Vieira were well tasted by those of the Spanish Party at Rome at a time when the Enmity between the two Nations was at the highest but now all Animosities being laid aside perhaps the same or others of a like nature may be hearkned to at Madrid and incline those of that Court to distinguish the King of Portugal from among the rest that are Candidates for the Succession There was one Scruple that the Portugueses made themselves at that time they were unwilling to consent to a Re-union unless Lisbon was to be the Capital of the Spanish Monarchy but certainly the Spaniards if they knew their own Interests in case they agreed in other things would readily gratify them in this Point Lisbon by its Scituation so near the Sea and upon the noblest River in the World seems designed by Nature for the great Emporium of Europe and were it in the hands of a People that knew how to improve their Advantage it would go near to draw to it self the Trade and Riches of the World Philip the 2d was sensible of this and therefore when he came to take Possession of the Kingdom he promised and as it was thought designed that instead of keeping his Court at Madrid a 100 Leagues within the Land Lisbon should be thence forward the place of his Residence and in order thereto he began the Structure of a most magnificent Palace but it was well for Christendom that he continued not in this Resolution and that his Son Philip the 3d. took it not up after him for perhaps nothing could have contributed more to bring about the design they had laid of an Universal Monarchy I shall conclude this Chapter with this one Remark that it seems fatal to the Spanish Monarchy to owe her Preservation from utter Ruin to those who have brought her to a Condition in which she is unable to help her self they were the English that first humbled the Spaniards when in the very heighth of their Pride and from them do they now expect Relief in this their Extremity By that expensive War in the Low Countrys carried on successively by the three Philips this Monarchy was brought into a languishing State and the Dutch have since stood in the gap between it and destruction the Portugueses at last gave that Monarchy its mortal Wound since which it hath never been able to hold up its Head the French indeed had endeavour'd to do the the same in that long War which preceded the Peace of the Pirenees but did not effect it for the Spaniards stood upon the level with them at that Treaty it is true some thought their Ruin might have been then compleated had that War according to Mr. Turenne's Advice been continued a little longer and Don Luis de Haro if it be true what is reported of him was much of the same Opinion but Cardinal Mazarin was ambitious to have that Spanish Minister and all the World sensible of the Superiority of his Genius and so interrupted the course of Turenne's Victories and would needs meet Don Luis on the Frontiers that they might have a publick Tryal of each others Politicks Don Luis met the Cardinal and gave his Eminence occasion to make as great a flourish as he pleased of all his rare Talents but when the Peace came to be Sign'd he could hold out no longer nor forbear crying to his Friends Spain was lost but is now safe So that the French left to their abandon'd Friends of Portugal the Honour of working out the destruction of the Spanish Monarchy which by the help of their Allies they did effectually at the two decisive Battles of Ameixial and Montesclaros the Spaniards having never after been able to stand upon their own legs but as they were crutch'd up by the English and Dutch who ever since have had them lying on their hands as a Punishment for what they did towards bringing them into this deplorable Condition and now it seems that the Portuguses have their turn come to contribute on their parts to the Relief of this distressed Nation and who knows but the Spanish Monarchy may at last receive its Cure from the Hand that gave it the last and deepest Wound and recover new Life and Vigour by means of the Portugueses who have been the immediate occasion of its fall OF THE INTERESTS OF PORTUGAL With Relation to FRANCE SInce the Revolt of Portugal from the Spaniards there hath been till now of late an Appearance of a very close Union between This and the Crown of France which seemed to be so well cemented as if nothing were able to separate them and indeed were the common Opinion of the World true concerning the Obligations of the Portuguese Nation to the French it would be no wonder if their Friendship was in Effect so great as it appeared For they would then stand engaged to each other by the most endearing Tyes in the World France would have cause to account of Portugal as a Creature of its own raising and the House of Bragança would owe its establishment upon the Throne to his most Christian Majesty What greater Testimony of a sincere and cordial Affection can there be expected from one Ally to another than that which France gave to Portugal in the Preamble to the 60th Article in the Pirenean Treaty that very Article whereby Portugal was abandoned to the mercy of the Spaniards for therein his most Christian Majesty declares himself to be so passionately concerned for the good of this Kingdom that on condition he could but procure for it the Benefits of Peace he was willing among other things to yield up all the Conquests he had gain'd in the course of a tedious War of twenty five years continuance and all this out of pure Generosity He being as 't is there declared under no other sort of Engagement than that of his own Good-will But upon a Review of the Transactions that have pass'd between the two Crowns it will perhaps be found that the obligations of Portugal to France have not been so very great as the World is apt to imagine It cannot be denied but that the French have all along exceeded other People by far in their Professions of Kindness to this Nation but it will appear that those Professions have not always been accompanied with suitable Effects and it must have been some other means besides real Acts of Friendship whereby they have supported their Interest and Party in this Kingdom I shall in conclusion of this Chapter show as well as I am able what those means were When the Portuguses had shaken off the Spanish Yoke they found the French ingaged in a War against the same Nation and they look'd for mighty assistance from them considering the Diversion they were like to give to the common Enemy and in effect the Ambassadors sent by King John to that Court were received by Cardinal Richelieu with all the Demonstrations of kindness imaginable his Promises out running all that they
AN ACCOUNT OF THE Court of Portugal Under the Reign of the present King Dom PEDRO II. WITH Some Discourses on the Interests of PORTVGAL with Regard to other Sovereigns CONTAINING A Relation of the most Considerable Transactions that have pass'd of late between that Court and those of Rome Spain France Vienna England c. LONDON Printed for Thomas Bennet at the Half-Moon in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1700. THE CONTENTS PART I. OF the King of Portugal Page 3 Of the Publick Revenues and the Forces of the Crown both by Land and Sea 19 Of His Majesty's first Queen 43 Of the late Queen 109 Of the Queen Dowager of England 125 Of the late Infanta 128 Of the King's Issue by his second Marriage 148 Of his Natural Daughter 160 Of the Ministry 164 Of the Marquess of Alegrete 165 Of the Duke of Cadaval 171 Of the Archbishop of Lisbon 172 Of the Marquess of Aronches 178 Of the Secretary of State 179 PART II. OF the Interests of Portugal with Relation to Rome Page 1 To Spain 44 France 62 The Emperor Holland the Northern Crowns c. 114 England 119 THE PREFACE THE Contents of the following Papers were intended to fill some few Chapters in a General Account of Portugal but the Author in digesting his Materials found them like to swell into almost as great a Volume as he design'd for the whole which made him resolve to venture them out by themselves as despairing of being read should the Bulk become so great as the taking in of the other Parts of his Subject wou'd make it This is the true Reason why the Court of Portugal appears thus unaccompanied with such other Matters as shou'd have been plac'd before and after it which is what the Author was far from designing when he first began to write It was then for many Reasons the least in his Intention to single out the Court from that great Variety of Subjects which Portugal affords to one that is not altogether an idle Spectator in it It is true that he thought it convenient in describing the State of that Kingdom to be more full in this part of his Account than they usually are who write of Foreign Countries For to understand the Affairs of any Nation it is absolutely necessary to have some competent Knowledge of the Court that is to say of such as preside themselves at the Helm or have any great Influence upon those that do The Court in this sense being to a Politick Body what the Mind is to the Natural communicating Life and Motion to all the Members and as that Vital Principle appears to be disposed or affected one may soonest discover the Symptoms of a Vigorous or a Weakly Constitution And one who is well acquainted with the State of That may be enabled to give a good Account of the Publick Proceedings by tracing them to their Original Causes and Motives and may withal make some probable Conjecture what they are like to be in any suppos'd Case for the time to come It was likewise thought necessary in order to understand the true State of Portugal to know in what Terms that Kingdom stands with its several Neighbours those more especially in whose Will or Power it is to do any great Good or Harm Now the best way to know how far Portugal is to expect either the one or the other from them is by considering what it hath receiv'd already former Experience being the surest Evidence in this Case It is therefore the Design of those Discourses that make the Second Part of this Piece to shew how Portugal hath been served by its real or pretended Friends as often as they have been put to the Trial or had any occasion to discover themselves and it is conceiv'd that the Transactions that have pass'd between this and other Crowns since the House of Bragança came to be in possession of the Throne are set in a just Light so far at least as that the Reader may easily perceive what the true Interests of Portugal are and whether or no they have been duly cultivated by such as have the Management of Affairs in that Kingdom But the chief Business of this Preface is to justifie the Author's Credit with the Reader which may possibly be called in question in regard to several Particulars in the following Account He is far from the Folly of thinking himself exempt from Mistakes it is very likely that he may have been guilty of many in that great variety of Matters which he hath had occasion to mention He does not remember that he ever saw any Relation of our English Affairs made by Strangers that had not many palpable Errors in it which makes him the less confident of his own Performance And he expects the like Allowances that are usually made to those that write of Foreign Countries However he must acknowledge at the same time that those grosser Faults that are commonly observ'd in ordinary Travellers wou'd be much more inexcusable in him he having liv'd for some Years in the Country he writes of his Acquaintance was amongst intelligent Persons who had lived there much longer he hath been somewhat conversant with the Portuguese Authors and hath brought away with him a Collection of such of them as are most esteem'd and out of these last he is ready to produce his Evidence for such Passages in this Piece as are most likely to be call'd in question In relating that great Transaction wherein His present Majesty's first Queen had so large a share he hath taken the principal Matters of Fact from the Catastrophe de Portugal written in Defence of the Party which got the Vpper-hand the Substance whereof as the Writer pretends was read before the Three Estates of the Kingdom It is true that Reflections very different from his are frequently made here upon the very same Facts The Author on many Occasions as little approving of that Writers Sentiments as he does of his Stile throughout the Book which is that of a most passionate and furious Declaimer rather than a just Historian In speaking of the Portuguese Affairs with relation to Rome he hath likewise made great use of the Publick Acts of the King and the Estates as also of the Conde da Eryceiras Portugal Restaurado He hath also followed the same Noble Author in what he relates concerning the Negotiations with the Court of France The Conde had Opportunities to inform himself of these Matters at the best Hand that is from the Reports and Letters of Publick Ministers His Lordship hath indeed given us in England great occasion to complain of him but that may have been for Reasons which will never make him suspected of being much prejudiced against either Rome or France Cardinal Mazarine's Conduct in the Cause of Portugal at the Pirenees is describ'd from his own Letters The Information received by the Author concerning the great part which the English had in the Victories obtain'd over the Spaniards and in concluding the
time this Feast usually lasts Perhaps his Compliance in this as that of Augustus was on the like Occasions may be as much to please the People as Himself For the Portugueses from the highest to the lowest are strangely fond of the Sport It hath been an ancient Custom which is still kept up for the Chamber of Lisbon to entertain the People with this Sight in Honour to St. Anthony the Son and Patron of the City and in Gratitude for the Birth of an Infante a Pretence which the King of late hath furnished them with almost every Year Tho' it is thought one Reason may be the raising of a considerable Sum of Money which they make by the Scaffolds that are built about a very large Square before the Palace which are all sure to be fill'd for at the News of a Bull-running the People come flocking in from all parts of the Country round about The King has a fine Balcony built for him out of one of the Palace-Windows where he sits all the time with his Queen and the young Princes attended by a Nobleman who receives his Orders and delivers them out at another Window for the Conduct of the Cavalier and the Management of the Bulls His Majesty tho' he sits compos'd all the while yet is so intent upon the Sport that he is sometimes heard by those in the Seats under him applauding the Cavalier when he hath given a lucky Stroke and one that comes off with Credit shall the next Day be received by him in the most kind and obliging manner and may depend afterwards on his Favour But there lies a great Complaint against His Majesty on this occasion That he for his own private Diversion abates much of the Satisfaction the People would otherwise take For before the Bulls appear in Publick the King on pretence of trying what Metal they are made of will have them to Alcantara where they are commonly so harrass'd out that very few of them will make head against the Cavalier and when a sprightly Bull appears that is likely to make them Sport and do Mischief the King will sometimes order him to be taken in again and reserved for his own use This sets the People a murmuring A happy People were this the greatest Grievance they had to complain of And in truth it seems to be one of the greatest they can lay to their King's Charge or that appears to him to be in his Power to redress For tho' the Opinions of Men are various concerning the Cause and Manner of his first taking upon him the Government yet it is generally agreed that in the Administration thereof he hath all along shewn himself to be most tenderly careful of his Peoples Welfare and in his whole Conduct to have highly deserved the Character that is giv'n him of a truly just and good Prince I confess it would be somewhat difficult to reconcile to this Character some former Transactions wherein his Name was much made use of but then it must be considered that while those things which are most liable to Censure were transacted he was very young and in the hands of others But in what relates to the Administration of the Government I find upon the exactest Enquiry I could make People of all Parties to be generally agreed in their Opinions concerning him and in Portugal they take as great a Liberty in speaking their Minds of their Superiours