INTERVIEW BETWEEN THE KING OF SWEDEN AND THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH.

In the month of April, the duke of Marlborough set out from the Hague for Leipsic, with a letter from the queen to Charles XII. of Sweden, whose designs were still so mysterious, that the confederates could not help being alarmed at his being in the heart of Germany. The duke was pitched upon as the most proper ambassador, to soothe his vanity and penetrate into his real intention.*

* When the duke arrived in his coach at the quarters of
count Piper, of whom he had demanded an audience, he was
given to understand that the count was busy, and obliged to
wait half an hour before the Swedish minister came down to
receive him. When he appeared at last, the duke alighted
from his coach, put on his hat, passed the count without
saluting him, and went aside to the wall, where having staid
some time, he returned and accosted him with the most polite
address.

He found this original character not simple, but sordid in his appearance and economy, savage in his deportment, ferocious, illiterate, stubborn, implacable, and reserved. The English general assailed him on the side of his vanity, the only part by which he was accessible. “Sire,” said he, “I present to your majesty a letter, not from the chancery, but from the heart of the queen my mistress, and written with her own hand. Had not her sex prevented her from taking so long a journey, she would have crossed the sea to see a prince admired by the whole universe. I esteem myself happy in having the honour of assuring your majesty of my regard; and I should think it a great happiness, if my affairs would allow me, to learn under so great a general as your majesty, what I want to know in the art of war.” Charles was pleased with this overstrained compliment, which seems to have been calculated for a raw unintelligent barbarian, unacquainted with the characters of mankind. He professed particular veneration for queen Anne, as well as for the person of her ambassador, and declared he would take no steps to the prejudice of the grand alliance. Nevertheless, the sincerity of this declaration has been questioned. The French court is said to have gained over his minister, count Piper, to their interest. Certain it is, he industriously sought occasion to quarrel with the emperor, and treated him with great insolence, until he submitted to all his demands. The treaty being concluded upon the terms he thought proper to impose, he had no longer the least shadow of pretence to continue his disputes with the court of Vienna; and therefore began his march for Poland, which was by this time overrun by the czar of Muscovy.