ersation which he had lately had with Puffendorf, the Swedish
agent, who had passed by the Hague in the way from Paris to his own
country. The French ministers, Puffendorf said, had taken much pains to
persuade him, that the Swedes would very ill find their account in those
measures which they had lately embraced: that Spain would fail them
in all her promises of subsidies; nor would Holland alone be able to
support them: that England would certainly fail them, and had already
adopted counsels directly opposite to those which by the triple league
she had bound herself to pursue: and that the resolution was not the
less fixed and certain, because the secret was as yet communicated to
very few either in the French or English court. When Puffendorf seemed
incredulous, Turenne showed him a letter from Colbert de Crossy, the
French minister at London; in which after mentioning the success of
his negotiations, and the favorable disposition of the chief ministers
there, he added, "And I have at last made them sensible of the full
extent of his majesty's bounty."[*] From this incident it appears,
that the infamous practice of selling themselves to foreign princes,
a practice which, notwithstanding the malignity of the vulgar, is
certainly rare among men in high office, had not been scrupled by
Charles's ministers, who even obtained their master's consent to this
dishonorable corruption.

* Temple, vol. ii. p. 179.

But while all men of penetration, both abroad and at home were alarmed
with these incidents, the visit which the king received from his sister,
the duchess of Orleans, was the foundation of still stronger suspicions.
Lewis, knowing the address and insinuation of that amiable princess, and
the great influence which she had gained over her brother, had engaged
her to employ all her good offices in order to detach Charles from the
triple league, which, he knew, had fixed such unsurmountable barriers
to his ambition; and he now sent her to put the last hand to the plan
of their conjunct operations. That he might the better cover this
negotiation, he pretended to visit his frontiers, particularly the great
works which he had undertaken at Dunkirk: and he carried the queen and
the whole court along with him. While he remained on the opposite shore,
the duchess of Orleans went over to England; and Charles met her at
Dover, where they passed ten days together in great mirth and festivity.
By her artifices and caresses,