have to keep the Possession yet he was willing to restore it to the Duke of Lorrain under one of the two Alternatives which he left to his Choice The first was to resettle him according to the Articles of the Pyrenean Treaty without any Alteration at all The second was to restore him generally to all his Territories except the City of Nanci which should remain to him in Soveraignty and the High Road according to the Treaty 1661. to pass through his Frontiers into Alsatia as also such other Roads as should be necessary to pass from France to Nanci and from Nanci to Mets Brisac and Franche Contè upon condition nevertheless that for the loss of Nanci he would give him Thaoul The King demanded also in the same Draught that Lonwick and the Provostship belonging to it should be deliver'd up to him but with this offer to recompence the Duke with another Provostship of equal Value in the three Bishopricks And as for Marsal in regard that Town was now no more a Part of Lorrain it was not to be mention'd in the Articles of Restitution The King when he sent this Draught had declar'd withal to his Ambassadors that he would not be oblig'd to stand to the Conditions upon which he offer'd Peace beyond the 10th of May and therefore the Princes with whom he was at War were to determine what they would do by that time at the farthest The Ambassadors of the Confederates cry'd out against this and said it was impossible that an Affair of that Importance as the Conclusion of a Peace could be determin'd in so short a time But at length it was found that Spain and Holland after some little Negotiations of the French Ambassadors were enclin'd to accept a Peace upon the Conditions offer'd by France Which made the Imperialists and the Ministers of the Northern Princes exclaim against the Hollanders and Spaniards declaring openly that the King of France would delude 'em and that the Peace which he made with 'em was only to bring 'em under a greater Subjection The other Ministers were indifferent but the President-Canon utterly rejected the Conditions propos'd by the King And enlarging upon the Severity of the Alternatives he set forth That the first swallow'd up all his Country by dismembring the Half of his Territories And the other by taking from him his Capital City and the Soveraignty of the four Roads which the King demanded deny'd him the Commerce of one part of his Territories with the other Concluding with a Protestation That if the Faith of Three Treaties made with the Confederates signified nothing toward his Master's Restoration he would renounce his Country and rather willingly Banish himself than return to it upon such hard Conditions After the Death of King Michael the Emperor as already has been intimated had a design to Marry the Queen of Poland his Sister to the Duke of Lorrain The Princess also had declar'd in favour of him when the Election of the new King was in dispute and had positively said that she look'd upon the Prince as her Husband And the Duke of Lorrain though indifferent at the beginning was become so inamour'd of her that the only trouble which he felt for the loss of the Crown of Poland was for her sake believing the loss of that would also defeat him of her Person However notwithstanding all the Prince's Misfortunes and his being despoil'd of his Territories neither the Emperor nor the Queen of Poland alter'd their Sentiments so that upon his departure from Vienna for Flanders the Emperor did in a manner positively promise him that it should be none of his fault if they were not more nearly Ally'd and on the other side he receiv'd from the Queen so many Marks of Affection and Esteem that he could not but depend upon ' em However though it were a Match almost made yet four or five years were already spun out before the Emperor ever spoke of concluding it His design was first to have seen the Prince re-settled in his Throne Which according to all outward appearance could be no long time the Negotiations for Peace still continuing at Nimeguen and the most part of the Princes of the Empire being inclin'd to accept it But the Negotiations going on but very slowly and he having long delay'd to recompence the good Services done him by the Duke at length toward the end of the Campagne he dispatch'd a Courier to him with Orders to return to Vienna and conclude the Marriage This News was so pleasing to the Duke that he could not contain his Joy So that after he had read the Emperor's Letter with a smiling Countenance he told the Messenger that his sorrow was in some measure atton'd for the loss of Friburgh and that the Honour which his Imperial Majesty had done him was so certain a good Omen that his bad Fortune began to forsake him that he doubted not but so soon as he took the Field to make himself Master of it again and cause Marshal Crequi to remember the Valour of the Dukes of Lorrain But as the greatest Joys are those which are most frequently intermix'd with the sharpest Pangs of Trouble and Vexation there befell him an Accident at Philipsburgh that had like to have put an end together with his Life to all his Hopes and Designs For as he was going over a Bridge that belong'd to that place one of the Planks not being well fasten'd unluckily gave way so that he fell to the bottom of the Moat But though the danger were very great yet he came off with only a Bruise upon his Shin that did not a little trouble him for some time People discours'd of this Fall variously in the World For some look'd upon it as an Accident unforeseen but some affirm'd it was a Trap laid for him by the * See a Letter-Book Entitled The Emperor the Empire betray'd by whom how Governor of the Town with a design to have sacrific'd him by an untimely end to France In short the Governor was Arrested and carried to Vienna but he could not be convicted by all the Inquisitions that were made However it were the Duke was no sooner in a Condition to undertake a Journey but he departed leaving Prince Herman of Baden to Command the Imperial Army of which the greatest part was quarter'd about Offenburgh and the rest dispers'd into other Winter-Quarters Now in regard his Fall had very much disorder'd him he could not travel far in a day so that with all the haste he could make he could not arrive at Baden between Vienna and Newstadt till the 4th of February There he rested for some days to take the benefit of the Baths and was also met by the Marquis de Grana the Count of Bauquoi and several other Noblemen to accompany him to Newstadt where the Emperor then kept his Court. The last days Journey he was met half way by the Emperor 's Grand Squire accompanied by Count
Vienna had not awaken'd the Grand Visier who always flatter'd himself that he should take the Place before any Relief could come but began to be out of heart upon the Approach of the King of Poland The Bassa of Buda at a Council of War which the Grand Visier call'd was of Opinion that they were not to stay till the Polanders came to force their Camp but that it was the best way to draw off the Janisaries out of the Trenches to cut down the Woods adjoyning and lay the Trees cross the Highways to make a deep Entrenchment covered with Earth wherein to lodge the Foot and raise a great Battery that there was no other way to stop the King of Poland and that then the Besieged would immediately Capitulate but that it was a vain thing to hazard the Storming of the City when they had no expectation of any Reinforcement to supply the loss of their Men. And indeed what the Bassa said was spoken like a wary and judicious Captain but the Grand Visier opoos'd his Advice In the mean time the King of Poland receiving News every Moment of the bad Condition of the City hasten'd his march with that extraordinary Diligence that he arriv'd toward the beginning of September at Helbrune which is not above Four Leagues from Vienna And the Duke of Lorrain had so ordered his Affairs that the Polanders and his Army join'd without any opposition All this while the Count de Starenbergh finding himself prest upon by the Besiegers gave notice to the Duke by the continual throwing of Squibs of the necessity he was in and the Duke Answer'd by other Signals agreed upon that Relief was at hand In short all the Forces design'd for the Succour of Vienna being joyn'd the King of Poland march'd at the Head of the Christian Army with a Resolution to force the Infidels in their Camp for all the Christians being joynd together made up an Army of about a Hunderd Thousand Men. On the other side the Grand Visier who expected no less than to be assail'd by the King of Poland and the Duke of Lorrain with a more than ordinary fury and who prepar'd to make as desperate a Resistance found he had no Resolution to spare when he understood the strength of the Christians and saw their Vanguard appear upon a Hill He then began to repent that he had not follow'd the Bassa of Buda's Advice but it was then too late But the Bassa of Adrianople observing his perplexed and dubious Countenance adviz'd him to raise the Siege and to Retreat with his Men toward Newhausel as Solyman the great had formerly done upon the same occasion But the Grand Visier whether out of Presumption or