was so absolutely necessary to us,
and was not now so important to France as to
us. To this he would by no means agree, and
entered into a long argument upon the situation
of that place, to which it was not difficult to reply.
He insisted strongly that in such a case the share
of the Dauphin, the kingdoms of Naples and
Sicily, was too inconsiderable, and urged me very
much if there were no means to abate anything;
but I remained firm, persisting in what I had
said. I believe that the intention of France, at
the bottom, is only to treat on those alternatives,
to have Spain and the Indies for a son of the
Dauphin, and that the other has only been brought
forward to see what I would say. I confess that
I foresee so many difficulties with regard to the
security for our commerce, that I do not know
how we can agree.
You must make many compliments on my part
to his Most Christian Majesty, for all the obliging
things which he has said to you respecting me,
stating how grateful I am for them, and the desire
I have to be in perfect union and good under-
standing with him.
With respect to King James, Count Tallard
has repeated the same thing on the point of
honour, and that by remaining at St. Germains,
he was as it were watched. I told him that it
seemed to be an absolute contradiction to be in
perfect union while he remained in France. He
replied only by shrugging his shoulders. I am
KK 2
500 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
still persuaded that if we agree respecting the
Spanish succession, this affair will fall to the
ground. I forgot to tell you that, in regard to
the form, we have determined that it was too
early to give any intimation of this negotiation
to the Emperor till we are more agreed between
ourselves respecting the conditions.
I hope that this will be the last letter which
you will receive from me at Paris, though I believe
that you
will have to wait till the time which his
Most Christian Majesty has intimated to you, to go
with him to Marly, and I doubt whether you will
have finished your visit before then. Since you
have not written me that you had seen Madame de
Maintenon, I suppose that you have not. *
I hope,
therefore, that you will be able to see her at Marly,
since I should be very sorry that you should not
see her before your departure. I long for your
return more than you can believe.
COUNT TALLARD TO LOUIS XIV.
London, May 22. 1698.
I have just returned from Kensington, where I
was for more than an hour and a half in the
cabinet of the king of England. I gave an account,
Sire, to that prince of what your Majesty did me
the honour to command me respecting the repug-
nance which he felt to enter with your Majesty
* See ante, note, p. 189.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 501
into a treaty, relative to the succession of his
Catholic Majesty without the knowledge of the
Emperor, and the difficulty which he had to agree
to the partition of the dominions of a prince who
was still alive.
The obstacle which arose from the last article
has been entirely removed; and as for the other,
he told me that as Holland was to take part in
it, it would be very difficult for the matter to
be kept so entirely secret that it would not come,
sooner or later, to the Emperor; that he therefore
believed himself obliged to behave towards him
in a friendly manner; that he agreed that it would
be impossible to conclude a treaty if we determined
to act in concert with that prince, but that, when
matters should be a little more advanced, and we
should clearly see the conclusion, he thought that
he might then be informed of what was passing.
I replied, that as matters did not appear to
me to be yet so forward, it seemed to me that it
was useless to dwell at present on that point;
and that, since he was persuaded that nothing
should be communicated to the Emperor till matters
were nearly settled, we had only to proceed to what
your Majesty ordered me to say to him on the
subject of the two alternatives, which I had had
the honour to propose to him on your part.
I pointed out to him the inequality which ex-
isted between the one and the other; that he con-
sented that the Low Countries should remain an-
nexed to Spain, with the Indies and the other islands
and places of that monarchy, saving the exceptions
-
KK 3
502 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
made when the electoral prince of Bavaria was in
question; and that he retrenched, not only the Low
Countries when a son of the Dauphin was in ques-
tion, but that he also insisted that the barrier
should be strengthened, on the possession of
some places in the Indies and of Port Mahon; and,
that when he placed the kingdoms of Naples and
Sicily in the hands of the Dauphin, he cut off the
duchy of Luxemburg, which was the principal
motive which had induced your Majesty to desist
from the kingdom of Spain and the Indies, in
favour of one of your grandsons.
I might fill two quires of paper here if I were
to relate to your Majesty, word for word, all that
was said on that subject. I shall therefore confine
myself to three principal points-1. that he ex-
pressed his belief that your Majesty had only
required the duchy of Luxemburg, as supposing
that it would occasion the rejection of the alter-
native in which i was included; 2. that he did
not conceal from me, that the Dutch, and he him-
self, were of opinion that it was entirely for the
interest of their coramerce that Spain and the In-
dies should be in the hands of the Electoral Prince;
3. that he did not consider Luxemburg as a matter
so important for the security of our frontiers as we
imagined.
I replied to the first article, that there was much
more reason to believe that his demand for the
extension of the barrier was to exclude one of
the grandsons of your Majesty from the kingdom
of Spain; and I begged him to recollect the day
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 503
when the Allies had gained the battle of Taverne
over Marshal Crequi, and when they were able to
come to Verdun, in order that he might judge
of the importance of Luxemburg for the security
of our frontier; that what I observed on that
subject was, not to give him any information,
because I did not doubt that he was as fully per-
suaded as myself of what I was saying to him,
but to let him see that I was aware of them.
In spite of all I could say to him, he persisted in
the same alternatives which I had the honour to
mention to your Majesty in my last letter.
}
I then proposed to him the Low Countries, the
kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, for the Archduke,
and Milan for the elector of Bavaria. I added
to this proposal the reasons which your Majesty
had for desiring that Milan should not be added
to the two other states above mentioned, in the
hands of the Archduke, and that this was the
reason which had obliged you to speak of the
duke of Savoy, and to propose now the Low
Countries for the Archduke, instead of Milan.
He replied, that the Dutch would never consent
to see the Emperor master of the Spanish Low
Countries, and that this would likewise not be
agreeable to the English.
Upon this I made a proposal to him, of my own
suggestion, declaring that I had no orders from
your Majesty. It was, to give the Low Countries,
the kingdom of Naples and Sicily to the Electoral
Prince, and Milan to the Archduke. He replied,
that unless the Low Countries were supported by
KK 4
504 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
Spain, it was impossible that what is called the
barrier could be considered adequate for the se-
curity of the States General. I replied, that, in
truth, the Dauphin would have a very poor share,
if, being son of the elder, and the natural heir,
he should have only a part of the dominions of
Spain in Italy, while the other part, which was
the richest and most considerable, should be in
the hands of the Archduke. He replied, that the
kingdom of Naples had been always much more
esteemed than Milan, and that the kingdom of
Sicily was added into the bargain. I did not
think proper to speak of Sardinia and of the island
of Corsica *, which are both on this side of Sicily,
because it appeared to me that it would be entering
into the acceptance of the alternative distinct from
the duchy of Luxemburg.
He explained himself with respect to the Ha-
vannah in the Indies, and still insisted on Port
Mahon, besides Ceuta and Oran. I told him all
that might be said on the subject of the Havannah,
with more knowledge perhaps of the commerce of
the Indies than your Majesty may believe, but I
had taken care to inform myself on the subject
before I left Paris. He always answered that if a
son of the Dauphin had Spain, it was necessary
to make the English and the Dutch secure respect-
ing their commerce; that this was the natural
interest of those two nations; and that the Havannah
* Sic in the cypher. This isle belonged to the Genoese.
Note of M. de Torcy.
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 505
was not upon the Continent, of which the Spaniards
would still remain masters. I replied that this
was true, but that if the Dutch and the English,
were masters of that place, neither the Spaniards
nor any other nation could go to the Indies without
taking one of their passports; because it was an
entrepôt where it was necessary to touch, and a
place at the entrance of the Bahama Channel, and
consequently a necessary passage; besides, it was
the best place in the Indies, and also the best
fortified. He agreed as to its value, and told me
that all this would cause great difficulties.
I then returned to the alternative, asking him
whether he had anything new to say to me on the
subject. He replied that he had not.
I then proceeded to the subject of King James.
I told him that I had had the honour to acquaint
your Majesty with the very terms which he had
used in telling me that he should become a
Frenchman; and I reported to him the same with
which your Majesty had charged me, viz. that in
that case, his interests would become yours; adding
the offer of everything that depended upon you, in
all cases, and in all conjunctures, in which he might
have need of it. He told me that your Majesty
had had the goodness to express yourself in the
same terms to the Earl of Portland, and that he
duly appreciated it.
I afterwards told him all that your Majesty had
commanded me to state respecting the residence of
King James at St. Germains, the reasons which
your Majesty had for believing that it was for his
506 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
interest that he should remain there, and that in
short your Majesty thought that your honour was
concerned in it. I added the same words which
are in your despatch, that is, Sire, that knowing
him to be so scrupulous where true glory was con-
cerned, and so good a judge in what it consisted,
your Majesty believed that he should risk nothing
by taking himself for judge in his own cause.
He replied, that there were expedients which
would reconcile all this; that he should not be a
good judge, according to the sentiments of your
Majesty, on this point; that he would depend on
the opinion, not only of all the princes of Europe,
but even of any private person whom your Majesty
should please, to see whether the strict union in
question and the residence of King James at St.
Germains were compatible with each other; and
then, he reiterated with a smile the same terms, that
he would in time become a Frenchman; that in
truth he was weary of continually hearing of enter-
prises against his person; for that as soon as one
was put down another was concocted; and that the
Irish were at the bottom of it. Here he stopped.
I told him what your Majesty had acquainted
me with, your having informed the Earl of Port-
land of the two men whom you had offered to get
arrested: Lord Portland had already informed him
of it. I did not think fit to enter upon the ex-
pedients which he spoke of, respecting the removal
of King James.
I then returned, half in jest, to the subject of
the alternative. I told him that your Majesty,
!
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 507
who could not believe that he would not consent
except to what he had told me, would have a bad
opinion of me if I had no new proposal to make to
you on his part. He replied also by a smile, but
he said nothing more, so that, Sire, we only endea-
voured, on both sides, to feel our way in the whole
conversation that I had with him.
Your Majesty will see better than any one what
is best for your interest on the subject of the ne-
gotiation which is commenced, and the expedients
which may be agreeable to you: if Luxemburg,
with the fortifications demolished, with Sicily, the
kingdom of Naples, Sardinia, the island of Corsica,
and the places on the coast of Tuscany, were suf-
ficient for the alternative which concerns the
Dauphin personally; if, in case they will not raze
Luxemburg, nor touch the frontier of Flanders,
Pampeluna, the remainder of the kingdom of Na-
varre, which already belongs, by a right, which
the English, who do not acknowledge the Pope *,
cannot dispute, Fuentarabia, and St. Sebastian
would indemnify you for Luxemburg; if, in the
alternative by which it is proposed to place a son
of the Dauphin on the throne of Spain, your Ma-
jesty would separate Sardinia, which is nearer to
Italy, and less useful than Port Mahon, with Ceuta
and Oran, and the Philippines, in order to give
them some advantage in the New World, without,
however, its being decided upon. I shall content
* There is a mistake in the cypher, which appears to be an
omission. Note of M. de Torcy.
