Let. 7.
181
under the character of mediator, than he did orcould hâve done by joining hisarms to her’s, andacting as her ally. The Dutch were induced tosign a treaty \vith him, that broke the confederacy,and gave gréât advantage to France : for the pur-port of it was to oblige France and Spain tomake peace on a plan to be purposed to them,and no mention was made in it of the other alliesthat I remember. The Dutch were glad to getont of an expeníìve war. France promifed toredore Maedricht to them, and Maedricht wasthe only place that remained unrecovered of ailthey had lod. They dropped Spain atNimeghen,as they had dropped France at Munder, butmanycircumdances concurred to give a much worsegrâce to their abandoning of Spain , than to theirabandoning of France . I need not specify them.This only I would observe: when they made aseparate peace at Munder, they lest an ally whowas in condition to carry on the war alone withadvantage, and they presumed to impose no termsupon him : when they made a separate peace atNimeghen, they abandoned an ally who was inno condition to carry on the war alone, and whowas reduced to accept whatever terms the com-mon enemy prescribed. In their gréât didress inone thouland fix hundred and seventy-three, theyengaged to redore Maedricht to the Spaniards assoon as it Ihouid be retaken: it was not retaken,and they accepted it for themselves as the price ofthe separate peace they made with France . TheDutch had engaged farther, to make neither peace
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