without its being known whether 't was by his Fall or the Musket-shot which he received The Confederates with as little trouble seized on the Gallies and other Vessels in the Ports whence they drove the Spaniards they afterwards commanded the Vice-Queen to retire This Princess thought she ought in this occasion to insist on the Greatness of her Birth she threatned the Conspirators and afterwards flattered them assuring them of the Clemency of King Philip. She set before them the Greatness of his Power and forgat not to speak of the Authority of his Favourite who must needs be much offended in this Occasion exaggerating the Offence commitred against her both as a Princess and Depository of the Catholick King 's Power But as well her Promises as her Threats were in vain and she her self was at length glad to accept Conditions from them who a while before by Connivance from the Prince might have executed an absolute Power In Eight days time all the Castilians were subdued or driven out of the Kingdom All the Forts were rendered without any trouble to the new King except the Castle of St. John which having made some slight Resistance was sold for Forty Thousand Crowns by the Governour The Duke of Braganza appeared immediately afterwards in the City of Lisbon where the People soon shewed the Affection they had for him the Prison-Doors were set open and all poor Debtors freed and a great part of the Taxes taken off Such an astonishing Success was attended with what ever might set forth the Joy of the People who solemnized the Festival with the Sound of Trumpets and the Noise of the Cannon and by Shouts and Acclamations which reached up to Heaven whom the Portugueses thanked for the Liberty which they believed they had recovered This Event was accompanied with so many miraculous things that the Wisest as well as the Vulgar were persuaded 't was markt in Heaven from all Eternity by the Finger of God The Clergy the Nobility the Citizens and Peasants were profuse in their Liberalities on this Occasion to give their new Soveraign ample Marks of their Affection and even the Poor hid their Misery that they might not lessen the Publick Joy The Spanish Vessels which returned from the New World which then entered into the Ports of Portugal remained at the Disposal of the new King the Pilots not knowing what had hapned so that the Coffers of the Prince were filled thereby as 't is said with some Millions This King was exalted to the Throne in the last Moon of the last Year and wise People do hope he will reign very happily all the Planets being too well disposed not to make him finish his Reign with the same Fortune as he began it The vigilant Portugueses have ordered out several Vessels fill'd with good Soldiers and necessary Provisions to sieze of Places and Ports which this Nation possesses in the New World and in the East Indies and 't is to be supposed they will meet with good Success if Fortune prove as favourable to them in America and the Indies as she was to them in Europe As soon as the Duke of Braganza was proclaim'd King he sent Manifesto's into all Parts and dispatched Couriers and Ambassadors to give Advice of his Promotion in the Courts of France England Holland Swedeland and Denmark 'T is not to be imagined the Joy which this Adventure gave to the Catalonians The King imparting to them what had happened offered them also his Assistance and these People answered him with the same Offers And this is the end of Sixty Three Years of the Despotick Authority which the Spaniards have exercised on the Portugueses The News of so strange a Revolution having been carried unto Madrid hear and consider well the unhappy Condition of the Catholick King to whom his Favourite declared this News Sir said he I come to rejoyce with your Majesty at the good News I bring Your Majesty is now become Master of a considerable Dutchy Dom Juan de Braganza has had the boldness to make himself be proclaimed King of Portugal has thereby faln into the Crime of Laesae Majestatis All his Estate belongs to you and is devolv'd to the Crown and his Person will soon be in your Power Dom Juan was Son to Theodosius Duke of Braganza Grandchild to Donna Katharina who was the Daughter of Dom Duarte Brother to Henry King of Portugal and Philip II. King of Spain took away the Crown from this Katharine to whom it is said it did rightly belong The Titles he assumes are King of Portugal of Algraves Africk on both sides of the Sea Lord of Guinea of the Navigation and Commerce of Aethiopia Arabia Persia and the Indies This new King is not above 37 Years Old of a middle Stature but well proportioned his Face marked with the Small Pox his Hair enclining to Yellow an Aquiline Nose high Forehead lively Eyes his Mouth indifferent great and a Masculine Voice His Carriage is grave affects great Modesty in his Cloaths is temperate in his Dyet affable to all sorts of People unless Slaves and such as he believes are Hypocrites and his common Word is That mean Cloaths will keep out the Cold and ordinary Meats satisfie Hunger This Prince is not much versed in Books is of an healthfull Constitution loves laborious Exercises especially Hunting wherein he 's never tired He 's also Musically given and so light of Heel that there are few People can out-walk him He is wont to go to Bed late and rise early as knowing that Sleep does take off much from Man's Life and to compleat his Happiness he has Children of both Sexes His Wife is a Spanish Lady of extraordinary Merit to whose marvellous Courage and good Qualities he owes his Crown The Kingdom of Portugal contains 120 Leagues in Length 40 in Breadth and has several Millions of Subjects comprehending those in the Two Indies It has Three Archbishopricks and Eight Bishopricks keeping ordinarily Forty Vessels which find Ports in Eight places of the Country They can maintain Thirty Thousand Foot and several Regiments of Horse The Revenue of this Kingdom may amount to Twenty Millions of Gold reckoning in the Riches which come from the Indies Brasil Angola and several other Islands The French Monarch will hold a good Intelligence with the House of Braganza England will enter into an Alliance with her the Pope will concern himself on neither side the Emperour united by Bloud and Interest to the Spaniards will be an irreconcilable Enemy but unable to doe them any Hurt and the States of Holland will find greater Advantage than all others in this strange Revolution These are the Sentiments of those that pretend to penetrate into the Future and to know more than others And if it be true that this new Soveraign has had as all men in his place would have had a secret desire of being King he has so well concealed his Ambition that 't is to be supposed he
extream Passion at any one's daring to offer him a Match so greatly beneath him when Madam de Combalet was the Widow of a Gentleman of a mean condition and Neece to a Cardinal whom he hated and himself a Prince of the Bloud The Cardinal's Messenger desirous his Negotiation should succeed was not repelled by this Affront He insisted on the Vertue of the Cardinal's Neece saying she would be courted by the greatest of France and added farther in Commendation of this Lady That she was a Virgin altho' married because her Husband out of respect dared not approach her and that Heaven had so ordered it that this Adventure should be found written in the Anagram of her Name This Minister could not dissemble his Vexation at the Refusal his Choler became excessive and he resolved to practise his usual Maxim of violently persecuting those whose Friendship he had sought with most Eagerness He therefore wholly set himself against this Prince spake all the Ill he could of him publickly threatned his Enemy but he valued him not looking on the Cardinal as beneath his Notice In the mean time the Cardinal plotted to put his Threats into Execution and brought the King in to countenance him by his Authority which obliged the Count to absent himself and make a Voyage into Italy to avoid the Storm he was threatned with Yet his Voyage lasted not long and at his Return the Cardinal did all he could noâ— to win him he procured him suitable Employs in the Armies and made him at length be declared General of that which the King sent on the Frontiers of Picardy Yet this haughty Prince received all with Indifferency saying openly That a Captain was given to the Army and not an Army to a Captain The Grandees of the Court who observed afar off what past in this Intrigue instead of mollifying the Count's Humour did all they could to sharpeâ— it The Duke of Orleans the King's Brother whâ— was always this Minister's Enemy linkt himself with Soissans exhorting him not to yield to the Cardinal's Pursuits and it is said he drew a Promise from him under his Hand that he would never accept of the Marriage proposed and they afterwards swore Fidelity to one another and thaâ— they would joyn together for the Destruction of the common Enemy and for this effect they took measures with Prince Thomas of the House of Savoy who is at present General of the Spanish Army in Flanders They also brought the Duke de Valette and several Lords of the Kingdom into their Party Almost all the Conspirators were for killing the Cardinal and the time of the Stroak should be when he visited the Quarters of the Army which besieged Corbie but the Count alone would not consent to dip his Hands in the Bloud of a Priest But the Duke de Vallette who saw the Danger wherein he was when the Conspiracy came to be discovered resolved to shelter himself by the blackest Treachery that could be imagined he discovered to the Cardinal all the Accomplices of which the Count de Soissans having Notice he speedily withdrew to Sedan I shall not make thee Inincible Leader a Description of this Place which regards on one side Luxemburg and on the other France it not lying in my way to make Draughts of Fortifications like an Engineer but to give thee a full Account of what the Infidels do and discover their Designs whereby thou mayst gather