as in any other Country whatsoever But they have here so high an Esteem for their King that if they blame any thing in his Conduct it is his not making use of his great Power so often as they could wish they think he pays too great a Deference to his Counsellors and to these they impute all the Hardships they suffer The same thing is taken Notice of by Foreigners and reckon'd to be the Cause of any false Steps this Court may have taken inconsistent with the Honour and true Interests of the Crown But it is a Fault the wisest Men are guilty of to have too great a distrust of themselves And this King they say is perswaded to do nothing of Importance without the Advice and Concurrence of his Ministers as thinking it the safest Course he can take for the Discharge of his Conscience He is a Religious Observer of Justice and has thereby delivered his Kingdom from many great Disorders that it before labour'd under Robberies on the High-Way are now seldom or never heard of notwithstanding the universal Poverty that appears throughout the Country and 't is said that before this Reign 't was unsafe for any to be abroad in the Evening about and within the City it self Murders are not near so frequent now as formerly the King growing every Day more and more severe against the Guilty And in truth there was great occasion for it Crimes of this Nature being very lightly made of in this Country if committed in a Fray or upon the slightest Provocation A former Grudge tho' of old standing was used to be taken for a justifiable Excuse even when the Murder was committed in the most cowardly and treacherous manner the Criminal was acquitted or sued out his Pardon of Course or fled to Sanctuary and being once there procur'd a Carta de Seguro which is a Protection given by the Government for one that hath the Priviledge of Sanctuary to appear abroad and sollicit his Cause whereby he has an opportunity given him to compound with his Prosecutors or by other means to take off or elude the Pursuit of Justice But now Cartas de Seguro are more rarely granted and Criminals are oftentimes forc'd from Sanctuary Such Order is taken for preserving the Peace that a Man may pass through the City at any time of Night without meeting with the least Affront or Disturbance Formerly the City was much infested and great Disorders committed by Night-Walkers of all Ranks and Orders from those of the first Quality down to the very Fryars It is reported of an old Porter belonging to a certain Convent that he uses to tell with Regret how mightily the Time are altered from what they were in his Days when a Dozen or more Fryars of his Convent would sally out in a Night upon Adventures And there must be something in it that there goes a common Saying among the People That it is equally dangerous to deal with a Fryar by Night as with a Fidalgo by Day The Reason usually given for it is That in a Night-Scuffle the Fryar will be sure to stand as stoutly to it because he is not known as a Fidalgo wou'd in the Day-time because he is But now all things are still and quiet the Clatterings of Swords and Targets which formerly used to be ever and anon disturbing Peoples Rest are seldom heard except it be on such Nights when People of all Sorts and Sexes are let loose to visit the Churches but those are Times of Indulgence and they take a Liberty then to commit all
the Kingdom by marrying the Queen protesting they would never suffer him to marry any Body else for there was a Match about the same time propos'd between him and the Princess of Austria with great Advantages to the State the Prince told them That he for his part was willing provided they could but gain the Queen's Consent Then they return'd again in a Body to the Queen and with repeated Entreaties beseeched her to Consent Her Majesty at last preferring the Welfare of the Kingdom saith my Author to her own Satisfaction put off her Return to her own Country and by a heavenly Inspiration gave Consent that they should treat of the Marriage The Match was soon made up for the Sentence of Divorce pass'd but on Saturday the Eve of Palm-Sunday and on Wednesday in the Passion-Week the Duke of Cadaval her Proxy was married in a private Oratory of the Palace to the Marquess of Marralva who represented the Prince On Easter-Monday the Prince with a numerous Attendance fetched the Bride from the Nunnery and carried her to Alcantara where the Marriage was consummated Poor Alfonso sending his Complements upon it to wish Joy as 't is said to the new-married Couple They will have it likewise that he acquiesced all along to the Proceedings in the Cause of his Divorce and that by the Advice of two Dominicans and a Jesuit he confess'd the Inability objected to him by the Queen and at last submitted to the Sentence declaring that he would not appeal But he was a Prisoner all the while This dethroned Prince after he had been confined some time in the Palace was sent to the Terceira Island one of the Azores but having been kept there for some Years he was for greater Security brought back to Portugal and shut up in the Castle of Cintra formerly a Royal Palace where he ended his Days the 12th of December 1683. After Consummation of this Marriage between the Infante and the Queen the Pope was applied to to dispense with it which he did by a Breve dated the 10th of December 1668 directed to the chief Inquisitor and others impowring them in case they found the Allegations of the Petitioners true to annul the former Marriage and confirm the Second which was done accordingly the 18th of Feb. following This Bull hath some very extraordinary Clauses in it inserted I suppose Ex abundanti cautelâ which yet it will not be amiss to mention here if for no other Reason than to see how far the Plenitude of the Pope's Power reaches in such Cases By it the Commissioners are impowred and commanded to cancel dissolve and annul Alphonso's Marriage even without his Consent or in case the said Marriage did appear or should be found to have been valid and commands them to dispense with the Second Marriage notwithstanding the Impediment Publicae honestatis or any other Impediment of what nature soever that may arise or appear decreeing That altho' the said King Alfonso or any other Persons concern'd have neither given their consent appear'd been cited or heard and altho' the Causes for which these Letters were granted be neither sufficiently proved nor justified that all this notwithstanding the said Letters and the Contents of the same shall never be call'd in question retracted or violated for any lawful Cause or any defect how great or substantial soever that no Person shall obtain Relief against them upon any Plea of Right Fact or Favour and in case Relief be obtain'd it shall be of no benefit tho' granted de motu proprio with full Power and Apostolical Authority but that they shall be for ever valid in all respects without limitation to the said Prince c. So that the Pope had a great deal of reason to tell the Prince as he did afterwards in his Letter That in this Cause he had certainly shewn him all the Favour that the sacred Canons would permit Of this Marriage was born within the first Year the late Infanta of whom I shall speak anon but never any other Child tho' the Queen liv'd with the Prince for above 15 Years She departed this Life the 17th Day of Decem 1683 after having languish'd in great Misery for the space of six Months together under the Distemper that occasion'd her Death After having mention'd so many Particulars which seem to bear hard upon the Memory of this Princess common Equity requires that I should enlarge a little upon what is said in her Commendation She was much celebrated for her great Understanding and Insight into Affairs of which I think there can be no better Proof than this the Prince her Husband for he had not the Title of King 'till a little before she died had so high an Opinion of her Judgment as to consult her upon all occasions of moment and never came to a Resolution in any Business of Importance before he had first taken her Advice which may perhaps be one Reason why he regretted her loss so much as that he remain'd inconsolable for some time and as it 's said could not be perswaded to think of a Second Marriage 'till Pope Innocent XI by his Paternal Admonitions in a manner oblig'd him to it They are not wanting who make large Encomiums upon her other Vertues I have two Sermons now before me preach'd in her Commendation by two of the most famous for Eloquence in Portugal the one a little after her Second Marriage and the other upon her Death and I have consulted both these in order to give her Character to the best advantage The former speaks in general Terms of many wonderful Things that might be said in her Praise but when he comes to Particulars he falls a trifling He highly magnifies her Noble Birth chiefly because she was descended from a Bastard-Son of Henry IV. and reckons up the Titles that were related to the Family and among others the Prinpalities of Anet and Martignes the Duchies of Pontievre and Tampis the Marquisats of Sansorlem and Sasors He tells her Majesty for he preached before her That she was a very great Beauty and he hoped would be as handsome when she came to be 90 Years old as she was at 20. He thinks it was discreetly done of her Parents to Christen her with three Names since one was not enough to express her Merit For Astrologers call the finest Star in the Firmament Venus Lucifer and Vesper Speaking of her forsaking her Husband which he calls leaving a Crown to keep her Conscience unblemished he profanely compares it to Moses's refusing to be call'd the Son of Pharaoh ' s Daughter chusing rather to suffer Affliction with the People of God than to enjoy the Pleasures of Sin for a Season And hence he infers That this Princess ought to be excepted from that general Maxim of Tacitus which represents the Female Sex as ambitious and greedy of Power The other is no less copious in her Praises but speaks a little more to the purpose he highly extols her great
as from the Living which goes increasing every Year It is wholsome advice saith the Commissary for a Person on his Death-bed to recommend to his Friends the taking of it out for him and the best time is as soon as the Breath is gone out of his Body however says he and the Casuists it will have the same effect at one time as another And I believe they speak their Minds in this It is Customary to give the Bull to the dead Corps to carry it with him to the Grave and I have frequently seen it tuck'd under his Girdle for the Dead are buried here in the Habit of St. Francis without Coffins But the Learned I must own do not think this to be at all necessary but rather condemn it as an Abuse The Bull of Composition seems to be no less profitable to the Exchequer than either of the former By virtue of this such as have made certain unlawful Gains upon paying down a small part of them may with a safe Conscience keep the rest to themselves By it Ecclesiasticks may compound for the Profits of their Benefices which they receive when they have fallen from their Rights to them either by neglect to say their Offices or by lying under Censures And this Bull is so accommodated to all sorts of People that it is of singular use to Traders of what kind soever they be Usurers Lawyers Officers of Justice Trustees Gamesters Rooks Thieves Prostitutes These are all of them in express or equivalent Terms admitted to Composition in the Commissary's Explication of the Bull as in a word are all such in general that have occasion to make unlawful Gains the Merchant who puts off Dammaged Goods without discovering the Fault to the Buyer or to enhance the Price pretends they are of one Country when they come frem another One that mixes good and bad Wares together as Corn for instance that hath been putrified with that which is sound or that puts his Corn into a moist place to make it swell such as sell by false Weights and Measures Gold and Silver-Smiths that put too much Alloy into their Works Apothecaries who that they may not be known to want any Druggs that are called for put others in their stead Extortioners whether by way of Usury or that taking Advantage from their Neighbours Necessity use to buy things for less than a just Price All these are admitted to Composition for their ill-gotten Gains in case they are incertain as to the particular Persons to whom Restitution ought to be made the same is to be said concerning Officers of Justice Advocates Witnesses Notaries who take more than their just Fees or who appear in bad Causes There is a very commendable Practice among Trading-People in Portugal to set aside some part of their Estates for Pious Uses by way of Reparation for Wrongs they may have done through inadvertency in the Hurry of Business But that which is given this way being commonly left by Will the Executors may by virtue of this Bull compound for one Moiety of all such Legacies in case the Legatees shall neglect to come and Claim them within a Year Executors may likewise compound for all manner of Legacies in case the Persons concerned cannot be found after a due Enquiry They also that keep Gaming-Houses where Cheats are practis'd such as Rook others at Play or Win Money from Boys Women Fryers Slaves They that have lost at Play and have no mind to pay Publick-Women that exact or by their Artifices gain more from their Customers than their lawful Hire for their Hire according to the Casuists is their due if it be moderate or no more than is customary or than as it is rated by the Magistrates Private Women that practice the same Trade are likewise Compounders and that as some will have it for all the Money they take for some Casuists reckon all their Gains unlawful for that they do in a manner practice without a Licence Men are likewise to compound for the Money or Jewels they take on such accounts from Married Women supposing that what they give be at their own disposal or of their bona Paraphernalia as the Lawyers term it otherwise it is to be restored to the Husband Such as have gotten Ship-wreck'd Goods into their hands or Goods taken out of Houses in a Fire if the Owner be not known may compound for them Composition may likewise be made for a Deposite left by one gone into a Far Country in case He or his Heirs be not heard of in some time as also for the surplusage of the value of a Pawn that 's sold when the Party that hath taken Money upon it is not found upon due enquiry But it is a Question What Diligence is required in seeking out the Party to whom Restitution should be made in any of these Cases The Commissary for his part is very reasonable tho he speaks by Apostolical Authority and declares that Diligence to be sufficient which a Prudent Man the Quantity and Quality of the Thing the Time and the Place c. considered would use in his own Concerns and it is a receiv'd Maxim amongst the Spanish Casuists That in this Case No es necessario hazer lo ultimo de potencia which is as much as to say a Man need not do his utmost But I have met with a single Portuguese who very honestly declares against them all that since it is commonly for Goods stolen or unjustly detained that People compound the most exact diligence is requir'd Composition once made let the Owner then appear as soon as he will the Compounder is absolv'd from the Debt and is no longer bound to Restitution either in Foro Conscientiae or in Foro externo so saith the Commissary whose Declaration is a Law in these Matters and my Portuguese Casuist who was so honest just now seems to be of the same Opinion Another Question is Whether a Man may be admitted to Compound who makes his unlawful Gains in confidence of having the benefit of the Bull The Commissary declares in express Terms that he cannot however he mollifies the matter not a little by declaring That one who hath such a Confidence may Compound for what he hath unjustly got through Frailty and that at the worst he may apply himself to him the Commissary and make such a Composition as He shall think fit for in this Case he says there is no Rate set He says the same thing concerning such as shall take that which is another Mans knowing whose it is at the same time but hoping they shall forget him afterwards that by this means they may have the Benefit of the Bull and of such as will not pay Legacies till the time be expired in hopes of Compounding In all these Cases they must come to the Commissary and Compound with him at his own Terms The Ordinary Rate of Composition is a Teston per Bull for every 5 Millreis ie one in 50
