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england_n	woman_n	world_n	year_n	105	3	4.3552	3	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47671	The history of Father La Chaise, Jesuite, and confessor to Lewis XIV, present King of France discovering, the secret intreagues by him carried on, as well in the court of England, as in all the courts of Europe, to advance the great designs of the King his master / made English from the French original.; Histoire du père La Chaize, jésuite et confesseur du roi Louis XIV. English.	Le Noble, Eustache, 1643-1711.; Le Noble, Pierre.; Le Roux, Philibert-Joseph.	1693 (1693)	Wing L1052; ESTC R179438	143,271	350

his Crown he begg'd her of the King of France and his Sister who could not deny him so small a Favour Presently the King sent a Yatch and a Frigate to Brest to bring her from thence into England Where her Wit and her Beauty and her medling with State-Affairs rais'd her a great number of Enemies some in the Parliament some among the People and others among the Court-Ladies among whom there were few that equall'd her in Beauty But for all this the Love which she had for the King or her own Good Fortune which was the most likely enabl'd her to surmount all these Difficulties with an extraordinary Courage The chief Maxim of her Politicks was to keep in with the Duke of York and side with France and by that means she so well order'd her Business that she held on a Ruling Favourite till the Death of King Charles II and should I say till the Advancement of King WILLIAM I should not tell an Untruth She is moderately Tall well-Shap'd having the Air Gate of a Queen She has the loveliest Mouth and Teeth in the world and her Smiles penetrate to the bottom of the Heart When she has a mind to be Complaisant she is altogether lovely but the mischief is that she will not be Complaisant to All. And this is that which has procur'd her such a world of Envy and Ill-will She has a Wit so piercing that 't is impossible to disguize any thing from her Her prevailing Passion or rather her Idol is Ambition to which she sacrifices her Repose her Pleasures her Honour and all things in the World Now in regard she pants after nothing but Honour and that for several Years she has made a Considerable Figure in the World she has assum'd such an Air of Grandeur and Business which she will never leave off as long as she lives There is no Woman living so Proud as this Woman but the last Revolution in England by which she lost above Fifty thousand Crowns a Year caus'd a great Alteration in her Affairs However she put a good Face upon the Matter in hopes the Times would change again or else that the King of France would give her a Considerable Pension for the Service she did him But that sort of Gratitude is no longer in Fashion the Partridge must be plum'd while you have her in your Hands for if once you let her go 't is in vain to expect she will ever return The Dutchess of Portsmouth is a fair Example of this She defy'd all England to serve her French King and Countrey and for that reason was thrown out of all Since that she has been reduc'd to that necessity as to sell her Coaches Horses Moveables and to turn off three fourth Parts of her Servants no body offering her so much as a Pension of a Thousand Pistoles So that when all her Hopes fail'd her and that there was no likelihood of King James's Return she sent her Son into England where he became a Protestant and marry'd the Lord Bellasis's Widow with whom he had a great Fortune By which means he is upon as sure Grounds as before and I think he has done very well But leaving this Digression the Dutchess of Portsmouth was so over-joy'd that she was become so necessarily Instrumental to the Designs of a Great Monarch that in the Evening she return'd this Answer to the King SIR THE Honour which Your Majesty do's me surpasses far my Hopes and my Ambition I shall have henceforward some good Opinion of my self since my King has not thought me unworthy to do him the utmost of my most humble Services upon an Occasion of so high Importance But I dare be bold to say That Your Majesty did me ample Justice when you thought that my Zeal and my F●delity would be inviolable Though I am remov'd into a Foreign Countrey yet I have not forgot the Advantage I enjoy to be b●●● your Subject nor that my Mother my Brother and all my Relations are still in your Kingdom And lastly That I am beholding to you for my good Fortune since it was your Majesty your self that gave me to the King by whom I have the Honour to be belov'd Th●● Love Sir however it may Charm me dis never as yet render me so Glorious as now that it has procur'd me the Means to be serviceable to your Majesty and that you w●● find by my extraordinary Diligence in performing your Commands But in regard the King has not hitherto appear'd to me so we inclin'd I beg your Majesty to give me a little Time and to afford me Leisure to take my Opportunities 'T is certain That many good Designs are ruin'd by too much Precipitation that might have been brought to a good Conclusion by Temporising a little And I am apt to think Sir that this is a Design of the same nature Should I open the Business to the King at an unseasonable minute and he should absolutely forbid me never to speak of it more to him should I not fall into a Misfortune to be unprofitable to your Majesty Which would be a Grief past Consolation to me Not but that I believe he will be brought to Reason But your Majesty your self acknowledges That the deceas'd Madam of Glorious Memory fail'd in her Attempt And therefore if you please to give me leave I will proceed gently in this Affair which by the Blessing of God will have a happy Issue at least I will not be sparing of my Endeavours to bring it about I am with a most profound Respect SIR Your Majesty's most humble c. London Decemb. 