War the Officers went away very well satisfied believing they would be punished according to the Enormity of their Crimes But would you think it instead of doing so exemplary a Piece of Justice they quite contrary assisted 'em in their Escape Of all which to comply with the Reader 's Curiosity we will give the several Particulars Mareschal Catinat every Market-day sent a Piemonteze disguis'd like a Peasant into the Protestants Winter-Quarters where this Traytor was wont to debauch by Money or fair Promises about twenty five or thirty at a time and send 'em by Night with a Guide to Pignerol Herewith the Officers of these Regiments being at length inform'd by means of some Deserters who had been taken resolv'd to pretend to be lifted themselves that they might the better discover the Villain who took upon him to list For this Purpose they put on their common Soldiers Clothes and by means of one of those Deserters who had been taken they were conducted to the counterfeit Peasant's Quarters who receiving 'em with a great deal of Joy immediately gave them Money and told 'em the Names of the Regiments and Captains that waited for 'em at Pignerol The Day of their Departure being come the Peasant promis'd to go along with 'em when they being between twenty and thirty in all as well Officers as Soldiers began to set forward But their Piemonteze Captain was soon surpriz'd by a Present of Irons being brought him to carry him before the Governour who promis'd the severest Justice on so villanous a Design Some time after fix Officers of the fame Regiments went and polled themselves in the Night-time in a Place where they knew the Deserters must needs pass with design to discover more of these Villans who were sent to seduce their Men to the Enemy For this purpose they got up into sevâ—â—al Trees that they might keep themselves the better from being discovered Whilst they lay thus conceal'd there came a Peasant from the Town whom they presently seiz'd and diving into his Pockets found a Letter from the Governour in whose Hands they had left the first Traytor This Letter was an Answer to one of the Duke of Savoy's whereby he gave his Highness to understand that according to his Commands he would continue Matters so that the Piemonteze Prisoner should escape without having any harm done him The Peasant upon demand who gave him that Letter answer'd it was the Governour himself which sufficiently laid open the secret Intellegences the Court of Turin had with the Enemy in order to ruine the Protestant Regiments The Original of this Letter is still to be seen in my Lord Galloway's Hands as a Monument of the Treachery and Baseness of the Generals and other Officers of his Royal Highness His Royal Highness saw all this with his own Eyes nothing escap'd his Knowledge Nevertheless every thing was pass'd by in profound Silence and neglect The poor Officers only of these Regiments might murmur and complain as long as they pleas'd to see themselves in a fair way to be ruin'd by these repeated Desertions To this Remark we may farther add the Design his Royal Highness had to sell these Regiments by an usurp'd Authority to the Venetians to go and serve in the Morea which they must undoubtedly have yielded to had not they so vigorously oppos'd those Proposals affirming they belong'd only to his Britannick Majesty in whose Power it was alone to dispose of 'em in that Nature These Matters being thus transacled in the Sight of all Europe shall his Royal Highness's flattering Ministers for the future dare to boast their Master's Sincerity without a just Reproach But let us proceed to the other Treacheries In the sixth Place comes the Conduct of his Royal Highness towards several French Refugees who being oblig'd to pass thro' this Prince's Army instead of receiving them civilly as he ought to have done on the contrary he caus'd 'em all to be arrested and moreover order'd them to be bound Hand and Foot and sent to Mareschal Cannat as Deserters from his Army and this altho' several Letters were writ him from France that they had never been in any Service but were the Sons of several rich Merchants whom their Fathers thought fit to send out of that Kingdom I believe there was never the like Cruelty thought on and which sufficiently demonstrates how little his Royal Highness seem'd to value the King of England who had all along declar'd himself their Protector whilst his Earnestness to comply with France was thereby unquestionably made appear Of this Action I my self was an Eye-witness as well as all the Officers of the Auxiliary Forces In the seventh Place the Court of Turin every Year receiv'd the French Fashions by rich Presents from the King of France and Monsieur to the Duke of Savoy and his Dutchess insomuch that there was a continual Concourse of Courriers between France and Turin which shew'd the strict Union between the two Crowns in spight of all the Well-meaning pretended to the Allies In the eighth Place his Royal Highness s Conduct in besieging Guillestre and Ambroa in Dauphinè before he had made himself Master of Brianzon where the French had their chief Magazines as well as neglecting several other Polls to favour his Retreat and cut off that of Monsieur Catinat visibly prove his Royal Highness had all along Intelligence with the French and that they two play'd their Game by Confederacy