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the hands of the Austrian line of the Habsburgs. The Spanish possessions in Italy were to be transferred to the Dauphin, although Milan was to be exchanged for the duchy of Lorraine. The other possible methods of dealing with Milan, mentioned in the project, were this time treated in a secret Article, with the evident intention of its not being disclosed to the Austrians when the rest of the Treaty should be presented in Vienna. In this secret Article it was also provided that, beyond the three months allowed by Article VII for the accession of the Emperor to the Treaty, his assent should still be accepted within two months after the official announcement of Charles II's death by the Most Christian King.

In May, 1700, the Second Treaty of Partition was officially communicated to the Courts of Vienna and Madrid. Charles II, we are told, "flew into an extraordinary passion, and the Queen in her rage smashed to pieces everything in her room." Some days of general excitement followed. The King came from Aranjuez into his capital, to show his people that he was still alive. In the Council of State a very tumultuous scene was enacted. Charles wrote letters full of sorrow and complaints to the Emperor, to the Pope, to the petty Princes in Italy, with the view of touching the hearts of them all, and of gathering them round him against the Powers which had made a treaty for the dismemberment of the monarchy handed down to him from his ancestors. Most naturally, the unhappy Prince turned his eyes especially towards Austria. Charles and Leopold seemed to be natural allies against the Partitioning Powers. Queen Mary Anne promised Count Harrach that she would persuade her husband rather to lose all than to suffer the monarchy to be dismembered and himself alienated from Austria, by assenting to the infamous project of France, England, and Holland. Indeed, some preparations were made to place the Austrians in possession of the Spanish dependencies either during the lifetime of Charles II or immediately after his death. Strict orders were sent from Madrid to the several Governors and commanders to maintain a state of constant defence and to remain in contact with the Court of Vienna, so as to be able, if necessary, to obtain assistance from it. A considerable augmentation of the army was actually resolved on by the Emperor. On the other side, Louis XIV had for some time been gradually increasing the French troops near the Spanish frontier, so that he was able to march an army into Spain within a very short space of time.

If all this looked like the preparations for a war between Spain and Austria, on the one side, and the Powers which had concluded the Partition Treaty on the other - a war which might perhaps break out even before the death of the King of Spain it was Louis XIV who averted this danger in a very skilful way. He promised the Courts of Vienna and Madrid to enter into no hostility against Spain, and to

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take no step in the matter of the Succession, so long as Charles II lived, on condition that the Emperor likewise desisted from sending any troops into Spain or Italy. This proposal was accepted in Vienna.

About this time, when the political situation seemed no longer to indicate the imminent outburst of an European war, affairs were hurried on to a speedy decision in Spain. Charles II had seldom been seen so strong and in such good spirits as he was in August, 1700. A few weeks later the disease that had never left him assumed a more serious character than it had ever shown before. The last hour of the King of Spain, who had so often looked death in the face, was clearly at hand. Some weeks of the greatest excitement followed the last efforts being made on the side of each Government to secure the victory of its own policy; the Partitioning Powers seeking, in the twelfth hour, to bring the Emperor into their Treaty; Leopold still hesitating, with the hope of securing the whole; Louis XIV openly professing to adhere to the method of his Treaty with William III, and at the same time watching with the greatest attention the strife of parties in Spain. It was at this critical period that, independently of all these endeavours, of all diplomatic labours and of all political intrigues, the die was cast as to the question of the Spanish Succession, and of peace and war in Europe; and the decision was made in Spain itself, by the last action of its dying monarch.

