in trust for Louis XVII. He was not a little ruffled by the
reply that they belonged of right to George III, who would keep them as
compensation for the expenses of the war. Another significant fact was
the removal of a fine corps of French _emigres_, some 3,300 strong, from
the northern provinces to Cadiz, on their way to the West Indies.

At the time of the arrival of Bute at that port (25th May), Fortune
vouchsafed a few gleams of hope to the Allies. Spanish pride having
kicked against the French demands, especially that of the province of
Guipuzcoa, Bourgoing's mission proved fruitless. The diplomatic
situation also improved. In February 1795, as we have seen, Catharine II
of Russia signed a defensive treaty with Great Britain, to which Austria
acceeded on 20th May. Thus did Pitt replace the outworn Triple Alliance
with Prussia and Holland by a more powerful confederacy. With these
bright prospects in view, and animated by the hope of rousing Western
France from Quiberon, Pitt had a right to expect some measure of
fortitude even in the Court of Madrid.[386] But Godoy remained obdurate.
On 11th June, in his first interview with Bute, he said he had no faith
in Russia; the vacillations of Austria were notorious; and Pitt was said
to be about to send Eden to Paris to sue for peace. As for Spain, she
was hard pressed; French and American emissaries had stirred up strife
in her colonies; and affairs were most "ticklish" in San Domingo. His
Government had therefore sought for a composition (not a definite peace)
with France. In fact, the war as a whole had failed, for whereas the
Allies had set themselves to crush French principles, they had succeeded
merely in uniting the French people in one common cause. On 11th July he
promised to recall the Anglophobe Governor of San Domingo; but he
declared the island to be in so distracted a state that both Spaniards
and British would probably be expelled. He then complained that somehow
England always got the better of Spain; witness Nootka Sound, Hayti, and
Corsica. In spite of Bute's assurance that he came to end these
jealousies, Godoy continued to drift on the tide of events. "No plan is
prepared," wrote Bute on 11th July, "no measures are taken. The accident
of the day seems to determine everything, and happy do the Ministers
feel when the day is passed." He therefore advised that Godoy should be
bribed.

The advice came too late. Already the favourite had instructed Don
Dom