508
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
myself with waiting for your orders, and execute
them in the best manner I can.
But what I have the honour to tell your Majesty
is, that though it is true that England is much
exhausted, and that it owes more than two hundred
millions, the repayment of which is assigned on
almost all the funds from which money can be
derived, except on the general excise, to which
they have not yet been brought to consent, and
though the nation is not submissive to the King,
and though certainly he would not be able to
urge it into a new war if it were not absolutely
persuaded that its interests imperatively called
upon it to begin afresh, I must tell your Majesty
a thing which is equally certain. It is, Sire, that
they consider the partition of the succession of
the king of Spain as something in which they must
take a part. Every body spoke of it in the same
manner in this country when it was known that
that prince was dying. They conceive that their
commerce and its interests are at stake, and that it
would be ruined if your Majesty were in possession
of the Indies and Cadiz.
The distinctions which may be made on the
subject cannot be known by a whole people. Thus,
Sire, without examining their resources, you may
rely upon it, that they would resolve on a war, if
it were suggested to them that your Majesty
desires to render yourself master of the countries
which I have just named, and if the king of Spain
were to die before a treaty has been made; and, be
persuaded at the same time, that the king of
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 509
England, who meets with much opposition at pre-
sent, and if peace continues, will meet with yet
more in the next Parliament, for which infinite in-
trigues are already carrying on in the counties,
will be able to draw the last penny from their
pocket on the day when there shall be war
against France; because they see, and he holds
out to them, nothing else than to give what is
necessary either to defend themselves or to be
subjugated. And I must add, that they would meet
with some credit, because the Parliament here has
paid, in good faith, all the taxes and exchequer bills,
which would have caused a general confusion if
the war had continued, for they could no longer be
negotiated under fifty or fifty-four per cent. loss.
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Kensington, May 13-23. 1698.
Yesterday Count Tallard had a long audience
of me, and proposed a new alternative, viz. that
the Spanish Low Countries should be ceded to the
Emperor or the Archduke, together with the
kingdom of Naples and Sicily, Milan to the elector
of Bavaria's son, and Spain and the Indies to
one of the Dauphin's sons, as in the preceding
one. I replied, that this proposal pleased me
less than the former, and I did not think it our
interest to have the Emperor for a neighbour.
He thereupon said, the Emperor might have Milan
and the elector of Bavaria's son the Spanish
510 LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
Low Countries; but protested that this proposal
was merely his own, and that he had no orders
to make it. We then got into a long discussion
upon the whole business, which would be too long
to relate, and is not material; but I concluded
by saying that I thought there would be less
difficulty on our side in agreeing on that alter-
native, by which Spain, the Indies, and the Spanish
Low Countries were to come to the elector of Ba-
varia's son, than to any other; for the principal
difference appeared to me to be, whether the duchy
of Luxemburg should be dismembered, to which
we could never agree; and that the other alter-
native would bring us into infinite difficulties how
to secure our commerce in the Mediterranean and
the West Indies. He spoke in high terms of the
importance of Luxemburg for France (which I
could easily refute), and insisted that the Dauphin's
portion, the kingdom of Naples and Sicily, was too
small. I replied, that it was so considerable, when
added to the great power of France, that it might
make the whole world tremble; and, in short,
persisted in what I had said in the preceding
audience, of which I have given you an account.
With regard to the form, we both agreed it was
too early to inform the Imperial Court of this
negotiation till we were agreed about the principal
conditions. He said he would give the king, his
master, a suitable account of our conversation, and
communicate to me his answer. I had received
letters the preceding evening from the Earl of
Portland, who had had a private audience of the
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 511
king of France, who had said the very same as
Count Tallard, and read over the letter he meant
to write him, and notified his intention to offer
the king of Spain assistance for Oran and Ceuta,
in ships, galleys, or troops; and that he gave us
information of it, in order that we might take no
umbrage, nor be alarmed, for he had no other
intention than to prevent these places from falling
into the hands of the Moors. I therefore told
Count Tallard I could not help saying this offer
would certainly alarm us, but I hoped this assist-
was not intended to be forced upon the
Spaniards. He said it was not.
He said it was not. I replied that I
scarce believed Spain would accept these offers.
This circumstance appears suspicious, and merits
reflection as to what further measures it may be
necessary to take.
ance
LOUIS XIV. TO COUNT TALLARD.
Sir,
Versailles, May 26. 1698.
I have received your letter of the 19th of this
month, and immediately expect your answer to
that which I wrote you on the 16th to be able
to judge, at length, of the reliance which I may
place on the sentiments of the king of Eng-
land. The more his power is limited by the Par-
liament, the greater is it his interest to unite
closely with me. The other powers propose al-
liances to him only to draw subsidies from him:
512
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
he cannot expect any assistance from them, even if
he has need of it; and besides, the Parliament
deprives him of the means of giving them the same
subsidies with which that prince supported the
league during the last war. He knows, on the
contrary, that by entering into engagements with
me, they bind him to nothing but what he is able
to do, and that, if my assistance becomes necessary
to him, he may be sure of finding it always ready.
I know that he has no reason to place the same
reliance upon the disposition of the House of Austria
towards him; and that if the face of affairs in
England should change, he would find but few
resources in the alliance which he has always had
with that House. I will tell you also, and you
will make such use of it as you shall believe to be
the most suitable, that the partisans of the Emperor
in Spain propose to him now to apply to the Par-
liament, rather than to the king of England, to
secure the assistance of the nation against the time
when he shall support his pretensions to the suc-
cession of his Catholic Majesty. It will soon be
seen whether the ministers of the Emperor in Eng-
land will really take some steps to conciliate the
minds of the nation. If they pursue this line of
conduct, it is impossible that it should not be justly
suspected by the king of England; and that prince
must see that he can depend on the alliance of the
House of Austria only so long as the Emperor shall
believe that it suits his interests.
You have informed me, in one of your preceding
letters, that a Frenchman named Bussy has been
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV. 513
arrested in England, as suspected by the govern-
ment. His relations affirm that he is gone there
only because he was married there; that he pos-
sesses some property in the country; and that he
never was implicated in any intrigue. You will
inquire into the truth, and if it seems to you that
he is innocent, and you can demand his liberty
without giving pain to the king of England by this
step, I permit you to do so.
*
WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.
Kensington, May 17-27. 1698.
I much doubt whether the convention made
with Lillieroot will be able to prevent the alliance
between Sweden and France. There is every ap-
pearance that it is already concluded. It is certain
that Piper, who has the most credit, is entirely
devoted to France.
Nothing has happened since my last, relative to
the great work of the negotiation concerning the
succession. I think the regulating and securing
of the commerce, as well in the Mediterranean as
in the West Indies, will be of infinite difficulty;
* "M. de Bussy was acquitted upon his indictment for
coming out of France without leave. The point that brought
him off was his being sent away by order of council, from whence
it was argued that he did not go voluntarily into France. He
might have had another indictment laid upon him, for being in
arms in Ireland; but that Mr. Baker omitted." Mr. Vernon to
the Duke of Shrewsbury. June 11. o. s.
VOL. I.
L L
514
LETTERS OF WILLIAM III. AND LOUIS XIV.
and I find myself but little instructed in what
Secretary de Wilde has said to you in this matter:
and even were one agreed with France about it, I
do not well see how to reconcile the interests of
England and the Republic, which will be no small
difficulty.
*
APPENDIX.
I.
GOURVILLE, p. 158.
JEAN Hérault, who took the name of Gourville from an
estate which he purchased in 1656, was born at la Roche-
foucauld on the 11th of July, 1625. At the age of
seventeen he entered the service of the Abbé de la Roche-
foucauld as valet de chambre. From this humble position
he rose to be the friend and confidant of the greatest
noblemen, and, on several occasions, the secret plenipo-
tentiary of Louis XIV. "Il était né," says Madame de
Motteville," pour les grandes choses, avide d'emplois, touché
du plaisir de plaire et de bien faire; il avait beaucoup de
cœur, de génie pour l'intrigue; il savait marcher parfaite-
ment par les chemins raboteux et tortueux, comme par les
droits; il persuadait presque toujours ce qu'il voulait qu'on
crut, et trouvait les moyens de parvenir à tout ce qu'il
voulait." All the contemporary memoirs and the letters of
Madame de Sévigné confirm this testimony, and agree in
allowing him singular merit and excellent qualities. St.
Simon with his masterly pen completes by a few strokes
the portrait of that strange personage. "Il avait été laquais
de M. de la Rochefoucauld, qui lui trouvant de l'esprit en
voulut faire quelque chose. Il s'en trouva si bien pour
ses affaires domestiques et pour ses menées aussi, à quoi il
était fort propre, qu'il s'en servit pour les intrigues les plus
considérables de ces temps là. Elles le firent bientot con-
naître à M. le Prince, à qui M. de la Rochefoucauld le
donna, et il demeura toujours depuis dans la maison de
Condé. Gourville, par son esprit, son grand sens, les amis
LL 2
516
APPENDIX I.
considérables qu'il s'était faits, était devenir un personnage;
l'intimité des ministres l'y maintint, celle de M. Fouquet
l'enrichit à l'excès. L'autorité qu'il acquit et qu'il se
conserva à l'hôtel de Condé, il était plus maître de tout que
les deux princes de Condé qui eurent en lui toute leur
confiance, tout cela ensemble le soutint toujours dans une
véritable considération. Il n'oublia pas en aucun temps
qu'il devait tout à M. de la Rochefoucauld, en ce qu'il
avait été dans sa jeunesse ; et quoique naturellement assez
brutal, il ne le méconnut jamais, quoique mêlé toute sa vie
avec la plus illustre compagnie. Le Roi même le traitait
toujours avec distinction. Ce qui est prodigieux, il avait
secrètement épousé une des trois sœurs de M. de la Roche-
foucauld. Il était continuellement chez elle à l'hotel de la
Rochefoucauld, mais toujours, et avec elle-meme, en ancien
domestique de la maison. M. de la Rochefoucauld et toute
sa famille le savaient, et presque tout le monde; mais à les
voir on ne s'en serait jamais aperçu.
C'était un
fort grand et gros homme, qui avait été bien fait, et qui
conserva sa bonne mine, une santé parfaite, et sa tête
entière jusqu'à la fin." Gourville, who had acted a great
part in the administration of Fouquet, was obliged to go
into banishment for several years to escape the prosecution
which Colbert instituted against him, on account of the
share he had taken in squandering the public money,
towards the end of his life, which was a long one. He died
July 7th, 1703. At the age of 78 he wrote his memoirs.
It is a very interesting book, and written in a very
agreeable style. A few passages, which are here extracted,
throw some light on the character of William III. and
account, in a certain degree, for the interest which that
prince took in him.
