People Those of the Latin Church reflect it as a Judgment on the English Nation that they have never been free from Conspiracies Seditions and Rebellions since the Time they shook off their Obedience to the Roman Mufti which was in the Days of King Henry VIII As if that Revolt in Point of Religion had been the Source of all the following Tumults and Disorders in the State 'T is certain Religion has great Influence on Mens Morals and where a Liberty of innovating is once allow'd it makes continued Progressions Some French Antiquaries say that the English embrac'd the Roman Communion for the Space of Seven Hundred Years and that during so long a Time they never had any Civil Wars but such as were made on the Account of Succession to the Crown But that after they had chang'd their Faith they were always restless still hatching some Alteration in the Government I know not how far these Observations are justifiable Men being generally partial to their own Cause But the present Stirs in that Island seem to owe their Increase if not their Birth to the Latitude which the Subjects take in Matters of Conscience Whilst every Man carves out to himself such a Religion as best pleases him without being accountable to the State or paying any Tribute as is the Practice of the Ottoman Empire Hence it is few Mens Ambition to conform to the Religion of the Prince but every Sect endeavours to perswade both Prince and People to subscribe to their Sentiments and the most potent Party threatens all the Rest with the ill Consequences of War in Case their Tenets be not establish'd Among all the Religions which divide the Inhabitants of that Island there is none for which they have so general an Aversion as that which they call the Roman Catholick though it were once the Establish'd Religion of the Country This is now become the publick Eye-sore and the rest of the Sects though they are at immortal Difference with each other yet all join Heart and Hand to oppose this Common Bugbear The French say That the Protestants are like the English Mastiffs Two of which I remember were presented to Sultan Amurath by the French Ambassador with this Character of them That though when they quarrell'd they would fight with each other to Death yet should a Bear be let loose upon them in the Midst and Heat of their Fury they would soon become Friends and turn the Battel upon their Savage Enemy Such they say is the Humour of the English Sectaries and the Factious have improved it so far as to fasten the Odium of the Vulgar on the King himself by suggesting That he designs to introduce the Roman Religion into that Country whereas according to the Relation of Travellers and knowing Men he is a zealous Protestant This is the Pretence of taking up Arms against him An Artifice by which Rebellion is generally usher'd in whilst the Defence of Religion is made a Cloak for Sacrilege and Treason The Infidels have found out a Way to divide a Man from himself by Metaphysical Niceties a Science wherein the True Believers are happily ignorant They are actually in Arms against their Sovereign yet they declare they fight for him Maintaining their Rebellion by this Sophistry That they fight against his Natural Person to defend his Political as if they could separate one from the other Some thinking Men say 't is well if they do not divorce his Soul from his Body by the Help of these Juggling Distinctions His Viceroy in Ireland has already lost his Head for no other Crime but his Loyalty to his Master who is blam'd for giving Consent to the Execution of so faithful a Minister Yet the Curious pretend to trace the Footsteps of Justice in this Man's Destiny since he fell a Sacrifice to the fame Democratick Principles whereof he had formerly been a zealous Patron having been observed to be once a great Opposer of the Royal Prerogative If this be true it seems as if Nemesis her self had brought him to his Punishment Thou wilt wonder at the Presumption of these People in divesting the King of the Military Power by Sea and Land and assuming it themselves Especially when thou considerest that this is the Essential Prerogative of Sovereignty without which it is but an Empty Title Our Invincible Sultans are possessed of such an uncontroulable Authority as cannot be transferr'd to any Subject or to all the Subjects of so vast an Empire put together but is only communicated at the Imperial Pleasure as Rays from the Sun whose Emanations though they are immense and infinite yet do they not in the least diminish or weaken that Immortal Fountain of Light But the English have not that Veneration for their Prince as is found in the Mussulmans They esteem Him but the Trustee of the Common-Wealth the Creature of the Populace having imbib'd the Principles of Aristotle Cato and other Democratick Philosophers who teach That the Sovereign Power is Originally in the People and but transmitted from them to the Prince by way of Deputation and Credence My Letter to the Prime Vizir will inform thee what the English Parliament is At this Time as I 'm inform'd it consists for the most Part of Men of this Stamp Yet they do not openly profess these Antimonarchick Tenents but under the Mask of Loyalty amuse the credulous Multitude with specious Pretences Of making the King the most Glorious Monarch and his Subjects the Happiest People in the World But 't is thought he will rather confide in his Arms the Justice of his Cause and the Protection of God than suffer himself to be any longer cajol'd by their false Rhetorick He has given them Battel once wherein they say the Victory was in an even Balance and neither Side could claim it The Rebels have put to Death the English Mufti whom they call the Arch-bishop They struck off his Head with an Ax in the open Street on the 10th Day of the 1st Moon of the Year 1644. Before I conclude this Letter I shall relate to Thee a Passage which happen'd in this King's Infancy worthy of Remark In former Ages there were a Sort of Philosophers or Prophets in England whom they call'd Druids and Bards These instructed the People in the Belief of a God the Immortality of the Soul and other Principles of Natural Religion They foretold Things to come and had acquir'd so great a Reputation that the Kings of that Country would undertake no Affair of Moment till they had first consulted these Oracles 'T is said there are yet living some of that Prophetick Race in the Mountains of Scotland One of which a Man of great Sanctity and Wisdom being an Hundred and Twenty Years old came to visit this King's Father at which Time he saw this King being then an Infant in his Nurses Arms whilst his Elder Brother and Heir of the Crown stood by The Old Man after his Complements to the Father takes the Infant
neither lived to see the Common New-Years Day nor the Fifty-eight Year of his Life as they say the Queen's Ghost foretold him Some that have been Curious in examining his Pedigree tell me that his Progenitors were allied to one of the Kings of France However 't is certain that he was descended of an Ancient and Honourable Family of above Five Hundred Years Standing and Eminence in that Kingdom He had his Education in the Vniversity of Paris where he attained the Degree of a Doctor of the Sorbon a Dignity much esteemed in France and most Parts of Christendom except in Rome which Court is Jealous of the Sorbonists because they have sometimes Decreed in Prejudice of the Pope's Authority and the Grandeur of the Roman Court. After this he was made a Bishop then Almoner of France next Secretary of State in which Station he acquitted himself so happily that the King procured him the Dignity of a Cardinal There are none of the Ministers of the Divan but know that a Cardinal is one of the Princes of the Roman Church During these several Stairs of Preferment he had signalized his great Abilities in Negotiating Affairs of greatest Moment Yet in nothing did the Dexterity of his Wit appear more than in reconciling the Misunderstandings between the King and the Queen-Mother Whereby he gained much upon both their Affections so that in a little Time he was made the Principal Minister of State and Chief Director of the Government having a Guard of Souldiers appointed to attend his Person Then he was made Superintendent of the Marine Affairs after this Generalissimo of the Armies So that he seemed to have monopoliz'd all Command both in Church and State by Sea and Land It was Impossible for him to escape the envious Eyes of the Grandees nay the Queen-Mother her self who first raised him began now to grow Jealous of his great Power But especially the Princes of the Blood were highly offended at him The Count of Soissons stomach'd the Indignity the Cardinal had offer'd him in proposing the Marriage of his Daughter The Duke of Orleans suspected his Designs upon the Regency Yet all their Conspiracies against him proved ineffectual For neither by Publick Arms nor Private Machinations could they ever prevail against the fixed Destiny of this Great Minister who though he had been often attempted to be Poison'd Pistol'd and Stabb'd yet died quietly in his Bed having a little before received a Visit from the King I will not presume to make Corollaries or Glosses on these Things as though I were able to Instruct thee whose Wisdom and Experience renders thee a fit Oracle for the greatest Princes to resort to in Time of Need. I onely send thee bare Matter of Fact and together with an Account of the Cardinal's Death a brief Abstract of his Life as I received it from one of the most observing and knowing Men in the French Court. I wish thee Health long Life and Happiness Paris 4th of the last Moon of the Year 1642. LETTER II. To the Venerable Mufti I Have sent to the Kaimacham an Account of the Death of Cardinal Richlieu with some Passages relating thereto wherewith I thought it not proper to Interrupt thy Diviner Thoughts This Great Minister died the Fourth of this Instant Moon being the last of the Year in his Palace at Paris His Body is Interred in the Chappel of the Colledge of Sorbon where he finish'd his Studies and attained the Degree of Doctor in Theology He has left behind him a prodigious Estate amounting to a Million of Crowns Yearly which he has bequeathed in Legacies to his Kindred Friends and Creatures And as a particular Demonstration of his Gratitude to the King he has made him Heir of his Cardinal-Palace in this City with all the Plate and Furniture in it And at the last Visit the King made him which was a little before his Death he presented him with a Stone worth a Hundred Thousand Crowns of Gold Upon which 't is discoursed that the King will settle a Yearly Revenue on a certain Number of the Sorbonists to celebrate Mass daily for the Cardinal's Soul during the Space of One Year and once a Year afterwards on the Day that he died