was not satisfy'd after they had done all they could to serve her she having been treated with so much Respect that no Queen ever had so great an Authority But coming to that part of her Complaint wherein she said she had been treated like a Slave he chang'd his Note and in Portuguese for he had spoken French before he boldly told her That her Majesty was abus'd by some about her who deserv'd to be chastis'd had no Reason to complain of the Portugueses since the Respect they paid her came little short of Adoration The Queen after a warm Reply wherein she said She knew how to distinguish between the good and the bad Portugueses There being not above three or four that she complain'd of and signifying what she would do to those that had enrich'd themselves with the Rents belonging to the Queens of Portugal commanded the Secretary not to speak so loud He told her That if he spake loud it was that all the World might hear what he said The Queen bad him hold his Peace and be gone He not departing presently she rose from her Seat and was going away the Secretary imprudently laid his Hand upon her Gown either to kiss it according to Custom at her departure to signifie his Desire that she would hear him out but seeing her resolv'd to be gone he cry'd out to the Noblemen and Ladies present That he was unworthily us'd no King having ever treated a Vassal in this manner The Person who had this Dispute with her Majesty was Antonio de Souza de Macedo before mention'd as one of the first that came in to the King at Alcantara I cannot tell what he was by Birth but in himself he was a Person of Noble Qualities as appear'd afterwards by his Constancy in the Service of his Master and his Friend he was a Man of Letters and a Doctor in the Laws After the Revolt from the Spaniards he had written with great Zeal and Eloquence in defence of his Country's Cause and went Secretary to the solemn Embassy which King John sent to our King Charles the First to acquaint him of his having assum'd the Crown of Portugal and upon King Charles's Demand to know on what Right his Master's Claim was founded he drew up a Paper which entirely satisfy'd his Majesty In England he continued Resident for several Years and was very serviceable to the King in the time of his Troubles From hence he went Ambassador to Holland and in a very difficult Negotiation he acquitted himself much to his Master's Satisfaction and his own Credit and at his Return he was highly esteem'd at Court And the Conde could not do a more grateful thing to the Nobility than prefer him as he did to the place of Secretary of State tho' perhaps he might have some regard to himself as well as to the Publick in advancing this Man The Conde was young and Antonio de Sousa well practis'd in Business and by his Counsels may have been of as great use to the Conde as the Conde was to the King It is certain that he drew up Instructions for him to observe in the Administration of the Government and as the Conde was to be destroy'd before the King could be depos'd so it is very probable that this Quarrel was pick'd on purpose with Antonio de Sousa in order to make way for the Conde's Ruin The King coming to understand what had passed between the Queen and him did his endeavour to pacifie her Majesty promising that the Secretary should be severely punish'd but the Queen would not be appeas'd It unluckily fell out that this Broil happen'd at the time of Bull-feast The first Day was over and her Majesty could not be prevail'd upon to appear the second Day So that to conceal the Matter from the People the Bull-running was put off for that Day upon pretence that the King was indispos'd and she continuing out of Humour still the King was fain to be indispos'd the next and the following Days and by that time things were brought to such a pass that an end was put to all Sports and Pastimes for this King's Reign The Queen took so little care to conceal her Anger that the People soon came to know the Cause why the Bull-running was put off and began to murmur loudly against the Court that their new Queen should be so much abus'd and perhaps their Disappointment did not a little serve to raise their Clamours The Queen would be satisfy'd with nothing less than the Secretary's being turn'd out of his Place and banish'd from the Court which the Conde was very unwilling to consent to as thinking that should he give way to her in this Case he was like to be the next Man that should fall a Sacrifice to her Resentments however the Court perceiving a Storm ready to break upon them from another Quarter it was resolv'd in Council that the Secretary should absent himself from Court for ten or twelve Days and that the King should communicate this Order to the Queen and acquaint her That it was made only to content her Majesty and that it was hoped she would engage her self no more in such Matters for the future to prevent the ill Consequences that might ensue to the State Pursuant to this Order the Secretary to please the Queen departs from Court but the King forbore to communicate the Order to her for fear of exasperating her further at a time when he had his Hands full of another more troublesome Business While these things were done above-board a secret Plot was carrying on among the Heads of the discontented Party to seize upon the Conde and carry him off in the same manner as Conti had been serv'd before The Conde having Information of their Design may be supposed to have made the more hast to satisfie the Queen's Complaints For the very next Day he ordered the Guards about the Palace to be doubled the Cavalry to be mounted and the Centinels plac'd at the Avenues and as 't is said Command was given to the Soldiers to fall upon certain Noblemen in case they endeavoured to get into the Court it being suppos'd that they were coming to execute the Design Hereupon several Messages past between the Infante and the Court the Infante complaining That the Conde by arming the Palace had insinuated as if he was designing to violate it for which he requires Reparation of Honour accusing the Conde withal of attempting upon his Life by Poison and therefore desires that he might be removed from about the King's Person in order to his Punishment The King takes upon himself the doubling of the Guards and offers to send the Conde to throw himself at the Infante's Feet The Infante refuses to take this for Satisfaction and insists upon the Conde's removal The King offers to do him all Justice and desires him to name the Conde's Accusers in order to his Tryal But this the Infante would not yield to unless the Conde
Prudence speaks much in commendation of her Magnanimity and Patience in bearing the Disgrace when the Match was broken off between the Infanta her Daughter and the Duke of Savoy which she had set her Heart very much upon and for her other Vertues he would have her pass for no less than a Saint but he intimates that her Piety was best known to her Confessor and compares it to the Sanctum Sanctorum which was visible only to the High-Priest and indeed I do not find that it was much known to the People it being very little talk'd of amongst them Certainly if it was so very great as this Orator represents it her Majesty's Confessor had a great deal of reason when he us'd to tell those he convers'd with That the Portugueses did not know how good a Queen God had sent them Of the late QVEEN MAria Sophia Elizabeth Daughter of Philip William late Duke of Nicubourg and Elector Palatine of the Rhine by Elizabeth Amelia Daughter of George Lantgrave of Hesse d'Armstadt was born the 6th of August 1666 and Married to Dom Pedro the II. King of Portugal the 11th of August 1687 the day of her Arrival at Lisbon to which place she was conducted by a Squadron of English Men of War under the Command of the late Duke of Grafton This Princess was of a middle Stature exceeding Fair and a graceful Person I do not know whether they that are Judges in these Matters will allow her to have been a Perfect Beauty but no doubt all Strangers will agree that she appeared with great advantage among her Ladies one cause of this perhaps may be her neglect of those Arts which they have recourse to to set themselves off for the Portuguese Women of all Ranks do so discolour their Faces with Red Paint that it renders them a very disagreeable Spectacle in the Eyes of Strangers It was observed That her Majesty did seldom or never concern her self with the Affairs of State contrary to the Practice of the former Queen It is said that her Confessor Father Leopold Fuess a Jesuit who came along with her from Germany advis'd her not to meddle with the Government They tell indeed of one Design of hers which I may speak of in another place which she was put upon by the same Jesuit her Confessor it being a Matter wherein as 't is said the whole Society have concern'd themselves for some time and that was to bring the Conde de Castelmelhor into the Ministry again but if her Majesty ever had any such Design it is certain that nothing came of it for the Conde keeps from Court still and the Duke of Cadaval is since more firmly establish'd there than before But the Principal Parts of her Majesties Character are her great Piety and singular Devotion according to the Religion in which she had been educated she was a constant Hearer of the Fathers of the Cratory an Order of Men who some Years ago were famous for Preaching of true Christian Morality whereby they became and were it not for some very mean Compliances their prevailing Adversaries have extorted from them they had continued still the Glory of the Roman Church nor are they yet so far degenerated but People still take notice that their Sermons are the least stuft with those Fooleries wherewith Preachers of other Orders affect to raise Mirth in the Audience It is I suppose for this cause that notwithstanding the large Share the Jesuits have in her Majesties Favour she honour'd them so often with her Presence and that the Street where their Church stands was every Sunday in Lent crowded with Coaches for her Majesties Example seems to have had a mighty Influence over the whole Court especially among those of her own Sex It is a usual thing to see Ladys of Quality with their Prayer-Books open in their hands as they are carried along the Streets in their Litters and I have observed some of the younger sort as they were going to a Wedding of one of their Companious very hard at their Devotion in the midst all their Gayety I need not I suppose tell that her Majesty is zealously addicted to what is now so commonly called the Catholick Religion it is enough to make the Reader sensible of that to say she is of the House of Nicubourg The Princes of that Family by the very extraordinary Methods they take to promote their Religion have made their Zeal sufficiently remarkable to the World But as well instructed in Catholicism as she was in Germany her Majesty seemed to be much improved since her coming into Portugal especially in those smaller Devotions as the French call them of which good Catholicks are so very shy in Countrys where Hereticks are in sight and so mightily addicted to where they are at their own Liberty But it would be very difficult for one that is of another Religion to give an account of these Matters without being suspected of Misrepresentation or in the present case of disregard to Majesty I shall therefore give but one Instance of the Queens Devotion and concerning that I shall say nothing but what I have from the Jesuits who were her Majesties Directors and are at this day reckon'd among the most refin'd Courtiers in Europe and therefore may be supposed to understand best what is most fit for the World to know From these good Fathers then I learn that above all the Saints in the Roman Calendar the Queen had a singular and most devout Affection for the famous St. Francis Xavier I need not I suppose at this time tell who this Saint is since his Life has been written by the elegant Pen of Pere Bouhours and translated into English by our famous Laureat or 't is enough to let the ordinary Reader know that he was one of the first Set of Jesuits that appear'd in the World and that he is frequently address'd to by such as want Heirs to their Familys and is believed by his Devotes frequently to procure Relief in such cases The first occasion taken notice of by my Authors of the great Friendship between this Saint and her Majesty was this Soon after her Marriage the Viceroy that came from Goa brought along with him a certain Cap that had formerly belong'd to Xavier The greatest Treasure saith the Famous Jesuit Vieira that ever came from the Indies since the Arm of the same Saint that 's now at Rome was brought from thence This Cap her Majesty possibly prevail'd upon to comply with the Bigotry of those about her put upon her Head on the 21st of Nevember 1687 which in the Roman Calendar is the day of the Presentation of the Virgin and she happening to be with Child soon afterwards they would needs have it that she received great Benefit by the Cap but the Jesuits have made strange work of the Matter On which day saith the Jesuit Duarte Her Majesty amidst the sweetest transports of her Heart received for the first time the Sacred
Mistress she was and proves her to have been a most Endearing Wife and a Tender Mother Of the Queen Dowager of England HER Majesty being now to the great Regret of our Nation become a most considerable Part of the Portuguese Court this Account wou'd appear but lame and be more defective than it is should I forbear to mention her I have great Reason to believe that my Country-men wou'd think the Omission unpardonable finding them so very inquisitive as they are concerning her the first Question they put to such as come from Portugal and to which Satisfaction is most earnestly desired being commonly concerning their Queen-Dowager But her Majesty's Character is so well known to the World already that I shall not attempt it here To tell of her most exemplary Piety wou'd be no News in any part of Europe much less in England and it is needless to say that it is now the most distinguishing part of her Character For it was so while she Reign'd in one of the first Courts of Christendom and none will suppose her Majesty to be alter'd in this respect now in the time of her Retirement It did then as it does still give forth so bright a Lustre as to out-shine by far all the rest of her great Perfections which yet as those who are competent Judges and have the Honour to be near her Person affirm are such as would be highly admired in any other Person But tho' her Majesty be her self the same her outward Circumstances are somewhat alter'd since her leaving England her Court is lessen'd almost to a private Family those few Persons that waited on her from hence being for the most part either dismiss'd with their Salaries continued to them or excus'd their Attendance there is now no Noise nor Ostentation of Grandeur about her House but all things are quiet and still except it be on Days of Ceremony when Persons of Quality Will be coming to express the great Veneration they have for her then indeed her Court is as great and full as the Nobility of the Country can make it At all other times she convinces the World that the Formalities of Pomp and State are not inseparable from Majesty and that true Greatness instead of being set off by such Helps appears to the best Advantage without them But the Queen had doubtless a Nobler End still in getting Rid of those Incumbrances there being great cause to believe that it has been all along the chief Desire of her Heart to be at Ease and Liberty that nothing might divert her from enjoying her self as she now does at her Devotions Some speak of it as a considerable Alteration about her Majesty that the Jesuits are become her Directors whereas before she conferr'd that Trust on those of the Franciscan Order But her Majesty is not of a Character to be used by those Fathers as others may have been 'T is said indeed that they have tasted of her Liberality in a most plentiful manner but as great as their Profits are the Credit they have got by being favour'd by so discerning a Princess is certainly much greater since she cannot be suppos'd to have any Worldly Designs to employ them in For my part I take this Honour to be the greatest that ever was conferr'd on the Society and that by this mention of it I have more than made Amends for any thing I have said or may say to their Disadvantage Of the Late INFANTA DOna Isabel Luisa Infanta of