“That he thanked them heartily for giving him the happiest day he had ever seen in his life:  that, in perfect obedience to his master, he had made concessions, in his own opinion, highly derogatory to the King’s honour and interest:  that he had not concealed the difficulties of his court, or the discontents of his country, by a long and unsuccessful war, which could only justify the large offers he had been empowered to make:  that the conditions of peace, now delivered into his hands by the allies, would raise a new spirit in the nation, and remove the greatest difficulty the court lay under, putting it in his master’s power to convince all his subjects how earnestly His Majesty desired to ease them from the burthen of the war; but that his enemies would not accept of any terms, which could consist either with their safety or his honour.”  Mons. Torcy assured the pensionary, in the strongest manner, and bid him count upon it, that the King his master would never sign those articles.

It soon appeared, that the Marquis de Torcy’s predictions were true; for upon delivering to his master the last resolutions of the allies, that Prince took care to publish them all over his kingdom, as an appeal to his subjects against the unreasonableness and injustice of his enemies:  which proceeding effectually answered the utmost he intended by it; for the French nation, extremely jealous of their monarch’s glory, made universal offers of their lives and fortunes, rather than submit to such ignominious terms; and the clergy, in particular, promised to give the King their consecrated plate, towards continuing the war.  Thus that mighty kingdom, generally thought to be wholly exhausted of its wealth, yet, when driven to a necessity by the imprudence of the allies, or by the corruption of particular men, who influenced their councils, recovered strength enough to support itself for three following campaigns:  and in the last, by the fatal blindness or obstinacy of the Dutch (venturing to act without the assistance of Britain, which they had shamefully abandoned), was an overmatch for the whole confederate army.[2]

[Footnote 2:  Alluding to the defeat at Denain (July 24th, 1712). [S.]]

Those who, in order to defend the proceedings of the allies, have given an account of this negotiation, do wholly omit the circumstance I have now related, and express the zeal of the British and Dutch ministers for a peace, by informing us how frequently they sent after Mons. de Torcy, and Mons. Rouille, for a farther conference.  But in the mean time, Mr. Horatio Walpole, secretary to the Queen’s plenipotentiaries, was dispatched over hither, to have those abortive articles signed and ratified by Her Majesty at a venture, which was accordingly done.  A piece of management altogether absurd, and without example; contrived only to deceive our people into a belief that a peace was intended, and to shew what great things the ministry designed to do.