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icp A Sketch of the History Let. 7.

to take thofe meafures by which alone it waspoflible to cover the empire, to fecure the Kingof Spain , and to reduce that power which wasprobably one day to difpute with him this prince’sfucceffion. Tekeli and the malecontents madefuch demands as none but a tyrant couldrefufe, the prefervation of their ancient privile-ges, liberty of confcience, the convocation of afree diet or parliament, and otlvrs of lefsimportance. All was in vain. The war con-tinued with them, and with the Turks,and France was left at liberty to pufh her enter-prifes almoft without oppofition, again ft Germany and the Low Countries. The diftrefs in both wasfo great, that the States General faw no otherexpedient for flopping the progrefs of the French arms, than a ceffation of hoftiiities, or a truce oftwenty years; which they negociated, and whichwas accepted by the emperor and the king ofSpain , on the terms that Lewis the fourteenthth ought fit to offer. By thefe terms he was toremain in full and quiet pofTeflion of all he badacquired fince the years one thoufand fix, hundredand feventy-eight, and one thoufand fix hundredand feventy-nine; among which acquifitions thatof Luxemburgh and that of Stralburgh were compre-hended. The conditions of this truce were foadvantageous to France , that all her intrigueswere employed to obtain a definitive treaty ofpeace upon the fame conditions. But this was nei-ther the intereft nor the intention of the othercontracting powers. The imperial arms had been

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