WILLIAM'S TRIUMPHANT PROCESSION TO WHITEHALL. (See p. [501].)

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On the 10th the rest of the Allies signed the treaty, but the Emperor still held out, and a further time was allowed him, namely, till the 1st of November. On the 11th of September an event occurred which made the resistance of the Emperor the more obstinate for a time. Prince Eugene fought a great battle at Zenta against the Sultan in person, completely routed the Turks, and killed or caused to be drowned in the Theiss the Grand Vizier, the Aga of the Janissaries, and thirty thousand of the enemy. There were six thousand more wounded or taken prisoners, with their artillery, baggage, tents, ammunition, and provisions. The Grand Seignior himself escaped with difficulty, whilst the Imperialists lost only about one thousand men in the action. The Emperor hoped that such a brilliant victory would induce the Allies to prolong the war; but, as it produced no such effect, he was obliged to comply. The petty princes, who had done nothing during the war but create delays and embarrassments, stood out to the very last on the demand that the Lutheran religion should be restored in Louis's territories, where it had been put down; but they stood out in vain. The treaty was duly signed and ratified at the time fixed.

The new treaty produced very different sensations in France and England. In France there was much murmuring. For what, it was asked, had the king been fighting all these years? He had given up everything, and could only have done that under defeat. The Court of St. Germains and James's adherents were in despair. In England the most riotous joy broke forth. There were all the usual demonstrations of such occasions—bonfires, drinking, and firing of guns. The bells rang out from every steeple, and the Bank of England stocks, which were at twenty per cent. below par, rose to par. The Jacobites cursed Louis for a traitor to the cause of James, and fled to hide themselves. The rejoicings were equally enthusiastic all over the kingdom.

When William entered his capital it was a regular triumph. From Greenwich to Whitehall it was one dense crowd of hurrahing people; troops of militia and train-bands, the City authorities attending him in all their paraphernalia, the Foot Guards standing under arms at Whitehall, and the windows all the way crowded with handsome or excited faces. The 2nd of December was appointed as a day of public thanksgiving, and the new cathedral of St. Paul's was crowded by its first great assemblage on the occasion. There were deputations bringing zealous addresses to the foot of the Throne, and foremost and most loyal in language amongst them was that of the University of Oxford, which had so long distinguished itself by its Toryism and devotion to the Stuarts.

There was cause, indeed, for joy; for the country was for a time freed from the most exhausting war in which it had ever been engaged. It had passed through it with credit, though its armies and navies were in a great measure commanded by traitors. Its wealth and credit were higher than ever; and, above all, the tone and temper of the nation were sure guarantees that the return of James or his son was the most impossible of things. Still, had the Allies on the Continent been true to each other, and to the principles for which they professed to contend, they might have inflicted a far more complete punishment on the heartless ambition of Louis, and thus prevented the speedy recurrence of the horrors which they now hoped were for a long time at an end.

CHAPTER XV.