no longer Master of either This answer you may imagine was but very little to their liking therefore the Ambassadours thought themselves oblig'd to present a Memorial to his Royal Highness wherein among other things they insinuated that his Predecessors having engag'd their Royal Word to several Sovereigns and particularly the Protestant Cantons their Masters that they wou'd never disturb the Repose and Tranquillity of the Vaudois and that because of their Royal Patents they had granted 'em they humbly conceiv'd his Royal Highness could not dispense with those Engagments without violating his Royal Word and that because these Patents must not be barely look'd upon as Tolerations but rather as perpetual Concessions Irrevocable Sacred and Inviolable The Ambassadours enforced these Reasons by many others which related more needy to the Interest and Politicks of Savoy and which might have been capable to have mov'd him had not the French King oppos'd them by others that tended altogether to introduce Fire Blood and Slaughter into the Dominions of this Prince Understanding Men have all along clearly perceiv'd that the chief Aim of France was to weaken the Duke by ruining the Vaudois who for their Valour were always look'd upon as his right Arm and who tho' with their small Number were able alone to bafflle the Designs of the French King and oppose the Incursions of his Troops Many other Protestant Princes likewise writ to his Royal Highness in Favour of the Vaudois but all without doing any good This most Christian King had gain'd so far upon his Inclinations that even in spite of himself he was forc'd to yield to the Torrent that bore him down before it and which at last carry'd him to a Precipice that foretold no less than the utter Ruin of his Dominions The Swiss Ambassadors having at length demanded a positive Answer his Royal Highness caus'd the Marquess of St. Thomas one of his Ministers for Foreign Affairs to acquaint 'em that he was extremely sorry it was not in his Power to comply with their Master's Request And the French Minister moreover suggested to him to add that provided the last Edict was not already put in Execution he would endeavour to find some Expedient to procure the Vaudois Leave to retire out of his Dominions after that they had disposed of their Possessions We shall pass over in Silence several other Circumstances that relate to this Negotiation it not being my Purpose to enter into Particulars of the Cruelties exercis'd against the Vaudois for which a much larger Volume would not suffice I think my self only oblig'd to give an Account hereof the principal Accidents that have been the Occasion of the Differences between the Duke of Savoy and France from the very Beginning of this War I shall next proceed to examine the Conduct of his Royal Highness since his Rupture as well in regard to the most Serene Allies as France even to the Conclusion of the Treaty lately sign'd by him by which he is once more reconcil'd to a Crown that has promised a great deal but will no doubt perform little or nothing We may affirm freely that this Prince having been a Slave to the French King so many Years and groan'd so long under a Yoke that other Sovereigns now fight to be secur'd from never had a fairer Occasion to release himself than at present which he would have laid hold on had he been but the least sensible of his Interest When a Man makes such Oversights as this he seldom or never recovery and perhaps for above these Hundred Years there may not happen a League so puissant and daring as this There was no other way of withstanding the Greatness of France but by a Union of so many Princes that Crown being too formidable to be oppos'd by a single Force According to common Opinion God Almighty only has reserred this great Power to himself who keeps in his hand the Performances of Princes and who can in an Instant thrust 'em from their Thrones and deprive 'em both of their Authorities and their Force whereof this History every where abounds with convincing Examples This being granted there is no doubt but the League of these moil Serene Princes now in War against France has been rais'd by this Almighty Power to humble the exorbitant Greatness of that Crown and this will the more plainly appear if we consider the Motives that occasion'd it its uninterrupted Continuance for nine Years together remaining always firm and not to be shaken by the Attempts and Artifices which France has all along made use of to weaken confound or divide the Princes which compos'd it Notwithstanding these mighty Efforts and continu'd Dissentions which this most Christian King has endeavour'd to sow in almost all the Courts of Europe they have nevertheless been so far from weakening them that they have rather contributed towards a more firm and lading Alliance which all the Confederates have unanimously resolv'd to carry on except Savoy only who may be justly reproach'd hereafter by all Princes for so base a Compliance with a Monarch that is already above half ruin'd But before we go any farther let us