he best of all the Spanish
Bourbons, had, when he was King of Naples, been most grossly insulted by
a British naval commander, and he had had to swallow the affront. "Being
a good Christian, and vindictive," though he swallowed the affront, he
could not digest it. He cherished the hope of being able to repay the
English with that usurious interest with which men of all grades love to
discharge their debts of the kind. He little thought that he was to wait
near forty years for the settlement of his account, and that a
generation was to pass away before he should be able to feel as Loredano
felt when he heard of the death of Francesco Foscari.

The fortunes of France have seldom been lower than they were in 1759,
when the energy of William Pitt had imparted itself to the whole of the
alliance which was acting against Louis XV. That year, Charles III.
ascended the Spanish throne. For some time he was apparently disposed to
continue the judicious system of neutrality which had been adopted and
pursued by his predecessor; but in 1760, partly from his fear of British
power, and partly because of the insulting conduct, of England, which
revived his recollection of her officer's action at Naples in 1742, he
was induced to enter into that arrangement which is known as the Family
Compact, (_Pacte de Famille_,) which was destined to have the most
memorable consequences,--consequences that are far from being now
exhausted. By the terms of this treaty, the sovereign princes of the
House of Bourbon agreed to support each other against all enemies. The
wisdom of this compact, on the part of France, cannot be doubted, for
her condition was so bad that it could not be made much worse, happen
what would, and it might be changed for the better through the
assistance of Spain; but it is not so clear that they were as wise at
Madrid as were the statesmen at Paris. Mr. Pitt obtained intelligence of
this treaty's existence, though it was "a profound secret," of course;
but then Mr. Pitt always had good intelligence, because he was ready to
pay roundly for it, knowing that it was the best article for which a
war-minister could lay out his money. The object of keeping secret an
arrangement that depended for its usefulness upon open action was, that
time might be gained for the arrival of the Spanish treasure-ships from
America. Mr. Pitt, who was as wise as he was arrogant, was for taking
immediate measures against Spain. He would have declared w