nic majesty,
notifying his accession to that throne, and expressing a desire of
cultivating a mutual friendship with the king and crown of England.
How averse soever William might have been to any correspondence of this
sort, the earl of Rochester and the new ministers importuned him in such
a manner to acknowledge Philip, that he at length complied with their
entreaties, and wrote a civil answer to his most catholic majesty. This
was a very alarming incident to the emperor, who was bent upon a war
with the two crowns, and had determined to send prince Eugene with an
army into Italy, to take possession of the duchy of Milan as a fief of
the empire. The new pope Clement XI., who had succeeded to the papacy in
the preceding year, was attached to the French interest; the Venetians
favoured the emperor; but they refused to declare themselves at this
juncture.

The French king consented to a renewal of the negotiations at the Hague;
but in the meantime tampered with the Dutch deputies, to engage them in
a separate treaty. Finding them determined to act in concert with the
king of England, he protracted the conferences in order to gain time,
while he erected fortifications and drew lines on the frontiers of
Holland, divided the princes of the empire by his intrigues, and
endeavoured to gain over the states of Italy. The Dutch meanwhile
exerted themselves in providing for their own security. They reinforced
their garrisons, purchased supplies, and solicited succours from foreign
potentates. The states wrote a letter to king William, explaining the
danger of their situation, professing the most inviolable attachment
to the interest of England, and desiring that the stipulated number
of troops should be sent immediately to their assistance. The
three Scottish regiments which he had retained in his own pay, were
immediately transported from Scotland. The letter of the states-general
he communicated to the house of commons, who having taken it into
consideration, resolved to assist his majesty to support his allies in
maintaining the liberty of Europe; and to provide immediate succours for
the states-general, according to the treaty of 1677. The house of peers,
to whom the letter was also communicated, carried their zeal still
farther. They presented an address, in which they desired his majesty
would not only perform the articles of any former treaty with the
states-general, but also engage with them in a strict league offensive