burg was more fortunate in his operations; and, before the close of the year, a more intimate alliance was concluded between him and his northern ally. The campaign of 1677 was distinguished by many stirring actions, in which the Swedes were often victorious by land, but generally unfortunate on the sea. The King of Denmark took the island of Rügen, last it shortly afterwards, and again obtained possession of its wild shores and solitary fields. On the 26th of December, the Elector of Brandenburg captured Stettin, after a six months' siege, and the misfortunes of the Swedes continued throughout the first half of 1678. In the autumn of that year, however, a large Swedish force, under Field-Marshal Horn, Governor of Livonia, entered the Duchy of Prussia (one of the possessions of Frederick William), and penetrated as far as Insterburg. The Elector was not a little alarmed at this invasion, for he had alienated the goodwill of the Prussians by his dictatorial rule, and feared that they might join the Scandinavian army. In the early winter of 1679, Frederick William proceeded with all haste into this portion of his dominions; crossing the intervening friths on the ice, and compelling his army to proceed, with the aid of sledges, at the rate of ten or twelve leagues a day. The celerity of his movements rescued his cause in Prussia from very probable extinction. The Swedes, after sustaining a com paratively slight defeat, near Tilsit, at the hands of Frederick's advanced guard, were entirely crushed by the Elector at the neighbouring village of Splitter. The invaders were pursued for several miles, and a meagre and exhausted remnant at length got back to Livonia, though with the loss of their commander, who was taken by the victorious Germans. Thus, the Swedish policy, in quarrelling with the Great Elector, had been productive of little save disaster, and the defeat of Marshal Horn left Charles XI. in no position for renewed exertions. On the other hand, the Emperor Leopold regarded with much jealousy the repeated successes of Frederick William, and showed a disposition to abandon his cause, now that it had so signally triumphed. The Treaty of Nimeguen, between France and Holland, had been concluded on the 11th of August, 1678, and the Emperor acceded to its terms on the 5th of February, 1679. Louis XIV., who had received some help from Sweden, insisted that the northern allies should restore to that kingdom all the territories they had conquered, and, as already mentioned, he succeeded in this design. The Elector of Brandenburg held out as long as he dared; but when the French King 345 took measures for entering his dominions, he considered it prudent to give way, and a treaty was signed at St. Germain-en-Laye on the 29th of June, 1679. This agreement left the Swedes in possession of nearly all they had held before the war. Christian of Denmark accepted a similar arrangement by the Treaty of Fontainebleau, signed on the 2nd of September, 1679; and the Treaty of Lunden, between Denmark and Sweden, followed on September 26th. All these treaties were favourable to Sweden, but only through the interposition of France; and the country was left in a state of extreme exhaustion, with a ruined treasury and a damaged military reputation. The general discontent, which general discontent, which was directed chiefly against the aristocracy, led to a revolution in 1680, similar to that which had occurred in Sweden twenty years before. A Diet was assembled at Stockholm, and the Chamber of Nobles surrounded by soldiers; after which the three Lower Estates, consisting of the clergy, the peasants, and the burghers, passed a resolution conferring absolute power upon the King. Charles XI. knew that he could depend on the army, and the nobles soon acknowledged that they had no choice but to submit. Two years later, the Council of State was converted into a Royal Council, the members of which were nominated by the King, and held office entirely at his pleasure. Measures of an arbitrary character were then adopted, restoring to the Crown a large number of landed estates which had for several years been held on lease, or otherwise. Numerous families were ruined by this sweeping reform, and the sufferings of the nobility were still further increased by the imposition of a tax amounting to a fourth part of their revenues. The aristocracy had long been in possession of privileges unjust in themselves, and impolitic in any well-ordered State. They had used those privileges in a spirit of unmitigated selfishness; but they were now themselves the victims of arbitrary and inequitable regulations. The King, however, was resolved to put down all opposition; and when, in 1694, a deputation from Livonia protested against the measures of the court, its members were condemned to death as rebels. The sentence was afterwards commuted to one of perpetual imprisonment; but even this milder penalty was grossly disproportioned to the offence. Having thus established the revolution that had been made in his favour, Charles XI. devoted the remaining years of his reign to the reorganisation of the Swedish army and navy, and the recovery of the national finances. The King himself, together with his household, lived with extreme frugality, | King's grandmother, Hedwige Eleanora of Holand, although the people were heavily taxed, the revenue was not wasted. Charles perceived that the greatness which Sweden had reached during the reigns of his father and