Surplusage of Happiness Which thou wilt not fail to possess if thou inheritest the Vertues of that Bassa as well as his Office May his Soul now taste the Reward of his Just Life And I doubt not but he has made an happy Experience of my Wishes He sits down in Quiet under the Trees of Eden His Head encompass'd with a Garland of Flowers which never fade Vested with the Immarcescible Crimson and Purple of Paradise He reposes on his Bed of Delights whilst Beautiful Pages serve him in Vessels of Gold set round with Sapphires and Emeralds He drinks the delectable Wine which never Inebriates and eats of the Fruits every Morsel of which prolongs his Life for a Thousand Ages He hears Nothing but the Voices of such as are full of Benediction and Joy The Virgins of Paradise salute him with a Grace which cannot be express'd They chaunt to the New-come Guest Songs of Immortal Love To the Stranger from Earth they tell their Passion in Strains which ravish his Heart He is dissolv'd in a Thousand Ecstasies This is the Reward of a Pious Mussulman a Wise Minister a Just Judge of the Faithful Follow his Example and thou shalt be translated into his Company For he is in a Goodly Place near the Spring-Head of Perfect Bliss Thou wilt expect some News from me as a Testimony of my Respect And I cannot pretend there is none stirring at a Juncture when all this Part of the World is so full of Action or at least of Counsels Here has been great Rejoicings lately for the taking of St. Menehoud a Strong Town in the Hands of the Prince of Conde All the Officers of the French King's Army endeavour'd to dissuade him from the Siege of this Place but Cardinal Mazarini over-rul'd their Arguments and having reprov'd their groundless Fears caus'd it to be invested and attacqu'd the 22d of the 10th Moon Some say he had a Party there Yet it held out till the 27th of the last Moon at which Time it was surrender'd upon Articles to the King who was there in Person with his Brother the young Duke of Anjou the Queen the Cardinal and the whole Court They return'd to this City the Ninth of this present Moon They were receiv'd with great Acclamations and seeming Joy by those who wou'd have triumph'd more heartily had they been defeated or forc'd to raise the Siege For the Citizens of Paris wish well to the Prince of Conde's Arms Not so much out of Love to him as in Hatred of his Enemy the Cardinal-Minister And they are sensible that this Successful Siege will redound wholly to the Cardinal's Honour by whose sole Orders the Place was invested It is discours'd as if this Minister has some new Design on Foot to conquer the Kingdom of Naples This is certain a Mighty Fleet is fitting out to Sea Whither bound no Man knows but those of the Cabinet among whom the Cardinal is Chief In the mean while the Common People listen after certain Prodigies that have been seen in the Air. They say a Flaming Sword appear'd lately to rise in the North and take its Course South-Eastward From whence People make various Prognosticks as their Passions or Interests inspire ' em Some are of Opinion it presages the Conquest of Naples by this King 's Arms. Others apply it to the New Common-Wealth of England and to the Victorious Sword of Oliver who from General of the English Army is now in this very Moon exalted to the Height of Sovereign Power Governing the Nations of England Scotland and Ireland under the Title of their Protector Here are divers of his Subjects in this City and other English Scots and Irish who embrace the Interest of Charles the Son of their late Murder'd King who has been since Crown'd King of the Scots They give a different Character of Oliver yet all agree that he is a Wise Statesman and a Great General The Scotch King's Party speak contemptibly of Oliver's Birth and Education Yet thou know'st this hinders not but he may be a Man of Courage and Vertue They relate many odd Passages of his Youth which seem to me so many Evidences of an extraordinary Genius and that he is a Person of a deep Reach He tamper'd with several Religious Factions in England counterfeiting an Exquisite Piety whereby he first rais'd himself a Name among the Zealots of that Nation who look'd upon him there as a very Holy Person and one mark'd out by Destiny for Great Undertakings He soon got a Considerable Command in the Army of the Revolters Where he signaliz'd himself by many brave Actions which spoke him a Man of an Invincible Courage and Admirable Conduct So that at Length none was thought more fit than he to be General In fine he acquitted himself so gallantly in that High Office and has so wrought himself into the Affections of the People that they now look upon him as a Prophet or Saviour and the Divan or Parliament of that Nation have conferr'd on him the Sovereign Authority Those of the English which are Affected to his Interest speak Great Things in his Praise They call him another Moses or Joshua They prefer him to Hannibal Scipio and even to the Great Alexander It is difficult for them to speak of