A. C. 1677. and defenfive with the States-general of the United Provinces; to curb the growing power of France, and preferve the Spanish Netherlands; and they explained their reafons for thinking that a war with France was abfolutely neceffary. Charles, in his anfwer, complained that they had violated his prerogative, by infifting upon his engaging in alliance with any power whatfoever. He faid the power of making peace and war was a right inherent in the crown, from which he would never recede; and then he ordered them to adjourn to the tenth day of July.

Marriage between the prince of

the princefs

daughter to

York.

The earl of Danby, by the fuggeftions of Sir William Temple, who had been recalled to EngOrange and land, propofed a match between the prince of Mary, Orange and the princess Mary, eldest daughter to the duke of the duke of York. She and her fifter Anne had been educated in the proteftant religion, by the king's exprefs command; and the prince of Orange feemed to relish the profpect of fuch a marriage. The king at firft was neutral, or rather feemed averse to this alliance, which he knew must be extremely difagreeable to his brother: but when Danby reprefented that this marriage would in all probability bring over the prince of Orange entirely to his views, he began to fee it in a different light, and permitted his nephew to vifit England, after the campaign fhould be finished. He accordingly arrived in England in the month of October, and repaired to the court, which was then at Newmarket. He was extremely well pleased with the character and perfon of Mary, who poffeffed many amiable qualities; and made a formal demand of her in marriage.. The duke treated him coldly, but declared his fubmiffion to the commands of the king, which indeed he always fcrupulously obeyed; and Charles confented to the match, on condition that he and the prince should first agree

upon

upon the plan of a pacification. The prince refused A. C. 1677. to treat of a peace, until the marriage fhould be confummated. He faid, he would not give his allies reason to believe that he had purchased a wife at their expence; nor was he of a humour to barter his honour for any woman upon earth. He faid to Temple, that he heartily repented of his comming to England: he defired him to tell the king, that he was determined to depart in two days; and that he left it in his majesty's choice, whether they fhould live for the future as the best friends, or the greatest enemies. The king was intimidated by the resolute deportment of his nephew. He knew he was extremely popular in England; and that he had maintained a correfpondence during the last war with the chiefs of the English malcontents. Temple and Danby did not fail to represent and exaggerate the pernicious confequences of a rupture with the prince of Orange; and Charles agreed to the prince's own terms. The portion of the princefs was fixed at forty thousand pounds: the marriage-articles were executed: the king declared the match in council: the city of London received the news with extraordinary demonftrations of joy and approbation: the mayor regaled the whole court with great magnificence: and the nuptials were celebrated on the fourth day of November.

agree upon

cification.

This affair being happily concluded to the gene- Charles and ral fatisfaction of the nation, the king and prince the prince entered into conferences for a plan of pacification, a plan of paat which the duke of York, the earl of Danby, and Sir William Temple affifted. After fome difpute they agreed, That Lewis fhould restore all he had wrefted from the emperor and the duke of Lorraine: That there fhould be a reciprocal restitution between France and Holland; and, That Spain fhould be re-established in poffeffion of Aeth, Oudenarde, Charleory, Courtray, Tournay, Condé, Valenciennes,

I 2

A. C. 1677. Valenciennes, Saint-Guillain, and Binch.

An Inglori

ous private

The

prince promised to use his utmost endeavours in perfuading the States-general to accept of these conditions, and Charles undertook to recommend. them to the French monarch. He declared he would never depart from this plan, but declare war against the French king, fhould he prove refractory; and, with this affurance, the prince returned with his bride to Holland. Mr. De Duras,. afterwards earl of Feverfham, was fent as ambaffador to France, with intimation of this agreement; which, tho' it must have been extremely difagreeable to Lewis, he received without any emotion of refentment. He faid, the king of England knew he might always command a peace; but he thought it was hard to part with fome of thofe towns in Flanders, upon the fortifications of which he had expended confiderable fums of money: he hoped his brother would not break with him for a few towns; but even with regard to thefe, he would fend inftructions to Barillon, his ambaffador at London.

The French king knew he was master of one treaty be argument which would always have weight with fuch a neceffitous and prodigal prince as Charles. Charles and Barillon received orders to give up all the towns

tween

the French

king.

except Tournay, and even promife an equivalent for that, rather than break off the treaty: but that minifter cajoled the king in fuch a manner, that his agreement with the prince of Orange was foon forgotten, and a negotiation of a very different nature begun. This was no other than a ftipulation of conditions, in confideration of which the king of England fhould forebear from declaring in favour of the allies, notwithstanding the importunities of his parliament. The treaty was carried on by Montague, the English ambaffador at Paris, who demanded two hundred thousand pounds a year,

Rapin.

while the war fhould continue; but Courtin, who A. C. 1677. refided in London, prevailed upon Charles to rest contented with two millions of livres. Montague Temple. afterwards received inftructions from Danby, to Burnet. infift upon the king's receiving from Lewis fix Hume, hundred thousand livres annually for three years, after the peace fhould be ratified; on the fuppofition that he could expect no fupplies from parlia ment for that period.

Charles had prolonged the adjournment, until he fhould have concluded a new league with Holland, which was figned in January. Though this was only a defensive alliance, to prevent the French king from extending his conquefts in the Low. Countries, the king thought it would dazzle the eyes of his parliament fo as to produce wonderful effects in his favour. When they affembled in January, he told them he had concluded an alliance with Holland, which could not fail of preferving Flanders, unless the commons fhould refufe the neceffary supplies. He faid, that finding his endeavours after peace ineffectual, he had recalled his troops from France: that in the present fituation of affairs, the nation could not be without ninety fhips of the line in commiffion, and an army of thirty thousand men: that they might take what precautions they fhould judge proper for appropriating the fupplies to the purposes of the war. He communicated the marriage of his niece with the prince of Orange: he demanded an aid proportionable to the neceffities of the kingdom, and the important defigns he had projected for the honour and advantage of his people. The com- Difputes mons, instead of fignifying their approbation of between the his conduct, and their readiness to acquiefce in his proposals, petitioned, in an addrefs, That he would not engage in any treaty with France, until the fhould be reduced to the fame condition in which

king and

parliament,

A. C. 1677. she was at the peace of the Pyrenees and they gave him to understand, that whenever he fhould be pleased to communicate the nature of his alliances to his faithful commons, they would enable him to prosecute the war, or procure an honourable peace. He complained of this addrefs as an invafion of his prerogative. He told them they were mistaken if they thought he would give up his undoubted right of making peace and war; but that if once he fhould be enabled by their means to undertake a war, it fhould not be finished until he should have procured a folid peace for all the powers of Christendom: in the mean time, he obferved that new alliances could not be contracted without the neceffary fupplies, which he therefore recommended to their attention.

The king

rous prepa

against

France.

During thefe difputes between the king and makes vigo parliament, the king of France, taking the field rations early in the spring, reduced Ghent and Ypres, and then distributed his troops in quarters of refreshment. This progrefs alarmed the Dutch in fuch a manner, that they refolved to conclude a separate peace. Lewis, knowing his own advantage, and that he had nothing to fear from the king of England, talked in the ftrain of a conqueror, and infifted upon terms very different from thofe which had been planned by Charles and the prince of Orange. In April the chancellor told the two houfes, in the king's name, that the Dutch certainly intended to conclude a feparate peace with France; and his majefty demanded their advice on that fubject. The commons exhorted him to declare war against France: then they voted the alliance with Holland not answerable to their addrefs, nor fufficient for the fecurity of the kingdom. Charles expreffed his diffatisfaction at this vote, notwithftanding which they prefented another addrefs, defiring to know the refolutions he had taken in con

fequence