Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	french_a	king_n	paris_n	4,104	5	9.3010	5	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51887	The second 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 1642 to the year 1682 / written originally in Arabick, translated into Italian, and from thence into English, by the translator of the first volume.	Marana, Giovanni Paolo, 1642-1693.; Bradshaw, William, fl. 1700.; Midgley, Robert, 1655?-1723.	1692 (1692)	Wing M565CA; ESTC R35015	169,314	394

their vilest Excrements They spare for no Cost to adorn their Churches and their Altars are enriched with invaluable Treasures of Silver Gold and Precious Stones and yet after all they must become the Receptacles of the Dung of Sordid Animals These wicked Wretches also walk up and down in these Sacred Places talking of their Common Affairs as though they were on the Exchange or in the Market-Place But that which is to be had in greatest Abomination is that it is common for Men to make Love to the Women in Churches They present themselves before the Altars but the Saint whom they Invocate is some beautiful Female She engrosses all their Devotions to her they make their Vows The amorous Youth adores his Mistress that kneels by him laden perhaps with more Sins than himself His Eyes may be fixed on the Altar or on the Pictures and Images but his Tongue Addresses to the more Charming Idol near him Or if his Eyes are attentive on his Prayer-Book he teaches it to speak nothing but the soft and effeminate Things of Love Thus Assignations of Lust are made in the House of Prayer and the Affairs of Cupid managed under the Masque of Religion They Fight the Battels of Venus under the Banner of their God I tell thee Venerable Interpreter of the Divine Law that the Sight of these Things has sometimes enflamed my Zeal to that Height as had it not been for an earnest Desire to do some extraordinary Service to the Grand Signior which obliged me to take Care of my self I should certainly have transfixt these prophane Mockers of God on the Spot and Sacrificed them to a Zeal which thou who art Piety it self wouldst not I believe reprehend I fold my Arms most Venerable Sovereign of Religion and wrapping my self in profound Humily I fall prostrate to the Earth begging thy effectual Blessing and Intercession that I may be admitted into the Number of the Happy in Paradise Paris 26th of the 9th Moon of the Year 1642. LETTER XXIV To the Vizir Azem Prime Director of the Affairs of the Ottoman Empire THE Notices I have of the Present State of England in Compliance with thy Commands are not gained without some Difficulty It is not easie for a Man that sits in his Chamber in Paris to pry into the Cabinets of Foreign Courts Yet I will communicate to thee some Intelligences which thou couldst not learn from the English Embassador at the Port nor from all the Travellours of that Nation residing at Constantinople Smyrna and Aleppo There is a Jew whom they call De Lopez a Confident and Emissary of Cardinal Richlieu whom he employs both at Home and Abroad in several private Negotiations and Intrigues I have insinuated into this Man's Familiarity and if I may so express it I have Riveted my self into his Heart He treats me with an Assurance void of Jealousie and there is no Folding or Angle in his Breast which I do not easily penetrate I make use of him as an Optick through which I peep into the Cardinal's Secrets and as a Mirrour in which I behold the true Face of many disguised Affairs transacted in the remotest Corners of Europe there being hardly any thing of moment done in the Courts of Christian Princes wherein the Cardinal has not a Finger He seems to be the Genius or Soul of Christendom communicating Motion Activity and Heat to all the Grand Intrigues now on Foot in these Western Parts of the World The Commotions of England seem to be a complicated Distemper of the State arising from several Causes drawn to a Head by the dextrous Artifice of this Busie Spirit The Present King of that Island came to the Crown with no small Disadvantages his Father having Exhausted the Treasury and left him deeply in Debt he had no small Number of the Blood-Royal to maintain which kind of Charges thou knowest our Glorious Sultans though they be Masters of infinite Riches endeavour to avoid by Marrying their Daughters and Nieces whilst yet Infants to some of the most Potent and Wealthy Bassa's that so their Port may be kept up without burdening the Royal Coffers But the Infidel Princes are wanting in this frugal Providence In the Reign of King James this King's Father England lay at Ease slumbring in the Downy Bed of Peace she wallowed in Pleasures and had no other Unhappiness but in being too Happy Her Affluence and Idleness affected the State with a Plethory The Publick Health cannot be long conserved without the moderate Exercise of War Charles