which those Officers in the Army who had least Experience could easily discover The deceas'd Mareschal Schomberg of happy Memory was therewithal more than ordinarily affected He observ'd all their Proceedings but they were altogether out of his Power to redress The Italian Junto governed all and provided his Royal Highness did but amuse the Confederacy with his imaginary Conquests and Irruptions into France he had leisure enough to receive Money on both sides In the ninth Place upon his Royal Highness's entering Dauphinè whereas he ought to have taken care that Count Schomberg who commanded a separate Army which daily encreased by the Protestants which joyn'd him from all Provinces of France might not want Provisions he not only suffer'd 'em to want Provisions but also necessary Amunition for fear that Body mighty become more powerful than that which his Highness commanded and which consequently might have proceeded farther than his private Intelligence with France would give leave which oblig'd him to go no farther than Gap his bare entring Dauphinè being sufficient to blind the Allies and drain their Purses Hereupon the Protestants under Count Schomberg's Conduct not being able to subsist were forc'd to disperse which was the true Reason of the small Progress of the Confederates Arms in Dauphinè There was also another Passage which manifestly proves the Duke of Savoy's Intelligence with France which was that his Royal Highness apprehending the Confederate Forces might grow too potent and overrun France which was not at all conducing to his purpose suddenly feign'd a
never hearken'd to a Peace without procuring to him the Restitution of all his Places with new Advantages which would have secur'd for ever his Repose and Liberty render'd his Condition more Honourable and justifi'd his Conduct Let 's come to the Second Article The French King promises to pay Four Millions of Livres upon the Ratification of the Treaty 'T is likely the French King will be as good as his Word as to those Four Millions let Money be never so scarce in France as well as elsewhere since this great Negotiation could never have been brought about without the Ready The Reason of it is that the Duke of Savoy is certainly the most covetous Prince in Europe and that 's the weak Side by which the Ministers of France have crept into his Favour and have been so much consider'd at the Court of Turin Thro' the means of their Louidors they have been made privy to the most secret Consultations and Resolves of the Cabinet-Council and have at last brought things to that pass they are now at The French King little matters what he spends provided he bring his Designs about The first Rule of his Politicks is to stick at no Cost to triumph over his Enemies and therefore he has been willing enough to part with those Four Millions 'T is Money he has lent upon Usury of which he expects a Cent. per Cent. Interest But it is now the Confederates Part to take their Measures accordingly and look to their Private Interests The French King as we said before explain'd himself openly upon that Matter and did not stick to say That a General Peace will make him amends for the Charges he has been at for the Peace of Italy But if nothing but Money could satisfie the Duke of Savoy and engage him to be true to the Confederacy I wonder he or his Ministers did not give a Hint of it to the Allies for I am sure they would have given him Satisfaction in an Affair which was of so great consequence to them and have attempted any thing that had appear'd possible to give him more than ever France designs or promis'd to give To this the French King's Partisans will answer That it was a very difficult matter for the Confederates to pay so great a Sum to the Duke since there still remains Four Millions five hundred thousand Livres due to him To which I reply That these Arrears had long since been paid had not his Highness's Conduct given sufficient Reasons to suspect his juggling with France The King of England has had several Informations of his Foul-play a long while ago and if he did not take notice of it 't is because it was hop'd he might by amicable Means be kept from a Design that will certainly be his Ruine By the third Article the French King promises to restore to the Duke of Savoy Nice Montmelian and in general all the Places conquer'd during this War which Restitution is the least thing he could have expelled at a General Peace But those that have had a watchful Eye over his Highness's Conduct do assure us that Nice was yielded up to the French by his Orders and that the Governour of that Place the better to cover his Foul-play found a way to blow up the Magazin and spread at the same time a Report That this was effected by the French Bombs whereas it was nothing but the result of his Treachery and of the secret Intelligence betwixt the French King and his Royal Highness The Reduction of the important Fortress of Montmelian was owing to the same Destiny as that of Nice and the French had never made themselves Masters of it but for the secret Orders his Highness gave to the Marquess of Bagnasque its Governour The vigorous Resistance of Coni deceiv'd both his Highness and the French and it must be wholly ascrib'd to the Bravery of Monsieur Julien and the French Protestants who defended the Place 'T is well known that his