14. 1670. Afterwards she wrote the following Letter to Father La Chaise Most Reverend Father NEver complain more of the slender Occasions which have made me take the liberty to beg Favours of you That which you have now done me in perswading his Majesty to honour me with his Commands is so great that I shall be oblig'd to you as long as I live And it would be a violent Trouble to me not to be able to discharge the Obligations you have laid upon me did I not know that 't is alway your desire I should be beholding to you upon that account I consent then since it must be so but know Most Reverend Father That if it were in my power to repay you as great Services as that which you have now done me by an extreme Acknowledgment or an earnest Desire to do my Utmost for them from whe● I have receiv'd 'em I should owe you nothing There is no need Most Reverend Father of proposing me magnificent Rewards to engage me to do my Duty in the Negotiation wherewith you have entrusted me You will fa● by the exact Account which I shall give you of all my Proceedings that I shall leave nothing omitted to bring it to a good Issue upon no other Motive then my Obedience to the King and to do him faithful Service But in regard this Affair requires a

he could not avoid concluding the Peace by reason of the Importunitie of his Subjects I could produce several Copies of the Letters written upon this occasion but because I would not be Prolix this shall suffice from the Dutchess of Portsmouth to Father La Chaise Reverend Father 'T IS but some few Days agoe That the King of England was constrain'd to Sign a Peace full sore against his Will I cannot tell what his Majesty of France may think of it but I cannot forbear telling you That in truth he has no Reason to take it Ill considering how long it was before he came to a final Resolution He stav'd it off to the very last and without doubt had never consented had he not had certain Intelligence that the Prince of Orange finding Holland free and quitted began to listen to the Proposals of the Parlament who as your Reverence knows had invited him into the Kingdom We were perswaded till now That his youthful Years which seem'd not to be ripe for great Enterprizes together with his natural moderation and averseness to Broils and Quarrels would not have permitted him to give ear on that side but since we understand That if he were not fully resolv'd yet his Wavering was enough to continue the King's Jealousies and that the States did no way disapprove his making a Descent which indeed would be the most advantagious Course they could take The News therefore of his Hesitation put the King of England upon coming to an absolute Determination who could not in prudence venture the Invading of his Kingdom by the only Enemy that he had most reason to fear A Revolution like that would have engag'd the King to a Diversion that must have been much to his Prejudice whereas now he may interpose as a Mediator and procure his Majesty an advantagious Peace if he thinks it convenient or if not he may be in a condition to do him all possible Services under-hand and of this your Reverence may assure his Majesty His Britannick Majesty having order'd me to send you word that notwithstanding the forc'd Peace which he has made he will never depart from that Alliance which he has contracted with him n● from his Interests which he looks upon as his own He has given a convincing Proof of his Constancy in rejecting the Addresses that were made him to repeal the Act which was made sometime since at your Request in favour of the Nonconformists under which Pretence he also protects the Catholicks and their Meetings He will do it for the future as much as he can of which your Reverence may be confidently assur'd I am c. The King who could not have had a more favourable Mediator then his Britannick Majesty willingly consented to referr his Interests to him and Sir William Temple was sent to the States to propose his Mediation which they presently accepted Spain and the Empire were more Nice and the Prince of Orange who had no kindness for a Treacherous Peace started all the Difficulties that could be thought of which was the Reason that the Thing was procrastinated for some time Afterwards he fought that famous Battel of Seneff against the Prince of Condè whom he had challeng'd to a fair Field for Fifteen Days together