For these Infidels approach thus near the True and Vndefiled Faith in that they have Hopes of Immortality believing the Resurrection of the Dead and that the Prayers Alms and Good Works of the Living do atone for the Sins of the Departed as our Holy Doctors teach and as is the Practice of the Mussulmans throughout the World This Cardinal was richly endowed by Nature having a firm Intellect vigorous Spirit quick Apprehension solid Judgment faithful Memory and a most prevailing Way of Discourse A Man highly serviceable to his King and Country and therefore deserving better of the French than those Scandalous Reports and Libels which were every where industriously spread abroad to lessen his Fame Yet there wanted not those who strewed Flowers on his Grave and Perfumed his Ashes with Encomiums and Panegyricks In this he shared the common Fate of the Great that he was Malign'd and Envied Living but honoured with the Tears of his very Enemies when Dead There is one Fault to be found in his Conduct without appearing too Censorious That he being a Man consecrated to the Service of the Altar should so often take the Field and divesting himself of the Peaceful Robes of Religion should clothe himself in Steel delighting more in the Smell of Gunpowder than that of Incense and preferring the Noise of War to the Hymns and Antiphons of the Church Not that Religion is incompatible with Valour and to fight for ones Country is not as Lawful and as Pious as to pray for its Prosperity Our Holy Law the Celestial Pattern of Truth to the World exhorts us to Courage And all True Believers are assured of the Joys of Paradise of unfading Crowns and eternal Felicities if they lose their Lives in Defence of the Sacred Empire and the Book of Glory Our Immortal Lawgiver giving us his own Example when he laid the Foundation of the Greatest and most Illustrious Empire in the World in the Wounds of his Enemies cementing the Work with the Blood of Millions of Infidels Nor has the Superstructure been carried on by any other Methods than those of perpetual War with the Nations who will not submit to our Victorious Sultan the Invincible Lord of the Earth But the Messenger of God never required the Imaum's or Dervises to take the Field leaving Arms only to Secular Men and the Alcoran to the Religious I forget that I am speaking to him whose Repose and Tranquility is the special Care of Heaven who is not to be disturbed by Emperors Therefore in profound Reverence I salute thy Holiness with a dutiful Obeisance and so withdraw my Pen. Paris 4th of the last Moon of the Year 1642. LETTER III. To Jasmir Sgire Rugial an Astrologer at Aleppo THOU needest not be ashamed of
of Grief streight disappear Not that I would have thee think I am fond of dying but I consider Death as the unavoidable Fate of all Men and that therefore it is reasonable to be chearful since that which no Man can escape will one Time or other release me and every Man from the Miseries of this Life This Thought recovers me from the worst Effects of Melancholy and I believe the Damned themselves would sometimes be in a good Humour if they had but the least Glimpse of Hope that they should one Day be deliver'd from their Torments For whatsoever sorts of Men there are in this Life I cannot think there be any Stoicks in Hell And now I have entertained thee with Company and Solitude with Books and Men with Life and Death with Earth and Hell let us take one Step farther and refresh our selves with the Remembrance of Heaven the Joys of the Bless'd in Paradise which certainly is the best Relief of Anxious Thoughts the most perfect Cure of Melancholy the Guide of Life and the Comfort of Death God grant that thou and I may see each other and drink together in the Arbours of Eden and kiss the Daughters of Paradise Paris 14th of the 8th Moon of the Year 1643. LETTER XIX To the Testerdar or Lord Treasurer KIngdoms and Empires like Men have their Lucky and Unlucky Seasons Spain seems for a considerable Time to have been under a Cloud as if her Guardian Fate began to droop and were not strong enough to check the rising Grandeur of France It has been an old Observation That those whom God consigns over to Ruine he first infatuates It was a Grand Oversight in Don Francisco de Melo to constitute the Duke of Alburquerque General of his Horse For he thereby so disgusted the Spanish Officers in his Army that emulating the Honour of this young Portugueze the greatest Part of them deserted in the very Nick of Time when their Presence was most necessary to confirm the Battalions already shrinking from the furious Onset of the French This gave the young Duke of Anguien an intire Victory and has crowned him with glorious Laurels while Don Francisco de Melo by this ill Conduct has quite lost his Reputation and is forced to resign up his Commission to another This Battle was fought before Rocroy and may be reckoned as a Parallel with that Bloody Battel of Leipsick between the Imperialists and Suedes on the 7th of the 9th Moon of the Year 1631. A Day which was remarkable at Constantinople on the Account of that terrible Lightning which surprized the late Sultan Amurath in his Bed Many other extraordinary Events signalized this Day in England France Germany and other places which occasioned the great Astrologer Herlicius to call it a Day of Blood Such another was this Unfortunate Day to the Spaniards at the forementioned Battel of Rocroy where they lost an infinite Number of Men with all their Field-pieces and a Hundred and Fifty Colours He that created the Moon and the Constellations in Heaven to distinguish the Times and Seasons guard thee from the Influence of Malignant Stars and from the Destroyer who ranges the World on certain Critical Days Paris 12th of the 9th Moon of the Year 1643. LETTER XX. To the Vizir Azem at the Port. IT is Time it is high time most Sage Minister for the Ottoman Sword the Sword of Justice to be unsheathed not against an open Enemy but against its professed Friends and Subjects The Head of the Bassa of Cyprus is become a Burden to him as likewise those of Mitylene Sio and Lemnos They plot Mischief against the Throne that is established in Equity they are ungrateful to their Sovereign who hath exalted them they are become unworthy of the Honours with which they are dignified I could hardly believe the first Reports of this Treason till I were at length fully convinced by undeniable Testimonies that it was too true Yet it is a Secret even in the French Court I alone have discover'd this Mystery by the Means of a Jew and a Grecian both my Agents in those Parts and Men whom I can confide in The Business is this The Bassa's and Governours of the Isles before-mentioned have conspired together to divide themselves from the Body of the Ottoman Empire and to make the Islands of the Aegean Sea a Commonwealth Independent on the Throne which governs the World The Bassa of Cyprus is the Ring-leader of this Conspiracy and that Island is to be the Capital Seat of their New Republick The Governours of the Five Greater Isles are to be called the Sovereign Counsellors of State By these all the Affairs of the Archipelago are to be managed Onely the Bassa of Cyprus shall be supreme and have the casting Voice in all Cases of Dispute The enclosed Papers contain the perfect Model of their New Government the Articles and Propositions on which this Rebellious designed Commonwealth is to be built with the Names of the Chief Conspirators subscribed Permit me Sage Minister to set before thy Eyes the Occasions of these Treacherous Designs It has been the Custom of the Port to connive for a considerable time at the Oppressions Rapines and Exactions of the Bassa's and Governours of Provinces to suffer them to harass the People under their Jurisdiction to pillage and spoil them of their Moneys Goods and Estates till they have amass'd together vast Sums of Money And then it has been as usual for the Sultans upon the least Complaint to send the Bow-String to the Criminal Bassa Whatever may be pleaded in Defence of this Method in former Times my Opinion is that it may prove dangerous now And if I may be permitted to speak freely I have Reason to think that this was one Ground of the designed Treason in the Isles of the Aegean Sea Formerly those who were removed to these Commands were not so well versed in the Maxims of Policy nor so apprehensive of the Cabinet Secrets of State But now the Age is refined Men are more subtle jealous and selfish than they were Nature teaches all Men to preserve their Lives with utmost Diligence The Bassa of Cyprus who is the Ring-leader of this Conspiracy has been let alone in a long Course of Tyranny and Oppression over his Subjects by which means he has heap'd to himself prodigious Treasures His guilty Mind told him that Complaints would be made against him and that one time or other he must be strangled He knew that his Gold would be thought better to become the Sultan's Seraglio than his own and that he had been long enough in his Office to serve the Politick Ends of State Revolving these things in his Mind he quickly concluded that the Crimes he had been guilty of in his Government would draw upon him inevitable Ruine unless he prevented it by committing greater And that as Oppression of his Subjects had made him Rich so Treason against his Sovereign must make him safe He