him without Hyperbole's 'T is said the King of France will court his Friendship Indeed all the Neighbouring Countries stand in Awe of this successful Hero And the Hollanders who are the only People that durst engage in a War with the English Common-Wealth now seek for Peace since he is invested with the Supreme Authority In the mean Time the Poor Exil'd King of the Scots takes Sanctuary in this Court with his Mother the Late Queen of England and his Brother whom they call the Duke of York The French King allows them all very Considerable Pensions And the Latter has some Command in the Army in Flanders There is another Brother also but little talk'd of as yet being the Youngest of the Three They are Generously entertain'd here it being the peculiar Honour of this Court to be a Hospitable Refuge to Princes in Distress Yet Observing Men say The King will in Time grow Weary of his Royal Guests It being very Chargeable to maintain them and their Burdensome Retinue Besides he will have some Reason of State to discard them if he enters into a League with Oliver the New English Sovereign who is courted on all Hands Eliachim the Jew of whom thou wilt hear in the Divan is just come into my Chamber and brings me Word that there is an Express newly arriv'd who informs the Queen of a Defeat given to the Spaniards near a City call'd Rozes which they had besieg'd in Catalonia The French were going to the Relief of this Place and the Spaniards set upon them in their March but were beaten into their Trenches from whence they fled by Night leaving Three Hundred Spaniards on the Spot almost Two Thousand Prisoners and all their
THE Fourth Volume OF LETTERS Writ by a Turkish Spy Who lived Five and Forty Years Undiscover'd at PARIS Giving an Impartial Account to the Divan at Constantinople of the most Remarkable Transactions of Europe And discovering several Intrigues and Secrets of the Christian Courts especially of that of France continued from the Year 1649 to the Year 1682. Written Originally in Arabick Translated into Italian and from thence into English by the Translator of the First Volume LONDON Printed by J. Leake for Henry Rhodes near Bride-lane in Fleet-street 1692. Mahmut The. Turkish Spy Aetatis suoe 72. F. H. van Hove Sculp TO THE READER EXPECT no more Commendations of our Arabian Author or Apologies for any Thing that may seem liable to Censure in his Letters There is no End of answering the Cavils of those who to gain the Character of Criticks will create Faults where they find none and impute the very Oversights of the Press to the Ignorance of the Author rather than a Book shall escape free from Censure What is wanting in the Style where it may be suppos'd to come short of the Original must be laid to the Italian's Charge who undertook the First Version of so Remote a Language For the English Translator has endeavour'd to follow him as close as the difference of Idioms will admit And all the World knows That the English Tongue is none of the most Copious and Significant But if this shall seem an Invidious Reflection substituted in the Room of a Passable Excuse the English Translator in Honour both of the Foreign Copies and his own Native Language for he is a true English-Man both by Blood and Affection is willing to take the Blame of all Defects on himself Assuring you That whatsoever Roughness or Want of Elegance Whatsoever Carelessness of Expression is to be found in the English Translation though it may be a Fault indeed yet 't is purely owing to the Candor of him who has committed it Since the Chief Reason of such Neglect is because he was loath the Reader should lose the Original Sence for the sake of a Sweet-Period or a Delicate Cadence If in other Places he seems affected as in retaining the Turkish or Arabick Words where they might as well have been rendred English this also was out of Respect to his Copy where those Words are left as we may suppose they were found in the Original Arabick This is address'd to such Gentlemen as have procur'd the Italian Copies of these Letters For we are inform'd That they are in the Hands of some English Travellers who had a Curiosity to compare the different Translations together However to Evidence that this is not spoken in Partiality to our selves but with Equal Regard to that Learned Foreigner who first brought these Letters to Light It will not be amiss to exhibit such Probable Reasons as might induce him to leave Some Arabick Words untranslated rather than Others though they had both the same Sence The best Method of clearing up this Point will be by producing Instances such as that Page 53 at the Bottom Where the Word Vizirs is retained by the English Translator because it was not chang'd by the Italian Doubtless it had been as easie to say The Seven Chief Spirits Angels Chancellors or Ministers Above as The Seven Vizirs But since the Italian Copy has not alter'd the Word Vizirs the English Translator thought fit to let it stand And he conceives 't is proper enough in both Versions