Despair would not listen to his Counsel He told the Bassa that the Besieged were reduc'd to the last Extreamity and that it was impossible for them to hold out three days and as for the Relief which appear'd he said Haughtily That they were not to be fear'd That besides that the Polish Army could not but be extreamly tir'd the Polanders had more of the false Bravado than true Courage That for the Imperialists he already understood 'em well enough and that there was no Body among 'em but the General of the Christians speaking of the Duke of Lorrain who had any Wit or Courage And in a Word That he would rather choose to Die with his Sword in his Hand than be bow string'd by a Mute or live in Ignominy and Disgrace With this Resolution he put himself into a posture to meet the Christians and having left about Twenty Thousand Men before the City that made continual Attempts upon it he set forward with his Army in Three Bodies to make Head against the Christians who came on also in Three Lines For the King of Poland had entrusted the Duke of Lorrain with the Conduct of the whole Army who guided it so safely leading his Men through places where they were still secur'd from the onsets of the Enemy that might have easily stopt their Advance but for the extraordinary Prudence of the General that so soon as they were got down a Hill at the foot of which the Grand Signiors Army was drawn up in Battel Array they were presently in a posture to Fight The Conflict for three Hours was sharp and Bloody for all the Christian Officers as well as common Soldiers fought with no less Emulation than Courage Only this applause was given to the Duke That he exceeded all the rest Thus at length the Ottomans were forc'd to give Ground and had not Night come on too fast which favour'd their Retreat they had been utterly defeated However they return'd to their Camp so disorder'd and shatter'd that not believing themselves safe there so soon as it was dark they betook themselves to a total flight And their Consternation was so great and their flight so precipitate that they left behind 'em all their Tents the greatest part of their Baggage all their Ammunition all their Artillery and the Standard of the Ottoman Empire with the Horse Tails which are the Marks of the Grand Visiers absolute Power in the Turkish Armies For they relate a Story how that the Turks having lost their Chief Standard in a Battel against the Christians the Visier perceiving that upon that loss his Army began to fly with his Scimitar presently cut of a Horses Tail and holding it up fasten'd to a half Pike cry'd out See here the Chief Standard upon which the Souldiers recover'd new Courage and rally'd again to a second Charge Since which time the Grand Visiers have always a Horse Tail fastned to the Banners which are carry'd before them or else set up over the Doors of their Tents as a Mark of their Authority Be it as it will the Turks left the Chief Standard behind them the loss of which is lookt upon by the Superstitious Turks as an infallible Omen of the decay of their Empire And the Grand Visier who was left almost alone was fain to make his escape without his Vest while his Men fled all before to Raab without looking back till they had rid Five and Twenty long Leagues in a Night and Day and joyn'd themselves with the rest of their Army that blockt up that place The next day the Duke of Lorrain sent to Congratulate the King of Poland for the Victory which the Christian Army had won from the Infidels ordering withal the Messenger to tell him That the Success of that memorable Battel was entirely due to him and that it was not the first time that his Presence had been a Terrour to those Barbarians But the King of Poland who had been a Witness as well of the Dukes Performances as of the Actions of the other Generals return'd him for Answer That it was a Victory wherein the whole Army had a share but nevertheless that the Honour of it was due to his Conduct and the Resolution of the Germans who were the first within the
Camp and Trenches of the Enemy Nor was it any of the Dukes fault that the Turks were not immediately pursu'd But the King of Poland found his Army so tir'd that he thought it but requisite to rest 'em for some few days In a Word the Polanders enter'd the Grand Visiers Camp the same day the Turks quitted it and began to Pillage and then the Imperialists following their Example they continued Pillaging all the next day And indeed there were few People in Vienna that did not go out to see what purchase they could meet with in a Camp where the Turks had left infinite Riches behind ' em The King of Poland went in to view the Grand Visiers Tents which took up as much Ground as the City of Warsovia where you might also see Gardens and large Canals and whatever else could be desir'd in a great City The King also lay there one Night and from thence it was that he wrote a Letter to the Queen wherein after he had given her an accompt of what he had met with most costly in those Magnificent Tents he merrily added this Expression You shall not say to me as the Tartarian Women say to their Husbands when they return home from the Army with empty Hands You are no Man you return without Booty For I shall return with so many costly Spoils that you shall acknowledge I was in the Fight THE LIFE OF Charles V. DUKE of Lorrain Bar And Generalissimo of all the Imperial Forces THE FOURTH BOOK HAD the Opinion of the Duke of Lorrain been followed the Turks were in such a Consternation and in so ill a Condition to Defend themselves that they had been all cut in Pieces But during the two or three days that the Christian Army lay and did nothing and that the King of Poland and the other Generals lay in Vienna or else were visiting the Grand-Visiers Tents the Ottoman Forces who were fled in disorder having had time to recover and rally themselves put Relief into other Places that might have easily been surprized and at length secured themselves from the farther Enterprizes of their Enemies All Men agree that the Victorious Army knew not how to make the best of their Advantage since they might have secured all Hungary to the Emperor and pusht on their Conquests to a far larger extent The Duke of Lorrain was vex'd to the very Soul to see himself constrained out of Complaisance to submit to the Advice of a Prince who had left his Kingdom expos'd his own and the Lives of his Subjects for the good of Christendom and who in the last place had put to flight a numerous and formidable Army who was almost within a hairs breadth of Victory and entring Triumphant into Vienna On the other side the King of Poland who perceived by the Event that the Duke had Reason of his side could not forbear letting the Emperor see how much he was troubled for the Miscarriage For after he had told his Imperial Majesty at their first Enterview what time the Emperor returned him Thanks for the Signal Victory he had won that all the Honour of that Victory was due to God and that he had done nothing upon that Occasion but what became a Christian Prince He added that he was much troubled that he could not prosecute his Victory by a vigorous pursuit of the Enemy but that the continued March of his Men for three days and three nights together over steep Mountains and deep Valleys through unfrequented and craggy Ways without Baggage which he was forc'd to leave behind had so wearied and worn out his Army for want of Victuals and Forrage that he was constrain'd to give them a repose of two or three days to refresh themselves and enable them for farther Service towards the entire ruin of the Infidels In the mean time the Duke of Lorrain's Measures who aspir'd to nothing less than the utter Destruction of the Ottoman Forces were broken and that which put them totally out of order was this That some of the Confederates believing that they had done enough in contributing toward the Relief of Vienna began to talk of returning home and the Elector of Saxony drew off in good earnest with his Men and some other Princes were just upon following his Example which would never have so fallen out if by a speedy March all the Christian Princes had been engag'd to pursue the Victory And indeed the Duke of Lorrain rightly apprehending and fearing that his Designs would all miscarry if the Confederate Princes should forsake him labour'd so indefatigably to engage those Princes not to abandon the Emperor at such an Important Conjuncture that excepting the Elector of Saxony all the rest of the Princes were determin'd to continue the Campagne However Things fell out quite otherwise At first they talk'd of Dividing the Army into several Bodies to be employed at the same time upon several Expeditions and there were several Meetings and Conferences to this purpose But in regard there was nothing concluded upon the Duke whose thoughts were wholly bent to make his best Advantage of the remaining part of the Summer made all the Proposals which he thought most favourable either for Reducing of Hungary or laying Siege to some strong Town It was impossible to foresee where the Turks design'd to make a stand and therefore the Duke was of Opinion That the Christians should go and find 'em