andson, and Philip was declared king in Spain
and her dependencies.

The greatest indignation was caused in England, Holland, and the empire
at this breach by the King of France of the treaty of partition,
of which he himself had been the author. England and Holland were
unprepared for war, and therefore bided their time, but Austria at once
commenced hostilities by directing large bodies of troops, under Prince
Eugene, into the duchy of Milan, and by inciting the Neapolitans to
revolt. The young king was at first popular in Spain, but Cardinal
Portocarrero, who exercised the real power of the state, by his
overbearing temper, his avarice, and his shameless corruption, speedily
alienated the people from their monarch. Above all, the cardinal was
supposed to be the tool of the French king, and to represent the policy
which had for its object the dismemberment of the Spanish monarchy and
the aggrandizement of France.

That Louis had such designs was undoubted, and, if properly managed and
bribed, Portocarrero would have been a pliant instrument in his hands;
but the cardinal was soon estranged by the constant interference by the
French agents in his own measures of government, and therefore turned
against France that power of intrigue which he had recently used in her
favor. He pretended to be devoted to France, and referred even the most
minute details of government to Paris for approbation, with the double
view of disgusting Louis with the government of Spain and of enraging
the Spanish people at the constant interference of Louis.

Philip, however, found a new and powerful ally in the hearts of the
people by his marriage with Maria Louisa, daughter of the Duke of
Savoy--a beautiful girl of fourteen years old, who rapidly developed
into a graceful and gifted woman, and became the darling of the
Spanish people, and whose intellect, firmness, and courage guided and
strengthened her weak but amiable husband. For a time the power of Spain
and France united overshadowed Europe, the trading interests of England
and Holland were assailed, and a French army assembled close to the
Flemish frontier.

The indignation of the Dutch overcame their fears, and they yielded
to the quiet efforts which King William was making, and combined with
England and Austria in a grand alliance against France, the object of
the combination being to exclude Louis from the Netherlands and West
Indies, and to prevent the union of the crowns of Fran