condemned that pretension, he now forms a new difficulty." Danby, obstinate upon the point, whereby he hoped to nullify the whole agreement, had in the mean time transferred the negotiation to Paris. Quite unmoved by the liberal offers of France to himself, he obtained the king's authority to apprise Montagu that the king had inadvertently consented to two millions of livres instead of 200,000l., and to instruct him to insist upon the sum to be 200,000l., saying, that he perceived that the king did once think to have made a shift with two millions but that now he finds so great cause to apprehend a breach with Spain, or at least so much appearance of it as will necessitate him to be at more charges than he intended in the Western Islands †, so that he must needs desire that sum."+ Montagu continued to report to the king and his treasurer his continued, but ineffectual, endeavours to obtain the larger sum. His letters are full of what Danby himself calls " over-great compliments §" to the minister. "I have played this business, which was almost spoiled, into your hands, that the ministers here may see the king trusts you as much in his foreign affairs as in those that relate to your office at home; and without compliment or flattery, you will serve him better than any secretary of state I ever knew him bave yet, or sir William Temple if he were it." || This gratuitous mention of Temple originated in Montagu's jealousy of Danby's favour towards that rival diplomate. The king of France ordered the correspondence to be again transferred to London. Montagu solicited leave to come home for a fortnight, and begged that he might be permitted to see Danby at once. There was now a cessation of the correspondence. * Barillon to Louis, October 4. 1677. Dalrymple, p. 153. September, 13. 1677. Letters, p. 24. P. 98. Oct. 12., p. 36. While Danby was impeding, by all means in his power, the conclusion of the pecuniary bargain with France, he was in close correspondence with the prince of Orange. This correspondence began in 1674, being 'commenced by the prince himself *, to whom the favourable language of Danby had been reported. At the end of the same year, the good understanding was improved by a visit made to Holland by Danby's son, whom William commissioned to procure from his father the payment of a debt due to him by the king of England. This payment was effected by an assignment on the 800,000 patacoons exacted by the treaty of 1674; an accommodation which the prince, probably with justice, ascribed to the influence of the treasurer. † In May, 1677, lady Temple ‡ brought over, with special instructions to communicate it to lord Danby alone, the first intimation of William's desire to court the princess Mary; and the treasurer immediately espoused with much eagerness § an affair which promised to give an advantage to his favourite views of foreign policy, while his furtherance of the wishes of William connected him with a protestant prince, not remotely allied to the throne. He obtained, in September 1677, the king's permission to invite the prince into England, and was instrumental in removing the difficulties which were made, not only by the duke but by the king, who proposed that the marriage should be deferred until after the peace; and this auspicious union was completed on the 4th of November. The gratitude of William to lord Danby was expressed with considerable warmth, at the moment of his departure.|| While the prince was in England, he arranged with Charles the terms that should be offered to Louis. By **April 3. 1674. Danby Letters, p. 125. + December 27. 1674, and February 20. 1675, p. 127. 129. P. 247. 285. See the Life of Temple, i. 468. Burnet, ii. 119, 120. James's Memoirs, i. 508. Margate, December 8. 1677, p. 157. Mary, when queen, had not ceased to" remember her obligations to lord Danby on account of her marriage.” July 17. 1690. Dalr. iii. 95. these a satisfactory frontier was secured, and every thing was to be mutually restored between France, the emperor, the empire, and Holland*: and Charles now took an active part in urging their acceptance upon the French king. At first it was intended that Temple should carry the terms to Paris; but lord Duras (afterwards Feversham) was substituted; partly, perhaps, on account of the very singular nature of the instructions contemplated; partly, because that nobleman was more likely than Temple to conciliate the continued favour of Louis for his pensioner. The instructions † were such as probably the world has not seen before or since. They gave the following exposition of Charles's motives, and most forcible reasons for the acceptance of the terms: "We find the humour of our people so violently bent upon the preservation of Flanders, and for which we have so often assured them of our care and endeavours, that we do not see how we can live at any ease with them if we should suffer it to be lost by any further conquest there during this war, or