out And his Advice being approved by his Imperial Majesty and the King of Poland the Polish and Imperial Armies set forward upon the 18th and two days after encamped near Presburgh there to stay for the Confederate Forces which had promis'd to joyn them But they having altered their Resolutions while their Captains for particular Reasons of their own lay demurring whither they should stay in their Camp near Vienna or return home the King of Poland and the Duke of Lorrain having agreed among themselves for the Undertaking some considerable Enterprize without the rest of the Confederates in case of delay or their retiring Home resolved to continue their March and Encamp'd the 2d of October at Weswar which is not far distant from Comorra There they had Intelligence that Count Teckeley with the Forces of the Male-Contents was at Levents That the Body of the Turkish Army lay near Buda that the Grand Visier had sent a considerable Detachment toward Gran and that he had put Four Thousand Men into Newhausel to strengthen that Garison But the Season was so far advanced and the Country withal so bare and consequently in so bad a Condition to afford Subsistance for the Army the Garisons in both those Places so numerous and in a word the Enterprize so hazardous by reason that the Confederates did not come up that the Duke after mature Deliberation was of opinion that to assure himself of Gran and Newhausel it was the best way to Attack the Fort of Barcam which stands at the Head of the Bridge
Execution The Duke had granted at first that the Siege could not be made without a great deal of trouble in regard the Fortifications of the Place had been repair'd and that several Bulworks had been added to strengthen the Outworks all along the Danaw to the Mountain and that the Moat was made much deeper and wider on the other side of the City He farther added that he knew well that the Turks had Countermined those parts where he had prepared Mines when he besieged the Town in the year 1684 That they had contriv'd false Sally Ports underneath that they had unpav'd the Streets until'd the Houses and cover'd them with Earth to prevent the Effects of the Bombs and Carcasses that the Garison consisted of Ten thousand chosen Spahi's and Janisaries and that the Bassa Abdi who commanded in the Place was a Person perfect in the Mystery of War a Resolute Renegado who had a long time been an Officer in the Christian Armies and that he had under him six Aga's who were all Men of great Experience In a word the Duke of Lorrain omitted nothing to set forth the Difficulties which he had to surmount in undertaking the Siege of Buda But at length having brought the Emperor the Duke of Bavaria and the rest of the Generals that were present in Council to be of his Opinion that they had never seen so brave an Army as that which they had ready to take the Field and that the Turks were never weaker nor in a more daunted Condition and shewed them where he would correct the Errors committed in the last Siege and alleadged all the Reasons that he could that it was not impossible to carry the Place the Siege was at length resolved upon and two Armies were ordered to march the one that was most numerous to be commanded by the Duke of Lorrain and the other by the Elector of Bavaria So soon as this Resolution was taken there was no time lost in making all Preparations that might contribute to the good Success of the Enterprize The Plains of Barcam were appointed for the General Rendezvous upon the 30th of the same Month and both Armies set forward accordingly But in regard the Brandenburgers and Regiments of Suabia could not March far in a day because they had taken the Road of Silesia and the narrow Passes of Jablunka it was impossible for them to meet at the time prefixed And besides a slight Fit of an Ague having detained the Duke of Lorrain at Edemburgh therefore the General Muster was deferred till the 8th of June Never was Enterprize desired with so much Ardour nor ever did men prepare themselves for an Expedition with more Joy or greater Courage Volunteers came thronging in from all Parts to be present at that famous Siege their Number being reckoned to be above Six thousand And all the Troops and Regiments in general gave such Testimonies of their Eagerness to Signalize their Valour that the Duke of Lorrain could not forbear saying aloud and openly That he was assured of the Conquest The 18th of June the Armies arriving before Buda the Town was invested and the same day they laboured in raising the Lines of Circumvallation The next the City was more closely surrounded on all sides where it was accessible The 22d after they had begun to open the Trenches by the Overture of three large Places of Arms much nearer the Town than before they resolved upon three Attacques the first commanded by the Duke of Lorrain the second by the Elector of Bavaria and the third by the Brandenburghers to which some Imperial Regiments and some other Auxiliary Troops were to be joyned I shall not stay to relate the Circumstances of the Siege All the World knows with what Vigor it was carried on from the first to the last day and with what an undaunted Courage the Christians fought However the Bassa of Buda was nothing dismayed notwithstanding the vigorous Attacks of the Christians and the bad Entertainment which his Souldiers received every time they Sallied forth which they frequently did For as he was resolved to defend himself bravely so he Published an Order of the Grand Seigniors by which all were Condemned to Death that did but speak of Surrendring and some of the Janisaries he also put to Death for only speaking too favourably of the Strength of the Christian Army He put forth all the Country People and unprofitable Mouths out of the Town that they might consume the Provisions that were laid in for those who were to sustain the Siege And as one that was resolved never to Capitulate to whatever Extremity soever he were reduced he sent out of the City whatever he had of Value with a Design to send it to Belgrade tho' it fell into the Enemies hands by the way But the loss of that how considerable soever it were did nothing abate the Bassa's Courage and though the Besiegers had advanced their Trenches and planted their Batteries though they had Bomb'd and Battered the Town after a most terrible manner and that he had lost a great Number of his Soldiers in several Sallies and Endeavours to repel the Christians yet he fail'd not all along to make a most Incredible Resistance In short about a Month after the Place was Besieged the Duke of Lorrain having resolved upon a General Assault if a Mine which was ordered to be sprung had taken Effect and thinking it convenient first to Summon the Besieged before he was forced to that Extremity the Bassa returned this Letter Grand Visier of the Christians YOU are very Presumptuous to come a second time to Besiege Buda which has cost Christendom already so many Men and so much Money 'T is very true this Siege has surprized us because neither You nor We did ever expect it But by the Assistance of God and our Prophet Mahomet You have been ' twice shamefully repulsed and You shall not need to Assail us so many times as You imagine We shall hope the same Fate will befall You as You have hitherto experienced As for what remains if Your Emperor have Commanded You to Assault us we have Orders from Ours to Defend our selves ABDI BASHA Visier of Buda This Answer so Proud and Haughty constrained the Duke of Lorrain to Play with all his Cannon from the three Attacks and to Bomb the Place with greater Fury if it may be so said than before After which he caused the Mine to be sprung which he had brought to Perfection before he Summoned the Bassa but the Mine not producing that Effect which was expected but rather the contrary as having overthrown the foremost Posts of the Imperial Trenches there was a Necessity of deferring the Assault till another time Which was done accordingly three or four days after upon the 27th of July about six of the Clock in the Evening At what time there was most desperate firing on both sides If the Cannon and Bombs the Carcasses the Granado's and small shot of
