Elizabeth Farnese, seeing at what rate the Congress of Cambrai sped,
lost all patience with it; and getting more and more exasperations
there, at length employed one Ripperda, a surprising Dutch Black-Artist
whom she now had for Minister, to pull the floor from beneath it (so
to speak), and send it home in that manner. Which Ripperda did. An
appropriate enough catastrophe, comfortable to the reader; upon which
perhaps he will not grudge to read still another word?

CONGRESS OF CAMBRAI GETS THE FLOOR PULLED FROM UNDER IT.

Termagant Elizabeth had now one Ripperda for Minister; a surprising
Dutch adventurer, once secretary of some Dutch embassy at Madrid;
who, discerning how the land lay, had broken loose from that subaltern
career, had changed his religion, insinuated himself into Elizabeth's
royal favor; and was now "Duke de Ripperda," and a diplomatic bull-dog
of the first quality, full of mighty schemes and hopes; in brief, a new
Alberoni to the Termagant Queen. This Ripperda had persuaded her (the
third year of our inane Congress now running out, to no purpose), That
he, if he were sent direct to Vienna, could reconcile the Kaiser to her
Majesty, and bring them to Treaty, independently of Congresses. He
was sent accordingly, in all privacy; had reported himself as laboring
there, with the best outlooks, for some while past; when, still early in
1725, there occurred on the part of France,--where Regent d'Orleans was
now dead, and new politics bad come in vogue,--that "sending back,"
of the poor little Spanish: Infanta, ["5th April, 1725, quitted Paris"
(Barbier, _Journal du Regne de Louis XV.,_ i. 218).] and marrying of
young Louis XV. elsewhere, which drove Elizabeth and the Court of Spain,
not unnaturally, into a very delirium of indignation.

Why they sent the poor little Lady home on those shocking terms? It
seems there was no particular reason, except that French Louis was now
about fifteen, and little Spanish Theresa was only eight; and that,
under Duc de Bourbon, the new Premier, and none of the wisest, there
was, express or implicit, "an ardent wish to see royal progeny secured."
For which, of course, a wife of eight years would not answer. So she
was returned; and even in a blundering way, it is said,--the French
Ambassador at Madrid having prefaced his communication, not with light
adroit preludings of speech, but with a tempest of tears and howling
lamentations, as if that were the way to concili