integrity; never once failing in any promise he made, and tempering a firm zeal to his master's interest, with a ready compliance to what was reasonable and just. Mr. Prior, whom I have formerly mentioned, resided likewise now at Paris, with the character of a minister plenipotentiary; and was very acceptable to that court, upon the score of his wit and humour.
The duke of Shrewsbury was directed to press the French court upon the points yet unsettled in the treaty of commerce between both crowns: To make them drop their unreasonable demands for the elector of Bavaria: To let them know, "That the queen was resolved not to forsake her allies, who were now ready to come in; that she thought the best way of hastening the general peace was, to determine her own particular one with France, until which time she could not conveniently suffer her parliament to meet."
The States were by this time so fully convinced of the queen's sincerity and affection to their republick, and how much they had been deceived by the insinuations of the factious party in England, that they wrote a very humble letter to her majesty, to desire her assistance towards settling those points they had in dispute with France, and professing themselves ready to acquiesce in whatever explanation her majesty would please to make of the plan proposed in her speech to the parliament.
But the queen had already prevented their desires; and in the beginning of February, 1712-13. directed the duke of Shrewsbury to inform the French court, "That, since she had prevailed on her allies the Dutch to drop the demand of