after the Death of the Old King being Established in the Throne committed the Affairs of State to the Management of his Ministers never examining his Treasury nor calling to an Account his Officers but Indulged himself in the Pleasures most agreeable to his Youthful Genius He hunted in the Forests whilst the Grandees whom he entrusted with his Revenues and the Publick Conduct had another Game to pursue post-poning their Master's Interest and 〈◊〉 of the Nation to their own private Avarice The Favourite Minister held a secret Correspondence with Cardinal Richlieu and by this means the Court was filled with French Pensioners countenanced also by the Authority of the Queen who was the Daughter of France It had been before agreed in the Articles of the Marriage that the Queen of England should have a prefixed Number of French Servants But they not content with their Domestick Employments and Attendance on her Person sought the Management of that Estate which King Charles had setled on her as a Dowry This would by no means agree with the Constitutions of the English That Island is a Little World by it self and the Inhabitants boast of an Original Freedom of Birth which is not so much as dreamt of in all the Dominions of our Invincible Sultans Though the English have several Times been Invaded and Subdued by the Saxons Danes and French yet it has been rather by Composition than Extremity of War Or if it may be called a Conquest the Victors have been forced to yield to the Vanquished in assuring them their Ancient Laws Privileges and Customs There is no Nation in the World more jealous of this their pretended Birthright And therefore to avoid all Occasions of giving Offence to the Nobles and Gentry the King perceiving the insolent Demands and Carriage of the French Courtiers commanded them all save a few Creatures of the Favourite Duke to depart the Kingdom This much disgusted the Queen and Cardinal Richlieu was glad of the Opportunity to incense the King of France Lewis was netled at the Affront offered to his Sister Yet by the Dexterity of the Mareschal Bassompierre his Embassador at the English Court Things were in a way of Accommodation when all was quash'd by the Seizure which the French made of several English Ships and so a War commenced far more fatal in its Consequences to England than to France The King of England rouzed from his Pleasures and Divertisements by the Preparations

of his Potent Neighbour began to look about him and consult the Publick Safety But when he examined his Treasury he found it empty or at least at a very low Ebb. Behold here Supreme Bassa a stroke of Destiny a Concurrence of Causes seeming remote and small in their first Appearance but in their Process uniting and involving that Kingdom in Ruine Charles could not carry on a War with France without asking Aid of the Sovereign Divan which they call the Parliament of that Nation It is a Senate composed of above Seven hundred of the Nobility and Gentry of the Land These have the Power to make Laws raise Taxes and redress the Grievances of the Kingdom It was an ill Season to ask the Assistance of his Subjects who had already conceived an Aversion for the Royal Dignity However a Mighty Fleet was order'd to be Rigg'd and Mann'd out Cardinal Richlieu from afar beheld the approaching Storm and knew not how to divert it from falling on France but by Corrupting the English Favourite De Lopez from whom I received this Intelligence was employed in the Affair he was sent to London which is the Metropolis of England and the Place where the King usually keeps his Court. It was an Expensive Negotiation and cost the Cardinal Forty Thousand Dollars which is equivalent to Three Millions and Two Hundred Thousand of our Aspers With this vast Bribe he Proselyted the Favourite Duke to the Interest of France The English Navy consisted of and Hundred and Fifty Sail having also Twelve Thousand Land-Men on Board It was agreed between them that the English Minister should procure himself to be made Admiral of these Marine Forces His Indulgent Master could deny nothing to the Man whom he had entrusted with the Sway of the Government Now the King of France might sleep at quiet since the English Ships sailed with a French Wind. They landed upon the Island of Ree but their Actions were altogether Theatrical a mere shew of War without any real Execution The English General manifestly omitting the proper Methods and favourable Opportunities of winning that Island His Conduct speaking as if he came there rather to Complement than to Fight These Things made a harsh sound in England and the Nobles resented ill the double-dealing of the Duke of Buckingham so was the English General call'd In fine the bad Success of their Forces the Expences they had been at and the Disgrace they suffered in this War Four and Forty of their Colours being carried to Paris and hung up in