This Sire, is, to the best of my recollection, the most essential part of what passed in the audience which he gave me this morning, and which lasted more than an hour and a quarter by the clock; and the inference which I drew, from his manner, his demeanour, and his designedly obscure language, is, that he had much difficulty in explaining himself with reference to the Spanish succession; that, when he said that the best, and most considerable portions of Italy should be given to the Archduke, and when he mentioned only Milan and the kingdom of Naples, I did not think that he had forgotten Sicily, but that, comprehending it under the name of "other things less considerable," I thought that he might have cast his eyes on the port of Messina as the place of safety, in the Mediterranean, of which he spoke.

He said nothing which could enable me to judge of what his wishes were respecting the Indies, for he twice stopped short at the words Spain and the Indies to the son of the Dauphin.

LOUIS XIV. TO COUNT TALLARD.

Versailles, April 15. 1698.

It is right that you paid attention to what the king of England said, in general, of the incidents which might cause some change in the good understanding which subsists. But I am

persuaded that this language referred rather to the opening of the Spanish succession, than to the residence of King James at St. Germains. I have reason to believe that, if he speaks to you on the latter point, it will be only at the beginning of your residence at his Court; and even then that he will not make any positive demand for the removal of that prince from St. Germains. I know quite certainly that he has disapproved of the conduct of Lord Portland; that he had not given him any instructions to speak to me about it in an audience required expressly for that object; that it was his intention that his ambassador should take a suitable opportunity to insinuate that, as the safety of the king, his master, depended on his receiving this mark of my friendship, he hoped that I would consent to show it him. You will easily judge that this circumstance is solely for your own instruction; it seems necessary to inform you of it, because it will be always an advantage for you to know, as far as possible, the intentions of that prince, and, being aware of his sentiments on a subject which he seemed to have so much at heart, it will be still more easy for you to answer, conformably to the intimation I have given Lord Portland as to my intentions.

The letters of the Marquis d'Harcourt of the 6th of this month confirm the recovery of the king of Spain's health; and there is reason to hope that it may soon be sufficiently restored, to put an end to the uneasiness which the severity of his disorder had caused in all Europe.

WILLIAM III. TO THE PENSIONARY HEINSIUS.

Newmarket, April 6—16. 1698.

I came here last Monday evening to divert myself for ten or twelve days. You will have seen, by my preceding letter, what I shall be able to do, in case of the sudden death of the king of Spain. I have nothing to add to it. I see Bonrepos is for dealing with you with much finesse, as is his way, but Tallard has spoken much more plainly to me, as I informed you in my last. I do not doubt but I shall hear further from him on my return to Kensington, and in a few days from the Earl of Portland, from whom I yesterday received a letter dated the 9th, the day after his return from paying a visit to the prince of Vaudémont on his way through France: he therefore had not yet seen any of the ministers, but expected to do so the next day, so that I look hourly for letters from his Excellency, though I am quite persuaded that the French will not explain themselves further, or make any other propositions than those they have made, and will not at all relish the conversation I had with Tallard. Consequently I look upon this negotiation as nearly at an end. As the affair now stands, I think it lucky that we have no further engagement with the Emperor in regard to the succession; and that it is questionable whether the Grand Alliance subsists or not; for I am much afraid that, in case the king of Spain should now happen to die suddenly, we should be obliged to come to an accommodation; as I do not see how,

in our present situation, we should be able soon to put ourselves in a condition to withstand the present superiority of the power of France. I am much pleased with the measures which you think may and ought now to be taken, and wish they may be set about; which shall be done as far as depends on me. But I think we should be very cautious about engaging ourselves further with the Emperor, for he is so much interested in this affair, that it will always depend upon us to engage ourselves just so far as the occasion and our interest shall require; and should we do so beforehand, by a formal convention or treaty, we should find our hands so bound as to be obliged to observe it implicitly, without any reference to our situation or interest at the time.

THE EARL OF PORTLAND TO WILLIAM III.

Paris, April 16. 1698.

After receiving the letter which your Majesty did me the honour to write to me on the 7th April while the Court was at Marly, from which it did not return till Saturday, the Dauphin having sent for me on Monday to hunt with him at Meudon, I was not able to speak to the King till yesterday, Tuesday, when he gave me an audience. As I had already on Saturday told M. de Pomponne all that your Majesty had commanded me, and as I knew that the King was informed of it, I did not think proper to show any eagerness in this affair.

I began therefore by saying that I was in doubt whether he wished that I should say any more on the subject since the king of Spain had entirely recovered from his illness. He replied in the affirmative, and said that at all events it was very necessary to know what we had to trust to, and that, since he desired to live on terms of friendship and on a good understanding with your Majesty, it was necessary to agree with you on all that might happen, in order to prevent war, which he by no means wished for. He then told me that his ambassador had had an audience of your Majesty, and had spoken to you on the subject. As I had not received any letters, this surprised me, not knowing to what extent your Majesty had explained your sentiments; but when the King saw that I did not know any thing of it, he related to me what had passed, and expressed very great satisfaction at the manner in which your Majesty had spoken to Count Tallard, and especially at what you had said to him. He then entered into details on the subject of the barrier to the Low Countries, and intimated that he was not against the extension, but that, as your Majesty would desire one which was good, it was also reasonable that he should retain one which should cover and secure his dominions.

I replied that there was enough for both, and that France was not in a condition to fear anything, or to have so much need of a barrier as the Netherlands. With respect to the Emperor, he agreed that it was right that your Majesty should take care that he should be reasonably dealt with in Italy;