your Dominions which may facilitate a general Peace the first Effects of which will undoubtedly be your Majesty's Re-establishment on your Throne This has been the Occasion Sir of his Royal Highness's withdrawing from the Allies and which he hopes will be thought fully to answer his Promises to your Majesty's Ministers sent to sollicite him in that behalf This he would have perform'd sooner but your Majesty may be inform'd from the most Christian King what Reasons enclin'd him to the contrary These Sir an the sincere Protestations of his Royal Highness which he will endeavour to make appear by his continu'd Prayers for the Prosperity of your Sacred Majesty We may find by this Harangue that his Royal Highness thinks fit to dissemble no longer He has now perform'd his Bargain His Minister the Marquess of Govon has given a true Copy of his Inclinations and no doubt he had the same Sentiments when the subtle de la Tour pronounc'd his study'd Harangue but then you must suppose he had not sufficiently fleec'd the Allies Let us observe therefore there is something exceeding singular in the two different Characters which these Ministers represent One congratulates King William upon his glorious Access to the Throne while the other flatters King James with a Prospect of his Restauration But to shew farther how exceedingly the Duke of Savoy has both slighted and abus'd his Alliance with so many Serene Princes notwithstanding their repeated Kindnesses towards him we must here examine into his Conduct during the whole War in Italy the Particulars of which will be so much the more Authentick as we have all along sufficient Proofs of what we affirm and I am pretty well assured that all who are acquainted with the Court of Turin will be ready to subscribe to what I say 'T is not upon Account of Hatred or Partiality that I undertake herein to undeceive the Publick in an Affair that the President de la Tour took so much Pains to conceal from the Court of England and States General during his Residence at the Hague I know very well that he made it his chief Business to influence the Confederates that whatever Account they might have of his Matter 's partial Proceedings it came altogether from the Malice of certain Jacobites whose end was to render his Royal Highness suspected that they might thereby the better occasion a Disunion which they imagin'd would prove fatal to the League He likewise endeavour'd to prove the most discerning of our Friends to be French Enissariâ—s whilst he play'd his own part under a counterfeit Sincerity fed the Credulity of the Allies with fair hopes and by that means at length he obtain'd whatever he could desire whilst his politick Matter was carrying on his Designs which at last concluded in a Treaty with the French King Nothing sure can be more base than this Practice But let us proceed to Particulars You must know in the first Place that in all the Councils of War held at Turin from the very first Campagn down to the last the Duke of Savoy and his Ministers would never admit any of those of the Allies but whom they thought fit and exclude the best affected such as the Protestant Generals and other wise Officers who might otherwise have been able to baffle their Designs and detect their Treacheries Whence it comes to pass that all the Resolutions taken in those Councils of War have been in favour of the Enemy To this may be added the Antipathy that was all along observable betwixt the Generals of his Royal Highness and those of the Allies witness the repeated Insults and bloody Outrages the Marquesses of Bagnasque and Parella offered to those Officers of the Allies who had best signaliz'd themselves upon every Occasion and this by reason of their so loyally adhering to their Master's Interest who had entrusted 'em with the Command of their Forces Secondly the slow Proceedings of the Court of Turin were partial the Italian Generals never caring to be in the Field till they had given sufficient time to Catinat to rally his Army and receive Recruits which were sent him from several Parts of France Hence it comes that he was always first in Action and possess'd himself of the most advantagious Posts for being superiour in Number and having the Field at liberty he might very easily effect whatever he undertook they never offering to oppose him till he had done his Business or at least was in a fair way to do it I pass by the frequent Intelligences by Spies between the Generals that nothing might be acted but by common Content In the third Place the Care the Court of Turin took to establish Magazines and Markets where the French were permitted to come and buy whatever Subsistence they had occasion for at a time especially when most of their Provinces were reduc'd to the extremest Want and which ought to be look'd upon as a just Scourge sent