ccessful. He was in great difficulties; for
Hungary was restless and his Netherland provinces in revolt. The allies
might have mediated a peace between him and the Turks on the basis of
the _status quo_ before the war, had it not been for the desire of
Frederick William to use the difficulties of Austria for his own
advantage. He designed to compel Austria to a peace by which she should
restore Galicia to Poland, in order that in return Poland should cede to
him Dantzig and Thorn; and he would have compensated Austria by allowing
the emperor to conquer and retain Moldavia and Walachia. He hoped to
accomplish this through his alliance with England and Holland, and in
order further to weaken Austria proposed that the revolted Netherlands
should be united to Holland as one republic, urging that they might
otherwise fall into the hands of France. Pitt desired to arrange a peace
on the _status quo_ basis, and to extend the triple alliance by the
inclusion of other powers; and, highly as he valued the Prussian
alliance, he would not consent that, merely to aggrandise Prussia,
England should lend herself to a policy which would almost certainly
have led to a new war. Accordingly, the Duke of Leeds warned Frederick
William that his plans went beyond the treaty of alliance, which was
purely defensive. The death of the emperor Joseph, on February 20, 1790,
changed the situation, for his successor, Leopold II., was a practical
and wary statesman. Frederick William was bent on war against Russia
and Austria, his minister signed a treaty with the Turks, and he pressed
England to acknowledge the independence of the Austrian Netherlands. The
English government took a decided line, made him clearly understand that
in the event of a war he would be isolated, and proposed an immediate
armistice.

Frederick William at last yielded to the representations of England and
Holland. Through the mediation of the allies an armistice between
Austria and the Turks was arranged on the basis of the _status quo_ at a
congress at Reichenbach in July, 1790, and a formal peace was concluded
the next year at Sistova. The English government, anxious to prevent an
alliance between the revolted Netherlands and France, desired the
restoration of the Austrian power in the provinces, under conditions
which would shut out French influence by satisfying the people; and
accordingly the allies guaranteed the liberties of the provinces, and
they were regained by the