the Chief Temple of this City as Trophies of the French Victory incensed the Generality of the English Nation against the King and the Government they began to accuse him in their Cabals of Male-Administration and the Favourite Duke was a while after stabbed by a Ruffian whom the Malecontents had hired to execute their Revenge The Affections of the English appeared every day more and more alienated from the King And Cardinal Richlieu had there his Agents who were not wanting to foment the Publick Discontents and by divers Artifices to draw the Credulous People into Factions The French Pensioners were instructed to deport themselves in a Manner every way offensive to the Nation Black and threatning Clouds seemed to hang over the Court of England exhaled from the ill Blood of the Subjects The Royal Dignity went Retrograde and all Things tended to obscure the Lustre of the Crown Yet there passed some Years before Things came to Extremities and Matters though ripened yet were not brought to an open Rupture till Scotland lanced the Sore This Nation is subject to the Crown of England and makes one Half of the Island of Great Brittain They are a Warlike People patient of Labour accustomed to the Rigour of an Extreme Cold Climate great Travellours Subtle Proud and Inconstant After that which some call Heresie others a Reformation had begun to alienate many Kingdoms and Provinces from the Roman Church the Scots greedy of Novelties and spurred on by the Ambitious Pretexts of one of their Grandees who under the Mask of Religion sought the Crown introduced Innovations into their Church They shook off at once all their Obedience to the Pope and set up such a Form of Religious Discipline as was altogether Antimonarchical and their Preachers ceased not to instill into the Hearts of the People Democratick Principles Thus continued Affairs till King Charles not insensible of these Things and willing to new-Model that Church they took up Arms against him knowing that he would not be able to raise Forces to chastise them without calling a Parliament The Parliament of England was at that time full of Scotish Proselytes Men of Seditious and Turbulent Principles so that the King was like to find but little Favour among them However by the Assistance of some Loyal Nobles and Gentlemen he marches into Scotland at the Head of an Army Not a Blow was struck on either Side but all Differences were composed and hush'd up by a Treaty Yet soon after the Scots entred into England with an Army being underhand invited in by their Partizans in England The King is a Second Time forced to throw himself upon his Parliament for Money but they instead of granting him any fell to examining his past Conduct complaining and desiring a Redress of several Irregularities in his Administration There were those who failed not to put in Execution the Designs and Instructions of Cardinal Richlieu he had his Agents up and down the Kingdom who insinuated Jealousies and Heart-burnings into the Gentry and People of the Land The King was represented every where as a Tyrant and all his Actions were misconstrued Signior Rossetti the Pope's Nuntio at the English Court beside his Instructions from the Roman Pontiff held a strict Intelligence with the Cardinal His Business at this Court was publickly to the Queen who professed an Obedience to the See of Rome but privately he was order'd to Negotiate an Accommodation between the Roman and English Churches Cardinal Richlieu thought to strike two Marks with one Blow that is to embroil the State of England and procure himself the greater Esteem with the Roman Court He appears very Zealous for the Conversion of England and in order to it allows a Considerable Pension to Signior Rossetti Instructing him withal to shew his utmost Dexterity in gaining the Courtiers and Grandees of that Nation to his Side He knew the Genius of the English and that there was nothing so offensive to that Nation as the Papal Power and Religion Wherefore De Lopez was order'd to pay Signior Rossetti vast Sums of Money that so there might be nothing wanting to Proselyte the Courtiers knowing that they would act insolently and disgust the Protestants and so encrease the Publick Aversion for the Regal Authority There was also another Agent at the English Court who was Secretary to Cardinal Barbarini a Man no less Industrious than the other in advancing the Roman Interest He held a