by God to humble that haughty Power This Want I say must necessarily have forc'd the French forthwith to have re-pass'd the Mountains had not his Royal Highness and his Council timely provided for their Relief by causing all sorts of Commodities to be brought from Milan and other parts of Italy to regale their Enemy's Army This was all done in Sight of the Allies and whenever any Complaints were made the Senate of Turin was dumb or answered only by Riddles after the Italian Manner All this while his Royal Highness crowded his Coffers with French Lonid'ors and Mareschal Catinat who knew well his Temper was not at all sparing of ' em The Honour of France and Preservation of an Army which was just then ready to perish gave way for no Parsimony I mention nothing but what is notoriously known and I appeal to the Generals of the most Serene Allies who then commanded in Italy if they have not been Eye-witnesses of all I affirm But let us proceed to other Practises which are no less remarkable than the former In the fifth Place let us observe the Permission that his Royal Highness gave to some Fellows disguised like Peasants and sent incognito by Catinat to subborn and list the Protestant Soldiers of die Regiments of Miremont and Montauban whom they intended to carry off to the French Army to the end that by their Disertion the King of England's Forces might be so much the more weakened and their own augmented This no doubt was with design to favour the French King who if he could but get those Protestant Enemies into his Power thought himself secure of his Project by the Intelligence he all along had with his Royal Highness This Relation is so much the less to be question'd as it was verify'd by the Surprizal of several of these disguis'd Traytors by the Officers of these Regiments who taking 'em in the very Act after having debauch'd above five and twenty Soldiers immediately complain'd of 'em to his Royal Highness who remitting 'em to a Council of
us'd against the Surprizes of an open and declar'd Enemy but 't is a very hard matter to prevent being cheated by a Confederate Prince who proclaims his Friendship and the Sincerity of his Intentions in all the Courts of Europe by his flattering Ministers and who at the bottom is no better than a dissembling Shuffler Honesty is now a days a Cloke for every Body and the greatest Cheats in the World are still industriously careful to be accounted Honest I confess 't is impossible to read any Man's Thoughts But however one might have known by all the Actions of the Duke of Savoy and the repeated Informations that have been given to the Confederates that he kept Intelligence with France Yet at this very time there are some People that can hardly believe it which is much the same thing as if a Man should first shut his Eyes and then maintain that it is Night at Noon-day This pernicious Supineness and Carelesness is now the Cause of the ill Dispositions towards the Conclusion of a General Peace Haughty and ambitious France fancies to have done much by winning over the Duke of Savoy to her Interest She hopes by that to shake the Constancy of the other Princes draw off some of the weakest by the Example of his Royal Highness offering them great Advantages and after she has engag'd these she reckons upon the Division of the Heads of the Confederacy who will at last grow weary of a War that does but exhaust their Riches But we may assure the French Council that they are in a mighty Errour in this Point and that they entertain themselves with empty chimerical Hopes since the Heads of the Confederâ—cy who have supply'd the Duke of Savoy with all the Necessaries for the Diversion he promis'd to make but did not perform are fully resolv'd to take such Measures for the future as never to be cheated again by any of their Allies and besides never to make a Peace with France but upon such Terms as they have agreed amongst themselves And whatever France may imagine they shall not want for Money Two or three Campagns more do not signifie much and then we may see who shall have the better on 't T is enough we are very well inform'd of the Forces of that Crown and what she 's able to do being so exhausted as she is and having left no Stone unturn'd to procure a Peace The only thing the Confederates seem now to be concern'd for is the Perfidiousness of the Duke of Savoy who has most basely betray'd them this they take more to heart than all the imaginary Advantages France expects to draw from it By all this we may safely conclude that when the Duke of Savoy entred into the Alliance he had no other Aim in prospect than to favour the Designs of France under the specious Pretence of some Discontents against that Crown The Mask is now turn'd up and we have evidently discover'd that he has acted in combination with France during all the War