first see what this Prince has freely promis'd to the most Serene Allies and more particularly to the Emperour King of England and United Provinces which are to be consider'd as the chief Actors in the League In order whereunto I shall oblige the Reader with a true Copy of the Treaty that his Royal Highness made with the Emperour and which was presented him by the Abbot Grimani to be sign'd which is as follows HIS Imperial Majesty being sensibly mov'd with the late reiterated Menaces of the French King towards his Royal Highness which so visibly tend to oppress him As likewise considering the Inviolable Friendship his Royal Highness professes for his said Imperial Majesty Also having moreover understood that his most Christian Majesty had caus'd an Army to enter into the Territories of the said Duke to oblige him to give up two of his Chief Fortresses as likewise to furnish him with 2000 Foot and Two Regiments of Dragoons to assist him in an Invasion upon Milan his Imperial Majesty has thought himself oblig'd to succour a Prince that has always approv'd himself an unshaken Well-wisher to the Empire Whereupon he has herewith sent the Sieur Abbot Vincent Grimani with express Orders and full Power to Negotiate Treat and Agree with his said Royal Highness in an Alliance that may as well serve to strengthen his Imperial Majesty's Affairs as to secure those of his Royal Highness against the future Attempts of France And for this purpose his most Serene Highness Victor Amedeus the Second Duke of Savoy and the aforesaid Sieur Abbot Grimani do Article as follows I. His Most Serene Highness obliges himself for the future not to enter into any Treaty of Alliance with the Most Christian King without Consent of the Emperour But to remain always under a good Correspondence with his Imperial
first Disturbances amongst those Princes or at least keep 'em in awe and infuse Jealousie into 'em as he has formerly done to the other Princes of Europe his Neighbours thought best after this Baffle to engage the young Duke by another Artifice and that was to propose to him one of his own Daughters in Marriage His most Christian Majesty's Interest was yet so good at the Court of Turin that the Dutchess Dowager and his Royal Highness's Council preferr'd this Proffer of Madamoiselle d'Orleans to others of the Emperour and some Princes of Italy The Fear of enraging so powerful a Monarch as that of France and who might prove so dangerous a Neighbour who had moreover formerly at the Death of his Royal Highness's Father Charles Emanuel the second consented to be his Guardian soon enclin'd the Council of Turin to accept Madamoiselle d'Orleans before either the Princess of Newburgh or Tuscany This was a Marriage therefore where Policy and Fear had a greater share than Inclination and consequently his Royal Highness could not expect but what he has since so often experienc'd to his cost Nevertheless what has already happen'd is nothing in respect of what in all Probability may hereafter befal him It may be his Destiny has reserv'd a Scourge that shall prove fatal both to him his Successours and the general Repose of Italy besides These are the Presages of such as are well vers'd in the Politicks of these times and without any farther penetrating into Futurity for my own part I dare affirm that one of these things must inevitably happen either that France bound its Ambition on this side of Italy or that she become one Day Mistriss of all Savoy The French King's Pretensions to this Dutchy and the present Posture of Affairs encline him naturally to that end and the only shift his Royal Highness seems to have had left was to have persisted in that just War in Conjunction with the most Serene Allies The potent Princes which compose this League have not been wanting to represent often to him by their Ministers his slippery Proceedings whilst he gave ear to the flattering Promises of the common Enemy His Imperial and Catholick Majesty's Envoys were even tir'd with proffering their important Reasons which were so capable to undeceive him but his Royal Highness rather enclin'd to be seduc'd by the Emissaries of France than preserv'd by the wholsome Advice of the Allies the Difference between which being that the Council and Promises of the Confederates were solid and real when those of France were full of nothing but Venom Deceit and Chimera's But to search deeper into the Court of Turin which is without dispute one of the most subtle and politick in in Europe it is asolutely necessary to trace back their first Differences with the French King After which we intend to follow his Royal Highness Step by Step in his Conduct during this War as well in regard to the French King as to the most Serene Allies At the beginning of the Year 1690 the French King having resolv'd to carry the War into Italy the Duke of Fuensalida Governour of Milan with all the diligence imaginable began to raise Troops fill up Magazines and repair his Fortifications to the end that he might be in a Condition to oppose the Progresses of the French who