Portugal was born the Sixth of January 1669 sworn Princess or Heiress to the Crown in 1680 died the Twenty-first of October 1690. This Princess was accounted one of the most Beautiful and Accomplish'd Persons of her Sex and Rank in Christendom and that not only by the Portugueses who admired her almost to Adoration but by more impartial Strangers such especially as bore a Publick Character who had frequent Opportunities to satisfie themselves that the favourable Esteem the World had for her was not without ground For which Reason and for the Prospect there was of her succeeding to the Crown 'till after the King's Second Marriage she was sought for in Marriage by most of the Princes and among the rest by some of the most considerable Monarchs in Europe as indeed there is none so great but might have accounted it a very advantageous Match The first that pretended to this Princess at least with any success was Victor Amedee the present Duke of Savoy Cousin-German to the Infanta Madame Royale his Mother Marie Jeane Baptist de Savoie Princess of Nemours being Sister to the Queen of Portugal His Pretensions succeeded so well that in the Year 1680 a Marriage was treated and soon agreed upon and nothing seem'd wanting to the final Conclusion but the coming of the Duke to Lisbon according to Agreement It will not be amiss to give what Account I can of this Match as how it came on and was unexpectedly broke off it being no inconsiderable Part of the History of this Age. It may easily be supposed that it was at first contrived between the two Mothers for howsoever it might have proved to others it afforded a very advantageous Prospect to each of them Madame Royale had been left sole Regent of Savoy during her Son's Minority by her Husband Charles Emanuel at his Death in 1675 But the young Duke entring at this time upon his 15th Year had a little before been declared Major and therefore should he have taken upon himself the Government her Authority was like to suffer no small diminution nor was there any so likely an Expedient to continue the Power in her Hands as the Duke's being sent away into Portugal the Desire of Rule together with the Ambition of becoming Mother of a King might make this Princess give a listning Ear to her Sister's Proposals The Queen of Portugal for her part as she had a great hand in the setting up of his present Majesty so she had a great share with him in the Government but her Power was not like to continue so great should a strange Prince be admitted into Court especially in case any thing should befal the King but by this Marriage between her Nephew and her Daughter she secured her Authority and took the best Measures to establish it both for the present and against the time to come These may be supposed to have been sufficient Inducements on both sides for the two Princesses to desire a Match between their Children and considering the great Power that each of them were possess'd of in their respective Dominions one would think there was no need of the Intervention of any others to bring the same about But some will needs bring the French in upon the Stage for in this latter Age there must nothing of moment be done in any Court of Christendom but what they have a hand in The Match indeed was for the Interest of France and that seems to be a great Argument why
Antonio Bento Bernardo the King 's eldest Son living born the 22d of October 1689 and sworn Heir to the Crown by the Three Estates of the Kingdom assembled in Cortes held at Lishon Decemb. 1. 1697 a Prince as they who frequent the Court report of a sweet and mild Disposition and likely to inherit the King his Father's Vertues as well as his Throne Dom Francisco born the 25th of May 1691 a Prince of great Vivacity and Spirit as appears by many pretty Stories of him which the Portugueses entertain themselves withal He is designed for a Knight of Malta at least to hold the Grand Priory of Crato the richest Commenda in Portugal or perhaps in all Spain of which he is at present in Possession Dom Antonio born the 15th of March 1695 He was cloath'd in a Jesuit's Habit upon his first coming into the World which he still wears or did at least not long ago her Majesty having devoted him to her St. Xavier and if the Jesuits are to be believ'd he is design'd to be of their Order Dona Theresa Francisca Josepha born the 24th of Feb. 1696. Dom Emanuel born the of 1697. Another Princess born in the beginning of this Year 1699. If I remember a-right her Name is Dona Maria Xavier Josepha Besides these his Majesty hath acknowledg'd one Natural Daughter whose Mother is reported to have been imploy'd about the Palace to sweep the lower Rooms This young Lady hath been bred up in a Monastery 'till the Year 1695 when the King bestow'd her in Marriage upon the Eldest Son of the Duke of Cadaval to the great Dissatisfaction of the Nobility insomuch that few or none of them would appear at the Publick Reception of the Bride I never heard that their Discontent proceeded from an Opinion that this Marriage of the principal Person among them was a Disgrace to the Fidalguia In other Countries perhaps and in former Times so Illustrious a Body might think their Blood debased by such a Match But their Dissatisfaction was said to proceed from another Cause they thought the Honour was too great for any Subject the Duke of Cadaval not excepted and that he was raised thereby too much above their Level tho' it be confess'd by all at the same time that next his Majesty his Excellency hath the greatest Authority and the greatest Estate and is of the Noblest Blood in the Kingdom Yet he is not of equal Quality to them on whom the French King hath bestowed his Bastards for they to whom his Most Christian Majesty hath done so very great an Honour are such Princes as are the nearest to his Blood much nearer than the Duke is to the King of Portugal no wonder then if so great a Value is put upon the like Honour in smaller Courts the Authority of the French being in this Age sufficient to alter if not the Nature at least the Appearance of Things and make Things look glorious in our Days which in former Times had another Aspect In one Particular the Portuguese Court seems to have out-done the French on this occasion that is in the Title given to this Lady upon her being first own'd For as I was inform'd at the time it was ordered that she shou'd be treated with Altesa Real whereas I do not find that the French King 's Natural Children have as yet got above Altesse Serenissime and this may possibly be the Reason why Monsieur L'Abbe d'Estrees the French Ambassador forbore to visit her 'till he had express Orders for it from France For his Master having been for some time used to prescribe Rules for the Ceremonial he might perhaps think it a kind of Usurpation for any others to take upon them to alter it But the Portugueses did not altogether innovate on this occasion for they had a Precedent at the Court of Madrid where the late Don John of Austria took Royal Highness upon him which perhaps may have been the cause why the Court of Portugal which is resolved in all things to swell up to the Grandeur of Spain gave the same Title to this Lady It is now commonly said in Portugal that the King 's Natural Children have a Right to succeed him in the Throne in default of his lawful Issue But I believe this Opinion to be as ill grounded as 't is derogatory to the Honour of that Nation Had Royal Bastards a Right to the Succession John the Second who ruled with a more Absolute Power than any King of this Nation either before or since would doubtless have left the Crown to his Natural Son Dom Jorge Duke of Coimbra Progenitor of the Dukes of Aveiro now in Spain he having laboured all he could to obtain the Succession for him but all in vain For he was forc'd before his Death to acknowledge for his Successor Dom Emanuel then Duke of Beja whose Brother that King had slain with his own Hands When Dom Antonio pretended to the Crown after the Death of Henry the Cardinal he had put an end to the great Controversie at that time on foot about the Succession had Bastards a Right thereto But he himself was far from thinking they had and therefore he grounded his Claim upon a supposed Marriage between Dom Luis Son of Emanuel with his Mother It was a Prejudice to him indeed that some suspected Judaism to lie lurking in his Mother's Blood However the Judges constituted by Henry to determine this Controversie alledged his Illegitimacy as a sufficient and the only Cause of his Exclusion The only Bastard that ever Reign'd in this Kingdom was John the First yet he never pretended a Right of Succession to the Crown but came in by Election of the Estates assembled in Cortes at a time when the Throne was declared vacant the other Pretenders being at that time Prisoners in Castille and what is more declared Illegitimate by the Cortes whether justly or not is another Question so that Bastard for Bastard it was thought fit in this Case of Necessity to Elect Dom John before any other Of the MINISTRY ALL Publick Affairs of Importance and such as immediately concern the King are here managed by a Sett of Ministers as many or as few as the King pleases to appoint who together are called the Council of State and as Members of this Body they are all treated with Excellency The Reason I suppose is because that Title is given to the Counsellors of State at Madrid tho' another Reason was given by one of their Number who said It was their due because they had all of them been Ambassadors To this Council the King refers all Matters of Moment seldom or never resolving upon any thing before the Affair has been considered and debated among them 'T is said the Reason why the King pays so great a Deference to this Council is partly because it consists of those who had a great hand in advancing him to his Brother's Throne He for this Cause thinking it but reasonable that
Predecessor in his Respect and Deference to the Holy See for he gave the Pope an uncontroulable kind of Soveraignty within his Dominions granting that his Bulls should be Publish'd for the future without being examin'd by the Chancellor or any other of the King's Ministers which was the former practice of this and is still observed with great exactness in other Kingdoms to prevent incroachments upon the Civil Power When that Magnanimous Prince John the 3d. had been treated with the utmost Indignities by those of Rome and they conscious to themselves of their Offences were apprehensive of his Resentments Inigo Loyola Founder of the Jesuits could assure them that he knew the King of Portugal to be so good a Catholick that he would suffer his very Beard to be trampled under feet by his Holiness without showing the least sign of Disobedience The Brave Sebastian when the Pope to flatter his desire of Glory bid him choose what Title he pleased answered That he was ambitious of no other but that which his Ancestors had so well deserved viz. That of The most obedient Son of the Church This great Devotion of the Portuguese Kings toward the Romish See hath given the Pope the advantage to establish an Absolute Dominion within their Kingdom It s true his Holiness hath the Title of Soveraign only in Spirituals but he so manages the matter that Temporals fall in of course in Ordine ad Spiritualia he is not indeed at the trouble nor the charge of maintaining the Civil Government but then he has the Power and the Emoluments of a Temporal Soveraignty He has his Nuncio always residing at Lisbon with a Legantine Power and wanting only the Title of Vice-Roy exercising his Jurisdiction in his own Courts whence there is no appeal but to Rome over the whole Body of the Clergy who with their Dependents may well be reckon'd one half of the Kingdom They are commonly supposed to have much above two thirds of the Wealth the secular Clergy who are more exempt than the rest from his Dominion are yet his Tributarys great summs are extorted from them for Collations to Benefices and Bulls for Bishops There goes to Rome as I have been informed no less than 90 Thousand Crowns before an Archbishop of Evora can be setled in his Chair and all the rest may be supposed to pay in their Proportion As for the Regulars they are his more immediate Vassals or Soldiers rather its true they are not in his Pay for they live upon free Quarter and keep the Country under Contribution and his Holiness comes in for a share of the Spoils by continually draining them of what they scrape from the People every Monastery having always some Business or other depending before the Nuncio or their Agents at Rome to procure Privileges or Indulgencies or Composition for unsaid Masses that have been paid for of which they will sometimes be behind hand for many thousands but upon Composition made at Rome one high Mass said at a privileged Altar will serve for all or to make the Ministers of that Court acquainted with their Squabbles among themselves And on all these occasions the Money of the Kingdom is carried to Rome to be dispos'd of there by underhand Conveyances as well as open Practices for when a Fryar is to pass the Mountains he is furnished with Bills for Secret as well as Publick Service and it is not impossible that the Holy See may by this means undergo greater Scandal than it deserves for the Fryars Account is allowed of upon his own word so that should he convert a considerable summ to his own use he cannot be discovered unless it be by a very rare Accident indeed and yet it is no unheard of thing at Lisbon for one to be found out in reckoning some Thousands of Crowns for Bribes which never were expended in the Service But these are not the only ways by which the Riches of Portugal are drawn to Rome his Holiness hath his Apostolical Collectors for so they are called to raise Tribute from the King's Subjects as well as his own and to receive his share of the Taxes which the King levys in his own Dominions by his Holiness's Permission Dispensations for Marriages must necessarily bring him in a very considerable and constant Revenue the forbidden Degrees being so very many in the Roman Church whether upon the account of Consanguinity or Spiritual Relation that one would think there could scarce be a Wedding among Neighbours or People that have for any time been acquainted without a Dispensation and it rarely if ever happens that a Match is broken off for want of one supposing the Parties will come up to the price of it if they apprehend any difficulty in it it is but beginning the Marriage at the wrong End and then the Dispensation is granted of course and the Price being rais'd according to the Quality of the Persons and nearness of the Relation great summs are continually drawn from Families of the better sort who commonly marry within themselves and some of them intrench so far upon the Laws of Nature that the House of Austria in the last Age was not more confounded by the various Relations of its several Branches to each other than some Noble Families in Portugal are at this day In fine Portugal is so beneficial a Province to his Holiness that could a just Computation be made there is no doubt but his Revenues from thence would be found to exceed the Kings by far the necessary Charges of the Government deducted They are so great that if some sudden stop be not put to them the Kingdom is like to be exhausted in a very short time which gives thinking People here a sad prospect of the approaching Ruin of their Country This may appear strange to the rest of Europe considering the vast advantages that must necessarily have accrued to this Kingdom from an undisturbed Peace of above Thirty Years continuance during which time all other parts of Christendom have been more than once engaged in Expensive Wars one would think that during the last War at least which among many other advantages brought hither so great and gainful a Trade with England as took off all the Commodities the Country could vent and that too at prodigious Rates I believe I may safely say above double to what they formerly sold for one would think I say by this time that Riches and Plenty should have abounded every where But they that have travelled the Country of late beheld another Face of Things and at the late Assembly of the Cortes the Mouths of the Deputies were full of complaints of an Universal Desolation and Poverty and I have been told that some of them were sensible enough of the cause of their Misery but I have not heard that any Motion was made in their Publick Meetings for a Redress to this their greatest Grievance Having given some Account of the State of Portugal with respect to Rome it