what may make for the Advantage of our great Monarch whose Power cannot be shaken but by the entire overthrow of the Universe Sedan is a Dominion which formerly belonged to the Dukes of Cleves who were Sovereigns of it and at the same time Dukes de Bouillon When the Count was in this place he thought himself safe the Mareschal de Bouillon who was the Master of it by the Testament of the last of this Family declared himself of his Party either to make War together against the Cardinal by open Force or drive him out of this Kingdom or to get rid of him by Death Here it was they made their secret Treaties with those who commanded for the Spaniards in the Low Countries and a Prince of the House of Lorrain entered into their Cabal He bearâ— the Cardinal as much as ill will and appears as resolute as the rest for his Destruction he is called the Duke of Guise There wanted only to this Party the Duke of Orleans the King 's only Brother and therefore the Duke of Guise dispatched a Messenger to him who sold in one day both his Master and all the reâ—â— that were of the Conspiracy He discovered aâ— the Secrets of the Cabal and the better to carry on his Deceit he caused himself to be apprehended and thrown into Prison having given his Dispatches to the King's Brother which he had before shewed the Cardinal This Traytor was noâ— contented with revealing these Gentlemens Secrets who had sent him but also made it appear That the Prince the King's Brother was guilty as an Accomplice of the others Rebellion Thuâ— these great men grown desperate at the Discovery of their Projects which were indeed contrary to their Sovereign's Interests and the Kingdoms were forced to throw themselves into the Arms of the Spaniards and to joyn with them They have raised Troops amongst their Vassals and Friends and openly declared themselves and fought with great Valour as I have already mentioned in the beginning or my Letter The King's Army has been very ill handled and it appearâ— that the Advantage was wholly on the Confederateâ— side but it has cost the Count of Soissons his Life who was General and Chief of the Party and it is at present disputed to whom is due the Honour of the Victory I prostrate my self continually at thy Feet to kiss with all Humility the Dust of them assuring thee thou hast in me a most faithful Slave that will never change Paris 15th of the 8th Moon of the Year 1641. LETTER VI. To Solyman his Cousin at Constantinople POntius Pilate was an honester man than thou He although a Pagan excused himself of the false Sentences he should pronounce on the Christion's Messias by washing his Hands before the Jews who sought his Death And thou that art a Mahoâ—etan as I am and washest thy whole Body in the Baths at Constantinople in the Presence of our Friends accusest and condemnest me rashly without any scruple Thou usest me like a Rogue so maliciously art thou set against me who am of the same Religion which thou professest How canst thou justifie the Hatred thou bearest me in endeavouring to make the Kaimacam believe I have been corrupted by the Cardinal who is the King of France's Chief Minister Adding that he ought no more to heed my Letters and Relations sent to the sublime Port where lie prostrate all the Powers of the World as not written by an Arabian but by a Sacrilegious Heretick That I deceive the Mufti so venerable for the Authority which
in the Beginning that having lost a Battle he was obliged to fly for Six Months together with the rest of his Army and to traverse almost throughout all the Provinces of the Kingdom without taking any Rest for Fear of being surprized Thou hast never read I believe of any Captain that made a Flight of that durance before him The Queen his Mother being a Woman of a masculine Courage and Firmness of Mind dyed poysoned by a pair of Gloves At Nineteen Years of Age he married the King's Sister who then Reigned named Charles IX and never any Wedding was solemnized with such bloody Tragedies 'T is hard to believe what an infinite Number of Hugonots was then massacred the Design was secretly laid during the Celebration of the Wedding and executed Six Days after at full Noon 'T is said that in one Day all France was died with the Blood of these poor People there being at least an Hundred thousand of them slain amongst which were Twenty Lords of great Consideration with the Great Admiral of the Kingdom and at the fewest Four thousand Soldiers massacred in Paris Henry did not perish on that unhappy Day but he was very near Death and the King having called him thus spake to him with an angry Tone and fierce Countenance Henry thou art alive because I would spare thee but I will not spare thee if thou persistest in thy Heresy Choose one of these two things either the Mass or Death If thou knowest not what the Mass is I will shew thee in another Letter This Prince chose to go to Mass rather than to lose his Life and therefore publickly abjured the Religion he professed These two old Men affirm That Nero or Caligula's Court were never corrupted as that of France was then No People were more in Fashion than Buffoons and never did the worst sort of Debaucheries so abound Sorceries Empoysonings Assassinations and all other Sorts of Crimes were permitted in such a Manner that all the Laws and good Order seem'd to be overthrown 'T is not known whether the King of Navarr took up his former Religion through Policy or some Corruption he saw amongst the Catholicks however he return'd some Time after to Calvinism whereunto he was so obstinately addicted that having lived several Years in this Sect he was forced to offer great Violence to himself to enjoy peaceably the Kingdom of France and accommodate himself with the Pope of Rome and to make again publick Profession of the Roman Religion Never any Prince more loved Women than he did This Passion prevailed over him all the Days of his Life and there were Two different Natures observable in his Person An Invincible Courage in the Field and such a Passion for Women as made him be often seen to Weep amongst them He has had greater Weaknesses than Hercules and he gloried in them He challenged the bravest Man in all France the Duke of Guise to a single Fight but the King interposed his Authority to hinder the Combat This King performed an Action during his Youth which our Dervises would have certainly set down in their Registers as greatly remarkable On a certain Day wherein he was to fight a pitched Battle being on Horseback in the midst of his Army he made publick Reparation to a young Woman whom he had deflowred and spake in these Terms I have forced this Woman you see here and used Threats when Entreaties would not bring her to my Lust Let all that hear me detest the bad Example I have given And as for your part whom I have thus wronged choose an Husband and receive from me such a Portion as may seem in some sort an Amends for the Injury I have done you It seems as if this so laudable an Action was approved of by Heaven for having immediately hereupon given Battle he overthrew a mighty Army with a few Troops The Ladies who bore Henry no Ill-will for his Tenderness to their Sex greatly interessed themselves in the Affairs of War wherein this Prince was always Head of the Hugonot Party and they gave Occasion to a Proverb which lasted a great while There being some who were for making a Peace and others for War This War was called The Ladies War This Prince had been in so many Fights that I believe one may truly say in this particular never any Prince came near him For who ever in one Day was in two Battles and came off victorious King Charles IX dying during this Time the Queen-Mother sent for her other Son in great Diligence who had been elected some Months before King of Poland by the Death of Sigismond Augustus 'T is said that Charles's Successor having been advertised of the Death of the King his Brother fled in the Night from Cracovia only with Two Persons who were his Confidents and retired to Venice and 't is said That the Courtisans of this famous City having assured the Crown to our Henry for having been infected with this Distemper which the French call the Neapolitan Disease and other Nations the French-Pox he became incapable of having Children to perpetuate the Crown in the Branch of Valois After his Death which was violent and perpetrated by a Christian Dervise Henry III. dying without an Heir and his Throne being sought by different Pretenders Henry to whom alone his Birth had given Right became Master of it by his Patience his Fatigues in War and his Courage made him vanquish all Obstacles He maintained his Right with an unparallel'd Valour and carried himself with the greatest Prudence yet his greatest Successes are owing to the Greatness of his Heart He met sometimes with Disadvantage but oftner came out Conqueror from all Engagements and 't is observable he was the prouder after the Battles won because he had before appeared extraordinary familiar with the Souldiers who had helped him to win them He was wont to be often in his Stables to see his Horses and often slept amongst these Creatures whom he termed his most faithful Courtiers How difficult soever the way was which was to lead him to the Throne he would not be disheartned these Difficulties serving only to increase his Courage He saw the Spaniards confederated with his Enemies yet he alone without any other Assistance but of some few faithful Troops sate down before Paris which was the most famous Siege since that of Jerusalem by Titus He reduced the Inhabitants of this Capital of the Kingdom to live on the most abject Meats one can imagin after they had consumed the Rats Mice Dogs and Cats which were for some time the richest Delicacies the best People of the Town could meet with But he was for all this after he had given several Assaults forced to raise the Siege and accommodate himself with the Prince who commands all the Priests amongst the Catholicks and he again renounced Calvinism wherewith he was infected and which served as a Pretence to his Enemies He was crown'd in the same manner his