the Court of France But things did not succeed in such a manner as the Duke expected For Cardinal Mazarine who succeeded in that Ministry and who trod in the Footsteps of his Predecessor had inspired this Princess with such Interested Politicks that from the very Moment of her assuming the Regency she was possessed with another Spirit and indeed we may affirm that she was more severe to the Duke in particular than Lewis the XIII ever had been Charles the IV. therefore frustrated on that side of all those hopes which he had conceiv'd bent his Thoughts wholly to render himself formidable to France and made no delay in the performance of it He signaliz'd himself in so many Occasions against the French that considering how much his Courage was thereby exalted there was great likelihood that one day he would attempt to re-enter into his Dominions by plain force so that the Queen and Cardinal Mazarin us'd all means possible to bring him over to their Party And this Desire particularly encreased when they saw France began to be torn in pieces by those Civil Wars which made so great a Noise during the Minority of Lewis XIV They urg'd That in regard it was upon the King that his Restoration to his Dominions depended since the King held them in his Hands he might expect from him more favourable Conditions than from the Spaniards with whom he was then ingaged They offered him an entire Restitution of all those Places which had been taken from him Nancy excepted which nevertheless they obliged themselves to restore upon the general Peace without demolishing the Fortifications But whether the Duke thought himself strong enough to regain his Country by force or that he would be reveng'd of the Queen or that he thought he could not place any great Assurance upon a Treaty made in the Minority of the King or what other Reasons he might have which could never yet be div'd into he rejected all these Conditions though seemingly so very Advantagious to him He was always at Brussels and as he was become very necessary to the Spaniards by the Assistance of his Men for which he was paid considarable Sums he made use of these Sums and of such as he gain'd by the Contributions of his Country to purchase many fair Lands in Flanders which yielded a great Revenue In the mean time how rich soever he might be Duke Francis was not so well at Ease For Charles the Fourth looking upon the Prince of Vaudemont as the presumptive Heir of Lorrain and perceiving well enough that the Duke his Brother could not but oppose his Pretensions by reason of Prince Charles his Son this thought had made such an Impression in his Spirit that he left him for this Reason at Vienna without affording him any great Assistance But this was not the worst which then befel Duke Francis who could patiently enough support the capriciousness of his Fortune For about that time he lost the Dutchess Claudia his Wife * She died in the year 1652. a Princess generally lamented in the Court of the Emperor by reason of those many amiable Qualities wherewith she was Adorn'd Duke Francis had wrastled above Fifteen Years with his evil Fortune yet he looked upon this Blow as the most severe and heavy that he had ever felt and he was so afflicted with it all his Life that he would never Marry how profitable soever a second Marriage might have proved for the Re-establishment of his Affairs He intrusted to the care of a Religious House a young Princess born likewise in the same Wedlock who afterwards was Abbess of Remiremont but is since Dead And for Prince Ferdinand and Prince Charles he put them into the Hands of Monsieur the Marquis of Beauvau to take care of their Education Charles the Fifth not being above Nine Years of Age when the Dutchess died But how great soever those Services were which Charles the Fourth had performed for Spain after his withdrawing himself into Flanders that Crown never did any thing for him though they were particularly engaged to joyn their Forces with his for the restoring him to his Dukedom Of this the Duke loudly enough complain'd insomuch that the Spaniards fearing lest being repulsed by so many vain Promises which had been made by him he would in the Conclusion seek out some other Asylum and more secure Protection than theirs to procure Tranquillity for himself and his Subjects resolved to stop him And the Count of Fuensaldagne Governor of Flanders who was none of his Friends had Order to put this Design in Execution as soon as he could find a favourable opportunity for it At the same time Archduke Leopold assisted by the Lorrain Forces gained Rocroi from the French and this was in the year 1655. And now the Campagne being ended and all the General Officers of the Spanish Army retired to Brussels the Count of Fuensaldagne whom Jealousie rather put upon Action than the Interest of his Master was only intent upon executing that secret Order which was given him And that he might not miss his aim after he had communicated his Design to the Archduke who was obliged to give his Consent he quickly dispers'd the Duke of Lorrain's Soldiers into Winter-Quarters so remote the one from the other and divided one from another by Rivers that it was impossible for them to assist their Prince who little expected so sad a Destiny though he had been admonished of it sufficiently before-hand Things being thus disposed the Count who now only waited for a favourable Opportunity found out a way to draw the Duke to the Palace under the specious pretext of some important Affairs which had faln out and wherein he had an Interest But as he thought to enter into the Council-Chamber he was stopt at the Door The next Morning he was conducted by Water down the Canal of Antwerp into the Cittadel of that City and from thence was brought into Spain and confined in the Castle of Toledo where he remained a Prisoner during the space of five Years The Count of Fuensaldagne had no sooner brought his Designs about but Archduke Leopold sent the Count of Sainte Amour at Vienna to acquaint Duke Francis with the Confinement of the Duke his Brother He alledged the Reasons which obliged the King of Spain to secure the Person of that Prince and at the same time he requested him to come and put himself at the Head of the Lorrain Forces assuring him that his Catholick Majesty had no other Intention than that of his Re-establishment and that he would never Consent to any Peace but what should prove for the advantage of his Family Duke Francis not a little griev'd for the Misfortune of the Duke his Brother and 't is probable no less apprehensive lest the like Fate might befal him upon the first Motion refus'd the Offer But the Emperor and Empress Eleonora his Aunt having united their Prayers to the importunate Sollicitations of the Archduke
and laying before him the grand Advantages which he might reasonably hope for from the King of Spain this Prince rather persuaded by the Considerations of the Interest of his Family than his own particular Concerns resolved to go to Brussels and to carry Prince Ferdinando and Prince Charles along with him When Duke Francis departed the Emperor was at Ratisbonne whither he was gone to reside for some time till the King of Hungaria his Eldest Son were Crown'd King of the Romans The Duke went to take leave of him at what time Ferdinand the III after he had given him all the Marks of a tender affection and made him a Magnificent Entertainment ordered him to be conducted by a Troop of his Guards to Noremberg together with the Marquis of Haraucourt who was sent to meet him by the Archduke to sollicite his departure and to hasten his Journey He passed through the Territories of the Electors of Mayence Treves and Cologne and the Duke of Neuburg where he was received with all the Honour that could have been paid to the Emperor himself and above all at Dusseldorp The Spaniards defrayyed all his Expences during his Journey and the Archduke came to meet him within a League of Brussels with all the Burgesses who had all rang'd themselves in Arms so that greater Joy was never seen Duke Francis was not long ere he put himself at the Head of the Lorrainers who received him with Acclamations not easie to be express'd At the same time the King of France had laid Siege before Stenai by Marshal de Fabert Upon which the Spaniards who thought that all the Freneh Forces were employed at this Siege resolved to begirt Arras Duke Francis who foresaw the difficulty of this Enterprize and who likewise perceived that the Ministers of Spain had only given their Consent to please the Prince of Condé who was in the Spanish Army and who absolutely desired this Siege made it sufficiently appear that he did not believe they could carry the Place But in regard he perceived that they absolutely resolved to lay Siege to Arras he marched thither with his Army and was desirous that Prince Ferdinand should there begin his first Campagne For Prince Charles being as yet extreamly young was left at Brussels under the Tuition of Monsieur Romecourt What Duke Francis was afraid of came to pass The Spaniards were forc'd to raise the Siege of Arras they were beaten by the French and the Rout was so great that all their Infantry their Cannon and Baggage remained in the custody of their Enemies insomuch that Duke Francis and Prince Ferdinand being arrived at Valenciennes they found themselves destitute of all Things not having so much as a Field Bed However the Archduke order'd that they should be assisted with incredible Civilities But things began to change Countenance when they came to Brussels They found the Chambers of the Archdukes Palace where they lodg'd all strip'd of those Moveables which were in it before and they were inform'd that the great Master of the Houshold had prohibited Prince Charles to take the Air in the Park in a Coach though it were a liberty which was very rarely refus'd to Women of the meanest Quality in the City The Archduke who was a good Prince and who had an intire Affection for Duke Francis was extreamly dissatisfied in his Mind to see him treated so ill But he was forc'd to dispense with and allow these Hardships and Injustices not daring to oppose the Count of Fuensaldagne who was entirely Master in