communicates his thoughts to some of his trusty Friends and Confidents They encourage him to proceed representing to him the Natural Strength of the Island seconded by Abundance of strong Forts and Castles That the Soldiers might easily be won to his Party by Money and the Inhabitants might be pacified by some Publick Restitutions and other Acts of Indulgence Thus was the Foundation laid of this formidable Treason which soon gathered Strength by the Accession of more Conspirators till at length all the Isles aforesaid were engaged in the Disloyal League I will not presume to dictate what is to be done in this Case I leave that to thy Oraculous Sentence But permit me to suggest my Thoughts of a proper means to prevent the like Miscarriages for the future And that is by executing timely and Impartial Justice It seems to me not only a Reflection on the Justice of the Imperial Sword but also on the Politicks of the Royal Cabinet to suffer a Bassa to grow Rich by Oppression of the People under his Command For when he has thus plunder'd his Subjects to fill his own Coffers he has armed himself with the very Sinews and Nerves of Rebellion Money being that which gives Life and Motion to all great and bold Undertakings Therefore it will be better not to countenance the least Oppression in these great Men whereby they may at once be tempted through the Conscientiousness of their Crimes and strengthen'd by their ill gotten Wealth to Rebel against their Lawful Sovereign Let Aleppo Sidon Algiers Tunis and Tripoly be Precedents of this Kind By Justice the Throne is best and most securely established nothing unjust and violent is permanent God overthrow the Devices of these Traytors and crown our Glorious Sultan with Success Paris 26th of the 9th Moon of the Year 1643. LETTER XXI To Chiurgi Muhammet Bassa I Have been in this City very near Six Years and it will be expected that in all this Time I have made some profitable Remarks on the Nature of the French the Intrigues of the Court the Policy of the State the Discipline of their Armies and the Strength of the Kingdom Some Observations I have already communicated to the Ministers of the Divan and to others of my Friends at the Sublime Port. All my Letters are made common to the Happy Slaves of him who rules the World Thou hast heard of the Death of a Potent King a Great Queen and a Mighty Favourite Now let us change the Scene and pass from the Melancholy Themes of Death the Unavoidable Fate of Mortals to the sprightly Joys of Life the blooming Years of an Infant King who takes an early Leap from his Cradle to a Throne Thou wilt not expect I should speak much of him who as yet can say but little of himself However in passing by this Little Great one it would be ill Manners not to pay him a Salute or Congé who though Young seems no Novice in Punctilio's of Courtship as appears by his Address to the Bishop who Baptized him if thou knowest not what that means it is the first Ceremony whereby they are made Christians and it answers to our Circumcision As soon as the Mystery was performed this Young Prince with an assured Countenance and becoming Gravity spoke thus to the Prelate My Father I humbly thank you and shall be eternally obliged to you My Parents gave me onely an Earthly Crown but you have made me Heir of the Kingdom of Heaven There were present the Queen the Princess of Conde Cardinal Mazarini with Divers other Persons of Quality The whole Assembly were astonished at the Child's Expression being but about Four Years of Age taking it for an Omen of his Future Piety and extraordinary Actions He discovers a prompt Wit in all his Discourse using but few Words and those very apposite His whole Deportment is graceful and surprizingly regular attended with a Discretion which is not look'd for but from those of Riper Years In fine Nature seems to have fitted him for the Empire to which he is born In the mean Time as if Infant Governours were now become Fashionable there are several made Bishops and Abbots while they are yet in the Cradle This the Inferior Clergy stomach and the Laity grumble saying That there are like to be good Times in France when those who are styled the Fathers of the Church are Babies This is Cardinal Mazarini's Policy to fasten the Nobility to the Interests of the Crown by thus honouring their Children with the Principal Dignities of the Church And thou wilt say he is a Wise Man in so doing when thou considerest how great a share the Bishops and other Ecclesiasticks have in the Wealth of the Land And that he could not do the King a better Service than by disposing of these Preferments to such as would not onely thereby be obliged to Loyalty themselves but would also link the Families to which they belong to the Royal Cause Thou wilt better comprehend the Policy of this Minister in thus endeavouring to secure the Dignified Clergy when thou weighest then Strength and considerest their Numbers There are in France 12 Archbishopricks 104 Bishopricks Convents of the Greater Order 540 Convents of the Lesser Order 12320 Abbies 1450 Nunneries 67 700 Frieries 259 Seminaries of the Order of the Knights of Malta 27400 Parish-Churches Hospitals 540 Private Chappels or Oratories 9000. To fill all these they reckon 226000 Religious or Dervises besides 130000 Parish-Priests It has been usual to take an Estimate of the Glory and Riches of a Prince from the Number of his People but I would not have thee think the French King the Wealthier for this Prodigious Number of Devotees The greatest part of which he has more reason to look upon as an Army of Enemies than Subjects Indeed the Interest of the Arch-Bishops Bishops and Parish-Priests is twisted with that of the Crown but the Monks and Friars are the Creatures of the Pope and all of them together are not maintained with less Cost than the Fourth Part of the Revenues of France out of which in former Times there went Yearly a Million of Crowns to the Court of Rome I cannot perceive wherein consists the Policy of cherishing so many Nests of Spiritual Leeches who suck the very Blood and Vitals of the Nation One would think it were sufficiently dreined by the Royal Customs Taxes and Imposts These Kings have Monopoliz'd all the Salt of the Kingdom into their own Hands which they compel their Subjects to buy of them at their own Rates To this End they have Officers in all Parts who vend it for them It looks as if they took care to preserve their Subjects from Corruption and were afraid lest they should putrefy alive there being not a Man in all their Dominions who is not obliged to take the Quantity which the Officers Impose on him except in some particular Provinces which for reasons of State or by Treaty are exempted The Revenue which arises
the least Grudge will raise Armies and give the King Battel if he does not come to their Terms and make a satisfactory Composition Neither dares the King put any of them to Death for fear of the People who generally take their Part being greedy of Novelties and prone to rebel Wouldst thou know by what Means the Nobility of France arrive to such a dangerous Power I tell thee in a Word the Kings themselves have put a Sword into their Hands which they spare not to draw when their Ambition or Discontent prompts them to it They are freed from all Tribute and Homage have the Command of whole Provinces committed to them in which are great Numbers of Walled Towns Forts and Castles These great Charges procure them the Esteem and Veneration of the People living under their Government who honour them as Kings and readily take up Arms in their Vindication The Queen-Regent is fearful lest they should take Advantage of her Son's Minority and under Pretence of Reforming the State or serving the King's Interest they should involve the Kingdom in Civil Wars She keeps a strict Watch over the Duke of Orleans and observes the Prince of Conde's Motions Her Guards are doubled and she neglects nothing that may assure the Interests of the Crown Thou who standest by the Silent Fountain and art near the Person of the Grand Signior think of doing Mahmut some good Office who loves cordially serves faithfully and prays servently for the Health and Long Life of our Glorious Sultan and wishes thee thy Fill of Happiness Paris 27th of the 10th Moon of the Year 1643. LETTER XXIII To the Captain Bassa HERE are arrived several Hundreds of Slaves who have Manumitted themselves by a Bold Adventure an Exploit which to give them their due has something in it of Bravery The Place of their Captivity was Alexandria thou knowest the Circumstances of that Haven What Hazards will not the desire of Liberty put Men upon There were several Thousands of Franks in the City whom the Restraint and Rigors of Servitude had made weary of their Lives Among the Rest a Native of Brabant who having been bred up in the Art of distilling Strong Waters his Patron hired him a Shop furnishing him with all Materials and Necessaries to prosecute his Calling in hopes of very profitable Returns To this Man's Shop there was a great Resort of all the Franks in the City by which Means he improv'd his Trade and thriv'd mightily He was a Bold Fellow and took a particular Pride in great Attempts and though he might have lived very happily and enrich'd himself by his own Occupation yet he had another sort of Chymistry to practise being resolved to draw his Fellow-Slaves who were now become his Customers off from the Lees of Despair and elevate them to a Resolution of seeking their Freedom He often harangu'd them on this Subject and a strict Intelligence was held between all the European-Slaves in that City At length it was agreed amongst them to seize a certain Vessel that lay in the Harbour and commit themselves to the Winds and Waves This was carried on with so much secrecy and so dextrous a Conduct that unsuspected above two Thousand of them got aboard and put out to Sea The Wind favouring them they first arrived at Candia where they Landed some Hundreds of their Crew after this they touch'd at Malta where they disposed of others then at Livorno in Italy and lastly came safe to Marseilles where the Remainder came ashore These are Natives of France England Brabant and Holland with Two Spanish Priests The Inhabitants of Paris are very Charitable to them especially the Merchants who traffick in the Levant of which there are great Numbers in this City The Clergy also have made a Collection for them and 't is said the Queen-Regent has ordered her Almoner to distribute three Thousand Crowns among them They inveigh bitterly against the Mussulmans cursing our Holy Prophet and thanking their good Stars for thus fortunately redeeming them from an Insupportable Slavery I cannot see wherein they merit Blame in all this it being Natural for all Men to covet Liberty and to rejoice when they have escaped any Misfortune I protest I cannot be angry with them in my Heart for any Thing but the Blasphemies they vomit against the Messenger of God The rest are Actions as Natural as to Eat and Drink Self-Preservation being common to all Animals there seems as much Reason to condemn a Bird that chirps and triumphs when she fee's her self upon the Wing ranging the Balmy Air being newly released from the Cage as to find fault with these Fellows for rejoicing that they have escaped the Confinement and Hardships of Captivity However it was an unpardonable Neglect of the Guards who belong to that City to suffer these Infidels thus to give them the slip So culpable a Remissness may cost some of them their Heads The Great God whose Power is manifested in the Ocean as well as on the dry Land furnish thee with as favourable Winds as these Fugitives had when thou sailest to execute the Orders of the Grand Signior Paris 20th of the 11th Moon of the Year 1643. LETTER XXIV To Mustapha Guir an Eunuch Page THIS Court has within these Three Days put on another Face than it had ever since the Royal Obsequies were perform'd One would hardly think it the same were it not for the Mourning they still wear on the Account of the late King's Death This is a Formality used all over Christendom in such Cases and serves for a Disguise to Hypocrites The French Grandees make use of it to masque their several Politick Designs They wear Black the Emblem of Sadness to denote their Grief for the Dead Monarch and yet they feast and revel to the end they may send more of the Royal Blood after him The Matter I am going to inform thee of is Tragical in it self and had been worse but for the Prevention of Providence Three Days ago the Princes of the Blood with divers of the Prime Nobility were invited to a Feast by the Queen's Order The Place where 't was kept is called the New-Castle It is needless for me to describe the Magnificent Entertainment thou mayst conclude all Things were performed with Great Cost and Majesty They Banquetted with Wine to Excess insomuch as the Duke of Orleans about Midnight walking through a Gallery was so inebriated with the Juice of the Grape that he fell asleep on a Couch which stood about the middle of the Walk he was wrapt in his Cloak a Garment well known in the Court by the large Diamond that button'd it before but no Body came by that way till two Hours afterwards a certain French Lord passing to his Lodging took Notice of a Man asleep on the Couch and drawing nearer knew it to be the Duke Wondering what should be the meaning of it he inquired of the Duke's Page that stood not far off who told him His