"Towards the beginning of the year 1665, I went to
the Hague, where I made some stay. M. de Montbas, who
belonged to the court of the Prince of Orange, presented
:
APPENDIX I.
517
me to him, and I had the honour to pay my respects to
his highness for the first time. After that I was often
with him and the ladies at the Hague. But as it is the
custom in that country for the ladies to retire at 8 o'clock,
the Prince of Orange then went to M. Montbas and
M. Dodick, and to other houses to play, till half past nine
in the evening. He always did me the honour to make
me one of his party.
"1668. I went to the Hague, where I was very agree-
ably received by the Prince of Orange, who began to speak
to me about business, and, as it seemed to me, with much
good sense. One day, when standing with him, at the
end of his gallery, and the conversation turning on M. de
Witt, I said that everybody was persuaded that the latter
was much on his guard, to hinder him (the prince) from
establishing himself in the authority which his brothers
had had, and that, in the end, they would find it very
difficult to agree together. At that moment word was
brought that M. de Witt and M. de Gent, who had been
his tutor, were come to see him. As he went to receive
them, I followed the Prince, who began by showing M. de
Witt much courtesy. On going away, I looked stedfastly
at the Prince, as the others were not able to see me. He
afterwards told me that he very well understood what
I wished to intimate to him, and we agreed that it was
necessary he should act in this manner, till the time
should arrive which would allow him to act otherwise; I
said, smiling, that he knew a good deal for his age.
"In the month of March, 1681, his Majesty thought fit
to send me to Germany, to the Dukes of Zelle and Hanover,
that I might endeavour to break up a meeting which was
to take place at Humelingen, in the country of Munster,
where the presence of the Prince of Orange was expected,
and, in case the meeting should take place, I was to
attend it, in order that I might give his Majesty an account
•
LL 3
518
APPENDIX I.
of what should take place there; and, if possible, at the
same time find means to have a conference with the Prince
of Orange on the present state of affairs.
*
Having arrived at the Hague pretty late in the even-
ing, Count d'Avaux, at that time the king's ambassador,
did me the honour to lodge me in his house. I there
received innumerable visits, especially from several of the
principal attendants of the Prince of Orange, who had not
for a long time set their foot in the residence of the am-
bassador. The Prince of Orange was expected to arrive
in the evening. The following day, at noon, I went to
him, and found him in his saloon, with the Prince
d'Auvergne at his side, and a great number of persons
present. I took my place on the other side, and the prince
gave me so gracious a reception that every body was sur-
prised. Then coming close to me, he said to me, in a low
whisper, I am much despised in your country;' upon
which I took the liberty to draw near to him, and whispered
in return, Pardon me, they do you much more honour,
for they greatly fear you.' He could not help smiling,
which made the company suppose that he would be glad
to speak to me, or, perhaps, because it was time to go to
dinner, every one about us withdrew; and having detained
me the Prince made me sit down to table next to him.
C
C
Cr
*
"He told me that in the evening, immediately after his
arrival, M. Dykwelt had waited upon him to tell him that
I had come to the Hague, in order to attend the meeting at
Humelingen, and that he had spoken to him of it as of a
matter which might give him pain; but that he had an-
swered: I shall be very glad to see him, he is one of my
friends, and we shall certainly have much enjoyment at the
meeting.'
C
"I believe that, in order strictly to recal what passed
at this interview, I cannot do better than copy the letter
which I did myself the honour to write to the king, from
APPENDIX I.
519
the Hague, on the 18th of March 1681: Sire, I learnt
yesterday morning that the Prince of Orange was to
arrive in the evening; and two or three persons of his
household, who call themselves my friends, assured me
that he would be very glad to see me.
Some of those who
saw him on his arrival, asserted the same thing. I went
to him at noon, with M. de Montpouillant, and found him
in his saloon with many persons who paid their court to
him. Prince d'Auvergne was there also. He received
me so graciously that everybody seemed surprised.
“After the Prince d'Auvergne had left, he told me that
he should have taken it much amiss if I had gone away
without seeing him, but that he believed he was indebted
for my visit to the contrary wind. In fact, I had spoken
to that effect when I came; the prince then added that
whatever might have been written or said to him, concern-
ing my voyage, he was very glad to see me, and said that,
on the preceding evening M. Dykwelt (who is much in
his favour), having represented to him that he ought to
contrive that I should not go to Humelingen, he had an-
swered that I was one of his friends, and that he was
certain that I should not hinder him from taking his stay
when he went to the chace; but that I might very likely
give a supper in return; and all this he said with a cheerful
air.
M
C
“I answered in the best manner I was able: after
which he asked me whether it was true, as he had been
told, that your Majesty had an aversion towards him. I
answered that I believed I knew enough to be able to
assure him that your Majesty had an esteem for his person,
and that it was for him to know, whether he had taken
any steps which might have displeased your Majesty. He
said, smiling, that he believed he had done nothing which
could merit either the esteem or the aversion of your
Majesty, but that he had always ardently desired to be able
L L 4
520
APPENDIX I.
to persuade you that he wished for the honour of being in
your good graces.
"He was here told that dinner was served, and, having
asked me if I would dine with him, he went into the dining
room, made me sit down beside him, and almost always
spoke to me upon general subjects. He again reproached
me at table for having seen himn only by accident.
“After dinner he went into the drawing room, and asked
me to go in with him for a moment, and I accordingly
followed him. He began by telling me that I should hear
from the Duke of Hanover how much he had wished for
me to be with him when he went thither; and, although
he was very young when I had left him, he still retained
the same friendship for me; and that he should be very
glad if I would be to him what I had been to the Princes
of Brunswick, who had highly commended the manner in
which I had acted towards them. I replied, smiling, that
I was not sure that I knew him as well as those princes,
and that I must take the liberty of telling him that he
had been represented to me as a man who was very reserved
in his manner, and who tried to take advantage of every-
body; and that, supposing this to be the case, I could not
possibly have much intercourse with him; but that I would
see, during the stay which he should make at Humelingen
whether I could know his royal highness by my own ob-
servation; for that, even in his youth, I had entertained a
high opinion of him.
“He began to laugh, and said, it was true enough he
could not be open with everybody, but that he would speak
to me in such a manner as would convince me that he
distinguished me from the generality. He added that he
was excessively vexed at the bad offices which had been
rendered him with your Majesty, and which had excited
your aversion towards him. I assured him that your Majesty
did not entertain such a sentiment. He replied that he
APPENDIX I.
521
would believe that it was as I said, though he did not quite
think it possible to be true; and requested that I would
do him the favour to tell the same to your Majesty, and
to be assured that in good faith he ardently desired to be
able to please your Majesty.
“I replied that, if the princes of Brunswick had spoken
to me as he did I should know well enough what answer
to give them. He urged me to speak to him as I should
to those princes; and accordingly I replied that I should
not fail on a like occasion to let them know that it was
impossible to persuade your Majesty with words, whilst a
contrary line of conduct was pursued; and that I should
take the liberty of counselling them not to think of holding
such language when they were in the act of siding with all
Europe against your Majesty; that I begged his pardon
for the freedom with which I had spoken to him, but that
he must remember he had forced me to it. He replied
that, on the contrary, he was much obliged to me for the
candour with which I had spoken; but that matters were
not exactly as I stated, though it was true that he could
not fail to interest himself in every thing which concerned
the preservation of the States. I replied sharply, he need
only add that it was the interest of the States always to
oppose themselves to every wish of your Majesty; and
that I must again take the liberty of telling him that
though such might be his advice, it would perhaps not
always be that of the States.
"He at once entered upon the design which it was
said your Majesty had to acquire universal monarchy. I
answered that when a man like him spoke of the design
of universal monarchy, I had nothing to do but to make
my bow I said this with an air of pleasantry, which I
clearly perceived did not displease him; that after the
manner in which your Majesty had made peace, or rather
522
APPENDIX I.
had given peace to all Europe, there was no use in saying
any thing more about universal monarchy.
"He replied that he was well assured that your
Majesty always did that which was most advantageous to
yourself, and that this was the rule of all your actions;
that, in making peace, you had thought it well to disunite
all the powers which were against you, that you might, in
time gain one party; and that I had confessed to him
that I was in the country for the execution of one part
of this plan.
"I answered that my only object was to cross his de-
sign, which was, to engage, and unite all Europe to make
war against your Majesty. He said he should look upon this
as a pleasantry, but that if it were meant in good earnest,
he could not believe that I should speak to him so un-
reservedly as I had promised; that he thought of nothing
in the world but the continuation of peace, as the greatest
good, not only for the States, but for all Europe; that it
would give him the greatest pleasure if this would content
your Majesty, but that he must candidly tell me, that
such did not appear to be the whole of your Majesty's
design, from the meetings which were held by the Chambers
of Metz and Alsace.
66 6
My reply was that it was plain he was more than a
match for me, and that I perceived too late that I had
entered too openly into these matters with him, con-
sidering that I had merely received permission to appear
before him, as I was anxious to pay my respects to him ;
and that I should find it extremely awkward to excuse
myself to your Majesty for the openness with which I had
spoken, and that I entreated him to excuse my saying any
more, in order to save me a yet greater embarrassment.
He rejoined that he saw clearly enough that I said all
this in order to avoid speaking to him of those meetings.
APPENDIX I.
523
I replied that he pressed me too closely, and that I
thought the best thing I could do was to be silent. This
conclusion was more serious than all the rest of the con-
versation; and I saw clearly that he observed it. He
said, smiling, that he must again beg me to tell him what I
thought he could do to justify all he had said to me of his
desire to be on good terms with your Majesty. I replied
with the same air, that I imagined he had nothing to do
but to act exactly contrary to what he had hitherto done;
and that, since he commanded me, I would tell him, by
way
of terminating the conversation, that he was young,
endowed with fine and noble qualities, in an excellent
position, and in expectation of the crown of England,
where perhaps he was sufficiently esteemed to meet with
great obstacles to his plans, and that, if he would place
some confidence in my words, I should not hesitate to
inform him, that there was no person in the world who
had so much need of the friendship of your Majesty as he
had; that I again entreated his royal highness to rest
assured that he could not gain this by mere words, but that
he could at the least add in what way he would show it to
your Majesty; and that I would give him as much time as
he wished, to reflect upon what he had forced me to say.
"He thanked me, and replied, that he was persuaded
of the truth of what I had said; that he would consider
what he could do to please your Majesty ; and begged that
I, on my part, would think of some overtures which I
conceived he could make.
"I replied, that the first which presented itself to my
mind was to rest assured that the Spaniards are very happy
in their present state: that your Majesty will content your-
self with merely taking a few villages, which belong to you
of right without entering into the question; that as it was the
chief interest of Holland that the country of the Spaniards
should serve them as a barrier, they ought to participate in
524
APPENDIX I.
the happiness of the Spaniards at the moderation of your
Majesty. I said this in such a manner as if I wished to
put an end to the conversation.
