Descendants of the Stuarts

OF THE STUARTS. 143
and even headed their united armies as Commander-
in-chief. Disgusted, however, with the arrogance of
the Prench generals, and above all with the Castilian
superciliousness of his son-in-law, the King of Spain,
Victor soon repented his impolitic engagements, and
meditated an early retreat from them. As he had
before forsaken the allies for Prance, so did he now
desert that power for the allies. This time, at all
events, he managed to range himself on the winning
side, insomuch that on the conclusion of hostilities
by the peace of Utrecht, he not only obtained the
crown of Sicily for a reward, but even the prospective
reversion of that of Spain. These advantages he
owed solely to the goodwill of Anne of England,
who, from feelings of personal regard for Victor's
wife, did all which lay in her power to facilitate
their interests.
Hardly, however, as Gallenga remarks, had the
diadem been laid* on Victor's brow and that of
Anne of Orleans . at Palermo, December 21st,
1713, when the death of their daughter, the Queen
of Spain (which has been before noted), and the
marriage of her husband with Elizabeth Farnese,
a princess of Parma, endangered the acquisition
of Savoy and peace of Europe. The new Spanish
queen, haughty, bold, and intriguing, had attained
her position by consummate powers of deception
which had imposed on the most skilful diplomatists.
Under a feigned simplicity and mildness of dis-
position she concealed a haughty aspiring spirit, and