and
hoeing went on. In January, 1742, he had the great satisfaction to see a
Bavarian Kaiser got, instead of an Austrian; and everywhere the fruit of
his diligent husbandry begin to BEARD fairly above ground, into a crop
of facts (like armed men from dragon's teeth), and "the pleasure of
the"--WHOM was it the pleasure of?--"prosper in his hands." Belleisle
was a pretty man; but I doubt it was not "the Lord" he was doing the
pleasure of, on this occasion, but a very Different Personage, disguised
to resemble him in poor Belleisle's eyes!--

Austria was not dangerous to France in late times, and now least of all;
how far from it,--humbled by the loss of Lorraine; and now as it were
bankrupt, itself in danger from all the world. And France, so far as
express Treaties could bind a Nation, was bound to maintain Austria in
its present possessions. The bitter loss of Lorraine had been sweetened
to the late Kaiser by that solitary drop of consolation;--as his Failure
of a Life had been, poor man: "Failure the most of me has been; but
I have got Pragmatic Sanction, thanks to Heaven, and even France
has signed it!" Loss of Lorraine, loss of Elsass, loss of the Three
Bishoprics; since Karl V.'s times, not to speak of earlier, there has
been mere loss on loss:--and now is the time to consummate it, think
Belleisle and France, in spite of Treaties.

Towards humbling or extinguishing Austria, Belleisle has two preliminary
things to do: FIRST, Break the Pragmatic Sanction, and get everybody to
break it; SECOND, Guide the KAISERWAHL (Election of a Kaiser), so that
it issue, not in Grand-Duke Franz, Maria Theresa's Husband, as all
expect it will, but in another party friendly to France:--say in Karl
Albert of Bavaria, whose Family have long been good clients of ours,
dependent on us for a living in the Political World. Belleisle, there
is little doubt, had from the first cast his eye on this unlucky Karl
Albert for Kaiser; but is uncertain as to carrying him. Belleisle will
take another if he must; Kur-Sachsen, for example;--any other, and all
others, only not the Grand-Duke: that is a point already fixed with
Belleisle, though he keeps it well in the background, and is careful not
to hint it till the time come.

In regard to Pragmatic Sanction, Belleisle and France found no
difficulty,--or the difficulty only (which we hope must have been
considerable) of eating their own Covenant in behalf of Pragmatic
Sanction; and declaring, whi