because it better expresses the Thought of the Turkish Author than any Italian or English Word can do being a Title of Dignity peculiar to the Ottoman Empire Where the Credulous People are made to believe That their Monarchy with all its Officers of State is exactly Modell'd according to the Pattern of the Celestial Court and Kingdom Therefore it appears very Natural in a Turk to call the Ministers of Heaven by the Title of Vizirs Beglerbegs Bassa's or whatsoever other Appellatives are us'd by them to express the Dignity of their Grandees on Earth And who would go to spoil his Sence for the sake of a Word Besides not to let this Passage fall without due Remarks Is it not Common in our Bible to call God Lord of Lords And how can this be otherwise expressed in Arabick but by the Title which is appropriated to the Principal Governours of Provinces whom in their Language they call Beglerbegs It is equally usual in Scripture to style God King of kings a Title frequently assum'd by the Eastern Monarchs Nay in our Common Discourse here in England it is Customary to give to God the Title of The King of Heaven And why may we not as well give to the Arch-Angels and Angels c. the Titles which are ordinarily apply'd to the Princes and Nobles on Earth But however if this will not appear allowable in a Christian yet no Man can wonder at a Turk when he hears him use his Native Dialect speaking of the Potentates Above And if this be granted I hope neither the Italian will be blam'd for preserving the Peculiar Phrase of an Eastern Author nor the English Translator be accus'd for following so Polite a Pattern This Instance had not been press'd so far but in Hopes that what is already said may serve as a Plea for several other Examples of like Nature in this Volume Where it is impossible for any European to express the Full Meaning of an Oriental Author without reserving some Words of his very Language And in this the Italian Translator is chiefly vindicated from whose Copy the English in such Cases had no reason to swerve And thus much may suffice to answer all Objections about the Style As to the Matter it self it appears full of Instruction in Historical Moral and Political Affairs Nor need any Man wonder if he encounters some Passages which may be found in other Writers both Gentile and Christian since the Author of these Letters professes That he has taken much Pains to peruse the Treatises of the Ancients both whilst he study'd in the Academies and during his Residence at Paris he often frequented the Libraries in that City whereof there is no Scarcity He spent a great Deal of Time in reading Modern as well as Ancient Authors By which Means he not only improv'd his Knowledge in the Universal History of Former Time but grew Familiar with the most Remarkable Occurrences in Europe during these Later Centuries So that in some of his Letters one would swear he had read Sabellius Petrus Justinianus Philip de Comines and other European Writers For he seems to come very near them in relating some Particular Stories And it may be suppos'd that he took this Advantage to oblige the Turkish Grandees to whom he writ by inserting in his Letters such Passages as they were wholly Strangers to There need no more be said but that you may expect another Volume of these Letters very speedily Farewell A TABLE OF THE LETTERS and
Interest However on the 3d. Day of the 5th Moon some Scots enter'd into the Lodgings of the Embassador and having dispatch'd him with several Wounds made their Escape It is not certainly known who set these Assassins at Work People descant variously as their Affections byass them Some reflect on it as a Judgment Justly inflicted by God though by an Vnjust Act of Men on one who had been a Notorious Promoter of his Sovereign's Death Others censure it as a most Impious Sacrilege in Regard the Persons of Embassadors are by the Law of Nations esteem'd Sacred and Inviolable and the Injuries which they suffer are interpreted not only as done to their Masters who send them but to all Mankind As if Human Nature it self were wrong'd in the Persons of Publick Ministers Indeed there is no Method of establishing or conserving Friendships and Alliances between different Nations if their Agents be not secured with an Immunity from Affronts and Violences The French relate a pretty Passage of one of their Kings who before he came to the Crown being Duke of Orleans had receiv'd very ill Usage in his Travels from a certain Italian Lord call'd the Baron of Benevento After this Prince was possess'd of the Kingdom the same Italian Lord was sent Embassador from the Viceroy of Naples to congratulate his Accession to the Throne of his Ancestors Some French Courtiers who had been Witnesses of the Injuries this Lord had formerly done to their Master now perswaded the King to Revenge himself by causing some gross Indignities to be done him whilst he had him in his Power To whom the Wise Monarch reply'd It becomes not the King of France to revenge on the Embassador