Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A47986
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A letter from a gentleman at London, to his friend in the countrey, &c.
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Gentleman at London.
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1676
(1676)
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Wing L1379; ESTC R10276
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16,627
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21
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thus the Gallant wards the blow He contents himself with bemoaning by way of Raillery the fate of that Minister and only says that to answer bad Writings is to bring them into request Concerning the Testimony in writing about the Divelish Discourse which he had with the Woman wherewith I have already entertain'd you at large he says the carriage of my Lord Bishop and Mr. Beval justify him so fully from that horrible Calumny that ravish'd to see himself so well supported he ventures with an unmeasureable impudence to affirm that the Embassador of France has discovered that the Woman and her Husband were wrought upon by money And thereupon Protests that in case such a deposition were true he deserv'd to be burnt alive But t is not amiss to observe that he talks not of that kind of Punishment till after he was well inform'd that the Ambassador the Bishop and Breval had secur'd him from that Deposition otherwise he would have taken good heed not to condemn himself Mean time the Woman who is at London may depose upon Oath whether the writing be true and whether Luzancy had that Divelish discourse with her at Windsor or not T is hoped Judges will one day examine this Circumstance and give him satisfaction according to the sentence pronounced by himself in his Letter provided he do not disavow it In the sequel he tells us he could alleadg twenty Accusations brought against him but that he will deal with Patience yet protesting withal that if this remedy prove unsuccessful he will write so as to make his Adversaries repent This is what is desired by abundance of People provided there be Judges to make him prove what he brings against them and them what they bring against him Mean time we must pass forward and see what more the Gentleman has put into his Letter Of the other two Ministers of the French Church at the Savoy for as for those of the Church in London they would never come much into his company nor suffer him to Preach among them The one he says is too wise to Print what he hints concerning him both in Conversation and in the Pulpit And the other Mr. Breval is his intimate Friend one much esteemed by the English and to whom he has the greatest Obligations possible As for the first Luzancy acknowledges and in this observe his weakness that he is no more of his side he does not tell the reason but t is easily guest at Mr. de Langle at the request of his Friends gave him the liberty of the Pulpit and took much pains to get him some Clarity from the Consistory He had for some time an esteem for him and changed with the rest of his best friends when they perceived his Cheats and part of his Vices For Breval he is his bosom friend his right hand They understand one another as Thieves in a Market they two contriv'd the bâ—siness against the Jesuite Breval thriv'd by the trouble it caus'd at the beginning he was made Prebend of Westminster And now say whether he be not an able Man and whether he do not look more handsomly in a Canons far than in a Capucins Raggs He is for all that at present well at ease well Lodg'd well Cloath'd well provided of a Wife courts well the Bishops half beggs half commands Alms at good houses makes good Chear causes himself to be paid from the Savoy out of the money design'd for the Poor This is the Man whom Luzancy sets out as one strangely persecuted by the French at his settlement in the Church and hints the cause thereof to have been his great Learning what he says in this particular is Lamentable since it is certain that Breval Preaches pitifully although as is ordinary with Monks he be ready enough He knows almost no Protestant and but little Roman Divinity He made his entrance into the Church with a plump Concubine and a Bastard and some Money stolen from the Poor of that Communion which he came from deserting Notwithstanding all these Crimes as Novelty is taking he was by Caball settled in the Savoy Mr. Durel after he had done what became an honest Man to hinder him sate down quietly The Consistory allow'd him a Pension as to the other Ministers and because the Contribution of particulars was not sufficient he makes bold with the stock of the Poor although his present Incomes amount to more than Two hundred and fifty pounds per annum and his Wife maintain'd besides by a Knight one of his dear friends who never stirrs from her For the rest he is a Man who Counterfeits so exactly that he plays all parts both in the World and Pulpit and is a much better Tartuff than Luzancy This is his Associate their Crimes make them friends and both the one and other are paid for having made sport with the World In fine not to cast away more time in Confuting things not worth the while Luzancy says in his Letter that he wonders how of a hundred Proselytes there remains one with us this is to answer one of the Articles of Mr. du Maresq's Preface which you know well enough To this it may be said that the Sober Papists who change upon good Motives stay with us tyed by the chains of the Spirit which binds them to the Orthodox Of the bad some leave us to follow the Torrent of their Libertine humors Others leave us not because they are throughly fastened by the allurements of the Flesh I mean Advancement and Marriage as Breval We have for Examples of the first sort Mr. Cottereaw Mr. de la Motte and some others but very few where Life and Conversation are without Reproach As for run away Monks their number is too great to be confin'd to the bounds of a Letter and Mr. de Maresq has not exagerated in his Preface For the last sort we see to our great Grief and the shame of the Church Breval's Luzancy's Solomon's whose Manners are a mixture of all Vices I forgot one Reflexion upon Luzancy's Letter to shew the â—orce of his Judgment he is so afraid one passage of his Writing to the Jesuit should not be believed because the Jesuite says it was not his that he will needs put in a word in his Letter to persuade People of what he had affirmed in his famous Retractation after he had drawn Mr. Breval's Picture in a hideous shape which yet in Truth is very like him he passes to Mr. du Maresq whom he accused to love Wine and Tobacco And in the Letter which I am now examining he unwarily says the same thing alledging for one of the reasons why that Minister loves him not that he neither loves Wine nor the places where it cannot be drunk without scandal He must be blind who cannot in this Conformity of Sentiments perceive a circumstance which makes strongly against Luzancy draw an evident proof that in the dealing betwixt him and the Jesuit there was nothing of