of his father's uncle, could never be restored, nor, if restored, maintained, without the institution of a large military force, well disciplined, and kept up from year to year in a state of the highest efficiency. He therefore decreed that every nobleman should provide a soldier, or a certain number of soldiers, according to his means, and that the peasants also should contribute to the national armament at their own expense, except in respect of horses, which were furnished by the State. The army so formed was exercised twice a year, and soon became an instrument of terrible force and efficiency. The death of Charles XI. occurred in 1697; that of Christian V., his Danish enemy, in 1699. When Charles XI. expired, his son, afterwards the celebrated warrior, Charles XII., was only fifteen years of age, for the late monarch himself was barely forty-two. The Regent was the young stein, the difficulties of whose position were greatly lessened by the politic measures of recent years. This was fortunate for Sweden, since many of the northern sovereigns were willing to take advantage of the national weakness, resulting from the conduct of affairs being suddenly transferred to the hands of an elderly woman. The foreign possessions secured to Sweden by recent treaties excited the jealousy of other Powers, and invited attack whenever the opportunity should seem favourable. Had the kingdom been as weak as it undoubtedly was after the conclusion of the war with Brandenburg and Denmark, in 1679, it would certainly have been attacked at once; but the military reforms of Charles XI. gave Sweden a breathing time, during which she was able to prepare herself for the great struggle to which the ambition of neighbouring princes, and the natural inclinations of Charles XII. himself, alike devoted her. The events of that struggle must be related farther on. In the meanwhile, our attention is solicited by the affairs of Westernand Central Europe. CHAPTER XXX. LOUIS XIV. AND WILLIAM III. Position of Louis XIV. after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes-Enmity of William of Orange-The League of AugsburgClaims of Louis on the Palatinate-War with the Emperor Leopold-Opening Campaign in the Palatinate-Ruthless Devastation of the Country-Intervention of Louis in the Affairs of Cologne-His Quarrel with Pope Innocent XI.-Alliance be tween the Emperor and the United Provinces of the Netherlands-Naval Victory of the French off Beachy Head-Campaigns of 1689, 1690, and 1691-Project for the Invasion of England in 1692-Defeat of the French Naval Forces off La Hogue -Final Years of the Life of James II.-Successes of the French on Land-Ineffectual Efforts of William III.-Renewed Devastation by the French in Germany-Victory at Marsaglia, in Piedmont-Early Use of the Bayonet in Infantry ChargesDefeat of the English and Dutch at Sea -Rapid Exhaustion of France-French Privateers in the English Channel-Capture of Namur by William III.-Alliance of the Duke of Savoy with the French-Conclusion of the Peace of Ryswick (1697)— Question of the Spanish Succession-Progress of Affairs in England under William-Jealousy of the Royal Prerogative-Rise of the System of Party Government-Foundation of the Bank of England, and Commencement of the National Debt--Death of Queen Mary-Reduction of the Army--Claimants to the Spanish Throne in the event of King Charles's Death-Opposition of Louis XIV. and the Emperor Leopold-Action of William III. The Two Treaties of Partition-Death of Charles II. of Spain-Succession of the Grandson of Louis to the Spanish Throne. EXHAUSTED as France had been by the contests of recent years, Louis XIV. could not refrain from conduct which was pretty certain to provoke a renewal of hostilities. His almost unqualified success had probably induced the belief that he was invincible, and that no combination of Powers could prevail against him. But the greatest man cannot afford to make indiscriminate enemies, and Louis had certainly been reckless as to whom he offended. On the one hand, the Pope was alienated by his independence; on the other, the Protestants were injured by his bigotry. With respect to merely A.D. 1686.] COALITION AGAINST LOUIS XIV. stubborn a race, his projects were not likely to succeed. The Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, in 1685, filled England with his enemies, and scattered many others over Holland and Germany. It was in Holland that active opposition to his power first arose. The Stadtholder, William of Orange, had every reason to cherish a feeling of hatred against Louis XIV. The French monarch had invaded his country several years before, and reduced it almost to the verge of ruin. Since then, he had shown an unfriendly sentiment towards the nation of traders, as he scornfully termed the Dutch; and in 1682 he inflicted an injury on William by incorporating in the French dominions his principality of Orange, in Provence, which was in truth an Imperial fief. The Prince determined on revenge; and personal feelings, together with political motives, mingled with religious convictions in the mind of the Stadtholder. The oppression of the French Protestants kindled his resentment to the utmost. Self-preservation alone made it necessary to take some measures against a sovereign who was equally arrogant, and equally dangerous, on secular and on spiritual grounds. William of Orange, therefore, set himself to organise a powerful confederacy against the King of France, and the