of Italy Now these are the Fruits which the French King and Duke of Savoy expected to reap from their secret Intelligence First The Duke of Savoy hop'd to get considerably by emptying the Purses of so many Allies who must have recourse to him to get an easie Passage into France and by that means effect as much in one Campagn as could be perform'd in the Process of a long War The French King likewise thought it no less for his advantage than the Duke his Confederate because this Prince crying out for Help the Confederates would be sure to send him a great number of Auxiliaries with vast Sums of Money to maintain and keep up a Diversion which was look'd upon as the only way to bring France to reasonable Terms and these were as many Enemies from which the French King freed himself in Flanders and Germany while Monsieur de Catinat his General kept them at a Bay with a Handful of Men who had never been able to stand before them had not the Duke of Savoy juggl'd with him The French King cunningly improving the Diversion he oblig'd the Confederates to make in Italy through the Duke of Savoy's means pursu'd his Conquests in Flanders and on the Rhine He won Battels and took strong Places under the Conduct of the Mareschals of Luxemburg and de Lorge to whom he always sent the Choice of his Men whereas he only gave Monsieur Catinat new-rais'd raw Soldiers or Irishmen because he went upon sure grounds and that this was sufficient to entertain a War on that Side Another great Reason prevail'd with the French King which extremely favour'd his Designs towards the Ruine of the other Confederate Princes and which was never found out till the Ill was grown past Remedy This was that the Duke of Savoy declaring himself for the Confederates and at the same time keeping his Intelligence with France the Ministers of the Duke would be still welcome in all the Courts of the Alli'd Princes and that under colour of a Common Concern he would be made privy to all the Secrets and be acquainted with their strong and weak Side which he would discover to the French King 'T is for that reason that the Duke of Savoy sent none but choice Wits and most of them Jesuits as being the most subtle and intriguing to reside with the Confederate Princes Those Ministers have extreamly well discharg'd their Duty for it has been observ'd that every Post the Court of France had certain and precise Informations of all that pass'd in the Congress in the Councils of War and all other Consultations Hence it is that the French King and his Generals were always upon their Guard and whatever the Allies undertook the French expected them behind good Retrenchments provided with all Necessaries to make their Designs miscarry To this also ought to be imputed the inconsiderable Successes of the Bombardments and other Enterprises of the Confederate Fleet upon the French Coasts For the President de la Tour who resided at the Court of England during the Winter never came back but to acquaint the Duke his Master as this did the French King with all the Designs that were to be put in execution the next Campagn There 's still another Reason that has much contributed to induce the Duke of Savoy to play Jack of Both Sides during this War which is That his Dominions being very poor and several of his Subjects forc'd thro' Necessity to beg their Bread in most Countries of Europe he hop'd by the War of Italy to draw with the Auxiliary Troops of the Confederates a great part of their Moneys Which indeed has made his People very rich and fill'd his Coffers so that at this time he may be said to be one of the richest Princes of Christendom in ready Cash This Money was not all got by the Confederates France has also brought in her Share since 't is her Gold only that has dazzl'd this
will rather beget in them the Resolution of carrying on the War more vigorously than ever Their Interest has no relation with that of the Duke of Savoy and if that Prince has been willing to undo himself and sacrifice his Dominions and Liberty out of a Frolick the Confederate Princes will not make his Conduct the Standard of Theirs They have taken up Arms to make a solid and lasting Peace and will not lay them down upon any other Terms The general Publication of that Peace was follow'd by a Letter directed to the Archbishop of Paris in order to have Te Deum sung as a Thanksgiving wherein the French King gives us a true Idea of the Motives upon which he has acted during this War There the Language and Genius of the Court of France are express'd in their genuine and natural Colours That Piece being already made publick we shall dispense with inserting it here and tho' it deserve to be examin'd at large we will content our selves with making some few particular Reflections upon it and so conclude The Court of France never publishes Pieces of that