ich she incessantly called upon them to afford her; and which,
indeed, they could deny upon no other pretence, than that they were
convinced it would be ineffectual, that her ruin was not to be
prevented, and that she must be swallowed up by the deluge of war,
which it appeared impossible to resist or to divert.

The queen, however, determined to assert her rights, and to defend her
dominions; and, therefore, assembled her forces, and made such
opposition, that some of her enemies finding the war, to which they
were encouraged only by a belief of the certainty of success, likely
to become more hazardous than they expected, soon desisted from their
claims, and consented to peace upon moderate conditions; and the most
formidable of her enemies, being alienated from the French by
experience of their treachery, and, perhaps, intimidated by the
bravery of his enemies, was at last willing to become neutral, and to
be satisfied with the recovery of his own claims, without assisting
the elector of Bavaria.

Thus far has this illustrious princess struggled in the tempest of the
continent with very little assistance from her confederates; but it
cannot be supposed, that these violent efforts have not exhausted her
strength, or that she must not be, at length, overpowered by the
armies which the French, enraged at the disappointment of their
schemes, are sending against her. She has an incontestable claim to
our assistance, promised by the most solemn stipulations, and,
therefore, not to be withheld upon any views of present advantage. The
prudence and magnanimity which she has discovered, prove, that she
deserves to be supported upon the common principles of generosity,
which would not suffer a brave man to look idly upon a heroine
struggling with multitudes; and the opposition which she has been able
to make alone, shows that assistance will not be vain.

These considerations, though, since the senate has determined to
assist her, they are not immediately necessary in a question which
relates only to the manner in which that assistance shall be given,
are yet not entirely useless; since they may contribute to overbalance
any prejudices that may obstruct the schemes which have been formed,
and quicken the endeavours of men who might be inclined to reject
those counsels to which any specious objections shall be raised, or to
lose that time in deliberation, which ought to be employed in action.

As the assistance of this distre