were then marching towards Italy But at the same time what most perplex'd this Governour was the Conduct of the Court of Turin which was a Riddle so obscure that even the most refin'd Politicians were not able to solve it This gave him more Disturbance than all the Preparations of France For on one hand he suspected the D. of Savoy to have underhand made a tripple Alliance with the French King and D. of Modena to joyn their Forces together and fall upon the Milaneze and on the other he observed this Prince so very wavering that he knew not what to think of him For at the same time that he promis'd the French King to stand Neuter he engaged his Word to the Emperour and King of Spain that he would declare on their side The different Dispositions of his Royal Highness at this Juncture and his studi'd Conduct of Affairs might very well augment the Jealousies and Suspicions of the French King who began to fear that this Prince might at length play him an Italian Trick The French therefore who are generally very wary made it their chief Business to observe his Actions closely and having discover'd something that seem'd to bode 'em no good his Most Christian Majesty immediately sent him word That he was not at all satisfi'd with his Neutrality but further requir'd the Citadels of Verceil and Turin for Security of his Promise This haughty Message from the French King did not at all discompose the Duke he was resolv'd upon an even Temper the better to carry on his Designs Therefore he contented himself for the present with only desiring the French King to allow him some Time for an Answer This pacifi'd the angry Monarch for a while hoping thereby to obtain from him an exact Neutrality which was all that he desir'd to the end that the French might the more easily enter Italy and facilitate the Conquest of Milan During this the Emissaries of France at his Royal Highness's Court discover'd another Proceeding which extreamly augmented their Jealousies and that was That the Duke was about to forsake their Interest and engage in that of the Emperour All the World knows his Royal Highness pretends a Right to the Kingdom of Cyprus since Lewis the Third Duke or Savoy married Charlotte Widow of John King of Portugal Daughter of John Son of James Paleologus Emperour of the East who gave for Portion to his said Daughter Charlotte the Kingdom of Cyprus in such manner that this Lewis Duke of Savoy was Crown'd King of Cyprus in presence of John de Lusignan King of Cyprus his Father-in-Law From thence the Dukes of Savoy have the Title of Royal Highness and bear an Arch'd Crown which the Kings of France or other Princes of Europe have never disputed always giving 'em proportionable Respect the Emperour only excepted who wou'd never yet allow them that Regal Character His Royal Highness considering there was now a favourable Opportunity for him since the Emperour thought fit to engage him by his Ministers to break with France made use of the Occasion to offer a Million of Florins to his Imperial Majesty provided he would acknowledge him King of Cyprus and allow him the same Honours which the King of France and other Princes had always done His Royal Highness further propos'd to his Imperial Majesty That he would buy the Fiefs which he had got in Savoy and the Republick of Genoa which properly belong'd to the Emperour for both which he proffer'd vast Sums of Money not doubting in the least but such Proposals wou'd be hearken'd to at a time especially when the Emperour had so great Occasion for Money to support
his Wars against two Puissant Enemies Nevertheless his Imperial Majesty at first refus'd all but his Royal Highness not being a whit discourag'd was resolv'd still to manage France and at the same time to repeat his Requests to the Emperour till he had obtain'd what he so much desir'd This his Negotiation was at length concluded in his favour and the Emperour was willing to yield to the Duke's Demands provided the Million of Florins were paid into the Bank of Venice This Transaction extreamly surpriz'd the French Court insomuch that they conceiv'd a more than ordinary Jealousie that his Royal Highness was entred into a strict Alliance with the House of Austria their Enemy This they thought would soon appear by a Rupture on the Duke's Side which would absolutely break their Measures and exceedingly embroil their Designs on Italy they having propos'd an Amity with his Royal Highness and a Passage thro' his Dominions to be the best Means of dealing with the Milaneze who they knew would never be strong enough to resist 'em unless assisted by the Savoyard The Duke of Savoy who is a great Master in the Art of Hypocrisie made use of all his Cunning after having plaid his own Game to sweeten the French King assuring him by his Minister That he never yet thought of forsaking his most Christian Majesty's Interest nor attempting any thing which might in the least infringe the inviolable Union betwixt ' em But nevertheless these subtle Protestations of his were not capable to dissipate the Jealousies of that Monarch