, again pressed the appointment on Marlborough; but from the
same lofty motives he continued to decline, professing a willingness,
at the same time, to give the Emperor every aid privately in the new
government which was in his power; so that the Emperor was obliged to
give a reluctant consent. Notwithstanding this refusal, the jealousy
of the Dutch was such, that on the revival of a report that the
government had been again confirmed to the Duke of Marlborough, they
were thrown into such a ferment, that in the public congress the
Pensionary could not avoid exclaiming in the presence of the English
ambassador, "Mon Dieu! est-il possible qu'on voudrait faire ce pas
sans notre participation?"[25]

The French government were soon informed of this jealousy, and of the
open desire of the Dutch for an accession of territory on the side of
Flanders, at the expense of Austria; and they took advantage of it,
early in the summer of 1706, to open a secret negotiation with the
States-general for the conclusion of a separate peace with that
republic. The basis of this accommodation was to be a renunciation by
the Duke of Anjou of his claim to the crown of Spain, upon receiving
an equivalent in Italy: he offered to recognize Anne as Queen of
England, and professed the utmost readiness to secure for the Dutch,
_at the expense of Austria_, that barrier in the Netherlands, to which
he conceived them to be so well entitled. These proposals elated the
Dutch government to such a degree, that they began to take a high
hand, and assume a dictatorial tone at the Hague: and it was the
secret belief that they would, if matters came to extremities, be
supported by France in this exorbitant demand for a slice of Austria,
that made them resist so strenuously the government of the Low
Countries being placed in such firm and vigorous hands as those of
Marlborough. Matters had come to such a pass in October and November
1706, that Godolphin regarded affairs as desperate, and thought the
alliance was on the point of being dissolved.[26] Thus was
Marlborough's usual winter campaign with the confederates rendered
more difficult on this than it had been on any preceding occasion; for
he had now to contend with the consequences of his own success, and
allay the jealousies and stifle the cupidity which had sprung up, out
of the prospect of the magnificent spoil which he himself had laid at
the feet of the Allies.

But in this dangerous crisis, Marlboroug