ggle of
great intensity followed; and it occasionally appeared that a second War
of the Spanish Succession was about to break out. This was avoided,
but the consequences of this strange imbroglio were far-reaching and
completely different from what any of the parties concerned could have
guessed.

In the course of the long and intricate negotiations there was one point
upon which Louis Philippe laid a special stress--the candidature of
Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg. The prospect of a marriage between a
Coburg Prince and the Queen of Spain was, he declared, at least as
threatening to the balance of power in Europe as that of a marriage
between the Duc de Montpensier and the Infanta; and, indeed, there was
much to be said for this contention. The ruin which had fallen upon the
House of Coburg during the Napoleonic wars had apparently only served
to multiply its vitality, for that princely family had by now extended
itself over Europe in an extraordinary manner. King Leopold was firmly
fixed in Belgium; his niece was Queen of England; one of his nephews
was the husband of the Queen of England, and another the husband of the
Queen of Portugal; yet another was Duke of Wurtemberg. Where was this
to end? There seemed to be a Coburg Trust ready to send out one of
its members at any moment to fill up any vacant place among the ruling
families of Europe. And even beyond Europe there were signs of this
infection spreading. An American who had arrived in Brussels had assured
King Leopold that there was a strong feeling in the United States in
favour of monarchy instead of the misrule of mobs, and had suggested, to
the delight of His Majesty, that some branch of the Coburg family might
be available for the position. That danger might, perhaps, be remote;
but the Spanish danger was close at hand; and if Prince Leopold were to
marry Queen Isabella the position of France would be one of humiliation,
if not of positive danger. Such were the asseverations of Louis
Philippe. The English Government had no wish to support Prince Leopold,
and though Albert and Victoria had some hankerings for the match, the
wisdom of Stockmar had induced them to give up all thoughts of it. The
way thus seemed open for a settlement: England would be reasonable about
Leopold, if France would be reasonable about Montpensier. At the Chateau
d'Eu, the agreement was made, in a series of conversations between the
King and Guizot on the one side, and the Queen, the