of Naples the Injuries which the Duke of Orleans receiv'd from the Baron of Benevento 'T is said the English Nation have demanded Satisfaction of the Hollanders for the Murder of their Embassador but were answer'd That they themselves ought first to Expiate the Murther of their King The Scots have Revolted from the New Government in England and are yet in Suspence Whether they shall set up the Son of the Late King or Form themselves into an Independent Republick The Irish are stedfast to the Interests of the Crown And many Islands in America subject to the Kings of England have now deny'd all Obedience to the New English Government which seems to tend towards a Democracy There is much Talk of one Cromwel the General of the English Forces in Ireland This Man from a Private and Obscure Estate is ascended to the Dignity of a General having purchas'd this Command by his Conduct and Valour The French extol him for the Greatest Souldier of this Age And if Fame be true he is no less Statesman As a Mark of the Respect I owe thee thou wilt receive with this Letter a Pistol of Curious Workmanship which being once charg'd will deliver Six Bullets one after another If thou acceptest this small Present it will be an Argument of thy Friendship Paris 19th of the 8th Moon of the Year 1649. LETTER XVI To the Venerable Mufti I Have often wondred at the Lethargy wherein the Nazarenes seem to be drown'd They forget what they read in their own Bibles They there encounter with Expressions which savour of the East Every Page of the Written Law relishes of the Dialect which is Pure and Lively though the Translators have cropt the Flower of the Sence I have read their Bible in Greek Latin and French but none of these Languages express to the Life the Original Hebrew Nor can it be expected It is impossible to screw up the Dull Phrases of Europe to the Significant Idioms of Asia We may as well expect Dates to spring from a Reed And for that Reason it is forbidden the True faithful to Translate the Volume of Light from the Original Arabick Which is no other than Hebrew in its Ancient Purity This is the Language of those who dwell above the Seventh Orb. 'T is the Dialect wherein God converses with the Pages of his Divine Seraglio Wherein all the Records of the Celestial Empire are writ And when he issues out Orders to the Ministers and Bassa's of Heaven Hasmariel the Secretary of the Immortal Divan uses no other Character or Speech but that which is peculiar on Earth to the Sons of Ismael the Inhabitants of the Region on the East of the Red Sea In fine this is the Language wherein the Omnipotent thought fit to discover his Pleasure to Mortals Believe Mahmut when he tells thee with profound Submission that he has taken some Pains to pry into those Languages which have been the Channels of Divine Knowledge I have been peculiarly ambitious to study the Anatomy of Oriental Words And it would be no Hyperbole to say I have learn'd to dissect even the very Syllables Wherein the various placing of Points and Letters alters the Sence or at least makes it Ambiguous So Significant and Mysterious are Our Sacred Characters I speak not this in Peevishness or to vindicate my self from the Contempt which Ichingi Cap ' Oglani has put upon me I have no Emulation in that Point Nor can any little Spur of Pedantick Ambition make me forward to contend with a Man whose whole Talent consists in knowing and remembring other Mens Works as if he had studied at Athens only for this End to learn the facetious Art of turning his Brains into a Catalogue of Books But I reflect on the Learned among the Nazarenes who are chiefly to blame having the Custody of the Book delivered to 'em from the Jews And among them the Translators of that Volume are past Excuse for they have deflowr'd the Original and robb'd the Virgin Language of its Beauty and Honour While the Rest are Witnesses and silent Abettors of the Rape in concealing the Indignity has been done to the Letters Form'd by the Finger of God and full of Divine Mysteries In thus accusing the Christian Interpreters of the Bible I do not patronize the Critical Whimsies of the Jewish Caballists They are exploded by all Men of Sence Yet there is a Medium between the Excess of that affected Niceness which has rendred the One Ridiculous and of that study'd Carelessness to which the Obscurity of the Other is owing As the Hebrews by pressing the Letters too close have squeez'd out Divine Chimaera's so the Christians in using too slack a Hand have scarce gain'd a gross Draught of Common Human Sence leaving the Genuine Elixir of the Writer's Meaning behind I will not lay much to the Charge of the Translators employ'd by Ptolomy Philadelphus King of Aegypt These were no Christians nor yet in the Number of those who Adored the Celestial Bodies and Elements Nor did any of them pay their Devotions at the same Altar with that Aegyptian Monarch who was a Worshipper of the God Serapis But they were Jews Seventy or Two more in Number as the Tradition goes And being every one Commanded severally to Translate those