For the last time a German and a French party are to be found at the Court of Madrid, each at work on behalf of its candidate. The Council of Castile had addressed a supplication to the King, as being in a fragile state of health, to confer on his loyal subjects the benefit of nominating a successor to his Crown. Queen Mary Anne, supported by Count Harrach, tried hard to induce her husband to make a will in favour of the Archduke. For some days she seemed to have won her game; the instrument was ready; and nothing was wanting but the signature of the monarch. Nay, it is possible that even the signature had been added, when the adverse party succeeded in bringing about the burning of the will. Hereupon Cardinal Porto-Carrero, the head of the French faction, won a deciding influence over the dying King. He represented the feelings of the whole clergy in Spain, all of whom wished to see a French prince ascend their throne. These feelings had been further strengthened, inasmuch as the Pope had, some weeks before, written a letter to Charles II to recommend the succession of the Duke of Anjou. The King's confessors worked together with the Cardinal-Primate. Thus the power of the Church contributed towards bringing the Crown of Spain to the grandson of Louis XIV. The will of Charles II, bearing date October 2, 1700, was signed by the King on the following day. His sufferings were still prolonged for nearly a month. On the last of October, when the Nuncio had bestowed the Papal benediction on the moribund King, the Grandees of Spain were introduced into the

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adjacent chamber. They were told by the King's confessor - for his own voice was extinct-in the King's name, to be obedient to his will, to pay respect to her Majesty, his consort, and to keep unity among themselves, for so he hoped to keep the monarchy undivided. Touched to their hearts and with tears in their eyes, the assembly listened to the last message of their unhappy King. On the following day, November 1, 1700, Charles II had breathed his last.

In presence of a large number of nobles, who had come to be present at their King's death, the will was opened at once. Its purpose and contents were in accordance with the aims pursued by Spanish policy during the preceding forty years. It was the final attempt to hand over the monarchy of Philip II, with all its world-wide interests and possessions, undivided to the coming generation - the last protest against the policy of the Partition Treaties. The will prescribed that no part of the monarchy should be alienated from its main body, and that this should never be united with any other foreign State. One prince was to inherit the whole, and this was to be Duke Philip of Anjou, second son of the Dauphin of France. To make his right clear, it was declared that the renunciations of the two Infantas, married to princes of the House of Bourbon, had only been made in order to prevent the union of the two kingdoms, and that, so long as this danger was avoided, these renunciations could not detract from the natural right of inheritance. Failing the Duke of Anjou, his younger brother, the Duke of Berry, was named successor; Archduke Charles only in the third place; and, after him, the Duke of Savoy. Article XIII expressed a pious hope that the Duke of Anjou, the future King of Spain, might become the husband of an archduchess, and daughter of the Emperor, so that by this means the peace and tranquillity of Christendom might be secured. A Council of Regency, of which Cardinal Porto-Carrero was to be the most important member, was to carry on the government of Spain until the arrival of the new King.

When the will become known in Spain, the people's joy was general, as the danger of a dismemberment seemed happily to be avoided. However, the great question was not yet decided. This decision had to be given in France, at the Court of Louis XIV. Nobody could say, which way this monarch would prefer - whether he would adhere to the Treaty with William III or accept the Crown of Spain for his grandson. Till the news of Charles' death reached the French capital, no definite resolution had been taken. It would be unjust to say of Louis XIV that his intention had been from the beginning to throw over the Partition Treaty, so soon as a will favourable to his House should be in his hands. Even when he was sure of such a will, while King Charles was still alive, he ordered his ambassador in Holland to assure the Pensionary that it was his intention to adhere to his engagements, rather than accept any offers that might be made to him. In addition to this, he still continued

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The problem to be solved by Louis XIV [1700 his efforts to obtain the accession of the Court of Vienna to the Treaty of Partition. No doubt, if he could have succeeded in this endeavour, the situation would have been very different from what it proved to be immediately on the death of Charles. As it was, however stringent the engagements of Louis were towards England and Holland, the work of the Partition Treaty still remained incomplete.

