Petkum brought back from Versailles a kind of memorial, importing, that those motives which influenced the French before the campaign was opened, no longer subsisted; that the winter season naturally produced a cessation of arms, during which he would treat of a general and reasonable peace, without restricting himself to the form of the preliminaries which the allies had pretended to impose; that, nevertheless, he would still treat on the foundation of those conditions to which he had consented, and send plenipotentiaries to begin the conference with those of the allies on the first day of January.

The states-general inveighed against this memorial, as a proof of the French king's insincerity; though he certainly had a right to retract those offers they had formerly rejected.

They came to a resolution, that it was absolutely necessary to prosecute the war with rigour; and they wrote pressing letters on the subject to all their allies.
{ANNE, 1701--1714} ACCOUNT OF DE SACHEVEREL.
The parliament of Great Britain being assembled on the fifteenth day of November, the queen in her speech told both houses that the enemy had endeavoured, by false appearances and deceitful insinuations of a desire after peace, to create jealousies among the allies: that God Almighty had been pleased to bless the arms of the confederates with a most remarkable victory and other successes, which had laid France open to the impression of the allied arms, and consequently rendered peace more necessary to that kingdom than it was at the beginning of the campaign.
She insisted upon the expediency of prosecuting the advantages she had gained, by reducing that exorbitant and oppressive power which had so long threatened the liberties of Europe.

The parliament were as eager and compliant as ever..

They presented congratulatory addresses: they thanked the duke of Marlborough for his signal services; while great part of the nation reproached him with having wantonly sacrificed so many thousand lives to his own private interest and reputation.