I remember an Antient Marquis who had a Superintendency over this Academy, entertaining us one Day with the Motives of the present War, and running up the Cause to its Original, laid it before us in this manner: _That the Monarchs of France wou'd look upon themselves as injur'd by the rest of the Princes of_ Europe, _till the imperial Diadem was restor'd to_ France, who were _first Possessors of it in the Person of_ Charles the Great; _that they had made several pushes in all Ages to recover it, but without Effect; that while the_ English _had footing in_ France, _they were too lazy to extend their Conquests upon the Empire of the_ West; _and when they had chased out the_ English, and were rid of that _Incumbrance, the House of_ Austria, _by the vast Acquisitions of the_ Low Countries, _and joint Power of_ Spain, _sat so hard upon 'em, that_ France _was not in a Capacity to make any Advances towards recovering their Right to the Empire: What therefore they had been upon these latter Years, was to make a strong Party among the Electoral Princes, and by degrees secure a Majority in the Imperial Diet, in order to set aside the House of_ Austria, _and settle the Imperial Crown upon the_ French _Line, as it was in the Beginning_. To this he added, _That this invincible Monarch,_ Lewis XIV, _had made considerable Advances of late Years, especially in bringing over several Electors, and now the Chapter of_ Cologn _to chuse Cardinal_ Fustenberg _for their Archbishop, who though a Native of Germany, yet was a_ Frenchman _by Interest_, and _had given his Word to be very Industrious in settling the Imperial Dignity upon the House of_ Bourbon. _And this Election of Cardinal_ Fustenberg _being contested by the Emperor and Pope Innocent_ XI. _was the Motive of the present War; for they put up the Duke of_ Bavaria's _Brother in opposition against him_.