thy Departure and when thou shalt arrive at the Place of thy Retreat forget not thy faithful Friend Mahmut who wishes thou maist prove an happpy Tutor to the Son of a Prince and a faithful Minister of a wise Emperor Paris 18th of the Second Moon of the Year 1639. The End of the Second Book LETTERS Writ by A Spy at PARIS BOOK III. LETTER I. To Muslu Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of the Ottoman Empire SCARCE had I finisht my Letter to Egri Boynou when News came from the Coasts of Provence of so extraordinary and scandalous an Event that I cannot but inform thee who art a wise and experienced Person of it and because I would have thee set it down in the Sacred Register-Books of the Empire of which thou hast the Charge Assam Bassa a Corsary of Algiers dyed at the Age of 40 Years the Relation of whose Death was attended with such horrid Circumstances that even the Enemies of the Alcoran do detest them 'T is said That being sensible he was near his End he caused two young Christian Slaves to be strangled who were nobly descended and for whose Ransom great Sums of Money might have been expected without alledging any reason for his Cruelty nay after he had confessed he had no cause of Complaint against them having observ'd from certain Tokens in their Countenances that they were of a sweet Disposition and inclined by Nature to be Faithful When he was laying out there was found a kind of fine Scarf about him with these Words embroidered on it in Letters of Gold Asam Bassa will have the handsomest of his Slaves to be buried alive with him being desirous of good Company in his Voyage into the other World The Report of so terrible an Adventure has increased the hatred of the French against us and that in so excessive a manner that I am forced to keep my self concealed lest I should by my Zeal discover my self being not able to endure the Blasphemies of our Enemies There 's no question but this cruel Monster is kept by the Black Angels in the other World God grant that so horrid a Crime may not corrupt the rest of Africk However may I be so free as to counsel you Let the Body of this Impious Wretch Assam be dug up and burnt and his Ashes thrown into the Sea to drown the Memory of him Mahmut salutes thee from the Town of the Universe the fullest of Noise and wishes thee at Constantinople or wherever else thou art a long sequel of happy Years and after Death the enjoyment of the bliss of our hundred twenty four thousand Prophets Paris 18th of the Moon of the Year 1639. LETTER II. To the Invincible Vizir Azem at the Camp under Babylon BEfore I give thee an Account Great and Magnanimous Vizir of whatever I have done to satisfie the Curiosity of Cardinal Richlieu I am obliged to tell thee how I spend my leisure Hours 'T is impossible I should observe exactly the Motions of this Court without following it and holding a Correspondence with People of all sorts as Tradesmen Soldiers Scholars Sea-men Politicians and even Musicians The Court consists of all these Professions and there are some particular Persons who are Masters of all these Sciences of which number is Cardinal Richlieu He is not content with this his Knowledge but seeks still for further Light in the Commerce of all Persons of Merit who arrive here neglecting nothing which may enrich this Kingdom with new discoveries in Arts and Sciences out of love to his Country and desire to render his Ministry more famous Thou seest by this Invincible Bassa that to keep company with Courtiers who have so many different Qualities a Man must have some for his share that he may say something in his Turn and not be always a bare Hearer of other People's Discourse For this purpose the particular Study to which I applied my self whilst I was a Slave in Sicily does much help me though not sufficiently 'T was Books I read in this Island not Men. Now knowing my Business required much Dissimulation an Awakened Mind an Especial Prudence Eloquence and Learning to speak properly in Occasions great Reading to obtain the Knowledge of Ancient and Modern Things a Refined Policy to discover or conceal ones self and to counterfeit sometimes a mighty honest Man nothing I say appeared to me more conducing to this purpose than the turning over Histories And therefore I have earnestly applyed my self to this Work And because few Books are not sufficient and a great many breeds confusion I have happily got Admission into the Acquaintance of an Ancient Learned Man whose Study consists of none but choice Books and has travelled over most Parts of the World not like Apollonius to learn the Language of Birds and Beasts but to know the Customs Laws Virtues and Defects of Nations I was first for informing my self of all the Prodigies which the God of the Jews has done in favour of that ungrateful People I afterwards enquired into the Life and Doctrin of the Messias whom the Christians Worship I also lookt into what had been done considerable at Athens and Sparta Thebes Rome and Carthage and carefully remarkt what Divinities were adored in those so famous Places and found that the Great Philosophers and Captains who made such a Noise about their Religions had at Bottom none at all Having run over what the Christians call the Old and New Testament the Histories of Josephus Xenophon Polybius Thucydides Livius and Tacitus my greatest Application has been and shall be for the future to read and meditate on the Works of the Great Plutarch especially his Lives of Illustrious Greeks and Romans related by him with so great Exactness And thus far have I arrived in this short space and here I have stopt I have learnt by the reading of Plutarch to amuse the Cardinal Richlieu to whom I offered my self two days ago and have put into his Hands the following Discourse made after the manner of Christians and have stript my self if a man may so speak of the Manner and Style of the Turks as I have done of their Habits the better to disguise Titus the Faithful Slave of the Great Amurath Great Cardinal and most Sage Minister of the greatest Christian Kings Titus of Moldavia is come to wait on you according to your Commands not to entertain you with the Riches of Asia nor in what manner by the Wisdom of your Counsels and Forces of the King your Soveraign you may destroy the mighty Turkish Empire of whom you have no reason to complain but to tell you what seems most agreeable to the Greatness of your Genius Know then Sage Moderator of the French Monarch that I shall not offer any thing which may make you hate me and repent of believing me seeing what I propose is an easie Enterprize and full of Glory Thy King has a Son who will one day inherit the Greatness and Authority of his
Father you know not the Temper and Dispositions which this Heir may have being as yet so much a Child that a man cannot gather any thing certain of this matter But a Prince that has been so long lookt for requires extraordinary Designs to be laid for him and great Preparations made betimes to raise a Palace that may be worthy to entertain him I would propose to you a Palace I say of miraculous Architecture the like was never seen or imagined and which you may with your own hands rear up in Paris which must be of a square Form whose Corners shall regard Europe Asia Africa and America and whose Richness shall draw all Nations to it You will not need Stone Sand Wood nor Iron for this Work The Architects which you shall employ shall have the Secret with their Pen Ink and Paper to raise this Edifice which shall be of a more lasting Durance than the Pancteon of Agrippa and whereon as on the Temple of Solomon there should be no noise of Hammers Think not Wise Minister they are Chimera's which Titus has in his Head Hear then the Design of this Majestical Palace whose Foundations are already laid by Plutarch with Materials more precious than Gold or Rubies Thou knowest the Happiness this Philosopher had of rendring immortal the Actions of so many Great Men of whom perhaps there might have been no Mention had Plutarch lay silent Men now read in the most remote Provinces of the Indies written on Leaves and Barks of Trees the Lives of Alexander Caesar Scipio Pompey and Xerxes Amongst the Solitary's of the most Desart Parts of Arabia and amongst the Dervises who dwell at Medina are found written in Arabian Characters the Histories of Numa Aristides Cato Lycurgus and Epaminondas The Spaniards and Portugueses have rendred this Author so famous in China and Japan that these Barbarians not contented with having translated into their Languages all the Lives of the Greeks and Romans they have ordered if I mistake not that every Five Years new Copies be made to the end they may be eternally preserved I have seen my self at Constantinople above an hundred Volumes in Silken Paper wherein the Works of this Famous Greek are read with Veneration by the greatest Captains Lawyers and Divines and these Works are enriched with most curious Notes in Arabick in Persian and the Turkish Language by the express Orders of the Sultans who make them be preserved as Illustrious Monuments of the Ancient Greek Eloquence You are not ignorant of the Esteem which Solyman the Great had of Pompey Caesar Pyrrhus and Alexander and that he never undertook any Military Enterprize till he had consulted these great Masters in the Art of War being wont to say he knew not whether Alexander or Pyrrhus had shewed more Valour in Engagements than Plutarch had shewed Wit and Judgment in describing them But in a Voyage I made into Germany what did not an old Rabin tell me in shewing me the Lives of Illustrious Men of this Incomparable Author translated into Hebrew which he carried ever about with him he assured me that the Curious of his Religion set such a value on them that there are above Ten Thousand Manuscript Copies dispersed in the Synagogues both in the Eastern and Western Parts Men Women and Children know of what Account this Famous Author is in all our Europe He now speaks all Languages The