"He said that at all events he must be well assured
that your Majesty aimed at no more; that you might rest
content with all that you had done for your glory and your
interest; that, if such were the case, he was quite ready
to engage with the States and the house of Brunswick to
secure your Majesty in all that you possessed, supposing
that any person whatever, without exception, should think
of attacking you. This being the case, he added, you may
be assured that we shall agree at the meeting of Hume-
lingen on conditions which you will find reasonable. After
which he again showed me some civilities,' &c.
"At the conclusion of the conversation, of which I gave
an account to his Majesty, as I was about to take leave of
the Prince of Orange, he asked me whether I was not
going to the play, and said that he would take leave of me
there. On his arrival he inquired for me, and sent me
word to come to him; I accordingly went, and being
behind some who wished to hear the play, he said that he
would rather walk about and converse with me than listen
to the actors. He again exhorted me to speak to him
with all frankness. I began by reminding him of what I
had once said of M. de Witt, that he would find it ex-
tremely difficult to agree with him; but that he must have
patience, and be on the alert to take advantage of any
opportunities which might present themselves, and that
the report in the world was, that having found one he had
made use of it.
"The Prince answered that he could assure me, in all
truth, that he had not given any order to have him killed,
but that on the occasion of the uproar of the populace,
which had risen when M. de Witt went to the prison
APPENDIX I.
525
where his brother was, several of his friends having come
to him, he had sent them all to see what was passing, and
that, on being informed of his death, without having con-
tributed to it, he had felt not a little relieved.
"I afterwards told him that I had been much surprised
at his having thought of making himself sovereign of
Guelderland, by the treaty which he had made with the
Spaniards, and that it seemed to me that this might have
injured him with the Dutch, who might have reason to
fear that he desired to extend his sovereignty. He replied
that it was not long ere he saw this himself, but that it
was not extraordinary that at his age he should have false
views, especially as he had no person about him who could
rectify his ideas.
"I told him that he had replied with such great urbanity
to all I had said that I saw I had not displeased him, which
encouraged me to tell him, that it struck me that he had
run great risk in placing himself near Valenciennes, in a
position to give battle to the king, whose army was stronger
and much more inured to war than his; and that if I
might venture to say so, I thought he had likewise run
great risk at the battle of Monte-Cassel. He replied, very
mildly, that all this might be very true, but that I ought to
consider that he had had no experience, and that as there
was no one from whom he could learn the art of war, he
had thought, that, by venturing on some battles, at the
risk of losing them, he might make himself capable of
gaining others; and he added that he had often wished to
give a portion of his property to be able to serve in some
campaigns under Monsieur the Prince.
"I told him afterwards that a report had been very cur-
rent at Paris that his highness had the peace in his pocket
when he attacked the gate of Saint-Denis. He answered
that he did not receive it till the following day, although,
to say the truth, he knew that it was made, and that he
526
APPENDIX IT.
had thought that it might be a reason for M. de Luxem-
bourg to be less on his guard; but that, at any rate, he was
determined to take a lesson from it which might be of use
to him another time; and that he had considered that even
supposing he should lose some men, it would be of little
consequence, since it would be necessary to disband them.'
II. VIEWS AND POSITION OF THE DIFFERENT PRE-
TENDERS TO THE CROWN OF SPAIN.
-
[Extract of the Memoirs of Torcy, Vol. I. p. 268.]
"CHARLES II., King of Spain, was of a weak habit of
body, inclined to melancholy; his temper hasty and pas-
sionate, though with a mixture of timidity. He could
bear no application to business, so that the queen his
mother, sister to the emperor Leopold, and regent of the
kingdom, made use of the pretence of taking special care
of so valuable a life, to protract her authority. By the
authority of Don Juan of Austria, the queen was stripped
of that power of which she had been so jealous; yet he
pursued the same principle as that princess, by keeping
the king his master in a state of entire dependance. The
prime ministers that succeeded Don Juan followed his
example: they took care to conceal from Charles the real
state of his kingdom. But he could not be ignorant of
the losses he sustained every year. The King of Spain,
tired with the continual repetition of bad news, was glad
to embrace the peace of Nimeguen (1678), how glorious
soever to France: and, considering it as a pledge of the
public tranquillity, he determined never to break it.
"His marriage with the princess Mary Louisa, daugh-
ter of the Duke of Orleans (1679), seemed to complete
the treaties lately entered into. The new queen was not
at all ambitious of governing. She was still living, when
APPENDIX II.
527
Louis XIV. was informed, in 1685, (a truce of twenty
years having been signed the preceding year at Ratisbon,)
that the Emperor demanded of the King of Spain the
sovereignty of the Low Countries for the archduchess his
daughter, lately married to the elector of Bavaria. The
King of France being convinced that if such a settlement
took place, it would be a violation of the truce, gave orders
to his ambassador at Madrid to make this declaration to
the Catholic king. This prince and his council were
alarmed with the fear of a rupture. In the answer given
to the French ambassador, the supposed settlement of the
Low Countries was treated as a chimera, and assurances
were renewed on the part of his Catholic Majesty, of his
sincere desire to continue the peace.
C
"Two years after, 1687, the court of Vienna tried
whether she could not prevail on the King of Spain to
let the archduke Charles, the Emperor's second son, be
educated at his court, as heir presumptive of the crown.
Louis XIV., having been informed of this new attempt,
sent orders to his ambassador to desire a private audience
of the King of Spain, and to present into that prince's
own hands a memorial drawn up by his Majesty's orders.
The substance of this memorial was, that if this prince,
influenced by bad counsel, should subvert the order of
succession, the king in that case could not avoid executing
whatever he thought most effectual for maintaining the
Dauphin's rights, and must consider every thing done in
favour of the Emperor's son as an infringement of the
peace.' The answer was in general terms; but the King
of Spain gave the queen leave to tell the ambassador, that
he would never nominate a successor till he received the
holy viaticum.
"Two years after, 1689, the queen, according to the
general opinion, died a victim to the design she had enter-
tained, of preserving peace betwixt France and Spain.
528
APPENDIX II.
•
Her death happened at a time when England and Holland,
in alliance with the Emperor, was dragging this crown into
the war against France. The sudden decease of this
princess occasioned violent suspicions; Count Mansfeldt,
the imperial ambassador, and the Count of Oropera, who
were both suspected of having been the authors and in-
struments of this wicked piece of policy, took little or no
pains to justify themselves.
"The twenty years' truce, concluded in the year 1684,
had been broken in 1688, by the Prince of Orange's invading
England, and usurping the throne of his father-in-law
king James II. ; as also by the affair of the coadjutorship
of Cologne, in contest betwixt Cardinal Furstenberg and
Prince Clement of Bavaria, the elector's brother: and the
war still continued, when the King of Spain took to his
second wife, the Empress's sister, daughter of the Duke of
Newbury, who was afterwards Elector Palatine. This
princess, being perfectly acquainted with her husband's
temper, knew how to govern him, and of course had the
management of every thing in Spain. Sensible to flattery
and fond of revenge, she distributed rewards and punish-
ments according to the impulse of each passion. She had
a contempt for the Spanish nation, which she could not
disguise; so that she was feared by some, but beloved by
nobody. Count Melgar, hereditary almirante of Castile,
happened to gain her confidence; by which means he had
the authority of prime minister without the title. The
queen had moreover a privy-council of her own, consisting
of a woman called Berleps, and a capuchin friar, both of
whom came with her from Germany.
"The concluding of the peace in 1697 put an end to
the disagreeable tidings which the King frequently re-
ceived of the loss of some of his strong towns.
The taking
of Barcelona by the French had affected him more sensibly
than that of any other place; because this being the capital
APPENDIX II.
529
of Catalonia, and situated in the kingdom of Spain, was
better known to him than the towns in Flanders: he was
so very ignorant of the importance of the latter, as to
believe that Mons belonged to the king of England, and
to pity this prince when Louis XIV. made a conquest of
this province.
"Spain stood so much the more in need of peace at that
time, as the kingdom was destitute of troops, of ships, of
money, and council. The grandees, at variance among
themselves, without credit or authority, but not without
ambition, quietly expected a revolution, which they con-
sidered as not very remote. The Spanish monarchy no
longer supported itself by its own weight; and the nume-
rous dominions of which it was composed were already
designed a prey to the ambition of the principal powers in
Europe.
"The King of France's only son, the Dauphin, was by
law the only right heir to those extensive territories. His
mother, the late queen Maria Teresa, eldest daughter of
Philip IV. King of Spain, had the undoubted right of
succeeding to the crown in default of male issue; and the
sole reason for contesting this right was the jealousy and
fear which the other princes of Europe had conceived of
the power of France. The common interest of hindering
the aggrandisement of this crown had long united these
princes; and with this view they maintained that the late
Queen of France was legitimately excluded from the suc-
cession of the King her father, as well by the renunciation
which this princess had made of her rights at her marriage,
as by the testamentary disposition of that prince.
"By this act the exclusion was given to the Queen Maria
Teresa; and the descendants of Margaret, her youngest
sister, born of a second venter, and married to the Emperor
Leopold, were called to the crown. From this marriage
sprang an only daughter, who was married to the Elector
VOL. I.
M M
530
APPENDIX II.
of Bavaria; so that this princess, and after her the electoral
prince her son, would have been entitled to the whole suc-
cession of the Spanish monarchy, in default of male issue
by Charles II., had the testament of Philip IV. been
valid. But the Emperor did not allow this pretended right
of the electress his daughter. He wanted to preserve the
Spanish monarchy in his own family, and to get the crown
settled on the Archduke his second son; for this purpose
he renewed the attempt of prevailing on the Catholic King
to send for him to Madrid, that he might be educated near
his person, as his successor and sole heir to the Spanish
monarchy.
"The new Queen of Spain, the Empress's sister, entering
heartily into the Emperor's views, employed her whole
credit to forward her nephew's interest; but the Queen-
mother of Spain was still living, and having the interests
of her great grandson the electoral prince more at heart
than those of the Archduke her nephew, she strongly op-
posed the urgent solicitations of the Queen her daughter-
in-law.
"The obstacle seemed removed, when the Queen dowa-
ger of Spain died the month of May 1696; but the re-
presentations of this princess had made such an impression
on the mind of the King her son, that the Emperor ap-
prehended it would be very difficult to efface them, and
that this could not be effected without the assistance of an
able minister. Confiding therefore in the prudence of old
Count Harrach, one of the principal members of his council,
and master of the horse, he nominated him his ambassador
to Spain; and at the same time appointed the young Count
his son to succeed him in that embassy.
.
"The first article of his commission was the revocation
of a will, which the King of Spain had made in favour of
the prince of Bavaria, in the life time and at the solicitation
of the queen-mother. Harrach succeeded in this first
APPENDIX II.