A Letter from a Gentleman at London to his Friend in the Countrey c. SIR AS pressing as I perceive by your Letter your desire is to be throughly informed of the Truth of what has passed concerning the Counterfeit Luzancy I can assure you mine is no less to satisfy you in a business which has made so much noise and which is yet so much talk'd of I cannot chuse but commend you in this as in all other occasions for believing no more then comes from good hands In which Proceeding I observe the true Character of a man of worth one who judges not by noise and who far from letting himself be carried with the stream hearkens to the common cry with suspition I perceive by this exact prudence you have not forgot though you have quitted the world and that 't was long experience and weariness of the impertinencies of it which made the resolution you have taken to spend the rest of your dayes in a Retreat Where cured of the disease of vulgar opinions you feed on what Phylosophy affords of most pure and most free from the errors of the age If all those who are obliged to continue in the trouble and confusion from which you have been so wise as to disengage your self had their souls as well set and dispositions as rational as yours they would examine matters with consideration and to avoid engaging every day to condemn their Neighbour without a hearing would not judge of and decide the merits of the Cause purely on sight of his Breviate But we live in an age where people are far from doing justice to themselves that they might render it to others and I am but to acquaint you with what I know of the business in question to shew you into what an abyss of confusion man is capable of falling when he has for Guides these two Monsters which tyrannize over all conditions high and low I mean Passion and Prejudice I will touch the less material points but slightly and since you have heard of the Vagabond in the Countrey it will be sufficient to tell you that he came to London without clothes without shoes without money and without any recommendation from France That upon his own word and at the instance of some who solicited in his behalf he was permitted to get into the Pulpit there to declare the motives of his Conversion The discourse he made and which he delivered with much boldness gain'd him the esteem of his Auditors who for the most part charm'd with his Eloquence and full of compassion for his misery soon cast about to put him into a condition of appearing in a decent habit and subsisting This happened when the Court was upon removing to Windsor that journey gave occasion to the Lady Marquess de Ruvigny Embassadress of France to desire this new Proselyte to go and Preach at her house at Windsor A Request so obliging as that of this Lady could not fail of success Luzancy was too sensible of the advantage and his best friends who at present are against him were ravish'd at an occasion so favourable which furnish'd him with convenience to make himself known Their hopes did not prove vain his Sermons made a noise at Court as well as at the Savoy and much forwardness there was in Persons of Quality to do him good witness the favours he rceived from my Lord Duke of Lauderdale and the Marquess of Ruvigny who honoured him with a place at his own Table noon and night and gave him all the marks of esteem which could be expected from one of his ranke so many expressions of kindness which he dayly received from that Embassador and his Lady in my opinion ought to have oblig'd Luzancy to Confide in them and tell them truly who he was or at least who he was not for he was all this while taken for the Abbot Luzancy of Sorbon but by an unparallel'd impudence never to be forgot They are the two whom he has the most abus'd and who yet by a Prodigy whereof I cannot yet dive into the bottome have most contributed to save his Honour when it was upon the point of being cast away of which you will find convincing proof and such as will surprize you in the sequel of this Letter At this time all went with the counter feit Luzancy even to his wish and his friends saw from far his Fortune hastning on a pace towards him His Sermon being Printed had got him credit with the Bishop of Oxford at present of London to whom he had Dedicated it The Duke of Lauderdale had presented him the Lady Marquess de Ruvigny besides dyet and lodging allowed him a Lackquey to waite on him in a word there was vying who should do most Nay there were some who kept their distance with him believing that they had to do under the name of Luzancy of Sorborn with a Man of Quality for no body doubted but he was what he said himself to be In fine one would have thought nothing had been able to trouble the calm he then injoy'd but his Mask being soon pull'd off he was notoriosly known to be Hipolitus Chastlett Son to a famous common Woman named Beauchasteau a Player belonging to the Hostel de Burgoyn at Paris By it we came also to know that among the Fathers of the Christian Doctrine at Vitry he had been a small Usher of the 5th Form that afterwards he had been with some Bishops and a Preacher Errant here and there in little Towns whereof the most considerable is Montdidier in Picardy and that at last having plaid divers Pranks which exposed him to the pursuit of Justice his safety had oblig'd him to quit France and seek Shelter in England which serv'd him for a Stage to act all sorts of Persons upon whereof I am about to make you a description having taken care to inform my self exactly and convers'd with Friends Enemies and Neuters of all sorts both English and strangers Notwithstanding the Evidence of all this matter of Fact this Cheat dextrous at Lying and with a Tongue well hung for a while shifted off all these Truths and told his tale with so many specious circumstances that the wisest Men were impos'd upon but at his business with St. Germayne the Jesuit things appeared so grosly forged that his most intimate Friends opened their Eyes and those who by too hasty Zeal had assisted towards his raising were Convinc'd of his Impostures by their own knowledg and soon deserted him and publish'd his Villanies When Fortune has once undertaken the Advancement of a Favorite she never fails of her design whatever opposition can be made she has Arts to blind Men withal and to give even Vice a tincture of Vertue enough to keep it from appearing and if her own tricks will not serve she can take Advantage of the prejudice of a Nation and the circumstance of time It was sufficient for Luzancy to accuse a Jesuit to swear his ruine