Prince in his Arms and bestows his Benediction on it in these Terms Hail Royal Babe Heir of Two Crowns thou shalt Reign a long Time happily but in the End a Flower-de-luce shall be thy Bane The Nobles that were present thinking that the Extremity of Age had bereav'd him of his Reason were ready to thrust him away offering to take the Child from Him and telling Him That he mistook for this was not the Heir of the Crown but his Brother who stood by But he with a composed Look and an assured Carriage made Answer That what he spoke was Truth adding withal That the Elder Brother should die before his Father and That this should live to inherit the Kingdoms of Scotland and England The Event has made good some Part of his Prophecy for his Elder Brother dyed at Twelve Years of Age and he at this Day possesses those Two Kingdoms but how the Flower-de-luce shall be his Bane Time must evince It is thought That by it is meant the French King because that is the Arms of the Royal Blood of France It is hard to determine of future Events yet there are some who observing the Influence which this Court has had on the English Commotions and how far Cardinal Richlieu had engaged King Lewis XIII in Revenging the Affronts which were given to his Sister the Queen of England by that Inhospitable Nation make no Difficulty of interpreting this Prophecy but conclude That the Unfortunate King of England will at length fall a Victim to the French Resentments though his own Subjects be Instrumental to his Ruin I will continue my Intelligence of the English Affairs as I receive them In the mean while I pray the Great God to protect the Mussulman Empire from Sedition and Treason and keep the Subjects of Sultan Ibrahim in their due Obedience Paris 25th of the 3d. Moon of the Year 1645. LETTER XIV To Bajazet Ali Hogia Preacher to the Seraglio HERE are to be met with in these Western Parts infinite Numbers of People who not only despise and vilifie our Law but their own and openly scoff at all Religions in the World These are known by the Name of Libertines or Atheists which is to say People that profess themselves Enemies to the Belief of a God A lewd and unthinking Herd of Animals who dare not be alone lest they should come to the Remembrance of themselves and be Wiser These People are in some sort like Ninus that great Assyrian Monarch who vaunted He never saw the Stars nor desired it Worshipp'd neither Sun nor Moon never spoke to his People nor took any Account of them but was valiant in Eating and Drinking He was said to have this Inscription on his Tomb I WAS FORMERLY NINUS THE GREAT LORD OF THE WORLD AND LIVED AS THOV DOST BVT AM NOW NOTHING BVT DVST ALL THE MEAT I HAVE EATEN ALL THE HANDSOM WOMEN I HAVE ENJOY'D ALL THE WORSHIP THAT WAS PAID ME AND ALL THE RICHES I WAS POSSESS'D OF HAVE FAIL'D ME AND WHEN I SET FORWARD FROM THIS WORLD INTO THE INVISIBLE STATE I HAD NEITHER GOLD NOR HORSE NOR CHARIOT I AM NOW I SAY BVT THE DVST THOV TREADEST ON Such another was Sardanapalus one of the Successors of Ninus in that Monarchy and in the Corruption of his Manners An effeminate Prince a Slave to his Lusts and not worthy of an Imperial Crown It was not to his Vertue or Courage that Nineveh was obliged for sustaining a Siege of Eight and Twenty Moons but to the Impregnable Strength of her own Walls For so soon as he was told that the Oracle was fulfill'd and that the River Euphrates was joyn'd in League with his Enemies and had by an unusual Flood broke down a considerable Part of the Walls in which he trusted all his Bravery vanish'd he shew'd he was a Coward and kill'd himself for fear of Death Yet such was the sordid Impotence of his Spirit that even in this Way he durst not die alone but taking his Concubines and nearest Attendants with all his Gold and Jewels he forced them to accompany him into the Hollow of a Funeral Pile which he fired with his own Hands and burnt his Servants with Himself I do not esteem it an Effect of Courage to make Death a Sanctuary from the inevitable Miseries of a hated Life But to be either willing to die in the Height of humane Enjoyments or to be resolved to live and out-brave these very Calamities which would tempt any Man to die is the peculiar Mark of an Heroick Resolution However thus died Sardanapalus having desired that a Monument might be erected to his Memory with this Inscription SARDANAPALUS LIV'D MVCH IN A LITTLE TIME HAVING ALWAYS GRATIFIED HIS SENSES HE BVILT TWO CITIES ANCHIALA AND TARSUS IN ONE DAY PERFORMED THE TASK OF MANY YEARS IN FOVR AND TWENTY HOVRS ADVISES THEE READER TO IMITATE HIS EXAMPLE EAT DRINK AND ENJOY THY SELF FOR AFTER DEATH THERE IS NEITHER PLEASVRE NOR PAIN These were but Pigmies in Atheism in Comparison of others Dionysius the Sicilian Monarch was a Gyant in Infidelity He not only committed Sacrilege but made it his Pastime He droll'd upon the Gods while he robb'd their Temples into which he never enter'd without a Jest nor departed from their Altars without a Satyr He put a Woollen Garment on the Image of Jupiter Olympius instead of the Golden Robe with which King Hiero had cloath'd it and excus'd the Sacrilege by saying Exchange was no Robbery and That he consulted the Ease and Health of the God both for Summer and Winter He play'd the Barber to the Statue of Aesculapius and shav'd off his Golden Beard saying That since Apollo his Father