importance before they are maturely studied and have past the Censure of his most able Ministers In a word This is a Draught in Little of the vast Designs and most secret Thoughts of the French King That Monarch begins with the Motives that have induc'd him to take up Arms which are to defend Religion and Vindicate the Injur'd Majesty of KINGS This Declaration is agreeable to that he made before in all the Manifesto's he publish'd before the Rupture And therefore we may conclude That the Council of France have long before studied the Artifices they now employ to break the Union of the Confederate Princes Those Artifices are so much the more dangerous as they strike at the most sensible Part of Civil Society that is to say Religion and the Majesty of Kings As to the first All Sovereign States are naturally very tender of the Religion they profess the Catholick Princes of their Religion and the Protestant Princes of theirs But to hear the French King speak one would think him the Only Defender of the Roman Catholick Religion and that the Emperour the King of Spain and the other Catholick Princes whose Zeal is unquestionable have abandon'd its Interest If the French King should spread abroad such Discourses in an unknown Country remote from our Continent and among a barbarous People ignorant of the Transactions of Europe for these Fifty Years past especially since the Death of Cardinal Mazarin 't is certain he might impose upon their Credulity But what can be more absurd and extravagant than to publish now all those Impostures before the face of all Christendom to which he has been a Scourge and a Persecutor Witness the Quarrels he had with the Court of Rome under the Pontificate of Innocent XI If that Pious Pope had not oppos'd all the Extravagancies of the Court of France were not we like to see the Church rent and torn by a more cruel and monstrous Schism than ever the Persecutions of the most dreadful Heathen Tyrants have been There 's no need of renewing here the Remembrance of those Ills that have made all Christendom to groan they are too fresh to be forgotten Let us be contented to say That the French King is so unsincere upon that Point that all the Confederate Princes are fully convinc'd that Religion has the least share in his undertaking the present War 'T is well known also that it is upon another Motive that he has supprest the Reform'd Religion in France This last Step ought to be look'd upon as a secret Spring to make himself a surer Way to the Universal Monarchy since we see he has in a manner done more mischief to the Catholick than Protestant Princes This is a dangerous Decoy and a secret Warning to the Catholick Princes who are in Confederacy with the Protestant not to give ear to the Artifices of France whose aim is to disunite them and by that means invade their Dominions and Liberty The Duke of Savoy as we have seen of late has begun to make a Breach in that Alliance The Ministers of France like deceitful Syrens have drawn him into dangerous Snares by their sweet enchanting Voice The fair and specious Pretence of Religion has put all the Courts of Italy in motion and by that means the French King was reconcil'd to the Court of Rome which was before his mortal Enemy He could not have pitch'd upon a surer way to further his Designs than by pretending as he does at this time that he acts out of a Zeal for Religion By that means he casts a Mist before the Eyes of all the Catholick Princes and insinuates himself into all Courts But what will become of the Dominions of so many Sovereigns if once divided from the Alliance of the Protestant Princes Since we now see that their Safety and mutual Preservation wholly depends upon that Alliance We still repeat it here Let not the Duke of Savoy's Example ever shake this sacred Union for this is the only thing the French King aims at and the Hinges upon which all his Designs turn All Princes are for their Share in an Affair that concerns every one in particular and all in general The present War is not upon the account of Religion 'T is only France that says so to impose upon the Confederates and disunite them 'T is plain the French King endeavours to perswade the Catholick Princes that the only Cause which has brought this War upon him is the implacable Hatred of the Protestant Princes against him for persecuting his Protestant Subjects which is both false and ridiculous For if the French King had design'd nothing but the pretended Extirpation of Heresie never had the present War been kindled in Europe because the different Interests of the Protestant Princes were so far from uniting them in a Cause which was so just in it self that they rather seem'd to divide them still the more 'T is therefore to no purpose that the French King makes use of the Cloke of Religion to cover a Conduce which every