531
article, the Queen having assisted him with all the influence
she had over the king her husband. This prince tore the
will, and withstood the solicitations of Cardinal Portocarrero,
who pressed him to summon the states of the kingdom, in
order to come to a sure and valid decision upon a point of
such importance to the monarchy.
"The imperial minister was not so successful in the
second article of his commission. The King of Spain.
could not resolve to nominate his successor, and much less
to send for him to Madrid: however he was so tired at
length by the queen's importunities, that he promised to
invite the Archduke into Spain, if the Emperor at the same
time would send ten or twelve thousand of his troops to
defend Catalonia.
"This consent of the Catholic king was obtained in 1696,
the year before the peace. The war, which still continued,
was rather a favourable conjuncture to the Emperor's so-
licitations; but his council, who were quick in forming
and slow in the executing of projects, started continual
difficulties, which obstructed the desires of this prince.
The funds were wanting, either for the march or for the
subsistence of the troops. The imperial ministers pretended
that the king of Spain ought to supply them. But his
finances would not admit of it; and he thought he did
enough in favour of the Emperor, in securing the possession
of his dominions to the Archduke, without putting himself
also to the expence of an expedition, the whole fruit of
which was to be reaped by the Emperor and his son.
"The peace of Ryswick proved a new obstacle to the
transporting of imperial troops into Spain. This could
not be effected without ships, which were wanting.
England indeed and Holland would have furnished them
during the war; but the peace had changed the whole
state of affairs; so that it would have been a direct in-
fringement of the treaties to support the Emperor's pre-
Matis
M M 2
532
APPENDIX II.
tensions to the Spanish succession. For which reason the
Queen as well as Count Harrach advised him to sit down
contented for the present with obtaining the perpetual
government of the Milanese for the Archduke, and with
sending at different intervals a small number of forces,
under the notion of recruits for the imperial troops, which
remained in Catalonia after the signing of the treaties.
Those troops, though inconsiderable in number, might be
sufficient to maintain the Austrian party in Spain, when-
ever the King should happen to die, an event which could
not be very remote.
"The elector of Bavaria flattered himself with having a
strong party in Spain; and being persuaded that he might
look upon the Almirante, though devoted to the Queen,
as the chief of that party, he had intrusted him with full
powers, as he had also intrusted Cardinal Portocarrero, to
act in the name of the prince his son, that both of them
might take such steps, as they should judge necessary,
whenever the succession was open.
"The Elector had also applied to the King of France
for his protection, and entreated his Majesty to acquaint
him with his intentions, concerning what part of the do-
minions subject to the Spanish monarchy he should judge
proper to reserve to himself.
"The King without rejecting these advances made
answer, that as all connexion betwixt France and Spain
had been interrupted these nine years by the war, it was
necessary, before any project could be formed, that his
Majesty should have particular instructions concerning the
present state of the forces of that kingdom; moreover that
the elector should acquaint him with the nature and
strength of the party which he thought he had in Spain;
and that his Majesty would forthwith send an ambassador
to Madrid, by whose relations he should form a judgment
of what was proper to be done, in case the King of Spain
APPENDIX II.
533
happened to die; an event which might now be considered
as at some distanee, since this prince's health seemed to be
perfectly re-established.
"The Marquis d'Harcourt, having been appointed am-
bassador to Spain, set out for Madrid in the month of
December, 1697, after taking instructions from his Majesty
concerning every thing that he had heard by the most
faithful accounts of that court. The King particularly
recommended to him to make all the inquiry he possibly
could into the disposition of the grandees and of the
people, in regard of the succession, to discover and to
traverse the secret measures and steps of the imperial
ministers. He was directed to use the same vigilance in
getting what information he could concerning the party
which the Elector of Bavaria fancied he had in Spain. The
Emperor and this prince were at that time the only two
who had declared themselves pretenders to the succession.
The King of France had not taken one step since the
peace to maintain the Dauphin's right; but justice pleaded
his cause, and the party which favoured the princes of the
line of France, though unknown to and unsolicited by his
Majesty, was by far the strongest and the most numerous.
"The public was firmly of opinion that the renunciation
of the late queen Maria Teresa, even supposing it valid,
could not be binding to children who did not so much as
exist at the time of performing an act required by paternal
authority; that since a minor may, when he comes of age,
protest against all dispositions made to his prejudice during
his tutelage, there was surely a much stronger reason why
this power should be preserved to infants deprived, by any
act whatsoever, of their legitimate inheritance.
get
"The queen's partiality in favour of the Germans, whom
she caressed and preferred to natives of the kingdom, was
the cause that the national aversion to them increased every
day. The people, oppressed with taxes, and grown weary
M M 3
534
APPENDIX II.
of a foreign government, were in hopes that a prince of
the line of France, establishing a just authority over his
subjects, would bring peace and plenty into the kingdom :
but everybody judged that this peace could not last, if the
King of Spain, in compliance with the importunities of the
queen his wife, invited the Archduke to Madrid, with a
body of German troops to support his cause, and declared
him heir to the whole Spanish monarchy.
"The point which Louis XIV. had chiefly in view was
to maintain the peace lately concluded, and to oppose every
alteration that could tend to disturb it. It was therefore
incumbent upon him to know the real intentions of the
King of Spain before he could prescribe any measures to
his new ambassador; for which reason his Majesty chose
to wait for the éclaircissement this minister should give him,
before he determined which of the two parties suited best
with his own interest, as well as with the tranquillity of
Europe, either to treat with the Emperor, or with the
Elector of Bavaria, concerning the partition of the Spanish
monarchy.
"The Emperor, who was not so zealous for the public
welfare, repeated his solicitations in favour of the Archduke.
Harrach strongly represented, that it was a long time since
the resolution had been taken in the Spanish council to
cause a body of Imperial troops to march into Catalonia,
at the expense of his Catholic Majesty, for the security of
the province. He now solicited the fulfilling of that pur-
With the like eagerness he demanded that the Arch-
duke should be invited to Madrid, and acknowledged
presumptive heir to the Spanish monarchy; and that, as
pledge of this acknowledgment, this prince should be
forthwith invested with the full and proper sovereignty of
Milan.
pose.
"The queen of Spain, with all her credit not being able
to obtain what the Emperor desired, ordered the Almirante
APPENDIX II.
535
of Castile to answer the ambassador, that as a peace had
been concluded with France, the resolution taken during
the war, of marching a body of Imperial troops into
Catalonia, and of maintaining them there at the expense
of Spain, was of no sort of use in time of tranquillity;
further, that the execution of such a scheme was im-
practicable, the finances being so low as not to admit of the
expences necessary, either for maintaining the Emperor's
troops in Catalonia, or for transporting them thither; that
the prince particularly interested in preserving the crown
of Spain in his family, ought to be at the expense of both;
that this expense would amount perhaps to a million a year,
an object no way comparable to the advantage which the
Emperor expected to derive from it. Besides, it was proper
to consider, that France would look upon the transporting
of a body of German troops into Catalonia, in time of full
peace, and without any visible necessity, as a violation of the
late treaty,
the real motive of the destination of those
troops being very easy to guess. In vain did Count Har-
rach represent to them, that the war, which his master was
obliged to maintain in Hungary against the Turks, had
occasioned such immense expences, and thrown the finances
into so bad a condition, as to render it impossible for him
to pay the troops he should send to Spain. But they
wanted money at Madrid as much as at Vienna; and
neither England nor Holland would lend them any trans-
ports.
"The King was informed of Count Harrach's demands
before the Marquis d'Harcourt arrived at Madrid. As
these demands were likely to be repeated, he ordered his
ambassador to declare to the court of Madrid, that every
step which the King of Spain should take to the prejudice
of his legitimate heirs, would be considered by his Majesty
as a rupture betwixt the two crowns.
"The King of Portugal was not afraid to enter the
M M 4
536
APPENDIX II.
lists, as heir to the Spanish monarchy. He is said to have
been excited to these pretensions by the Count Oropera,
who was a descendant of the house of Braganza, before
this house had made good his right to the crown of Por-
tugal. He was in hopes that, if the King of Portugal should
ascend the throne of Spain, he himself might fill the throne
which this prince would leave vacant.
*
*
*
*
*
"His Majesty had determined the preceding year to
prefer the repose of his people and the glory of consolidating
the peace of Europe, to that of settling a prince of his
family upon a throne which had been at enmity with
France ever since it was possessed by the house of Austria.
The King chose rather to content himself with a part of
the Spanish monarchy, as an equivalent for the Dauphin's
lawful rights, than to engage to hinder the dismemberment
of the several dominions belonging to that crown.
"The Dauphin, who during his whole life had been
always submissive to the will of the king his father, made
no sort of difficulty in agreeing to the resolution, which
his Majesty had judged most conducive to the good of the
kingdom and the general interest of Europe.
"The partition of the Spanish monarchy, in case King
Charles II. should happen to die without issue, was not a
new scheme. The weak constitution of that prince, and
his frequent illnesses and complaints, had occasioned the
forming a project of that kind so early as the year 1668.
The King had agreed upon a partition with the Emperor
Leopold, by a treaty signed at Vienna, and, for the sake
of secrecy, deposited in the hands of the Grand Duke of
Tuscany, till the Spanish succession should be open.
"This treaty, which had been ineffectual ever since the
year 1668, served as a pattern to the precautions necessary
for preserving the tranquillity of Europe. True it is that
circumstances were altered; the state of the Emperor's
family being quite different. This prince thirty years
APPENDIX III.
537
before had had no sons; but he had two at the time of con-
cluding the peace of Ryswick; and there was no possibility
of satisfying the ambition of the house of Austria, unless
the Spanish monarchy descended entire to the youngest of
these princes.
CC
Finding it therefore to no purpose to treat at that
time about a partition with the court of Vienna, the King
judged it would be more conducive to this end to enter
into a negotiation with the King of England, William III.,
whose influence in Holland was so great as to be able to
determine the States-general to follow his example.
*
"These circumstances, joined to the sincere desire of
maintaining the peace, determined Louis XIV. to propose
a partition of the Spanish monarchy to King William,
nearly on the same plan as that which his Majesty had
concluded with the Emperor Leopold in the year 1668."
III. DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH.-P. 431.
Louise Rénée de Penancourt de Querouaille, or Keroualle.
"She had been," says Burnet, "maid of honour to MADAME,
the King's (Charles II.) sister, and had come over with her
to Dover, where the King had expressed such a regard to
her, that the Duke of Buckingham, who hated the Duchess
of Cleveland, intended to put her on the King. He told
him that it was a decent piece of tenderness for his sister
to take care of some of her servants: so she was the
person
the King easily consented to invite over. That Duke
assured the King of France, that he could never reckon
himself sure of the King, but by giving him a mistress that
should be true to his interests. It was soon agreed to.