He had already so well observ'd the Conduct of the Court of Turin that he began to treat them as Dissemblers and their Duke as a Cheat who on the one side had plaid on his Most Christian Majesty and on the other on the Emperour Mitchiavel has so well taught his Country-men that we may affirm the Italian Princes are those that understand him best and know how to make the best use of him It would be proper here to give an Account before we proceed any further of an Intrigue concerted some time since between the Emperour and his Royal Highness and discover'd by the French meerly by force of Money which made 'em ever after so very jealous of this Prince's Conduct that upon his least Advances his most Christian Majesty was immediately upon his Guard This is the Relation which must be suppos'd to be the more Authentick as we had it from the best Original In the Year 1687 a little after the famous League of Ausburg the Count B was sent by his Imperial Majesty to the Court of Turin to propose to his Royal Highness a new Negotiation His Most Christian Majesty being soon acquainted with it by his Emissaries immediately writ to his Embassadour resident at that Court about it Pursuant to which his Embassadour endeavour'd all he could to be present at the Audience of this Minister and moreover acquainted the Court of Turin that he absolutely insisted thereupon His Royal Highness believing he could never have a secret Interview with this Minister by reason of the constant Attendance of the French Embassadour resolv'd to comply with the latter but withal determin'd by a secret Intelligence with the Envoy to convert all the Embassy into Ceremonies and Compliments When this was done the Count was exceeding impatient to acquit himself of his true Negotiation and therefore resolv'd to go disguis'd like a Page into the Duke's Chamber where he soon got an Opportunity to present him with a Writing to sign which contain'd some general Propositions and moreover procur'd from him a Promise to be at the Carnival at Venice His Royal Highness resolv'd to be there at the Time appointed but to avoid suspicion gave out That he design'd only to go thither for Diversion when his true Reason was to confer with the Duke of Bavaria and some other Princes about a Consederacy against France Some time after the Count's departure the Duke made known his intended Journey when the French Embassador fearing some Stratagem would needs proffer his Service to wait on his Royal Highness which the Duke endeavour'd to divert by all imaginable Means but finding all fruitless at last consented to his Request the better to prevent any Suspicion that Minister might have of him These Princes being at length met at Venice thought it most proper to treat secretly of the Affairs they came about and for this purpose had procur'd a very fit Person a Monk to go backwards and forwards among them By these Means an Alliance was soon struck up between the Emperour the Dukes of Savoy and Bavaria and some other Sovereign Princes upon the Foot of the Project concerted at Ausburg The Treaty being thus sign'd the Princes took their Leaves of each other and went towards their several Homes after having drank liberally to the Success of an Union they had so luckily engag'd in The Duke of Savoy return'd thro' his Dominions as he came accompanied by the French Embassador who had not so much as quitted him one Moment all the while His Royal Highness you must suppose was not a little tickl'd with the Success of this Expedition which nevertheless was of no long continuance for they had scarce travell'd a League before the French Minister began to reproach him very severely with having contracted a Confederacy with the King his Master's Enemies which the Duke at first absolutely denyd but the Embassador immediately thereupon shewing him a Copy of the Treaty you may imagine he remain'd under the greatest Surprize I don't question but you will be glad to know by what Stratagem this Minister obtain'd a Paper of this Importance Why it was by means of the very Monk we before spoke of for the Embassador having observ'd that Person to go and come often between the Princes thought it but good Policy to sound him and at last so far succeeded that upon paying the promis'd Sum of 200000 Livres he obtain'd a true Copy of the Treaty We may hereby observe That nothing can escape the Knowledge of France since she is willing to give so liberally for her Intelligence These subtle Proceedings of the Duke 's caus'd his Most Christian Majesty ever after to give no great Credit to his Protestations but always to suspect him of inclining to the Emperour's Interest His Most Christian Majesty look'd upon this Treaty of Venice like that of Ausburg to be a trifling Project and no ways capable to oppose his Designs But notwitstanding he reserv'd a Resolution to revenge the Treachery plaid him upon the first Occasion But as the League of Ausburg serv'd for a Foundation to that of Venice so no doubt this Treaty of Venice has been a Ground-plot for the Confederacy which has since been contracted with Savoy To return to my Subject His Most Christian Majesty being but ill satisfied with the Conduce of his Royal Highness thought it high time not to suffer himself to be blinded any longer by his fair Protestations and therefore
