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Show [ 58 J 1 remember, was the fir'n Report v:e· ha~, upon that Minifter's difgrac~ .. A fte,~ thiS ~ffa1r w11s over which had fufficlcntiJ mrdxscated the Spani~rds,' the Duke of Anjou lelr !Madrid, and joyn'd his Army near Lc;zda.' And the 0\lke de NoaiUes was advanced 'tO the Banks of the T'er the River Girone' ft:\-nds upon, to favour his' De!igns. )n 'june, the 'Duke of .Anjou was fo fanguine, that he made no doubt of being able to drive King Cbar1es ·OUt of Catalonia that Campaign, efpecially .if the Duke de· Noailles cou'd but make the S1ege of Girone: this appears at large in fame Let· ters of his that were intercepted, to the King and the Duke of Burgundy, writ to congratulate the Marriage of the Duke of Berry which he (hews himfelf not at all pleas'd with.' Upon his Difappointment in ':atalonia, when he cou'd neither attack Marefch~f Stll· rmbrrg, nor be!iege Ralaguer, he grew di_f· fatisfy'd with his Spanifh Genera~s: aod .10 'July both he and his Princefs folhc1t the K1Dg in very preffing Terms to fend the Duke ot Vendome to him ; which was foon comply'd with and that the Duke might have no Ap· preh~n!ions of the King's defigning to ab~ocon him, he entred into a new Alliance With hinJ. This Alliance was framing while the Minill:ers of France were at Gertruydenberg, which place they left but the 2 sth ; and the Sth of .Augufl, or before, the Articles of t~is new Treaty were known publickly at Parts: which makes it plain to a .Oerrion!l:ration, that this Treaty was forming before the 'Conferences were broke off. ' '' from [ 59 J From this Account 'tis exceeding evident that the Frencl) were taking the moil: effetlual Methods to f~pport .the Duke. Of .Anj~u, and make thaSpamards fatthful to hun, while they ~ere perfuading the Allies, tbe King•wou'd· 1n earnefl: abandon hiai, and give him no Affifl:ance .diretlly or indiretlly; nay whife they ,were. making Terms for him, upon, ~biG~ they wou:d oblige him to relign. And· •If this be not 1nfiucere in the !aft Degree , I wou'd be glad to know, what is. , If ·h~ was !incere, why did he treat for a general l'eace, when he eithet wou'd not or cnu'd not make the nece!fary Conditions of it praaicable? Why, when he meant nothing but a feparate Peace, did he not frankly from the beginning tell the Allies, that he was willing to make Terms with them for himfelf bu£ that he cou'd ni.ake none for Spain /was th1s for any thing elfe but to amufe the AI~ lies, who lie knew wou'd flatly have refus'd entring into any Negotiations, if he had fpoke out plainly what he meant? Did not he intend from the beginning, to defeat by an Exception, a general Peace, while he pretended all t~e w bile to be for it? as old Managers fomettmes do with a Bill in Padiament which they contrive lhou'd be loft by an Amendment, while they wou'd be thought zealous for it; which they wou'd not have been able to eff~a:, . had they openly declar'd againlt the Btl! It felf. Thus they gain the Point ~hey wou'd have, hy feemiog to be for, what In ~rUth they wou'd not have: and the fame Part the King of France has afred with refpea: to· Peace; but not yet with the fame I " Succefs. |