Brussels and who not having met with that pliantness in the Duke which he expected endeavour'd to humble him Duke Francis nevertheless was in hopes that the Count would become more Tractable But upon a Rumour which then run that Charles the Fourth had sent from his Prison an Order to the Lorrain Officers that they should retire into France where the Princess Nicholé was and carry with them as many of their Men as they could the Spaniards laid a design to stop the Duke That which oblig'd the Spaniards to this Resolution was this That some time before two Colonels had deserted with their Regiments and were gone over to the Service of the King of France and this had allarm'd them Yet for all that this is most certain that the Duke had no Design or the least Intention to cast himself into the Hands of the French who were his mortal Enemies and who had invaded all Lorrain But the Duke saw himself so ill treated by the Count of Fuensaldagne and perceiv'd so many little Artifices made use of to secure him that he went into France with all the Lorrainers which were in the Service of the King of Spain taking Prince Ferdinand with him For Prince Charles upon what grounds of Policy I know not was left at Brussels But being he was in good Hands they order'd his escape when they saw it convenient so that at length he was conducted by Water through the Canal of Antwerp into Holland to secure him from the fury of the Spaniards for the Revolt of the Duke his Father And being come to Paris where Prince Ferdinand was already the Duke presented these two young Princes to the King withal acquainting him that he put them both into his Hands for a Pledge of his Fidelity to his Service which was kindly accepted by his Majesty who promis'd likewise that he would protect them and advance them to Imployments proportionable to their Birth Prince Ferdinand had already been in Four Campagnes wherein he had highly Signaliz'd himself but then Died after that manner which we have already related His Death had almost overwhelm'd Duke Francis with Grief and some Months after he was in great hazard of loosing Prince Charles by an Accident which had like to have proved as fatal as the Minute was Auspicious which ushered such a Prince into the World whom he lov'd to the height of Passion and Tenderness as one who gave in his younger years as great and pregnant Hopes as any Prince of his Years The Accident was this The young Prince managing a Horse in the Academy where he performed his Exercises the Horse that had but one eye yet very sprightly hit so ruggedly against one of the Pillars of the Manage that the Prince as nimble and active as he was in a moment was thrown backward to the Ground and though he fell only upon Sand yet he received so terrible a blow upon the Head that he lay without any Motion Endeavours were used to bring him to himself but all those little Remedies which were apply'd signify'd nothing he was laid upon a Bed in the Academy where he continued six whole Hours without giving any sign of life though there appeared neither Wound nor Contusion in his Head nor in any Part of his Body The News of this Fall quickly allarmed all the Court. And the King who had an account of it e're it was declared to Duke Francis was so really
was of great importance for that being a very strong Hold built upon a Rock at the foot of the Danaw whoever was Master of it was also Master of the River and hindred all Provisions going to the Turks The New Visier therefore proud of the Eminent Dignity to which he was elevated and unwilling to neglect any thing for the effectual supply of this Place had no sooner joyn'd the Ottoman Forces but he caused a Body of the Army to march towards Buda for the security of that Place On the other side the Duke of Lorrain who had already repassed the Danaw and had intelligence that the Bassa of of Buda was advanced at the Head of Fifteen thousand Turks went himself to meet the Bassa and force him to a Battle And having met him near Weizen he fought him defeated him took his Cannon with several Colours a part of his Baggage and a great number of Prisoners and then made himself Master of the Place which yielded at Discretion after a vigorous Resistance of three or four hours * Weizen or Vaccia was taken June 28. 1684 and Pest some few days after These 2 Towns are seated upon the Danaw the latter so near Buda that it is commanded by it as being within the reach of the Cannon of that Town Pest which he afterwards attack'd ran the same fortune with Weizen for the Duke began to throw in his Bombs so furiously at first that the Place was constrained to open to him her Gates But the Duke stay'd not there Some few days after he routed the Ottoman Army near Buda where it was rang'd in Battle Array and then laid Siege to the City which before the Invasion of the Turks had been the Metropolitan of the Kingdom By these ill Successes there was such a Terrour spread among the Ottoman Forces that though their Army was as strong as that of the Duke of Lorrain's they durst not make any Detachement to oppose the Siege At the beginning of which the Imperialists possessed themselves of the Suburbs and some other Advantageous Posts from whence they drove the Enemy And after some days that the Siege had been laid they had so terribly batter'd the Town that there was a considerable Breach made in the Wall And these prosperous Beginnings begat great Hopes of a Fortunate Issue But the Grand-Visier being waken'd out of his Slumber sent an Army of Twenty thousand Turks under the Command of a Serasquier to Relieve the Place Of this the Duke of Lorrain had Intelligence and therefore fearing that if those Forces should advance too near he should be forced to raise his Siege he resolved to go and fight them To which purpose with a Detachement of Fifteen thousand Men he fell upon the Enemy at such an Advantage that no less than Four thousand were slain upon the Place and a great part of the rest were either wounded or taken Prisoners and those that escaped the hands of the Christians betook themselves to flight with so much dread and precipitation that they left behind 'em all their Baggage all their Ammunition all their Cannon and the Grand-Visiers Standard as at the raising the Siege of Vienna All this while they that were left in the Siege play'd furiously with their Great Guns upon the City and the Duke of Lorrain being returned to the Camp after the defeat of the Serasquier continued the Siege with great violence On the other side the Besieged for above two Months together made such bold and vigorous Sallies every day that the Imperial Army began to waste very much However all their Losses were no such hindrance but that they had gained a great deal of Ground that they had advanced even to the Rampart of the Town that they had sprung several Mines which had wrought wonderful Effects insomuch that the Breach which they had made was about thirty paces wide and that the Duke was inclin'd to have ventur'd a general Assault but falling sick at the same time he was constrained to retire and leave the Care of the Siege to the Count of Rabata who was a Person of great Knowledge and Experience and would by no means give his Advice to hazard any thing During the Duke of Lorrain's Indisposition of Body the Duke of Bavaria arriv'd at the Camp with a considerable Reinforcement and no sooner had he visited the Works and observ'd the Situation of the Place but he sent a Summons to the Governor to surrender the Town with a Promise of good Conditions And there was some hopes that the Governor finding himself so closely press'd upon and without any hopes of Relief while the Christian Army had received fresh Succors would not have refus'd so fair an Offer But he only answer'd the Duke of Bavaria with continual Sallies which much diminish'd the Christian Army though the Besieged in like manner sustained great Losses Upon this the Duke of Lorrain although he had not quite recovered his Health return'd to the Camp impatient to be Master of Buda But the face of Affairs was alter'd during his Sickness for the Serasquier was again approach'd the Place with new Forces and while the Besieged made continual Sallies on the one side the Ottoman Army attack'd the Christian Camp with numerous Detachements on the other so that the Duke of Lorrain's Army was not a little distrest as having to contend with Enemies before and behind at one time besides that by the favour of these Sallies which the Besieged made every day they several times receiv'd considerable Succors Nor could the Duke of Lorrain do what he could prevent the Enemy from putting in several times into the Town great quantities of Ammunition and Provisions So that at length after several Assaults several Bloody Sallies several Endeavours in vain and the loss of above Ten thousand Christians that perish'd in this Siege which lasted three months and a half the Serasquier having receiv'd a Reinforcement of Ten thousand Tartars and marching up directly to the Imperial Army made such desperate Attacks and they that were assail'd defended themselves with so much disadvantage that the Duke of Lorrain found it high time to think of retreating The Relief put into the Place the diminution of his Army the bad condition of his Men for want of Forage and Victuals the inconveniences of the Season and the little misunderstandings which were crept in among some of the Generals the flight of some part of the Hungarians and the extream hazard of a general Storm at what time there would be a necessity of fighting at the same moment with the Garison and against the Serasquier who was not far distant from the Dukes Entrenchments all these Considerations made the Duke determine to raise the Siege and to suffer his Courage to give way to his Prudence and good Conduct * Buda was besieged the 14th of July 1684. the Siege was rais'd the 1st of Novemb. of the same year Nevertheless it was not without a more
