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1675.

care taken of them. The Prince faid, He knew well enough what the Lord Arlington meant by that Expreffion, for he had told Monfieur Read in England, when he went over upon the first Motions of the last Peace, That the King could make the Prince be ferv'd as De-Witt was, if he would fet himself about it. Upon this his Highness fell into a great Rage against the Lord Arlington, calling this Proceeding Malicious and Infolent; faying, He would write to him what he deferv'd, but never have any thing more to do with him beyond common Forms. That fince he knew not how to trust the King's Minifters, he would write to the King himself, and defired Sir William Temple to Convey his Letters fo, as they might come to no other hand.

Soon after Count Waldeck was fent to Vienna | to concert the Operations of the approaching Summer. In March the Elector of Brandenburgh came to Cleve, upon the fame Account, where he was met by the Prince of Orange, and the Marquis de Grana the Emperor's Envoy, and an Ambaf fador from Denmark arriv'd at the Hague, to try what Advantages his Mafter could make of this prefent Conjuncture, by threatning to enter into ! an Alliance with the Swedes, who began to throw off the Mask, and had declar'd in Favour of France, All things being thus in the highest Fermentation, a fudden Damp fell upon the whole Mafs of thefe great Affairs by the Sickness of the Prince of Orange; which fhew'd him to be the MasterSpring that fet all the other Wheels a going; for while his Illness continu'd, all was in Sufpence, and none of the Parties engag'd feem'd to have other Motions or Sentiments, than what were raised by the Hopes and Fears of fo Important a Life. AfOrange, ter fome days Fever, the Small Pox appear'd, falls Sick which had been very Fatal to that Family, in the of the Perfon of his Father and Mother, and gave the greater Apprehenfions to his Friends, his Country, and his Allies. But by the Care and Prudence of an able Phyfician; the Afliftance of fome Remedies which the Elector of Brandenburgh fent him, and the great Evenness of his Temper, and Con

The P.of

Small-Pox.

ftancy

Bentinck's

tendance

fancy of Mind, which gave way to no Impref A. C. fions or Imaginations that ufe to be of fo ill Con- 1675: fequence in that Difeafe, it paft without any bad Accidents, and within Twenty Days his Highnefs went Abroad and fell into the prefent Business of the State. From this Fit of Sicknefs we may Date that intimacy and particular Affection which his Highness ever fhew'd to Monfieur Bentinck, Monfieur then Gentleman of his Bed-Chamber, who upon this Occafion fignaliz'd his Love for his Mafter by the apparent Hazard of his own Life. For he upon the P. tended the Prince during the whole Courfe of his during his Difeafe, both Night and Day; nothing he took Sickness was given him, nor he ever removed in his Bed by any other Hand; and his Highness faid afterwards, That whether Monfieur Bentinck slept or no he could not tell; but in Sixteen Days and Nights, he never call'd once but that he was Answer'd by him as if he had been awake. The first time the Prince was well enough to have his Head Comb'd, Monfieur Bentinck affoon as it was done, begg'd of his Mafter leave to go Home, for he was not able to hold out longer; he did fo, and fell immediately Sick of the fame Diftemper, and was in great Extremity; but recover'd just loon enough to attend his Highnels into the Field, where he ever was next his Perfon.

Place of

In the mean time, how ufelefs foever for the pre- Nimefent, yet the Form of His Britannick Majefty's Me. guen chodiation went on. After it had been accepted, the then for the first Point that came to be Confider'd on, was the Treaty. Place of Treaty, about which there was no fmall Difpute, the feveral Parties propofing several Places; but at laft Sir William Temple having nam'd Cleve and Nimeguen, the latter was agreed

upon.

No fooner was the Prince perfectly Recover',d but he repair'd to the General Rendezvous at RoJendael: On the other fide the French had begun their Campaign by the Siege of Limburgh with one part of the Army Commanded by the Marquifs de Rochefort whilft the King, the Duke of Orleans and Prince Condé, with the relt lay Encantp'd in

A. C.

a Poft most convenient to oppose any Attempt of 1675. relieving it; to which purpose his Highness parting with his Army from Duffel, join'd the Dukes of Lunenburgh and Lorrain at Gangelt. In all probability it had come to a Battle between the King of France and the Prince of Orange, fince His Majefty, who was then at Maeftricht, having receiv'd Advice of the Prince's March, had repaffed the Limburgh Meufe at Vifet; but after a fhort and weak Refitaken by the ftance the Town Surrendred before his Highness French. could approach it: For, befides fome delays oc

cafion'd by his Sickness, he began to feel here the Weight that hung about him in all the Courfe of this War; from the uncertain and flow Marches of the German Horfe, and the Weakness and Dif. orders of the Spanish Troops.

