Page:The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, Volume 3.djvu/382

374 to the conquests of Milan, Mantua, and Mirandola, and to the recovery of the duchy of Modena. The last emperor drained the wealth of those countries into his own coffers, without increasing his troops against France by such mighty acquisitions, or yielding to the most reasonable requests we have made.

Of the many towns we have taken for the Dutch, we have consented, by the barrier treaty, that all those which were not in the possession of Spain upon the death of the late catholick king, shall be part of the States dominions; and that they shall have the military power in the most considerable of the rest; which is, in effect, to be the absolute sovereigns of the whole. And the Hollanders have already made such good use of their time, that in conjunction with our general, the oppressions of Flanders are much greater than ever.

And this treatment, which we have received from our two principal allies, has been pretty well copied by most other princes in the confederacy, with whom we have any dealings. For instance: seven Portuguese regiments, after the battle of Almanza, went off with the rest of that broken army to Catalonia; the king of Portugal said he was not able to pay them while they were out of his country; the queen consented therefore to do it herself, provided, the king would raise as many more to supply their place. This he engaged to do, but he never performed. Notwithstanding which, his subsidies were constantly paid him by my lord Godolphin for almost four years, without any deduction upon account of those seven regiments; directly contrary to the seventh article of our offensive alliance with that crown,