eternally to have united him to the House of Austria let us come to the strict Alliance he had contracted with the King of England And hereof we cannot give you a more signal Proof than the specious Harangue made to his Britannick Majesty by his tricking Envoy the President de la Tour which is as follows SIR HIS Royal Highness congratulates Your Majesties glorious Access to a Throne due to Your Birth merited by Your Virtue and maintain'd by Your Valour Providence ordain'd it for Your Sacred Head for the Accomplishment of Heavens Designs from all Eternity That Providence which after a long forbearance raises up Chosen Instruments to suppress Violence and protect Justice The wonderful Beginnings of Your Reign are assur'd Presages of the Blessings which Heaven is preparing for the Integrity of Your Intentions which have no other Aim than to restore this flourishing Kingdom to that Grandeur which it anciently enjoy'd and to break off those Chains under the weight of which all Europe at present groans This magnanimous Design so worthy the Heroe of our Age soon fill'd his Royal Highness with unspeakable Joy tho' he were constrain'd to keep it undisclos'd for a time in the Privacies of his Heart and if afterwards he could not forbear to let it break forth the Obligation for that Happiness is due to Your Majesty who has at length inspir'd him with Hopes of Liberty after so in any Years of Servitude My Words Sir and the Treaty which I have already sign'd at the Hague with Your Majesties Envoy but faintly express my Master 's passionate Desires to unite himself to Your Majesty by an inviolable Devotion to Your Service The Honour which he has of being one that appertains to Your Majesty has knit the first Knot of this Union and the Protection You grant him with so much Generosity has brought it to the perfection of being indissolvable These are the sincere Sentiments of his Royal Highness with which I dare not presume to intermix any thing of my own For how ardent soever my Zeal may be how profound soever my Veneration of Your Majesties Glory I know not how better to express it than by a silent Respect and Admiration Can there be any thing more to the purpose better studi'd and more eloquent than this Harangue His Royal Highness seems to insinuate he will always be govern'd by his Britannick Majesty to whom he solemnly vows eternal Friendship and for whom he expresses the greatest Veneration imaginable A Prince whom he acknowledges God has rais'd to the Crown of England to break off the Chains of Europe and more particularly to free him from a Slavery which he had groan'd under so many Years His Royal Highness I say professes so entire a Respect for the King of England that he seems to think of nothing more than Revenge and Hostility against France insomuch that to hear him speak you would believe he were the most zealous of all the League But here we must observe That his Royal Highness did not a little dissemble when he dictated this Speech to his Envoy and for my part I am of opinion that a Man cannot have extraordinary Principles that can so easily digest Hypocrisie and Treachery Methinks a bare regard to ones Honour of which every Man ought to be tender especially Sovereign Princes might have been a sufficient Check to such an inglorious Action which is rather the result of a mean and dastardly Soul than a brave and noble Whatever it be certain it is that this Prince whom all Europe look'd upon with admiration having taken off the Mask of Hypocrisie shews us a quite different Face from what his Ministers more Jesuits than Embassadors had represented him When we seriously reflect upon the Particulars of his Royal Highness's Conduct during this War we may observe how many different Stratagems he has made use of to blind the Confederates discover their secret Designs therewithal speedily to inform France and lastly to drain this latter and more openly the former of vast Sums of Money with which lie has all along fill'd his Coffers This Passion thus prevailing over his Highness makes us look upon his Treachery as the Fruits of a sordid Avarice and base Policy by which he has servilely comply'd with France and withal endeavour'd to sacrifice the Interest of the most Serene Allies as likewise the Common Safety of Europe whatever his Minister de la Tour might say to the contrary I believe this is his truest Character tho' that Envoy and the rest of his Fraternity have endeavour'd to lull the Allies by representing their Master as another Caesar or Alexander abounding with Zeal Constancy and Bravery and who would sooner chuse to die a thousand times than act any thing that should be in the least contrary to the Interest of the most August Alliance he had engag'd in However Matters go these flattering Ministers will never be able to excuse their Matter 's