while Condè somewhat Inferiour in number kept himself within his Trenches till at length the Prince of Orange seeing it was impossible to follow him Decamp'd Condè who well knew that the ways were very narrow through which he was to pass let him go till he thought his Van-guard and main Body were out of reach and then came out of his Hole fell upon the Rear-guard and utterly defeated it and had he been so much Master of himself to have stopt there the Honour of the Victory had been solely his But he had too long withstood that martial Heat that importun'd him to be doing and as a Torrent stopt for a few Days by some certain Mound becomes more terrible and violent when once it makes way so Condè's Warlike Ardour that had been bounded by his Prudence for Fifteen Days was no sooner at Liberty but bearing now predominant Sway it made him lose the greatest part of the Advantage which he had won before For having pass'd the narrow Lanes and being got into the Plain he found the whole Dutch Army drawn up in good order which receiv'd him so co●ragiously that he lost about 15000 Men and was constrain'd to retire in great Danger to have been pursu'd but that Night coming on secur'd him The next Year Turenne was kill'd at a time that he thought he had had Montecuculi so fast that he could not have escap'd him Condè left the Army in Flanders to supply his room leaving the Command of the Army to Luxemburgh who so well order'd his Business that the Prince of Orange could not force him to a Battel only he took Binch and demolish'd it Toward the end of the Year 1676. the Commissioners met at Nimeghen to negotiate the Treaty of Peace Thither came the Plenipotentiaries from the Emperor from the Electors from the Duke of Lorrain from Hanover from Sweden from Danemark from France and Holland and England was Mediatrix which made one of the most noble Assemblies that had been known Nevertheless whole Years were spent in regulating the Preliminaries all which time the War was carry'd on vigorously and always to the King's Advantage For he took Condè Bouchain Valenciennes Cambrai and won the Battel of Cassel which was attended with the Taking of St. Omer This prosperous Success alarm'd the Parlament of England and forc'd 'em to desire his Brittanick Majesty to enter into a War and that with so much Importunity as gave him to understand that he must resolve upon it To that purpose they presented Two Addresses to him laying before him the Necessity of opposing such a Torrent of Victory more especially in Flanders beseeching him to make an offensive League with the Hollanders 1677. These Importunities very much displeas'd the King who fear'd nothing so much as that he should be constrain'd to it But at last the Marriage of the Prince of Orange with his Niece being consummated there was a Necessity for him to make a fair shew the best he could so that after long Conferences with him concerning the Peace he consented to the Addresses of his Parlament and promis'd to declare War against France if she stood too high upon her Terms Thereupon Commissions were given out for the raising of 20000 Men and Soldiers came in so fast that in Six Weeks the Levies were compleat so eager were the English for a War with France In the mean time the Dutchess of Portsmouth gave a punctual Account of all things to Father La Chaise who not knowing what other Remedy to apply told the King That now was the time if ever to set his Exchequer at work 1678. in regard his dazling Louidores had a strange Operation upon the King of England

terrible Slaughter and put the rest to the most dreadful Flight that ever was known This Glorious Victory reviv●d the Courage of the drooping Empire and every body coming again to themselves consider'd which way to make their best advantage of it So that Heaven continuing the blessing of success upon the Christian Arms they prosper'd to their own Wishes The King having beheld this Great Deliverance alter●d his Sentiments but not enduring to let his Neighbours be at rest he teiz●d the Spaniards about the County of Alost considerable for the Extent and Revenue of it which he claim'd as a Dependance upon his Conquests and upon the King of Spains refusing it he Besieg●d Luxenburgh and took it in lieu of an Equivalent All people thought that then the War would have broke out again more furiously then ever But the weakness of the Emperors Forces and the Emperors desire to prosecute his Victorys in Hungary were the reason that all their differences were put an end to and laid a sleep by a General Truce concluded in the Year 1685. While these things thus pass'd on Charles the II. King of England dy'd and left the Crown to his Brother the Duke of York who tho generally ill belov'd by the People and a declar●d Roman Catholick was nevertheless proclaim'd without any Opposition So happy a Success and perhaps so little expected spread an Universal joy among all the Jesuits who promis'd themselves no less then the entire reducing that Kingdom under their Dominion in three or four Years at most and they had already devour'd in imagination all the Noble Bishopricks