TREATY OF ALLIANCE BETWEEN THE EMPEROR AND THE MARITIME POWERS.
These circumstances were well known to the emperor and the maritime powers, and served to animate their negotiations for another grand alliance. Conferences were opened at the Hague; and on the seventh day of September a treaty was concluded between his Imperial majesty, England, and the states-general. The objects proposed were to procure satisfaction to the emperor in the Spanish succession, and sufficient security for the dominions and commerce of the allies. They engaged to use their endeavours for recovering the Spanish Netherlands as a barrier between Holland and France, and for putting the emperor in possession of the duchy of Milan, Naples, and Sicily, with the lands and islands upon the coast of Tuscany belonging to the Spanish dominions. They agreed that the king of England and the states-general should keep and possess whatever lands and cities they should conquer from the Spaniards in the Indies; that the confederates should faithfully communicate their designs to one another; that no party should treat of peace or truce but jointly with the rest; that they should concur in preventing the union of France and Spain under the same government, and hinder the French from possessing the Spanish Indies; that in concluding a peace, the confederates should provide for the maintenance of the commerce carried on by the maritime powers to the dominions taken from the Spaniards, and secure the states by a barrier; that they should at the same time settle the exercise of religion in the new conquests; that they should assist one another with all their forces in case of being invaded by the French king, or any other potentate, on account of this alliance; that a defensive alliance should remain between them even after the peace; that all kings, princes, and states should be at liberty to engage in this alliance. They determined to employ two months to obtain by amicable means the satisfaction and security which they demanded; and Stipulated that within six weeks the treaty should be ratified.
DEATH OF KING JAMES.
On the sixteenth day of September king James expired at St. Germain’s, after having laboured under a tedious indisposition. This unfortunate monarch, since the miscarriage of his last attempt for recovering his throne, had laid aside all thoughts of worldly grandeur, and devoted his whole attention to the concerns of his soul. Though he could not prevent the busy genius of his queen from planning new schemes of restoration, he was always best pleased when wholly detached from such chimerical projects. Hunting was his chief diversion; but religion was his constant care. Nothing could be more harmless than the life he led; and in the course of it he subjected himself to uncommon penance and mortification. He frequently visited the poor monks of la Trappe, who were much edified by his humble and pious deportment. His pride and arbitrary temper seem to have vanished with his greatness. He became affable, kind, and easy to all his dependents; and his religion certainly opened and improved the virtues of his heart, though it seemed to impair the faculties of his soul. In his last illness he conjured his son to prefer his religion to every worldly advantage, and even to renounce all thoughts of a crown if he could not enjoy it without offering violence to his faith. He recommended to him the practice of justice and christian forgiveness; he himself declaring that he heartily forgave the prince of Orange, the emperor, and all his enemies. He died with great marks of devotion, and was interred, at his own request, in the church of the English Benedictines in Paris without any funeral solemnity.
LOUIS OWNS THE PRETENDED PRINCE OF WALES AS KING OF ENGLAND.
Before his death he was visited by the French king, who seemed touched with his condition, and declared that, in case of his death, he would own his son as king of England. This promise James’ queen had already extorted from him by the interest of madame de Main-tenon and the dauphin. Accordingly, when James died, the pretended prince of Wales was proclaimed king of England at St. Germain’s, and treated as such at the court of Versailles. His title was likewise recognised by the king of Spain, the duke of Savoy, and the pope. William was no sooner informed of this transaction, than he despatched a courier to the king of Sweden, as guarantee of the treaty of Ryswick, to complain of this manifest violation. At the same time he recalled the earl of Manchester from Paris, and ordered him to return without taking an audience of leave. That nobleman immediately withdrew, after having intimated to the marquis de Torcy the order he had received. Louis, in vindication of his own conduct, dispersed through all the courts of Europe a manifesto, in which he affirmed, that in owning the prince of Wales as king of England, he had not infringed any article of the treaty of Ryswick, He confessed that in the fourth article he had promised that he would not disturb the king of Great Britain in the peaceable possession of his dominions; and he declared his intention was to observe that promise punctually. He observed that his generosity would not allow him to abandon the prince of Wales or his family; that he could not refuse him a title which was due to him by birth; that he had more reason to complain of the king of Great Britain and the states-general, whose declarations and preparations in favour of the emperor might be regarded as real contraventions to treaties; finally, he quoted some instances from history in which the children enjoyed the titles of kingdoms which their fathers had lost. These reasons, however, would hardly have induced the French king to take such a step, had not he perceived that a war with England was inevitable; and that he should be able to reap some advantages in the course of it from espousing the cause of the pretender.
The substance of the French manifesto was published in London, by Poussin the secretary of Tallard, who had been left in England as agent for the court of Versailles. He was now ordered to leave kingdom, which was filled with indignation at Louis for having pretended to declare who ought to be their sovereign. The city of London presented an address to the lords-justices, expressing the deepest resentment of the French king’s presumption; assuring his majesty that they would at all times exert the utmost of their abilities for the preservation of his person, and the defence of his just rights, in opposition to all invaders of his crown and dignity. Addresses of the same nature were sent up from all parts of the kingdom, and could not but be agreeable to William. He had now concerted measures for acting with vigour against France; and he resolved to revisit his kingdom after having made a considerable progress in a treaty of perpetual alliance between England and the states-general, which was afterwards brought to perfection by his plenipotentiary, the earl of Marlborough. The king’s return, however, was delayed a whole month by a severe indisposition, during which the Spanish minister de Quiros hired certain physicians to consult together upon the state and nature of his distemper. They declared that he could not live many weeks; and this opinion was transmitted to Madrid. William however baffled the prognostic, though his constitution had sustained such a rude shock that he himself perceived his end was near. He told the earl of Portland he found himself so weak that he could not expect to live another summer; but charged him to conceal this circumstance until he should be dead. Notwithstanding this near approach to dissolution, he exerted himself with surprising diligence and spirit in establishing the confederacy, and settling the plan of operations. A subsidiary treaty was concluded with the king of Prussia, who engaged to furnish a certain number of troops. The emperor agreed to maintain ninety thousand men in the field against France; the proportion of the states was limited to one hundred and two thousand; and that of England did not exceed forty thousand, to act in conjunction with the allies.