Conduct We are but too well acquainted with the Occasion of it tho' one would think a Prince should have consulted his Honour and Conscience before he attempted any thing at least that might have prejudic'd those that had so generously afforded him Protection at a time especially when he stood in so great need of it We have already seen the President de la Tour's Speech to the King of England whereby his Royal Highness promises to enter into a strict Alliance with his Britannick Majesty and the other Confederates Now let us come to that of the Marquess de Govon his Highness's Envoy extraordinary to King James the Sixth of September last SIR HIS Royal Highness is at length happily reconciled to his most Christian Majesty against whom he bad rashly taken up Arms tho' he has all along receiv'd sincere Proofs of his Majesty's Protection The strict Leagues his noble Ancestors have heretofore had with France and the more exact Alliance his Royal Highness has contracted by his Marriage have but the more disjoyn'd him from the Interest of that Kingdom This Union which ought to have been the most inviolable we have lately seen interrupted by the Artifices of his most Christian Majesty's and your Majesty's Enemies to whom his Royal Highness has been hitherto so weak as to give ear His Royal Highness therefore humbly beggs your Majesty would please to pardon his past Conduct so very contrary to his sincere Desires to re-establish your Majesty upon your Thrones The Injustice and Oppression of your Enemies Sir have caused his most Christian Majesty to engage in this War God Almighty has hitherto favour'd his Attempts because they are just and 't is also to be hop'd he will lend the like Attention to your Majesty's Petition His Royal Highness for his part will contribute all in his Power thereunto who likewise flatters himself that this Treaty lately sign'd with his most Christian Majesty may be a Means to divide those Princes whose Union will infallibly oppose your Majesty's Retum to
King shall put it into the Hands of his Royal Highness to enjoy it for ever without demanding any thing for the Expences of that Expedition and to secure him in the Possession of it by protecting him against the Arms of the House of Austria VIII That he renounces for ever all the Rights and Claims which he and his Predecessors have had to the Dukedom of Savoy Principality of Piedmont and County of Nice IX That in case the War continue in Italy by the Refusal of the Neutrality the most Christian King will lend him his Forces for the Conquest of Geneva That if the Neutrality be accepted that Expedition shall be reserv'd till after the general Peace His Royal Highness on his Part promises to the French King I. To renounce the Confederacy and join himself for ever with the Crown of France To act unanimously with the Most Christian King in all that can make their Union lasting and their Alliance inviolable for the future II. That he shall never give his Consent to the Restoration of the Vaudois and that he shall repeal all the Edicts by which he had lately granted them the free Exercise of their Religion and their Return to the Valleys III. That he will use his Mediation to bring the Allies to a General Peace Let us examine these Articles and see whether his Royal Highness ought at this time to depend upon the Word of a Monarch who never scrupl'd to violate the Treaties he had concluded with the other Princes of Europe without any Exception We must consider in the first place That when the French King consents to restore Pignerol he does as much as give the Key of his Kingdom on the Side of the Alps to keep to the Duke of Savoy and loses for ever all the Advantages he had by that importent Place upon all the Princes of Italy By that means he leaves the Province of Dauphinê expos'd to the Irruptions of his Enemies and confirms the staggering Liberty of all the Princes beyond the Alps who were before as it were bridled up by Casal and Pignerol To this we may add That by that Restitution he sacrifices all the Resentments which for some late Years have occasion'd the Quarrels he has had with the Court of Rome during the Papacy of Innocent XI with the Republick of Genoa and some other States of Italy If the French King be sincere in the Restitution of Pignerol the Duke of Savoy has all the reason in the World to be satisfied with the Generosity of France and not to grudge all the Complaisance he has had for that Crown And indeed 't is a great matter for his Highness to get so importent a Place as Pignerol Besides the French King does not stay till he be compell'd to it by force of Arms He makes this voluntary Present to his Royal Highness even at a time when his Forces are so much superiour in Italy and that he is in a condition to strip the Duke of all his Territories by the taking of Turin the Capital City of his Dominions 'T is a great matter I say for the Duke of Savoy to get Pignerol But after we have taken a View of what the French King gives to his Highness let 's see what he reserves to himself He consents to the