English the Spaniards Italians Germans Polanders and Hollanders have naturalized him among them And you know very well Sir that in this Kingdom of France the Learned not content with having him Translated into their Idiom they carefully adorn their Libraries with this Author in his own natural Tongue and have Collected the Latin Italian and Spanish Versions of him But 't is now Sixteen Hundred Years since Plutarch keeps silence so many Men Famous for their Knowledge and so many great Captains who have lived since are unknown to the World because they have met with no Plutarch to know them And this is the stately Building which I offer you to finish who are so great a Lover of Glory for God has given you a Mind with a necessary Power to finish what Plutarch has so profitably begun Raise up immediately by your Authority on the precious Foundation which this Incomparable Philosopher has laid the Walls and Roof of this vast Building Order Lodgings to be made ready for all the Hero's who could not enter into this first Edifice I mean those Illustrious Dead whose Lives have not been carefully Collected and who should honour Europe Asia and Africa where they were born and the New World will yield you wherewith to fill this Palace with Atabalippa's and Montezuma's Hereby wilt thou be the Restorer of those Ruins which Time has made and in raising the Statues of so many Excellent Persons in Civil Administrations in War and in good Letters you will raise up an infinite Number throughout the World as the first Emperor of the Romans did 'T is to no purpose to say there are a great many Authors that have written since Plutarch the Actions of several Great Commanders Kings and Great Ministers whose Vertues were eminently conspicuous both in Peace and War I hope I shall not give just offence in saying That few of these Writers have observed Plutarch's excellent Method for either they appear obscure by reason of their great Conciseness or the Facts are ordinarily confounded in General Histories or Written by interessed or passionate Pens who disguise the Truth and impose Fabulous Relations on the World For a Proof of this be pleased to examin particular Events related in the Lives of Francis I. King of France and of the Emperor Charles V. and you will find there are those who assure us that Charles dyed a Saint and that scarcely was he expired when Flower-de-Luces were seen to spring up in his Chamber which yielded a most admirable Scent Whilst others affirm that this Hero dyed an Heretick by the Assistance of his Confessor who had embraced the Lutheran Doctrin And how many Romances are made of Francis I Has it not been said That he fought a Duel with this Emperor and that this Prince passing through France the King by a Motive of Generosity beyond any Precedent offered him his Kingdom That Charles had one day sat on Francis's Throne and condemned a Malefactor and afterwards reprieved him as a Mark of his Authority And has it not been moreover said That Francis took Charles in a Battel How many false Relations have been made of Andrew Doria and Barbarossa Two famous Sea-Captains the one a Christian and the other a Mussulman and both of them Chief Admirals of Two mighty Emperors Charles V. and Solyman Has it not been confidently affirmed That Barbarossa being in the Archipelago gave a Visit in the Disguise of a Monk to Doria That in an Island where this Interview was made they had sworn one on the Gospel the other on the Alcoran to help one
Cabals of the Princes of the House of Savoy who designed to put by the Dutchess from her Regency and make themselves Master of the Government during the Minority of the young Duke There is a Cardinal of this Name an ambitious Man a great Lover of War and given to Liberality He would fain have the chief Share in the Government and be the Master of his Nephews Fortune This Cardinal lay concealed in the State of Genoa being cloathed in an Habit little becoming his Character and whence he sent his Orders for the Execution of whatever he had concerted with his Partisans but the Conspiracy got Wind and proved a Bloody Tragedy to his Accomplices 'T is said that this Prince having twice disguised himself in the Habit of a Peasant had entred with a Bag of Fruit on his Back into one of the most considerable Towns of Piemont to give by his Presence more Heat to his Party and that with a greater Boldness he had entred into Turin in the Habit of a Capuchin with a long thick Beard and abode there two Days not in design of ridding himself of the Prince or his Mother but to become Master both of one and the other to govern the State alone But the Conspiracy having been discovered and the Accomplices seized Fourscore of them were put to Death by the Common Hangman and he escaped by a new Stratagem A Secretary of State of Savoy is to be reckoned amongst this Number Another Cardinal who commands the Army of France sent to the Assistance of the Duke and Dutchess had also put to Death the Governour of Cazal accused of Treason though he was not fully convicted of it 'T is Written from Rome That two Embassadours from the King of Hungary who is lately Elected Emperour of Germany had made a magnificent Entrance into that great City clad after the Hungarian manner with Vests called here a la barbaresque That they had above an Hundred Horse whose Harness were of Gold and their Shoes of Silver and 't was especially observed that all the Foreign Ministers in that Court had sent their Retinue to accompany them in their Entrance that it might appear more Magnificent and that these two Embassadours of the new Emperour being arrived in the Presence of the Infidel's Mufti whom they call the Pope they told him their Prince would continue to render him the Obedience which his Father Ferdinand now deceased paid him and that he recommended to his Holiness his Person his House and his State as a new Emperour elected by the Suffrages of the Princes Electors of the Empire Observe Magnanimous Vizir the Authority of this Mufti those who are so audacious as to resist the Mussulmen will yet abase themselves at his Feet which they really kiss before they open their Mouths to speak to him The greatest Christian Princes are wont to choose from amongst the most considerable Persons of their State the Embassadors which they send with great Expence to pay their Homage to this Supream Head of their Church Moreover these Embassadors of the New Caesar have assured the Pope as from him that he will never cease to make War with the Enemies of the Christian Faith and 't is said they received this Answer That he ever respected the King of Hungary the late Elected Emperor as his Son to whom he would never be wanting in Concil and all other necessary Assistances and exhorted him to employ his Victorious Arms against the Enemies of the Cross and that on his side he would employ the Succors of his Prayers that the Church should open her Treasures by granting Indulgences and that he would besides this give Supplies of Men and Mony People who are idle amuse themselves with Discourses on future Events and those that consult the Stars to penetrate into what is to come have made a Marriage between the Dauphin of France a Prince born some Months since and the Infanta of Spain lately come into the World 'T is true that at the moment this Princess saw the Light the King of Spain and the Grandees of the Kingdom tryed who should out-do one another in Feastings to solemnize this Birth And the like was done in France for that of the Dauphin both being accompanied with extraordiary Magnificence and prodigious Liberalities The Catholick King has given the Quality of Grandee to the Duke of Modena who was Godfather to the Infanta and has declared him Generalissimo of the Four Seas with a Pension of Twenty Thousand Sequins of Gold He has moreover made magnificent Presents to the Dutchess his Wife esteemed at an Hundred Thousand Crowns and besides made Knights of the Order of St. James several Gentlemen of this Princes Court The Elector of Brandenburg has also given several splendid Entertainments in his House and State for the Marriage consummated with the Duke of Saxony's Son and whilst I am writing I am told there is a Son born to this King of Hungary now Emperor of Germany But whilst these Rejoycings are in several parts of Europe an unforeseen Tempest has ruined whole Countries in Germany the Damage done thereby in Franconia and near Francfort is incredible And it lackt but little but this same King of Hungary now mentioned being at the hunting of a Boar had been slain through a Whirlwind which having pull'd up a great Oak by the Roots of prodigious Greatness fell so near this Prince that he received some slight Hurt by a Branch of it I pray Heavens that all the Wisdom of our Holy Prophet and the Blessing of the Great God be always upon thee and in thee and ever augment thy Strength and good Fortune to the Ruin of these Persian Hereticks whose Country I hope will be subjected by thy Sword to our Dread Emperor Paris 10th of the 4th Moon of the Year 1639. LETTER VIII To Breredin Superiour of the Dervices in the Convent of Cogny in Natolia THou art happy in living long and holily too I cannot choose but reflect with Regret on thy great Age considering how infirm I am After Fifteen Days Illness my Strength quite failed me so that necessitated I was to look out for a Physician for I cannot easily commit my self to the hands of those of this Country who kill such as trust them in the same manner as if they were their Enemies When I discourse these Doctors about the State of my Health they tell me I am in eminent Danger and that my Cure is hazardous In writing thus think not I rave for I speak the pure Truth They will certainly kill me should I discover to them under what Climat I am born whereas if I tell them I am of Moldavia they may chance to do me good though that Country Air is very different from that of Arabia where I first drew my Breath To how many Miseries is the Life of Man subject especially mine when I cannot speak the Truth though it be to save my Life Pray for me Holy Dervis and if you