been demonstrated to them that Popes did not Tacitly consent to the Election of Bishops in which for so many Ages together they had nothing at all to do no more than a King of France has to do in the choice of a King of Poland and would the Poles think we be content to abandon their Country to the mischiefs of an Interregnum and submit their Necks to the Yoke of a Foreign Tyrant because it can never be made out that their Kings have not been made by his Tacit Consent but when I see People laying so much stress upon the Tacit Consent of the Popes for my part I do not at all wonder that they ascribe so much virtue to a Rule in the Pope's Chancery that it shall be able to destroy the whole Hierarchy and turn into an Arbitrary lawless Tyranny that most Regular and Beautiful frame of Government which hath obtain'd in the Church ever since the Apostles days However these Reasons such as they were satisfi'd the three Estates of Portugal so that instead of helping themselves as they might and ought they took up with a Resolution to throw themselves wholly at the Holy Father's Mercy and in conclusion of their Bleatings declar'd That they would wrestle with Christ's Vicar the Roman Angel the Figure of God on Earth exerting all the vigour that their love and necessity inspired them with till they got from him his Blessing and would never let go their hold till his Apostolical Hand was upon them and till he offered his most Holy Feet to their Mouths The Pope finding them to be thus resolv'd thought he was sure enough of them and therefore let 'em Bleat and Bray too as they pleased for him for his part he would trouble his Head no more about them all his concern was how to oblige and humour the boisterous Spaniards who by their rugged behaviour were ever and anon threatning him into a Compliance with their unjust and unreasonable Pretensions He knew not what mischief they might do him While the Portugueses took care to satisfie Him that he had nothing to fear from them and I do not find but that they sent in their Money in the usual course so that he lost but little excepting what was to be got by the Bishop's Bulls which yet as the Spaniards would perswade him was like to come speedily in all in a lump they feeding him all along with hopes that they should make a quick dispatch of the War In this state did the Affairs of Portugal at Rome continue for part of Urban the 8th's Pontificat all Innocent the 10th's and Alexander the 7th's and till the latter end of Clement the 9th's and during the whole Reigns of this King's Father and Brother but upon Dom Pedro's coming to the Government the Spaniards having made Peace with Portugal and acknowledg'd the King's Title left his Holiness at Liberty to do so likewise And now Portugal having no such need as before of the Pope's Protection or Favour and being more at Liberty to make Returns of the ill usage it had receiv'd the Blessings of Rome began to shour down upon that favourite Kingdom without measure Clement the 9th had a happy Opportunity before he died to signalize his Fatherly Tenderness or rather indulgence towards his present Majesty and make full amends for all the Rigour used by former Popes towards his Father and Brother for a little before the conclusion of the Peace Alfonso was deposed in the manner as hath been related and Dom Pedro possest of his Throne and a little after of his Bed by marrying the Queen the King his Brother still living and here was a large Field for the Apostolical Graces For now it was not only the King's Title that was to be acknowledged but the Prince his Right to his Brother's Wife and Kingdom and his Highness found in the Pope all the easiness he could desire This Prince did but mention in a Letter written on another occasion his design of sending an Ambassador to pay his Obedience and his Holiness returns answer That his Ambassador upon his coming to Rome should as he thought but just meet with a kind and honourable Reception no scruple was made about the Prince's Right of sending one no enquiry into the manner of his taking upon him the Government nor so much as mention made of the Clause sine Praejudicio Tertij How different was this usage from what his Father met with King John had an undoubted Right to the Crown and the same was manifest to the World yet his Ministers were called to account at Rome to show the grounds of their Master's Title whereas the Reasons for deposing King Alfonso and placing Dom Pedro in the Throne whatever they were were not as yet well known to the Publick and yet after all King John was treated like a Traitor and a Robber and it was but just that Dom Pedro's Ambassador upon the first intimation of his coming should meet with a kind and honourable Reception at Rome The World is not to be informed now what work they used to make at Rome in Causes of Divorce especially between Royal Parties and one would think his Holiness might have taken some time to consider of it before he gave way to a Marriage which I believe never had a Precedent in the Christian World But here we have an instance of a Queens casting off her Husband without the least Difficulty and both that and her Marriage with her living Husband's Brother confirm'd by his Holiness with as much Facility as if these were things done every day of course so that it cannot be denied but the submissive Compliance of this Pope with the Will and Pleasure of the Portuguese Court now in the time of its Prosperity did equal at least if not exceed the insolence of his Predecessors towards that Nation in its distress It is certain that Clement did not a little value himself upon his having thus far stretch'd the plenitude of his Power in Dom Pedro's Favour he thought he had done enough to atone for all Offences and to inspire this Prince with as great Devotion towards the Holy See as any of his Predecessors have had before him Certainly saith he to him in his Letter on this occasion Certainly we have labour'd to do you all the Favour in the present Cause that the sacred Canons will permit and we receive the greatest content upon finding You so well pleased with this Pontificial Kindness But in Truth the thanks you give with so much Piety and Affection are no more than are due the thing it self consider'd so that we with Justice require that you acknowledge your self indebted for it to the Goodness of the Holy See and you will perfectly comply with this Obligation if you go on to show as truly you do on all occasions a greater concern and affection for whatsoever hath Relation to the Holy See and the Catholick Religion imitating herein the Ancient Devotion of
the Spanish Court from the most obliging Carriage of the Marquis de Castel dos Rios their late Minister at Lisbon one would think that Spain expected to reap all the advantage from the good amity little would one guess from the Conduct of this Minister that the King of Portugal was not many years ago lookt upon as his Master's Rebel there being scarce a Gentleman in Portugal more intent than he in making his Court or more careful to render himself acceptable He to gain their Majesties Favour hath during the whole time of his Residence that is for about seven years together on every Birth-night of the Eldest Prince entertained the Nobility and Foreign Ministers with a new Opera of his own Composure and acted by his own Family and all to Celebrate the future Glorys of his Highness It would perhaps seem trifling in any other times but ours to draw Consequences from any thing of this kind but in our Age Persons of his Excellencies Character do every thing by Prescription and the lightest matters of Ceremony are exactly weighed It does not yet appear what advances the King of Portugal hath made at Madrid towards the making good his Pretensions to the Succession the publick Relations of the Proceedings at that Court do as yet give but a slender Account of his Success however the frequent Couriers that pass and repass between the two Courts upon every alarm of the King of Spain's Indisposition show that his Agents there are busy in carrying on his Interests and his late Levies raised and maintained at an expence which his Kingdom is so little in a condition to bear are an Argument that he is resolved to make One among the Competitors as indeed it concerns him much to be considering the apparent danger of his own Crown in case he miscarries in his design upon that of Spain for whether a Prince of the House of Austria or of France shall inherit that Crown he 'll be Heir at the same time to Philip the 2d's Title to Portugal which as unjust as it was was strengthen'd by sixty years Possession and the Approbation of several Popes and whosoever reflects upon the Conduct of the House of Austria in the last Age or of the French King in this will find that very slender Pretences have served the turn when either of them hath had a fair opportunity to invade his Neighbour and see cause enough to be afraid for the House of Bragança should it ever have the misfortune to ly at their Mercy as it almost infallibly will do when either of them shall be in quiet Possession of the Spanish Monarchy for Spain upon any change of Government will almost necessarily recover so much of its ancient Vigor as to be overmatch for Portugal This small Kingdom may perhaps have some cause to hope that its destruction will come on more slowly in case it hath to deal with an Austrian Prince but whether it will be therefore the less sure is a question soon decided when we consider what a close Union there hath always been between the two Branches of that House each espousing the Interest and Quarrels of the other and making them its own how great a part the Spaniards had in the German Usurpations in the business of the Palatinate and the Catholick League and how far the German Line interessed it self in behalf of the Spaniards upon the Revolt of Portugal when to revenge their Quarrel the Imperialists contrary to all Faith and Honour the Right of Nations and the Laws of Hospitality seiz'd upon Prince Duarte the King of Portugal's Brother and made him end his days in a Prison Now when a Prince of the same House less Religious than his present Imperial Majesty and one of his Character does not arise in every Age shall come to have Portugal in his power can we think it likely that he will so far forget the Maxims of his Ancestors as to cherish a Race that hath occasion'd so many disgraces to a Family But if the King of Portugal hath little cause to expect security from that House he would have less reason to think himself safe should he fall under the Power of France 't is true indeed if words of Friendship could insure him he would be freest from danger while the French are putting themselves in a Condition to destroy him who till they are ready to give the Blow are always lavish of their kind Promises which such as have trusted in them have found to be the forerunners or the means rather of their Ruin Should a French Prince become possess'd of the Spanish Monarchy if Philip the 2d's Title will not do there are a great many others now dormant that will quickly be started up the Kingdom of Portugal will soon be found to have been a Dependance of Castille and it is but erecting a Chamber of Re-union to annex it thereto again or a Right of Devolution may be pretended by the forfeitures which the Kings have incurr'd they having been formerly Feudatorys to those of Leon or the Great Monarch may think it will be for his Glory or his Convenience to order his Generals to take Possession of this small Kingdom and that as appears from some Presidents may be thought right sufficient It is not to be imagined that the Court of Portugal is at this time of the Day insensible of the Dangers they are threatned with the Agonies that the Ministers were in not long ago during his Catholick Majesty's Sickness could scarce be thought to proceed from any other Cause and a Paper lately published in English shows that they have been setting their Wits at Work to find out means for their Preservation that is to make good their Master's Claim to the Succession which as they seem to be perswaded is the only visible way to secure themselves at this Juncture The Author of that Paper seems to have left nothing unsaid that may make for his Master's Cause and he hath gone a great way to prove him to have a much better Right than any other Pretender if it be true as he intimates that there is such a Fundamental Law in Spain as excludes Forreigners from the Succession and I believe there can be no Instance given of any such that have succeeded in a regular Way except it be Charles the 5th who was yet Son to the immmediate Heiress and possess'd of the Crown in his Mother's life-time As for his Son Philip the 2d and the rest that came after him they were all natural born Spaniards which Privilege must be granted to the Kings of Portugal while Portugal is allowed to be a part of Spain and it is certain that they are descended from Donna Maria Daughter to Ferdinand and Isabella and Sister to her who brought the Crown into the Austrian Family so that if there be any such Law as the aforesaid Author hints at the King of Portugal may have a very fair Title the Dauphin as 't is asserted by
Charge of Constable of Castille with other such like Honours This surely is not the Language of one who was designing to send Forces to her assistance to animate her to carry on the War so that it seems to be an unjust Aspersion upon his Memory to say that he made this Peace with a purpose to violate it as soon as it was Sign'd there is indeed cause enough to suspect that he was not so passionately concern'd for the Well-fare of his Master's Allie as is pretended in the Article or rather he may be justly accused of the greatest Inhumanity to say no worse who when he thought this Family was in so deplorable a Condition as he describes and the Castillians so disposed to an Accommodation procured no better terms for them as he certainly might have done while the Treaty lasted and the business of the Prince of Conde was in agitation But still he clears himself of that which would have rendered him more infamous to Posterity of engaging his Master in so black a Crime as is a premeditated willful Perjury But by whose fault soever it was this is certain That the Peace was no sooner ratified on both sides confirm'd by the Marriage between the French King and the Infanta of Spain and sworn to at the high Altar before the Sacrament which was exposed on this occasion but while the People were every where making publick Demonstrations of their Joy for so happy a Conclusion of a long and calamitous War great Numbers of the most expert Officers in the Kingdom Gentlemen Soldiers Engineers Miners were marching towards Havre de Grace in order to Embark for Portugal These were afterwards follow'd by the choice of the King's Troops till at last the French Auxiliaries in Portugal amounted to near 6000 effective Men. But this was none of the Cardinal 's doing for as little as he kept his faith with the Portugueses he dealt more sincerely with the Spaniards for he sent the Marquis de Choup upon the Message mention'd in his Letters to perswade the Queen Regent to surrender up the Kingdom in hopes that the Dukes of Brogança should hereafter be made perpetual Governors or Vice Roys of Portugal and these were all the Instructions he gave the Marquis as the Marquis declar'd when he arrived at Lisbon where he met with such a cold Reception as his Message deserv'd so far was he from giving any underhand encouragement to the Portugueses to carry on the War as some Writers affirm he did with great Injustice to the Cardinal It s true that while his Eminence was disabusing the Portuguese Ambassador as to all his former Promises he entertain'd him in hopes that ways might be found out for the French Troops to pass into Portugal after the Peace was made with Spain but when the Count de Harcourt offer'd the same Ambassador to put himself with two Regiments into the Portuguese service in case he could but have the Tacit Consent of France he was not only denied by the Cardinal but told that if he persisted in the Design he should forfeit the place of Grand Ecuyer which had been granted to his Son the Count d' Armagnac so that the Cardinal seems to be pretty clear of this so great and direct a Violation of the new made Treaty Nor is it to be thought that his Master could have any hand in it for his most Christian Majesty to manifest to the World how disposed he was to