ew Queen of Spain from Parma
to Madrid, after she had been married, by procuration, to Philip V. He
arrived at the Court of Spain at a most opportune moment for his fortune.
Madame des Ursins had just been disgraced; there was no one to take her
place. Alberoni saw his opportunity and was not slow to avail himself of
it. During the journey with the new Queen, he had contrived to
ingratiate himself so completely into her favour, that she was, in a
measure, prepared to see only with his eyes. The King had grown so
accustomed to be shut out from all the world, and to be ruled by others,
that he easily adapted himself to his new chains. The Queen and
Alberoni, then, in a short time had him as completely under their thumb,
as he had before been under that of Madame des Ursins.

Alberoni, unscrupulous and ambitious, stopped at nothing in order to
consolidate his power and pave the way for his future greatness. Having
become prime minister, he kept the King as completely inaccessible to the
courtiers as to the world; would allow no one to approach him whose
influence he had in any way feared. He had Philip completely in his own
hands by means of the Queen, and was always on his guard to keep him
there.

Ever since the Regent's accession to power an intimacy had gradually been
growing up between the two governments of France and England. This was
mainly owing to the intrigues of the Abbe Dubois, who had sold himself to
the English Court, from which he secretly received an enormous pension.
He was, therefore, devoted heart and soul--if such a despicable personage
can be said to have the one or the other--to the interests of King
George, and tried to serve them in every way. He had but little
difficulty--comparatively speaking--in inducing M. le Duc d'Orleans to
fall into his nets, and to declare himself in favour of an English
alliance. Negotiations with this end in view were, in fact, set on foot,
had been for some time; and about the month of September of this year
(1716), assumed a more smiling face than they had yet displayed.

Both France and England, from different motives, wished to draw Spain
into this alliance. The Regent, therefore, in order to further this
desire, obtained from England a promise that she would give up Gibraltar
to its former owners, the Spaniards. The King of England consented to do
so, but on one condition: it was, that in order not to expose himself to
the cries of the party opposed to