one knows to have no other than Temporal Motives such as are the Violation of all Treaties the Usurpation of his Neighbours Dominions the Ruin of the House of Austria the Protecting of the Turk his Designs upon England by supporting the late King James his Attempts upon the Princes and States beyond the Alps the Slavery of all Europe and in a word the accomplishing of his grand Master-piece the Universal Monarchy After so many cruel and treacherous Attempts after so many Reasons of Complaint given to the Confederates and after the repeated Experiences they have had of the French King 's Double-dealing and Foul-play how can they now believe he is sincere when he tells us That he had no other Aim than the Defence and Protection of Religion Let 's now pass to the Majesty of Kings of which the
no longer Master of either This answer you may imagine was but very little to their liking therefore the Ambassadours thought themselves oblig'd to present a Memorial to his Royal Highness wherein among other things they insinuated that his Predecessors having engag'd their Royal Word to several Sovereigns and particularly the Protestant Cantons their Masters that they wou'd never disturb the Repose and Tranquillity of the Vaudois and that because of their Royal Patents they had granted 'em they humbly conceiv'd his Royal Highness could not dispense with those Engagments without violating his Royal Word and that because these Patents must not be barely look'd upon as Tolerations but rather as perpetual Concessions Irrevocable Sacred and Inviolable The Ambassadours enforced these Reasons by many others which related more needy to the Interest and Politicks of Savoy and which might have been capable to have mov'd him had not the French King oppos'd them by others that tended altogether to introduce Fire Blood and Slaughter into the Dominions of this Prince Understanding Men have all along clearly perceiv'd that the chief Aim of France was to weaken the Duke by ruining the Vaudois who for their Valour were always look'd upon as his right Arm and who tho' with their small Number were able alone to bafflle the Designs of the French King and oppose the Incursions of his Troops Many other Protestant Princes likewise writ to his Royal Highness in Favour of the Vaudois but all without doing any good This most Christian King had gain'd so far upon his Inclinations that even in spite of himself he was forc'd to yield to the Torrent that bore him down before it and which at last carry'd him to a Precipice that foretold no less than the utter Ruin of his Dominions The Swiss Ambassadors having at length demanded a positive Answer his Royal Highness caus'd the Marquess of St. Thomas one of his Ministers for Foreign Affairs to acquaint 'em that he was extremely sorry it was not in his Power to comply with their Master's Request And the French Minister moreover suggested to him to add that provided the last Edict was not already put in Execution he would endeavour to find some Expedient to procure the Vaudois Leave to retire out of his Dominions after that they had disposed of their Possessions We shall pass over in Silence several other Circumstances that relate to this Negotiation it not being my Purpose to enter into Particulars of the Cruelties exercis'd against the Vaudois for which a much larger Volume would not suffice I think my self only oblig'd to give an Account hereof the principal Accidents that have been the Occasion of the Differences between the Duke of Savoy and France from the very Beginning of this War I shall next proceed to examine the Conduct of his Royal Highness since his Rupture as well in regard to the most Serene Allies as France even to the Conclusion of the Treaty lately sign'd by him by which he is once more reconcil'd to a Crown that has promised a great deal but will no doubt perform little or nothing We may affirm freely that this Prince having been a Slave to the French King so many Years and groan'd so long under a Yoke that other Sovereigns now fight to be secur'd from never had a fairer Occasion to release himself than at present which he would have laid hold on had he been but the least sensible of his Interest When a Man makes such Oversights as this he seldom or never recovery and perhaps for above these Hundred Years there may not happen a League so puissant and daring as this There was no other way of withstanding the Greatness of France but by a Union of so many Princes that Crown being too formidable to be oppos'd by a single Force According to common Opinion God Almighty only has reserred this great Power to himself who keeps in his hand the Performances of Princes and who can in an Instant thrust 'em from their Thrones and deprive 'em both of their Authorities and their Force whereof this History every where abounds with convincing