long act together in perfect harmony. That they acted together
during several years in imperfect harmony is to be ascribed to
the wisdom, patience and firmness of William.

The situation of his great enemy was very different. The
resources of the French monarchy, though certainly not equal to
those of England, Holland, the House of Austria, and the Empire
of Germany united, were yet very formidable; they were all
collected in a central position; they were all under the absolute
direction of a single mind. Lewis could do with two words what
William could hardly bring about by two months of negotiation at
Berlin, Munich, Brussels, Turin and Vienna. Thus France was found
equal in effective strength to all the states which were combined
against her. For in the political, as in the natural world, there
may be an equality of momentum between unequal bodies, when the
body which is inferior in weight is superior in velocity.

This was soon signally proved. In March the princes and
ambassadors who had been assembled at the Hague separated and
scarcely had they separated when all their plans were
disconcerted by a bold and skilful move of the enemy.

Lewis was sensible that the meeting of the Congress was likely to
produce a great effect on the public mind of Europe. That effect
he determined to counteract by striking a sudden and terrible
blow. While his enemies were settling how many troops each of
them should furnish, he ordered numerous divisions of his army to
march from widely distant points towards Mons, one of the most
important, if not the most important, of the fortresses which
protected the Spanish Netherlands. His purpose was discovered