After the taking of Limburgh, the King of France encamp'd near Tillemont, ravaging all the Country round about Louvain, Bruffels, and Malines. He had a mighty Defire to make himfelf Master of Louvain, but the Prince of Orange and the Duke de Villa Hermofa obferv'd him fo narrowly, that he durft not undertake it; neither did either the Confederate or French Army feem very earneft to come to a Battle, upon the lofs of which fo great Confequences depended; fo that about the end of July, the King of France, weary of a dull contempla tive Campaign, left the Army to the Prince of Condé, and return'd with his Court to Versailles. The fame Month King Charles II. feeing the Negotiations of the Peace laid afleep for the prefent, fent for Sir William Temple, to give an Account of all the Obfervations he had made Abroad, upon the prefent Difpofitions and Conjunctures.

The Prince of Orange and the Prince of Condé watch'd one another fo carefully, that they could not gain the leaft advantage one over the other. Not long after, the Prince of Condé left Flanders to fucceed Monfieur Turenne, who was unfortunately kill'd in Alface, and the Duke of Luxemburgh Commanded the French Army in Flanders; bur with Orders not to Hazard a Battel, but only to have an Eye upon the Prince of Orange's Moti

ons,

ons, and to cover any Town, that was like to be A. C. attack'd which he perform'd fo well, that no 1675. further Action pafs'd this Summer in the Nether lands, befides his Highnefs taking and razing of Binch, an inconfiderable Town. However his Highness had this advantage over Luxemburgh, that he hindred him from entring the Territory of Triers, fo that after the fatal and intire Routing of Marefchal de Crequi, that City fell into the Hands of the Imperialitfs This made fo great a Change in the face of Affairs, that the King of Great Britain in a Letter to Sir William Temple, in September after his return to the Hague, order'd him to use it as an Argument to induce the Prince of Orange to be eafie in the Bufinefs of a Peace: That it was now time for him to apprehend again the greatnefs of the House of Auftria, instead of that of France. To which his Highness anfwer'd, That there was no fear of that till they should go beyond the Peace of the Pyrenees; That whenever that should happen, he should be as much a Frenchman, as he was now a Spaniard, but not before; that for his Part he could never Confent to any Treaty Separate from his Allies. That he believ'd they would be Reasonable, and if France would be fo too, the Peace might be made. c; if not, perhaps another Campaign might bring them to Reafon; and that this might have done it, if fome Differences between him and the Spaniards, in the Actions propos'd, had not hindred the Succeffes they hoped for in Flanders; and if Montecuculli's Impatience to be at Vienna, and pass the Winter there upon the Factions Stirring at Court, had not made him repafs the Rhine, and take his Winter Quarters in the Circles of the Empire there; because if he had done it in Alface, be doubted his Prefence with the Army might be thought necessary. After this Conference Sir VVilliam Temple bent all his Thoughts upon forming the Congress at Nimeguen, wherein he found fuch Difficulties as would have puzzled any States-man of lefs Ability than himself.

In the mean time there paft a Sea-Fight between the French, Dutch and Spanish near Melina, where

A. C. in De Ruyter, the Dutch Admiral was fhot in the 1675. Head by a Cannon-Ball, of which he died within few Days after, and determin'd the greatest lofs to have certainly happen'd on that fide, by that of the ableft Sea Conimander of his Time; tho' for the reft the Advantage was not confidera ble of either Part in this Engagement, nor the Confequence material. On the other fide the Swedish Affairs went very ill in Pomerania, which made them grow very Impatient for a Peace, and for the Treaty in order to it; They declar'd they difapprov'd the French Pretenfions rais'd to Lorrain, which feem'd only to obftruct it; and that they would fend their Minifters to the Congrefs; whe ther the French came or no; and their Commissary at the Hague fo well feconded this new Difpofition of his Court, that whilft the Congress look'd Defperate, Ships and Pafports were difpatch'd by the States, with the Confent of the Allies, tos fetch the Swedish Ambaflador. The Confederates were befides much animated in their Hopes, from the Difpofitions expreft in a late Seffion of Parlia ment in England, which grew fo high against the French, or at leaft upon that Pretence, against the prefent Conduct of His Majefty or his Ministers, that the King Prorogued them towards the end of November 1675

The Measures that were taken towards a Peace, made the contending Parties the more Diligent in their Preparations for War. The French were upon their March into Flanders, and that King at the Head of a numerous and brave Army, threatning fome great Enterprize. The Prince of Orange was alfo preparing to go into the Field, with Refolution and hopes of having the Honour of a Battle at the opening of the Campaign; all thoughts of the Congress Meeting, before the end of it, were laid afide, when about the middle of May, Sir VVilliam Temple received the French Pafports for the Duke of Lorrain's Minifters, in the Form infifted on by the Allies; and hereupon all Difficulties being remov'd, the Pafports were Exchang'd by the end of May. About the beginning of July that Mi

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