Examples This being granted there is no doubt but the League of these moil Serene Princes now in War against France has been rais'd by this Almighty Power to humble the exorbitant Greatness of that Crown and this will the more plainly appear if we consider the Motives that occasion'd it its uninterrupted Continuance for nine Years together remaining always firm and not to be shaken by the Attempts and Artifices which France has all along made use of to weaken confound or divide the Princes which compos'd it Notwithstanding these mighty Efforts and continu'd Dissentions which this most Christian King has endeavour'd to sow in almost all the Courts of Europe they have nevertheless been so far from weakening them that they have rather contributed towards a more firm and lading Alliance which all the Confederates have unanimously resolv'd to carry on except Savoy only who may be justly reproach'd hereafter by all Princes for so base a Compliance with a Monarch that is already above half ruin'd But before we go any farther let us first see what this Prince has freely promis'd to the most Serene Allies and more particularly to the Emperour King of England and United Provinces which are to be consider'd as the chief Actors in the League In order whereunto I shall oblige the Reader with a true Copy of the Treaty that his Royal Highness made with the Emperour and which was presented him by the Abbot Grimani to be sign'd which is as follows HIS Imperial Majesty being sensibly mov'd with the late reiterated Menaces of the French King towards his Royal Highness which so visibly tend to oppress him As likewise considering the Inviolable Friendship his Royal Highness professes for his said Imperial Majesty Also having moreover understood that his most Christian Majesty had caus'd an Army to enter into the Territories of the said Duke to oblige him to give up two of his Chief Fortresses as likewise to furnish him with 2000 Foot and Two Regiments of Dragoons to assist him in an Invasion upon Milan his Imperial Majesty has thought himself oblig'd to succour a Prince that has always approv'd himself an unshaken Well-wisher to the Empire Whereupon he has herewith sent the Sieur Abbot Vincent Grimani with express Orders and full Power to Negotiate Treat and Agree with his said Royal Highness in an Alliance that may as well serve to strengthen his Imperial Majesty's Affairs as to secure those of his Royal Highness against the future Attempts of France And for this purpose his most Serene Highness Victor Amedeus the Second Duke of Savoy and the aforesaid Sieur Abbot Grimani do Article as follows I. His Most Serene Highness obliges himself for the future not to enter into any Treaty of Alliance with the Most Christian King without Consent of the Emperour But to remain always under a good Correspondence with his Imperial
eternally to have united him to the House of Austria let us come to the strict Alliance he had contracted with the King of England And hereof we cannot give you a more signal Proof than the specious Harangue made to his Britannick Majesty by his tricking Envoy the President de la Tour which is as follows SIR HIS Royal Highness congratulates Your Majesties glorious Access to a Throne due to Your Birth merited by Your Virtue and maintain'd by Your Valour Providence ordain'd it for Your Sacred Head for the Accomplishment of Heavens Designs from all Eternity That Providence which after a long forbearance raises up Chosen Instruments to suppress Violence and protect Justice The wonderful Beginnings of Your Reign are assur'd Presages of the Blessings which Heaven is preparing for the Integrity of Your Intentions which have no other Aim than to restore this flourishing Kingdom to that Grandeur which it anciently enjoy'd and to break off those Chains under the weight of which all Europe at present groans This magnanimous Design so worthy the Heroe of our Age soon fill'd his Royal Highness with unspeakable Joy tho' he were constrain'd to keep it undisclos'd for a time in the Privacies of his Heart and if afterwards he could not forbear to let it break forth the Obligation for that Happiness is due to Your Majesty who has at length inspir'd him with Hopes of Liberty after so in any Years of Servitude My Words Sir and the Treaty which I have already sign'd at the Hague with Your Majesties Envoy but faintly express my Master 's passionate Desires to unite himself to Your Majesty by an inviolable Devotion to Your Service The Honour which he has of being one that appertains to Your Majesty has knit the first Knot of this Union and the Protection You grant him with so much Generosity has brought it to the perfection of being indissolvable These are the sincere Sentiments of his Royal Highness with which I dare not presume to intermix any thing of my own For how ardent soever