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 VIII. 1 POWER OF THE CROWN. 141 a swarm of clever and brilliant writers, the tragedies of Racine and Corneille, the comedies of Moliere, and the brilliant, familiar, letters of Marie de Sevigne. In fact there is no period of history so brought forward into a perfect glare*as that strange vision of vain glory, the age of Lewis XIV. 15. War in the Low Countries, 1665. — In 1665 died Philip IV. of Spain. His only son Charles II. was but four years old, and showed tokens of idiotcy. He was the son of Philip's second wife, and, as an old law in Brabant gave the preference to the daughters of the first marriage over the sons of the second, Lewis, notwithstanding his wife's renunciations, set up a claim on her behalf. He bought Dunkirk from the English, invaded the Nether- lands, and conquered the county of Burgundy, which was now commonly called Frajiche Coiiite. But the rest of Europe took alarm, and a triple alliance was formed against him by England, Sweden, and the United Provinces. Lewis was now forced to make peace, and by the Peace of Aix la Chapelle, which was signed in 1668, he restored Franche Comte, but kept Lille and the other cities which he had seized in the Netherlands. 16. War with the United Provinces, 1672. — Lewiswas disappointed, and especially hated the Dutch, not only for having checked him, but for being a free nation, who had extorted their liberties from the kings of Spain. He resolved to break up the triple alliance, and sent the Duchess of Orleans to win over her brother, Cha?-lcs II. of England, by pensions to himself and his ministers. She succeeded, and Charles and Lewis joined in declaring that the Dutch had insulted their flags. A deadly war was begun by land and by .sea. The king himself entered the Dutch territory at the head of 100,000 men, with a splendid artillery, and commanded by the best captains then living, and carried all before him. In three months he had reduced three provinces and forty cities, and de- manded intolerable conditions. The mob at the Hague now rose in a fury and murdered their grand pensionary, John de Witt, who was inclined for peace. The Provinces were resolved to hold out to the utmost under their Stad- holder, William, Prince 0/ Orange, the greatest foe of Lewis through life ; meanwhile Spain, Denmark, and the Empire were all resolved to check a career that seemed to threaten all Europe, and the English Parliament com- pelled Charles II. to make peace with the Provinces.