william tiie third.

167

courts of Europe was unrivalled. But there was one iin- chap.

• wiv.

portant point which must not he left out of consideration, —and about which his servants might perhaps be better in-formed than himself, the temper of their own country. Itwas, the Chancellor wrote, their duty to tell His Majestythat the recent elections had indicated the public feelingin a manner which had not been expected, but which couldnot be mistaken. The spirit which had borne the nationup through nine years of exertions and sacrifices seemedto be dead. The people were sick of taxes: they hatedthe thought of w r ar. As it would, in such circumstances,be no easy matter to form a coalition capable of resistingtire pretensions of France, it was most desirable that sheshould be induced to withdraw those pretensions; and itwas not to be expected that she would withdraw them with-out seeming for herself a large compensation. The prin-ciple of the Treaty of Loo, therefore, the English Ministerscordially approved. But whether the articles of that treatywere or were not too favourable to the House of Bourbon,and whether the House of Bourbon was likely faithfully toobserve them, were questions about which Somers deli-cately hinted that lie and his colleagues felt some mis-givings. They had their fears that Lewis might be playingfalse. They had their fears also that, possessed of Sicily,he would be master of the trade of the Levant; and that,possessed ofGuipuscoa, he would be able at any momentto push an army into the heart of Castile. But they hadbeen reassured by the thought that their Sovereign