not yet fully establish'd and confirm'd There has been a Cessation of Arms since that Time And now the Duke Amalfe on the Emperor's Side the Duke of Vandort for the King of France and he of Ersken for the Crown of Suedeland are met at Norimbergh to conclude a Final Ratification of the Articles During this Consult the Suedish Army are permitted by the Emperour's Agreement to Quarter up and down in Seven Circles of the Empire and not to be discharg'd till all their Arrears are paid at the Cost of the Germans 'T is said it will amount to Three Millions of Sequins This War has lasted near Thirty Years in which above Three Hundred Thousand Men have lost their Lives As to the English Affairs the Prevailing Party there have declar'd that Ancient Kingdom to be a Free State and the Monarchy is Abolish'd by a Publick Act. Nevertheless after Charles was beheaded his Eldest Son was Proclaimed King both in England and Ireland by some of the Nobles and Gentry that were Friends to that Royal Family And in Ireland a certain great Duke appear'd at the Head of a Numerous Army in Behalf of the Young King's Interest having laid Siege to the Metropolis of that Kingdom which with one other Town were the only strong Holds that resisted the King's Party But in the 8th Moon the Army which the English States had newly sent over to that Island engag'd with the Forces of this Duke entirely routed them killing Two Thousand Men on the Spot and taking many Thousand Prisoners with all their Ammunition and Baggage This being seconded with other Victories in a short Time reduc'd that Kingdom under the Obedience of the English States In the mean Time I hear no pleasing News from the Levant Vessels daily arrive in the Havens of France who confirm each other's Relations of a Dreadful Naval Combat between Our Fleet and that of the Venetians wherein they say we have lost Seventy Two Gallies Threescore Merchant-Vessels and Eighteen Ships of War That in this Fight Six Thousand Five Hundred Mussulmans have lost their Lives and near Ten Thousand were taken Prisoners I tell thee these are great Breaches in the Navy which belonging to the Lord of the Sea and Land has assum'd to it self the Epithet of INVINCIBLE These are Blemishes in the Ensigns of high Renown Reproaches to the Empire which we believe is to subdue All Nations I reflect not on the Courage or Conduct of the Captain Bassa Neither am I willing to help forward the Ruine of a Man who cannot expect to be honour'd with a Vest a Sword or any other Marks of the Sultan's Favour for his Service in this Sea Campagne I am Naturally compassionate 'T is not in my Praise I speak it for I believe this Tenderness to be rather a Vice of my Constitution than to have any Rank in the Morals much less to be of Kin to the Family of Vertues I pity a Man falling into Disgrace on whom the Weather of the Seraglio changes from which he must expect Nothing but Clouds and Storms Those Tempests will prove more Fatal to him than any that ever toss'd his Fleet on the Ruffled Ocean In all Probability he will suffer a Shipwreck of his Fortune if not of his Life Therefore 't is with extreme Regret I must say that which may hasten his Fall But I am commanded not to conceal any Intelligence that relates to the Interest of the Sublime Port nor to spare the Son of my Mother if I know him Guilty of Criminal Practices All that I have to lay to the Charge of the Bassa of the Sea is a Private Correspondence which he holds with Cardinal Mazarini This I discover'd by the Assistance of a Dwarf whom I have often mention'd in my Letters to the Grandees of the Port. I need not repeat to thee what I have said already to them of the Birth Education and Genius of Osmin for so is the little Spark call'd nor of the Method I have put him upon to wind himself into the Secrets of the Publick Ministers Onely thou mayst report to the Divan That this diminutive Man continues to pursue his Advantages of Access to the Closets of the French Ministers whereof I gave an Account last Year in a Letter to Chiurgi Muhammâ—t Bassa Thou mayst assure them also that when he was Yesterday in the Chamber of Cardinal Mazarini he cast his Eye on a Letter which lay open on the Table whilst the Cardinal was in earnest Discourse with an Extraordinary Courier from Rome He had not Opportunity to read more than the Superscription and a Line or two of the Matter which contain'd these Words The Mild Commander The humble Shadow of the Bright Star of the Sea Bilal Captain Bassa To the most Illustrious Prince of the Kingdom of the Messiah Eminent among the High Lords of Holy Honour the Sublime Directors of the People of Jesus Assistant to the Chair of Sovereign Dignity the Seat of the Roman Caliph Julio Mazarini Cardinal and our Friend May whose later Days encrease in Happiness THY affectionate Letter and Presents were deliver'd safe to me as I lay at Anchor with the Fleet under my Command not far from the Island of Chios And as