se of the parties from whom
they have accepted their hire. There is no treachery so base as the
desertion of a paid ally.

Immediately after the treaty was signed, Lord Malmesbury was recalled to
London "for information." The advantage which was taken in the absence of
this clear-sighted and able diplomatist, may be gathered from subsequent
events. We doubt however, whether, had he remained on the spot, he could
have counteracted the evils, which appear to us more the result of a
preconceived intention to betray, than the sudden consequence of a plot,
or the predominance of a new hostile party in the court or cabinet of
Berlin. On the 27th of May, the first instalment of the subsidy, L300,000,
was remitted from the British Treasury. About the same time, Lord
Malmesbury returned to Holland, and renewed his entreaty, through Haugwiz,
that the Prussian army might be put in motion. This was positively
refused, until advice was received of the payment of the subsidy at
Berlin. Frederick William had removed to Poland to look after his
ill-gotten possessions. His minister, Haugwiz, very shortly retired to
Berlin, and never returned. Moellendorff, in command of the army,
peremptorily refused, in the face of the treaty, and of the apparent
commands of his master, to leave the Rhine, and take up his position in
the Low Countries--in short, he would obey no orders, and did all in his
power to thwart and counteract the Austrian. Meanwhile, the French
advanced in irresistible power. On the 26th of June they were victorious
at Fleury--a battle which established the reputation of General Jourdain,
and settled the fate of the Netherlands. In Flanders, Moreau defeated
Clairfait, and took Ypres. General Walmoden evacuated Bruges. The Duke of
York was obliged to abandon Tournay and Oudenarde to their fate, and
retired upon Antwerp on the 3d of July.

This was a period of great anxiety to Lord Malmesbury; for although there
are many occasions wherein even the ablest diplomatist must fail, more
especially when there is a total absence of good faith on the other side,
yet the crisis was so alarming as to impress him with the sense of more
than usual responsibility. The following extract from his diary will show
his opinion of the Prussians:--"June 26. To Keyserlautern, Prussian
headquarters--repetition of the same language--great, but shabby art and
cunning--ill-will, jealousy, and every sort of dirty passion. The marshal
proposes a memoria