A  fierce  controversy — to  which  at  a  later  period  it  will  be
necessary  to  call  the  reader's  attention,  because  it  is  inti-
mately connected  with  dark  scenes  afterwards  to  be  enacted
— took  place  between  the  late  ambassador  and  Cornelis  van
.  der  Myle.     Meantime  Barneveld  pursued  the  policy  which  he
had  marked  out  for  the  States-General  in  regard  to  France.
.  Certainly  it  was  a  difficult  problem.     There  could  be  no
doubt  that  metamorphosed  France  could  only  be  a  dangerous
ally  for  the  Republic.    It  was  in  reality  impossible  that
she  should  be  her  ally  at  all.     And  this  Barneveld  knew.
1811.  BARNEVELD'S  POLICY  TOWARDS  FRANCE.  325

Still  it  was  better,  so  lie  thought,  for  the  Netherlands  that
France  should  exist  than  that  it  should  fall  into  utter
decomposition.  France,  though  under  the  influence  of
Spain,  and  doubly  allied  by  marriage  contracts  to  Spain,  was
better  than  Spain  itself  in  the  place  of  France.  This  seemed
to  be  the  only  choice  between  two  evils.  Should  the  whole
weight  of  the  States-General  be  thrown  into  the  scale  of  the
malcontent  and  mutinous  princes  against  the  established  but
tottering  government  of  France,  it  was  difficult  to  say  how
soon  Spain  might  literally,  as  well  as  inferentially,  reign  in
Paris.