a Mark of my Acknowledgment and good Will to thee and all the Nazarenes I embrac'd in my Arms the Noble Captain Signior Antonio Maratelli who had the Honour to be trusted with this Negotiation I immediately disrob'd my self and caus'd that brave Italian thy Messenger to be vested with my own Garment as a Pledge of Before Osmin cou'd read farther the Cardinal approach'd the Table and took up the Letter letting fall some Words to the Courier by which the Dwarf was confirmed in his Suspicion of the Bassa's Perfidiousness and that this Letter newly came from him He posted immediately to give me an Account of this Passage believing it to be as it is of great Import For he has a singular Regard for the Family which first exterminated the Greeks from Constantinople Thou know'st what Use to make of this Intelligence I am not Cruelly inclin'd but I must do my Duty The Rest I refer to thy Prudence I will only advertise thee of One farther Remark of Osmin who by comparing what he has seen now with a Discourse he once before over-heard between Mazarini and a French Nobleman whilst he lay under the Cardinal's Table which I have inserted in one of my Letters concludes That the Bassa there mention'd by the Cardinal was this same Bilal Bassa who was at the Instance of the Janizaries made Bassa of the Sea I could not without making my self an Accomplice conceal so foul an Ingratitude to the Grand Signior and so Villainous a Treason against the Empire which holds the First Rank among all the Dominions on Earth Paris 24th of the 9th Moon of the Year 1649. LETTER XVIII To Cara Hali Physician to the Grand Signior VVE have had a violent hot Summer in these Parts with much
or at least to render him suspected So that he who wou'd live peaceably here at this Juncture had need to be well skill'd in all the Secrets of Physiognomy and make frequent Use of his Looking-Glass lest any Oblique Cast of his Eye or Satyrical writhing of his Nose shou'd be Interpreted for Symptoms of Hidden Malice For now they 'll spy Treason in every Feature of a Man's Face As for me when I go abroad I conform to all Companies yet alter not my Address I neither play the Ape nor counterfeit a Statue But observing a Medium I pay a Civil Respect to all without being Courtly or Rude For this Carriage best Suits with my Circumstances Hence it is that no Body suspects the plain deform'd blunt Crook-back'd Titus of Moldavia to be what I am really Mahmut the Slave of the Exalted Port. Paris 14th of the 2d Moon of the Year 1652. LETTER III. To the Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of the Ottoman Empire THE Prince of Conde's taking up Arms has more puzzl'd the Counsels of the King of France and more embarass'd his Affairs than any Occurrence that has happen'd since the Death of his Father I have already inform'd the Kaimacham and others of all Passages hitherto relating to these Intestine Broils Since which they seem to be improv'd into a War wherein Foreign Nations take a Part. After the Return of Cardinal Mazarini to this Court the Prince of Conde was driven to great Streights being compell'd by the swift Marches of the King's Army to retire to Bourdeaux Where considering that it would not be so much his Interest to keep this Place as to encrease his Forces he sent Envoys to the King of Spain and Arch-Duke Leopold in Flanders to desire their Assistance The Former immediately dispatched away Orders for a considerable Body of Men to approach the Confides of Gascoigne where the Prince had a great Interest And the Latter lent him Eight Thousand Men to act on the side of Flanders and towards Paris as Occasion offer'd This is the particular Game of the Spaniards to take Advantage of the Civil Wars in this Kingdom that so by assisting the weaker Party they may balance the Contesting Powers of the Nation and keep 'em in a perpetual Quarrel Whilst in the Interim they gain Ground recover the Places which the French took from 'em in Time of Domestick Peace and so pave the Way to New Conquests In the mean Time the Parliament sent Deputies to the King beseeching him to remember his Royal Word by which he had for ever banish'd Cardinal Mazarini and representing to him the Fatal Consequences which were like to proceed from his Return But the King instead of complying with their Requests caus'd an Edict of Council to be Publish'd which justify'd his Conduct in this Matter He also writ a Letter to the Parliament full of Complaints that they had not yet publish'd any Order to hinder the Entrance of a Foreign Army into the Kingdom But all signified Nothing to Men passionately bent to maintain the Prince of Conde's Quarrel against their Sovereign He has but few trusty Men in that Senate and they are over-aw'd by the Rest Besides the Duke of Orleans bears a strange Sway both in the Parliament and Country At the Instigation of the Prince the Citizens of Orleans shut up their Gates when they heard the King was coming that Way in his return to Paris Yet the Country was open for the Prince of