Vessel which brought me this happy News from Africk in the saddest Hour of all my Life Just as the Messenger knock'd at my Chamber-Door where I sate overwhelm'd with doleful Thoughts the whole World seem'd to me a vast Wilderness or Desert inhabited only by Beasts of Prey where the Great and Strong devour those whose Weakness cannot arm them in their own Defence A mere Stage of Tragedies the Shambles of cruel Butcheries and Murders In this Figure did my troubled Imagination represent the Earth with all the Race of Adam dwelling upon it If I could propose to my self such a Thing as a Friend in the World I know not how long 't would be before that very Person whom I had greatest Reason to esteem as such might prove my Mortal Enemy of so brittle a Composition is the Fidelity of Man I looked upon my Life not as my own but altogether lent me I esteemed not onely Men but Beasts and the very Inanimate Things my Creditors for the Permission I had to breathe I thought my self highly indebted to the Fire that it did not burn me to Death in my Sleep and no less to the Winds that they did not blow the House down where I lodge and bury me in its Ruins For where would be the Injustice if any of those Elements which are the Ingredients of my Life should become the Instruments of my Death I considered that as I neither made my self nor knew how I came to be what I am so I was ignorant when and by what means I should cease to be Perhaps I might be struck with a Thunderbolt from Heaven or swallowed up by some greedy Chasm in the Earth A Tile from a House might put a stop to the Motions of this Machine of Flesh or a Fall from a Horse might break its Master-Springs My present Station I looked upon as Precarious since those very Persons who appointed me this Employment to serve one Turn would not Scruple to take off my Head to serve another In these melancholy Thoughts was I almost drown'd when thy Letter came and struck a Light out of the midst of Darkness I was now ready to die with Excess of Joy who before was half killed with extreme Sadness But tell me my Dear Mother in the Name of our Holy Prophet what Motive induced thee to quit the wholesome Air of Greece for the noisom and pestilential Vapours of Aegypt Is Cairo a more eligible Seat than Constantinople Or because thou hast lost thy Second Husband wilt thou be wedded to an Incurable Grief and think no Mourning sufficient unless thou go in Pilgrimage to his very Grave there to dissolve in Tears and mingle thy self with his Ashes He died in Cairo and is there interr'd and thou mightest have liv'd in Scio or any part of Greece without blemishing thy Widowhood People will say thou aimest at the Fortune of the Ephesian Widow who found a living Husband in the Sepulchre of her dead one but I who know thy Vertue have other Thoughts of thee yet I cannot approve thy thus becoming Tenant to a Charnel-House Therefore the best Advice I can give thee is to return to the Imperial City again to the Company of thy Friends and Acquaintance or at least return to thy self and be not transported with an extravagant Sorrow for one whom thou shalt never see again Tears cannot recover the Dead nor can thy warmest Sighs inspire him with Breath He is divorc'd from thee by an Irrevocable Law and whilst thou art in vain lamenting for him on Earth he may be celebrating new and joyful Nuptials in Heaven being espoused to some of the Beautiful Daughters of Paradise Be perswaded then that he has quite forgot thee having engaged himself in fresh Amours above That he is in the Arms of some Surpassing Beauty of Eden and that thou hast no more Interest in him Let this Consideration asswage thy Grief cure thy Fondness and make thee begin to think of another Husband Those who make their first Visits to the French Widows after the usual Formalities of Condoleance are over take the Liberty to tell them That they must live by the Living and not by the Dead This comfortable Proverb is often used even before the Funeral Solemnities are finis'd and thou hast now passed away above Two Years since thy Husband's Death in fruitless Mourning 'T is Time to consult thy future Happiness and abandoning thy Commerce with the Dead to become sociable with the Living The Great Creator who is God of the Living and not of the Dead inspire thee to take such Measures as may best comply with the Ends for which he made thee and replenish thy Latter Days with double the Blessings of the Former Paris 22d of the 4th Moon of the Year 1644. LETTER VIII To Muzlu Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of the Ottoman Empire IT is no small Satisfaction to me that since the Death of Cardinal Richlieu I have started no Reasons to apprehend any Designs in this Court against the Empire of the True Believers The French Grandees have pass'd away a whole Year without giving much Trouble or Alarm to the rest of the World Every one minds his own Affairs and all push forward to get nearest the Queen Regent The Misunderstandings between her and the Duke of Orleans encrease daily And this divides the Court and City into Two Factions Cardinal Mazarini seems to be the Man destin'd to balance the Authority of both Parties He Spins his Fortune with as fine a Thread as his Predecessor being sensible that though the Court love him not yet they cannot subsist without him He Inherits the Memoirs and Instructions of Cardinal Richlieu and his Spirit too as well as his Ministry being a Man of an Invincible Courage and exquisite Forecast The Greatest Enemy he has is a Lady of the Court for I will not compare the Malice of the Duke of Beaufort to that of Woman they call her Madam de Chevereux a Person of a keen Wit and good Judgment a professed Enemy to all that had any Dependance on Cardinal Richlieu And I could never learn any other Ground of her Hatred to Mazarini but his being the Creature of that Minister The late King had conceived an Irreconcilable Aversion for this Lady suspecting her to be Instrumental in carrying on a Private Correspondence between his Wife the now Queen-Regent and the Spaniards To avoid the Consequences of his Anger she fled into Spain but is lately returned to this Court 'T is said the Queen received her with all the outward Marks of Affection at first but suddenly grew cold and estranged when she began to attempt against Cardinal Mazarini This made the Lady unite her Interest with that of the Duke of Beaufort who very well matches her in the Imperiousness of his Temper and his Hatred of the Cardinal They both agree in their Endeavours to ruine him but I believe the Female Persecution to be the most dangerous The Duke has made too
which disposes all Contingencies with admirable Order and Decorum Hence it is that what comes not to pass but by the certain Decree of Fate appears to these Buzzards only as an Accidental Occurrence and the mere Effect of Chance But thou who art instructed in the Doctrines of Truth wilt have other Thoughts of that which befell a Poor Man not long since in these Parts This Person was Charitable to Excess for he gave away all that he had to relieve the Necessities of others chusing rather to throw himself naked upon Providence than to deny an Alms to any One that ask'd him so long as he had any Thing to bestow Being at length by his constant Liberalities reduced to a very indigent Condition he was forced to betake himself to Digging for his Livelihood Yet notwithstanding he gained his own Bread with hard Labour he ceased not to shew his wonted Kindnesses to the Poor giving them whatsoever he could possibly spare from his own Necessities One Day as he was digging in a Field belonging to the Duke of Montmorency he found several Earthen Pots full of Gold supposed to be buried there in the Time of the Civil Wars The good Man carries this huge Treasure by Degrees home to his House with all imaginable Privacy And having distributed the greatest Part of it in Works of Charity he was going with his last Reserve to the House of a decayed Gentleman to whom he gave a sufficient Sum to repair his shatter'd Fortunes being all that he had left When as he returned homeward he found a Jewel in the High-way which being sold yielded him Ten Thousand Crowns A Noble Bank for new Liberalities and a convincing Argument that there was something more than Chance which thus strangely recruited his Purse that it might never cease to be opened in Largesses to the Poor Who will not say That Fate had a Hand in the Death of that Souldier in the Duke of Anguien's Army who maliciously and wrongfully accused his Comrade of raising a Mutiny For the incens'd General took a Fusee and discharged it at the innocent Person thinking to have killed him on the Spot but it prov'd otherwise the Bullet passing through some Part of his Body and through half a dozen Tents smote the Slanderer in the Pan of the Knee which put him into so violent a Fever that he died in Two days while the other whom before his Death he confessed to be Innocent lives yet a Witness of this Remarkable Stroke of Divine Nemesis The faithful Watchman of the Sublime Port Mahmut salutes thee with humblest Obeisance and wishes thee in all Things a favourable and benign Destiny Paris 12th of the 8th Moon of the Year 1644. LETTER XVI To Nathan Ben Saddi a Jew at Vienna SINCE I came to this City I have learned the Art of making Watches which I exercise not for Lucre but to comply with a Precept of the Alcoran wherein also I find no small Diversion it being a Relief to Melancholy to be in Action Should the Ecclesiasticks of the Latin Church be made sensible that I practise a Mechanick Trade they would think me a Scandal to their Profession