Several times the Imperialists were constrain'd to recoyle but at length after many bloody Struglings on both sides the Besieged having lost their Courage through the Death of the Governor who was slain upon the Breach the Infidels were repulsed and forced out of their Entrenchments on that side next the Duke of Lorrain's Attack At the same time also the Brandenburgers enter'd the City and piercing forward into the Streets put all to the Sword One of the Bassa's who defended the Place next the Duke of Bavaria's Attack with an incredible Courage was constrain'd to give Ground and seeing all lost next the Attacks of Lorrain and Brandenburgh retir'd into a Roundel between the Castle and the City where he yielded at Discretion with all that were with him Thus was Buda taken by Storm in every of the three Places where the Assault was made only those that were in the Duke of Lorrain's Attack were the first that enter'd This Conquest was the more Glorious in regard it was made in view of the whole Ottoman Army who without daring to make any Attempt to relieve it suffer'd the taking by Storm of so important a Place as that was and of which the Infidels had been in Possession near a Hundred and fifty years There was found in the Place between Three and Four hundred Pieces of Cannon Sixty Mortar-Pieces and an Incredible Number of Bullets Granadoes Carcasses Bombs and other Warlike Engines besides about Two thousand Prisoners taken For the Turks that were in Buda fought like Men in despair so that the greatest part were destroy'd before the City was won And for the Christian Generals they signalized themselves in this Siege by so many Actions of Courage and Prudence that the Enemies of the Duke of Lorrain have been constrain'd to acknowledge that he perform'd at that time all that could be expected from a Great and Experienced Captain I tremble to relate the Actions of the Soldiers after the taking of the Town During the first Agitations of their Fury they committed unheard of Cruelties And though the Generals us'd all their Endeavours to prevent them from defiling their Victory with Acts of bloody Inhumanity yet they put all to the Sword without distinction of Age or Sex nothing at all moved with the Cries and Tears of an infinite Number of Miserable People who begg'd their Lives upon their Knees And in hopes of finding Gold or some small Jewels they rumaged the very Bowels of those who they suspected to have swallow'd them And some there were so inhumanely Brutish that meeting Women with Children of two or three Months old they cut open their Bellies and crammed the Innocent Babes into their Wombs Such are the Calamities that attend the Sacking of Cities taken by Force which therefore the Christian Generals would have avoided had not the Obstinacy of the Governor been such as to hold out to the last Extremity But to return to the Ottoman Army which lay not above a League from the Christian Lines in regard they did not imagine that the Town was carried in that manner as it was they no sooner received the News that the Christians had Possession of the Place but they display'd a thousand ridiculous Marks of their Despair and in the mid'st of those Fears wherein they were lest the Christians should force their Camp they retreated in the Night It is said that the Duke of Lorrain's Joy for the taking of Buda wrought so extreamly in him that he never thought of pursuing the Enemy whose Forces he had entirely defeated in that Consternation wherein they then were and that this was an Error which neither Monsieur Turenne nor the Prince of Conde would have committed But if we overlook the Lives of the greatest Captains we shall find perhaps that they did not always make the best of those Advantages which they might have drawn from their Victories I have already shewn you one Example in the Person of the King of Poland after the raising the Siege of Vienna so far it is from truth that Hero's are always infallible Therefore as it is not my Business to make a Panegyrick upon the Duke of Lorrain I must acknowledge that he forgot himself at this time and knew not how to set Limits to his Joy But it is certain that they who have upbraided him for this Slip would have been no less discontented had he not perform'd it and would not have fail'd of crying out had he been repulsed by the Turks That two Victories were not to be won in one day that it had been a rash Attempt and that those other Great Men whom they favoured more than him would have been contented to have won the Town without hazarding an Overthrow after so fortunate a Success Some time before the taking of Buda the President Canon whom the Duke of Lorrain had sent to Paris return'd to the Camp This Minister had Orders to demand the Restitution of the Dutchies of Lorrain and Barr or to manage some Accommodation upon Conditions less severe than those which the King of France exacted by the Peace of Nimeguen But he return'd without effecting any thing Therefore to go on with the Series of the History the Emperor was no sooner inform'd of the happy Success of the Christian Arms but adjudging rightly of the Consternation that had seized the Grand Visier and all the Ottoman Forces he was desirous that the Duke of Lorrain should go and Attack the Bridge of Esseck and the Fort which lyes beyond the River * This Bridge which perhaps is the Biggest that is in the whole World is in length 8565 German Paces and 17 broad It is built part over the Danaw part over the River Fennes and part over a vast Marsh it was built by Solyman the Magnificent in the year 1521. after which a great part of it was Burnt by the Turks and Christians The Duke having received the Emperor's Command laid before him the great difficulty of performing his Orders without the Ruin of his Army for that he had a vast deal of Ground to cross where there was neither Victuals nor Forage but all these Remonstrances signified nothing So that after the Army had refresh'd themselves for two or three days he Embark'd Ten thousand Foot together with Twelve Pieces of Cannon Twenty Mortars and great Store of Ammunition and Provision to fall down toward the Bridge of Esseck where the Forces of Croatia had Orders also to meet him And the next day the Duke of Lorrain and the Elector of Bavaria follow'd by Land with Four twenty Thousand Horse 6000 Hungarians Twelve thousand Foot Three thousand Heydukes The Army suffered extreamly in their March and upon the Road they received Advice that the Turks had blown up the Fortifications of Harwan not finding them in a Condition for Defence that their Ammunition and Provisions were Transported to Agria and that the Grand Visier was advantageously posted on this side the Bridge of Esseck upon the
of the Morea and Rumelia and the City and Castle of Lepanto The Grand-Visier who two days before had intelligence of the Victory and Conquest of the Venetians was at his wits end to see himself vanquish'd in his own turn For he foresaw that so many Losses one after another could not but prove fatal to him and he had all the reason in the world to be assur'd of it for the whole Army murmur'd against him and was ready to Mutiny Nevertheless being retreated toward Esseck with about Forty thousand Men and rousing up his Courage that he might not altogether sink under his bad Fortune he endeavour'd to pacifie his Men and to hearten 'em up at the same time He told 'em that the Misfortune which had befall'n 'em ought not to deject their Courage that the chance of War was uncertain that the mischief was not so great as was imagin'd that there was no City or Town lost and supposing that the defeat were greater then it was the season was so far advanced that the Christians would not be able to undertake any thing considerable This Discourse and some Money which he caus'd to be distributed among the Soldiers gave them a little new Life and for the time dispell'd their Fears so that they resolv'd to defend themselves and the Grand-Visier found himself in a Condition able in some measure to make head against the Duke of Lorrain However it was not the Resolution of the Turks that stopt the Duke in the Carcer of his Victories For in regard that his Men were animated by Success 't is most certain they would have continu'd Victorious could they but have had an opportunity to fight but the season hinder'd them from farther falling upon the Enemy 'T is true the Duke of Lorrain did all he could to engage the Grand-Visier