was beardless it was but good Manners for the Son to be so too When he came into a Rich Temple in Syracusa and saw in the Hands of Mars a Sword whose Hilt was thick set with Diamonds Emeralds and Rubies he made a mock-Obeisance and took the Sword from the extended Arm of the Image saying The God of War presented him with that Sword as an Earnest of his future Victories and he should be very ungrateful and impious not to accept the Gift of the Deity It was a nasty Affront which Nero put upon the Syrian Goddess when he caused his Excrements to be thrown in her Face These were Royal Atheists and no Body durst controul their Impious Pranks The Libertines now a-days are more modest and politick They dare not violate Temples nor prophane the Altars of the Christians openly but secretly they undermine all Religion and dispute People out of their Faith Some of these Atheists maintain the World to be Eternal Others hold that it came by a fortuitous Concourse of Atoms which after an Eternal Dance in an Infinite Space at last jumbled together into that exquisite Order we now behold and contemplate They profess themselves Disciples of Epicurus yet willfully corrupt the Doctrines of that Vertuous Philosopher who though he taught That the Supreme

the turbulent Cardinal She Sojourned in Flanders Holland England and the Empire Her Travels being checquer'd all along with a Mixture of Good and Evil. Here meeting with Respect there with Indifference and Coldness if not Contempt In some Places her Misfortunes were pitied and the Cardinal blamed for Persecuting so Great and Good a Queen In others the Cardinal was Justified and her Conduct censured and condemned And she accused her self for raising him to the power of doing her these Injuries At length tired out with the Fatigues of State and grown sick of the World she betook her self to a Monastery in Colen where after she had spent some time in Religious Preparations for another World she expired the 3d. of this Instant Moon It was placed among the Remarkables by some that the same day she died the Cardinal of Richlieu fell sick which Sickness yet continues upon him But whether to appease the Ghost of his deceased Mistriss whom he had so unjustly persecuted or to mollify the Resentments of the People is uncertain Yet notwithstanding his dangerous Illness he every Day ventures to the Temple and performs the Mysteries of their Law for her Soul The whole Court and City is in Mourning for this Great Queen and general Murmurings and Complaints are raised against the Cardinal on this Occasion especially among the Common People who are so far from entertaining a better Opinion of him for his daily Appearance at the Altar on Behalf of the Queen's Soul that they esteem it but an Officious Hypocrisie a Medly of Priest-Craft and State Artifice Here is a Report about the City that the Queen 's Ghost appear'd to the Cardinal as soon as she was dead severely reproaching him with his Ambition and Ingratitude and telling him That tho' he was laying the Foundation of an Immortal Project yet he should never live to see it thrive but warned him to prepare for Judgment for that he should not see another Year in Mortal State upon which they say he immediately sickned And here are Prophecies privately scattered about foretelling his Death in a short time This is certain he labours under an unaccountable Distemper his Body strangely wasting as if it would evaporate it self into Air for he seems to be in a manner dried up My Duty and Devoir to thee Sage Minister would not let me be at Rest till I had prevented the Posts by giving thee a more timely Account of these Occurrences by a Merchant for whom his Vessel waits at Marseilles To morrow he takes his Leave of Paris and once aboard he makes directly for Constantinople whither he will bring the first News of the Death of one of the greatest Queens upon Earth in whose Royal Veins ran the Blood of the Emperors Ferdinand and Charles V. She was married to Henry the Great and besides her Son now Reigning in France she matched her Daughters to the Two Potent Monarchs of England and Spain The most High and Omnipotent sole Monarch of Heaven and Earth reward thy Services and Fidelity to our Invincible Sultan with the Supream Joys of Paradise Paris 20th of the 7th Moon of the Year 1642. LETTER VI. To the Venerable Mufti Sovereign of the True and Undefiled Faith PErmit me to enter into thy Presence and withdraw thy Ravish'd Eyes awhile from the Contemplation of Sublimest Objects to cast them on a Spectacle of Mortality It is the Great and Renowned Mary de Medicis Queen-Mother of France who lies now dead at Cologne I will not trouble thee with Impertinencies but because I know that various Reports will reach thy Ears concerning the Cardinal of Richlieu his being Instrumental to her Death by driving her to such a height of Indignation as was the Cause of