Conde a Subject He travell'd up and down the Provinces to make New Interests and confirm the Old leaving the Command of his Army in Gascoigne to his Brother the Prince of Conti. There have been many Skirmishes and Encounters between the King's Forces and those of the Male-contents and one fierce Combat wherein the Prince of Conde defeated the Vanguard of the King's Army as he was marching to this City Whereby getting the Start of his Sovereign he arriv'd here and was receiv'd in the Parliament whilst the Monarch was forc'd to lie encamp'd in the Field The Prince found a different Reception according to the various Humours of People The Greatest Part favour'd him and he receiv'd infinite Caresses from the Citizens of Paris But met with some Opposition from Persons of Higher Rank and more stedfast Loyalty to the Crown The Duke of Orleans is his greatest Friend and one for whom the Parliament have a great Deference Not so much in Contemplation of his Wit and Policy as for the Sake of his near Relation to the Crown he being Vncle to the present King Whereby he has a Right to assume more Authority than others in regulating the Disorders of the Court among which the greatest is esteem'd that of Cardinal Mazarini's Return In a Word both Parties serve themselves of those who have the greatest Interest and are most likely to compose the Quarrel The Exil'd Queen of England and her Son who have taken Sanctuary in this Kingdom from the Persecutions of their Own Subjects make it their Business to mediate between the Court-Party and the Faction of the Princes The Prince of Conde also sent Deputies to the King to represent to him That the only Means to give Quiet to the State was to banish the Cardinal-Minister And as they were delivering their Address Mazarini came in at the Sight of whom they aggravated their Charge and said to his Face That he was the Cause of all the EVILS which the Kingdom suffer'd The Cardinal Interrupting them turn'd to the King and said Sir It will not be Just that so Flourishing a Kingdom and to whose Grandeur I have contributed all that lay in my Power should ruin it self for my Sake Therefore I humbly entreat your Majesty to grant that I may return to my own Country or whithersoever my Fortune shall call me No no reply'd the Queen not without some Passion This cannot be granted The King had never more need of your Counsels than at this Juncture We cannot consent that so Serviceable a Man should be Banish'd only to humour his Enemies Therefore let us hear no more of that The Deputies perceiving nothing of Hopes return'd to Paris Then the Parliament deputed others to go to the King and Remonstrate the Deplorable Crate of the Realm This was done a few Days agoe In the mean Time we have been alarm'd here in this City with daily Insurrections of the Multitude The Occasion was some private Orders which the Duke of Orleans had given to the Provost of the Merchants relating to his Charge and the Welfare of the City This being misunderstood by the People who have not the Sence to distinguish the Good Offices of their Governours from Injuries put 'em all into a Tumult They assaulted the Provost in his Coach as he was passing the Streets And had he not escaped into an Apothecary's Shop they wou'd perhaps in their Fury have torn him in Pieces For so they serv'd his Coach as an after Revenge I am weary of beholding the
And if Naturalists speak Truth 't was a Hundred Years a growing to these Dimensions as many in a Fix'd and Flouriâ—hing Condition and that it will not take up a less Time in decaying to its last Rottenness They say also That an Elephant the Biggest and Strongest of all the Beasts on the Earth lives Two Hundred Years and continues encreasing in its Stature the greatest Part of that Term. The like they relate of Crocodiles and Dragons But not to tire thee with Examples of this Nature let us consider that whatsoever is great and durable among Men whatsoever is Illustrious and Excellent is slow in the Production and makes not hasty Leaps to Maturity View all the Monarchies that have made so much Noise on Earth and thou wilt find that in Proportion to the Time of their Growing Greatness was the Term of their Duration How swift was the Rise and Fall of the Persian Empire Equally precipitate was that of the Macedonians None could ever boast of so Permanent and Universal a Sway as the City of Rome of which it is commonly said Rome was not built in a Day To come nearer Home How Lasting and perpetually Victorious is the Sacred Empire of the Mussulmans Yet it took its First Rise from very small Beginnings met with frequent Repulses and has made a slow Progression to the present Formidable Height of Sovereign Power it now possesses For thou know'st This is the Thousand'th Sixtieth and Third Year since the Holy Flight of the Messenger of God What I have said may be apply'd with Proportion to Men's Personal Advances in the Honours and Fortunes of this World Be content therefore with the Seasons wherein Destiny shall think