to a second Battel but in regard he found it impossible and for that the continual Rains and overflowings of the Rivers made the ways unpassable he call'd a Council of War upon the Field of Battel to consider what to do The greatest part advis'd him to pass the Drave but the Trouble he met with in passing it the first time having silenc'd that Advice the Duke resolv'd to spend his time in repairing the Disorders which it was impossible but such a Battel as that of Mohats had caus'd in his Army till he could have a positive Accompt what was become of the Enemy In the mean time he sent a particular Relation of the Battel to the Emperor who return'd him his Congratulations and Thanks for so Glorious a Victory with his own Hands and at the same time he also wrote his Acknowledgments to the Duke of Bavaria Great was the Rejoycing at Vienna for the Defeat of the Grand Visier But the Emperor's Joy was somewhat abated by a Letter from Count Caraffa then in Upper Hungary wherein he gave his Majesty to understand that the Prince of Transilvania had declared for the Port notwithstanding the Treaty which I mentioned by which the Prince Abaffi and his Territories were obliged to contribute to the Subsistance of the Imperial Forces and to furnish them with Ammunition and Money This News was so much the more unwelcom to the Emperor in regard he had resolved since the Treaty to send his Forces to take up their Winter Quarters in Transilvania Thereupon the Duke of Lorrain who soon received the same ill Tidings finding that he must give over the Designs which he had on the other side the Drave without any hesitation march'd away into Upper Hungary with a Resolution to reduce Prince Abaffi to his Duty To this purpose he strengthen'd the Places from whence he was to remove with good Reinforcements and having left a flying Camp in those Parts by the Advice of the Duke of Bavaria and the rest of the General Officers he advanced toward the Frontiers of Transilvania Now in regard this was a tedious March and the Ways bad his Men suffer'd great Hardships but the Advantages which they hoped to find in their Quarters made them endure all their Toil and Inconveniencies with Patience However the Duke of Lorrain who omitted nothing to disappoint and distract the Counsels of the Enemy made a shew of Marching toward Temeswaert Upon which the Grand Visier apprehending that the Duke had a Design to Besiege that Place sent a numerous Detachement to secure it Of which the Duke no sooner received Intelligence but perceiving the false March which he had caused the Grand-Visier to take he sent away immediate Orders to Count Erdedi Governor of Croatia to joyn Count Dunewald and march forthwith to that Part where the Grand Visier had least Strength Upon which the Infidels who expected no such Visit were not a little surprized and abandon'd Esseck Upon which Count Dunewald made himself Master of Walpo which had been so often attempted before and took in several Castles and other petty Places which must of necessity have been reduced at the beginning of the next Campagne But to return to the Duke of Lorrain's March He was no sooner arrived upon the Frontiers of Transilvania but he demanded Winter Quarters for his Soldiers to which the States returned answer That in regard their Country lay open and without defence they could not hinder the Turks from entring into it and committing all manner of Hostilities if they should openly Declare against them But since the Imperialists were at their Gates and that they were no longer in fear of the Ottoman Forces they offer'd the Duke to allow Quarters to some of his Regiments Which tho' it were something yet the Duke was not fully satisfied He therefore sent them word that he must be constrain'd to take by Force what they would not grant him in a Friendly way and because that sort of Language produced no Effect he advanced into the Country and seized upon the Castle of Samblock in Transilvania which lay in his Road and after he had caus'd it to be fortified to make himself Master of that Passage he came before Claussenberg which is a considerable City where the States frequently meet into which Place being resolv'd to put a Garison he proposed his Resolution to the Governor To which the Commander made answer That in regard he must have an Express Order from Prince Abaffi for such an Admission he desir'd time to write to him But the Answer not coming soon enough and the Duke preparing for an Assault the Governor open'd the Gates Prince Abaffi's Garison being gone out after certain Conditions agreed to Three thousand of the Imperialists enter'd with Drums beating and Colours flying Several other Cities also followed the Example of Claussenberg and receiv'd Imperial Garisons All this while Prince Abaffi who had one of his Sons a Hostage at Constantinople having given the Turks to understand the Condition of his Affairs and how he was distress'd sollicited for Aid But while the Imperial Troops advanced and still gain'd Ground Count Dunewald having taken
Officers It would be a difficult thing to make a true Relation of the Disturbances that were then in Constantinople and the Trouble the Grand Signior was in So that although he were convinc'd that Solyman was not Guilty he was compell'd to cause him to be Strangled and to send the Head of that Unfortunate Visier to his Rebellious Soldiers He abandon'd to their Fury the Principal Officers whose Lives they obstinately demanded He paid them all the Money which he got from them which were Arrested and who were daily Tortur'd to squeeze more out of their Bones Nor could all these low and poor Submissions prevent Mahomet himself from being depos'd in whose stead Solyman his Brother was advanced to the Ottoman Throne who had been shut up in a Dungeon above Forty Years During these Commotions in Constantinople the Duke of Lorrain having settled his Soldiers in their Winter-Quarters departed from Transilvania to visit the Blockade of Agria Where he was no sooner arriv'd but he was wellcom'd with all the great and small Shot from all the Posts of the Blockade By the Noise of which the Governor of Agria being informed of the Dukes arrival sent an Aga to him at the same time to Compliment him with Orders also to let him know That 't was in vain for him to tire his Men in a Season so inconvenient that therefore he advis'd him to draw off since it was to no purpose for him to continue in his obstinate Resolution to make himself Master of a Place which he had block'd up for so long time without any Success he being resolved to defend it to the last Extremity To which the Duke caus'd this Answer to be returned That he was not come before the place but only to streighten it more closely and that he should find in a little time which of the two was the most Resolute he that was resolv'd to Attack or he that was so well resolv'd to defend the Place In short the Duke rode round the Town to view it and advanc'd to the very Counterscarp yet not a Man from the Garison durst adventure to discharge a single Musket However as his presence was not necessary after he had given Order for a closer Blockade he departed for Presburgh where the Emperor then resided in order to the Crowning of Archduke Joseph his Eldest Son King of Hungary Nor was the Governor of Agria so resolute as he seem'd to be for some time after the Dukes departure he desired to * Agria Capitulated the 28th of Novemb. 1687 and the Garison went forth the 9th of the next Month which was the same day that the Archduke was Crown'd Capitulate And the day that he went out of the place he protested That he and all the Garison had subsisted without Bread for Seven Months together The Duke of Lorrain was receiv'd at Presburg by their Majesties with all the Marks of Joy that could be express'd Some few days after he went to Vienna and thence to Inspruck to the Queen Dowager of Poland his Wife the Differences about Precedency not permitting him to be present at the Coronation of Prince Joseph which Ceremony was perform'd the Ninth of December The new Visier flatter'd himself that the Deposal of Mahamet the IV. would restore Tranquillity to the Ottoman Empire but he found that his Expectations and his Hopes fail'd him However as it was his Interest to keep all quiet at Constantinople he sent thither Two Thousand Men under the Conduct of Little Mahomet and some time after he follow'd himself But no sooner had he left the Army but the Spahi's and Janisaries who lay encamped some Miles from the City having Disbanded themselves got into it in small Companies so that in a little time they amounted to above Five Thousand and these committed Infinite Disorders Siaoux himself had much ado to pacifie this licentious Rabble though they had chosen him for their Chieftain Because he went about to tell them their Duty they told him boldly That he began betimes to follow the ill Example of his Predecessors that he must expect as unfortunate an End as Theirs and upon some tart Answers that he gave them they demanded his Head of the Sultan and being divided into several Quarters of the City they committed most dreadful Hostilities Solyman the III. was strangely confounded at the sight of