Author: Tobias Smollett
Publisher: Forgotten Books
Published: 2017-10-18
Total Pages: 562
ISBN-13: 9780266463474
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Excerpt from The History of England, From the Revolution to the Death of George II, Vol. 2 of 4 II. Such were the sentiments of the queen; and her ministers seem to have acted on the same principles, though perhaps party motives may have helped to influence their conduct. The allies concurred in opposing with all their might any treaty which could not gratify their difl'erent views of avarice, interest, and ambition. They practised a thousand little artifiees to intimm the queen, to excite a jealousy of Lewis, to blacken the characters of her ministers, to raise and keep up a dangerous ferment among her people, by which her life and government were en dangered. She could not fail to resent these efforts, which greatly perplexed her measures, and obstructed her design. Her ministers were sensible of the dangerous predicament in which they stood. The queen's health was much im paired; and the successor countenanced the opposite fac tion. In case of their sovereign's death, they had nothing to expect but prosecution and ruin for obeying her com mands; they saw no hope of safety, except in renouncing their principles, and submitting to their adversaries; or else in taking such measures as would hasten the pacifi tion, that the troubles of the kingdom might be appeased, and the people be satisfied with their conduct, before death should deprive them of their sovereign's protection. With this view they advised her to set on foot a private nego tiation with Len is to stipulate certain advantages for her own subjects in a concerted plan of peace; to enter into such mutual confidence with that monarch, as would anti cipate all clandestine transactions to her prejudice, and in some measure enable her to prescribe terms for her allies. The plan was judiciously formed; but executed with too much precipitation. The stipulated advantages were not such as she had a right to demand and insist upon; and. Without all doubt, better might have been obtained, had not. The obstinacy of the allies abroad, and the violent conduct of the whig faction at home, obliged the ministers to relax in some material points, and hasten the conclusion of the treaty. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