since I wear the Habit of a Clerk They esteem it next door to Sacrilege for a Gown-Man to condescend to the Labours of the Laity They would pull my Cassock over my Shoulders should they catch me in this Honest Crime forgetting that the Primitive Professors of their Religious Orders got their Bread by making of Baskets The Box I send thee contains some of my Merchandize being designed as Presents for some of the Ministers of the Port and my other Friends at Constantinople I desire thee to take Care in sending it safe that the Watches may receive no Damage by Water It is reported here That the Emperour is Sick thou wilt do well to inform me of the Truth I hear also That Prodigies have been lately seen at Vienna which the French interpret as Fore-runners of his Death and Signs of approaching Desolations in Germany I am not credulous of all Things which the Vulgar say on such Occasions Yet I cannot deny but that the Angels who preside over Kingdoms and Empires may be the Monitors of Mankind and by raising unusual Spectacles in the Elements may warn Mortals of future Alterations This was the Opinion also of thy Country-man Josephus who says That immediately before the Destruction of Jerusalem there was a Voice heard in the Templs of Solomon supposed to be uttered by Angels saying Arise let us go hence as if the Guardian Spirits of that City were then forsaking their Charge In this Place not long ago were seen Three Suns together or at least the Appearance of so many This the Superstitious construed as an Omen of ill Luck While the Court-Flatterers said they represented the Duke of Orleans the Prince of Condi and Cardinal Mazarini who now have united their Interests after a long Time of Animosities and Misunderstandings I look upon this Apparition to be only a Natural Production resulting from the Reflexion of the Sun-beams on a bright Cloud It is easie to solve such Phaenomena without a Miracle Yet some I confess have the Stamp of a Supernatural Power in their very Front I my self once saw Two mighty Armies marshall'd in the Air who acted all the Bloody Tragedies of War and made Arabia deaf with the Noise of their Artillery yet not a Cloud at that time to be seen But I remark'd no extraordinary Event to follow it 'T is hard to trace the Omnipotent in such Mysterious Works or learn the Drift of Providence I desire thee to use thy utmost Diligence to penetrate into the Designs of the Court where thou residest 'T is an Honourable Post to serve the Greatest Monarch in the World Be Faithful and Vigilant so may God and the Grand Signior heap greater Favours on thee Adieu Paris 21st of the 8th Moon of the Year 1644. LETTER XVII To Solyman Aga Chief Eunuch of the Women I Perceive by thy Letters that our Heroick Sultan is very Industrious to take off the Scandal of Impotence which the Ladies at his first Accession to the Throne fastned on him having now seen a Fourth Son born to him in the Seraglio The Multitude of Subjects is the Glory of a Monarch and a strong Defence in Time of War and the Multitude of the Prince's Children is the Security of his People both in War and Peace The Sultan's Adventure as he was going to Scutary puts me in mind of an Accident which befell one of the Ancient King of Aegypt who as he was walking in the Royal Garden at Memphis spyed an Eagle flying toward the Place where he was at which Sight he stood still gazing on the King of Birds till at length the Eagle arriving to that part of the Air which was over his Head le ts fall a Woman's Shooe at his Feet The King surprized at this Accident takes up the Shooe and surveying its exquisite Symmetry
under the Command of the Duke of Longueville This Place was surrendred on the Twenty-sixth of the Eleventh Moon There has been a long Difference between the Princes of the House of Savoy which is at length composed by the Marriage of Prince Maurice Cardinal of Savoy with his Niece the Daughter of the Dutchess Regent This is that which has warm'd the Courage of the French Army at this Frozen Time of the Year For upon this Match the Cardinal of Savoy's Brother Prince Thomas joined his Forces to the French and took several Strong Castles and Towns from the Spaniards whom before this Prince had assisted And now last of all to wind up the Year they have made themselves Masters of this Tortona a Place environed with Rocks and Mountains By which thou maist perceive that there is no Difficulty so great which may not be overcome with Courage and Perseverance I recommend my self to thy Protection and Favour Illustrious Bassa and desire the Heavens to remunerate thee with an Encrease of Joy and Felicity both here and in Paradise Paris 10th of the 12th Moon of the Year 1642. LETTER V. To Darnish Mehemet Bassa SInce the Death of the Cardinal of Richlieu here is great caballing and changing of Places at Court His Successor in the Pilot-ship of the State is Cardinal Julio Mazarini an Italian of a Generous Extraction Neither comes he short of Richlieu in all those rare Qualities and Endowments which form a Compleat Statesman having accomplish'd several Negotiations with great Success and Applause Now the old Officers begin to be cashier'd to make room for the Creatures of this New Minister the King absolutely resigning the Conduct of the Publick to him And it is no wonder to see the King thus flexible if what is privately whisper'd be true That the Queen has yielded to the Cardinal in Points of greater Reserve And curious Eyes pretend to discern the Features of Mazarini in the Dauphin's Face who is not much above Four Years Old being born the Fifth Day of the Ninth Moon in the Year 1638. according to the Christians Hegira The Cardinal is of a Grave and Majestick Aspect full-fac'd having a piercing Eye he is something inclined to fat being a great Eater as they say T'other Day he had like to have been choak'd by a Piece of Beef one Part of which hung fast in his Teeth and the other just reach'd the Passage to the Lungs and as it were barring up the door of that Passage hindred his Respiration so long that his Nose suddenly started out a-bleeding his Face grew black and he was ready to drop down dead had not one of his Attendants forcibly thrust his Fingers into his Mouth and fastning on the Morsel pull'd it out of his Throat He that is Lord of Life and Death preserve thee from all Perils and make thee happy in the Service of our Great Master who will in Time I hope curb the Insolence and punish the Vices of these gluttonous Infidels Paris 14th of the 1st Moon of the Year 1643. LETTER VI. To Isouf his Kinsman I Believe thou and thy Cousin Solyman take me for a Marriage-Broker or a Gossip Is there no Body in Constantinople can instruct you how to manage your Wives that you send for Counsel to Paris or do you lay Snares for me by extorting such Advice as will draw the Revenge of Women upon me Believe me I have no Mind to run the Fate of Orpheus or that the Tragedy of the Ciconian Wives should be acted upon me I rather expected a Compleat Journal of thy Travels in the East but I perceive thou hast not yet received my Letter Thou talkest of going to Aleppo in the Spring If thy Resolution hold I desire thee when thou art there to make an Offering for me to Sheh Boubac the Santone whose Sepulchre is about a League from that City a Place of great Devotion and resorted to from all the Cities in those Parts Without doubt Sheh Boubac is with God and his Prayers are heard for such as honour his Vertues and approach his Sepulchre to pay their Devotions there with Humility and Faith Likewise I desire thee to destribute Three Hundred Aspers to the Poor of Aleppo who beg in the Streets for the Sake of Syntana Fissa If thou hast not heard of this Female Saint I will relate to thee how she came to be Canonized This City was the Place of her Nativity and Residence When she came to the Age of Sixteen Years she was married to a Spahee called Griuli Eben Sagran But the first Night as her Husband was going to Bed with her he fell into a Trance wherein he saw Paradise opened and the Holy Prophet leading Syntana Fissa his Wife in one of the Allies of Eden Whereby when he came to himself and missing his Wife who was never after to be found he was satisfied that she was one of the Daughters of Paradise Since which time the People have esteem'd her as a Saint or rather an Incarnate Female Angel The Moors relate this Story otherwise and make a Second Mary Magdalen of her of whom the Grecians say that she was a Common Prostitute at first but on a time being asked her accustomed Favours gratis and for the Love of God she by granting it merited the Grace of Conversion and so became a Saint But I would not have thee regard this Fable though it be common in the Mouths of the Ignorant at Aleppo If thou bearest any Respect for thy Uncle Mahmut let me have a Proof of it in giving me an Account of thy Travels I do not require a Chart of the Regions through which thou hast pass'd being no Stranger to the Geography of Asia Neither would I have thee tell me how many Leagues Courses or Forlongs there are between such and such Cities These are the Remarks of every Carrier or Muccerman But that which I aim at is to know what Natural Moral and Political Observations thou hast made in so vast a Tract of Ground as thou hast measured comprehending the Greatest and most Celebrated Part of Asia This is the Second Letter I have sent thee since thy Return to Constantinople Let thy Answer be adequate to my Expectation In the Interim I counsel thee first to get an Absolute Conquest of thy self and then thou wilt easily govern thy Wife May the Most High God adjust your Differences happily and make your Lives to be as innocent and contented as those of Philemon and Baucis Thou knowest the Story Adieu Paris 20th of the 1st Moon of the Year 1643. LETTER VII To Mahomet Bassa of Damascus HERE is a Genouese Merchant in this City with whom I often converse as I do with all Strangers that are Men of Intelligence learning sometimes from them Advices which are not common He tells me that Mansour the Youngest Son of Old Facardine the brave Emir of Sidon whom his Father had given in Hostage to Sultan Amurath is now living in the Court