Highness to be reveng'd of it instead of recompensing the Merit of so many gallant Men who signaliz'd themselves in the Defence of that Place did by an unheard-of Barbarity keep them from the Preferments that fell to them of Course which enrag'd Monsieur Julien and some other Officers to that degree that they quitted his Highness's Service and went over to that of France The French King presently made Monsieur Julien a Lieutenant-General and advanc'd the other Officers proportionably to their Merit By what follow'd it is plain that his Highness's Design in abusing those Officers was only to be rid of them because they were look'd upon at the Court of Turin as an Obstacle that broke all the Measures the Duke of Savoy had taken with the French King One may see by all these Proceedings how careful the Duke was to please the French King in all things and to act in combination with him to impose upon the Allies This Conduct has constantly been observ'd in Italy during all the Campagns from the beginning of the War to this present time Therefore the small Progress of the Confederate Forces is not to be wonder'd at since the only thing his Royal Highness aim'd at was to amuse them and favour the Designs of France by this Diversion There 's all the Justice in the World for the French King to restore all the Places he has taken from the Duke of Savoy since he did deposite them in trust into his Hands till there was a Peace The French King now keeps his Promise and so far his Highness has reason to be satisfi'd The Affairs have succeeded according to the Projects they had concerted together and the French King is mightily oblig'd to the Duke for playing his part so well But Time will shew whether his Highness ought always to have the same Thoughts of the French King's Honesty who has made him a Property upon this Occasion just as he formerly did Cardinal Furstemberg to compass his grand Designs which are now a Riddle to the Court of Turin but which will be accomplish'd when the general Peace is concluded To this we may add that his Highness ought not to have been in such haste to conclude a private Treaty with France upon Consideration of the Advantages he gets by it The most serene Allies would have procur'd to him the Restitution of all his Places and France had already offer'd it to them So that his Highness would have made a more Honourable Treaty and contributed besides to the Conclusion of a solid and lasting general Peace both for him and all the Confederates whereas by his late Proceedings he raises the Hopes of the common Enemy violates his Promise and the Oaths he had sworn to the Allies Let us now proceed to the Marriage of the young Princess of Savoy with the Duke of Burgundy This Match has dazzl'd the Duke of Savoy and his Ministers and ought to be look'd upon as the greatest Artifice of the Council of France to
French King declares himself Defender and Protector For these Nine Years past says that Monarch he maintains the War against a Conspiracy of all Europe Upon what account To defend Religion and Vindicate the Majesty of Kings Nothing can be more Great more Glorious and more Noble than such a Design That Monarch employs all his Forces exhausts his Treasures and sacrifices his People and Subjects and all this to vindicate the Majesty of Kings We must confess the French King's Zeal to be very great his Projects magnanimous and pious in a word worthy of the First Monarch of Christendom King James is to be accounted Happy for being under the Protection of France provided this Protection be Sincere and the French King do not play foul upon this Occasion as he has done heretofore in several Quarrels betwixt Christian Princes He has often been seen to espouse the Interest of the one by forsaking the Party of the other for whom he had declar'd himself and do such Work as has ruin'd both in the Conclusion So that in all Quarrels he alone has got something by them He never keeps such a stir and takes so much pains for nothing and whenever he does any great Service 't is always upon condition that the private Advantages he shall draw from it will be proportionable to his Labour According to this Principle if the French King could make a Peace with the Allies upon such easie Terms as he desires the Majesty of Kings which he pretends to vindicate would soon be forgotten I had almost said sacrific'd for what will he not do when his Interest lies at stake Nothing can be more singular than the Zeal and Ardour the French King pretends for King James's Interest All the World are inform'd how the pernicious Counsels of France have been the Cause of the Misfortunes and Fall of that Prince 'T is France that has rais'd him to the Throne by secret and underhand Practices unknown to most People to this very day and it may be said That France has made him lose his Crown by putting him upon such violent Methods as have render'd him odious to his Subjects whose Ruin he had contriv'd if God Almighty had not snatch'd them from the impending Danger by a miraculous Revolution The French King's Zeal and Generality deserve to be commended He endeavours to restore a Prince he has been the Ruin of and this he calls Vindicating the Majesty of Kings for which he sacrifices the Majesty of all other Monarchs in Christendom Who can be so credulous as to think his Conduct sincere upon this Occasion