observe the Oath he had so Religiously taken when it appeared that the Portuguese Ambassador was listing Men in France sent him repeated Orders to depart the Kingdom and some time afterwards commanded the Agent of the same Nation to be turn'd out likewise and publish'd his Edicts to recal home such Officers and Soldiers as were in the Portuguese service confiscating the Estates of the Disobedient 'T is true the Ambassador after he had been order'd to be gone continued sometime at Havre de Grace with no less then 600 Officers Gentlemen c. about him that he had raised for the service and they did not lie concealed all the while for the Inhabitants of the Town rose in a Mutiny against them for eating up their Provisions and when they and others after them arrived in Portugal they were under Military Discipline so that should they offer to obey their King's Edicts Count Schonberg who was their Leader might have hang'd them for Desertion and the Count for his part when he return'd into France was rewarded with a Marshals Bâton Levies were afterwards publickly made indeed for the same service but then it was done in Marshal Turenne's Name who took the Portuguese Affairs upon his account and when the Spaniards made loud complaints of it as a manifest infraction of the Treaty their Ambassador was put off with a cold and contemptuous Answer that it was but the Act of a private Person and that the Court did not concern it self in the Business The same thing its true was at last done openly and without Disguise but it does not appear where the fault lay then As the French succors arrived in Portugal the affairs of that Kingdom began to change face for if they were before as the Cardinal supposed them to be in a bad state they now fell from bad to worse The Portugueses while they were left to stand on their own Leggs had as meanly as the Cardinal thought of their condition bravely defended themselves and gain'd several very considerable Advantages over their Enemies particularly at the two famous Battles of Montijo in 1644. and Elvas in 1658. This last Victory was the more considerable for that it gave a check to the fury of the Spaniards when spur'd on by the Pope who pretended he must be forc'd to acknowledge that King's Title they made their utmost efforts to quiet his Holiness and destroy them out of hand and had the year before taken Olivença the most important Place for strength next to Elvas that the Portugueses had and that year Don Luis de Haro himself at the head of all the Forces he could muster together had obliged them to rise from the Siege of Badajoz at the very time when the place was reduc'd to Extremity but at the last they entirely routed Don Luis when he laid Siege to Elvas which defeat so disheartned the Spaniards that for the two following Years they gave the Portugueses little trouble it seems they thought fit to defer their Revenge till the Peace was made with the French and then they took it to some purpose on the Portugueses and the French together For in the Years 1661 and 62. Don John of Austria at the head of a small Army in all not amounting to 20000 but consisting of Veteran Troops drawn from Italy and Flanders entred Portugal Ravaging Spoiling and Burning all before him 't is true he never gain'd any set Battle for by all the Havock he made he never could provoke the Enemy to fight though he several times
the force of these Syren's Charms be altogether so irresistible as he makes it for Portugal it self where they are more numerous than in any other Country stands yet undestroyed since their first coming in which is now more than thrice ten Years and indeed should we suppose the Sex to have never so ardent a Zeal for the Grandeur of their Monarch one would think it should be not a little cool'd in such as are thus sacrific'd to his Interests and sent in perpetual Banishment to so hideous a Country as Portugal must needs appear to them that have been accustomed to the Gallantrys of a French Court But granting that the great Monarch by procuring Husbands for these Ladies doth most strongly engage them to his Service he by the same means disobliges a great many others and renders them highly disaffected to His Majesty viz. the Ladies of the Country who as 't is said do not spare to make most bitter Complaints of the wrong done them by this intrusion of Foreigners and Jealousie together with those other Passions that usually accompany it have no doubt as great an Influence upon them as Loyalty and Gratitude have upon the others And the Portuguese Women if they do not belie their Character are as subtle and intriguing as the French can be Should they in revenge once take to Politicks why may they not Cabal together and form their Faction too Did they once set about it there is no doubt but they have power enough left to make a Party of their own amongst the Fidalgo's that shall be able to make head against that of their Rivals Together with the Ladies the Jesuits are reckon'd most zealous Promoters of the French Cause these Fathers as the World knows very well have been always Men of Intrigue since their very first appearance and the greatest Monarchs have thought fit to make use of them in carrying on their Desins In the last Age the Spaniards had them wholly at their Devotion and Philip the 2d was much obliged to the Society on many accounts and more particularly for their clearing his way to the Throne of Portugal had it not been for them it is thought that K. Henry the Cardinal had according to Justice and his own Inclinations settled the Crown in the House of Bragança but King Philip was then more in Favour with the Society and therefore was the Crown reserved for him But as the whole Order hath sometimes since chang'd Sides and come over to the French these in Portugal have not been behind the rest and are now supposed to serve that Party in this Court with as much Zeal as any of their Order do elsewhere some may perhaps be apt to accuse the Society of Inconstancy on this occasion but if any do so it is certainly without Reason for these Fathers are still what they were from the very Beginning The Fortunes of Spain and France are alter'd but not the Jesuits they continue firm to their Principles it was for the Interests of the Society in the last Age as it is in this to gain the Favour of such as had the greatest Power the Spaniards had it then and the French have it now and therefore Louis the 14th is to them what Philip the 2d was Since the Spanish Monarchy hath been falling to Ruin it was time for them to make their Court elsewhere for it is not to be thought that they have less Sagacity than those Animals who are ready to quit a decay'd Building when its fall is at hand But that which is most to be admired in the Conduct of these Fathers is that notwithstanding their being look'd upon as little better than Spys to those aspiring Princes that have bid fairest for the Universal Monarchy they have yet manag'd their Affairs with that Dexterity as to maintain their Ground as long as they thought convenient in all other Courts even those not excepted that were like to suffer first when ever the Design should take effect several instances might be given of this admirable Address of theirs in keeping in with all Parties both in the last and the present Age were I not to confine my self to Portugal In this Court they have enjoyed an uninterrupted Reign from the time of Simon Rodriguez one of the first Companions of Loyola and the first Jesuit that enter'd Portugal He getting into Favour with John the 3d. laid the Foundations of their greatness in this Kingdom in Sebastian's time the Jesuits govern'd all and the Blame is laid at their doors I know not how justly of the lamentable Destruction wherein that ill advis'd Prince involv'd both himself and his Kingdom yet notwithstanding this King Henry the Cardinal was wholly at their Devotion When the Spaniards got possession of this Crown none were more zealous in their Cause than the Jesuits Yet when Fortune began to frown upon them and the present King's Father regain'd his Right the Jesuits were ready immediately to assert his Title and that not only to this Crown but to all the World besides by way of Prophecy I mean for in Effect they are doing what they can to procure their so much talk'd of Fifth Monarchy for another Prince and in all the Revolutions and Turns of State that have happened since it was sure to be their Side which soever it was that chanc'd to come uppermost In the present Court their Power is certainly very great they having all along had the Direction of the Kings and both the Queens Consciences so that considering how religiously disposed his Portuguese Majesty is and his misfortune in having been so Educated that his improvements in Knowledge have not kept pace with his other great Accomplishments their Advice must necessarily go a great way with him I find in a Memoire written by one who seems well acquainted with the Secrets of this Court that the Jesuits have a great Influence not only over His Majesty but over the Ministers likewise who are said to be obliged to these Fathers for the great share they have in the Government and that one who hath the Address to get into Favour with their Reverences which is done by enlarging on the Praises of the Society may makc a very good use of them in any Business depending at Court provided that it doth not clash with the Interest of France for it seems they have always an eye to that which is now the grand concern of the Society My Author gives one signal Instance of their Zeal and Affection to the French Party which shows them to be capable of any thing in order to promote that even to the sacrificing of all other Interests it being of a Design which had it taken effect must have outed the present Ministers from Court or at least abated much of their Power for it was to bring the Conde de Castelmelhor into Business again and that because they know him saith my Author to be well affected to France I cannot tell upon what
grounds the Conde is thought to be so inclin'd he was indeed a kind of a Martyr for the French Cause for the League before mention'd is thought to have been in part the occasion of his Fall But his being obliged after all that he had suffer'd for them to take Sanctuary in England where he was honourably entertain'd and had a noble Pension assign'd him should as one would think have inclin'd him another way its true his eldest Son the Conde de Calbeta hath married a French Lady but that was since the Design I am speaking of was set on foot But however this be the Jesuits no doubt hop'd for some extraordinary advantage from his re-admission into Court since they durst venture to offend the Conde's great Rival the Duke of Cavadal from whom they were to look for a most Powerful Opposition But as the Attempt was great the way they took to effect it was somewhat surprizing for the Queen by the advice of Father Fuess her Confessor was to use her endeavours with the King to bring it about It is no wonder that Father Fuess being a Jesuit though a German should desire the advancement of one engag'd in the French Interest yet it is somewhat strange that a Daughter of the Palatine Family should so far forget her Father's House as to concern her self in such a Cause But they that are acquainted with the Intrigues of the Society will not wonder to see those carrying on their designs who in appearance should have the greatest reason to oppose them My Author who seems to be a very intelligent Person and who as I had it from a good hand was both a Countryman and a Servant to her Majesty saith that the Business was brought so far to a head that the Queen waited only for the time when her Confessor should think it proper for her to break it to the King How it came to miscarry I know not but it seems to be now wholly laid aside for the Conde has not yet appear'd at Court and it was about 1691. that this Business was in Agitation since which time the Duke of Cadaval hath by the Marriage of his Son to the King 's natural Daughter establish'd himself at Court more firmly than ever The French then having such Powerful Agents at the Court of Portugal as are the Ladies and the Jesuits tho' their Interest there be very consideraable yet it is some wonder that it is not much greater as without doubt it would be were there not so wise a Prince on the Throne as his present Majesty It cannot be denied but that the French Artifices in representing the late War as rais'd and carried on upon a religious account have prevail'd much and that not only among the common People but with them likewise that are in a much higher Station and have had in a great measure their design'd effect in byassing Peoples minds to the prejudice of the Allies It is reported of a certain very great Lady that when the News came to Lisbon of a great Disaster likely to befal some of the Allies upon the Coasts of Portugal she could not forbear expressing her satisfaction in a most unusual manner That the Hereticks were confounded But there are not wanting among them some so much wiser than the rest as to see through the French Artifices and perceive that all this trouble that they give World hath some other end in it than the advancement of their Religion and there are those that will not stick to give our King his just Titles of Europes Deliverer and the Restorer of Liberty to Mankind As for the King himself he is certainly not insensible of his own true Interest I have good grounds to believe that the Levies he was making in 1693. were design'd to help forward the common Cause and had actually march'd towards Catalonia had he not been assur'd from his Ministers abroad that the French were earnestly soliciting for a Peace and that the Fortune of the War had not turned so much to the disadvantage of the Allies as to make them want his Assistance And few I believe doubt but that the Forces now on foot have been rais'd upon a like design should there be occasion for them this Court being by this convinc'd what little account is to be made of French Protestations of Friendship and where they are like to end of these they have had as great or a greater share than any other People and they find themselves now to be first mark'd out for Destruction for while they are caress'd by the French Ministers at Versailles and Lisbon those of the same Nation are again making a Sacrifice of them at Madrid at least if the Author of the Paper concerning the King's Pretensions to Spain supposed to have been written by order of this Court be rightly inform'd for there we find among other Conditions offer'd to the Spaniards in behalf of the Duke of Anjou the Re-union of Portugal to the Crown of Spain proposed for one so that the Portugueses find it high time for them to look to themselves and in all appearance they will leave nothing unattempted to bring about that Re-union though in a different manner than is propos'd by France OF THE INTERESTS OF PORTUGAL With Relation to the Emperor Holland the Northern Crowns c. TIll of late Years there hath been little or no intercourse between Portugal and the Court of Vienna the reason of this strangeness was the cruel Treatment of Dom Duarte Prince of Braganca and Uncle to the present King This Prince at the Acclamation of his Brother King John the 4th had been eight Years in the Emperor's Service and was in the Post of a Major General under Piccolomeni and as it is said he had signaliz'd himself with great Courage in the War against the Swedes but he having no notice given him of his Brother's design the Spanish Ministers at Vienna assoon as the news of the Revolt came thither procured a secret Order from the Emperor Ferdinand the 3d. to have him arrested by way of Reprizal for what his Brother had taken from them and to please them this innocent Prince was by a manifest violation of the Liberties of the Empire and the Honour of the German Nation kept Prisoner for sometime at Grats and afterwards sold to the Spaniards for the summ of Forty Thousand Crowns and was by them carried away to the Castle of Milan where he was shut up for the remainder of his life he ending his days there after eight years of Confinement This dishonourable Act of the Emperor begat such a coldness between the two Courts of Vienna and Lisbon that there had been no Communication between them till of late Years the first advance towards a Correspondence by all that I can learn was not made till the Year 1683. when at the Pope's instance King Peter contributed a large supply of Money towards the Expences of the War against the Turks But his Marriage