fit to raise thee and strive not to out-run thy Fate All the News I can tell thee is That Cardinal Mazarini return'd the 13th of the last Moon from his Second Banishment Which thou mayst report for a Truth to the Ministers of State We are all Exiles here on Earth God restore us to a Region more Agreeable and admit us to the Caresses of our Friends in Paradise Paris the 25th of the 3d. Moon of the Year 1653. LETTER XIII To Kerker Hassan Bassa THE Blessings of God and his Prophet descend upon thee from a Thousand Sources Thou art a true Friend and our whole Family are oblig'd to thee for Favours which have no Number But none more than my Brother and I. Our Engagements to thee are Equal since what Kindness thou hast shew'd to him in recommending him to the Sultan's Favour and to a Place of Honour and Profit I take as done to my self we being Naturally sharers in each others Prosperity or Adverse Fortuâ—â— For such is the Method of strict Relations and Friendships And I have a particular Reason to thank thee because it was at my Instance thou promoted'st him Yet tho he is my Brother I should not be so Partial as to say these Things in his Behalf did I not know him to be a Man of Merit For Places of Trust ought not to be bestowed for Favour or Affection We are bound to sacrifice all Private Regards to the Interest of the Grand Signior And not act like the French who get Offices of the Greatest Importance many Times by being of a Faction or Party opposite to their King Since the Return of Cardinal Mazarini to this Court which was in the foregoing Moon the King has reform'd many Abuses of this Kind He begins to feel his own Strength and Authority every Day more and more In the Moon of December dy'd Cardinal Richlieu's Brother who was Bishop of Lyons and Grand Almoner of France The King has bestow'd these Honours on Cardinal Antonio Barberini who took Sanctuary in this Court from the Persecutions of the Present Roman Pontiff almost Ten Years ago He has always espoused the King of France's Interests in Rome And the grateful Monarch receiv'd him with much Affection and as an Additional Honour has made him a Knight of the Holy Spirit This is the Chiefest Order of Knighthood in France It is freshly reported here that the Duke of Newburgh a Great Prince in Germany is dead They talk also of certain Prodigies that have been lately seen in England Ireland and other Parts of Europe As Raining of warm Blood Tin and Copper And 't is affirm'd for certain That Three Suns were lately seen at Dublin the Chief City of Ireland There has been a Sea-Combat between the English and Hollanders on the Coasts of Italy Wherein they say the Dutch had the Victory having sunk Two of their Enemies Ships and taken One without any Considerable Loss on their own Side Here is no other News stirring at present worth the Knowledge of a Mussulman Grandee The Eyes of all the Western Nazarenes are fix'd on that Refuge of the World where thou residest and on the Actions of our Invincible Vizir in Candia They discourse of some Overtures of Peace which that Great General has made to the Venetians if they will forthwith surrender the City of Candia to the Victorious Osmans If this be true one would think so great Clemency must needs tempt the Proud Infidels to Submission and Compliance But if Destiny has otherwise Decreed I wish they may feel the Force of our Arms which appear more keen than even the Soythe of Time that Devourer of all Things Paris 27th of the 3d. Moon of the Year 1653. LETTER XIV To Nathan Ben Saddi a Jew at Vienna THY last Letter speaks thee at once willing to be Enlightened yet Tenacious of thy Old Prepossessions I wonder not at the Difficulty thou findest in shaking off the Precepts of thy Rabbi's those Religious Triflers The Influence of Education is forcible as that of our Birth And the Habits that are rooted in us in our Tender Years are harder to be displanted than the Inhorent Affections of our Blood This is signify'd by the Arabian Proverb which says The Tutors of Youth have an Ascendant over the Stars of their Nativity I know it has been esteem'd the peculiar Glory of thy Nation that you have been Rigid Observers of the Traditions of your Fathers From which rather than deviate a Title there have not been wanting such as freely expos'd themselves and have bravely endur'd Racks Scourgings Burnings and all Sorts of Torments even the most exquisitely cruel Deaths that the Malice of Tyrants cou'd invent But do not I know also that in some of the most Weighty Points of your Law your Zeal has exceeded your Prudence I speak not of the private Bigotry of one Man or a few but of the Representative Body of your Whole Nation How foolishly Superstitious were your Armies in the Days of Mattathias when being assaulted by their Enemies on the Sabbath Day they refus'd to draw a Sword in their own Defence and so were all cut off by the Army of Antiochus This is no Invidious Remark of your Adversaries in Religion but the Observation of Josephus a Man of the same Faith