The King was presently taken with her. She studied to
please and observe him in every thing: so that he passed
538
APPENDIX III.
the rest of his life in a great fondness for her. She stuck
firm to the French interest, and was its chief supporter."
Charles II. created her Duchess of Portsmouth, Countess
of Fareham, and Baroness of Petersfield, all in the
county of Southampton, to enjoy during her life, by letters
patent, dated at Westminster August 19th, 1673.
Louis XIV. was not less grateful than Charles II. for
her tractability. This same year he presented to her the
lands d'Aubigny by the subjoined Letters Patent :
"Louis, par la grace de Dieu, Roi de France et de
Navarre, à tous présens et à venir, salut. La terre
d'Aubigni-sur-Nière, dans notre province de Berry, ayant
été donnée dès l'année 1422, par le Roi Charles VII., l'un
de nos prédécesseurs, à Jean Stuart, comme une marque
des grands et considérables services qu'il avait rendus dans
la guerre à ce roi et sa couronne, et cette donation ayant
été accompagnée de la condition que la dite terre d'Aubigni
passerait de mâle en mâle à tous les descendants du dit
Jean Stuart, avec reversion à notre couronne, lorsque la
branche masculine qui serait venue de lui serait éteinte,
ce cas porté par les dites lettres de donation est arrivé
l'année dernière par la mort de notre cousin le Duc de
Richemont, dernier de la ligne masculine du dit Jean Stuart.
Mais parce que cette terre ayant été, durant tant d'années,
dans une maison qui avait l'honneur d'appartenir de si
près à notre très-cher et très-aimé frère le Roi de la Grande
Bretagne, le dit Roi nous aurait fait témoigner, qu'il serait
bien-aise qu'à cette considération nous voulussions bien la
faire passer à une personne qu'il affectionerait, et rentrer
après elle dans une maison, qui fit encore unie par le sang
à la sienne; qu'à ce sujet il nous aurait fait requérir que
nous voulussions bien accorder nos lettres de donation de
la dite terre d'Aubigni-sur-Nière, à la dame . . . . de
Kerouel, Duchesse de Portsmouth, pour passer après sa mort
à tel des enfants naturels de notre frère la Roi de la Grande
Bretagne qu'il voudra nommer, sous les mêmes clauses et
APPENDIX III.
539
conditions que la même terre fit premièrement donnée par
le Roi Charles VII. en 1422 au susdit Jean Stuart, et que
la dite terre étant passée à tel fils naturel du dit Roi de la
Grande Bretagne qu'il aura voulu nommer, elle demeure
au dit fils naturel et à ses descendants de mâle en mâle, avec
droit de reversion à notre couronne, à défaut d'enfants mâles,
et par l'extinction de la ligne masculine qui serait sortie de
lui. Comme nous embrassons avec plaisir les occasions qui
se présentent de donner à notre dit frère le Roi de la Grande
Bretagne des marques de notre amitié, et de l'extrême con-
sidération que nous avons pour ce qu'il désire, et que nous
avons aussi-bien agréable qu'une terre qui était demeurée
durant tant d'années dans une maison si illustre, retourne
en quelque sorte à son origine, en passant un jour entre les
mains d'un fils naturel de notre dit frère, nous avons bien
voulu disposer de la dite terre d'Aubigny, en la manière
que
nous en avons été requis par notre susdit frère le Roi de la
Grande Bretagne.
"A ces causes, savoir faisons que notre grace spéciale,
pleine puissance et autorité royale, nous avons à la dite
dame . . . . de Kerouel, Duchesse de Portsmouth, et après
elle à celui des fils naturels de notre dit frère le Roi de la
Grande Bretagne qu'il nommera, et aux descendants mâles
en ligne directe du dit fils naturel, donné, cédé, transporté
et délaissé, donnons, cédons, transportons et délaissons par
ces présentes, signées de notre main, le fonds et propriété
de la terre d'Aubigni, avec tous et un chacun ses droits,
appartenances et dépendances, pour enjouir et user par la
dite Duchesse, et après son décès, celui des fils naturels du dit
Roi de la Grand Bretagne qu'il nommera, et les descendants
mâles en droite ligne du dit fils naturel, comme de leur
propre chose et loyal acquêt, tout ainsi que nous ferions,
sans ancune chose en retenir et reserver à nous et à nos
successeurs rois, que les foi et hommage, ressort et souve-
raineté, à condition toutefois que la dite terre d'Aubigni,
540
APPENDIX III.
avec ses appartenances et dépendances, retournera à notre
domaine, au défaut des mâles descendants en droite ligne
du fils naturel qui aura été nommé par le susdit Roi de la
Grande Bretagne.
"Si donnons en mandement à nos amis et féaux les gens
tenant notre cour de parlement et chambre de nos comptes.
à Paris, que ces présentes lettres de don ils aient à enrégister,
et du contenu en icelles faire jouir et user pleinement,
paisiblement, et à toujours la dite dame. . . . de Kerouel,
Duchesse de Portsmouth, et après elle le fils naturel que le
dit Roi de la Grande Bretagne nommera, et les descendants
mâles en droite ligne du dit fils naturel, cessant et fesant
cesser tous troubles et empêchements à ce contraires.
"Car tel est notre plaisir; et afin que ce soit chose ferme
et stable à toujours, nous avons fait mettre notre sceau à
ces dites présentes, sauf en autre chose notre droit et l'autrui
en toutes. Donné a Saint-Germain-en-Laye, au mois de
Décembre, l'an de grace 1673, et de notre règne le trente-
unième."
The very important services she had rendered to Louis
XIV. in aiding him to make England a state dependent on
the pay of France, were soon forgotten. But for the
friendship of Courtin, who was long ambassador in England,
"where," says Saint-Simon, "through Madame de Ports-
mouth, he made King Charles II. do what he pleased," she
would have been banished for some wicked designs, as the
same author relates as follows:
"Revenue en France, et Charles II. mort, elle y était
avec peu de considération par la vie qu'elle y menait dans
Paris. Il revint au Roi qu'on s'était licencié chez elle, et
elle-même de parler fort librement de lui et de Madame de
Maintenon; sur quoi M. de Louvois eut ordre d'expédier
une lettre de cachet pour l'exiler fort loin. Courtin était
ainsi intime de M. de Louvois: il avait une petite maison
à Meudon, et il était sur le pied d'entrer librement dans
APPENDIX III.
541
son cabinet à toutes heures. Un soir qu'il y entra et que
M. de Louvois écrivait seul, et qu'il continuait d'écrire,
Courtin vit cette lettre de cachet sur son bureau. Quand
Louvois eut fini, Courtin lui demanda avec émotion ce que
c'était que cette lettre de cachet. Louvois lui dit la cause.
Courtin s'écria que c'était surement quelque mauvais office,
mais que, quand le rapport serait vrai, le Roi était payé pour
n'aller pas contre elle au-delà d'un avis d'être plus circon-
specte; qu'il le priait et le chargeait de le dire de sa part
au Roi, avant que de l'envoyer; et que, si le Roi ne voulait
pas l'en croire sur sa parole, il fit au moins, avant de passer
outre, voir les dépêches de ses négociations d'Angleterre,
surtout ce qu'il y avait obtenu d'important par Madame de
Portsmouth lors de la guerre de Hollande et pendant toute
son ambassade; et qu'après de tels services rendus par elle,
c'était se déshonorer que de les oublier. Louvois, qui s'en
souvenait bien, et à qui Courtin en rappela plusieurs traits.
considérables, suspendit l'envoi de la lettre de cachet, et
rendit compte au Roi de l'aventure, et de ce que Courtin lui
avait dit; et sur ce témoignage qui rappela plusieurs faits
au Roi, qui fit jeter au feu la lettre de cachet, et fit dire à
la Duchesse de Portsmouth d'être plus réservée."
On the 13th of June 1689, Louis XIV. gave her a
pension of twelve thousand livres, doubtless to indemnify
her for the vast possessions and pensions which she had
obtained from Charles II., and of which she had been de-
prived by the Revolution.
66
Aujourd'hui, 13 Juin, 1689, le Roi étant à Versailles,
voulant gratifier et traiter favorablement la Duchesse de
Portsmouth en considération du zèle et de l'affection par-
ticulière qui elle a toujours fait paraître en toutes les
occasions pour le service de S. M., et les avantages de sa
couronne, Sa Majesté lui a accordé et fait don de la somme
542
APPENDIX III.
de douze mille livres de pension annuelle *, qu'elle veut lui
être dorénavant payée par le garde de son trésor royal,
voulant à cet effet que la dite Dame de Portsmouth doit
couchée et employée sur les états de ses pensions étrangères,
qui en seront expédiés, et ce en vertu du présent brevet
que S. M., pour témoignage de sa volonté a voulu signer
de sa main, et fait contresigner par moi, son Conseiller
Secrétaire de ses commandements et finances.
CC
Signé Louis,
"et plus bas, Colbert."
This very year Louis XIV. raised this pension to
20,000 livres, as narrated by the accurate Dangeau in his
Journal:
"13 Décembre, 1689.-Madarne la Duchesse de Ports-
mouth, à qui le Roi avait donné une pension de 12,000
livres, il y a six mois, a prié S. M. de vouloir bien que la
pension passat sur la tête du Duc de Richmond son fils, et
de la vouloir augmenter de quelque chose. Le Roi y a
consenti, et l'a augmentée de 8000 livres, si bien qu'il a
présentement 20,000 livres."
This pension without doubt ceased to be paid, or it
may be that she only found it insufficient; for in 1697,
during the negotiation of the treaty of Ryswick, she
addressed the subjoined letter and note to Louis XIV :—
LA DUCHESSE DE PORTSMOUTH À LOUIS XIV.
1697.
"Je ne sais plus, Sire, de quelle manière m'y prendre
pour obliger et engager votre Majesté à m'honorer de ses
graces et de sa protection essentiellement ; et la douleur que
* et viagère. That word has been erased on the minute.
APPENDIX III.