afterwards with one so nearly Related to the House of Austria as her late Majesty was laid the Foundation of a solid Friendship and it was generally expected that this Match would have brought the King wholly over to the Austrian Interest it was thought that there was something of a Negotiation on foot to engage him on that side in the beginning of the last War viz. in 1689. when the Count de Mansfield employed in the Business of the King of Spain's second Marriage took Lisbon in his way from Madrid to Nieubourg and the French Ambassador seem'd to have smelt out some such thing and thereupon by way of Revenge found means to mortify both the King and the Count. For the King having ordered one of his Ships to be got ready for the Count to Embark upon the Ambassador took occasion to acquaint His Majesty that the Count de Mansfield being a Minister of the Emperor and one of his Generals there was cause to fear that the Ship which carried him would be attack'd by French Men of War which might occasion some distast between his most Christian and his Portuguese Majesty the King was fain to hearken to the Admonition and digest the Menace rather than expose himself to a greater Insult perceiving I suppose that the Ambassador saw plain enough that he was not in a condition to resent it wherefore the Count was left to provide a Ship for himself however the King order'd two of his Frigats to convoy him to the mouth of the Channel As the War was drawing towards a conclusion the King sent a most splendid Embassy to Vienna at the same time when he sent another to the French Court as it was thought to interpose his good Offices towards the drawing on of the Peace Nor did the disgrace which befel the Portuguese Ambassador to his Imperial Majesty break off the Correspondence between the two Courts the Emperor seeming now resolved to have his Ministers constantly Resident at Lisbon having never before had any such since the House of Bragança was possess'd of the Crown it is much for the Interest of both Parties to have a good understanding together whilst the cause of the Succession of Spain is depending for though in regard to that affair they have different ends in view yet they are both alike concern'd to act in concert till the greatest and most difficult point be gain'd which is the Exclusion of France With the Dutch this Court hath had a fair and amicable Correspondence ever since the Year 1669. when all differences were made up that had broken â—ut since the Peace with that Nation in 1662. of which I shall say nothing here since it would oblige me to give an account of the preceding War which would take up more room then can be now spared There seems to be little or no Communication between this and the two Northern Crowns the great distance between them being the cause that they have seldom any thing to do with one another all the Business the Danes and Swedes have here being about the Trade for Salt which they load yearly at Setubal but this is easily managed by the Consuls The deserved Esteem this King had for the great Sobieski and the Marriage of Prince James his Son with the Queen's Sister afforded matter for some Reciprocal Compliments between them but there was a difficulty in the Ceremonial which would not permit them to have this little Intercourse together The King of Poland in his Letter named himself first which this Court could not bear and therefore refused to receive the Letter because that King is only the Head of a Republick whereas his Majesty of Portugal is an Absolute Sovereign The present King of Poland's Envoy when he came to Lisbon to notify his Master's advancement to that Crown could not be received nor admitted to Audience for the same Reason and not as some thought for that this King refus'd to acknowledge his Master or disapprov'd of his Election The Princes of Germany and Italy can have very little to do here and therefore little notice is taken of them the Elector Palatine himself having no Minister residing at Court The Elector of Brandenbourg indeed hath his Resident but that is more for the Honour and Security of the Person than on account of any Business he being a considerable French Merchant of the Religion I have not heard that since the Business of the Infanta's Marriage any thing hath past between this Court and those of Savoy and Florence The Duke of Parma hath had his Envoy here upon Offices of Ceremony I suppose upon account of his Relation to the Royal Family he being descended from a Daughter of Dom Emanuel that was eldest Sister to her in whose right the House of Bragança lays claim to the Crown and consequently he would have an undoubted Right thereto were he not excluded by the Laws of Lamego OF THE INTERESTS OF PORTUGAL With Relation to ENGLAND I Believe there are no People in the World that have valued themselves less upon their Friendship to the Portugueses or deserved more at their Hands then the English I should have placed them first had I rank'd the rest according as they merit in the Esteem of this Nation for they well deserve to be reckon'd and that in the chief place among the Founders the Protectors and the Restorers of the Kingdom They have certainly been the surest and most dis-interess'd Friends to it almost from the time when Portugal first became a Nation to the Establishment of the now Reigning Family upon the Throne And in truth the ancient Portugueses have shown so much Gratitude that there remain in this Country several Memorials of the English Generosity and Valour that have been forgotten by our selves and are over look'd by our own Writers but of late we have not had the like reason to commend their Justice though our Nation in the present Age as great as the Merits of our Ancestors were hath deserv'd no less at their Hands Their Ancient Writers set forth at large how great a share the English had in the first raising of their Kingdom and how they have since more then once rescued it from Destruction and there are those yet alive among them that know very well how their Deliverance from utter Ruin and that Liberty and Peace which they now enjoy is owing to the Bravery of our Soldiers and the Prudence of our Ministers but their late Writers have not been so Ingenuous as to deliver what they knew to Posterity It will not be expected that in so short a space as is left me I should give a particular Account of these Transactions however I shall briefly touch upon some of those that have pass'd in former Ages as they are related by the Portuguese Historians hoping that it will not be altogether ungrateful to the English Reader to hear News from Foreigners as old as it is concerning his own Country Men And some mention
expected to be re-inforced with fresh Supplies in order to return and both secure and enlarge his Conquests The Portugueses began now to take Courage and perceiving Don John's design being press'd withal by repeated Orders from Court to Fight directed their March the same way in order to wheel about and get before him which they might easily do having secur'd their heavy Baggage at Estremos whereas the Spanish Army was much incumber'd with Carriages However the March of the Portuguese Army was so hasty that as the Conde da Ericeyra saith the English bore both that and the heat of the Sun with Impatience It s true the Toil which our Country Men under went at that time was very great but least any should gather from that Expression that they show'd any great Backwardness in the service I shall tell the occasion of it which his Lordship is pleas'd to omit The two Armies were at a small distance over against each other both making what hast they could to pass a River Tera before the Night that preceded the Battle of Amexial The English being in the Rear of the Portuguese Army I suppose because that was to become the Front when they got before the Enemy as Evening drew on the Alarm was taken in the Front that the Enemy was at hand but then the English were at a great distance from that part where the Action was like to be and without them it seems nothing was to be done Orders were thereupon given for them to Advance with all speed which they did as fast as 't was possible for them to run throughout the whole length of the Army Their eagerness to engage with the Enemy and their Pride no doubt to see so many thousands of Armed Men look upon them as their Guardians spurring them on beyond their strength insomuch that several of them thro' Heat and want of Breath fell by the Way and some were lost but by that time they came up the Alarm ceas'd and there was nothing for them to do as 't was well there was not for as some of the Officers have assur'd me the Men were so Faint and Weary as to become altogether unfit for Action such was the occasion of the Impatience taken Notice of by the Noble Author in his Account of this days March The next day the Spaniards by reason of their slow March occasion'd by their heavy Luggage put it in the Power of the Portugueses to oblige them to Fight As the Armies came in sight of each other the English Horse with a Party of Portugueses were commanded to dislodge several Battallions of the Enemy that had possessed themselves of a rising Ground which the Portugueses thought necessary for them in case they should come to a Battle They did not only do as they were Ordered by driving those Batallions from the Hill but they followed them into the Plain on the other side and found themselves insensibly ingag'd in a hot Skirmish with the whole Body of the Spanish Cavalry that was conducting the Carriages towards another Hill a League off where their Foot had already posted themselves but they were so surprised and disorder'd by this sudden Attack that had our Men been seconded as 't was expected they should be from the Army 't was thought they might have put them intirely to the Rout. Count Schomberg saw what Advantage was to be made of the Confusion he perceived them in and was marching towards them in all hast with such of the Cavalry as were near at hand but giving notice of what he was doing to the Conde de Villa Flor He in all hast sent positive Orders to command him back possibly for no other Reason but to keep up the Custom of Thwarting the Count who had hitherto been opposed in almost every Motion he made The Portuguese Commanders seeming resolv'd to spare the Enemy or give him any Advantage over them rather then suffer the Count to know more of their Trade then themselves which without Question was one Reason of their former Losses as the Deference they paid him afterwards was of the Success that follow'd The Count obey'd the General 's Orders though with some Reluctancy but it was not long before he took the liberty to act more of his own Head and thereby saved Portugal The Portugueses possessed themselves of the rising Ground from whence the Spaniards had been beaten they on the other side retir'd to two opposite Hills drawing up the Horse in a large Plain at the bottom of that on the right Hand and their Foot on the tops of both planting a Battery of four Guns on each Till three a Clock in the Afternoon they spent the time on both sides in Canonading each other and some light Skirmishes without doing any considerable Dammage on either side but by this time it was observ'd that the Spaniards fired more slowly then before and played but four Guns of Eight that they began with which made the Portugueses suspect them to be designing as they were to draw off and continue their March hereupon it was debated in a Council of War what was to be done in the Case They had positive Orders from the King and the Conde de Castlemelhor to Fight upon the first occasion which they had great cause to dispair of ever being able to do should Don John give them the slip at this time and be re-inforc'd with the Troops that were ready for him on the Frontiers On the other side the Spaniards had so placed themselves that there was no Fighting with them but at great Disadvantage their Horse which were double in Number to the Portuguese being six thousand to three had a large Plain before them and in regard to the Foot their Advantage was much greater yet not on account of their Number indeed for the Portugueses had Eleven Thousand to Ten of theirs But they had so Fortified themselves upon one of the Hills or rather Nature had done it for them that Don John thought he could not have found a better or more secure Place of Arms as he told the King his Father in a Letter after the Battle in which he compar'd it to the Castle of Milan adding that he thought himself so safe there that he was almost asham'd of his over great Precaution and that the Enemy in mounting it came scrambling up like so many Cats Como Gateando But the truth is his Highness did a little exaggerate the matter as two of the Officers who commanded the Party that did this Feat most ingenuously acknowledg'd and thereby undeceiv'd me of an Error who could think little otherwise of it then as a direct Precipice Each of them severally affirming that neither they nor their Men made use of their Hands in mounting it they said indeed that it was very steep but according to their Discription it could not be near so inaccessible as the Spaniards themselves have made it However these Difficulties weighed so much with the Portuguese Commanders
an occasion for doing over again all that they had done already But the Truth is there is so great an Agreement in some of the most material Passages in this Account with what the English had been doing before as 't is related by our Officers who never saw or heard of the 2d Volum of Portugal Restaurado that they all seem to speak of one and the same Action so that there is cause to suspect that the Conde had given an Account of the Part which our Country men had in the Battle and that the Revisors of his Papers or which is more probable the Inquisitors when the Book passed through their Hands out of their great kindness to the Hereticks resolv'd to make a Portuguese Action of it by changing the Names and Time There are more Reasons for this Conjecture then are necessary to be told at present It is not denied but that the Portugueses might come upon the Place where the Action was perform'd but it appears from what hath been said that it could not be till the Business was in a manner done and till the English were about leaving it so that they might have spared the Officers pains whom they sent to view it there being neither Horse nor Foot in any condition to withstand them All the work that they had to do was that usually done a broken scatter'd and confounded Enemy and which a Brave Man will never by his Good-will set his Hand to which is down-right killing The English being drawn off upon a Business that became them better had not been long there after the Enemies Horse were repuls'd but a Gentleman came Riding up to them from Count Schomberg with Orders to Halt adding that the Portugueses on the Right had attack'd and put to the Rout the Spaniards on the other Hill sometime afterwards Count Schomberg himself came to them and order'd them to joyn the Army that was going to incamp it them growing Duskish The Count staid with them part of the Night telling the Officers many diverting Passages and we may guess at whose Expence he diverted himself Were that Great Man alive now he had no doubt before this time receiv'd from Portugal a further occasion for his Mirth It is very likely that a Person unskill'd in Military Affairs must be guilty of many Errors in his manner of Relating this Transaction but as to the substance of what hath told he hath deliver'd it with that assurance which is Natural to one who himself believes what he saith he having receiv'd the most material Passages from several Competent Witnesses at several places and times all agreeing with each other and with what our Author himselves relates where he does not plainly do that which 't would be a great indecency to Name However since many cannot have the like opportunities to inform themselves he shall insist only upon this notorious Truth That at the Battle of Amexial part of the English Foot without the Assistance of Portugueses or others attack'd a great Body of Spaniards posted upon a Hill by themselves thought inaccessible Defeated and Routed them taking their great Guns their General 's Tent and Baggage and by this means occasion'd the Victory which preserv'd Portugal from imminent Destruction This he believes to be so evident a Truth that there 's scarce a Person of any considerable Rank in the several Nations