my Zeal may be how profound soever my Veneration of Your Majesties Glory I know not how better to express it than by a silent Respect and Admiration Can there be any thing more to the purpose better studi'd and more eloquent than this Harangue His Royal Highness seems to insinuate he will always be govern'd by his Britannick Majesty to whom he solemnly vows eternal Friendship and for whom he expresses the greatest Veneration imaginable A Prince whom he acknowledges God has rais'd to the Crown of England to break off the Chains of Europe and more particularly to free him from a Slavery which he had groan'd under so many Years His Royal Highness I say professes so entire a Respect for the King of England that he seems to think of nothing more than Revenge and Hostility against France insomuch that to hear him speak you would believe he were the most zealous of all the League But here we must observe That his Royal Highness did not a little dissemble when he dictated this Speech to his Envoy and for my part I am of opinion that a Man cannot have extraordinary Principles that can so easily digest Hypocrisie and Treachery Methinks a bare regard to ones Honour of which every Man ought to be tender especially Sovereign Princes might have been a sufficient Check to such an inglorious Action which is rather the result of a mean and dastardly Soul than a brave and noble Whatever it be certain it is that this Prince whom all Europe look'd upon with admiration having taken off the Mask of Hypocrisie shews us a quite different Face from what his Ministers more Jesuits than Embassadors had represented him When we seriously reflect upon the Particulars of his Royal Highness's Conduct during this War we may observe how many different Stratagems he has made use of to blind the Confederates discover their secret Designs therewithal speedily to inform France and lastly to drain this latter and more openly the former of vast Sums of Money with which lie has all along fill'd his Coffers This Passion thus prevailing over his Highness makes us look upon his Treachery as the Fruits of a sordid Avarice and base Policy by which he has servilely comply'd with France and withal endeavour'd to sacrifice the Interest of the most Serene Allies as likewise the Common Safety of Europe whatever his Minister de la Tour might say to the contrary I believe this is his truest Character tho' that Envoy and the rest of his Fraternity have endeavour'd to lull the Allies by representing their Master as another Caesar or Alexander abounding with Zeal Constancy and Bravery and who would sooner chuse to die a thousand times than act any thing that should be in the least contrary to the Interest of the most August Alliance he had engag'd in However Matters go these flattering Ministers will never be able to excuse their Matter 's Conduct We are but too well acquainted with the Occasion of it tho' one would think a Prince should have consulted his Honour and Conscience before he attempted any thing at least that might have prejudic'd those that had so generously afforded him Protection at a time especially when he stood in so great need of it We have already seen the President de la Tour's Speech to the King of England whereby his Royal Highness promises to enter into a strict Alliance with his Britannick Majesty and the other Confederates Now let us come to that of the Marquess de Govon his Highness's Envoy extraordinary to King James the Sixth of September last SIR HIS Royal Highness is at length happily reconciled to his most Christian Majesty against whom he bad rashly taken up Arms tho' he has all along receiv'd sincere Proofs of his Majesty's Protection The strict Leagues his noble Ancestors have heretofore had with France and the more exact Alliance his Royal Highness has contracted by his Marriage have but the more disjoyn'd him from the Interest of that Kingdom This Union which ought to have been the most inviolable we have lately seen interrupted by the Artifices of his most Christian Majesty's and your Majesty's Enemies to whom his Royal Highness has been hitherto so weak as to give ear His Royal Highness therefore humbly beggs your Majesty would please to pardon his past Conduct so very contrary to his sincere Desires to re-establish your Majesty upon your Thrones The Injustice and Oppression of your Enemies Sir have caused his most Christian Majesty to engage in this War God Almighty has hitherto favour'd his Attempts because they are just and 't is also to be hop'd he will lend the like Attention to your Majesty's Petition His Royal Highness for his part will contribute all in his Power thereunto who likewise flatters himself that this Treaty lately sign'd with his most Christian Majesty may be a Means to divide those Princes whose Union will infallibly oppose your Majesty's Retum to