and Considerable Benefices in the Realm nor indeed were their hopes so Chimerical but that they might have reason to have some assurance of it they were absolutely Masters of the new Kings Heart and Soul who was wholly govern'd by them as being to speak properly no more then their Prime Minister of State in his own Kingdom Besides they were protected by France extremely Potent and near at hand to pour in thirty thousand men into England when ever he pleas'd 'T is true this could not have been done without a prejudice to the King whose Authority would have been not a little diminish'd thereby but what car●d they provided they had got their ends Now as the whole company in general had great reason to be over joy'd at such a promising Event Father la Chaise in particular had more engaging motives of Exultation and Triumph The deceas'd King Charles had willingly listen'd to his Councils and had done several things in complacence to his advice but at the bottom he was a prudent Prince and one who otherwise loving his Pleasures and his Ease did not always do that which was desir'd of him nor was he of a humour to hazard the whole for nothing like his Brother who not having all the foresight imaginable but perswading himself in imitation of Lewis the Great that there needed no more for him to do but to attempt and Prosper blindly and erroniously deliver'd himself up to Evil Counsels Upon which Foundation la Chaise erected his project to set all Europe in a Conflagration of War the most violent that ere was known and hugg'd himself in his design which he lookt upon then as infallible Some prosperous successes as the defeat of the Duke of Monmouth and his Death render●d K. James so vain that he never thought England able to withstand him So that from that time forward he began hardly to observe any Measures wherefore in a short time the Kingdom was full of Monks of all Orders and particularly Jesuits who were become such favourites at Court that there was nothing to be there obtain'd but by application made to them And upon theirs and Father Peters ●s recommendation it was that Tyrconnel was made Deputy of Ireland where he committed extremities of Cruelty against the Protestants of whom he put a great number to Death This Tyrconnel was an Irish-man by Birth and low in Fortune he came young into England where he serv'd as a kind of Page for above ten Years at the end of which time he met with a Catholick who prefer'd him to the Duke of York in the quality of a better sort of Gentle man This was the Rise of his Fortune But to return to King James He receiv'd a Nuncio from the Pope into London which had not been known for above an Age before this was the Abbot Dada since made a Cardinal Some few days after his arrival he was consecrated Bishop of Amasia in St. James's Chapel by the titular Archbishop of Armagh and two other Bishops and in the Afternoon coming to pay his Respects to their Majesties they fell upon their Knees before him to receive his Benediction Hitherto the Nuncio had only appear'd incognito which not satisfying the King who pretended to do nothing in Hugger Mugger he resolv'd that he should make his publick Entry and chose Windsor for the Place To this purpose he orderd the Duke of Somerset first Gentleman of his Chamber to go the next day to waite upon the Prelate at his Lodgings and conduct him to his Audience The Duke would fain have shifted off the Employment by telling the King that it was absolutely contrary to all the Acts of Parliament that had been made upon that Subject but then the King casting an Angry look upon him Do said he as you are commanded I ask not your Advice Nevertheless the Duke continu'd his Excuses declaring to the King that there were several others who would obey his Orders with less Reluctancy and therefore besought his Majesty to lay his Commands upon them rather then upon him Very Good reply'd the King I shall do it but it shall cost you your Employment of First Gentleman and so turning to the Duke of Grafton who was then in the Chamber Duke of Grafton said he go to morrow and fetch Monsieur the Nuncio in my own Coaches of State and be you henceforward first Gentleman instead of the Duke of Somerset Nor did the Kings Wrath against the Duke of Somerset end there he took from him his Regiment of Dragoons and cast him quite out of his Favour The next day the Nuncio made his Entrance in the view of all the People in a Violet Habit his Rochet and * Habit of a Purple Colour resembling a Captains Gorget worn by a Pontifical Bishop above his Rochet and reaching down to the bending of his Arms. Camail All this was done at the instigation of Father Peters who was something more in England then la Chaise was in France And this latter seeing to his great satisfaction King James's weak side is reference to Peters resolv'd to make him serviceable to advance his own Grandeur That ambitious Jesuit la Chaise had been a long time aspiring to a Cardinals Cap but in regard that since the Pontificate of Innocent XI the Holy See had never had a more implacable Enemy then himself he justly question'd whether the Pope