ar came to an end her king's arrogance became unbounded. Lorraine was
turned into a subject-state. Genoa was bombarded and its Doge forced to
seek pardon in the ante-chambers of Versailles. The Pope was humiliated
by the march of an army upon Rome to avenge a slight offered to the
French ambassador. The Empire was outraged by a shameless seizure of
Imperial fiefs in Elsass and elsewhere which provoked remonstrances
even from Charles. The whole Protestant world was defied by the
increasing persecution of the Huguenots, a persecution which was to
culminate in the revocation of the Edict of Nantes.

[Sidenote: William and England.]

In the mind of Lewis peace meant a series of outrages on the powers
around him; but every outrage helped the cool and silent adversary who
was looking on from the Hague in his task of building up that Great
Alliance of all Europe from which alone he looked for any effectual
check to the ambition of France. The experience of the last war had
taught William that of such an alliance England must form a part, and
the efforts of the Prince ever since the peace had been directed to
secure her co-operation. A reconciliation of the king with his
Parliament was an indispensable step towards freeing Charles from his
dependence on France, and it was such a reconciliation that William at
first strove to bring about; but he was for a long time foiled by the
steadiness with which Charles clung to the power whose aid was needful
to carry out the schemes which he was contemplating. The change of
policy, however, which followed on the fall of the Cabal and the entry
of Danby into power raised new hopes in William's mind, and his marriage
with Mary dealt Lewis what proved to be a fatal blow. James was without
a son, and the marriage with Mary would at any rate ensure William the
aid of England in his great enterprise on his father-in-law's death. But
it was impossible to wait for that event, and though the Prince used his
new position to bring Charles round to a decided policy his efforts
remained fruitless. The storm of the Popish Plot complicated his
position. In the earlier stages of the Exclusion Bill, when the
Parliament seemed resolved simply to pass over James and to seat Mary at
once on the throne after her uncle's death, William stood apart from the
struggle, doubtful of its issue though prepared to accept the good luck
if it came to him. But the fatal error of Shaftesbury in advancing the
claims of Mo