The king left England on the 17th of July, 1716, accompanied by the Secretary of State, Stanhope. The latter profited by his presence upon the continent, and formed, with the States-General and the Emperor, a treaty of defensive alliance: the only guarantee which he was able to obtain from the jealous susceptibility of the court of Vienna, and the restless feebleness of the Dutch negotiators. Heinsius was no longer in power, and soon afterwards died. "Forced to rely upon many heads, the government no longer has a head," said Horace Walpole, brother of the leader of the House of Commons and minister to the Hague; "there are here as many masters as wills." An understanding with France, regarding new enterprises of the Pretender, became necessary to England. The regent was not personally opposed to it; he was weary of the indolence and cowardly incapacity of the Chevalier St. George; he was besides urged by the Abbé Dubois, formerly his tutor, corrupt himself and a corruptor of others, and already secretly at the head of foreign affairs, but waiting until he should be officially appointed, and aspiring to become prime minister. Without respect for law, destitute of all religious convictions, and consequently inaccessible to the motive which led many good Catholics, in Europe, to desire the re-establishment of the Stuarts, Dubois was able, often far-seeing, and sometimes even bold; he had a mind active, clear, and moderately practical. {154} The alliance of England seemed to him useful to his master and to France. He adroitly availed himself of his former relations with General Stanhope, when commander of the English troops in Spain, in order to begin secret negotiations, which soon extended to Holland. "The character of our regent," wrote Dubois, on the 10th of March, 1716, "leaves no room to fear that he prides himself upon perpetuating the prejudices and the policy of our ancient court; and as you can remark for yourself, he has too much spirit not to recognize his true interests."