The courts of England, Poland, Denmark, Holstein, Mecklenburg, and Brandenburg, were severally agitated with intrigues and cabals. Towards the end of the year 1716, and beginning of 1717, Gortz, who, as Bassewitz tells us in his Memoirs, was weary of having only the title of counsellor of Holstein, and being only private plenipotentiary to Charles XII. was the chief promoter of these intrigues, with which he intended to disturb the peace of all Europe. His design was to bring Charles XII. and the czar together, not only with a view to finish the war between them, but to unite them in friendship, to replace Stanislaus on the crown of Poland, and to wrest Bremen and Verden out of the hands of George I., king of England, and even to drive that prince from the English throne, in order to put it out of his power to appropriate to himself any part of the spoils of Charles XII. There was at the same time a minister of his own character, who had formed a design to overturn the two kingdoms of England and France: this was cardinal Alberoni, who had more power at that time in Spain, than Gortz had in Sweden, and was of as bold and enterprising a spirit as himself, but much more powerful, as being at the head of affairs in a kingdom infinitely more rich, and never paid his creatures and dependants in copper money. Gortz, from the borders of the Baltic Sea, soon formed a connexion with Alberoni in Spain. The cardinal and he both held a correspondence with all the wandering English who were in the interest of the house of Stuart. Gortz made visits to every place where he thought he was likely to find any enemies of king George, and went successively to Germany, Holland, Flanders, and Lorrain, and at length came to Paris, about the end of the year 1716. Cardinal Alberoni began, by remitting to him in Paris a million of French livres, in order (to use the cardinal's expression) to set fire to the train.