up her Martial Genius and leave off her dreaming Theory when Spain was so busie with the Practick These are the Arguments that may be alledged in Vindication of the King of France's Conduct toward Spain And not much less is to be recriminated upon the Emperor of Germany his seizing the Dutchy of Cleves and Juliers with many Towns and Bishopricks in the Counties of Luxemburgh and La Marck as also in the Frontiers of Suisserland and Lorrain His Conquest of the Palatinate with the chiefest Cities Forts and Passes of the Grisons his reducing the Lives and Liberties of that People to their last Gasp and Period was a sufficient Motive to the French King to put a speedy Check to this encreasing Grandeur of the House of Austria I leave the Determination of these Matters to thy Sage Wisdom Great Arbiter of Justice and bowing my Head to the Dust awfully retire Paris 15th of the 5th Moon of the Year 1643. LETTER XIII To the Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of State THREE Days ago Lewis XIII King of France and Navarre was arrested by the King of Terrors and forc'd to pay the Grand Debt to God and Nature I will not say before it was due but sooner than the accustomed Time of Payment being not full Forty Three Years old Yet Heaven was so Indulgent as not to suffer the Grim Messenger of Fate to snatch him hence without a previous Summons His Distemper being a lingring Consumption which gave him frequent Intimations of his fading Strength There are not wanting such as whisper That he was hurried out of the World before his Time by some unnatural Artifice And the Common Sort say that Mazarini's Scarlet looks of a more Sanguine Hue than it did Four Days ago The Reason of this Jealousie I suppose is grounded on the Familiarity that has been observed between the now Queen-Regent and the Cardinal both also being Strangers to the French Blood she a Spaniard and he an Italian I will not determine how far these Reflections are justifiable because I know it is impossible for Persons in their Circumstances to avoid the Censure of busie prying Minds in such a Juncture as this Yet some who move in a Sphere above the Vulgar cannot forget by whose Instigations his Royal Father Henry the Great was sent out of the World The known familiar Access which the Marquis Spinola gave to Ravillac at Brussels the private Entertainments between them a little before that Murderer gave the fatal Blow together with other Circumstances amounted to more than a strong Presumption with the French that Spain was the Principal Author of that Tragedy And the sudden Exclamation of Francesco Corvini an Italian Astrologer the Night before the King was kill'd made some Men cast an Eye of Suspicion beyond the Alps. For he standing on the Leads of his House in Florence as though he were observing the Stars on a sudden stamp'd with his Foot and said To Morrow the Most Potent Monarch of Europe will be kill'd But some curious Heads imagine he had his Intelligence nearer Hand than from the Heavens and that rather some of the Great Italian Stars had made him thus Prophetick Hence by comparing these Times with those the present Regency of a Spaniard and Superintendency of an Italian creates a like Suspicion in the French concerning the Death of Lewis XIII who though he died in his Bed yet might as well be murder'd by a Drug as his Father was by a Knife These are the secret Surmises of Cabals not a little heightned by reflecting on the Time of both their Deaths both dying in the same Month the same Day of the Month and much about the same Hour of the Day Yet notwithstanding these Murmurs when his Body was open'd and his Intrails taken out and search'd the Physicians gave their Sentence That he died a Natural Death His Bowels are carried to St. Denis a Town above Three Leagues from Paris there to be buried and his Body is Embalmed in order to its Sepulture in the same a Place there being Magnificent Church where all the Royal Blood of France is commonly Interr'd Yesterday I was in Company with one of his Physicians and entring into Discourse of the King's Death the common Theme of all Companies at present he told us that the King 's Wasting and Death proceeded from the Disproportion of his Moisture to his Heat the latter being predominant in his Constitution so that not meeting with a sufficient check from Natural Humidity it kindled constant Fevers in his Body which never left him till he left the World He was a very devout Man in his Religion and free from Vice at least to outward Observation A remarkable Instance of his Piety he gave in his Youth when entring a certain Country Village the better Sort of Inhabitants offered to attend him with a Canopy he answer'd I hear you have no Church here neither will I suffer a Canopy of State to be born over my Head in that Place where God hath not a Consecrated Roof to dwell under For these Nazarenes believe that God dwells in their Temples He was temperate to a Miracle in the Midst of Royal Dainties not suffering his Palate to betray his Vertue He scorn'd those Pleasures which debase the Mind And took more delight in the noise of Drums and Trumpets and the Roaring of Cannon than in the soft Blandishments of Love He was adorned with many other Vertues which gained him the Love of all and more especially the Favour of Heaven Yet after all his Victories Successes and Triumphs all that can be now said of him is He is dead Thus passes away the Glory of the Greatest Potentates God preserve our Invincible Sultan ever Glorious Prosperous Renowned and Immortal Paris 17th of the 5th Moon of the Year 1643. LETTER XIV To the Kaimacham I Am plac'd as an Echo in Paris to remit to the Ottoman Port the Sanctuary of the World whatsoever makes a Noise in Christendom I have sent a Dispatch to the Venerable Mufti as also to the Principal Secretary of State containing the News of the Death of Lewis XIII King of France and Navarre I need not repeat here what I have said to them Because I know they will communicate to thee my Letters Yet suffer me to say something of this Great Monarch who had his Nature been more durable would in all probability have exceeded all his Royal Progenitors both in his Conquests abroad and his Absolute Sway at Home Of which he gave an early Presage appearing at the Head of Armies at those Years when other Princes are but learning the Rudiments of War in the Academy When he was little more than Twelve Years of Age he began to discover his Valour and Conduct in subduing the Rebels of Poitou and Bretaigne leading an Army against them in his own Person Yet that Success did not discourage others of his Subjects from attempting fresh Insurrections against him Fate decreed that he should gather
Master was overcome with Wine The Lord not thinking it convenient to leave a Prince of the Blood in such a Place at that Time of the Night caused his Servants to take him up and carry him to his own Lodgings who for the greater Conveniency left his Cloak behind upon the Couch As soon as they were gone the Duke's Page puts on the Cloak and being also tyred with watching laid himself down to sleep The Duke not long after awakes and call'd for his Page not knowing where he was The Servants of the French Lord immediately ran to the Page but found him dead upon the Couch being stabb'd through the Heart Thou mayst imagine what a Surprize the whole Court was in when this Accident was known Next Morning strict Inquisition was made into this Affair but nothing brought to light onely 't was observ'd that about Three a Clock in the Morning an unknown Person was seen by the Centinels to be let into Cardinal Mazarini's Apartment The Business is hush'd up yet people spare not to whisper that the Cardinal was privy to the Murder adding that the Blow was given by Mistake the Page being supposed to be the Duke as he lay wrapt up in that Remarkable Cloak It is common in these Infidel Countries for great Men to hire Ruffians to execute their Revenge And these Fellows are as prompt and dextrous at a private Murder as our Mutes are to execute the Pleasure of the Grand Signior when he commands them to strangle any Offending Bassa But they will have half the Price of their Villainy before-hand and the Residue when 't is accomplish'd Thus is innocent Blood become a Merchandice They Traffick for Assassinations and a Man cannot call his Life his own since at that very Instant it may be bought by another I have not heard that such a detestable Wickedness has ever been practis'd in the Empire of the Mussulmans much less in the Seraglio's of our Sultans which are the Mansions of Justice and Vertue One of the Grandees of France whom they call the Duke of Beaufort takes incessant Pains to find out the Author of this Murder He is a mortal Enemy of Cardinal Mazarini and would give half the Revenue of his Dukedom could he remove him out of the Kingdom He insinuates very plausible suspicions into the Minds of the Courtiers to render him odious He dares not openly accuse him of being Accessary to the Page's Death having no Evident Proofs against him but he endeavours to create in all Men a Belief that he had a hand in it He has consulted a Magician who has shew'd him the Figure of the Murderer in a Glass and by another Effect of his Enchantments has presented him with a Picture drawn from the Magical Portraiture in the Glass which the Duke has caused to be imitated by the Skilfullest Masters in France sending the Copies in great Numbers to all Parts of the Kingdom with Orders to the Governours of Towns and Cities especially such as are on the Frontiers and Sea-Coasts to cause all Travellers to be brought before them and confronted with the Picture that so if possible the Murderer may be discover'd who will not fail to be put to all the Tortures they can invent to draw a Confession from him That Cardinal Mazarini had contrived the Murder of the Duke of Orleans though by Mistake 't was executed on his Page But the Cardinal is even with him having accused him to the Queen of designing to Murder him whereupon the Duke is sent Prisoner to the Castle of the Wood of Vinciennes This makes the Creatures of Beaufort to murmur and say There is a higher Hand than the Cardinal 's alone in the Contrivance of this Murder Libels are scatter'd up and down the Streets and 't is said that the Ghost of the Page has been often seen to walk in the Royal Apartments In the mean Time I wait all Opportunities to do the Grand Signior some effectual Service snatching every Contingency which many advance the Ottoman Interest Neither am I forgetful to oblige my Friends The Great God preserve thee from untimely Death and give thee Favour with the Sultan Paris 30th of the 11th Moon of the Year 1643. LETTER XXV To Pestelihali his Brother WHEN I wrote last to thee I thought I should have taken a farther Journey than thou Asia was the designed Stage of thy Travels but I look'd on my self at that time as bound for another World And therefore having no hopes of ever seeing thee again in this I gave thee a solemn Adieu It is now Four Years since that Letter was writ during which thou hast seen many strange Things in the East while I have observ'd some Remarkables in the West Thou art return'd safe to Constantinople and I am still alive in Paris I am overjoy'd to hear I have a Brother living I hope thou wilt not be sorry that I have hitherto escaped the Stroke of Death We two are the onely surviving of all our Race let us love one another as