Restitution of Pignerol I grant it but then this is to be at a General Peace and after all its Fortifications are razed to the Ground By these two Reservations the French King plainly shews First That what he aim'd at was to engage the Duke of Savoy to use his utmost Endeavours to hasten a General Peace Secondly That when he restores this Place dismantl'd 't is only with design to re-take it whenever he pleases So that at best the Duke of Savoy is like to enjoy it but for some small time and perhaps Ten Months after the General Peace is concluded the French King will order his Troops to clear the Place To be convinc'd of this we must observe That in all Treaties of Peace the French King never offers to restore any strong Place but on condition of razing the Fortifications which shews his Double-dealing his want of Sincerity and his secret Desire of making himself Master of them as soon as he has gain'd his present Ends which are chiefly to disarm his Enemies while he keeps on foot a numerous Army of well-disciplin'd experience'd Soldiers when the other Princes disband theirs 'T is well-known by experience that France can raise again the Fortifications of a Place in very few Months and that often with little Expence because he not only makes use of his own Soldiers but also of the Inhabitants of the Place and their Money to boot Witness the Fortifications of most of the Fortresses in Flanders which have been built with the vast Sums that he got by Contributions All that the French King provides for his Share are Engineers good Order and Diligence as for Materials and Money the poor Inhabitant is always oblig'd to find them This Consideration makes the French King value so little the Restoration of a strong Place provided its Fortifications be demolish'd without which lie would never consent to it His End therefore in restoring Pignerol was to cast a Mist before the Duke of Savoy's Eyes and decoy him to break all the Engagements he was enter'd into with the Confederates But when he has brought his Designs about he will retake it the more easily because its Fortifications will then be razed which he shall never want either for Money Men or Materials to rebuild Besides what use can the Duke of Savoy make of Pignerol when dismantl'd Will that hinder the French King from having a free Passage to enter his Dominions upon the first Quarrel Or is his Country the more secure by it Not at all Therefore 't is evidently plain that the French has had no other Design than to delude the Duke of Savoy and at the same time lay a Trap for the Confederates the sooner to bring them to treat of a General Peace After all what does the French King give more to that Prince than what he had already offer'd in the first Proposals of Peace he made to the Allies But the Design of the Confederates was to oblige France to surrender Pignerol into the Hands of the Duke of Savoy in the Condition it was at that time and would never hear of its being raz'd Nevertheless his Royal Highness accepts of it as such and thinks it a good Bargain to get it in any Condition the French King is pleas'd to restore it to him But he may judge by this first Step of the Sincerity of the French King's Promises and since that Monarch deludes him in this Article he must expect no better in all the rest Therefore he loses more by abandoning the Confederacy than he gets by entring into a Private Treaty to the prejudice of his own Interest and the Contempt of so many Princes who had
of his Dominions It is provided by the sixth Article that in case the Allies do not agree to a Neutrality in Italy the French King and the Duke of Savoy will joyn their Forces together in order to conquer the Milanese And this on the Duke's part is the highest Degree of Treachery imaginable If that Prince had only been contented to forsake the Interest of the most serene Allies and to receive under-hand those Summs of Money that France has remitted to him he might now in some measure excuse himself by publishing to the World that he could not refuse the Advantageous Offers made to him without betraying his own Interest and opposing his good Fortune But his Royal Highness does not confine himself within those Bounds For with one Hand he receives Money of the Confederates and with the other of France and moreover plots and contrives with the common Enemy the Ruin of his best Friends and Allies and makes his Market of their Liberty and his own He puts himself at the Head of the French Forces and in the same Campagn is General of two powerful contrary Armies Was there ever so singular and at the same time so perfidious a Conduct as this is But what can engage this Prince in this foul Play That Question is answer'd in this Article the Hopes of conquering the Milanese The French King tells him by his Ministers what Title he has to that Dutchy which he looks upon as a Dependency from the Crown of France upon the Account of the Marriage of Lowis of Orleans Son to Charles V King of France with Valentina Galeas Daughter to John Galeas Duke of Milan who claim'd the Succession