her Voluntary Exile and wandring from France and from one Country to another I will here Insert a Letter from the said Cardinal to her Majesty wherein he vindicates himself and discovers if not his Integrity yet the best Counterfeit of that Vertue that I have seen any where penn'd It was written to her when she was in Holland and runs thus MADAM I Cannot but esteem it the greatest Infelicity that ever befell me that my Enemies have prevailed so far as to draw upon me Your Majesty 's displeasure That they have by all the Arts of Malice fastned the Publick Odium on me is a great Vnhappiness but this is the Master-piece of their Enmity to render me suspected by you I could pardon their frequent Attempts upon my Life by private Conspiracies and Assassinations though Humane Nature recoils at those who are our Murderers But to deprive me of that without which Life it self is a burden to me I mean your Royal Favour transports me beyond my self And I beg that it may pass for an Excuse of this Presumption I could easily have pass'd over in Silence all their barbarous Plots against me I could easily have parted with my Life and all those Honours and Dignities with which it has been bless'd But to rob me of your Esteem which first rais'd me to this Envied Greatness and which I value more than all the Grandeurs of the Earth breaks the Barrs which aw'd my Tongue and Pen and makes me bold to throw my self at your Royal Feet with All that I have for I received All from your Princely Hands Deal as you please Madam with your own Creature I cannot murmur at your proceedings But Madam let your Native Piety prompt you to favour the Purple of the Church with which your Bounty has Invested me Let it not lose its proper Lustre and Esteem because the Enemies of the Church and State have cast such Dirt upon it Is it possible that a Man the most obliged of all his Race should become the onely Pattern of the basest Ingratitude Besides the Ties of Conscience and the Natural Force of Inclination my Interest chains me to your Service How can I then withdraw my self from it and not proclaim my self at once a Traitor to the Rest of Queens and the most unaccountable of Fools to my self This Consideration Madam being well weigh'd is enough to acquit me of all Guiltiness before Your Majesty But if it be my Destiny to be condemned unheard I shall not appeal from your Royal Sentence since I owe a perfect Resignation to your Will I may complain to Heaven of my Misfortune but I will not expostulate with my Sovereign Patroness nor make the least Opposition against the Course of your Anger not even by carrying my Fortune to Rome For wheresoever I go all my study shall be to recover your Majesty's Favour if it be not a Crime And if ever I obtain that Happiness I shall not care whither I go tho' it be out of the World it self because I die hourly while your Majesty suspects that I am not what I ever was and still continue to be MADAM Your Majesty's Most humble Most faithful And most obedient Servant Armand Card. of Rich. I send thee this Transcript

the least Grudge will raise Armies and give the King Battel if he does not come to their Terms and make a satisfactory Composition Neither dares the King put any of them to Death for fear of the People who generally take their Part being greedy of Novelties and prone to rebel Wouldst thou know by what Means the Nobility of France arrive to such a dangerous Power I tell thee in a Word the Kings themselves have put a Sword into their Hands which they spare not to draw when their Ambition or Discontent prompts them to it They are freed from all Tribute and Homage have the Command of whole Provinces committed to them in which are great Numbers of Walled Towns Forts and Castles These great Charges procure them the Esteem and Veneration of the People living under their Government who honour them as Kings and readily take up Arms in their Vindication The Queen-Regent is fearful lest they should take Advantage of her Son's Minority and under Pretence of Reforming the State or serving the King's Interest they should involve the Kingdom in Civil Wars She keeps a strict Watch over the Duke of Orleans and observes the Prince of Conde's Motions Her Guards are doubled and she neglects nothing that may assure the Interests of the Crown Thou who standest by the Silent Fountain and art near the Person of the Grand Signior think of doing Mahmut some good Office who loves cordially serves faithfully and prays servently for the Health and Long Life of our Glorious Sultan and wishes thee thy Fill of Happiness Paris 27th of the 10th Moon of the Year 1643. LETTER XXIII To the Captain Bassa HERE are arrived several Hundreds of Slaves who have Manumitted themselves by a Bold Adventure an Exploit which to give them their due has something in it of Bravery The Place of their Captivity was Alexandria thou knowest the Circumstances