result was the formation of the League of Augsburg, which was concluded on the 9th of July, 1686, and to which the Emperor of Germany, the Kings of Spain and Sweden, the Electors of Bavaria and Saxony, and the Elector Palatine, were parties. The object of the agreement was to maintain the Treaties of Münster and Nimeguen, and the Truce of Ratisbon. Each of the members was to support any of the others, if attacked; and the allies were to raise a body of 60,000 men, who were to be frequently drilled, and to form a camp for some weeks during every year. Although the Stadtholder had been the chief instigator of this League, Holland did not immediately join the coalition, as it would have imperilled the designs of William to assume at that moment a position of open hostility towards France. Louis was, of course, fully aware of the objects with which the League had been formed; but he hesitated for a while as to how he should proceed. At length he determined to strike at Germany, and the requisite pretext was found in a difference of opinion which had arisen with respect to the Palatinate. The Duke of Orleans, the brother of Louis, had married the sister of the Elector Palatine Charles (the last of the House of Simmern), who died in 1685, when his nearest relative, Philip William, Duke of Neuburg, assumed the government of the Electorate. On her marriage, 347 the Duchess had reserved her rights to the allodial property and movables of her family; and Louis insisted on including under the latter head the cannon of the fortresses, as well as the furniture of the State dwellings. The new Elector satisfied these claims by a heavy payment, and Louis then demanded, in respect of the allodial property, a very large proportion of the Electorate.* Such extravagant pretensions were, of course, resisted, and the relations between France and Germany grew strained and uneasy. It was not, however, until two years after the conclusion of the League of Augsburg that the French monarch resolved on war with the Emperor, who, in obedience to the terms of that understanding, had supported the cause of the Elector Palatine against the claims of France. In addition to this grievance, there were other allegations of unfriendly conduct on the part of Leopold; and, at the close of the French manifesto, that sovereign was required to convert the Truce of Ratisbon into a definitive peace. Compromise being impossible where the demands. were so high, and the spirit was so irreconcilable, war broke out, in October, 1688, when a large French army (nominally commanded by the Dauphin, but really under the directions of Marshals Duras and Vauban) entered the Palatinate, and, besieging Philipsburg, compelled it to surrender within a month. Hopeless of a successful defence, Manheim submitted immediately after. At the same time, another corps, operating in a different direction, under the command of the Marquis de Boufflers, took possession of nearly all the cities on the left bank of the Rhine, belonging to the Elector Palatine and the Elector of Mainz. The French then ascended the Moselle, and captured Treves, while Marshal d' Humières invaded the Bishopric of Liège, and occupied Dinant. A series of almost unparalleled atrocities followed these military successes. On the advice of his Minister, Louvois, who saw that the Palatinate could not be permanently held, Louis ordered that the whole country should be devastated with fire, lest it should be re-occupied by the enemy; and these directions were ruthlessly carried out. The people, it is true, were warned to retire; but whither could they go, when their dwellings were ruined, their household goods demolished, their crops wasted, their means of life destroyed? All the places between Mainz and Philipsburg were given to the flames, and many noble cathedrals and churches, together with other * Allodial tenure was the free and absolute right of property in land, independently of any burden of homage or fidelity to a superior. It was the least onerous part of the Feudal system. ised Louis XIV. as the enemy of all Christendom, and worthy to be regarded in the same light as the Turk. A few months later, he wrote to the same effect to the dethroned King James, who had solicited the assistance of the Emperor against William of Orange, in the names of legitimacy and the Catholic religion. The French, said Leopold, had "burned the palaces of princes, plundered the churches, carried away the inhabitants as slaves, and treated the Catholics with a cruelty of which the Turks themselves would be ashamed." In retaliation for these acts, the Diet of Ratisbon decreed the expulsion of every Frenchman from Germany, and interdicted all commerce with France. It had long been known to Louis that the Stadt was also one of the pretexts for the war with Germany. Cardinal von Fürstenberg, a creature of the French monarch, had been elected to the Archbishopric of Cologne by part of the Chapter; but the Emperor had contrived that the Bavarian Prince, Joseph Clement, should be chosen in his place. The Archbishopric carried with it the Electorate of Cologne, and Louis hoped, by prevailing in this matter, to acquire an influence in the affairs of the Empire. Clement, however, was supported by the reigning Pope, Innocent XI., the implacable enemy of Louis XIV. Other causes of quarrel still further explain the antagonism between the Pontiff and the King, and the latter accused Innocent of encouraging the Prince of Orange to |