to that Dutchy by the Decease of her two Brothers who left no Issue By this Artifice the French King has cunningly insinuated himself into the Court of Turin and while he entertains the Duke of Savoy with the Chimerical Hopes of conquering the Dutchy of Milan he makes him a Property to his Designs which are the Neutrality in Italy By that means the French King frees himself from a most burdensome and expensive War which perplex'd him more than all the Armies he keeps in Flanders and on the Rhine and gives besides a fatal Blow to the Union of the Confederate Princes This Event on one side raises the Honour and Hopes of the French King and on the other makes the Duke of Savoy's Conduct for ever odious to the Allies There 's no Question but the Ministers of France did give his Royal Highness to understand that the Milanese would infallibly fall a Prey to him because said they there was little Probability of the Allies ever consenting to a Neutrality and by this Decoy they have drawn in this credulous Prince while the Court of France was very well persuaded that the Affairs would turn a contrary way To put still the Change upon him and delude him the better the French King promises him by the seventh Article that after the Reduction of that Dutchy it shall be put into his Highness's Hands by him to be enjoy'd for ever without demanding any thing for the Expences of this Expedition and his most Christian Majesty engages himself besides to protect him in the peaceful Enjoyment of iâ— against the Arms of the House of Austria When a Man seriously reflects upon all the sine Promises of the French King to engage his Royal Highness he will not be much surpriz'd at the small Precaution the Council of Turin have us'd in so important an Affair To hear the French Ministers speak 't was but entring the Milanese to make an entire Conquest of it They reckon upon it as a thing already done and to dazzle his Royal Highness they â—â—â—tter him with their Protection against the House of Austria they promise to secure him in the Enjoyment of it for ever and over and above all this their Generosity goes so far as to be at all the Changes of this Expedition of which the French King makes a Present to his Royal Highness The French King was ever liberal of fallacious Promises He might as well have promis'd to the Duke of Savoy the Conquest of all Italy as he has done that of the Milanese If his Royal Highness be so credulous as to depend upon his Word he 'll soon be Master of all the Princes beyond the Alps. But time will make it appear that nothing can be more Chimerical than those Projects This as well as the preceding Articles have been kept very secret by the Council of France because they have been look'd upon as the chief Springs to engage the Duke of of Savoy by the Hopes of becoming the greatest Prince of Italy Ambition and a Desire of enlarging ones Power was ever a natural Passion in all Sovereigns and I doubt not but France has done more at the Court of Turin by this Artifice than by all the other Stratagems he has there employ'd Let 's come to the VIIIth Article The most Christian King renounces for ever all the Rights and Pretensions he and his Predecessors had to the Dukedom of Savoy the Principality of Piedmont and County of Nice One can so little depend upon such sort of Renunciations that the Experience of this Age has taught all the Princes of Europe that the French King observes Treaties no longer than they serve his Interest For if after the Ratification is sign'd his Conncil do but suggest to him a new way of extending his Power and Dominions nothing is able to stop him He then only consults his Favourite-Policy and knows no other Rule besides his Ambition to which there 's no prescribing of just Bounds because he is still too powerful The stronger docs ever give Laws to the weaker And since the French King is not yet redue'd by the united Forces of the most powerful Princes in Europe we must necessarily conclude that he has not yet chung'd his Maxims In the Year 1640 there was a Book printed at Madrid and writ by a Spanish Plenipotentiary entituled Successos principales de la Monarchia de l' Espania el Anno 1639. wherein the Author by a kind of Prophetical Spirit said that the French King took the way to arrive at the Empire That his Predecessors had shew'd it him by the taking of Mets Toul and Verdun That Lewis XIII had follow'd them by making himself Master of Alsatia and Lorrain That if Lewis XIV could but take Thionville he would seize upon Luxemberg compleat the Conquest of the Dutchy of Burgundy lay the Palatinate open and without Defence and would make himself absolute in all the Country of Treves and all the ancient Austrasia His Prophecy went still further He added that by the Conquest of Thionville that Monarch would make the three Catholick Electors his Subjects That Spain would lose Flanders the Empire and Cities of Germany their Liberty and the German Princes their Dominions This Prophecy had certainly been accomplish'd had the Confederate Princes any longer delay'd to