taken good care during its late and vain effort not
to embroil himself in any quarrel, or even any misunderstanding, with
England on its account; and now that that poor struggle was over for
the time, he believed that it would be for his interest to come to an
understanding with King George.

[Sidenote: 1716--Dubois]

The idea of such an understanding originated with the Regent himself.
There has been some discussion among English historians as to the title
of Townshend or of Stanhope to be considered its author. Whether
Townshend or Stanhope first accepted the suggestion does not seem a
matter of much consequence. It is clear that the overture was made by
the Regent. While King George and his minister Stanhope were in
Hanover, the Regent sent Dubois on various pretexts to places where he
might have an opportunity of coming to an understanding with both.
Dubois had lived in England, and had made the personal acquaintance of
Stanhope there. What could be more natural than that the Regent, who
was a lover of art, should ask Dubois to visit the Hague, for the
purpose of buying some books and pictures, about the time that the
English minister was known to be in the neighborhood? And how could
old acquaintances like Stanhope and Dubois, thus brought into close
proximity, fail to take advantage of the opportunity, and to {157} have
many a quiet, informal meeting? What more natural than that Dubois
should afterwards go to Hanover to visit his friend Stanhope there, and
that he should live in Stanhope's house? The account which the lively
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu gives of the manner in which Hanover was then
crowded would of itself explain the necessity for Dubois availing
himself of Stanhope's hospitality, and for Stanhope's offer of it. The
Portuguese ambassador, Lady Mary says, thought himself very happy to be
the temporary possessor of "two wretched parlors in an inn." Dubois
and Stanhope had many talks, and the result was an arrangement which
could be accepted by the King and the Regent.

The foreign policy of the Whigs had for its object the maintenance of
peace on the European continent by a close observance of the conditions
laid down in the Treaty of Utrecht. The settlement made under that
treaty was, however, very unsatisfactory to Spain. The new Spanish
king, Philip of Anjou, had formally renounced his own rights of
succession to the throne of France, and had given up the Italian
provinces which former