It was this side of the question which had to be considered when the courier brought the news from Madrid that Charles had died (November 1, 1700), and that Philip of Anjou was, by the royal testament, appointed to be King of Spain. The Emperor, who had hitherto refused to accede to the Partition Treaty, would certainly be still less inclined to do so now. For, in case Louis declined the proffered Crown for his grandsons, which of course he would have to do, if he adhered to the Treaty, this same Crown would be offered at once to the son of the Emperor. The Spanish ambassador in Paris was instructed by the Junta, in case of a French refusal, to bid the courier, who had brought the will to Paris, continue his journey to Vienna without delay, in order to make the same offer there. The Archduke would certainly be acknowledged as King in all the Spanish dominions, in accordance with the provisions of the deceased King's will. Louis would therefore have to face the alternative— either of allowing the power of the House of Austria, hostile to France as it was, to be immensely increased by the accession of an Archduke in Spain, and the monarchy of Charles V, against which his ancestors had struggled in so many bloody wars, to be renewed, without any advantage accruing to France, or of seeking to secure for himself the benefits stipulated by the Partition Treaty. This, indeed, meant a war against the united strength of Austria and Spain. It was at least doubtful, whether in such a war Louis would have had the assistance of England and Holland, who had joined him in the Partition Treaty for no other reason but because they wished to avoid a new war. Moreover, if Spain should call a French Prince to her throne, did this imply so great an injustice to France that she should declare war against Spain? "If war was inevitable, it should be made to defend the justest cause; and certainly such was the cause of the will." Thus wrote Torcy, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, who took part in the memorable conferences held among the intimates of Louis XIV under the King's own presidency. Moreover, another consideration may have had its effect on the mind of Louis. If the Spanish marriages of himself and his father had really been prompted by the idea of establishing a right on the part of their dynasty to the Spanish throne, should he now, when the hour of fulfilment had come, disdain to gather in the fruits of the policy consistently pursued by France during more than half a century?

Such were the motives that induced King Louis to accept the will and to break the Treaty. If this was contrary to right, yet there were reasons enough to serve as an excuse. And, certainly, it was not the

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worst violation of international justice which history has to record in the reign of the great King Louis.

The acceptance of the will was announced to the world with all the solemnity which the Roi Soleil liked to show on important occasions. He called his grandson into his cabinet to tell him what his new dignity was. The Spanish ambassador was sent for to pay homage to his new sovereign as the first of his subjects. Then the folding-doors were flung open that communicated with a large saloon, where the whole Court was assembled. The old monarch's eyes, with a look full of majesty, scanned the numerous company before he began to speak. "Gentlemen," he said, pointing to the Duke of Anjou, "you see here the King of Spain. His descent called him to this Crown; the deceased King so ordered it by his testament; the whole nation desired it, and earnestly entreated me to give my assent; such was the will of Heaven; I have fulfilled it with joy." Then he turned to his grandson: "Be a good Spaniard; that is now your first duty; but remember that you are born a Frenchman, and maintain unity between the two nations; this is the way to make them happy and to preserve the peace of Europe." After the shouts of joy from the company had ceased, Louis once more addressed his grandson. "Let us now give thanks to God; may it please Your Majesty to attend Mass." The two Kings then proceeded to church; Louis desiring his grandson to walk on his right and thus conceding to Philip the honour due to a foreign monarch.

"I never," wrote William to Heinsius on November 16, 1700, on hearing that the will had been accepted by Louis XIV, "relied much on engagements with France; but I must confess, I did not think they would on this occasion have broken, in the face of the whole world, a solemn treaty before it was well accomplished." Not less concerned was the Emperor Leopold by the news from Madrid and Paris. But soon he

regarded the future with better hope, since the last step of Louis XIV must doubtless have the result of bringing back to him the Maritime Powers, his old allies against France. Such was indeed the actual course of events. Very soon negotiations were begun with the purpose of renewing the Grand Alliance of 1689. William and Heinsius were at once convinced of the necessity of war; and so was the Emperor; although some time passed before the English and Dutch nations acquired the same perception. In all countries pamphlet-writers were at work to bring public opinion into accordance with the intentions of the Governments. In Austria they showed that the renunciations of the two Infantas had not lost their validity and could not have been set aside by the will of Charles II; that this King, who had been an enemy to France through all his life, would never, while in the full possession of his mental powers, have made a will in favour of a French Prince. At the same time they had information that, when the dead King's body was examined, his brain and heart had been found totally destroyed by disease, so that