543
j'ai de m'en voir seule privée, malgré le penchant que votre
grand et généreux cœur a de faire du bien à tout le monde,
me rend plus sensible au malheur de m'en voir privée et de
toute sorte d'agrément. Je ne m'en étonnerais pas, Sire, si
je n'avais l'honneur de vous entendre dire à ma faveur une
chose que je croyais au-dessus des humains, qui était que
vous m'étiez obligé. Il est vrai, Sire, qu'une telle expression
doit servir de récompense. Aussi mon cœur et ma gloire
en ont été pleinement satisfaits et flattés, et c'est ce qui me
fait ressentir avec plus de vivacité l'état qui me force à
vous importuner si souvent et si infructueusement touchant
mes intérêts. C'est que je suis la personne du monde la
moins interessée, et la grace que j'ai osé vous demander depuis
près de trois ans n'en est pas une si excessive pour que
vous me deviez regarder ni comme importune, ni intéressée,
et le plaisir d'être regardée de vous si j'étais assez heureuse
pour que vous me la voulussiez accorder comme (à?) une
personne comblée et charmée de vos bontés, me la fait
encore plus désirer que le besoin que j'en ai, quoiqu'il soit
bien grand. Laissez-vous toucher, Sire, en ma faveur dans
un temps où si généreusement et détaché de vos propres
intérêts, vous donnez le repos et la paix à l'Europe, quand
vous êtes en état plus que jamais de lui imposer telles lois
qu'il vous plairait. Que je me ressente, Sire, de cette
bonté et de cette belle générosité, et ne regardez pas la per-
sévérance que j'ai à vous supplier comme un manque de
respect et de soumission à vos volontés, car jamais personne
n'en put avoir davantage, et si vous me permettez de le dire,
une amitié plus zelée pour tout ce qui vous regarde.
"Dans la confiance de mes respectueux sentiments j'ose
aussi vous supplier de m'accorder la grace de recommander
essentiellement mes intérêts sur mes justes prétentions en
Angleterre, de manière que l'on ne doute pas que vous ne
m'honoriez particulièrement de votre protection, et si ce
n'était trop présumer, j'oserais supplier V. M. d'en charger
M. le Maréchal de Boufflers, et je crois que cela aurait tout
544
APPENDIX III.
le bon effet que j'en puisse souhaiter. Si toutefois, Sire,
je prends ici plus de liberté que je ne dois, pardonnez-le
moi, puisque très-certainement je sacrifierais plutôt mes
intérêts, et même ma vie, que de manquer à ce que je vous
dois. Faites-moi, s'il vous plait, l'honneur d'en être
persuadé, et du profond respect avec lequel je suis, etc."
e
Note accompagnant la lettre précédent.
"Le feu Roi de la Grande Bretagne avait donné à la
Duchesse de Portsmouth une pension de 8000 guinées pour
en jouir pendant qu'elle vivrait. Cette pension était établie
par des lettres patentes scellées du grand sceau d'Angleterre.
Elle en a joui depuis la mort du dit seigneur Roi jusqu'à
ce que la guerre ait commencé. Sa Majesté eut très-
humblement suppliée d'accorder sa protection à la dite
Duchesse, et d'ordonner à ses plénipotentiaires de faire les
instances les plus efficaces qu'ils pourront, afin que la dite
Duchesse soit rétablie et maintenue par le traité de paix
dans la pleine et paisible jouissance de sa pension et de ce
qui lui en est dû.”
Co
The year following she went to England, where she
remained some months, attempting, but in vain, to gain
from William III. the payment of her pensions. In
Vernon's letters to the Duke of Shrewsbury occurs the
following curious passage, bearing date 25th August :-
My lord Romney treated the Duchess of Portsmouth
yesterday at Greenwich; she went thither and came back
by water. I do not know but it was the wisest way,
for the mob begins to ask what she comes over for, and
whether she thinks to carry back 100,000l. under pretence
of arrears of pensions; and some come out with it, that she
shall not eat Christmas-pies here."
END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
APR 29 1918
NEW WORKS
Miscellaneous and General Literature,
PUBLISHED BY
MESSRS. LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS,
PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON.
CLASSIFIED INDEX.
Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Pycroft's (Rev. J ) English Reading 21
Pages.
Reader's Time Tables
24
Pages.
Bayldon On valuing Rents, &c. 4
Crocker's Land-Surveying
Davy's Agricultural Chemistry
Johnson's Farmer's Encyclopædia 15
Loudon's Encyclop. of Agriculture
Self-Instruction
7
8
25
Rich's Comp. to Latin Dictionary 25
Riddle's Latin-Eng. Dictionaries
Robinson'sArtof Curing,Pickling&c.25
Rowton's Debater
17
Short Whist
66
17
"c
17
18
• 18
18
Thomson On the Sick Room
Thomson's Interest Tables
Tomlins's Law Dictionary
Walker's Dictionaries, by Smart
Webster's Domestic Economy
Zumpt's Latin Grammar
"
On Landed Property
"( On the Domesticated Animals 18
Parnell On Roads
23
Thomson On Fattening Cattle 30
Topham's Agricultural Chemistry 30
Whitley's Agricultural Geology
82
Lady's Country Compan.
Low's Elements of Agriculture
"C
Cattle Breeds
Arts and Manufactures.
9
Brande's Dictionary of Science, &c.
Bucklers' St. Alban's Abbey
Budge's Miner's Guide
Cartoons (The Prize)
Cresy's Civil Engineering
De Burtin On Pictures
Dresden Gallery
Eastlake on Oil Colours
Evans's Sugar-Planter's Manual
Gwilt's Encyclop. of Architecture.
Haydon On Painting and Design
Holland's Manufactures in Metal 13
Loudon's Encycl. of Rural Architect. 18
Moseley's Engineering & Architect. 22
Porter's Manufacture of Silk -
9
10
11
12
24
(6
""
Porcelain & Glass
Reid (Dr.) On Ventilation
Sibley and Rutherford's Earthwork
Tables
-
-
-
Acton's Cookery
Black's Treatise on Brewing
•
-
Steam Engine, by the Artisan Club
Ure's Dictionary of Arts, &c.
Wood On Railroads
-
-
-
Parkes's Domestic Duties
Biography.
Aikin's Life of Addison
Andersen's (H. C.) Autobiography
Bell's Eminent British Poets
"C On Making Wills
Hume's Learned Societies, &c.
Loudon's Self-Instruction
"C Lady's Companion
Amateur Gardener
(4
Maunder's Treasury of Knowledge
"C
Biographical Treasury
-
-
31
• 81
•
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-
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-
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Books of General Utility.
<
5
5
122 2020
24
25
27
3
∞∞ co
3
26
27
27
252290
28
28
"C Supplement on Bavarian Beer 4
Collegian's Guide (The)
Donovan's Domestic Economy
Hand-book of Taste
Hints on Etiquette
Hudson's Parent's Hand-book
"
Executor's Guide
8
4
6
8
12
12
14
14
14
14
17
17
17
20
" Scient. and Lit. Treasury 20
Treasury of History
Natural History
"
""
20
20
23
IN
C
<
་་
Botany and Gardening.
Abercrombie's Practical Gardener
(C and Main'sGardener'sComp.
Callcott's Scripture Herbal
Conversations on Botany
Drummond's First Steps to Botany
Evans's Sugar-Planter's Manual
Henslow's Botany -
Hoare On Cultivation of the Vine
" On the Roots of Vines
Hooker's British Flora
"C Guide to Kew Gardens
Lindley's Theory of Horticulture
"6
""
n
cc
Loudon's Hortus Britannicus
(C
""
-
-
Butler's Geography
"C
(C
-
•
"" Ancient do.
General do.
Cooley's World Surveyed
"
(
·
Orchard & Kitchen Garden
Introduction to Botany -
Flora Medica
Synopsis of British Flora
"Lignosis Londinensis
Amateur Gardener
Self-Instruction
Trees and Shrubs
Gardening
Plants
"
cc
Suburban Gardener
Repton's Landscape Gardening
Rivers's Rose Amateur's Guide
Roberts On the Grape-Vine
Rogers's Vegetable Cultivator
Schleiden's Scientific Botany
Smith's Introduction to Botany
English Flora
""
"
"C
•
•
18
18
17
→ 17
17
17
17
18
25
25
25
26
26
29
27
Compendium of Eng. Flora 28
Chronology.
22
Blair's Chronological Tables
Nicolas's Chronology of History
Riddle's Ecclesiastical Chronology 25
Tate's Horatius Restitutus
29
Adair's Mission to Vienna
"
CC
-
L
•
Constantinople
Barrett's Bible Criticisms
Bell's History of Russia
Blair's Chron. and Histor. Tables
"
9
10
12
13
•. 13
13
13
17
17
17
17
17
-
-
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Gilbart On Banking
M'Culloch's Dict. of Comm. & Navig.
Reader's Time Tables
-
Dover's Life of the King of Prussia
8
Dunham's Early British Writers
9
<<
Lives of British Dramatists 9
Forster's Statesmen
·
Amy Herbert
Boy's own Book (The)
Gertrude
10
(Rev. C.) Life of Bp. Jebb 10
Gleig's British Military Commanders 10
Grant's Memoir & Correspondence 11
Haydon's Autobiography, &c.
James's Life of the Black Prince
(" Foreign Statesmen
Leslie's Life of Constable
Mackintosh's Life of Sir T. More
Maunder's Biographical Treasury -
Mohan Lal's Mohammed
12
15
Hawes's Tales of the Indians
12
14 Commerce & Mercantile Affairs. Howitt's (Wm.) Boy's Country Book 13
<<
16
(Mary) Child's Year-Book 13
Laneton Parsonage
16
19
20
21
Marcet's Conversations-
On Chemistry
4
Roscoe's Lives of British Lawyers- 26
Russell's Bedford Correspondence
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Shelley's Literary Men of Italy, &c.
"C Lives of French Writers
Southey's Lives of the Admirals -
"C Life of Wesley
Townsend's Eminent Judges
Waterton's Autobiography & Essays 31
30
-
Steel's Shipmaster's Assistant
Symond's Merchant-Seamen's Law
Thomson's Interest Tables
Walford's Customs' Laws
Geography and Atlases.
-
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U
K
26
27
30
30
30
31
32
32
DO ∞ CO
8
Atlas of Modern Geography 5
8
De Strzelecki's New South Wales - 8
Forster's Hist. Geography of Arabia 10
Hall's Large General Atlas
12
M'Culloch's Geographical Dictionary 19
Murray's Encyclop. of Geography- 22
Parrot's Ascent of Mount Ararat
6
History and Criticism.
-
10
19
24
28
29
30
81
10
October 1847.
3
3
4
Dunham's Spain and Portugal
Middle Ages
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Co
"
"
A
Denmark, Sweden, &c.
Poland
Dunlop's History of Fiction
Eastlake's History of Oil Painting
Eccleston's English Antiquities
Fergus's United States
10
Grant's Memoir & Correspondence 11
Grattan's Netherlands -
11
11
11
Grimblot's Wm. III. & Louis XIV.
Guicciardini's Historical Maxims -
Halsted's Life of Richard III.
Haydon On Painting and Design
Historical Pictt. of the Middle Ages 12
"" Charades
12
12
12
13
15
15
15
16
18
19
19
20
21
22
22
25
25
26
4
M'Culloch'sGeographical Dictionary 19
Maunder's Treasury of History
Milner's Church History
Moore's History of Ireland
Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History 22
Nicolas's Chronology of History
Ranke's History of the Reformation 24
Rich's Comp. to Latin Dictionary
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Rome, History of
Russell's Bedford Correspondence
Schopenhauer's Autobiography
Scott's History of Scotland
Sinnett's Byways of History -
Stebbing's History of the Church -
History of Reformation 28
"" Church History
Switzerland, History of -
Sydney Smith's Works
Thirlwall's History of Greece
Tooke's History of Prices
Turner's History of England
Tytler's General History
Zumpt's Latin Grammar
27
21
""
29
20
23
29
Juvenile Books.
