As William, however, resolutely maintained that the terms which
he had offered, hard as they might seem, were the only terms on
which England and Holland could suffer a Bourbon to reign at
Madrid, Lewis began seriously to consider, whether it might not
be on the whole for his interest and that of his family rather to
sell the Spanish crown dear than to buy it dear. He therefore now
offered to withdraw his opposition to the Bavarian claim,
provided a portion of the disputed inheritance were assigned to
him in consideration of his disinterestedness and moderation.
William was perfectly willing and even eager to treat on this
basis. The first demands of Lewis were, as might have been
expected, exorbitantly high. He asked for the kingdom of Navarre,
which would have made him little less than master of the whole
Iberian peninsula, and for the duchy of Luxemburg, which would
have made him more dangerous than ever to the United Provinces.
On both points he encountered a steady resistance. The impression
which, throughout these transactions, the firmness and good faith
of William made on Tallard is remarkable. At first the dexterous
and keen witted Frenchman was all suspicion. He imagined that
there was an evasion in every phrase, a hidden snare in every
offer. But after a time he began to discover that he had to do
with a man far too wise to be false. "The King of England," he
wrote, and it is impossible to doubt that he wrote what he
thought, "acts with good faith in every thing. His way of dealing
is upright and sincere."13 "The King of England," he wrote a few
days later, "has hitherto acted with great sincerity; and I
venture to say that, if he once enters into a treaty, he will
steadily adhere to it." But in the same letter the Ambassador
thought it necessary to hint to his master that the diplomatic
chicanery which might be useful in other negotiations would be