CONFERENCES AT GERTRUYDENBURGH.

The French king, seeing the misery of his people daily increase, and all his resources fail, humbled himself again before the allies, and by the means of Petkum, who still corresponded with his ministers, implored the states-general that the negotiation might be resumed. In order to facilitate their consent, he despatched a new project of pacification, in which he promised to renounce his grandson, and to comply with all their other demands, provided the electors of Cologn and Bavaria should be re-established in their estates and dignities. These overtures being rejected, another plan was offered, and communicated to the plenipotentiaries of the emperor and queen of Great Britain. Then Petkum wrote a letter to the marquis de Torcy, intimating, that the allies required his most christian majesty should declare, in plain and expressive terms, that he consented to all the preliminaries, except the thirty-seventh article, which stipulated a cessation of arms, in case the Spanish monarchy should be delivered to king Charles in the space of two months. He said the allies would send passports to the French ministers, to treat of an equivalent for that article. Louis was even forced to swallow this bitter draught. He signified his consent, and appointed the mareschal D’Uxelles and the abbé Polignac his plenipotentiaries. They were not suffered, however, to enter Holland, but were met by the deputies Buys and Vanderdussen, at Gertruydenburgh. Meanwhile, the states desired the queen of England to send over the duke of Marlborough to assist them with his advice in these conferences. The two houses of parliament seconded their request in a joint address to her majesty, who told them she had already given directions for his departure; and said she was glad to find they concurred with her in a just sense of the duke’s eminent services. Both the letter and the addresses were procured by the interest of Marlborough, to let the queen see how much that nobleman was considered both at home and abroad. But she was already wholly alienated from him in her heart, and these expedients served only to increase her disgust.