And is it possible the French King can strain those fine Sentiments of Commiseration for an unfortunate Prince so high as not to scruple to declare War against all Europe to vindicate that pretended Majesty of Kings We may rather say that he has quite another thing in Prospect and that he only uses the Majesty of Kings as a Pretence to colour a bad Cause further his grand Designs weaken the Confederacy by the Ruine of the Forces of the Crown of England and weary the Allies by the Tediousness of the War still keeping his old Maxims and Inclinations which would soon revive more fierce than ever if he could clap up a bad Peace with the Confederate Princes Those are the true Motives that prevail with the French King to vindicate the pretended Majesty of Kings which he makes sound so high in all the Courts of Christendom 'T is upon that Account that he defiles himself with all manner of Crimes Wicked Attempts Plots Treacheries and Murders are nothing to him If by this means the French King pretends to vindicate the Majesty of Kings he must own his Cause to be very bad and that the Upshot of all the Honour that will accrue to him upon this score will be no more than a monstrous Parallel of what has been practised by those Heathen Princes that have been the Execration of their Age. This Conduct ought to make all Christendom to tremble since the Court of France is so far from disowning it that they rather seem to authorize it openly by the villanous Assassins they send over to England If this be the way whereby the French King endeavours to arrive at a general Peace we must confess that it will cost dear to all Europe and that all Honesty is banish'd from the World The French King having acquainted the World with the Motives that made him undertake the present War exalts the Progresses wherewith God Almighty has bless'd his Designs and prosper'd his Enterprizes To hear him speak his Arms have always been triumphant and victorious and all the Advantages the Allies have had during this war are to be counted for nothing and France alone has all the Honour of it We do not wonder at this Haughtiness We know well enough this is the Language of the Court of France That Crown is so used to those Expressions that unless she be entirely pull'd down and stripped of her best Possessions she never will own her Losses and perhaps then too she will still keep up her Pride Glory must at any rate go before all her Enterprizes The French Nation alone knows now-a-days how to command and make war and all other Nations are ignorant and fit for nothing but to obey her proud Domination Yet for all this the Confederates carried the very first Campagn three important Fortresses on the Rhine These Conquests were follow'd by a Victory won at Wallcour by the Defeat of the best of French Kings Troops Altho' this Fight was not general the Advantages the Allies had in it gain'd them as much Honour as ever the French got in the Battels they won under the Conduct of the Mareschal of Luxemburg And during this Campagn the Confederate Arms were triumphant wherever they fought The Irruption into Dauphine under the Conduct of the Duke of Savoy and the Sea-Fight that was fought betwixt the French and Confederate Fleet do also deserve to be reckon'd among the Advantages got by the Confederates The Siege of Namur where France had the Shame to see the Triumph of the Arms of the Allies is too memorable to be pass'd over in Silence This only Conquest eclipses all the Victories of wich the French King now brags with so much Pride since his united Forces were not able to prevent it and that in spite of the Presence of a Mareschal of France who got into the Place supported by an Army within and another without as numerous as ever France had Since I say all these Precautions have had no other Effect than to hasten the taking of that Fortress and heighten the Honour of the Allies If after all these Advantages the French King gives it out that he always was superiour it must be confess'd that he makes Fools of all the Nations of Europe who have been Spectators of 'em and affronts besides the Honour of so many generous and brave Princes who have signaliz'd themselves in ' em All those prosperous Successes that have waited on my Arms says the French King have been the more grateful to me as that I flatter'd my self they might conduce to a Peace The Allies do freely own that France has been prosperous in her Undertakings but they hope also that they have a Right to have the Advantages they got over that Crown taken notice of and they cannot hear without a just Resentment those Discourses which the French publish to the World to rob them of the Honour they have gain'd in this War at the Expence of their Blood and Loss of their best Subjects and bravest Generals All these Considerations ought to engage the Council of France to speak another Language Altho' the Duke of Savoy have deserted 'em their Union will not be the less inviolable for it and France has no great reason to boast so much of her Superiority A cross Accident is able to make her lose all the Advantages she pretends to draw from the Peace of Italy Therefore she ought to have more Regard for the Allies than she has hitherto express'd and by a just Condescension prevent the dubious Fortune of War and hasten the Conclusion of an honourable and lasting Peace FINIS