require a pofitive renunciation of his unjust pretenfions to the Spanish fucceffion; for if his former renunciations were no bar to the fuppofed rights accruing to Maria Therefa, his queen, on the death of her father, Philip IV. they could be none to the rights that would accrue to her and her children on the death of her brother Charles, whofe languishing state of health left no room to hope that he could ever live to have offspring. But our surprise on this account ceafes, when we are told, that the king of England was actuated by no views of general policy; that to acquire a temporary popularity with his fubjects, to ruin de Wit, by detaching him from France; and, in confequence of his fall, to raise the family of Orange, were Charles's only motives for standing forth as the head of the Triple Alliance 49. It gave however, at the time, great fatisfaction to the contracting powers, and filled the negociators with the bigheft joy. "At Breda, as friends!"-cried Temple; here as brothers!" and de Wit added, that now the business was finifhed, it looked like a miracle 50. LETTER A. D. 1668, FRANCE and Spain were equally displeased at the terms of this treaty. Lewis was enraged to find limits fet to his ambition; for although his own offer was made the bafis of the league, that offer had only been thrown out, in order to allay the jealousy of the neighbouring powers, and to keep them in a ftate of inaction, till he had reduced the whole ten provinces. of the Low Countries. Spain was no lefs diffatisfied at the thought of being obliged to give up fo many important places, on account of fuch unjust claims 49. Men, de Gourville, tom. ii. See alfo Macpherson's Hift. of Britain, vol. i. and Dalrymple's Append. 50. Temple's Mem, part i. PART II and unprovoked hoftilities. A. D. 1668. At length, however, both agreed to treat, and the plenipotentiaries of all the parties met at Aix-la-Chapelle; where Spain, from a confcioufnefs of her own weaknefs, accepted of the alternative offered by France, but in a way that occafioned general furprife, and gave much uneafinefs to the Dutch. Lewis, under pretence of enforcing the peace, had entered Franche-Comté in the month of February, and reduced the whole province in a few weeks. Spain chofe to recover this province, and to abandon all the towns conquered in Flanders during the last campaign 51; fo that the French monarch ftill extended his garrifons into the heart of the Low Countries, and but a flender barrier remained to the United Provinces. But as the Triple League guarantied the remaining provinces of Spain, and the emperor and the German princes, whofe interests appeared to require its fupport, were invited to enter into the fame confederacy, Lewis, it was thought, could entertain no views of profecuting his conquefts in the quarter which lay moft expofed to his ambition. OTHER circumstances feemed to combine to enfure the balance of Europe. After a ruinous war of almoft thirty years, carried on by Spain, in order to recover the fovereignty of Portugal, and attended with various fuccefs, an equitable treaty had at last been concluded between the two crowns, in confequence of which the independency of Portugal was acknowledged 52. Being now free from fo formidable a foe, 51. Id. ibid. 52. This treaty, which was concluded through the mediation of the king of England, and to which a body of English troops had greatly contributed by their valour, was partly connected with a very singular revolution. XII. a foe, Spain might be expected to exert more vigour LETTER in defence of her poffeffions in the Low Countries; and the fatisfaction expreffed in England on account A.D. 1663 of the late treaty, promifed the most hearty concurrence of the parliament in every measure that should be propofed for confining the dangerous greatness of France. BUT the bold ambition of Lewis XIV. aided by the pernicious policy of the faithless Charles, foon broke through all restraints; and, as we shall afterward have occafion to fee, fet at defiance more formidable confederacies than the Triple Alliance. revolution. Alphonfo VI. (son of the famous duke of Braganza, who bad encouraged the Portuguese to shake off the Spanish yoke, and who was rewarded with the crown) a weak and profligate prince, had offended his fubjects by fuffering himself to be governed by the mean compations of his pleasures. His queen, daughter of the duke of Nemours. attracted by the more agreeable qualities of his brother, Don Pedro, forfook his bed, and fled to a monastery. She accufed him of debility both of body and mind, sued for a divorce, and put herself, in the mean time, under the protection of the church. A faction feized the wretched Alphonfo, who was confined in the island of Tercera; while his brother, who immediately married the queen, was declared regent of the kingdom in the assembly of the States. (Vertot Hif. de la Revol, du Part.) Don Pedro, a prince of abilities, was preparing to affert with vigour the independency of his country, when it was established by treaty in the beginning of the year 1668. PART II. A. D. 1668. LETTER XIII. The General View of the Affairs of EUROPE continued, from the Treaty of AIX-LA-CHAPELLE, in 1668, to the Peace of NIMEGUEN, in 1678. A S the most trivial caufes frequently produce the greatest events, in like manner, my dear Philip, the flighteft circumftances are often laid hold of by ambition, as a pretext for its devastations-for deJuging the earth with blood, and trampling upon the rights of mankind. Though Lewis XIV. was highly incensed at the republic of Holland, for pretending to prefcribe limits to his conquests, and had refolved upon revenge; yot his refentment seems to have been more particularly roused by the arrogance of Van Beuninghen, the Dutch ambaffador. This republican, who although but a burgomaster of Amfterdam, poffeffed the vivacity of a courtier and the abilities of a statesman, took a peculiar pleasure in mortifying the pride of the French monarch, when employed in negociating the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. "Will you "not trust to the king's word ?"-faid M. de Lionne to him in a conference. "I know not what the king "will do," replied he :-" but I know what he can "do." A medal is alfo mentioned, though feemingly without foundation, on which Van Beuninghen (his Christian-name being Joshua) was represented, in allufion to the fcripture, as arrefting the Sun in his courfe and the fun was the device chofen for Lewis XIV. by his flatterers! It is certain, however, that the States ordered a medal to be ftruck, on which, in a pompous inscription, the republic is faid to have 1. Voltaire, Siecle, chap. viii. 2. Ibid. chap. ix. conciliated conciliated kings, and reftored tranquillity to Eu- LETTER rope. THESE were unpardonable affronts in the eyes of a young and haughty monarch, furrounded by minions and miftreffes, and ftimulated by an infatiable thirst of glory. But whilft Lewis was making preparations for chaftifing the infolence of the Dutch, or rather for the conque of Holland, his love of fame was attracted by a new object, and part of his forces employed against an enemy more deferving the indignation of the Moft Chriftian King. THE Turks, after a long interval of inaction, were again become formidable to Europe. The grand vizier, Kupruli, who at once directed the councils and conducted the armies of the Porte, had entered Hungary at the head of an hundred thousand men, in 1664; and although he was defeated, in a great battle, near St. Godard upon the Raab, by the imperial troops, under the famous Montecuculi, the Turks obtained a favourable peace from Leopold, who was threatened with a revolt of the Hungarians. The Hungarian nobles, whofe privileges had been invaded by the emperor, flew to arms, and even craved the affiftance of the Turks, their old and irreconcilable enemies. The rebels were quickly fubdued by the vigour of Leopold. But the body of that brave people who had fo often repelled the infidels, and tilled, with the fword in their hand, a country watered with the blood of their ancestors, were still diffatisfied; and Germany itself, deprived of fo ftrong a barrier as Hungary, was foon threatened by the Turks. In the mean time Kupruli turned the arms of the Porte against the Venetians; and an army of fixty thoufand XIII A. D. 165. |