"
"c
-
Horsley's (Bp.) Biblical Criticism -
Jeffrey's (Lord) Contributions
Keightley's Outlines of History
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Macaulay's Crit. and Hist. Essays
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Margaret Percival
Marryat's Mission
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Settlers in Canada
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My Youthful Companions
4
4
Bloomfield's Edition of Thucydides 4
""
Translation of do.
Cooley's History of Discovery
Crowe's History of France
6
De Sismondi's Fall of Roman Empire & Collegian's Guide (The)
Italian Republics
8
Colton's Lacon
-
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Adshead on Prisons
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Clavers's Forest Life
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Medicine.
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Bull's Hints to Mothers -
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Copland's Dictionary of Medicine
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Lane On the Water Cure
Pereira On Food and Diet
Reece's Medical Guide
Thomson On Food
Miscellaneous.
Cocks's Bordeaux, its Wines, &c.
-
-
-
J
→
·
-
-
-
·
-
-
9
9
…………
9
9
9
20
26
19
20
20
20
20
22
Pycroft's (Rev. J.) English Reading 21
30
30
31
32
Me2006 222ª²
3
10
19
19
19
19
19
៩៦៨០០ ~ 5 ជា
13
15
23
25
30
……………
3000 10
6
6
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De Burtin on Pictures
De Morgan On Probabilities
De Strzelecki's New South Wales
Dresden Gallery
Dunlop's History of Fiction .
Good's Book of Nature
Graham's English
11
11
Grant's Letters from the Mountains 11
Hand-book of Taste
12
13
Hobbes (Thos.), Works of
Hooker's Kew Guide
13
14 Montgomery's Poetical Works
"
14
Moore's Poetical Works
66
14
" Lalla Rookh
Irish Melodies
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14
"C
(C
|
14
Howitt's Rural Life of England
Visits to Remarkable Places
Student-Life of Germany
Social Life of Germany -
Colonisation & Christianity 14
Hume's Learned Societies, &c.
Jaenisch On Chess Openings
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14
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15
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17
Moral of Flowers
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Pope's Works, by Roscoe
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Southey's Poetical Works
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Spirit of the Woods
Thomson's Seasons illustrated
18
(4
Moore On the Use of the Body
"" Soul and Body
22
22
""
Necker De Saussure On Education 22 Political Economy & Statistics.
24
Peter Plymley's Letters
Plunkett On the British Navy
24
Smith's (Rev. Sydney) Works
Southey's Common place Book
(C The Doctor, &c.
Thomson On Food
Twelve Years Ago
Walker's Chess Studies .
Willoughby's (Lady) Diary.
Zumpt's Lutin Grammar
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Pycroft's Course of Eng. Reading
Rich's Comp. to Latin Dictionary
Riddle's Latin Dictionaries -
Roget's Chess-Board
Rowton's Debater
Birds
Animals in Menageries
Fish, Amphibia, &c.
Insects
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Sandford's Church, School, & Parish 26
Seaward's Narrative of his Shipwreck 26
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Privateers-man
Pericles, a Tale of Athens
Southey's The Doctor, &c.
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Aikin's (Dr.) British Poets
Bürger's Leonora
Chalenor's Walter Gray
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Natural History.
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Catlow's Popular Conchology
Doubleday's Butterflies and Moths
Drummond's Letters to a Naturalist 9
Gray and Mitchell's Ornithology - 11
"C Accipitres
Kirby and Spence's Entomology
Lee's Taxidermy
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"C Elements of Natural History
Maunder's Treasury of Nat.History
Newell's Zoology of the Eng. Poets
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Stephens's British Coleoptera
Swainson On Study of Natural Hist. 29
Animals -
Taxidermy
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Malacology
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Habits and Instincts
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Waterton's Essays on Natural Hist. 31
Westwood's Classification of Insects 32
Zoology of HMSS. Erebus and Terror 32
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Novels and Works of Fiction.
Bray's (Mrs.) Novels
Dunlop's History of Fiction
Fawn of Sertorius
Lady Willoughby's Diary
Marryat's Masterman Ready
Settlers in Canada
Mission
Blaine's Rural Sports
Brande's Science, Literature, & Art
Copland's Dictionary of Medicine
Cresy's Civil Engineering
Gwilt's Architecture
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Poetry and the Drama.
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Collier's Roxburghe Ballads-
Costello's Persian Rose Garden
Goldsmith's Poems illustrated
Gray's Elegy, illuminated
Gutch's Robin Hood Ballads
Horace, by Tate
Howitt's Ballads
L. E. L.'s Poetical Works
Linwood's Anthologia Oxoniensis
Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome
Mackay's English Lakes
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Gilbart on Banking
Lang's Cooksland
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Gardening
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Trees and Shrubs
M'Calloch's Geographical Dictionary 19
Dictionary of Commerce 19
Murray's Encyclop. of Geography - 22
Ure's Dictionary of Arts, &c. -
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Gascoyne On the Apocalypse
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edited by Dr. A. T. Thomson 30
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M'Culloch's Geog. Statist. &c. Dict. 19
Dictionary of Commerce 19
Political Economy
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Statistics of Gt. Britain 19
On Funding & Taxation
Marcet's Conversa. On Polit. Econ.
Registrar-General's Reports
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Symonds' Merchant Seamen's Law 29
Tooke's History of Prices
Twiss's (Dr.) View of Polit. Econ.
1vol. Cyclopedias& Dictionaries. Moore On the Use of the Body
CC
re Soul and Body
Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History -
My Youthful Companions
Parables of Our Lord
·
Bunsen on theChurch of the Future
Burder's Oriental Customs
Burns's Christian Philosophy
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Fragments
Callcott's Scripture Herbal
Cooper's Sermons -
Coquerel's Christianity -
Dale's Domestic Liturgy
Dibdin's Sunday Library
Doddridge's Family Expositor
Englishman's Greek Concordance
Englishman's Heb.&Chald. Concord.
10
Fitzroy's Scriptural Conversations
Forster's Hist. Geography of Arabia 10
Life of Bishop Jebb
From Oxford to Rome
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Hook's (Dr.) Lectures on Passion Week 13
Horne's Introduction to Scriptures 13
13
Abridgment of ditto
Horsley's Bp.) Biblical Criticism- 13
Psalms -
13
Jebb's (Bp.) Correspond. with Knox 15
Trans of the Psalms -
Kip's Christmas in Rome
Knox's (Alexander) Remains
Laing's Notes on Ronge's Schism -
Laneton Parsonage
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Letters to My Unknown Friends
Maitland's Church in the Catacombs 19
20 Margaret Percival -
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Michelet'sPriests, Women, & Families20
Fami
and Quinet's Jesuits
Milner's Church History
Miracles of Our Saviour
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Religious and Moral Works.
Amy Herbert
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Barrett's Old Testament Criticisms 4
Bloomfield's Greek Testament
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College and School do.
Lexicon to do.
Riddle's Letters from a Godfather
Sandford's Prochialia
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Tate's History of St. Paul
Tayler's Dora Melder
Lady Mary
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Taylor's (Bp. Jeremy) Works
Tomline's Introduction to the Bible 30
Trevor
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30
Trollope's Analecta Theologica
Turner's Sacred History -
31
Twelve Years Ago
31
31
Wardlaw's Socinian Controversy
Weil's Bible, Koran, and Talmud 32
Wilberforce's View of Christianity 32
24 Wilkinson's Catech, of Church Hist. 32
24 Willoughby's (Lady) Diary
Wilson's Lands of the Bible -
32
32
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26 Ephemera on Angling
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Pearson's Prayers -
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Stebbing's Church History
Steepleton
Margaret; or, the Pearl
Sermons
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Blaine's Dictionary of Sports
Hansard's Fishing in Wales
Hawbuck Grange -
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" Female Improvement
On Woman
Sermon on the Mount (The)
Shepherd's Horæ Apostolice
Shunammite (The Good)
Sinclair's Journey of Life
Smith's (G.) Perilous Times-
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Religion of Anc. Britain 27 | Miles On the Horse's Foot
" Sacred Annals
Smith's Female Disciple
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Stable Talk and Table Talk
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(Sydney) Sermons
Southey's Life of Wesley
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Hunt's Researches on Light
Kater and Lardner's Mechanics
La Place's System of the World
Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopædia
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King's Argentine Republic
Kip's Holydays in Rome
Laing's Tour in Sweden
Lang's Cooksland
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Hawker's Instructions to Sportsmen 12
Loudon's Lady's Country Comp.
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Stable Talk and Table Talk -
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Mackay's English Lakes
Marryat's Borneo
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Bakewell's Introduction to Geology
Brande's Dictionary of Science, &c.
Brewster's Optics
Conversations on Mineralogy
Cresy's Civil Engineering
De la Beche'sGeology of Cornwall,&c. 8
Donovan's Chemistry
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Farey On the Steam Engine
Fosbroke On the Ancient Arts, &c.
Gower's Scientific Phenomena
Greener On the Gun
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Herschel's Natural Philosophy
Astronomy
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Holland's Manufactures in Metal
Humboldt's Cosmos
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Hydrostatics & Pneumatics 16
and Walker's Electricity 16
Arithmetic
Geometry
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Treatise on Heat
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Marcet's (Mrs.) Conversations
Memoirs of the Geological Survey
Moseley's Practical Mechanics.
Engineering&Architecture 22
Owen's Lectures on Comp. Anatomy 22
Pearson's Practical Astronomy
Peschel's Elements of Physics
Phillips's Fossils of Cornwall, &c.
"C Guide to Geology
Treatise on Geology
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Poisson's Mechanics
Portlock's Geology of Londonderry
Powell's Natural Philosophy -
Quarterly Journal of the Geol. Soc.
Ritchie On Railways
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Topham's Agricultural Chemistry
Whitley's Agricultural Geology
Travels.
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Thomson On Fattening Cattle
Turner On the Foot of the Horse
Winter On the Horse
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Cooley's World Surveyed
Costello's (Miss) North Wales
Coulter's California &c.
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De Custine's Russia
De Strzelecki's New South Wales
Dunlop's Central America
Erman's Travels through Siberia -
Francis's Italy and Sicily
Harris's Highlands of Ethiopia
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Schopenhauer's Pictures of Travel 26
Seaward's Narrative
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Tischendorff's Travels in the East
Von Orlich's Travels in India
Wilson's Travels in the Holy Land 32
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