72

HXSXOEY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.

XIX.

1692 .

Conductof the al-lies.

their effective support, to the orthodox uncle only compliments■ and benedictions. But Alexander the Eighth had occupied thepapal throne little more than fifteen months. His successor,Antonio Pignatelli, who took the name of Innocent the Twelfth,was impatient to be reconciled to Lewis. Lewis was now sen-sible that he had committed a great error when he had rousedagainst himself at once the spirit of Protestantism and the spiritof Popery. He permitted the French Bishops to submit them-selves to the Holy See. The dispute, which had, at onetime,seemed likely to end in a great Gallican schism, was accommo-dated; and there was reason to believe that the influence of thehead of the Church would be exerted for the purpose of severingthe ties which bound so many Catholic princes to the Calvinistwho had usurped the British throne.

Meanwhile the coalition, which the Third Party on one sideand the Pope on the other were trying to dissolve, was in nosmall danger of falling to pieces from mere rottenness. Two ofthe allied powers, and two only, were hearty in the commoncause; England, drawing after her the other British kingdoms;and Holland, drawing after her the other Batavian common-wealths. England and Holland were indeed torn by internalfactions, and were separated from each other by mutual jea-lousies and antipathies: but both were fully resolved not tosubmit to French domination; and both were ready to bear theirshare, and more than their share, of the charges of the contest.Most of the members of the confederacy were not nations, butmen, an Emperor, a King, Electors, Dukes; and of thesemen there was scarcely one whosewhole soul was in the struggle,scarcely one who did not hang back, who did not find someexcuse for omitting to fulfil his engagements, who did not ex-pect to be hired to defend his own rights and interests againstthe common enemy. But the war was the war of the people ofEngland and of the people of Holland. Had it not been so, the