the Wounds he received saved not one from his Master He was an African and had been his Slave The Courage and Fidelity of a Man of so mean Birth deserves at least that it should be said of him That he died in imitating the Vertues of those Ancient Romans which are at this day praised and admired by all the World The Vice-Roy's Death stopt not the Peasants they proceeded to Excesses scarcely imaginable and their Barbarity made them commit such horrible together with such ridiculous Actions as can hardly be express'd These Wretches went to the Palace of the Marquiss de Ville Franche General of the Gallies where having cut the Throats of as many as they met with they burnt and battered all the Houshold-Stuff and carried in Procession on the top of a Pike a little Brass-Figure which they thought a black Angel which Figure was only that of a Man wherein a Clock was included whose ingenious Springs made him move his Eyes which Sight so surprized these Peasants who had never seen or heard of such a Machine that they remained in such a Stupidity as retarded for some time the Effects of their Fury But there was one more bold than the rest who approaching to the Piece cried out 'T was the Familiar Spirit of the Marquiss de Ville Franche and ought to be seized on and thrown into Prison to take away its Power Which he had no sooner said but laid Hands on it and tied and bound it fast on the top of a Spear and with great Shouts walked it about the Town The ignorant People capable of any ridiculous impressions as well as the Women who are not hard to be deluded followed them convinced that the Marquiss's Devil was carried triumphantly along the Streets Having ran through all the Town of Barcellona this Rabble gave the Clock into the Hands of the Bishop and Inquisitors to exorcise it and drive out the Devil whom they thought capable of destroying their whole Province Affairs are carried on more seriously in Portugal and at a more moderate rate the Inhabitants of Lisbon as well as the Nobility have treated the Castilians with more Humanity They immediately elected a King who reigns peaceably as Heir of the Crown and thereby ascertain'd of being maintained by the Affection and Fidelity of the People There is already News of his Coronation the Ceremony of which was performed with great Pomp and Magnificence The People as a Mark of their Affection have presented a Million of Gold to their new Lord the Clergy Sixty Thousand Crowns and the Nobility Four Hundred and the new King has taken on him the Name of John IV King of Portugal instead of that of Don John Duke de Braganza Never any Plot better succeeded The Portuguezes have driven out from them a puissant and politick Nation without Bloud-shed saving that of a Villain but of that thou shalt hear more the next opportunity for I shall carefully inform my self of the Particulars of so extraordinary an Event to give an exact Account to the Vizir 'T is said King Philip is the most unfortunate Prince that ever ascended the Throne committing his Affairs to the management of another so that it may be said The Duke who reigns as Sovereign in Madrid has chosen Philip IV. for his Favourite The Minister commands and the King obeys the Master's Weakness authorizes the Servant's Power the Confusion of that Nation being so great that those made by Heaven to receive Orders are the only Persons who give them I kiss the Hem of thy Garment with all the Submission possible to a poor and humble Slave Paris 10th of the 2d Moon of the Year 1641. LETTER XXIII To Dgnet Oglou TO what purpose dost thou bewail the Ruins which the Fire has caused in Constantinople if there be no Remedy for the Losses thou hast suffered Not all the Vizirs together nor the Prince himself whose Authority knows no Bounds could resist the Fury of this Element What then can we do Wretches as we are liable to all Injuries and Disgraces Art thou the first honest man that has been ruined 'T is true Heaven had enriched thee thy Chambers were hung with the finest Persian Tapestry thou hast a great number of Slaves fine Gardens and bathing-places beset with delicate Fountains must thou despair for the Loss of the greatest part of these Comfort thy self seeing thou art not in a Fault nor hast contributed to thine own Misfortune Thou tellest me that the burning of the chief City of the Universe has deprived thee in one day of all the Commodities and Conveniences thou hast laboured for many Years And I answer thee That he which gave thee these Goods expects Thanks from thee in that having enriched thee with what thou had'st not he did not take from thee thy Life at the same time Hast thou so soon forgotten Seneca's Demetrius Hast thou lost any thing which thou didst not receive from the Liberality of Fortune And if whatever thou hadst was given thee wherefore dost thou afflict thy self as if thou couldst not obtain again as much Stretch out thy Hand towards Heaven pray and beseech He that has given thee once is not impoverished by the Liberalities he has shewed but rather ask of him Spiritual than these Temporal Gifts which do all wither and dye If thou livest thou wilt see thy self in the same Condition again I cannot give thee a better Consolation I will not lament with thee it seeming to me a fruitless thing If thou beest desirous to forget the Losses thou hast suffered consider the great Damages the same Fire has caused to so many Believers in the same City where thou bewailest thy Misfortunes How many People that had less than thee have lost more And how many better People than thy self as more submitting to the Will of Heaven have suffered Miseries infinitely greater than thine So great a Conflagration wherein the Chief City of the World saw it self near reduced to Ashes must needs have been a very dismal spectacle When I read the Relation which thou hast made me I tremble with Horror to see so many magnificent Houses and stately Mosques devoured by the Flames and reduced to nothing with such Riches Goods Housl old-stuff and inestimable Merchandizes publick Registers and choice Manuscripts whose Loss can never be repaired being become the Prey of this Element which devours all things But thou and I are not the first neither shall be the last who bewail the Ruines of our Country How many Towns in Asia how many in Greece have been swallowed up in an instant by dreadful Earthquakes And how many Ruines are to be found in the famous Cities of Syria and Macedonia And how many times have the Isles of Cyprus and Paphos been entirely depopulated We see not only the most solid Edifices perish which are the Works of Men but even Mountains annihilated There are whole Countries which have as it were vanished the Sea has covered such spaces of
earnest thy Cymiter and cast its Sheath away The King here is very well he said publickly when he heard the Victory of the Malteses That if he were not a King he should choose to be one of the Knights of that Place Thou wilt gain greater Honour and more Trophies will be raised to thee than was to Ariademus and Cigala if thou undertakest effectually the Destruction of this People Thou hast my Prayers That our Holy Prophet would strengthen thy Arm and that God would give thee still Favour in the Sight of our most puissant Emperor chosen to be the chief Commander of the World Paris 15th of the 3d. Moon of the Year 1641. LETTER XXV To the Invincible Vizir Azem AN Illustrious Woman of the House of Savoy governed not long since in Portugal in the Name of Philip IV. King of Spain Her Name is Margarita and commonly resides at Lisbon but this Princess with the Title of Vice-Queen had not the Credit or Authority necessary to sustain the Dignity though she had otherwise all the Prudence and Courage requisite thereunto Michael Vasconcelli her chief Secretary having usurped all the Authority carried all things with a high Hand to which he added a most griping Covetousness which was no less disadvantageous to his Mistress's Reputatior And the Marquis de la Puebla a Castilian Minister an Accomplice of Vasconcelii had established himself in this Court as a rigid Censurer of all the Vice-Queen's Actions The Christians call these Two Men Two Pedants set over the Princess as if she had been still in her Minority to correct and regulate her Actions The too great Authority of these Two Ministers became at length a kind of Tyranny The Nobility complained for the loss of their Privileges and the People at their being oppress'd with Taxes which made the Ministry of Vasconcelli seem insupportable in which ' was seen the Vice-Queen had no part This Princess not having the Power to stop the course of the Mischiefs which began to spring up gave Advice of it to the Court of Spain and expected thence the Remedy But whether the King was not in a Condition to give any or his Ministers concealed from him the state of things the Mischiefs encreased and Vasconcelli's Friends by excusing him made it almost impossible to avoid them When Margarita represented the Danger wherein Portugal lay she was heard as a weak and credulous Woman and was often accused of being over timerous which caused a general Revolt in this Kingdom which was few days in contriving and as few hours in executing If thou wilt hear thy humble Slave I 'll relate to thee all the Circumstances of so great an Event which will seem a Fable should we refer our selves to only Reason but which however is a real History as is now well known throughout all Europe Never was there a greater Hatred between Two Nations than that which was between the Spaniards and the Portugueses And though they had one and the same Religion and almost the same Humour yet 't is not to be imagined how far their mutual Aversions carryed them The Portugueses have a common Proverb which says That a Man is obliged to treat and love another Man as his Brother whether he be a Turk a Jew a Pagan or a Moor without excepting the most Barbarous of Mankind yea though he were a Spaniard They have lived with