of that Haven What Hazards will not the desire of Liberty put Men upon There were several Thousands of Franks in the City whom the Restraint and Rigors of Servitude had made weary of their Lives Among the Rest a Native of Brabant who having been bred up in the Art of distilling Strong Waters his Patron hired him a Shop furnishing him with all Materials and Necessaries to prosecute his Calling in hopes of very profitable Returns To this Man's Shop there was a great Resort of all the Franks in the City by which Means he improv'd his Trade and thriv'd mightily He was a Bold Fellow and took a particular Pride in great Attempts and though he might have lived very happily and enrich'd himself by his own Occupation yet he had another sort of Chymistry to practise being resolved to draw his Fellow-Slaves who were now become his Customers off from the Lees of Despair and elevate them to a Resolution of seeking their Freedom He often harangu'd them on this Subject and a strict Intelligence was held between all the European-Slaves in that City At length it was agreed amongst them to seize a certain Vessel that lay in the Harbour and commit themselves to the Winds and Waves This was carried on with so much secrecy and so dextrous a Conduct that unsuspected above two Thousand of them got aboard and put out to Sea The Wind favouring them they first arrived at Candia where they Landed some Hundreds of their Crew after this they touch'd at Malta where they disposed of others then at Livorno in Italy and lastly came safe to Marseilles where the Remainder came ashore These are Natives of France England Brabant and Holland with Two Spanish Priests The Inhabitants of Paris are very Charitable to them especially the Merchants who traffick in the Levant of which there are great Numbers in this City The Clergy also have made a Collection for them and 't is said the Queen-Regent has ordered her Almoner to distribute three Thousand Crowns among them They inveigh bitterly against the Mussulmans cursing our Holy Prophet and thanking their good Stars for thus fortunately redeeming them from an Insupportable Slavery I cannot see wherein they merit Blame in all this it being Natural for all Men to covet Liberty and to rejoice when they have escaped any Misfortune I protest I cannot be angry with them in my Heart for any Thing but the Blasphemies they vomit against the Messenger of God The rest are Actions as Natural as to Eat and Drink Self-Preservation being common to all Animals there seems as much Reason to condemn a Bird that chirps and triumphs when she fee's her self upon the Wing ranging the Balmy Air being newly released from the Cage as to find fault with these Fellows for rejoicing that they have escaped the Confinement and Hardships of Captivity However it was an unpardonable Neglect of the Guards who belong to that City to suffer these Infidels thus to give them the slip So culpable a Remissness may cost some of them their Heads The Great God whose Power is manifested in the Ocean as well as on the dry Land furnish thee with as favourable Winds as these Fugitives had when thou sailest to execute the Orders of the Grand Signior Paris 20th of the 11th Moon of the Year 1643. LETTER XXIV To Mustapha Guir an Eunuch Page THIS Court has within these Three Days put on another Face than it had ever since the Royal Obsequies were perform'd One would hardly think it the same were it not for the Mourning they still wear on the Account of the late King's Death This is a Formality used all over Christendom in such Cases and serves for a Disguise to Hypocrites The French Grandees make use of it to masque their several Politick Designs They wear Black the Emblem of Sadness to denote their Grief for the Dead Monarch and yet they feast and revel to the end they may send more of the Royal Blood after him The Matter I am going to inform thee of is Tragical in it self and had been worse but for the Prevention of Providence Three Days ago the Princes of the Blood with divers of the Prime Nobility were invited to a Feast by the Queen's Order The Place where 't was kept is called the New-Castle It is needless for me to describe the Magnificent Entertainment thou mayst conclude all Things were performed with Great Cost and Majesty They Banquetted with Wine to Excess insomuch as the Duke of Orleans about Midnight walking through a Gallery was so inebriated with the Juice of the Grape that he fell asleep on a Couch which stood about the middle of the Walk he was wrapt in his Cloak a Garment well known in the Court by the large Diamond that button'd it before but no Body came by that way till two Hours afterwards a certain French Lord passing to his Lodging took Notice of a Man asleep on the Couch and drawing nearer knew it to be the Duke Wondering what should be the meaning of it he inquired of the Duke's Page that stood not far off who told him His