though there were Nothing else in the World for us to love As for our Mother I know not whether she be on Earth or in Paradise The last Letter she sent me express'd her Grief for the Death of her second Husband since which Eighteen Moons are elaps'd and I have heard Nothing of her I desire thee if thou hast any Tenderness for Mahmut to satisfie me whether she be living or dead Perhaps she is married again and may be removed into some unknown Country I am perplex'd with a Thousand Anxieties about her Remember That the Tribe to which we belong was none of the most Obscure in Arabia Let us imitate the Virtues of our Kindred without medling with their Vices In such a Family it will not be difficult to find some good Examples and such as are worthy to be follow'd Let us learn Temperance from One Prudence from Another Magnanimity from a Third and the Rules of Piety and Justice from them All. This I take to be a proper Method to acquire an Excellency in Vertue and to root good Habits in us it being certain that Practical Examples have more Influence on Men than the most pithy and sage Instructions Who can reflect on the Incomparable Modesty of Vseph my Father's Brother and not to be charm'd Thou mayst remember with how sweet a Grace of Mildness and Condescention all his Actions were adorn'd He was esteem'd the most Polite Man in those Parts From him we may learn to bear Injuries patiently and not to grow peevish at the Impertinences of the Vulgar not to be of a rugged Temper Fierce or Revengeful but to be always of an even Deportment pursuing all Men with Civilities and good Offices the very Nature of which brings its own Reward along with it if there were no other the Mind being fed with an inexpressible Complacency after such Generous Performances Mehmet Ali our Kinsman was a Man of singular Government and Moderation He was
Hostile Invasion But the Peace-maker has most Times a thankless Office I have seen a Gentleman endeavouring to part or pacify Two of his Friends encountring in the Streets of Paris and has received the Point of one of the Rapiers in his Heart for his Kindness So fared it with the King of Denmark who was accepted of by both Parties as Umpire of the Quarrel and had sent his Ambassador to Munster where he treated so successfully with the Imperialists that he brought them to Terms very advantageous to the Suedes yet the first Overtures of his Mediation gave so great a suspicion to that Nation that while the Danish Ambassador was actually concluding a Peace for them they commence a War or rather translate it from the Provinces of the Empire to Scania entring that Country with Twelve Thousand Men And to shew the World they were in Earnest they privately treat with the Hollanders to assist them with a Fleet and Men which was granted them under the Command of Admiral Martin Tyes At the same Time General Torstenson entred Holstein where he advanced with admirable Success took Kiel by surprize and passing forward possessed himself of Jutland driving King Christian into a Corner of his Dominions for now he had only Zealand and Fionia left which are Two Islands the former whereof commands the Passage into the Baltick Sea Here the King of Denmark finds himself beset with Difficulties and Dangers by Sea and Land yet in regard his greatest Strength lay in his Shipping he wholly applies himself to rig and man out a good Fleet. At the same Time he informs his Allies of this Unjust War and made passionate Complaints to the Emperour for whose Sake all this befell him imploring his Friendship and Aid in so great a Calamity The Emperor sends Galasso with Forces who entring the Territories of Hamburgh and Lubeck a League was Negotiated between the Emperour and the Danish King But by the Artifices of the French and Holland Ambassadors at Copenhagen the King was disswaded from making an Alliance with the House of Austria However the Dunkirkers offered King Christian to maintain a Considerable Fleet in the Sound at their own Charge which he seemed to accept of All the Ministers endeavour to play their own Game and abuse the Goodness of the Unfortunate King Whilst in the mean Time he loses Ground in Holstein General Torstenson having taken Christianprys a very strong Place What will be the Issue of these Transactions Time will manifest but were not this King Master of an Extraordinary Vertue he would sink under so many pressures being a Man of a Great Age. But God supports whom He pleases Paris 20th of the 1st Moon of the Year 1644. LETTER III. To Cara Haly the Physician at Constantinople THOU hast seen many in the Arms of Death wrastling with the Grim Monarch of Shadows who by the Privilege of an excellent Constitution have disengaged themselves from his Clutches and stood at open Defiance with him for some Years afterwards But I question whether thou hast ever known any whom that Conquerour has once laid in the Dust that recover'd again In a Village about half a League from this City there died a Man or at least he seem'd to die about a Week ago He was stretch'd forth into the Posture fittest for his Coffin by the Hands of two old Women His Relations and Friends flock'd about the Body to pray for his Soul as is the Custom of the Christians The House was fill'd with Tears and Sighs and a mournful Cloud sat on every Brow He lay thus for the space of Thirty five Hours Dead in the Supposition of all his Family When the Watchers who sate by were suddenly astonished to hear him sneeze they ran away at first as People affrighted at some Ghastly Vision and alarm'd the whole Neighbourhood with the News Physicians were sent for who causing him to be laid in a Warm Bed and using proper Applications he recover'd his Senses and by Degrees his Speech they are in Hopes to restore him to perfect Health again He relates to his Visitants many strange Things that he has seen and heard during the Five and Thirty Hours that he was thought to be Dead He says he has been before the Throne of God and has seen all the Orders of Angels that he was commanded to return back again to his Body to warn Men of the approaching Day of Judgment He preaches Repentance and good Works to all that come near him Hence it is that the devouter sort of People resort to his House in Pilgrimage esteeming him a Saint They say he has anticipated the General Resurrection to give a fresh proof of it to this unbelieving Age and to evince that it will come to pass before he shall quit his Body He Prophecies the Conversion of the Jews to be near at Hand and that the Mussulmans shall embrace the Christian Faith Such as are fond of Novelties and superstitiously inclined believe what he says to be as true as the Alcoran but the Learned impute it all to the Fumes of Melancholy to which he was always naturally prone For my Part who believe that Mahomet the Messenger of God was the last and Seal of all the Prophets look for none after him nor am I credulous of every one who pretends to a. Divine Commission Yet when I am in Company with such as are this Man's Admirers I talk as they do and seem what I am not that I may the better acquit my self what I really am Besides it is not Prudence to provoke the Fury of Bigots by opposing their Sentiments They relate a Story of a Man who died in this City some Hundreds of Years ago and 't is upon Record That this Person during his Life Time was esteemed a very Holy Man but after his Death while they were performing his Funeral Obsequies and carrying the Body round the Church in Procession he suddenly started up from the Bier on which he was carried pronouncing these Words with an Audible Voice I am arraigned before the Judgment Seat of God All that heard him speak were astonished at so surprizing an Event and the Priests who sang the Hymn of Rest to his Soul for a while desisted But again going on with their Procession and Hymns he arose the Second Time and said aloud I am tryed at God 's Tribunal This put another stop to the Solemnity till after some Deliberations they resolved to proceed a Third Time when he started up again and said I am condemned by the just Sentence of God This put a final Stop to the Funeral Ceremonies They would no longer chant a Rest to the Soul of him whose dead Body arose and pronounced him Damned Neither would they bury his Body in Consecrated Ground whose Soul they knew was lodg'd in Hell by a Voice from the Dead There is an Order of Dervises called Carthusians who they say are a standing Monument of the Truth of this Relation For
and Form thence took his Measures of the Lady that had worn it and suddenly grew enamour'd of the unknown Fair proclaiming through all Aegypt great Rewards to any that could discover the Owner of that Shooe At length a certain Beautiful Courtezan of Naucretis named Rhodope was proved to be the Mistress of it who being brought to the King's Presence he took her to his Bed making her the Partner of his Empire This Lady had a much better Fate than the tall Armenian Woman with whom Sultan Ibrahim fell in Love on the like Occasion For Rhodope after she had enjoyed her Honour many Years at last died peaceably in her Bed and was Entombed in one of the Pyramids of Aegypt Whereas thou tellest me that this Armenian soon after her Exaltation to the Sultan's Embraces was strangled by the Queen-Mother's Command I tell thee it was a Bold and Cruel Act and were the Sultan sensible how she was Murdered he would not spare to vent his Indignation against her that bare him Paris 2d of the 9th Moon of the Year 1644. LETTER XVIII To Dgnet Oglou ONE would think it an easie Matter for a Stranger to conceal himself in so vast and Populous a City as is Paris Especially one who makes so mean and contemptible a Figure as does the supposed Titus of Moldavia I little thought that the Lowness of my Stature and the Deformity of my Body would have attracted any Curious Eyes but that my very Habit would have protected me from all Suspicion and that I might have pass'd an Age undiscovered amongst the Infinite Crowds of People who throng both the Houses and Streets of Paris Yet there are some Critical Moments of our Lives wherein Fate delights to sport with us to throw Stumbling-Blocks in our Way to entangle us in Difficulties and Perils This is a necessary Discipline of Heaven to rowze Men from the Lees of Security and Confidence in their own Strength and Abilities and to instruct us That Providence alone can extricate as out of the Labyrinths we often fall into I was walking Yesterday before the Great Temple of this City which is dedicated to Mary the Mother of Jesus when on a sudden I was accosted by one whom I little imagin'd to have seen in Paris with these Words Mahmut How came you by this Habit What make you in this Place Are you a Christian or do you thus disguise your self for other Ends Thou mayst easily imagine what a Terror seized