by the terms of a peace ruinous and destructive: That this jealousy in the parliament, and the desire thereupon of engaging us in the war, had for these three years last past run us into so many difficulties, by hindering our supplies, and raising so general discontents among our subjects, because we alone have stemmed this tide for so long together, that we reasonably doubt whether the heat of a whole nation be always to be resisted: That we shall be necessitated to call a parliament in April, by reason of a very great branch of our revenue that will determine at Midsummer next, and that we cannot have the least hopes of getting it continued, if, after these assurances we have given them of the preservation of Flanders, they shall find it in so much a worse condition than when they parted: That if a peace shall not be concluded, or, at least, the main *Temple's Memoirs, ii. 435. Lingard, xiii. 29. + Nov. 10. 1677. Countersigned by secretary Coventry. Lord John Russell's Life of Lord Russell, ii. 218. points agreed upon before that time, the great influence that some of the confederates' ministers (less inclined to a moderate peace than the prince of Orange) seem to have amongst some warm men in the parliament, may raise many difficulties, which, by concluding it now, may safely be avoided. How far the irresistible temper of the house did necessitate us to a peace with Holland, is well known to the most Christian king; and they, having the like advantage now upon us in respect of our revenue, they then had in respect of our expenses, to what straits they may and are like to drive us, is not hard to guess: That besides this, the many obligations we have to take care of the welfare and safety of the prince of Orange needs not repeating to you; they will sufficiently occur to you of themselves; and we do find a thorough resolution in that prince to fling himself into the most desperate counsels imaginable, rather than consent to the loss of Flanders, by such a measure as must ruin it, in which he judgeth his own honour and country's safety concerned to the uttermost. This opportunity being lost, I* know not when we shall be master of such another, if the meeting of parliament should, as there is probability, cross the measures we have now taken." In one respect, certainly, these were exactly such instructions as it would have befitted Temple to carry in openness and candour, they have scarcely their counterpart in diplomacy! Charles apologised privately to Barillon for proposing these terms of peace, and did not enforce the order to lord Duras, to return in two days if they should not be favourably received. And he fulfilled his secret treaty, so far as to proclaim his intention of proroguing his prrliament to April 1678. But Louis, though he detained Feversham two weeks This change from the plural to the singular number is remarkable. + Dec. 4. 1677. Lord J. Russell, 4to. 294. Barillon, Dec. 16. 1677, mentioned (but not quoted) in Dalr. i. 180. d at Paris, decidedly rejected his proposals *, and the French army made a favourable commencement of a winter campaign. † Charles now took, or appeared to take, a more warlike resolution. "Your highness may judge," writes Danby to the prince," how much our temper is altered, when the principal end of this express is to tell you, that the king will join with Holland to oblige France to accept the proposals sent by lord Feversham, in case Holland will join with him to oblige Spain to the same if they shall refuse it. And the king will rely upon your highness's single engagement for this, without saying anything to the States of it. Your highness will easily remember how far the king was from coming up to this, when you'made several essays to have gained it from him; so that, your highness will give me leave to say, the fault will now lie on your side of the water, if you have not either the peace upon the terms proposed, or us engaged as deep in the war as yourselves." + The prince was delighted with this message, and gave to Danby the credit, which he probably deserved, for bringing about this change in the English counsels. § The parliament, notwithstanding the public announcement that it was not to meet until April, was adjourned from the day of its meeting in December, only to the 15th of January. Montagu was instructed to repeat the proposals to Louis. He was again to urge the king's apprehension from the temper of his parliament: "Our necessities and the conjuncture of our affairs are such, that a longer living at a distance from our people cannot be continued without apparent danger to our very being and crown. If you shall be asked the reason why we have antedated the day for the meeting of the parliament, you must plainly say, that the great preparations and present marches in Flanders, with the siege of Danby to the prince, Dec. 8. 1677, p. 160. + Lingard, xiii. 31. + Ib. Hague, Dec. 21. p. 167.; and see Bentinck's letter of Jan. 7., p. 173. |