so many Disorders and seriously acknowledg'd that having been a Prisoner for Forty Years together he understood not how to Govern an Empire and besides that his Power not being well settled he knew not what course to take to pacifie those mad-Men of Soldiers However in regard these Mutineers had made the detaining of their Pay the pretence of their Rebellion care was taken to distribute among them a great part of what was their due and after the Sultan had try'd by all the ways of Mildness and Sweetness to reduce 'em to their Duty they were at length prevail'd upon to depart Constantinople and take their Winter-quarters where they were assign'd ' em After this they made it their whole business to get all things ready against the Spring They made new Levies of Men. Hassan the new Bassa of Aleppo was nominated Serasquier in Hungary according to the usual Custom of the Ottoman Empire which is That that Bassa is always to Command the principal Army in the absence of the Grand Visier And in a Divan assembled on purpose it was resolv'd That in regard the Imperialists care as little for Sieges as the Turks did for pitch'd Fields they should after an extraordinary manner supply those Garisons in their Power with Men to the end they might draw out Detachements from thence as necessity requir'd to make up small Parties to beat the Field and harrass the Duke of Lorrain Chiaux's were sent to the Princes of Transilvania Moldavia and Valachia to give them notice of the Advancement of the new Emperor and to sollicit them at the same time to stick close to the Interests of the Port. And in regard that Solyman saw well that so long as he should be at War with the Emperor he should never enjoy any Tranquillity during his Reign he declar'd That he Condemn'd the Declaration of War which had been made against him by Mahomet the IV. before the Truce was expir'd adding withal That to redeem the Credit which the Ottomans had lost by the Breach of those Treaties it could be no shame for them to signifie to the Emperor that they were ready to enter into a Negotiation of Peace to stop the Effusion of that Blood which was every day shed These prudent Precautions gave some Hopes that Solyman III. being ascended the Throne would settle a Calm in the Empire and that in case the Emperor would not consent to a Peace which he so freely offer'd of himself that he should find himself in a Condition to withstand him and to stop him in the Career of his Conquests There was but one Obstacle that could make him
fear the Disappointment of his Precautions which was that the Imperial Treasury was almost exhausted The Army was not wholly pay'd off and a great part of the Mutineers remain'd still at Constantinople to have Right done them There was a necessity of keeping several Armies on foot and of vast Expences for the Preparations against the next Campagne The only Expedient which the new Visier could find was to lay new Impositions upon the People the Immense Sums which had been already heap'd together by constraint upon the People to pay the Taxes laid upon them being not sufficient to satisfie the Soldiers And these Impositions they were that renewed the foregoing Troubles after so horrid a manner that Constantinople was within a little of being sackt and the new Sultan massacred by the Rebels The Spahi's that staid in the City joyning with the Militia and a part of the Rabble themselves depos'd the Principal Officers from their Employments and having besieg'd the Palace of Siaoux that new Visier was butcher'd after the most miserable manner in the World I only speak of some part of these Disorders in Constantinople Upon this the Grand-Signior took off the new Impositions and this begat him so much the Love of the People that having set up the Standard of Mahomet he rally'd together about the Seraglio above a hundred thousand Men which though for the most part unarmed shew'd however so great a Resolution that the greatest part of the Mutineers were disperst or cut in pieces After which Solyman created Ishmael Bassa Grand-Visier a Person much in the Peoples favour which in a manner restor'd the City to its former tranquility However this new Minister was laid aside in a little time after and Mustapha Bassa was advanced in his Room But the Bassa who commanded at Belgrade and had under him the Hungarian Army upon the news of the new Visiers advancement immediately mutiny'd and set all in a flame pretending that the Dignity was his due after he had obtain'd by his Artifices and Intreagues the Deposal of Ishmael Bassa So that the Repose which the Ottoman Empire seem'd to enjoy being but a Shadow of Peace which might have been disipated in a moment there was just reason to hope that if the Emperor had been as well serv'd then as he was in the preceding Campagnes it would have been no difficult thing for him to have continu'd his Conquests and to have render'd himself Master of all Hungary But two unlucky and unexpected Circumstances gave him cause to fear that he should not be in a Condition to make his Advantage of the Troubles and Divisions among the Infidels The first was That the Elector of Bavaria had resolv'd not to take the Field For though there had been a Regulation already made of the Body of the Army which he was to command and that the General Officers that were to serve under him were nominated yet at the same time that he was expected at Vienna there came a Courier from him who brought the news that it was impossible for him to march into Hungary by reason of the Marriage of his Sister with the Duke of Tuscany It was immediately suspected that the Elector who had so highly signaliz'd himself in the preceding Campagnes was grown weary of serving under another General and that the Marriage of the Princess his Sister was only a Pretence which he was willing to lay hold of that he might not be oblig'd to share his Honour with the Duke of Lorrain and it was thought the Elector by this design'd the sole Command to himself In short it was then reported that a Minister of State had propos'd to the Emperor to make him Generalissimo of his Armies and to keep the Duke of Lorrain at Vienna to be President of his Council of War in the Room of Prince Herman of Baden who was for that purpose to have been discharg'd from that Employment However it were in regard the Emperor was far from doing that Injustice to the Duke of Lorrain to whom he was to Sacrifice as I may so say Prince Herman of Baden by sending him to the Dyet at Ratisbonne under the Character of his First Commissioner only out of a Design to remove him out of the sight of an Enemy of whom he would have had just reason to Complain and for that he had given a thousand Testimonies of his Affection for that Prince and of the Confidence he had in his Counsels for these Reasons it was that the Resolution of the Duke of Bavaria whom he would have preferr'd before any other but the Duke of Lorrain whose presence was so necessary in Hungary troubled his Majesty very much The next Circumstance which was worse then t'other was this that the Duke of Lorrain was seiz'd at Vienna by a Distemper so dangerous that all Men were afraid for the Life of that great Prince The frequent Vomitings and other scurvy Symptoms which accompany'd his Disease made Men suspect at the same time that he was Poyson'd And in regard the Physicians unanimously despair'd of his Cure the Emperor began to be pensive past Consolation However such was the Care of of those that attended him and the Remedies apply'd so prevalent that at length he began to mend But then when it was thought the worst had been past he fell into a Relapse so dangerous that the Physicians gave him quite over 'T is true that at first they would have conceal'd his Sickness from the Queen Dowager of Poland but when they thought there was no hopes of Life a Courier was sent away to Inspruck to let her understand his Condition that she might have the satisfaction to see her Husband before he expir'd which brought her in haste to Vienna But fortunately the Judgments of the Physitians prov'd Erroneous for the Duke mended of a suddain But still the Indisposition of Body and the great weaknesses under which he labour'd were such that the Emperor well saw that he could not be in a Condition to endure the Hardships of a Campagne though perfectly recover'd in his Health So that while he waited to regain the Duke of Bavaria he gave the Command of the Army to Caprara However all this while there had been no care wanting at Vienna to prepare against the Campagne for they would not hear of any Peace with the Port. True it is that the Grand Visier Solyman after his Defeat had written a Letter full of Elogies to the Duke of Lorrain wherein he acknowledged that the Losses which the Empire had sustain'd proceeded only from the Grand Signior's Breach of Faith in violating the Treaties between the two Empires but that having sufficiently paid for it by all the fatal Events that had happen'd for Four years together since the Beginning of the War it was now time to stop the Effusion of Blood that had been spilt on both sides but the Emperor would vouchsafe no Answer to the Visier Quite the contrary he was in Treaty