great Patience under the Domination of Philip II. and his Successors since the Death of their King D. Sebastian who was kill'd in Africa in a Battel against the Moors whilst they were suffered to enjoy the Privileges which were granted them Moreover they still expected the Return of their Sovereign who was said not to have dyed in the Field but having long wandred about in strange Countries was in fine about to return But the Example of the Catalonians made them at length resolve upon what they now executed The Nobility were the first that began the Revolt and past over those Bounds which Respect does ordinarily place between the Sovereign and his Subjects They alledged several Pretences for their Rebellion but the most specious was their unwillingness to be sacrificed in unjust Wars vvherein the most dangerous Posts vvere committed to them as they several times reproached the Duke Favourite and Minister of King Philip IV. They immediately carryed on their Intelligences vvith great Secrecy and vvhen they came to declare themselves the greatest Persons consented to the Conspiracy and the boldest amongst them have executed it vvith great Valour Dom Juan Duke of Braganza is the greatest Noble-Man in this Kingdom and perhaps in all Spain and already of the Age vvherein men are vvont to have Wisdom together vvith Strength of Body He vvants not for Ingenuity and Svveetness of Temper He received the Crovvn after long pressings and refusals and indeed is the more vvorthy of it as being the lawful Heir to it The Favourite Duke was well enough informed of the Reputation and Authority of the Duke of Braganza and considering him as a Prince who might lawfully pretend to the Crown he made use of several Artifices to drive him out of Portugal or seize him Prisoner But having always tryed this in vain whether by reason of the extraordinary watchfulness of Dom Juan or that the Heavens on which depend the things here below had otherwise ordered it 't was impossible for this Minister to get so good a Prey into his Hands This crafty Minister has tryed all Ways and sometimes made use of the Fox's Skin and otherwhiles of the Lyon's Voice to bring about his Ends. Sometimes he tryed to draw him to Court offering him the most honourable Employs there perswading him to accompany the Catholick King in his Voyage into Catalonia But the Duke knew how to defend himself against the Snare and timely withdrew to Villa Viciosa the ordinary place of his Abode and whence he excused himself from going to Madrid sometimes for that he had not sufficient to bear his Charges according to his Quality in such a Journey and otherwhiles on other Pretences with which the Favourite Duke was obliged to seem contented Though he was not yet he feigned himself to be satisfied to put in practice the most exquisite piece of Policy he ever made use of He sent him Forty Thousand Pistols to buy Necessaries and at the same time sent him also the General Command of the Troops in Portugal with Order to come to Lisbon and as High-Constable of the Kingdom to observe the Motions of the Vnited Provinces which threatned Spain and Portugal with a powerfull Fleet. But he had sent the following Order to D. Lopes d' Ossio Thou hast the Command of the Naval Army get immediately before Lisbon Dom Juan de Braganza has Orders to visit the Vessels as soon as he shall enter the first Gally clap him in Irons and immediately depart with this Prisoner to Cadis where I have appointed People to convey him to Madrid Dom
Lopes could not execute his Commission his Army was lost on the English Seas and 't was written in Heaven That Dom Juan should live and be a King This Artifice having fail'd the Duke had recourse to another which was to send an Order to the Duke of Braganza to visit all the Forts on the Frontiers where there were strict Injunctions to detain him But he perceiving the Project of this Spanish Minister knew so well to excuse himself from undertaking this Business that he made the Designs of his Enemy to vanish this time also and got leave to retire to Villa Viciosa Those who penetrated not the Artifices of the Court of Spain were astonisht at the Accumulation of so many Favours and Honours on the Person of the Duke affirming the Court had Intentions of raising him to the Throne or bringing him to the Scaffold in which last they were not mistaken Olivarez who let slip no Occasion of laying Snares for Braganza grew the more obstinate by the Difficulties he met with He sent him a new Order to raise Troops and to lead them himself into Catalonia for the Chastisement of the Rebels this being of absolute Necessity said he in his Letters for the upholding of the Spanish Monarchy to which the Revolt of this Province caused great Mischiefs The Duke obeyed in part he raised a considerable number of Troops at his own Charge but he took care of his own Person He wrote to the Court to excuse him from that Voyage and added to his excuses most earnest Prayers representing That being sick of the World he had retired into his own Estate to lead there a quiet Life free from the Vexations of Business which obliged him to entreat his Catholick Majesty to grant him that Rest which was the only thing he desired The Duke de Braganza's Letter drew no Answer from the Spanish Minister but his Designs were discovered and the Nobility foreseeing how likely they were to be brought under a more strict Subjection began to murmur saying 'T was their Duty to rid themselves of those Oppressors who had so long peeled them and set up a New Form of Government The Poor who suffered most by the Taxes were the boldest and encouraged the rest Some were for setting up an Elective King others proposed the raising to this Honour the Family of Braganza who alone seemed worthy of it Some there were who were for putting themselves under the Domination of France and other persons of Credit amongst the People were for a Democratical Government and others again were for turning the Kingdom into a Republick The Nobility were in great Perplexity in the Choice they should make for 't was not known whether the Duke of Braganza would receive the Crown in case t was offered him again for the most qualified Persons of the Kingdom had proposed it to him There was none but D. Gaston Cattique a Gentleman as Eloquent as Stout whom Heaven design'd for the persuading of this Prince that could accomplish it He pretended to fight a Duel with a Nephew he had whom having slightly wounded he left Lisbon as a man that had brought himself into danger and wandring about from thence uncertain as it were of the place of Retreat he would chuse he went at length to Villa-Viciosa where having found Braganza in his Solitude he thus spake to him I bring this day a Crown which the Nobility of Portugal presents thee and if thou hast the Courage to receive it we are ready to put it on thine Head This Kingdom belongs to thee as the undoubted Heir of our Natural and Lawful Princes If thou acceptest of the Crown the Kingdom justly belongs to thee and if thou darest not receive it we will choose another Sovereign of greater Resolution and who is willing to command us The Scepter shakes in King Philip 's Hand by reason of the Wars made against him from all parts Consider if thou receivest not at present what Fortune presents thee thou wilt be obliged against thy Will to obey another Neither the Nobility the Clergy nor the People will any longer suffer the Arrogance of the Castilians It belongs to thee at present to declare whether thou wilt reign and be a happy Prince All the faithfull Portugueses breath after thee and desire thee for their Soveraign Resolve to accept of what is so advantageous and let us alone for the executing of our parts Dom Juan answered coldly to such a bold Proposition more affrighted at the Peril there was in such an Enterprize than flattered with the Hopes of possessing a Kingdom But in another Conference wherein the Duke was told the Conspirators were resolved to raise on the Throne another King if he came not to a speedy Resolution the Dutchess his Wife who has a Man's Heart and is more courageous than her Husband coming into the Conversation thus spake to him with great Assurance My Lord the Catholick King has sent for thee again to Court at Madrid thou wilt certainly meet with thy Death and in receiving the Crown which is offered thee thou art still in danger of it but if thou must perish which way soever thou turnest thy self is it not more honourable to dye a King in thine own Country than to dye with Chains in a Prison by the hands of thine Enemy So courageous a Discourse brought Dom Juan to a Resolution wherefore he sent Word to the Nobility of his Readiness to comply with them The Conspirators were ready at the hour appointed for the Execution of their Design Being well armed and each of them accompanied with a good Number of Young Men who were to follow them although they knew not the Design As soon as ever the Signal was given they all set forth from the Places where they were assembled and those that were farthest distant joined the nearest and all together soon possessed themselves of the Palace of the Vice-Queen they immediately made themselves Masters of the Guard finding no resistance from them and this without spilling a Drop of Bloud or doing any Violence They afterwards cryed out altogether Long live the new King D. Juan de Braganza and let them dye that govern ill They siezed on the Vice-Queen and entreated her to retire into an Apartment where she should be treated with the Respect due to a Princess but not obeyed as having Authority to command them Vasconcelli who knew himself faulty and to whom his Conscience reproached his Crimes in this moment hid himself in a great Press under an heap of Papers where having been discovered by an old Woman he had immediately his Throat cut and his Body thrown out at a Window where he served for some time a May-game to the People who left not one part of his Body free from some Mark of their Indignation One of this Minister's Domesticks threw himself out at the same Window his Master was thrown not in a design of following his Fate but of saving himself and he dyed
