Briefwisseling en aantekeningen. Deel 1

LXXXVII.
Willem Bentinck aan de gravin van Portland.

[B.M., Eg. 1713]

Den Haag, 28 April 1744.

Everybody is here taken up with Political affairs. I say everybody, because no body is excepted. Monsieur Twickel is named to go to France, where the Republick is obliged, by the Treaty of 1678 with England, to employ her good offices during the two months after which we are obliged to break. I don't doubt that ill-intention'd and disaffected people will give this commission of Mr. Twickel a turn as if it was to negociate with France. But I can assure you that it is far from being the intention of those that agreed to his being sent, and named him; tho' I cannot disown that many would willingly employ him to that end, if it was in their power.

Fénelon³⁾ went away yesterday after having declared

3) Fénelon was teruggekeerd voor een afscheidsaudiëntie, die 23 April met veel plechtigheid in de Staten-Generaal had plaats gehad, en bij welke hij, gedost in zijn uniform van luitenant-generaal (aldus Trevor, P.R.O.) een lange rede vol dreigementen had gehouden en de positieve mededeeling had gedaan, dat de Koning de Zuidelijke Nederlanden en de barrière van de Republiek niet langer zou kunnen ontzien: vgl. Wagenaar, XIX, blz. 433 vlg.

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in a Conference that the resolutions of His Most Chr. My were taken, and that he could hold out to us no hopes of a change. So that I don't doubt but the operations will begin in the Netherlands soon; unless the design of Fénelon has been to fright us; which I cannot judge of yet; but in which he has succeeded very ill.