In order to facilitate their consent, he despatched a new project of pacification, in which he promised to renounce his grandson, and to comply with all their other demands, provided the electors of Cologn and Bavaria should be re-established in their estates and dignities.

These overtures being rejected, another plan was offered, and communicated to the plenipotentiaries of the emperor and queen of Great Britain.

Then Petkum wrote a letter to the marquis de Torcy, intimating, that the allies required his most christian majesty should declare, in plain and expressive terms, that he consented to all the preliminaries, except the thirty-seventh article, which stipulated a cessation of arms, in case the Spanish monarchy should be delivered to king Charles in the space of two months.

He said the allies would send passports to the French ministers, to treat of an equivalent for that article.

Louis was even forced to swallow this bitter draught.