which is due to thy sublime Grandeur whereunto thy Merit has raised thee And having cast my self at thy Feet in Spirit seeing I cannot really kiss them I obey the Orders thou sendest me which are to me inviolable Laws Banniere the Swedish General is dead when Picolicomini one of the Generals of the Emperor's Army lay just by him In half an hours time he saved himself the Army all the Baggage and Cannon and retired with incredible Swiftness over Mountains and Forrests where the Beasts alone could make Passages having continually the Emperor's Army at his back He was a Man of great Valour had been highly serviceable to the Crown of Swedeland and acquired the Reputation of an excellent Commander The Emperor had offered him some time before great Recompences and the Dignity of Prince of the Empire if he would change his Master and forsake the Confederates Party He had also offered thinking this might more move him to make him General of his Army against the Grand Signior but he refused all these Offers his Fidelity being unmoveable This great Captain was born in Swedeland and when a Child he fell down from a high Window without receiving any Hurt which made the King imagine Heaven design'd him for some thing extraordinary He travelled much in his Youth and he was seen never tired in running to all places where there was any War sometimes in Poland and otherwhiles in Muscovia And being become General of his King's Army he soon acquired the Reputation of one of the greatest Captains of the Northern Part. He was perfectly skilled in the Art of Encamping and no body could ever better draw up an Army for Battel His way of Retreat from before an Army stronger than his must needs be admired by all the World He ever chose good Posts and when once he was possess'd of them he knew well how to keep them so that he was never defeated whatever Forces his Enemy might bring against him He has destroy'd Fourscore Thousand Men in different Rencounters and Swedeland glories in having above Six hundred Standards He was so like King Gustovus thaâ— they have been often taken for one another He was never covetous but was observ'd to be a good Husband Among so many Occasions wherein he signaliz'd himself what he did when the Swedish Army was worsted at Norlinge is most remarkable he preserved the Rest though wholly forsaken by the Allies and so ordered the Matter that he raised fresh Troops almost in an instant and gave his Party Time and Courage to rise up And this is all I could learn of this great Captain whose Reputation has given thee Curiosity Although Don Duarte de Braganza the new King of Portugal's Brother served with great Reputation in the Emperor's Army yet 't is said the Spaniards had been very urgent with this Monarch to make him be apprehended as soon as ever they heard the King his Brother was raised to the Throne But 't is said the Emperor was scandaliz'd with such a Proposition alledging this would be against the Rules of Hospitality But the Empress's Confessor found such Reasons in his Divinity as brought over the Emperor to yield he should be delivered into the Spanish Minister's Hands who conducted him with a very strong Party to the Castle of Milan whence he is not like to stir out till his Brother shall restore the Crown of Portugal to Philip IV. of Spain I shall write what remains behind to the Kaimakan who has the Honour of being thy Lieutenant that I may not the thee who art to be reverenced as the instrument of the Wills of the Master of Lights and all whose Hours are destin'd to the Government of the World May it please him who of nothing has created all things that thou maist lay one day at the Feet of the Grand Signior the Crowns of all the Monarchs who command in the Infidels Countries and become thereby the Arbiter of the Universe Paris 18th of the 1st Moon of the Year 1642. LETTER XII To the Kaimakam at Constantinople THis King here has mortified his Parliament by the Advice of Cardinal Richlieu The Parliaments are Bodies of Learned Men who decide all Affairs in the Kingdom as well Civil as Criminal and the Parliament of Paris has a larger Jurisdiction than all others and as considerable Prerogatives What I have to say on this Subject has happened from the beginning of the last Year and I now relate it because I forgat to do it when the thing happened And I will inform thee before I enter on the Matter what obliged heretofore the Kings of France to set up this great Seat of justice The ancient Kings of France gave it Authority of approving and verifying the Edicts and Declarations which they should make which was a Bar which these wise Princes would fix between the People and the Sovereign Authority Whence it appeared that Monarchy was mix'd with Aristocracy without which the Wise have thought that States could not long subsist And the Princes of this Age have submitted to a Tribunal re-established by themselves the Resolutions they take to the end they may discharge themselves towards God to whom they are accountable as well as other Men and to obtain Confidence from their Subjects in taking from amongst them Arbiters to regulate them Yet they have ever reserved the Liberty of making use of their Absolute Power as is seen in their Letters Patents where they forget not to insert these Words For such is our Will and Pleasure These Monarchs also thought hereby to have found out a way to defend themselves from the Importunities of the Grandees who often demanded such things which could not be granted without Prejudice to the whole Kingdom The Authority of the now reigning King being out of danger of being shaken or destroyed this Monarch having his Exchequer well stored has valiant and experienced Captains stout Soldiers and numerous Armies and good Fleets of Ships at Sea whereby he would make known to this puissant Tribunal That if it had been set up to assist the Kings by its Counsels when required yet it must not pretend that its Decrees should become Laws to their Sovereigns He went to the Parliament with all the Marks of Grandeur with which he is usually attended on these Days of Ceremony and with such a great Company of Lords as made the Power of this Monarch easily discerned He gave these Gentlemen to understand he would have them ratifie without more adoe the Orders he would send them which they term Edicts requiring them to be immediately enregistred He afterwards gave them an express Charge not to concern themselves henceforwards in Affairs of State and to humble them the more he declared to them That he would be henceforward the Disposer of Graces and Offices and bestow Recompences to such as deserved them He added hereunto an Order of giving an account every Year to his Chancellour of their Deportments and to come and receive every year
great Number of the Keys which belong to it like that foolish Emperor who valued the Greatness of Rome by the great weight of Spiders Webs which were there The Spaniards affirm There are so many Doors to this Stately Edifice that the Keys which serve to open them weigh above Ten Thousand Weight But 't is time to end this tiresome Letter Let me then counsel thee to watch over thy Conscience as the Parisians do over their Shops to prevent Violences Here are so many great and small Thieves that should they be punished as they were chastised in Syria where the same Punishment is imposed on him that is robbed as him that robs this great Town would hoâ—â—â—◠〈◊〉 peopled or become a Prison to an infinite â—â—mber of People who would be found faulty May it please the Great God who should be adored by all Creatures to encline the Great Prelate after thou art delivered from the Burthen of the Flesh to place thee amongst the Number of those for whom the Church has a pious Veneration and respect thy Ashes in such a manner as I hope thy holy and exemplary Life will deserve Paris 24th of 4th Moon of the Year 1642. LETTER XIX To the Venerable Mufti THou wilt not think me troublesome if thou remembrest the Order thou haft given me and sought rather to hazard the tiring thee by frequent Letters than be accused of Neglect for not obeying thee Obedience must needs be agreeable where the Command is made with Wisdom When I write to the Grand Vizir 't is in trembling and if I write to the Kaimakam I am not without Hope and I send no Letter to the other Bassa's without Inquietude and great Trouble As to what concerns my Friends I divert my self in writing to them But when it is to thee that I write I may say 't is that I may hope live and obtain in the other World that happy State spoken of by our Holy Prophet that Life which is to be the Recompence of all those who shall perform good Actions whilst they dwell among Men. Cardinal Richlieu would willingly be absolute in Matters of Religion as thou art he would also be thought a Saint but he knows not how to be one And indeed he would be every thing However he does abundance of things which thou dost not and pretends to be above thee because he does not live as thou dost This Man whose Head is full of the Affairs of the World concerns himself in whatever passes in Europe one only Employ cannot satisfie him he is not contented with being the Favourite of a great King under whose Authority he governs all things Some time ago 't was reported he would make himself a Patriarch He aspires extream high undertakes the most difficult Matters and takes a singular Pleasure in making use of extraordinary Means for the Execution of his Projects that Posterity and Historians may write That being come into the World with a small Fortune he died Rich and being born in the Condition of a private Man he lived in the State of a great Prince Observe Venerable Prince of that Religion which can alone be approved of by him who drew the World out of Nothing two remarkable Stroaks of this French Tiberius which I have learn'd but lately This Cardinal sent to Madrid incognito a General of certain