Laurence Sterne, written by himself for his Daughter (see Annual
Register, Year 1775, pp. 50-52).]

In short, the French and even the English invaded Spain;
English Byng and others sank Spanish ships: Termagant was obliged
to pack away her Alberoni, and give in. She had to accede to
"Quadruple Alliance," after all; making it, so to speak, a
Quintuple one; making Peace, in fact, [17th February, 1720.]--
general Congress to be held at Cambrai and settle the details.

Congress of Cambrai met accordingly; in 1722,--"in the course of
the year," Delegates slowly raining in,--date not fixable to a day
or month. Congress was "sat," as we said,--or, alas, was only
still endeavoring to get seated, and wandering about among the
chairs,--when George I. came to Charlottenburg that evening,
October, 1723, and surveyed Wilhelmina with a candle. More inane
Congress never met in this world, nor will meet. Settlement proved
so difficult; all the more, as neither of the quarrelling parties
wished it. Kaiser and Termagant, fallen as if exhausted, had not
the least disposition to agree; lay diplomatically gnashing their
teeth at one another, ready to fight again should strength return.
Difficult for third parties to settle on behalf of such a pair.
Nay at length the Kaiser's Ostend Company came to light: what will
third parties, Dutch and English especially, make of that?

This poor Congress---let the reader fancy it--spent two years in
"arguments about precedencies," in mere beatings of the air;
could not get seated at all, but wandered among the chairs, till
"February, 1724." Nor did it manage to accomplish any work
whatever, even then; the most inane of Human Congresses;