that were concern'd in the Transaction but either is or may be convinc'd of it by Eye-Witnesses those that have convers'd with them Letters from Publick Ministers or the like And since on account of the suppos'd Author's Quality the History of Portugal Restaurado is likely to be communicated to those that are in the Highest Stations they who have prefix'd to it the Name of Dom Luis de Menezes have done a great discredit to their Cause and a most irreparable injury to the Memory of that great Man For while such as have a true sense of Honour shall think that Lord could be Author of a Peace wherein so little Gratitude is express'd to the Savers of his Country so much Artifice used to Defraud them of the Honour got while they were exposing their Lives to rescue a distress'd People from Destruction and all for no other apparent Reason but our difference in Opinions for there appears throughout the Work as great Partiality in favour of the French as Prejudice against the English How vile a thing must they take this ancient Popery to be and how mischievous amongst the People that can have so Maligant an Influence upon a Noble Mind Certainty should Dom Luis de Menezes prove guilty of so disingenuous a Work The General of the Artillery did not gain more Honour by his Sword when he fought at the Battle of Amexial then the Conde de Ericeyra forfeited by his Pen when he Discribed it In this Battle the Spaniards as 't is said of 16 Thousand had 4000 kill'd and 6000 taken Prisoners among whom were 2500 Wounded The loss on the Victors side was inconsiderable for among all the 8 Companies that were ingag'd on the Hill there were but 16 private Soldiers and an Ensign kill'd The Portugueses indeed while they were killing the Spanish Foot and fighting with the Horse lost a thousand of their Men and had 500 Wounded The King of Portugal being very sensible of the great services done him by our Men resolv'd to bestow a Largess upon them as a mark of his Esteem His Gift was very Extraordinary in its kind for it was three Pounds of Snuff to each Company and not despicable for its Value considering into how low a state Portugal had been reduced But our Foot Soldiers had not such consideration in them for when the Present was made in his Majesty's Name they took it and toss'd it up into the Air out of Contempt and Disdain and as they grew Angry they began to remember not their own services but the loss of their Valiant Country men of the Horse Regiment and to vent their Indignation that such Men that had been so often commanded on to the Slaughter should be so basely abandon'd as they were However their Passions cool'd and they came to themselves again upon the first occasion for Action and though they were to fight for Portugueses yet they behav'd themselves like English Men still insomuch that the remainder of the present Campagne and the two that follow'd seem'd just the Reverse of those made by Don John the two foregoing Years and the beginning of this Soon after the Battle Evora was besieged and taken and the next Year Valença in Estremadura at both which Sieges the English signaliz'd themselves in their usual manner of which several remarkable Instances might be given In 1665. the Spaniards made shift to bring another Army into Portugal under the Marquess de Caracena to be serv'd at Montes-claros in the same manner as Don John's had been at Amexial In this Battle while a whole Regiment of French fairly ran away some particular
Considerations could have done and consequently if the English have not met with a suitable Treatment in his Kingdom the Fault ought to be laid wholly on his Ministers and Inferior Officers If the Priviledges of our Countrymen residing in Portugal granted and confirmed by so many of his Royal Ancestors and ratified by Solemn Treaties have of late Years been either manifestly violated or eluded by all the little Arts of Chicane if during the last War his Maritime Towns that were almost the only Ports in Christendom left free and exempt from our Dominion became Nests for French privateers and Irish Pyrates if by Reason of our Religious observation of the Peace with Portugal these Corsairs found a safer retreat at Lisbon O Porto and Faro than at Merseilles St. Maloes or Dunkirk and our Merchant Fleets were more infested upon the Portuguese Coasts than those of France or in the Straights if our Ships taken under their Castles and in their Rivers were carried up and dispos'd of in sight of the King's Palace whereas by an express Article in our Capitulations all English Ships by whomsoever taken when brought into any of the Portuguese Dominions were to be restored to the right Owners and lastly if on these and all other occasions a greater regard was had to the French Menaces when they could do nothing else but threaten than to our Complaints while we had the Remedy in our own hands if any of these things were so the Blame ought surely to be laid wholly upon the Ministers to whom the King as hath been said defers so much in the management of Affairs a Prince of his Portuguese Majesties Honour Justice and Prudence cannot be supposed to have had any part in such unaccountable Proceedings but whether any of these things were so it belongs to the Persons more nearly concern'd to make out In matters which fall more immediately under the common observation our English Traders residing in that Kingdom have great cause to be satisfy'd with the Portuguese Nation where they are treated with all the Respect and Civility they can look for by a People who cannot be insensible of the great Advantage that our Trade brings to their Conntry for we furnish them with Necessaries of Life in exchange for Supplies to our Luxury We Cloath them with our Woollen Manufactures and Feed them in a great Measure with our Fish from Newfoundland and in Exchange for these Commodities we rid the Country of their Wines and that at excessive Rates which all of the wiser and better sort among them think much better parted with at any rate than kept at home Nature having provided them a more wholsome and agreeable Liquor But it is not only the Benefit of Trade that recommends our Countrymen to the Portugueses their fair and generous Dealing in their Commerce used to gain them such Credit that Palavra de bum Ingrez the Word of an English Man hath been taken for the best Security its true that in the Inland Parts the horrid Ideas the People had of Hereticks as they take us to be made them look upon our Countrymen as a strange sort of Monsters insomuch that when our little Army first march'd into the Country the Peasants instead of blessing them as their Deliverers would watch for opportunities to do a mischief to the Straglers but the first Campagne ended they found them to be quite another sort of Creatures than they had imagined and began not only to take them for Men but for something more finding them to be as Peaceable and Gentle in their Quarters as they had been Fierce in the Field for instead of Domineering over their Landlords and playing the Tyrants as the French men did our Soldiers spent their time in serving the People they were quarter'd upon and doing any Work that was needful in the Family such an obliging Carriage in Men whose Bravery they had so much cause to admire so alter'd their Sentiments concerning these Hereticks that should an English man travel in the most unfrequented Parts of the Country where the English Name hath been scarce heard of either before or since the War he shall be received and caress'd with all the welcome the poor People can make when a French man shall run the Risque of being knock'd o' the Head I have mention'd this matter the rather because the Manners of our Countrymen seem to be so much changed of late Years that perhaps it will be as great News to them as any thing I have related for possibly the People of Ireland and Flanders may differ much from the Portugueses in their Opinion concerning our English Soldiery The common People about the City are not observed to be guilty of any Rudeness towards the English on account of their Religion such as have had cause to think themselves most exposed to affronts on this occasion having never met with any which in my Opinion ought in Justice to be ascribed to the Humanity of the Portuguese Nation after they have been a little conversant with us as well as to the Prudence of the Government It is true that opprobrious Language to Strangers is so severely prohibited that upon complaint made against any that shall call an English man Heretick no punishment short of Death or the Galleys will be thought too great for the Offence We had like to have seen the last Year an example of the King's Justice upon an Offender of this sort a certain Lawyer in his Pleadings was pleased to bestow upon the English the Titles of Hereticks Lutherans Schismaticks Excommunicated Persons c. Complaint hereof being made to His Majesty he gave command that the Lawyer should be Imprisoned in order to his further Chastisement the Man took Sanctuary in the Church but it was resolved in Council that his Crime was of that Nature that the Church could not protect him and an Order was given out to force him thence but the Criminal as I have been told since died soon after and so put a stop to further Proceedings And this makes me almost astonished at the Hardiness of the Inquisitors who in the preceding Year viz. 1697. took an occasion to publish an Edict in all Churches which is to be seen at this day on most of the Church Doors I am sure it was not long ago and is like to remain for many Years as other Orders of the Inquisition that stand by it have done it being Excommunication to take them down wherein the English in general are Stigmatized not only for Hereticks but for Usurpers likewise but this is an Offence of too heinous a Nature for a private Person to animadvert upon and therefore I shall content my self with having only mention'd it FINIS
they should share in the Power they had given him partly moved thereto by the frequent Remonstrances of the Jesuits who are in great Credit with his Majesty and as some ill-natur'd People give out are set on by the Ministers to be ever and anon suggesting to him that he is oblig'd in Conscience to take this Course But most People are so well satisfied of his Majesty's Prudence and Justice as to think that Things would go much better than they do if he would take a greater part of the Government upon himself This Council as it imitates that of Madrid in other things so it is seldom guilty of any great Precipitation in its Proceedings but People complain rather of its Slowness and want of Dispatch and some who love to make the worst of things say That when a Business is brought before Them they shall sit upon it four or five Times each Session lasting five or six Hours and after all the Matter be oftentimes more perplex'd and intricate than before and the King who loses all this time waiting for their Resolution be as much to seek as ever But such as talk after this rate seem to have that Opinion of the Chapter which is very different from what the World has entertain'd of the Canons as will appear from the Characters of some of those excellent Persons that compose this Council As first of Dom Manoel Telles de Silva Conde de Villar Mayor Marchese de Alegrete I name him first not because of his Quality for tho' he be most Nobly descended yet he gives place to others whom I shall mention afterwards but because He is in effect the Prime Minister of State Affairs of the greatest Concern being chiefly intrusted to his Management This Lord having born Arms for some time in his Youth apply'd himself afterwards with extraordinary Diligence to the Study of Letters and made a very considerable Progress therein insomuch that he is esteem'd for one of the most Learned Men in the Nation It is said that he was much admir'd in Germany for his Readiness in speaking Latin and I suppose it was to exercise himself in the same Tongue that in the time of his Embassy into that Country he set himself to write in elegant Latin the Life of John the Second Sir-nam'd The Perfect Prince which hath been publish'd since In this Piece the Noble Author hath attempted to follow the Stile and Method of the Ancients How far he hath attain'd to either I will not pretend to judge but I believe most candid Readers will think he hath succeeded to admiration considering at how low an Ebb Learning hath been in Portugal for this last Age But by this Application to his Studies he qualify'd himself for much Greater and more Honourable Employments than that of an Author At Twenty-four Years of Age he was made one of the Infante's Camarists and is supposed to have had a great hand in the last Revolution and he hath been ever since one of the nearest to the Person of that Prince After some Overtures had been made of a Marriage between the King his Master and the Princess of Nieubourg this Lord was pitch'd upon as the fittest Person to carry on so important a Negotiation which he brought to a happy Conclusion and conducted the Royal Bride with him into Portugal Nor was that the only Service the Conde did on this occasion he gain'd an Honour for his Master which the Emperor excepted no Crown'd Head in Christendom had ever attain'd to before For before he made his Publick Entry into Heidelberg he so adjusted Matters in a Preliminary Treaty that he was to have the Precedency of the Elector and the Place of Honour on all Occasions This say the Portugueses had never before been granted by an Elector the Ambassador Extraordinary of any King tho' some of the greatest had been seeking it with much Earnestness But the Reputation of his Majesty's Grandeur say they so worthily represented by this Great Minister together with his Excellency's great Prudence and Dexterity gain'd for this Crown that singular Prerogative When his Excellency made his Publick Entry the two Princes Frederick and Philip waited to receive him in the Court of the Castle and the Elector himself went down some of the Steps that are open to the Court to meet the Ambassador as he came out of his Coach his Electoral Highness desiring his Excellency to be covered gave him the Right-hand let his Excellency go before him through every Door and when he had conducted him to the Place of Audience gave him the most Honourable Seat This was so very great an Honour that it had been deny'd not only to Ambassadors but to a King in Person For when Henry Elect of Poland afterwards the Third of that Name in France call'd at Heidelberg in his way to his new Kingdom there was not a Man to be seen in this very Court where the Conde de Villar Mayor had Princes to wait upon him at his Portiere and the poor King was so out of Countenance that he was fain to step aside on pretence of making Water 'till some Body might come to shew him up Stairs at last the Rhinegrave accompanied with two Gentlemen that had escaped from the Butchery of Saint Barthlemi met him half way on the Steps excusing the Elector his Father Frederick the Third that he came not to do this Office by reason of a certain Pain that he had in his Leg but the old Elector invited King Henry the next Morning to take a Walk with him and by no less than Thirty Turns in his Great Hall like that at Westminster he so breath'd the young King as fully to convince him that what his Son had said was but a meer Excuse But Henry came then just reeking from shedding the Blood of Innocents and the old Elector who otherwise entertain'd him like a Royal Guest had a mind to let the young King see how much a Prince falls from his Dignity by becoming guilty of such Barbarities So that I confess this Precedent ought not to be much insisted upon in the Case of our Ambassador Extraordinary As for the late Elector Philip William he it seems was resolv'd not to stand upon Ceremonies with his Excellency he not only gave him the Upper-hand at his first Reception but likewise at Meals The Lord Ambassador always wash'd first sat in the best Place was serv'd first nay the very Electoress her self and the Princesses her Daughters would needs have his Excellency take the Precedency of them too but he was more a Gentleman than to insist upon his Punctilio's with Ladies And so it was contriv'd that at Conferences with them there should be no Canopy in the Room and consequently no Distinction between the Right and the Left-hand and that of two Rows of Chairs opposite to each other the Ambassador should take the uppermost on the one side and the Electoress on the other with the Princesses her Daughters after