life, into a king. So that I still insist upon it as a wonder, how her majesty, thus besieged on all sides, was able to extricate herself.
Having thus mentioned the real causes, although disguised under specious pretences, which have so long continued the war, I must beg leave to reason a little with those persons, who are against any peace but what they call a good one; and explain themselves, that no peace can be good, without an entire restoration of Spain to the house of Austria. It is to be supposed, that what I am to say upon this part of the subject, will have little influence on those, whose particular ends or designs of any sort lead them to wish the continuance of the war: I mean the general, and our allies abroad, the knot of late favourites at home, the body of such as traffick in stocks, and lastly, that set of factious politicians, who were so violently bent, at least upon clipping our constitution, in church and state. Therefore I shall not apply myself to any of those, but to all others indifferently, whether whigs or tories, whose private interest is best answered by the welfare of their country. And if among these there be any who think we ought to fight on till king Charles be quietly settled in the monarchy of Spain, I believe there are several points which they have not thoroughly considered.
For, first it is to be observed, that this resolution against any peace without Spain, is a new incident, grafted upon the original quarrel by the intrigues of a faction among us, who prevailed to give it the sanction of a vote in both houses of parliament, to justify those whose interest lay in perpetuating the war. And as this proceeding was against the prac-
tice