me when I knew that he who spoke to me was my old Master at Palermo It brought to my Remembrance all the cruel Blows and Stripes I had received during that irksom Captivity and I could almost have phansy'd my self ready for the Bastinado However dissembling my Confusion I answered briskly Sir you are mistaken in the Person my Name is not Mahmut but Titus I am a Christian and a Catholick if you are such your self you have no Reason to upbraid my Habit since I wear it as a Badge of my Profession being a Student and Candidate of the Priesthood This Answer instead of satisfying him did but augment his Jealousie and being of a Passionate Temper he broke out into fierce Language calling me Turk Infidel Slave Dog and all the ill Names his Fury could suggest He spoke so loud that it was taken Notice of by the People as they walked by who began to gather about us to learn the Occasion of so much Noise I then condemn'd my self for not rather owning my self to him and inviting him to some more retired Place where I might give him an Account of my Circumstances I look'd upon my self as a dead Man and would gladly have sustained Seven Years of Servitude again in Sicily to have been rid of the Fear I was now under of a more terrible Punishment While I was in this Confusion of Spirit thinking of Nothing but Racks and Tortures the Noise of the Rabble who flock'd about us had alarm'd the People that were at their Devotions in the Church who came running out to enquire the Cause of such a Tumult Among the Rest a Friar eminent for his Learning and Vertue and who had a particular Esteem and Friendship for me perceiving the Matter came up close to me and taking me by the Hand spoke aloud these Words Sirs forbear to Injure a Stranger in the Court of the Mother of God I know this Man very well and will be Responsible for him he is a Catholick-Clerk and Servant of the Living God The Rabble gave a great Shout at the End of this Harangue and had not my Sicilian Master made a narrow escape they would have endangered to tear him in Pieces I know not what became of him afterwards but I attended the Friar into the Temple where we staid during the Celebration of their Mass and then he conducted me through the inner Parts of the Temple by private ways into the Lodgings of the Priests whence we issu'd out by a Postern and taking Boat we cross'd the River Seine into the Fields The Friar congratulated my Escape from the Hands of the Multitude and I return'd him a Thousand Thanks for lifting me out of the Mire Thou seest Dear Friend that the Arabian Proverb speaks not in vain when it says That the Habitation of Danger is on the Borders of Security And That a Man never runs greater Hazards than when he least fears them He that turns the Scales of Life and Death Good and Evil grant that some happy Emergency may always arise to divert the Perils which thou shalt incurr in this Uncertain Life Paris 7th of the 9th Moon of the Year 1644. LETTER XIX To the Kaimacham THIS Court is now in Mourning for the Death of the Chief Mufti or Pope And indeed there seems to be more than mere Ceremony in it he having all along favoured the French Interest He had almost pass'd the Twenty second Year of his Pontificate which few of the Popes have done since St. Peter a Disciple of their Messias from whom they pretend to derive their Succession Their Histories say that this Peter was the Mufti of Rome Five and Twenty Years and that since him not one whether he was elected Young or Old has enjoy'd the Sovereignty so long Those that have approached nearest to it were Adrian I. Sylvester I. and this Vrban VIII who is now dead It is reported that at their Coronation the Master of the Ceremonies kneeling down burns Flax before him that is elected and with a loud Voice repeats these Words Thrice O Holy Father think not you are to live here as long as did St. Peter but let this Flame put you in Mind of the Vanity of the World and how swiftly the Glory of it passes away Cardinal Pamphilio succeeds him in the Roman Chair and has given himself the Name of Innocent X. it being the Custom always at their Promotion to assume the Name of some Holy Man a strange Piece of Hypocrisie as if that was sufficient
Prince in his Arms and bestows his Benediction on it in these Terms Hail Royal Babe Heir of Two Crowns thou shalt Reign a long Time happily but in the End a Flower-de-luce shall be thy Bane The Nobles that were present thinking that the Extremity of Age had bereav'd him of his Reason were ready to thrust him away offering to take the Child from Him and telling Him That he mistook for this was not the Heir of the Crown but his Brother who stood by But he with a composed Look and an assured Carriage made Answer That what he spoke was Truth adding withal That the Elder Brother should die before his Father and That this should live to inherit the Kingdoms of Scotland and England The Event has made good some Part of his Prophecy for his Elder Brother dyed at Twelve Years of Age and he at this Day possesses those Two Kingdoms but how the Flower-de-luce shall be his Bane Time must evince It is thought That by it is meant the French King because that is the Arms of the Royal Blood of France It is hard to determine of future Events yet there are some who observing the Influence which this Court has had on the English Commotions and how far Cardinal Richlieu had engaged King Lewis XIII in Revenging the Affronts which were given to his Sister the Queen of England by that Inhospitable Nation make no Difficulty of interpreting this Prophecy but conclude That the Unfortunate King of England will at length fall a Victim to the French Resentments though his own Subjects be Instrumental to his Ruin I will continue my Intelligence of the English Affairs as I receive them In the mean while I pray the Great God to protect the Mussulman Empire from Sedition and Treason and keep the Subjects of Sultan Ibrahim in their due Obedience Paris 25th of the 3d. Moon of the Year 1645. LETTER XIV To Bajazet Ali Hogia Preacher to the Seraglio HERE are to be met with in these Western Parts infinite Numbers of People who not only despise and vilifie our Law but their own and openly scoff at all Religions in the World These are known by the Name of Libertines or Atheists which is to say People that profess themselves Enemies to the Belief of a God A lewd and unthinking Herd of Animals who dare not be alone lest they should come to the Remembrance of themselves and be Wiser These People are in some sort like Ninus that great Assyrian Monarch who vaunted He never saw the Stars nor desired it Worshipp'd neither Sun nor Moon never spoke to his People nor took any Account of them but was valiant in Eating and Drinking He was said to have this Inscription on his Tomb I WAS FORMERLY NINUS THE GREAT LORD OF THE WORLD AND LIVED AS THOV DOST BVT AM NOW NOTHING BVT DVST ALL THE MEAT I HAVE EATEN ALL THE HANDSOM WOMEN I HAVE ENJOY'D ALL THE WORSHIP THAT WAS PAID ME AND ALL THE RICHES I WAS POSSESS'D OF HAVE FAIL'D ME AND WHEN I SET FORWARD FROM THIS WORLD INTO THE INVISIBLE STATE I HAD NEITHER GOLD NOR HORSE NOR CHARIOT I AM NOW I SAY BVT THE DVST THOV TREADEST ON Such another was Sardanapalus one of the Successors of Ninus in that Monarchy and in the Corruption of his Manners An effeminate Prince a Slave to his Lusts and not worthy of an Imperial Crown It was not to his Vertue or Courage that Nineveh was obliged for sustaining a Siege of Eight and Twenty Moons but to the Impregnable Strength of her own Walls For so soon as he was told that the Oracle was fulfill'd and that the River Euphrates was joyn'd in League with his Enemies and had by an unusual Flood broke down a considerable Part of the Walls in which he trusted all his Bravery vanish'd he shew'd he was a Coward and kill'd himself for fear of Death Yet such was the sordid Impotence of his Spirit that even in this Way he durst not die alone but taking his Concubines and nearest Attendants with all his Gold and Jewels he forced them to accompany him into the Hollow of a Funeral Pile which he fired with his own Hands and burnt his Servants with Himself I do not esteem it an Effect of Courage to make Death a Sanctuary from the inevitable Miseries of a hated Life But to be either willing to die in the Height of humane Enjoyments or to be resolved to live and out-brave these very Calamities which would tempt any Man to die is the peculiar Mark of an Heroick Resolution However thus died Sardanapalus having desired that a Monument might be erected to his Memory with this Inscription SARDANAPALUS LIV'D MVCH IN A LITTLE TIME HAVING ALWAYS GRATIFIED HIS SENSES HE BVILT TWO CITIES ANCHIALA AND TARSUS IN ONE DAY PERFORMED THE TASK OF MANY YEARS IN FOVR AND TWENTY HOVRS ADVISES THEE READER TO IMITATE HIS EXAMPLE EAT DRINK AND ENJOY THY SELF FOR AFTER DEATH THERE IS NEITHER PLEASVRE NOR PAIN These were but Pigmies in Atheism in Comparison of others Dionysius the Sicilian Monarch was a Gyant in Infidelity He not only committed Sacrilege but made it his Pastime He droll'd upon the Gods while he robb'd their Temples into which he never enter'd without a Jest nor departed from their Altars without a Satyr He put a Woollen Garment on the Image of Jupiter Olympius instead of the Golden Robe with which King Hiero had cloath'd it and excus'd the Sacrilege by saying Exchange was no Robbery and That he consulted the Ease and Health of the God both for Summer and Winter He play'd the Barber to the Statue of Aesculapius and shav'd off his Golden Beard saying That since Apollo his Father was beardless it was but good Manners for the Son to be so too When he came into a Rich Temple in Syracusa and saw in the Hands of Mars a Sword whose Hilt was thick set with Diamonds Emeralds and Rubies he made a mock-Obeisance and took the Sword from the extended Arm of the Image saying The God of War presented him with that Sword as an Earnest of his future Victories and he should be very ungrateful and impious not to accept the Gift of the Deity It was a nasty Affront which Nero put upon the Syrian Goddess when he caused his Excrements to be thrown in her Face These were Royal Atheists and no Body durst controul their Impious Pranks The Libertines now a-days are more modest and politick They dare not violate Temples nor prophane the Altars of the Christians openly but secretly they undermine all Religion and dispute People out of their Faith Some of these Atheists maintain the World to be Eternal Others hold that it came by a fortuitous Concourse of Atoms which after an Eternal Dance in an Infinite Space at last jumbled together into that exquisite Order we now behold and contemplate They profess themselves Disciples of Epicurus yet willfully corrupt the Doctrines of that Vertuous Philosopher who though he taught That the Supreme