Dervises a Man of a fit Genius to second his own of a piercing and subtle Wit and very understanding in Secular Affairs after having given him express Order that assoon as ever he should be in Spain he should do such and such a thing and that at his return into France he should remit into his Hands alone the Memoirs of what he had transacted This Monk succeeded very well in the Employ he undertook but in his Return the Cardinal sent an express Command to him to deliver before he entred into France all his Papers into the Hands of a Gentleman who brought him his Letter This Dervis obeyed but he was disgraced and the Cardinal maintained 't was a Crime to obey in this Occasion for having once received an Order to entrust no body with these Papers but himself he could not be excused for delivering them to others and for this Reason he forbad him to set Foot within the Kingdom This poor Religious died some time after desperate at this Usage and perhaps this is the first time a man has been punished for too punctual Obedience 'T is not many Moons since there came Post a Person of Quality from Italy who brought considerable News to the Cardinal 'T is impossile for me to express the Caresses this Favourite made him And to denote his Joy he immediately presented him with a rich Diamond and made him hope for still greater Recompences yet this same Person that had brought this so good News was carried to the Bastile assoon as he came out of the Cardinal's Closet where he remained for some Months without seeing any Body so that he imagined himself all that while in a Dream but at length his Prison-Doors were set open and the Cardinal would see him and made him be given as many Hundred Crowns as he had past over Days in his Solitude He accompanied this Present he made him with all the Civilities imaginable and said these Words to him Thou art not to blame and yet I could not but punish thee for my Fault when I made thee enter into my Closet assoon as thou camest from Italy to bring me so advantageous News The great Desire I had to know the Parriculars of the Business made me forget to take off from my Table a Writing of great Importance which thou mightest have read entire which contained the Revolt of Catalonia the Demands of this Province and the Intrigues of France which caused this Insurrection And the Knowledge of so important a Mystery might make my Prince lose the Acquisition of so Rich a Province so that I could not imagine a more safe and speedy Remedy than to shut thee up in a Place where it was impossible for thee to make any use of the Notices thou didst get by my Imprudence But things being at present in such a Condition wherein 't is impossible France should receive any prejudice I restore thee thy Liberty and entreat thee to forget the Severity which Reasons of State have put me upon Receive from my Hands the Present which the King my Master makes thee and be pleased to reckon me amongst the Number of thy particular Friends I prostrate my self again at thy Feet Holy Prelate intreating thy Benediction and that thou wilt look on me as one of thy most obedient Children having such a Respect to thy Holiness as is due to the greatest Minister of Heaven that ever interpreted the Holy Alcoran in the Empire of the Faithful I also intreat thy Prayers that God having regard to the Supplications which thou shalt offer him would give me the Grace to live honestly and serve the
will prove a most Judicious Prince that will uphold his Authority more by his Wisdom and Prudence than by Force The Just God cut short the Course of his ill Designs should he have the Courage and Desire of revenging one Day the Death of his Predecessor Dom Sebastian on the Faithfull Mussulmen of Africk Thou wilt find invincible Vizier the faithful and respectful Mahmut always ready to execute the Orders which thou shalt send him for the Emperor's Service and ready to obey the least Signs of thy Victorious Hand to Death whether Natural or Violent LETTER XXVI To Enguril Emir Mehemet Cheik a man of the Law TEll me this once whether thou beest alive and at Liberty and whether thou dost really love me or onely pretend it My Friends return no answers to my Letters which makes me strangely ignorant of all things I know onely by Conjecture that which is never so little doubtful and that which is certain cannot be known here truly as it falls out as being related according to peoples Passions and Interests There 's no body dares write to me freely what he thinks and there are few that will inform me of what is come to their knowledge left their Letters should be intercepted I know very well we have a new Master but I know not whether he be thought a more able Prince than Amurath and has the same Courage and Fancy for War The Chiaus that lately arrived in this Court of France is very reserved to me and makes a Mystery of every thing Armurath is dead those who say he was Cruel yet declare him to be the most dexterous Valiant and Compleatest Man in his Empire The Christians are Fools who will not hence gather That our Monarchs most certain Maxim to reign with Authority and perfect Security is To make themselves be feared and not to be shy of spilling the Bloud of those who serve them ill who are suspected by them or may prove troublesome to them Those Troops of Mutes which abide always in the Seraglio ready to obey the least Sign of those who give them Orders maintain encrease and render Formidable the Ottoman Power For the Empire would never be at Peace but in continual Trouble should all the Sons and Nephews of our Sultans be suffered to live and we should have a whole Nation of Princes who would be always a biting and tearing and ruining one another by Civil Wars as is often seen to happen amongst the Christians Whence this certain Maxim is practised That it is better it should cost innocent persons their Lives than ot to destroy those who may be Faulty Indeed I must confess I knew not that Amurath himself kill'd with his own Hands his own Sister Thou that knowest the secret of this Tragedy canst tell whether he was transported to that Excess because she answered with great Haughtiness to the Sultaness her Mother who reprehended her on some Secret Love she entertained If this be the case she dyed not innocent and I have a great Curiosity to know the Particulars of it But do not relate to me the unhappy end of his Two Brothers Bajazet and Orcan lest thou make an old Wound bleed afresh Poor Princes what Crime have they committed if their Brother reigns Cruel King how great was thy Inhumanity seeing they obeyed without murmuring But Amurath was a dreadful Lover who tamed his Passions with a Poignard he stabb'd the most beautiful of his Sultanesses and for what Reason The Christians pardon him the Bloud of his Brethren which he spilt of his Sister and of the brave Fracardin several Visirs of his Friends and so many brave Commanders and illustrious Persons but they will not pardon him the Death of a Mistress for they cannot conceive how a Prince a Mussulman can play the Hangman in such a delicious place where he has nothing to do but to think of giving his Love agreeable Marks of his Passion But you will tell me perhaps she was so bold as to wear in his Sight Flowers and Perfumes which came from his Brother It is certainly a great Crime not to obey those who have all power to command us but 't is a greater Crime to lay on Commands to have an occasion for Cruelty They say a man which does such an Action is a Monster but I do not say so Inform me what the new Sultan Ibrahim does of his Humour and Inclination It appears he is still infirm and stupified with his long Imprisonment What Alterations has his Entrance into the Empire produced Will he be Sanguinary as his Brother was or gracious and merciful Speak to me once my dear Friend with all Freedom void of Disguise Is he amorously enclin'd I much value such Princes for they are generally mild and this Passion softens them how cruel soever they may be makes them liberal and Strangers to Covetousness that cruel Monster which clouds and sullies the brightest Vertues How many persons are employed to choose fine Women for the Seraglio to contribute to Ibrahim's Pleasure Happy will the handsomest Woman of Asia be But the Eyes of this Monarch will be made like other mens which are not allways allured with the greatest Beauties Hence it is That we have seen in our Emperor's Seraglio Ladies which surpassed in Charms all others and yet dyed Virgins and neglected by them to whose Pleasures they were consecrated The Chiaus has onely inform'd me that Ibrahim appears often on Horseback in the City and seems a just and merciful Prince and designs to make the Shepherd Hassein Prime Vizir he that was so long the Companion of his Prison 'T is said he often made it his Employment to divert Ibrahim in his Confinement by playing on his Pipe and making him Discourses without Art and extream innocent of what he did when he kept Sheep He told me also that he often went for his Diversion on the Black Sea to take the Air and enjoy that Liberty of which he was lo long deprived That he 's also much delighted with the reading of Greek Books especially Xenophon and Plutarch That he 's very devout though not superstitious according to the Humour of the Devotees of our Law who will have our Soveraigns be implacable Enemies to the Christians If this be necessary to Salvation to persecute a Religion contrary to Ours what will become of all those who are dead and never did it I am of Opinion That true Holiness consists in doing Good and living in Charity with all Men. The Infidels with whom I live at present for the Emperor's Service whose Subject I am do glory in their strict Observance of this Precept which is in their Religion and they are happy if they keep it But tell me Dost thou think our Emperour is like to have Children as is already reported and that he cannot live long They are not only the idle People that talk at this rate but those whose Interest obliges them to know who is to be the Successor